For the past few days, I’ve been slacking on the blog and social media (not to mention work) because of the arrival of this early Christmas present to myself:
My husband got a motorcycle a couple of months ago, and I can’t bear to let him go through a mid-life crisis alone, so I got one too. When I first met my husband, he drove a motorcycle, which was the sole misgiving my mom had about him. But then we took a 20-year break from motorcycling to nurture the next generation of Crackers.
Since I hadn’t ridden a proper motorcycle in years, I took a class a few weeks ago, then found a deal on this Suzuki Boulevard S40, an entry-level cruiser with a single cylinder 650cc engine. I like it a lot so far. It’s got a low center of gravity and is quick and nimble.
I’m still learning its quirks and regaining my motorcycling chops, which were never all that great to begin with, to be honest. So I’ve just been riding around our little town and out in the country among the strawberry fields, avoiding the highways because 1) I’m a chickenshit (according to my husband), or 2) I have a well-developed sense of self-preservation (according to me).
So far, I’ve had the opportunity to test my reflexes when two people backed cars out of their driveways right in front of me. Yesterday, a Jack Russell Terrier who bore a striking resemblance to Cole’s Miss Rosie (only not quite as spherical as she) chased me for a while. I let her almost catch me and then gunned it. Haha, dog! She retreated to her yard.
Anyhoo, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. I know it’s dangerous, I’m stupid to ride a donorcycle, etc. Whatever, man.
Open thread!
BGinCHI
I clicked over here is fear Cole had bought a motorcycle.
I’m so relieved.
Bought a Ducati last summer. Welcome to the club!
Karmus
Get your motor running!
Trabb's Boy
And here I thought you couldn’t be more awesome!
Kay
Oh, have fun. My husband had one or two for years. He sold one and is selling the other because it’s too cold here for a motorcycle :)
I never drove it but they’re fun to ride on – if it’s warm and you’re out in the country
PhoenixRising
#TeamChickenshit is riding alongside. What Cole did mopping naked, I used a Yamaha 125 for (7 broken bones, shoulder, collapsed lung). Stay loose on the gravel, as that is what did me in.
eclare
Enjoy! Rode on the back of one in college, way too chickenshit to do so now. I remember it was fun!
RobertDSC-iPhone 6
There’s more of Rosie to love. She’s not spherical.
Corner Stone
That’s weird, never done that before. I accidentally commented on the picture thread and not the actual thread.
Anyhoo:
If you run into a ‘Squatch while riding that thing you better believe in another all-powerful deity.
Darn good looking bike, though.
chris
Enjoy! Glad to see you got a helmet to go with your little rocket.
jl
I forbid it, young lady. You’ll put your eye out with one of those things. Dang kids these days and their crazy motorcycles.
You are grounded. Go to your room for some serious self-reflection.
Mathguy
Anyone catch the latest GOP IGMFY comment from the sack of garbage Chuckie Grassley (R-Bungholes)? “I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing… as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.” They really have stopped using their inside voices.
Aardvark Cheeselog
You realize that the “Yeti DNA” turned out to be from bears, right? Or is that a swamp ape?
Corner Stone
Anyone else bother to watch Trump tell us all how removing the protections Obama put in place to protect Bears’ Ears and The Grand Staircase in UT will better protect them?
Mary G
Avoiding the highway is a good idea.
Yarrow
People do dangerous stuff all the time. Decide your level of risk and then enjoy what you do.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
The Boulevard S40 (formerly the Savage) is a great bike to regain skills on — powerful enough to keep up with traffic when you’re ready for it, but forgiving enough for a first-time or returning rider. I said it the other night, and I’ll say it again — it’s a jackrabbit of a bike, and I absolutely loved mine. When I hit the lottery and can have a great big garage with all the vehicles I want and don’t have to worry about the practicalities of owning more than one bike, I’ll get another S40. That thing’s just too much fun.
(For anyone who assumes riding a motorcycle = instant death: taking a safety class makes a rider considerably less likely to become an accident statistic.)
Litlebritdifrnt
A boyfriend of mine had a motorcycle in my younger days (right before I joined the Navy). My parents HATED it, they worried every second I was out on the back of it, and to be honest looking back on it so did I. I really preferred the boyfriend with the white convertible Porche. Unfortunately I preferred the Porche more than I preferred the boyfriend. :) Of course then I joined the Navy and started dating gorgeous drunken sailors. I ended up marrying a US Marine, who’d a thunk it.
