The Five Deadly Attitudes

I probably don't need to tell you this, but I'm going to anyway, just in case you've gotten cozy and complacent in your motorcycling habits: riding a motorcycle is risky.  Most bikers will tell you, if they're being honest, that the risk is part of thrill.  But those same bikers, assuming they aren't raging idiots, will also tell you that risk management is a major part of living to become an old biker.

Speaking of attitude...

I've borrowed a bit of wisdom from aviation in the past, since aviation is as much, if not more, about risk management as motorcycling.  In my curiosity, I've come across a bit more wisdom that is just as valid for those of us flying at low altitudes: The Five Deadly Attitudes.

Deadly Attitude Number One: Resignation

"What's the use? I give up," or, "I'd better lay the bike down."  Resignation is giving in like a whiny little jerk.  There's no place for resignation on a motorcycle.  You've got to stay in control, or if you discover you're not in control, get it back.  If you're going to go down, at least go down trying your best not to.  Don't just watch it happen.  

Deadly Attitude Number Two: Anti-Authority

"Why should I listen to you?"  Note that this is not the same thing as questioning authority.  This is refusing to do something just because someone else told you to do it, and vice versa.  Maybe you've been sitting at a red light that won't change for five minutes and you get a bit frustrated, and decide you know what's best, so you take a quick glance to see if anyone is coming and just go.

Deadly Attitude Number Three: Impulsiveness

"Do it now."  This is the belief that doing something is better than doing nothing.  I think this comes along when one has already made a mess of other bad choices.  If you're keeping SIPDE (Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute) in mind, you should rarely if ever have to do anything without a seconds thought.

Deadly Attitude Number Four: Invulnerability

"It won't happen to me."  The belief that only other guys crash when doing an 80 MPH wheelie down the freeway.  Or that you don't need to wear protective gear because you're not going to crash.  It can happen to you, so take care that it doesn't.  Every now and then, you need to take a second and remember that riding a motorcycle is still risky, and stupidity is frequently rewarded with lots of pain.

Deadly Attitude Number Five: Macho

"I can do this!"  For example, declaring you can make it home despite the tornado warning and hard rain reducing the visibility down to twenty feet.  Or that you can ride across Death Valley in the mid-day heat in July, no problem.  Maybe you can.  Maybe it's still stupid to do it.  If you find yourself wanting to prove how tough you are, that should set off a little alarm in your head telling you to think for a minute.

I suspect we've all been guilty of one or two of these.  Sometimes, we've got to step back and ask ourselves if we're sure we're being rational and safe.  It is, after all, possible to ride hard and ride safely at the same time.

What are your thoughts?

Shaking Off The Dust

Hi there.  Sorry for the dearth of posts lately.  Blame it on too much thinking about the existential nature of motorcycles and not enough writing about hooning around town on them.  I've got a nice post in the works that should be up soon - I just have to shine it up a bit.

In the meantime, I've just got to say that, wow, was the weather ever perfect this morning.  I very seriously considered calling in and going to work late today just so I could buzz around a little more.  As I mentioned in my previous post, The Heat has returned to Phoenix, so it's important to enjoy every little bit of tolerable fresh air while I can.

Return of The Heat

Those of us living in the desert wastes just got to enjoy a final, glorious weekend with perfect temperatures.  Of course, now we're hosed.

Yes, the Heat* is returning to the desert.  While those of you in colder climates are celebrating the thawing of lakes and such, please toast the poor souls here in the southwest doing our parts to keep you guys warm.

As for me, I'm going to have to admit that it's actually time to start wearing my summer gear.  It looks like we're going to hit three digit temperatures next weekend - which says to me that next weekend will be an excellent weekend to get out of town. 

Anyway, to make the best of the upcoming Heat, here's a post from last summer for your enjoyment:  Five Tips For Riding In Oppressive Summer Heat.


* The summer weather in Phoenix is a proper noun

The VX800 is Gone



Trailer queen?

 On Friday night the VX800 shipped off to its new home.  The new owner apparently didn't waste any time getting to work on it, and had it running again the following morning.  He's promised photos when the bike is roadworthy again.

Suddenly, there is a lot of room in my garage.  Kind of gets the old brain churning a bit.  Kind of makes a fella feel like undertaking a new project.

