Crowding the Interesection DOES NOT get you out there any faster...

No but is scares the "bejeebers" out of the OLD Guys.. I think that's why they do it. I'm a Vulcan Rider as well VROC_9570, and yes I'm a old guy..funny how you get morbid as you get older.. things scare you a lot more. You realize your not super Hero Material..

Teflon Pogo

Shortly before my recent trip to Brazil I noticed a highly customized Goldwing with an older couple aboard ride past me on US41. He was cruising well below the limit from what I could tell as he went by. I had just stopped to chat with a friend I had spotted.

A few moments later as I rode down 41 in the same direction I saw the red and blue lights. Some moron ran a stop sign and broad-sided the bike. The ambulance station was only a few blocks away so they already had the body covered. Sad.

Odds are the cage driver probably said, "I didn't see the motorcycle, officer," even though that bike was lit up like Christmas in Times Square.

Riding in Brazil I notice that many cagers will actually give "motos" a little space to glide past them though they all drive like Mario Andretti.

I have not been all over the world, but the few places I've been tell me US drivers seem to be the worst. Same from other folks I know who have been a few more places.

I'm north of the US border, bikes are dangerous to be on for the first month of the season till Cagers catch on to share the road. I've found Floridian to be the best "aware" as biking is a year round thing. One things that we all have in common" That Bloody Cell Phone", as a Biz man I find it invaluable as a tool, as a Biker is is the single most thing that I fear... there is no second chance on a bike as you are well aware..

I think it won't be long that some form of legislature comes into affect to regulate it use behind the wheel of a car. I've sen countless people whom can't chew gum and walk at the same time yet feel quite comfortable driving a 3.5 ton object at 75Mph with a cell phone in ones ear... throw in a cigarette and screeming kids in the back seat.. Makes me want to go out and buy a Tank! ha ha..

This is just my opinion so it's probably worth what you paid for it. Florida is the worst place in the US to ride anything with two wheels. Cagers are aggressive not only against bikes but even bicycles. I don't know if it's snow birds or locals but a fair number of them just love to wait at a side street until the last moment and then pull right out in front of you. I have a high beam flash button on the left bar (don't know if this is unique or common) and I use it whenever I spot a cager on a side street.

It seems to me that the biggest problem with cell phones is when an incoming call rings. The driver is suddenly distracted, looking for the little "Yes" button or whatever. I suspect *talking* on the cell isn't any more dangerous than talking to a passenger.

You've got that right. :(

Word of the day "cager" use it as often as possible, it does wonders for your street cred

Doug

Per Robert L Bass:

For me it is - by a factor of at least 10.

I think the reason is that with a passenger or even a CB conversation, there's the shared expectation that driving comes first and that there will be lapses in the conversation to support that expectation.

With a phone conversation, the person at the other end is not part of that little covenant.

You may be right. I've no statistics on it -- only the observation that when the phone rings drivers often reach for it, taking their eyes and their attention off the road because they're in a hurry to grab the phone before the caller hangs up.

I use the speaker phone option when making cell calls in my car so I can keep my hands on the wheel. I considered a helmet adapted (Bluetooth, maybe?) phone for riding but decided even that would be too distracting. Instead I keep my cell in the glove box on the bike. I can hear it ring and if there's a safe place to do so I just pull over. I'm rarely in a hurry when riding. It's a pleasure thing, more than "transportation."

BTW, as to Mark's comment about "street rep," if I cared about that I'd have bought a big Harley. I hardly think a 650cc scooter with an overweight, bald guy tooling along in traffic is going to impress anyone. :^)

And if it did impress scooter groopies I suspect those that would be impressed by such a site described above would not be in a catagory of interest for u. :)

Nor is interpersing your comments with terms normally associated with, not weekend warriors who drive

Yea but there are those times when you wanna drag race bigger bikes

Never hoid it...what's it mean?