Mustang Bobby
As you were reminded by the cars nearly backing into you, it’s not the motorcycle per se that’s dangerous, it’s the four-wheelers, especially here in Florida where a lot of them seem to be in a trance while driving; mainly because they’re on their phones.
I’ve ridden motorcycles in the past; little one-lungers like yours, but only on tracks and fields, never on public roads.
But have fun!
Gravenstone
@Kay: You can ride around there for 6-8 months of the year, if you have the gear for it. I have a friend from HS who used to ride regularly (as did his wife). Not sure if that’s still the case, due to some health challenges they’ve dealt with. Unfortunately, he’d had a few run ins with the “rolling coal” morons, who seem to take a dim view of bikers for some odd reason in those parts.
trollhattan
Having had a few myself I’ll observe the first month with a new motorcycle–10x so with a first motorcycle–are the most…interesting/hazardous. Reason being you’re busy learning the controls; the handling, braking, acceleration; etc. and that distracts from observing your environment. Once the bike is mastered you can then concentrate on reading the road (watching the pavement for irregularities, oil, sand, wet leaves, improper slope; blind curves) and of course, every fvcking driver within five miles. Assume nobody sees you because they don’t.
But they’re fun!
Roger Moore
@Karmus:
But she just said she isn’t going to head out on the highway any time soon.
raven
@Yarrow: But make sure anytime anyone says a goddamn word about football that the thread devolves to the douche RGB whatever chimes in.
Major Major Major Major
Careful with that donorcycle!
I’ve been working, which is nice. This morning I listened to some writing podcasts (Writing Excuses—anybody got suggestions for other ones?) and worked on some character arcs too. I imagine I’ll continue working again after lunch, during which we are seeing our 2018 benefits presentation, yay.
trollhattan
@raven: Who coincidentally makes a mighty fine pie.
MomSense
I’m home today with a bad cold. I thought I’d catch up on This Is Us but it’s too sad when you don’t feel well.
condorcet runner-up
excellent choice. i picked up a honda shadow (phantom version) last year, and my wife chose the S40 boulevard. classic design with some good power to boot. happy riding!
ETA:
@trollhattan:
This is true. Even if it looks like they’re looking right at you.
gratuitous
How does one get mentioned in the Cracker last will and testament? #askingforafriend
это курам на смех
Betty, pulleaze buy a good full-coverage helmet. That little beanie in your photo isn’t enough protection for my favorite BJ brain.
I rode 750s for 25 years, so I am pro bike but anti flimsy helmets.
dmsilev
I get emails…
(all caps in original because of course it was. Also, too, UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED, ESPECIALLY to COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARDS.)
low-tech cyclist
Enjoy those back roads, Betty! Lots of great places to ride down your way.
trollhattan
@gratuitous:
You like chickens that much?
Nicole
As someone who exercises regularly, doesn’t smoke, has never been overweight and was diagnosed with cancer last year anyway, I say, go ride your motorcycle. Life’s too short to be timid. (I’m okay for the time being. We’ll see what the future brings but I got no control over it.)
Starting horseback riding lessons when I was past thirty might have something to do with my attitude, too, though. It was awesome and I miss my weekly lesson. I took some pretty spectacular falls (well, technically I didn’t fall, I was THROWN), so I second the helmet thing. Wear your protective gear and have fun!
Roger Moore
@dmsilev:
Wow. I had no idea Hillary had gone completely around the bend.
Major Major Major Major
@dmsilev: Wait, is that real? Even the end?
Spanky
It’s a trap!
Of course, das Scheissegibbon will step in it first.
Flanders' Other Neighbor
It took me an hour on the bus + 15 min walk to get from Berkeley to SF for today’s commute. On my bike, it’s 30 minutes because we can split lanes legally. If traffic is going 30, I stay in my lane. If less, I split with a speed differential of 10mph or less. The entire five mile length of the Bay Bridge has rain grooves, which sucks on a bike.
Doug R
I managed to survive a couple of years on a Honda 350
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
I blogged about the value of subtext in a story and how to write it.
I just got back from writing at B&N. The two-hour news break, during which I think about the human heart, is what keeps me sane.
ETA: I don’t know whether to be horrified or jealous about Betty’s motorcycle.
Spanky
@trollhattan: Shades of Sweeney Todd.
TenguPhule
We live in a world where Trump could kill us all at any moment on a whim.
