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Messages - Greg

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31
General Banter / Very rare HWY 7 bliss
« on: September 18, 2018, 05:42:32 PM »
Using highway 7 from Jasper to Harrison is often troublesome. A great stretch of road, but almost always cluttered.  I often use it as either the first or last 20 miles of a route getting in or out if Harrison.
Well, today we had it almost all to ourselves and brand new pavement as well. Road Gods smiled on us today.




32
Off Topic / Re: Hello? Are you there?!
« on: September 08, 2018, 11:30:47 AM »
I 2nd a lot of Naustin's points. Over the last several years the participation level here at the forum has dropped significantly. Prior to last year there were several of us that scheduled "open" forum rides. As of this year only myself and one other person has done so. Part of that decline is due to the factors Nick mentioned, as well as people retiring, having kids, losing interest, etc ...
I do depart from Nick in the sense that although I have done a lot of solo riding, I prefer riding with like-minded riders.
Given motorcycling is inherently a personalized endeavor, peoples definitions of what a "group" ride is can differ greatly. A group ride could be 20 miles there and back at posted speeds to a lunch spot, it could be 350 miles of very spirited twisties following a route sheet with stops every 70-80 miles (my favorite), or anything in between.
One of the ways this organization has dealt with that difference of opinion about group rides is for the organizer to clarify up front what type of ride they like, as well as stressing every rider is responsible for his/her own choices.
Perhaps this is more information than you needed (lol), but I hope it helps some. And feel free to organize a ride!  ?

Greg

PS. More nonsense on this topic. http://mn-msta.com/index.php/topic,1967.0.html

PSS. Find us on FB too. More activity there.

33
General Banter / Re: Yep
« on: August 28, 2018, 03:24:43 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." 






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.

Yep. Be. Zen.
Eat sleep ride, repeat.
Very few things in life have had this effect on me like motorcycling has. This learning curve has also taught me how to focus on "BEing" in the moment in other areas of life as well. It's very spiritually freeing.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-p

34
General Banter / Re: Yep
« on: August 28, 2018, 07:48:27 AM »
"Empty head...............personally when I ride, my head is always full......... I am positive I would not ride if my head was empty, way too much information to soak in and make actions from"

Sorry to have to state the obvious :). I mean "empty" of other thoughts. Head is strictly focused on one task, riding. A common thread for decades among motorcyclists is this central point. The "zen" like experience of BEing in the moment, empty head of other thoughts, focusing on one task. Pretty sure there is even a very famous book explain this. https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469

35
General Banter / Re: Yep
« on: August 26, 2018, 09:56:46 PM »
no, just random musings.

36
General Banter / Yep
« on: August 25, 2018, 02:10:23 PM »
Go fast, curvy roads, empty head, fill soul, BE!


 

37
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 18, 2018, 05:55:36 AM »
What do we do when we group ride.
Pace
Safe following distance
Ride your on ride.
You know.

Ahhh. Well, they were driving mostly in a straight line so the rules that apply to us don't to them I guess. They were pretty close to each other.

38
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 17, 2018, 10:24:18 PM »
I wonder if these cars were part of those "elite speeders" the local press has talked about recently. Given there was a large group of these high-end cars, they clearly were organized in some way. 

I take it that they were pace driving and keeping a safe distance between cars. They were driving their own drive right.

You're being way too cryptic for my tired brain this evening. What does that mean and how does it relate to the exotic high-end speeders? :)

39
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 17, 2018, 07:43:26 AM »
A crazy thing happened to me on HWY 52 as I was heading home from this ride. Just south of the Koch refinery a beautiful red Mercedes S 560(?) coupe came up behind me at a fast clip. I merged over to the right and not only was this Mercedes behind me, but a long string of at least a dozen super high-end cars zipped passed me at 80+mph. Mercedes, Bentley, Nissan GT-R, Porsche, BMW 7 series, etc .... .   Within a mile I came up behind them as they had slowed down to posted speeds. Beneath the overpass on the shoulder were 2(!) State Patrol waiting. Everyone's radar detectors had gone off. My guess is they had been running these speeds all afternoon and LEO had received calls from motorists and/or other squads had seen them but not been able to lock them on radar. I wonder if these cars were part of those "elite speeders" the local press has talked about recently. Given there was a large group of these high-end cars, they clearly were organized in some way. 

40
General Banter / Re: It's not my ride.
« on: August 14, 2018, 06:01:44 AM »
Interesting reads. Proof positive that "alternative facts" really do exist.  :)   
Also: Just to be clear, I've heard there was some grumbling somewhere about not hearing about the ride. I went through my friends list at the FB and invited all the riders I know. Didn't mean to willfully exclude anyone, so by definition it wasn't a "posted" ride.

Avoiding the po po is always more impressive.  :P

Until next time mates,
Greg not STeve

41
General Banter / Re: The "Devil Child" on top AGAIN!!??
« on: July 16, 2018, 11:38:18 AM »
OOPS!! I did a Vince??
Nope, it was you. :)

42
For Sale/Wanted to Buy / Re: FS: 2016 BMW S1000RR Premium
« on: June 23, 2018, 08:16:48 PM »
Sold.

-John

Good for you! What's next?

44
General Banter / Re: Colour me old...
« on: June 18, 2018, 07:41:52 PM »
  I'm curious as to the area that this ride took in-rural?  In the very old days(70s) riding with WBMC we'd be side by side. Those of us of the "Café" bent would go on ahead or play catch up so as to not mess up the pack. Having meeting points in town will attract some who want the negative style activity. My meetups being 100mi away don't fit in with their idea of fun. We've had a bad few weeks with the young fellow's "suicide by sport bike" and the 5 others just recently. Making folks wear proper gear would probably be as tough as taking  the AKs & ARs away.  OK,2 cents from Oldheimer.  P.S. What's the MORTAL COIL?

Per Wiki: Mortal coil is a poetic term for the troubles of daily life and the strife and suffering of the world. It is used in the sense of a burden to be carried or abandoned. To "shuffle off this mortal coil" is to die, as in the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_coil

45
General Banter / Re: Colour me old...
« on: June 18, 2018, 07:37:30 PM »
It was less the speed limits as I understand that some riders can handle corners better than others and it's more enjoyable to push sport bikes towards their limits, it's just blatantly ignoring the fact that we were supposed to be running staggered and riding tandem with complete strangers on very different machines, even through corners.  Passing in the same lane, etc.  I'm just amazed that people would run 2ft away from a stranger throughout the corners, even when I was clearly trying to keep a reasonable distance from the rider ahead of myself as well as trying to run solo through the corners in the event I might need to run wide to avoid an obstacle.

Understood! I can picture all of those behaviors in my mind, have seen them in one place or another over the years. Thankfully not on rides posted here.  :)

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