2Wheeltips

 Twas the night before Christmas And all through the garages
Not a motorcycle was rumbling, Except for Santa Clause's.
The leather was hung in the closet with care
In hopes that nice weather soon would be there.
Our bikes were all nestled snug in their covers
With visions of blacktop and burning up rubber.
With momma in her bandana and I in my skull cap
We had just settled down for a long winters nap.
When out on the lawn, arose such a rumble
I sprang from the bed as I started to grumble.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a pack of motorcycles, with riders and gear,
With one old driver so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be biker St. Nick.
He was dressed all in Leather, from his head to his foot
And his clothes were all tarnished with bugs and road soot,
A bundle of chrome he had flung on his back.
Down the chimney he came, carrying a big red sack.
He spoke not a word but went straight to his work
As he filled all the riding boots, then turned with a jerk,
And laying a finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his motorcycle, to his team gave a sign
As they all cracked their throttles and got into a line,
Now Honda, Now Harley, Now Triumph and Indian
On Kawi, On Suzuki, On Yamaha and Victory.
But I heard him exclaim as he roared out of sight
Keep the rubber side down and have a good ride.

On March 5th, Sport Honda Powerhouse in Metuchen, NJ hosted its first Safety Day.  The whole day was dedicated to motorcycling safety issues and was co-sponsored by the NJ Gold Wing Road Riders Association and Rider Education of NJ.  Lots of people showed up and there were plenty of activities and seminars to take in.  Although I didn't get a chance to attend the seminars, etc., I saw lots of people assembled to learn about all types of safety issues.  Sport Honda has a great meeting room that is adjacent to their service area and while they were conducting seminars there, other visitors could wander around the showroom, take a look at all the Honda bikes and scooters that Sport Honda has available, grab something to eat and drink, and just enjoy the company of so many motorcyclists who not only enjoy riding, but enjoy riding SAFELY!  Kudos to Sport Honda for hosting their first motorcycle safety day….I am looking forward to safety day being an annual event!!

I know I'm invisible when I ride on the road
I know you can't see me…or so I've been told
So I ride as if no one can see me at all
It's almost like building my own safety wall!
I watch what you do and adjust my own ride
As I cruise down the highways, my time I do bide
But I never get lax and assume you see me
'Cause accidents happen when I get lazy!
Attention is paid to all things that I pass
After checking things out, I give it some gas!
But as I take special care of myself on the road,
It's safer for all, as we all surely know!

Can you write a poem?  Do you ride a bike?
Have you written a poem you think we might like?
Then post it right here on the 2wheeltips site
Let others enjoy your motorcycling insight!
We're anxious to read all that you've got to say,
By writing in prose, the alternative way!
Topics are endless, so give it a try
Put pen to paper…don't ask yourself "why?"
Poetry is fun when you read how it goes,
So upload your stuff to "Write Like Some Prose"!
PrayasIride has been writing a LOT!
I'm writing poems now to show him what I've got!
I'll write about trips and experiences I've had
About wonderful times and even the bad
So check the site often to see what is new
Read what we write and submit your prose, too!
Upload your poetry to "Write Like Some Prose"
Perhaps you'll become famous….hey, one never knows!!

PrayasIride wrote another great poem!
And just like his others, he drove his point home!
His comments regarding the BRC class...
Wondering to yourself, "Will I fail or pass?",
Made me think about when I took the BRC, too,
It wasn't something I was sure I could do…
But practice makes perfect, as it has been said
We need to learn focus and good habits embed
Instructors are great just to give us that start
But the rest is just practice and that is OUR part!!

So, you curse those darned "cagers" on the road as you are out there enjoying your ride....  Well, fellow bikers, it is not just the people in automobiles and trucks and buses that we have to watch out for; we also have to pay attention to the irresponsible bikers who share the roads with us.  Below is an e-mail I received today from a friend of mine who is a very experienced biker and an MSF rider/coach.  I thought it was worthy of sharing with all of you!