Who are we to judge you?
trollhattan
@dmsilev:
What the heck??? Artificial unintelligence?
dmsilev
@Major Major Major Major: Everything inside the blockquote is real; I lack the sheer ability needed to make up something like that. The …creatively formatted sentence outside is a famous bit of Internet history, dating back to the early days of Usenet.
ruemara
@Mathguy: they plan to obstruct, disenfranchise and otherwise ensure they don’t lose any more elections for the next few cycles. This is the democratically elected American Reich. Courtesy of the GOP.
I wish I knew how to ride even a bicycle, much less be cool on a motorcycle. We deserve pics of you in action! And that helmet does not look seriously brainpan protecting. A friend of mine got hurt on a bike and it gave her life-long back & neck problems as well as regular migraines. So step up the helmet game, Betty.
Flying to Seattle on Thursday! Hella excited.
@dmsilev: Please remove your email from the sanitarium walls, for your safety.
dmsilev
@trollhattan: SkyNet 0.1alpha. Additional development is clearly still needed.
Mnemosyne
I don’t get to lecture anyone about safety since I managed to tear three ligaments in my knee walking down the stairs. (Look up “the Unhappy Triad” and weep for me. ?) Now I’m in a holding pattern waiting for the authorizations for PT and an MRI to see exactly what I did.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: Yes. Never have I wanted the ability to throw things through a tv screen to the scene inside it more (except for all the other times past and future).
Major Major Major Major
@dmsilev: right yes I meant the end of the blockquote. Wow!
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): maybe you could include some examples?
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
I’m really sorry. Glad you went back for a proper diagnosis.
Jeffro
Betty, LOVE the bike! Also, better you than me. ?
Hey here’s a pretty easy campaign slogan: beat the Rs over the head as the party of “Putin, pedophiles, and plutocrats” all. year. long. Whaddya think? It’s “acid, amnesty, and abortion” for the 21st century!! ??
(That’s it: no variations, no excuses, just “Putin, pedophiles, and plutocrats”. And hey it also has the benefit of being true!)
geg6
Great, something else to worry about. That will really help my insomnia.
I thought women were smarter than men when it came to spending big bucks on dangerous hobbies. Apparently not. Sorry, can’t congratulate you on this but your life is your own and you can do as you please. But if you were my IRL friend, we’d have serious issues right now. Since you aren’t, I’ll just ignore the fact you’ve lost your mind and pretend you haven’t. ?
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Major Major Major Major: Examples of what?
Brachiator
Very cool looking motorcycle
Have fun!
TenguPhule
@Jeffro:
Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be gaining any traction among the mushy middle voters.
Need something that targets their lizard brains more directly.
Miss Bianca
Haven’t ridden a bike in years – had a crazy ex-boyfriend who taught me to ride on his Yamaha Seca 650, which was an awesome machine. Might look into getting one again someday, as cross-country horseback riding just isn’t *nearly* hazardous enough. // Go, Betty, go!
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
Up in your area, I guarantee you that there are free “how to ride a bicycle” classes for adults if you ever decide you want to learn. There are several orgs that do them down here in the Southland.
neldob
I want one! but do be careful, figure you are riding through a meteor shower, because you kinda are.
BretH
Did several years as a motorcycle messenger in DC in the ’80’s – the heady days before the fax machine (and email of course). Back when EVERYTHING that needed to get somewhere fast was given to an office flunky or a messenger of one sort or another. It was the best job I ever had :) Rode my own bike for a couple years until I got tired of fixing it every weekend and switched to a company that had a fleet of old BMWs.
My only riding advice I can give is 1) take a really good course on riding – back then the best were run by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and 2) your front brake is your friend. Although many riders fear the front brake for fear the front end might “slip out” or something on dry pavement you can pretty much mash it and you will stop FAST. All of our front tires had a crazy scalloped pattern on them because of this.
So many stories I could tell…
Comrade Scrutinizer
@dmsilev: Aw, I miss BBSs.
Yutsano
@Mnemosyne: Do the MRI before you do the physio. The therapist will be blind otherwise. I speak as a long time therapy patient.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
Since it turned out to be a split-second decision between a knee injury or a neck/head injury, I made the right choice, because it’s a LOT easier to repair a damaged knee than a damaged brain. But I’m not happy about it. ?
Death Panel Truck
Glad to see you bought a Suzuki. I have a 2009 Boulevard M50 that I bought brand new, and it is awesome. Haven’t had a tiny bit of trouble with it.
