Stepped Over The Racing Line

Stand Up and Be Counted...Alone

2010-09-29T22:09:00.000-04:00

Well, we've gone through the "Loud Pipes" thing in The Motorcycle Times. I've had hate letters from both the Loud Pipe guys and, believe it or not, a guy who completely agreed with my opinions, but only read the headline "Loud Pipes Save Lives," and, before he took the time to read the story and understood that it was sarcasm, lost it and sent me a hate e-mail. I offered him the opportunity to apologise, but I guess he's too embarrassed to reply.

Funny how so many people react aggressively when having to contemplate differing opinions. The Harley Bunch think that anyone who doesn't ride a Harley isn't thinking right. And they will often go out of their way to let you know. Hmmmm. Everyone making the same choices would be pretty boring. Many BMW riders like to think that every rider secretly wishes to own one. Eh, not so much.

Why is it, that many of us are either not strong enough in our choices to stand by them without support. When we make a purchase, we want all our friends to tell us we did right. If I wanted everyone to do what I do, I would say, "Simon Says," before I did anything.

The point I am trying to make is, as motorcyclists, we like to think of ourselves by the old stereotypical "Lone Wolf," or the "Rugged Individuallists." That only works IF YOU CAN STAND ON YOUR OWN!!!!!

Where to Go Next

2010-07-07T21:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I've been MIA for a while. Sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, I haven't been riding a whole lot. The racing season began and my free time dissolved.

As some readers know, I earn part of my living announcing Motorcycle roadracing and I am fortunate to be the series announcer for SOAR at Cayuga, RACE at Shannonville and VRRA at Shannonville and Mosport. Add into the mix that we have spent the last two holiday weekends at Varney Speedway near Mount Forest watching friends compete in stock cars (and watching Eva race in the Women's Challenge), and you can see perhaps my bike doesn't get a lot of attention. Time to change that.

Two years ago, Eva and I got on our bikes (KLR 650s) and headed north west. When we ended the ride, we had spent 4 weeks and 14,000 kilometres travelling to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. We took the scenic route through smaller towns, stopping when we wanted and meeting some terrific people along the way. If I could earn my living doing trips like that fulltime, I would learn once again to exist on Kraft Dinner.

Here comes the point of this verbal overload: I am trying to come up with a destination that I can plan my next trip to. It has to be reachable and home again in 3 weeks. It has to be a place that I've never been before and it has to offer a bit of a challenge. Oh yeah, it has to have a great ride to get there. After all, it really IS about the ride.

I am looking for a few suggestions...for a destination, not how to live my life. The trip will be next year, but I will enjoy spending my evenings planning, dreaming etc, so I am starting to think now. Hmmmmm.Better dig out the camping gear.

By the way, if you have never been to a motorcycle road race, you have missed out. Your parents let you down. You have bad karma. It's time to change all that. Check the web pages listed beside this article and write the schedules for SOAR, RACE and VRRA, and GET YER BUTTS TO THE TRACK!!! Then, if you don't want to get out on the track and race, (you will) take a look at being a marshall.

I'm at Cayuga this weekend and Shannonville the next.

See ya there.

LET'S GO...RACING!!!!!

2010-04-25T19:51:00.000-04:00

Just sitting on the couch, watching the Seattle Supercross, and in suddenly occurred to me that this is the last weekend until July, that I will be able to do this. Next weekend, the roadracing season starts!!!!

Next Saturday, bright and early, I will, for the first time, take my place in the tower at Shannonville to announce a R.A.C.E. event. The track that my on-track life began, I cut my teeth later as a referee, and now, I have the priviledge of being "The Voice."

It was about 8 or 9 years ago, that I used to sit in the tower and listen to Frank Wood, the man that I think of as one of the best motorsports announcers anywhere, and feed him info on the riders that I knew. I was writing for Inside Motorcycles magazine (a gig that he had set me up with.)and every so often, when the action stopped on the track, he would turn the mic on me. I became comfortable speaking with Frank as long as he asked questions. When he suggested that I branch out to announce races on my own, I laughed and said "no thanks." A couple of weeks later, Frank had talked me into doing a VRRA event that he couldn't make and I was there.

