The Ge____ boys give each other a hard time at the Arby's I'm at. Hungry as hell, I am.
A kid watches me from the back of his dad's truck, and nods his head and raises his drink to me as I mount.
C_____ tells me he's getting crazier too. When he told me that he knew I could not avoid speeding, the way he said it with such deliberation...I knew that he had seen some of the things I had seen.
I realize now how crazy riding a sport bike is. Not like, in the way of, "Holy shit, dude, that was dangerous!" Not in the repentant way. Still unrepentant. Just irritated/pissed in that way that cops can make you get.
It's that reaction that scares me. That we know what we're doing. That we ride like hell on our rubber fingertips and we walk that tiny line like it's nothing. That the death rate for guys like me wouldn't go up if they repealed the speed limit on us on any highway. Because that's not how we get killed. Not by the things so arbitrary and dumb that are the biggest things the government can get its clumsy fingers around.
The only things speed limits police are people who can't be expected to function safely at -any- speed with any amount of precision, and so speed limits function in the predictable fashion they were intended for: reduce the statistics.
But we're not playing the statistics game anymore. We don't sit in a car, radio on, left arm holding bored head up, cruise control on, right hand gently pushing power steering around.
We don't ride around in t-shirts and shorts, gloves and helmet, going superfast in a straight line in traffic.
We're not squids, and we're not cagers. And we're not something that can ever be legislated correctly. The way each of us dies can be understood. Stories about scars, limp bodies on the backboards loading up the ambulances. But the way we all seem to die, when and why, when you start asking why any of us slides out or gets too hot in some dangerous situation, well, then you stop getting answers.
Answers that can't be provided by the DOT of anywhere you are.
I find a suspicious number of corollaries with gun control, but I refuse to touch that. Because I don't wanna shoot anybody. Not even for all those reasons.
But people ride, and bear arms, and the government wrings its hands, and the people wring the government's hands, and the sellers capitalize. And people get stupid in the leeway they are given in between.
I'm starting to believe in the idea of raising speed limits 30 or so miles per hour everywhere, making speeding fines huge and intolerant, and making driver education rougher on the applied side.
None of these things are actually a big deal to me because they don't apply. I was trained by, you know, the school of hard knocks, which I willingly brought on myself. So I don't feel that I'd be constrained by these things. And I'm sorry that they would be such constraining measures. But this shit where people have to play dumb, polite, and truthful without admitting anything to cops, this whole embarrassed-child father-figure bullshit is just a fucking fiasco. And nobody learns -anything- from it. Not cops, not drivers, not victims.
Aren't you still more likely to die in a car accident than of a heart attack? There's that statistics game again. Bullshit.
Let me ride on my wits, officer. Not your laws. Because I won't be able to use your laws to save me when I'm about to be ass up under a semi.
But,
I know how hardcore this all sounds. This debate, maybe, shouldn't even ever have to come up. I shouldn't be riding a bike. I should go back to my island and go surfing on good days. I should study hard but not too hard and do okay. I should relax and look at all this as some kind of bad dream, some last 'getting it out of my system.' I should live long and well and look back on this some day as some strange other world that the person I am is glad never made me different forever.
Like hell.
I love you, and I'm fueled and cranking. You know I'll always be crazy, even if I do calm down. I'm sinful enough to view it as a power. And you, well, you listen to me. You listen to my song.
So this'll play out as it may. I'll take the knocks I have to, and fight the ones I don't, and hopefully if I wear all my safeties, metaphorically or otherwise, I'll still be mostly intact when I come skidding to a stop in front of you.
I have a feeling you'd like that. Me intact, and in front of you.
It's not speed that makes you safe, it's skill. And skill at any speed. Speed limits are a clumsy way to control that.
Here's your comic relief.
(minmi - who's theme)
receiverfive:
Today : 8:01 PM
I got railed for...
107 in a 55.
Coming out of the Gap in North Carolina. Now, humor aside, am I totally boned? Anybody local there or have experience?
Oh, please, your honor, don't take my bike or put me in prison.
kawizx6r05
Today : 8:09 PM
but your honor, i stopped! i am extremely responsible and completely capable of riding this machine responsibly because rather than trying to out the officer, i stopped like a mature and responsible adult, sooo.. i should be let off. nah, just kidding, your fucked
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder
zx14dreamz
Today : 8:18 PM
wow prolly if they havnt taken and impounded the bike already you are probably ok on that. im just not so comforted about your license.
receiverfive
Today : 8:27 PM
Well, they sent me on my way clean with a citation and a mandatory court date. So I have something to work with. I was radared by somebody who I don't know was a state trooper, undercover cop, or just random asshole cop's brother, who pulled up to the stop, ID'ed me, then left. The cop who cited me didn't radar me at that speed, as far as I know. Not that I was ever even going that speed.