Miss Bianca
@это курам на смех: What you said. I’ve heard too many gruesome ER stories to want to go out again without a full-face cover brain-bucket.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
It still stinks . Fortunately they repair ligaments really well now.
Major Major Major Major
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): some subtext you like! Direct quotes, I mean.
Leto
Betty, that’s a great looking motorcycle and should last you a long, long time. I have a 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250 (only year they brought this model to the US) and it’s such a reliable bike. Most of the Japanese brands are simply really fun work horses. Do the basic maintenance on them and they’ll last forever. I can’t wait to read the motorcycle entries I’m sure we’ll be treated to :)
Kay
@Gravenstone:
He used to ride it spring summer and fall but last year he said it had to be above 65 degrees – I don’t know why it changed.
I see why people like them. They’re fun. I don’t like the extremely loud bikes where they do something to make them louder, though.
Mnemosyne
@Yutsano:
I’m waiting for the authorizations to do anything, which is part of my frustration. It may depend on how long it takes to get the MRI. If it’s a stupid long wait, I’ll talk to the orthopedist again. He seemed pretty sure that he knew exactly what I did and has already written up the PT recommendation. It’s apparently a very classic injury.
Gin & Tonic
@Miss Bianca: Take up downhill skiing. No risks there, and you live in the perfect area.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Major Major Major Major: Oh. It’s hard to give quotes out of context because subtext depends on a discrepancy between what’s on the page and what the reader know or senses. It’s what some movie guy meant when he said “if the scene is about what the scene is about, you’re in trouble.” A character has a secret. Maybe the reader doesn’t know what it is but feels it. Or maybe the reader does but the other characters don’t, so what the secret holding character says or does is shot through with double meaning–what s/he means to show and what lies underneath.
An example might be the early scenes between Rick and Ilse in Casablanca. We know something happened and you see it in every interaction, but it’s not explicitly what the scene is about.
JustRuss
Congrats Betty. I gave up riding 20 years ago when I got married and bought a house. Just got divorced and lost the house, been thinking I need a bike again. Your inspiration may push me to pull the trigger…
Cacti
Wear a helmet. Always and without exception.
LeeM
Congratulations! I went from a (re-build it myself from a crate nightmare) Honda 450 to a Yamaha FJ1100 then to a Virago 750. The 1100 was way fun but I nearly killed myself a number of times. The cruiser was perfect. Next bike will be the BMW R1100GS for adventure riding.
NotMax
“Let’s be careful out there.”
– Sgt. Philip Freemason Esterhaus
We need every D vote.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
Uh, you’re kidding about downhill skiing being risk-free, I assume. Just ask Liam Neeson and his kids how risk-free it was for Natasha Richardson.
lurker dean
nice, betty! as a fellow rider, i ask that you consider a full face helmet, they are so much better for your head should you have an issue. i actually use a flip up full face helmet (you can flip up the chin part so you can get air when stopped), which works better for me as a glasses wearer. hjc makes affordable ones like the symax. i can imagine a full face isn’t great in hot and humid FL, but the flip up should make it bearable. 650 thumpers are fun!! ride safe!
Duane
@Mathguy: If they weren’t already, let’s add Grassley and Hatch to the tumbrel rolls. Both too stupid to keep their hateful mouths shut.
NotMax
@BretH
Fax machines go way back. Before the Civil War for transmission by wire, the Roaring 20s for wireless.
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: NEVER. Or, rather, I started to learn downhill skiing in my 40s, and learned just enough to know that there are some hazardous activities I was perfectly fine with not pursuing.
Cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing work just fine for me!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Mathguy: I wonder how many Iowa farmers believe all that claptrap about the estate tax breaking up their farms
Major Major Major Major
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): yeah, I know what subtext is and I read the post before I commented even ?
I guess I was thinking of some American minimalist short stories (carver, Hemingway) when I tried to come up with examples that would be quotable but that’s all I can come up with.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I suspect not many. Most Iowa family farms have been in the family for generations. They have experience of inheritance.
JGabriel
Chuck Grassley via Mathguy:
Or rent, utilities, food, and healthcare.
Ruckus
@Kay:
I have ridden a motorcycle at least one day, every month of the year in OH. I did find that no matter the gear, colder than 24 deg was too cold. Not because of the temp but that my breath froze on the inside of my faceshield. So 19 deg is too cold. Personal experience.