A number of seasons with the VRRA series built my confidence enough to try for more work in other series' and Ken and Tracey at SOAR took a chance on me. Now, I have the best of all worlds. Three different tracks, three organizations and all the racing I need...Except for May two four at Varney Speedway for the stock car races...and running to Brighton Speedway every so often for the dirt stocks..and, well, you get the picture. I've got it bad.

This week, Shannonville. Next week, Cayuga. Then Shannonville, then Varney...Love it.

Anyway, get up off your collective behinds, check the schedules, and join me at the track of your choice. The first blog reader who comes up to me at the openning weekends at both RACE and SOAR can get on mic with me for a heat race. You can join in or sit back and hang out. Either way, I know you'll have a good time. If you have never been to a race...you'll be instantly hooked.

Here comes the racing season

2010-04-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

I know... I've been MIA for a couple of weeks, but I have an excuse: Racing season is almost here. Yes, it is true that I don't have a race bike and I spend most of my time at the track with a microphone in my hand but that doesn't mean I have no prep to do. First, there's the minibike. I've had enough of trying to run to the washroom at Cayuga between races, so I cleaned up the old Z50 my kids learned to ride on (and I got a concussion on, but that's another story. I'm much more mature now). Now, I can travel in style around the pit and I don't have to "hold it" until I have time to walk. Mmmmmmmm.

I also began to repair the old (1972) tent trailer that Eva, Bentley (the dog) and I stay in at the track. Just a couple of leaks to seal and we are on our way, right? Ah, does anyone know of a nice tent trailer for sale? No, really. I think that 38 years may be the limit for the old thing. We need another home away from home, towable behind a Dodge Dakota and cheap enough for me...I am Scottish, you know.

Other than that, I am ready to go racing. The bike shows started it, then came the e-mails, then the forums and, well, it really doesn't go away, does it. There is actually no place that I feel more at home than a race track. The people (well most of them), the noise, and the excitement. It's in the blood, hell, it is my blood. Cannot wait.

What? You have never been to a motorcycle roadrace? You have never tried to recalibrate your vision to the blur that is a superbike? Wondered how riders can drag a knee, perhaps an elbow in a corner? Chatted with the riders at their pit (you can't do THAT at most car races) And perhaps find yourself more involved in a sport that you ever have before? Time to turn off that video game, shut off the tv and grab your camera and get your behind to the track. In Ontario, you can watch roadracing at Toronto Motorsport Park (we know it as Cayuga) with S0AR, Shannonville Motorsport Park with RACE, at Shannonville, North Bay and Mosport International Raceway with the VRRA or you can catch the National weekend at Mosport. Check my links or Google the organizations for schedules and directions. Most venues offer free camping, so you can stay right in the middle of the race experience. DO IT!!!

Speaking of the experience, check the next issue of The Motorcycle News for an article about Dave and Stacey Hatch at Whistle Stop Productions. They are the people behind one of the best television shows on TV: The Motorcycle Experience. Get a look at how the show came to be and just what's in it for you.

More to follow. Back to looking for a tent trailer.

I Can't Hear You. There's a Motorcycle Running

2010-04-02T21:31:00.000-04:00

Sitting here in a cottage, deep in the heart of Ipperwash, the thoughts begin to wander through.The crickets are singing their evening lullaby. The tired-out dog, asleep on my feet and my partner drowsing beside me. It has been a wonderful day.
It is indeed the first time in weeks that I have been so totally relaxed that I have no thoughts of work, of household repairs. No radio, no TV, no cell phone. Absolutely no man-made sounds.....Except for that guy blasting by on his open-piped V-twin.

What the bleepin hell? Why is it that he got the thought in his mind that I so desperately needed to hear how badly his mechanic tuned his bike. Why does he believe that it is okay for him to wake up half of cottage country so that he can feel like The Man? I don't care what bike he's on. I would be equally ticked if he was on an inline four cylinder machine with an open header. There's a time and place for everything and this isn't it.

