It's Why We Do Things Like This

The transmission winds itself up into a whine as I kick the ST from fourth down to third, and coast into a tight, but sweeping 20mph switchback.

Riding the inside edge of the lane, I keep a straight line for as long as I can until the curve leaves me hitting the double-yellow. And then I make my move, dropping my shoulder, bending my elbow, pulling my foot back, and taking a hard lean to the right.

There isn't any time to think, only to do.

The painted lines along the road, along with the wooden posts of the K-rail, are all that I see ahead of me, streaming by like being in a rollercoaster on a 360 degree loop.


Just follow the lines.

Slingshotting out across the lane and over to the outside edge, I've only seconds to prepare for yet another tight turn to the left.

Thought processes in my brain calculates the approach velocity, the body positions itself again, and I make the next move.

It's like I've done all this before in video games as a kid, except this is real. The adrenaline is real, the dangers are very real, and the variables are so many. It's a mental exercise that leaves you feeling exhausted and satiated.


"Ahh!" the sip of a cold Oatmeal Stout inside a darkly lit cafe in the middle of a desert oasis, helps relax the body. The smell of burgers and french fries cooking up in the kitchen, creates a contrasting ambiance from just minutes ago.

After evaluating curves and calculating approach velocity in a relentless assault on the cerebral cortex, I sit back in my chair, close my eyes, take in a few deep breaths, and smell the aroma wafting out of the kitchen. Everything here is sitting still.

It's no wonder why so many riders along Montezuma Valley Rd choose to stop at Carlee's.

I take another swig of the stout.

The meaning of all this I wonder?


The road and the rest stop are inseparably joined. Perhaps Montezuma Valley Rd would not be as great of a road to ride if not for such a relaxing place like Carlee's to unwind, and Carlee's would be just another struggling hole in the wall if not for such a great stretch to road to ride.

To be, at this place and moment in time, in this mood and with this sense of awareness, because the road exists to be ridden, and Carlee's exists to put it all into perspective, is why we do this.

9 comments | Post a Comment

---

The Unwritten Language of Motorcycling

Numbers like 12, 89A, 191, 212, 550 might not mean anything to most people. But when you drop two wheels onto long twisty stretches of asphalt, a pattern emerges from those numbers.

Despite the oceans that separate our continents, and despite the differences in language and culture, there's still an understanding common to all who set out on two wheels. The G-forces that pull you back, the centrifugal-forces that pull you down, the friction of rubber against the road, is a feeling that can't be explained but yet needs no explanation.

"So what were the most memorable points on your trip?" I asked Gary, who was on his last day of a five-month long motorcycle adventure across the United States.

"There was the Million Dollar Highway between Silverton & Ouray (US 550), there was Highway 666 (Coronado Trail US 191), the 89A through Sedona and Jerome, Bryce Canyon in Utah (SR 12), and the Beartooth Highway (US 212)." he answered, though not in those exact same words.

He had just read off some of my all time favorite roads ever. Even though Gary comes from England, from another continent, from another culture, and even though he's traveled all across these United States, the first roads that left his breath were the same roads that I would have spoken of. Gary might have been a foreigner, but I could easily recognize him as one of us.

I smiled and nodded my head in approval.


Later on, Gary was telling me about a moment when he stood at a viewpoint, photographing some really cool twisties, and someone asked him what the heck he was photographing.

There's an old saying, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." But amongst those of us who understand, it doesn't have to be explained.

6 comments | Post a Comment

---

Electric Motorcycles and Freedom

Riding motorcycles has seemingly cultivated a love for freedom within me. It's either that, or I've always had a love for freedom, and naturally gravitated towards riding motorcycles.

In any case, it's no wonder why I love motorcycles that get lots of range on a tank of gas. I like to keep riding and riding and riding.

But where is the freedom in an electric motorcycle if only gets 40 miles range on a charge?

Not all electric motorcycles are so limited, the Mission One, produced by Mission Motors, can go up to 150 miles range on a charge. However, it takes about 2 hours to recharge. Not quite practical when doing a month-long trip to Alaska and back.

Mission One Electric Motorcycle, Mission Motor Company

Today the California Energy Commission reported that it awarded $9.6 million to eight different companies, which includes $505,000 to the said Mission Motors to help bring its electric motorcycle to market.

The California Energy Commission, is of course, a California State agency funded by taxpayer dollars.

Perhaps there's a market for electric motorcycles as a commuter vehicle, but until technology can improve to a point where electric motorcycles can get 200+ miles range, and recharge in the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas, there just isn't going to be a market for such vehicles for touring, or even weekend joy riding.

And if I pull into an electric charging station, will it cost me more recharge than to buy a tank of gas?

And are electric motorcycles truly "green" if it requires electric utilities to burn more diesel and coal to generate more electricity?

I don't know.

At this stage of my riding interest, I don't care about exhaust sound anymore. I can accept an electric motorcycle, as long as it contributes to my enjoyment of freedom. But a 2 hour recharge? Not likely.

8 comments | Post a Comment

---