This is my 50th year of riding, don’t plan on it being my last but I am getting prepared for that not all that far off day. It’s not clear when that day will be yet but it’s out there. I’ve had friends who stayed on too old in life to be able to react properly and they paid for it. But then who of us who are older than dirt hasn’t had that discussion with our parents about no longer driving. Of giving up the license and the car before they run over or into someone/something. I don’t want to be that guy that thinks that I’m still 25 when 50-60 yrs has passed that birthday by.
Amir Khalid
@Spanky:
Ahem. That’s der Scheißgibbon.
Betty C, you said you were going to name your bike after my Bianca. I told her about it and she was so excited she didn’t even yawn. Have you done the Official Naming Announcement yet?
PaulWartenberg
I’m going through a mid-life crisis meself at the lonely age of 47. It was either going for a motorcycle or a bass guitar, under the pretense of gifting meself if I got to 50,000 words this NaNoWriMo challenge.
I went with the bass guitar. Motorcycles are too expensive for me still (go SUCK A LEMON, you GOP Senator HYPOCRITES).
Major Major Major Major
@JGabriel: to be fair movies are pretty expensive these days!
PaulWartenberg
My dad had a moped once, and it was fun riding it as a youth while my older sister was at the handles. Dad eventually got rid of it fearing the repercussions of having such a thing when his boys got to be teenagers.
dmsilev
@JGabriel: And, of course, by odd coincidence Grassley and his fellow travelers have spent the last few decades pushing policies that push down the incomes of ordinary people. Maybe if average incomes had kept pace with the overall growth of the economy since 1970 or so, people would have a bit more money that they could save or invest.
Crazy talk, I know.
Roger Moore
@Yutsano:
How many joints have you had replace by now?
rikyrah
Be safe, BC
Ruckus
@condorcet runner-up:
Motorcycles have a hidden feature that no one tells you about.
Turing that key makes you invisible. Totally invisible.
Which makes no sense if you bought a motorcycle to be seen as cool. Which may also be why morons put loud pipes on their bikes. They can be heard blocks away but still be invisible to any car driver.
Roger Moore
@NotMax:
And don’t forget to hydrate.
Ruckus
@Flanders’ Other Neighbor:
Not all tires cause problems with rain grooves. And I’ve ridden over lots of bridges, including many in the bay area, except for the new bay bridge.
Roger Moore
@JGabriel:
You say tomayto, he says tomahto.
jackmac
One of the last true moderate and reasonable Republicans — ex-Illinois Rep. John Anderson — has passed at age 95. He was my congressman for a time during my college days and the only reason I EVER took a Republican presidential primary ballot.
chris
Well, shit
Gravenstone
@dmsilev: Someone needs their meds adjusted, stat.
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne:
Also a long term PT patient – get the MRI first, that will guide the PT staff and your therapy. It may also indicate you need surgery before undergoing any PT work at all.
Spanky
@Amir Khalid: I prefer not to assign a gender to it, tyvm.
Miss Bianca
@PaulWartenberg: what kind of bass?
Libarbarian
This thread got 99 comments but a …..
Origuy
@dmsilev: You got on Archimedes Plutonium’s mailing list?
frosty
A 650 cc single??? Holy cow!! I dumped the clutch on my 200 Triumph trying to pull out from the curb and it threw me off over the back. Can’t imagine how much torque you’ve got.
Betty Cracker
@Amir Khalid: I haven’t had the official christening ceremony yet, but “Bianca” suits her just fine, and I am so glad Bianca the Kitty was intrigued enough by the prospect of being the namesake of a North American motorcycle that she stifled a yawn! :)
trollhattan
@Miss Bianca:
Largemouth. ;-)
J R in WV
Betty:
Congratulations on the new bike. I rode a tiny Honda dirt bike off road in the woods long ago and far away. Decided that by the time I had enough experience for it to be safe for me to ride, I would already have hurt myself.
But things are way different in FLA, riding in the countryside on small farm roads should be a blast. Keep us posted, take lots of pictures. You might think of putting a Go-Pro on the front handlebars. Video of the countryside.
Have big fun!
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne: Just ask me.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
Yeah, I did 6 months of shoulder PT once, then had to have the surgery anyway. And then do another 6 months of PT. Boy was that was that a fun year.