| > This is just my opinion so it's probably worth what you paid for it. | > Florida is the worst place in the US to ride anything with two wheels. | > Cagers are aggressive not only against bikes but even bicycles. I don't | > know if it's snow birds or locals but a fair number of them just love to | > wait at a side street until the last moment and then pull right out in | > front of you. I have a high beam flash button on the left bar (don't know | > if this is unique or common) and I use it whenever I spot a cager on a | > side street. | >

| >> One things that we all have in common" | >> That Bloody Cell Phone"... | >

| > It seems to me that the biggest problem with cell phones is when an | > incoming call rings. The driver is suddenly distracted, looking for the | > little "Yes" button or whatever. I suspect *talking* on the cell isn't | > any more dangerous than talking to a passenger. | >

| >> there is no second chance on a bike as | >> you are well aware.. | >

| > You've got that right. :( | >

| > -- | >

| > Regards, | > Robert L Bass | >

| |

It means a person who drives a car. The implication is that the car is like a cage whilst the motorcyclist is "free" (at least that's how I think it came about).

Probably not. :^)

BTW, I was feeling better yesterday so I road over to Bike Week (well, for me it was just Bike Day) in Daytona. That was one heck of a display of impressive looking bikes. Everyone was friendly even to an aging, bald ex-hippy on a scooter.

There were some amazing looking rides. One guy built a bike around a V8 engine. It has dual wheels ant it looks like it would break the sound barrier.

Other than mine, I saw only one scooter. It was a tiny, 50cc machine of unknown origin. The guy was putting along in place with a virtual parade of huge Harleys, Beamers and such. No one sneered.

I did get a few questions from curious bikers. Most wanted to know how fast Burgman can go or how comfortable it is. One old guy on a Harley asked that so I said, "Have a seat." He loved it.

Although lots of people were constantly revving their motors, it was impossible to drive fast. Traffic moves slower than a walk but that's not the point of cruising Main Street in Bike Week.

A few young ladies willingly obliged when one biker opened his leather jacket, revealing the "Show us your..." message on his T-shirt.

The ride home was rough. The temperature dropped and I forgot to bring riding pants. Jeans just don't make it and summer gloves left my fingers numb. :(

There are several other folks here who like to ride. They understood. Why is this important to you?

I confess. It's fun riding a big scooter. There. I said it. Happy?

Amusing, not important is how I would describe it, I'm a simple person easily amused, I see humour in many things. One of them is the image that you yourself paint, that of an overweight bald(ing) ex hippy immersed comfortably in a armchair on two wheels, missing only a pair of training wheels to complete the picture, probably with a mini van or other "cage" in the garage at home (over)using a somewhat derogatory term that on most days would describe you, and me, for that matter. Sorry, but it comes off like a fifty something trying to sound like a twenty something and sounding ridiculous instead.

Doug

Apparently so.

Unlike some folks, I'm able to laugh at myself. Are you?

An apt description.

That's the part where you're wrong. The bike is fast enough to ride along with much more powerful rides and more nimble than many of them. In the short time I've been riding I've acquired sufficient skill to maneuver through the kind of traffic that would make many (possibly even you) cringe. I wonder if all the years I spent skiing aren't a help. You learn to maneuver quickly and (more important) to anticipate what's about to happen as you move.

Yep. My other rides are a Camry, an Odyssey, a Fiat Adventure, a small Yamaha and occasionally a Gruman Tiger (not mine but I fly it now and then).

Well, two garages in two homes, plus one in a hangar.

It wasn't meant to be derogatory though you may wish to take it that way if doing so makes you feel better.

Naah. I've no desire to be or seem 20 something again. In case you missed all the flak about it, I survived a bout with a very dangerous disease. It will be another five years before I know for sure that I'm free of the cancer. I decided when I got sick that I would fight it any way I could. I also decided to make it a point to do all the things I've always wanted to do in this life -- to live every day as though it's my last (I know, it's tired cliché but it's true). Part of that decision includes things like learning to samba dance and going to Carnaval. Part of it means taking long, leisurely rides on my Burgman. If that seems funny to you, feel free to enjoy yourself. My suggestion would be to get out and do something more interesting though. Surely there's something in your life more interesting than me. If not, you really have a problem.