sgallaty
Antihero
I lived in San Francisco for many years and had the extreme good fortune to associate with a lot of rat bikers, garage mechanics, sport nuts, squirrels, amateur racers and all sorts of other folks - and those people drew me in to a world of pushing bikes to the limit in all sorts of fun ways.
One of the first things they did when I expressed interest was to hand me a dog-eared copy of "A twist of the Wrist" see here.
It talks a great deal about handling, but also about something even more critically important which is situational awareness, and where to focus your attention so that you are 'in the moment' as the moment arises.
I can honestly say that I probably owe my life or at least my ability to walk and ride to this book, because by following the guidelines I was able to cope with a head on collision and avoid getting trapped between my bike and the vehicle that ran a stop sign.
It sounds unlikely, but in that moment I put my full attention in the right place, gauged the driver's intent, and was able to start taking corrective actions as the car's brake lights extinguished and they began to accelerate into my right of way from a stop sign on a side street to my right.
I ended up jumping clear of my bike and bouncing off of the car's hood, and doing a roll on the ground on the other side. Were it not for leathers, helmet and Held gloves I would have torn a lot of skin off of my body and probably suffered a concussion or worse as well.
Without the knowledge and practice I gained from pushing my limits on the bike, that driver might have killed me. I want to share that with each and every one of you.
We're all free, but be free armed with informed decisions. If you want to be reckless after that, then do so.
One of the first things they did when I expressed interest was to hand me a dog-eared copy of "A twist of the Wrist" see here.
It talks a great deal about handling, but also about something even more critically important which is situational awareness, and where to focus your attention so that you are 'in the moment' as the moment arises.
I can honestly say that I probably owe my life or at least my ability to walk and ride to this book, because by following the guidelines I was able to cope with a head on collision and avoid getting trapped between my bike and the vehicle that ran a stop sign.
It sounds unlikely, but in that moment I put my full attention in the right place, gauged the driver's intent, and was able to start taking corrective actions as the car's brake lights extinguished and they began to accelerate into my right of way from a stop sign on a side street to my right.
I ended up jumping clear of my bike and bouncing off of the car's hood, and doing a roll on the ground on the other side. Were it not for leathers, helmet and Held gloves I would have torn a lot of skin off of my body and probably suffered a concussion or worse as well.
Without the knowledge and practice I gained from pushing my limits on the bike, that driver might have killed me. I want to share that with each and every one of you.
We're all free, but be free armed with informed decisions. If you want to be reckless after that, then do so.