And I whatever the helmet issue. Have worn a full face helmet for 48 of those 50 yrs, the first one custom made and fit at the factory. Which no longer exists. I look at this way, everything below the neck can be rebuilt or replaced. Not cheap or easy but it can be done. Very little above there can be and all of it has less than barely satisfactory results. I get a new helmet every 5 yrs and don’t care what it costs, I buy the best. Last one I bought cost $500 and that was a deal from a friend.
mongo
Congrats! Three things from me:
1. Seriously look into getting heated grips before you start doing a lot of highway riding. You will find out why the first time you’re at highway speeds in the rain.
2. There are lots of places where you can put reflective tape on your bike and your gear that don’t detract from the beauty of either.
3. Own your lane.
mongo
dmsilev
@Origuy:
Ah, another legend from days of yore. Back when crackpots were real crackpots.
NotMax
Granted that it’s tropical Hawaii, still make “tsk tsk” sounds whenever a motorcycle zooms past me on the road with its driver outfitted in a helmet, sleeveless shirt, shorts and flip-flops.
danielx
@Mathguy:
Yeah, got that. The thought that people are using every darn penny merely to stay alive with a roof over their heads seems to be completely foreign to them.
For people who live paycheck to paycheck, which seems to be most people in this country, ‘saving’ falls into the ‘maybe someday’ category.
TriassicSands
@Spanky:
I think Gibbon is masculine auf Deutsch. Although it is difficult to think of Trump as anything but an “IT.”
terraformer
I’d love to ride, but it’s just too dangerous. I friend of mine who is a life-long rider said that he’d discourage anyone to start riding – largely due to the ubiquitous nature of personal devices and driver inattention associated with their use. He said that it doesn’t matter how great/safe of a rider you are, all it takes is one person head-down on their cell or tablet to erase you.
Maybe I’d consider riding at a rally or when there are many others around (e.g., Daytona, Black Hills), but otherwise it just seems crazy to take a chance these days.
Mnemosyne
@J R in WV:
It seems somewhat unlikely that they couldn’t do any pre-surgery PT at all given how classic an injury it is, but we’ll see how the authorizations go. I’m currently laying on the (carpeted) floor with my legs up on an office couch at something close to a 90 degree angle. It’s helping.
@Gin & Tonic:
The person who sat next to me at “Hamilton” on Saturday night was recovering from surgery for the exact same knee injury I have, but she did hers while skiing. Yet another reason I don’t ski.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: I spent two weeks in Bavaria this summer. Summer. I drove mostly rural roads and saw a lot of motorcyclists. Never saw a one that had any exposed skin, to the point that I was wondering if there were laws/regulations mandating that. Full head-to-toe cycle-specific clothing, boots, gloves, full-face helmets. Every single rider. No exceptions. Thought many times of all the tank top, shorts, no helmet guys riding Harleys here.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
Especially with a knee, they want you to do pre-surgery PT to build it up first so you’re not starting from zero after the surgery. There is a lot of stationary bike riding in my near future, plus resistance bands.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne: I won’t bother regaling you with the story of how long it took to get authorization for a CT scan of my arm, after it was recommended by two separate surgeons. And I have good insurance.
normal liberal
@Mnemosyne:
Following up, call your local parks and rec department. No, seriously. They’ll either have a program, or can point you to someone who does. Promoting bikes is a great way to get grants these days.
HeleninEire
OK, so really weird deep state big brother story.
My friend Mary, here in Dublin is changing phones. She had some trouble importing her contacts so she typed names in hoping that would be easier. Some phone numbers came up with the names she typed… BUT for some bizarre reason my American number (which I have kept active and use when I am over there) populated her phone.
I have never given Mary my American phone number. No reason to.
HUH?????
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
How many states with no helmet law are left? I think Calif passed ours in the late ’70s or early ’80s, annual Hell’s Angels visits to the legislature notwithstanding, Washington and Oregon did likewise.
raven
@trollhattan: Map
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
Deutschland? Gotta link to it.
Gin & Tonic
@trollhattan: Here’s your answer.
Duane
@Major Major Major Major: That statement by Grassley is the essense of contempt for people. I wanna slap him. How he, and many others like him stay in office is baffling.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
The Giant Evil Corporation has Health Advocates who will call my HMO and yell at them on my behalf. If I don’t see those authorizations by the end of next week, I’m getting on the phone with the folks who will yell for me.
Mnemosyne
@normal liberal:
Rue lives in one of the most bike-friendly areas of California, so I’m sure she has a million options if she so chooses.