" I ride to and from work in Newark almost every day.  On my way home from work yesterday around 1620, as I merged on to Rt.78w,I was very nearly hit on the left side from behind by a sportbike doing well over 100mph. ( I couldn't tell you what brand of bike it was,color of bike or what rider had on if anything. Did have a dark full face.)
I was in the merge lane doing about 45,looked over my left shoulder,saw it was clear and continued to accelerate into the right lane when something screaming almost hit my left side,close enough to feel the wind blast and cause my body to jump.Two others blew past my right side an instant later.I felt rage flush through my body and wanted to give chase,but we were in moderate traffic and they were weaving through the traffic so fast they were more than a 1/4mi.ahead in a second. I even found myself wishing they'd crash!
Glad they didn't only because of the trauma they'd cause the innocents. They just pissed me off big time. You expect things like that at bike rallies,but not where we all travel on a daily basis. Guess I forgot I was in Newark NJ. It bothered me all the way home. I guess this is why I have always believed the "Angels" ride with me! (God's Angels,not the other ones)
We tell our RENJ BRC students to "Turn your head" after a mirror check. We urge Car drivers to "Look twice,save a life!"
I guess the moral of the story is   "Look twice, Save your own life!""

I was reading my local news online a couple of days ago, when a headline grabbed my attention:

"1 Dead After Crash on Route 18 in East Brunswick"
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100712/NEWS/100712019/1004/NEWS0102

Somehow, without the headline saying it, I knew a motorcycle was involved.  Sadly, I was correct.  Sadder yet, the motorcyclist died in the accident; the passenger on the bike was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition at the time.  Apparently, the 19 year old driver of the automobile that was involved was not injured.

I know nothing about this accident (other than what little was written up in the local paper) and I know none of the people involved.  But motorcycle accidents send chills down my spine whenever they occur, and especially when they occur on local roads that I travel all the time.  Perhaps many of you will agree with me when I say that it seems like we are often a bit too interested in the gory details of motor vehicle accidents.  Yet, hopefully, we can learn something from even the most tragic of accidents.  I looked at the photos that were taken of the accident (and there was controversy about the newspaper even posting some of them, especially the ones that show what appears to be covering over the body of the biker) in an attempt to understand better what had happened and I am baffled.  Was the biker making a right turn onto Route 18 from the side street?  Did the vehicles collide while merging into the same lane?  Was someone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs?  Was one of the operators distracted?  I don't have an answer.  What I do know is that, regardless of the roads that we ride on, the moment we let down our guard is the moment that we will be in big trouble.  Defensive motorcycling is necessary on all roads at all times....because our lives depend upon it.

Take a look at the photos after this accident to see if you can learn anything from them:



















And, for those of you who might live in my area, and who just might have been witness to what happened on Sunday evening, this is what I found on the road today:

So, there we were...at Americade 2010...up in the beautiful Adirondack Mountain region of New York State...  And, like so many other Americades, which start on the first Monday of June, the weather was, as usual, unpredictable.  We arrived on Wednesday of Americade week and it was dreary, rainy, and cool.

 This year, we didn't sign up for any of the scheduled tours, though, so we were pretty flexible when it came to what to do, where to go, and whether to brave the weather!  We clocked out a route from Lake George for a Thursday trip with some friends of ours.  Of course, Thursday morning arrived and guess what?  Yep...it was raining again.  So we canceled our plans for the day trip and tried to figure out what else we could do in the cool, wet weather.  Of course, going to a motorcycle rally, we wanted to get on our bikes and ride, not wander around the village of Lake George.  So, when the clouds cleared a bit, we decided to give it a go and we hopped on our bikes and headed north.  We rode up the western side of Lake George, on Route 9N, a very curvy, twisty and scenic road that snakes its way north.  Lake George comes to an end and Lake Champlain begins and we continued north until we got to Fort Ticonderoga, where there is a ferry (really just a little barge) that carries people, cars, and bikes across Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont.  Once in Vermont, we took a few more roads and before we knew it, we were at our destination:  the Woodchuck Cidery in Woodbury, Vermont. 