Maybe a sailboat.

Nah.

Did You Know About This?

Apparently, Honda builds choppers now, and has been doing so for a while.  I guess I'm not paying enough attention to current motorcycle news - particularly motorcycle news related to choppers.

So, if you want an inexpensive chopper that looks reasonably good, maybe the Honda Fury is for you.  Do people still like choppers?  I get the impression that the chopper fad has passed, again, at least until it comes back around in 10 years.

VX800 Headed For A New Home



Still a sweet bike.

 After several years of not working on the VX800, I have had to admit to myself that it's a project I'm just not going to finish.  As such, I listed it for sale on the VX800 forum, and someone right here in Phoenix took interest immediately.

A gentleman who owns another VX800 stopped by on Sunday to check it out, and unless things change, will be back later this week to pick it up.  As I understand it, his plan is to fix it up and then give it to his brother.

I'm glad it's going to someone who has a passion for the VX800.  I still think it's a really, really cool bike.  Of course, I think every bike is a really, really cool bike, so I guess maybe I'm not the best judge.  All the same, I'm going to be sad to see it go.

Can Good Pizza Be Made In The Back Of A Truck?

Say, that's a sweet bike.

It was recently brought to my attention that right here in Phoenix there is a weekly gathering of food trucks just a few short blocks from my place of employment.  Food trucks that have, you know, good food.  I didn't see anyone dishing up nachos with cheese that comes from a can.*

Lady Luck and I made plans to meet up at this food truck rally, along with a few friends.  It only seemed proper to ride the Vespa to such an occasion, and I was glad I did.  Parking was slightly confusing (but ample), and I wouldn't have been able to pull off some of the maneuvers I did if I'd been on the Triumph instead of the scooter.

There were roughly ten trucks in attendance.  Among our group we tried a decent Indian Fry Bread, some killer corn dogs and bratwurst, excellent jambalya and totally excellent ice cream.

But enough about those inferior foods.  I hear you asking, "What about the damn pizza?"



If I had to drive a truck...

The Pizza People truck was in attendance.  I couldn't see all of the inner workings, but based on their menu options, I suspect they make each pizza to order.  It took about 10 minutes between ordering and getting my pie.

I ordered the "Testosteroni," which is a dumb name**, in my always humble opinion, but a good pizza.  As you might imagine, it was meaty.  If I recall correctly, pepperoni, sausage and hamburger, along with black olives and mushrooms.  The real star was the crust, which was chewy and crunchy in exactly the right ways, and far too good to come out of a truck.  I would gladly eat it again, so to answer the question in the title, yes, good pizza can be made in a truck.

Adding to the festive food truck atmosphere was one of the local classic rock stations.  They were pumping the greatest hits of the 80's as we ate.  One of the DJs came by our table and tried to get us to record one of those "Hi, I'm Joe Smith and you're listening to Morning Breath with Micky Mac and The Nibblin, on 99.5 KLMN!" station identifiers they always insist on playing over the intro or outro to your favorite song.  Since we wouldn't do that, they asked us if we had a story we could tell about something that happened while listening to a song by one of the bands on a list.

What an adorable little pizza

I was sorely tempted to make up a story about blasting "Don't Stop Believin'," by Journey, on the stereo of my Ford Escort station wagon back in 1989 when I killed a man in Reno just to watch him die, and how I then buried him in the desert to the strains of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," by U2.  And then mention what good timing that was, since the body has yet to be found.

However, that's hardly appropriate lunch-time conversation, so I decided a simple "No thanks," would be the most appropriate response.

In all, a fun lunch-time expedition.  The rise of high class food trucks seems like a good thing to me.  I hope it continues.  Word on the street, though, is that chain restaurants are muscling in on the food truck action, and soon we'll have to contend with an Applebee's food truck instead of one run by a few passionate people.  Sad.

* Not that there's anything wrong with cheap nachos, you understand.  If I had my day, my four basic food groups would be pizza, burgers, cheap nachos and hot wings. 

** Were you able to figure out how to say "Testosteroni" right away?  It took me a couple tries before I got up the nerve to actually order it.  But maybe I'm just special.