Gin & Tonic
Mueller has filed a motion withdrawing support for Paul Fucking Manafort’s bail. Says he’s still actively working with Kilimnik.
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: We see that a lot in Florida too. We call them the Young Immortals. They’ll be barreling down I-75, weaving in and out of traffic at 100 MPH, dressed like that. Yikes!
ThresherK
Nice looking “thumper”, Betty. Chiming in with the rest on a full-faced helmet.
Good to see you’re getting a bike in your size. I liked the Honda Shadow 600, but my elbows and knees knocked on it!
That’s brand new?
Elroy's Lunch
@BretH:
Speed Service I’ll bet. Betty, as a commenter posted, please protect your head with a full-face helmet. Cheap insurance. Also, ATGATT, “All The Gear, All The Time”
danielx
@JGabriel:
Naturally, my man Chuck says his remarks were misinterpreted, although they seemed pretty fucking clear to me. I have to admit, the tax code’s penalization of, say, the Walton family’s frugality, saving and investment approach is troubling…to others in the same plight. As far as I’m concerned it’s not nearly punitive enough.
“Misinterpretation” being the all purpose comeback when a pol’s internal editor steps out for a short beer. Of course it’s easy to understand his viewpoint; how often do you suppose a US senator breaks bread with anyone not in his or her family who has gross annual income of less than a half mil?
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
@Gin & Tonic: I see what you did there.
Duane
@dmsilev: Apparently, Grassley, Hatch, and many others don’t know that people have little or no savings. Living paycheck to paycheck. Worse, they don’t care to know. They are idiots. If they do know, then they’re evil.
Mary G
Oh, for fuck’s sake, the Supremes just allowed full enforcement of the travel ban, overruling the lower courts. These motherfuckers actually believe they can make America white again.
Betty Cracker
@ThresherK: It’s a used bike but with super low miles. I’m somewhat tallish for a woman — 5’8 — and a couple of friends suggested a larger bike, but I like the size of this S40.
Patricia Kayden
@PhoenixRising:
OUCH!! Stay safe, Betty. We need you.
Barbara
@Kay: FYI — TPM reporting that Richard Cordray is announcing candidacy for Ohio governor next week.
realbtl
Nice bike Betty, I had one for a couple of years. Do yourself a favor and dump the stock muffler and get a STOCK Harley muffler. You will have to research the h-d model # but there is a good forum for your bike. Every h-d buyer removes these right away and they are cheap, $20 for 2 in my case. It will sound like a thumper should and is no louder than stock.
Patricia Kayden
@Mary G: Wow. So they’re fully endorsing discrimination based on religion. Disgusting. I have bad feelings when it comes to cases involving discrimination against gay customers. One of those is also before the Supreme Court.
Mary G
@Patricia Kayden: Yep, the wedding cake baker.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Gin & Tonic: Can you imagine the nerve it takes to do that?
TenguPhule
@Duane:
The two are not mutually exclusive.
TenguPhule
@Gin & Tonic: Anyone giving odds on Manafort attempting to skip town with a passport he forgot to declare?
TenguPhule
@NotMax: To be fair, most accidents involving them tend to be fatal or crippling for them. So let them dress how they want.
Chyron HR
Speaking of Manafort, did you know he paid $3 million dollars for one of his daughters to make a film that currently holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes?
But, you know, it’s the frivolous poor who waste their money on movies.
TenguPhule
@Patricia Kayden:
First the ban.
Then the camps.
Finally, the ovens.
Trentrunner II - Pie Is Squared
So MSNBC has yanked Sam Seder because of this tweet from 2009:
This is because Mike Cernovich was stirring up shit about it among his alt-right friends.
Also because MSNBC is topped by fucking cowards.
Also, MSNBC has rape apologists among its guests on a regular basis.
Peale
@chris: They also appear to believe that states now get to decide how much equal same sex couples get to be. Oy, just because the state says you’re married doesn’t mean you can put that spouse on your healthcare or make them a beneficiary of your pension.
Patricia Kayden
@danielx: If you read his explanation, he never explains what he meant by
.
He must think we’re all brainless and can’t figure out when folks are trying to insult us.
Patricia Kayden
@TenguPhule: And we have a Nazi/White Supremacist sympathizer in office. But on the optimistic side of things, he’s highly unpopular so there’s that. This too shall pass — eventually.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I love this, on the trump tweet Dowd is lying about having written
TenguPhule
@Patricia Kayden:
The problem is that stretch of time in between.
