digitalMoto.net

I’ve noticed this (One of ‘those’ days…) is a very popular page. Today I re-read it. I saw a couple more typo’s and places where I wasn’t very clear. But more than anything else it was frustrating and disappointing to revisit that moment.

I know the guy had a life before all of this. He made a bad choice, but his choices had consequences far beyond his limited world. I had multiple conversations with the insurance companies. I learned his name, Mason Andrews. I learned that the driver he hit was terrified to get back in a car and was vowing to never ride again. I know that it took me almost a year to stop thinking about what I saw when I got back on a bike. Maybe that is why I still feel that tightness in my chest when I think about it. It was a brutal moment. Exceptionally fast and infinitely slow.

Spilt blood, bent steel, torn carbon, shattered glass, falling tears, and bare feet.

I still ride, obviously. The SuperDuke is in the same class as the S4R. And I have been seduced by carbon, ti, and steering dampers. But I try not to make those kinds of mistakes. I know what I don’t know. I don’t know the KTM well enough yet to really push it. I do know that you don’t push in rush hour traffic, at least not like that. Sure I break the laws and occassionally lane split when it suits my purposes. I use the power of that v-twin to scoot past the cages that would block my progress. But I also know what happens if I make a mistake…

Live. Ride. Breathe. Feel every moment. And understand that one choice will cause those ripples to move away from you and impact other’s in ways that you never imagined.

I couldn’t sleep last night. I worked in the garage until after 23:30, then spent time installing new parts on the master bathroom shower. It was after 00:30 when I finally crawled into bed. Then I couldn’t sleep. I read for a while, which didn’t help. I learned about the “Query Pattern” and that got me thinking about some development I’ve been working on for the last couple weeks. I laid in bed ‘thinking’ until about 02 when I got up to play Peggle until 03:30. Read more…

It’s raining… again.

The temps are starting to climb. Spring is on the way. It was 50 degrees on my way home from the Yamaha dealership a few minutes ago. It rained really hard on me when I was driving home from work. Just now I got home with only a few sprinkles.

That is one of the quirks to Oregon that I have not gotten used to. It can be raining AND sunny. It can be pouring in one place and perfectly dry just a few miles away. We’ve got the Gorge, the Coastal and Cascade Ranges, the Willamette and Columbia rivers, plus a rather large ocean less than 100 miles away. So there are a lot of different inputs on the local micro climates. Back in misery, I mean Missouri, the weather was regional. It was hot (or cold) for hundreds of miles. Rain would cover a 4 state area. Snow from Canada down to Tulsa. Tornado bearing storms would cut through hundreds of miles of open plain without minimal damage. Different place.

It will be a while before the mountain snow melts and then the real fun begins. This summer I am going to spend some time in those mountains buring fuel.

Still, it is strange only having one bike. I sold my DL last summer which dropped me down to one moto. I’m still thinking about the SuperDuke. Thinking, thinking, thinking…

Sixx: AM
Courtesy Call
The Heroin Diaries

*Dialtone, knocking, Mexican TV*
Female voice: Housekeeping…
*Knocking*
Female: Hello, housekeeping?
*Tries, door, knocking*
Female: Hello?

Well you found me, but I don’t know
Why you wanna save me…
Well, God is great and God is good
But God didn’t help me when he could
And life dances so lonely by.
Read more…

44° Damp but drying out. A few blue patches in the early morning sky. Good enough.

More miles added to the FJR.

I woke up yesterday (Monday) in pain.

The ear infection I have been fighting was ramping up. No big deal, I’ll just call my Doc and get some meds. Same Ol’, Same Ol’. Everything was going along fine. I talked to my doctor and he called in the minimum medication, which is simply drops to treat the infection directly. I felt OK when I talked to him. A few hours passed and it was time for lunch. That’s when things started to slide. Chinese with the boys was torture. I was somewhere between starving because I haven’t felt like eating in days and hurling, which is why I haven’t felt like eating… You get the point. I survived lunch, but I didn’t really enjoy it. When I got back to the office I sat down to look at some SQL code. Everything kept getting blurry. I couldn’t focus on the screen or mentally focus enough to write anything. After wasting an hour, I left. Stop by Costco to score my drops, then home and straight to bed.

Read more…

It was 47° and raining again as I stood in my driveway surveying the situation. I closed the door and came back inside. 30 minutes later, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I put on boots, cordura, jacked in my mp3 player and headed out. Fuel first, then down 6 toward the coastal range.

The rain ran down my shield as weekend traffic streamed past me. All heading into the city. Grips on low. My Vanson gloves keeping the water on the outside. The rain enforced reasonable speeds throughout the entire ride.

I took the scenic loop through Gales Creek, then over to Hagg Lake for a loop. I found Pepsi in a glass bottle at the corner convience store. I miss Pepsi in glass. It tastes different than when it is stored in plastic.

Darkness had fallen by the time I left the convience store. Back home without incident. My craving cured for a few more days.

It might be time to start peeling off bit and pieces to begin the color change from silver to flat black. Maybe. Maybe.

School starts again tomorrow. I have registered, but I think I might change one course. Traffic court on Tuesday afternoon. Hmm….

PS: I rolled 7800 miles today. Not bad for a bike I bought in August.

…my YZF purrs under me.

Odo: 24255

It is a really pretty day, sky blue, calm, and peaceful. I have errands to run: a client with Outlook problems, insurance premiums to pay, parts to pick up, parts to deliver, blah, blah, blah. Leathered in my Vansons, black jeans, Sidis, double mirrors, album mix in my ears, I ride. Read more…

Odo: 24195

I took the YZF out today for a lunch meeting and my client visits. I rode about 90 miles.

Every time I get on this bike, I have problems. OK. Not real problems, just the little stuff that happens when you switch bikes. Read more…

I rode my YZF today. After adjusting the chain, lubing it, and checking my tire pressures, I saddled up to burn some fuel. It felt so strange Read more…

Hmm… Life is a strange thing at times.

I bought the DL 1000 on August 6th. My week was pretty busy, helping my Mom move into her new house, work, figuring out which end is up and ALL the rest. I changed the oil after 150 miles. No obvious metal/crude in the oil. The week started to slide by… I have to do something! Time to disappear… Read more…

Black. Black. More black.

On Sunday, I returned to the dealership for another test ride. This time I drove down. Previously, I had always ridden. Not having to de-wrap myself from around my YZF tank, the DLs felt very comfortable. Read more…

Hmm…

I rode the 650 and 1000 V-Stroms today. They are SO very different from my YZF. Yeah, I know that is obvious. But when you are on a bike, it is still a bike. Start, stop, turn, stoppie, wheelie, etc. It’s all the same. Read more…