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Messages - naustin

Pages: 1 [2] 3
16
Off Topic / Re: Hello? Are you there?!
« on: September 19, 2018, 02:59:44 PM »
Google bots crawling the forum and archiving posts for all eternity...

17
Off Topic / Re: Hello? Are you there?!
« on: September 08, 2018, 09:32:15 AM »
I check the forum almost daily - but don’t expect to see new posts.   There are several other FB pages for general discussion.  It seems the forum is primarily for cross posting ride organization for those non-FB folks.  And, occasionally realitively private conversations intended for members only, like this one.

There is a shortage of folks willing to plan and organize rides.  A couple people host several every year - but no one can expect them to do it every weekend...

I think a lot of members either struggle to find time to ride, or ride in 2s or 3s with people they are most comfortable with — and know generally when and where to find each other.  It’s not about excluding people - small groups have a lower profile and attract less attention.  It’s arguably safer, too.   

Most of my riding is solo - and I enjoy it that way.  A lot of that is where I’m located and my preferred timeline isn’t easy to match up with people coming from the Metro.  Although, an occasional group ride is fun. 

I’ve never hosted an organized ride - or even led during a group ride.  It’s a big responsibility to really know where you’re going and not get someone behind you in trouble if you over-cook a corner.  My fear would be offering to host and having 29 bikes show up...  Ideally, 2 or 3 people need to get together and agree in advance to host together and split up the responsibilty of keeping the ride organized, leading/running sweep, etc.  Again, I see that as a big commitment, and many thanks to those that take it on!!


18
General Banter / Re: SW Wis getting hammered by floods again
« on: August 28, 2018, 10:53:17 PM »
Onterio/Rockton is bad too.   Many washed out roads and bridges.  P somewhere near Wildcat was damaged, etc.  Kk south from LaCrosse washed out - I was just on it last week.  Chaseburg basically underwater.  Hard to even know the extent of the damage as the worst will come tonight and early tomorrow in many areas.  Looks like anything south of I-90 is likely best avoided for the rest of the season, at least.  Could be worse than the big flood 10 years ago, they’re saying.

19
General Banter / Re: Yep
« on: August 28, 2018, 01:49:05 PM »
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is not about motorcycles, or about motorcycle maintenance, or about a road trip between a father and son -- though all three of those are described circumstantially.   It is an exploration of the metaphysics of Quality, where ever it can be found, whether in in experiences, endeavors, or relationships.

From Wikipedia:

"In an example of the classical approach, the narrator explains that one must pay continual attention: when the narrator and his friends came into Miles City, Montana[4] he notices that the "engine idle is loping a little", a possible indication that the fuel/air mixture is too rich. The next day he is thinking of this as he is going through his ritual to adjust the valves on his cycle's engine. During the adjustment, he notes that both spark plugs are black, confirming a rich mixture. He recognizes that the higher elevation is causing the engine to run rich. The narrator rectifies this by installing new jets.... and the engine runs well again."

"With this, the book details two types of personalities: those who are interested mostly in gestalts (romantic viewpoints focused on being "in the moment", and not on rational analysis), and those who seek to know details, understand inner workings.... (classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis-a-vis motorcycle maintenance)."

"The narrator aims towards a perception of the world that embraces both sides, the rational and the romantic. This means encompassing "irrational" sources of wisdom and understanding as well as science, reason and technology. In particular, this must include bursts of creativity and intuition that seemingly come from nowhere and are not (in his view) rationally explicable. He seeks to demonstrate that rationality and Zen-like "being in the moment" can harmoniously coexist. He suggests such a combination of rationality and romanticism can potentially bring a higher quality of life."

"It has been noted that Pirsig's romantic/classical dichotomy resembles Nietzsche's Dionysian/Apollonian dichotomy as described in The Birth of Tragedy." 





20
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 17, 2018, 08:22:26 AM »
I don't have a radar detector -- But, I have started using the Waze App for GPS in my car.   It has a social media aspect that allows other users to report locations of police/speed traps and other hazards.   If you are alerted to an upcoming hazard/speed trap, you can Thumbs-up or Thumbs-down to indicate whether it is still there.     The alerts I have gotten have all been very accurate around the Cities with 100s of other Wazers roaming around all the time...    And, even if a trooper is not actively painting radar/laser - the Waze app still alerts you that he was seen in the area by other drivers.

21
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 14, 2018, 02:26:41 PM »
I couldn't get away for the whole day, but I did get out for a couple hours Sunday afternoon and rode from cornfield to cornfield, hitting all seven corners that exist within a 50 mile radius of my house.  At least I had Pandora to keep me entertained.

I passed an immaculate `96 Buick in the ethanol wastelands out of the exit for one of those rare sweepers - pretty sure he couldn't tell you the color of my bike....  Probably called in to report a UFO.  :firevil:

2,700 miles on the PR4s I had mounted by No-Mar at STAR, and the rear is about 2/32 from the wear bars.      These boring, straight, rural MN roads must be made of a mixture of shark teeth and obsidian.  Of Course the same tire gave me almost double the miles on the old ST1300....   I could be abusing the go handle a bit, I guess.  Loving the FJR. 