TenguPhule
@Patricia Kayden: In all fairness, two out of three of those sounds like a good idea with impending economic disaster bearing down on us.
My retirement plans are rapidly coming down to “Take it from the cold dead fingers of the Republicans.”
Jager
Got divorced, at age 42 bought a Harley Soft Tail. Hadn’t ridden since I had a BSA Road Rocket 650 in college. Got the Harley in late November, rode it a couple of times and parked it for the winter, by March I’d spent 1100 bucks on accessories, back on the bike in the spring, next thing I know my (wouldn’t say shit if she had a mouthful) girl friend is wearing black leather jeans, knee high boots and a very expensive fringed motorcycle jacket to go along with her polarized Chanel sunglasses. We went to a bike rally in New Hampshire. The following happened in the space of 8 or 9 hours: we got asked if we want to do a four-some, almost got tattoos. ran into a jeweler I knew and discovered he was covered with Japanese tats, he said he got hooked on them when he was in the Navy. Just as the last band was going on at 3 in the morning, I walked to my bike to get our jackets, strolled by a woman handcuffed to a nasty looking chopper, asked if she needed help, she told me to go fuck myself. Got back to the music just in time to see my girl kick a 200 pound guy with a long beard in the nuts. Good times.
Silent no more
Just saw on Twitter that there is an attempt to take away bail for Manafort: https://twitter.com/hsu_spencer/status/937800163808210944
eclare
@Jager: That is quite a story!
Barbara
@Silent no more: From the LA Times:
Mnemosyne
@eclare:
It only needed to end with, “Reader, I married her.” ???
Gin & Tonic
@Silent no more: You can even read that in this very thread.
Gin & Tonic
@Barbara: The “Russian” is Kilimnik, Manafort’s long-time go-to guy.
germy
so Charlie Rose has been replaced over at PBS by Christiane Amanpour.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
My experience with the shoulder was that the pre PT did absolutely nothing other than waste 6 months of my life. I should mention that the doc was trying to avoid the surgery if possible. It wasn’t. He is what I call a great ortho, he doesn’t like to do surgery. He is very good at it though. He put a friends foot back together and it was like a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle, with no picture on either side. Pieces of bones inches away from where they belonged. And feet aren’t that big and empty. Even my friends feet.
Jager
@Mnemosyne:
Came close, real close, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about the woman handcuffed to the chopper.
eclare
@Mnemosyne: Hahaha!
Ruckus
@Jager:
Let’s see, weren’t you the one with the trust fund babe and now the motorcycle chick? Not a bad life?
Duane
Manafort worked with a russian to try and influence public opinion.?Now he’s in trouble with the law? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard today. The boy just don’t learn good.
bmoak
@Trentrunner II – Pie Is Squared:
It’s just a matter of time until they can Joy Reid.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: I would pitch in for a GoPro for Betty.
Waynski
Have fun, Betty but be careful.
Jager
@Ruckus:
The so called “motorcycle babe” worked in medical software, met the trust fund baby later. I had a good run between the 1st and 2nd marriages. Rode my Soft Tail from Boston to Seattle, lots of stories from that trip.
Lee Hartmann
No riding when it rains. promise.
BruceFromOhio
Sweet ride! Nicely done!
And a bit envious, riding season is done here. I’ll be living the bike life vicariously, so lots of pictures please!
frosty
@trollhattan: Pennsylvania
Ol'Froth
You can’t park there.
Greg
Some advise, never use your front brake during low speed maneuvers. If you do you will dump the bike instantly. If you go into a corner a bit to fast don’t hit your brakes, push the inside handlebar harder. IE clockwise corner, right hand grip, counter-clockwise corner left hand grip. Enjoy..
Betty Cracker
@Jager: LMAO!
Tim
Nice bike. I have close to 200k and the wife has over 60k on bikes. It’s fine as long as you get some training and are not being suicidal on them. Heck, both of us have done Iron Butt certified rides. Thats a serious form of crazy there. Enjoy it. We’ve ridden all over the country and it’s a very different experience than by car. Your much more in touch with the environment on a bike. It’s really a very mindful experience. We love it
Cephalus Max
I am late getting to this thread (too much work and I am an RSS-based reader anyway), but as a fellow relatively-late-in-life daily motorcylclist, I have only one comment, and I AM SERIOUS ABOUT IT:
Get a real helmet with facial/chin protection. Those tinpot-style helmets like the one on your seat aren’t worth shit.