You have a project to do and you’ll need several tools to get the job completed. You reach into your tool box and everything you need is right there. How satisfying is that? The same can be said for riding a motorcycle and being presented with a challenging scenario. Do you have the tools (skills) in your tool box to get the job done?
Regardless of the number of years you have been riding, rider safety courses should be considered as part of your annual checklist. Every year, if you have a riding season, when the season begins you check your bike out to make sure it is safe and in good riding condition. Then you check your gear. Is your helmet going to still do the trick if it needs to? How are your boots holding up? The same consideration should be given to your skills.
When was the last time your motorcycle riding skills were challenged in a controlled environment? I dare say that this should be done at least once every year. Ask someone who cares about you whether they think you should be as prepared as you possibly can while in control of your motorcycle. Of course the answer is YES. There are many opportunities for you to do this. We had the pleasure of singing up for and taking the new dual sport rider training course offered by Stayin Safe. The class description read well as it offers “real world “, real time travel skills. What that means is, you ride on both pavement and dirt/gravel/mud roads while an instructor communicates with you using a one-way radio. For many of us the roads less traveled i.e. dirt, gravel and mud are somewhat intimidating but the reality is that you will end up on a dirt or gravel road sometime and you need to be prepared.
I have been both backpacking and motorcycling for more than 30 years. But it wasn’t until recently that I, like many others, decided to combine the two with motorcycle camping. Also, I have worked for an outdoor outfitter for 11 years so I have had the ability to test many combinations of gear and brands.
While motorcycle camping is somewhat akin to car camping – in that you don’t actually have to physically carry all of your gear – it is also similar to backpacking in that the size and weight of your gear matters on several fronts.
To cherish the memory of a fallen West Jefferson police officer and to raise proceeds for a trust fund for his children, friends of Tommy Beamer have organized a benefit motorcycle ride in his name for Sunday, July 11 at Warrensville Baptist Church
Registration for the 108-mile scenic ride will begin at noon at the Warrensville Baptist Church. Riders will take to the open highway at 1:30 p.m. when they will begin their journey up Highway 194 into Virginia as they ride through many small, quaint mountain communities including Sturgills, Rugby, Independence, and Delhart. Participants will also have the chance to catch a glimpse of the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains while navigating through the curvy roads and fresh air of the Grayson Highlands Park. The ride will later swing south into Sparta and Laurel Springs before leading riders through the Jeffersons and concluding at the same church where it began.
The event is sponsored by the Benefit for Tommy Committee and will also feature a silent auction. For more information on the ride or how to make donations, contact Roger Blevins at (828) 406-9977 or email Claudia Blevins at claudiamacd@skybest.com. You can also contact Warrensville Baptist Church at 384-3044.
Other information:
Pre-registration is open until August 7th, 2010.
Rain or shine ride NC’s Blue Ridge Parkway and High Country, Southwestern Virginia and Northeastern Tennessee. Welcome all Vintage and Classic riders. Dual sport routes are planned.
Before we could leave the cafe at lunch on our Sinday ride, several phalanx of HD riders fired up and hit the road. Phalanx? Look it up.
I guess in part the upper room at the Cafe acts as a reverb chamber. All we could do was sit there and laugh as one Harley after another fired, revved up, and road off. It was impossible to converse for a period of time. So, I wasn’t going to share this, but after today’s luncheon interruption I changed my mind, go ahead and check it out:
I had shown this video to my son earlier, and got to see him laugh more than I’d seen in quite awhile. So, why is Harley bashing so satisfying? I think this is a fair question, the answers to which may shed light in that dark place of our souls, you know, the place that is responsible for the weird fact that riding is fun at all for grownups. I mean, just because a HD is underpowered, overpriced, doesn’t handle, are often fiddled to make an unholy racket, and have lousy brakes, its still a legitimate form of cycling fun, isn’t it?
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