I have a 1,000 mile 3 day trip planned for a work conference in Chicago in September, spending an extra night in Madison so I can wander home though the good stuff...   Going to have to try and "Vince" these tires in the next couple weeks so I don't let what is left go to waste before fresh rubber goes on in time for the trip!   ;D

22
General Banter / Re: William Dunlop R.I.P.
« on: July 08, 2018, 04:53:20 AM »
Hard to think about Joey, Robert, and now William.  Does his mother now ask Micheal to hang up the leathers?  Michael won the race 48 hours after his father was killed in practice - will he try to do the same for his brother?  William was expecting his second child very soon.   I’ll be thinking about this while I ride today.   :-\

23
Introductions / Re: New member - nickname is Mittens
« on: June 04, 2018, 11:57:06 AM »
MN-MSTA is a sub-chapter of MSTA, which is holding a National Rally in LaCrosse Sun-Thurs.    There are almost 300 people registered, and the host hotel(s) are booked, but rooms still available in nearby hotels.

Are you already registered and booked?   If not, its not too late.   Check-out http://ridemsta.com/srblog/star-2018/ for more info.

24
General Banter / Re: Spring Green aka TWiStar
« on: June 02, 2018, 09:03:47 AM »
I wonder if there is a negative correlation between the particular Meyer's Briggs personality types who are inclined to organize rides, and the types who are actually proficient riders and qualified to do so.

You're a rare bird, Greg.   

 ;)

25
General Banter / Re: Pledge
« on: May 30, 2018, 09:11:47 AM »
Some of us have jobs, so mid week rides are tough.  I did one last year, and will like do more later in the summer/fall when work is less busy for me.  ;)

On the weekends, many of us have wives and kids..... Ditching the family for an entire day on a summer weekend requires about 30 days notice at my house, and also timely reciprocation.  8)


26
General Banter / Re: Riding with others
« on: May 17, 2018, 05:16:36 PM »
Greg, You seem to have a daily thing going on at 7:38 (6:38 actually) AM.    You're not posting while you're on the throne, are you?   ;)




The vast majority of my riding has been solo, and still is.    The enjoyment of riding in a group - for me -  is less about any potential increase in safety, and more about the shared experience and camaraderie.   

I actually think "group" riding (by that I mean more than 2 or 3 bikes) is more dangerous than solo.   This might be simply because I tend to expand my bubble of awareness to encompass the entire group, and find myself mentally accounting for hazards that might affect other riders, even if it doesn't pose a direct threat to me.   As a result, its more fatiguing to ride in a group.   

And when I think of all the group rides I've ever been on, the number of incidents I've witnessed is actually pretty high.   The first group ride I ever participated in shortly after I bought my 1st bike (organized by the dealership) resulted in a guy I sorta knew running wide into a ditch for no reason at all, taking a helicopter ride, and spending the next several months in a body cast.  He did then lose two hundred pounds, so there was a silver lining.  But, that was basically the last "Group" ride I did for 12 years, and all my riding after that was solo, or just with my wife on the pillion until recently. 

Even now that I've started riding with this club occasionally, it seems like almost every ride I've been on, there was something that could have ended badly....  Somebody over cooked a corner stood it up across a double yellow, another guy went off into the gravel shoulder and stopped in the grass (stayed upright and rode on), there were a couple pucker moments passing cars without enough visibility, and who can forget the stand-up wheelies down HWY 61?  ::)  As much as we all say, "Ride your own Ride" -- I think a lot of that wouldn't happen if the riders were solo and actually riding their own ride.

And, don't get me wrong, I enjoy running double the yellow signs through the corners and shrinking the country miles when there is no one around.    99% of the time, and the vast majority of the riders I've met so far are really great people, and I'm looking forward to riding with this club more and improving my own skills following riders better than me.   But, I definitely don't consider the group rides somehow "safer" than riding solo.   Whether its human nature or just multiplication - I feel like the risk level goes up with every additional bike.


27
General Banter / Re: Pledge
« on: May 05, 2018, 07:13:49 AM »
Greg - thanks for putting yourself out to organize!  It’s appreciated and I know there are other folks that have the experience, and know all the roads very well (not me, yet) - but just have a hard time nailing down the time until the last minute.  Also, it’s smart to have two or three people team up to organize something - I know you have had designated “lieutenants” in the past riding clean-up, leading a second group, etc.

I pledge to attend several rides, and will be thinking about how I can help more in the future.

Thanks again!

28
General Banter / Re: Happy Equinox!!
« on: April 14, 2018, 02:12:42 AM »
That joke was a little funny back in the 90s, but it was already old 20 years ago!  Probably you guys were too... ;D

29
General Banter / Re: So close, yet ...
« on: March 16, 2018, 08:32:59 AM »
So, is it the aerodynamics of the fairing that is bugging you, or the handling?    Perhaps a different windscreen would help get rid of the sensation of pushing air out in front of you?   On your CBR, your body may have been in more clean air flowing all around you, while on the new bike with more protective fairings, the net result is that the air is being moved and potentially directed up and into your chest/helmet.  Take the windscreen off entirely and see what it feels like.   Perhaps a different windscreen with a better profile (read less style) would actually help the bike "Slice" through the air better.





30
General Banter / Re: LESS IS MORE
« on: October 11, 2017, 07:52:09 PM »
Congrats on the new bike.  8)

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