Think about this: I am a motorcycle nut.I love all the bikes out there including the tuned performance machines. But if that got under my skin, what about the other people around. What about the folks who would just as soon legislate motorcycle of the road completely? What if that guy's exhaust pipe recital was the last straw for someone who has just enough political push to make trouble for all of us? Think our democratic political process will always protect us? Then explain to me why McGinty is still in power.

If you have a loud pipe and you want to enjoy it, just keep it within reason at night. The only reason to whack that throttle to the stop in the middle of the night is that her husband came home unexpectedly, and if that happens, be a man and face him.

We live in a reasonably free society, but that freedom has some compromises. One of them is that we all have to consider our neighbours. I really don't like it when I bring a conversation to motorcycles (and I do) and someone says, "Oh I hate those things." (And they do). It's an uphill battle.

The Motorcycle Times

2010-03-20T22:05:00.001-04:00

Considering the small population here in Canada, and the resulting smaller number of motorcycle enthusiasts that we have, we are incredibly well served by the number of Canadian enthusiast publications available to us. Sportbikes, cruisers, off-road, touring, motocross, old bikes, new bikes and even mini-bikes all have their own magazines. As long as you can read (or at least look at pictures), you can give a credit card number, send a cheque or hand over cash and get your choice of specialist print...Cool!

Here's a deal. How about a free (That is F-R-E-E. Honest) subscription to The Motorcycle News? How many things in motorcycling are free? This is.

Just to the right of this blog page is a link that will take you to The Motorcycle News webpage. Check it out, then click on the Free Subscribe link, or email your mailing address to this email address aanchor@metrolandwest.com. You won't be disappointed. Besides, I write for it.

62 Kilometres

2010-03-16T20:50:00.000-04:00

Every so often, we, as riders, will suddenly find ourselves contemplating our reasons for riding.It could be that a non-rider has asked or perhaps a family member's worries for our safety has come to the forefront. It might even be the thought of selling the bike that you didn't have time to ride last season. We are a philosophical bunch. Deep thinkers. Cerebral, even.

"It clears my mind," we'll say, or "If you have to ask, I can't explain." Yeah, that's always a good one, especially when said with a slight, far-away look in your eyes. It kind of makes us feel special. I once had the proud new owner of a CB175 say, with the requisite far away look, the mystical tone to his voice, "All motorcycle riders are my brothers." The other friend, looking down at his Keystone minibike, said, "I guess I'm your sister, then."

Let's get into then. A neighbour of mine once asked, with the "You must have a death wish" attitude, "Why would you even get on that thing?" I refrained from the answer that first came to mind. (I thought he was asking for suggestions about his wife.) I looked at his car and told him that I ride bikes for the opposite reason he owned a Volvo. The world doesn't terrify me.

The reasons are different for every rider. Many ride to be a part of something bigger. How often do you see one Harley? Some like the speed of racing, off road, roadracing, ice even. Some may even do it as a way to see the world...We'll get into the wonders of a KLR650 in a later episode. The point is maybe we can't really put it into words, but trying to make it exclusionary, hurts us.

We need more people riding to make the Volvo drivers of the world expect to see us on the road. We need more riders to fight legislation that could curb our abilities to ride, and we need more riders to strengthen the manufacturers, so that we continue to have choices when it is time to buy a new bike.

What started this? I went for my first ride of the year today. As I geared up, I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this? Why is it worth all this struggle to get ready, with buckles, straps and zippers?

I went out for a while. It was cold,so I wasn't out long. I only rode 62 kilometres, but as I wheeled into my driveway, around the truck and down to my garage, I had my answer. Why do I do it?

I like to ride.

Hello?

2010-03-15T19:28:00.002-04:00

So...This a blog...Imagine, a heavily opinionated, crusty, old rider with a place to tell anyone who wanders by, exactly how I feel about, well, anything. Hmmm.

Here's the deal: I'll throw my stories, comments, thoughts and accusations into this space. You can read it and disagree, agree, make comment or just pass by. I will try to make it interesting and fun,but I don't intend to pull any punches. If I think something isn't right, I'll say it. If nothing else, maybe we'll get some thinking going on. Bottom line is we are all motorcycle nuts, so we do have the foundation for conversation.

Let's have some fun with it.