Well, my friends, this is not your regular ol' cider mill.  These people make HARD cider!  Normally, the cidery is not open to visitors for tours but they made an exception for us, and in we went. 

We were given a brief overview of the cidery and, although we weren't given any samples of the ciders they produce, they did send us away with tee shirts and cider glasses (on one side of the glass you get the proper measurement of Woodchuck draft cider and lager for a "snakebite" or turn the glass to the other side to get the measurements of Woodchuck draft cider and stout for the perfect "black velvet".  Sounds yummy!)

Our next stop was the Otter Creek brewery, a stone's throw from Woodchuck.  We walked in and were greeted by some really friendly people who   offered us samples of the ales that they brew! 

We were given a few sips of a bunch of varieties and then off we went for a tour of their facility.  It was fascinating to learn a little about how they brew their ales.  We stood over some mightily large vessels that were used in the storage and fermentation processes.  Then, we watched as the different ales were bottled and packaged. 

Of course, we had to find out who, in our area, sells their products since there were several that were delicious enough to want to buy! 

With our curiosity (and a teeny bit of our thirst) satisfied, we headed out to our bikes to continue our day trip.  And, of course, with such unpredictable weather, wouldn't you know it?  It was POURING!  Thank goodness for rain suits, waterproof boots, full face helmets, good tires and dependable bikes!!  We had a couple of other places on our list to visit but, due to the torrential downpour, we decided to just go grab some lunch and head back to Lake George.

One of the people at Otter Creek recommended a restaurant in downtown Middlebury, called "Two Brothers." 

It was a GREAT place for lunch and it gave us enough time to dry out before heading out into the rain again.  After lunch, although the rain had let up a bit, we decided to just head back to Lake George Village.  I kept looking in front of us and behind us to keep track of potential rain clouds.  On the ferry back to New York, I turned around and saw some clouds that looked like they were following us! 

Of course, at that point, what difference did it make?  I mean, we were dry INSIDE our riding gear….the outside of us was completely drenched. 

So, if you ever venture up to Americade, keep in mind that you are not limited to just the standard tours listed in the Americade brochure.  If you do a little research before your trip, you will find that there are lots of places that you can visit in the region.  And, DO keep in mind that, the first full week of June, when Americade is held, is a very unpredictable time, weatherise.  You should be prepared for cold, heat, sun, rain, and even (yikes!) the possibility of snow!!

A couple of days ago, I read about an accident in my area where a couple riding a bike was hit by another biker who was drunk http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37815299/ns/local_news-delaware_valley_panj/.  The drunken rider went to pass the couple and, as he tried to pass, he hit their rear wheel.  The rider on the bike that was hit is now in critical condition in the hospital.  The passenger on that bike was thrown from the bike and was run over and killed by a car (the driver of the car left the scene and had not been located at the time of the news story).    The drunken motorcyclist who caused the catastrophe "sustained several cuts and bruises and was treated at the hospital before being taken into custody." 

So what is the reality here?  One biker dead, one biker in critical condition fighting for his life, and the biker who caused it all survives with minor bruises and a certain jail sentence and who knows how many lawsuits to plague him for the rest of his life.  All because he was stupid enough to ride drunk.

My last morning at Americade 2010, I stopped in one of the local coffee shops for breakfast.  Parked outside the shop was a beautiful red Goldwing with a sidecar. 

Well, I just sat there, enjoying my breakfast, sipping my coffee…waiting to see who the owner of the Goldwing/Sidecar was.  Along came a couple in their riding gear….heading right for that bike.  And I watched, in amazement….as the woman took the helm of the bike and the man sat in the passenger seat!