[17416]

What does that guy Townsend mean, saying something about riding until he's 65?? Hasn't he heard the saying, "You don't quit riding because you're old, you get old because you quit riding!" Or at least he doesn't believe it.



I turned 69 years old (stop snickering, there in the back row) day before yesterday, and took my recently repaired '70 Triumph T100C out for a 150 mile spin. Aside from seeing a dead elk beside I-70 (the car that hit it had been towed away, just as well for everyone's morale) and a little surging at low speed (still have to diddle the carburetor to make it happy at 10,000 feet), it was a great ride.



I'll have to plan something more elaborate for my 70'th birthday, next year.. How about getting Gabe or one of the other MO staffers to arrange a test ride on one of the new machines they keep testing. Don't they need the "experienced" point of view?

 

[56599]

Great idea! This Colorado boy salutes you..

 

[36284]

AS a sixty year-old, I can only say "what the hell is he talking about?" Paul Newman won at Le Mans at the age of 69. There were other drivers, to be sure, probably faster than him, but doing the wrong thing quickly is not as good as doing the right thing a little slow. On a good, day, you are focused as good as ever. On a bad day, you just don't have it, and the wisdom to know the difference is what you should bring to the party. If you haven't learned that from experience, you should never have gotten on a motorcycle in the first place.

 

[pdad13]

I'm a pretty strong believer that the key to keeping your motor skills sharp as you age--or at least keeping them sharper, longer-- is to use them. Unfortunately, most people believe the way to live forever is to lock themselves up in a nerf palace.



Motorcycling will always be dangerous, but I wonder how much lower the accident rate would be if every rider took it more seriously, got some form of traiining and actually practiced critical skills.



Over the weekend I saw some dumbass pull out of a dealership on his brand new cruiser, dragging feet the whole way. Five minutes later I saw him ride back past the dealership, run straight through a fork, over a curb, through a grassy area, into a busy gas station, and straight into a parked car at around 30 mph. Total brain lock. Total panic. He never closed the throttle. Never used the brakes. He had no idea how to control the bike.



His five minute-old bike was completely totalled. I've never seen something so stupid in person.



Fortunately, he seemed to have escaped serious injury. But if not for his advanced braking technique--a stationary red Hyundai--he might have killed someone aside from himself.

 

[BillyO]

On Sunday,May 21,I rode w/a fellow in his eighties.He`s been rding since World War II.

During that war he flew Corsairs from Carriers in the Pacific

I`m 61 and ride all I can.THEN and ONLY then do I find time to play golf.

Also I`m a contractor,veteran,and married 33 years.

Bought my first motorcycle on the day JFK was assassinated.

The first Motorcycle blessing of any consequence was and is still held every year in Colebrook,NH.

Come on up you heathens and receive the baby Jesus in your hearts and get your asses saved.Do I hear an AMEN.

 

[Auphliam]

The Murrysville Alliance Church in Murrysville, PA have a real good annual event. This year was the 10th annual and attendance estimates were somewhere around 3500+. I'm lucky to live in a community where the politicians, police and people embrace motorcyclists.

Lookie here

http://dougandbonnie.com/blessingofthebikes2006.html

They also have their own club

http://www.macriders.org/

 

[5117]

Saying we need to look to God when a rider mysteriously crosses 3 lanes of traffic and smacks a guard rail says a lot about American motorcycling mentality.



ANYTHING to ignore skills, practice, and personal responsibility... "God did it", "Motorcycles are dangerous", "Everyone is going to go down"... Yikes!

 

[bbtowns]

I once toured BC with two sets of golf clubs strapped to my bike (my buddy was on a VFR with no luggage and could barely carry his camping gear). No reason one has to exclude the other. Go play Preadator Ridge up there, it's a great course and reasonable $.

 

[seruzawa]

If you thought religious wars or motorcycle flamewars were bad just wait until you see religious motorcycle wars.



KPaul can be the first heretic burned at the stake for spouting anti-VTwin heresy.



Everyone knows that God rides a Harley, but that Jesus rides a Ducati. I think that Buddha rides a Honda Benly.

 

[33129]

After I've crossed my "t"s, and dotted my "i"s, I say a little prayer for me. Will God still honor his blessing if I break the law? Praying for "God speed" may get me in deeper than I bargained for.

 

[35244]

I have a feeling The Buddha rides something a bit more sublime than a Benly...he rides a '79 CX500 with milk crate of solid unobtainium. Joe Glydon rides pillion...

 

[56599]

The Devel Rides an inline 4

The Devil rides a ZX-14 I think a triple (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) is blessed by definition.

 

[seruzawa]

Hmmm. On second thought maybe Buddha rides a Royal Enfield.....

 

[dragcab]

Maybe this is a little off topic, but the article did refer to motorcycling as a sport. Yes, a motorcycle can be used for sport, obviously, in many forms of racing, but riding my bike to work or to a customers house is actually just transportation, or at best, an activity. When I drive my car or van to work I certainly don't think of that as a sport. If I took my car to a race track, that's different. O.K., maybe it is a bit trivial, but there are a great many activities that you do every day like walking, driving, eating, or anything else, that are just activities, but if put in the form of competition can become a sport, even competitive eating (tsk). A guy with a beer belly, wallet leash and a Harley does not look like a sportsman to me.

Hey, just my 2 cents.

 

[mscuddy]

Re: A Beer, a doobie & a shot of tequila

..that's my church...(burp)...