I was just curious about how bad this can get in north carolina and maybe what I can do to make it as good as possible.
Zymosis
Today : 9:08 PM
I'm not from NC or anywhere near there for that matter, but I think you will have a hard time keeping your license.
ex_dsmr
Today : 9:10 PM
damn, i think you got your only break of the entire deal...not going to jail and having your bike impounded. id kiss your licence goodbye
BlindGuardian
Today : 9:33 PM
Dude, do you live in A_____? If so, I don't think they can take your license away since the states don't communicate with each other all that well. Also in California, there's a law stating that if the officer that cited you wasn't the one that radared you, then both officers have to show up in court as witnesses, might not be relevant here though. But yeah that sucks. On the other hand, when I got my 105 in a 65 in CA, all I got was a couple of points on my license and a $450 fine. Good luck man, and next time don't stop for the po.
Only a Biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.
asteelo
Today : 10:02 PM
Tons of lawyers i know of do speeding tickets for a flat rate. Mine costs me $250 a pop, definitely worth it if your license is in jeopardy. As was mentioned before, the lawyer could subpoena both officers to appear in court. Odds are they both wont show and you walk. Lawyers have more tricks up their sleeves, so pick up a phone book and ask one. I'm sure the jugde that will see your hearing has seen thousands of motorcyclists through his courtroom, with the gap being a hot spot for twisties, but maybe he's a motorcyclist too. My bet is that if you at least show up in court alone, and plead something, the judge will let you keep the license and you'll have a fine of about $450 or so.
rockstar84
Today : 10:54 PM
Theres not that many cops near the gap, so its easy to wick up the speed real quick...but when you pass one your screwed.
Good luck with all of that man.
It's not the speed that kills, it's the sudden stop!
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.
issack
Today : 11:31 PM
good luck
HDRydr2
Today : 11:42 PM
About the only thing NC will take your license for is a DUI. I've got a friend from Birmingham that got a DUI in NC and they took his.
Anyway, yeah, I almost got nailed by a cop in Deals Gap too. Was he sitting a little ways past the Tree of Shame on the right side of the road? If it weren;t for some Harley guys blocking us....we would have been toast too.
Killaz wrote: The only way that a 600 will beat a 1000 in a straight line is if the 1000 rider is twisting with his left hand
FLOJOE
05/26/2007 : 01:33 AM
Yeah, where exactly did you get caught speeding? I go over there fairly often and would like to know where I should watch out at. I usually try to watch my speed on the TN side near the lake since they often sit there, but I let her rip on the NC side, like down 28 or 129 near the river. Guess I should be more careful.
I just saw your other post, we were at the gap during the same time, I was there the 18th through the 20th. There were actually a few of us kawiforum guys there that week. Too bad we didn't get to meet up.
"Ever notice that anyone going slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"
prelupino
05/26/2007 : 03:48 AM
Get a good lawyer. I've gotten out of worse here in NC. Was able to keep my license. Insurance never went up.
receiverfive
05/26/2007 : 06:08 AM
I was heading down the 28 past Stecoah (east of the gap) towards Bryson City/Cherokee, no more than a couple miles after it opens up into a big 4-lane parkway. Turns out it's not even worth your time if you're just looking for technical riding--the 441 I was headed for is twisty enough but -filled- with cars. I rode the clutch all the way down for 15 miles behind a tiny Subaru on that thing.
Thanks for all your advice guys, I really appreciate it. If anything I'm upset that the speed limit there is so arbitrarily low, even though I know nobody would raise it to anything that would make this any better.
receiverfive
05/26/2007 : 06:18 AM
So...anybody got a good lawyer in NC that they have firsthand experience using?
FLOJOE
Today : 08:10 AM
Ok, I know where you are talking about. Yeah, you have to watch out for cops right there to. They seem to pretty much leave the twisty parts of the road alone and concentrate on the open spots where they can radar/laser people doing high speeds from far away. The funny thing about the speed limit is that it is the same 55 mph for all the tight turns as it is for that 4 lane straightaway.
ZeRo_C0oL
Today : 5:08 PM
What are the odds? I had a 107 in a 55 too!! lol
ZeRo_C0oL
Today : 5:31 PM
Oh, btw, with my ticket.. I spent a weekend in jail (90 days suspended to a weekend, so long as I kept a clean record for a year. I had 90 days hanging over my head!), paid roughly $3500 out of pocket including my attorney and my fines, which were quite high... 60 or 90 day license suspension... and I think it was 40 hours of community service.
Sucks, but I needed that kick in the ass so I could learn my lesson and slow down. I was going to end up with a closed casket if I kept it up, you know? I would have learned my lesson sooner if my insurance had gone up after each ticket instead of all at once doubling a year later. I mean, shit... You go to court, pay a fine, and that's the end of it right? No. Not in my case anyway. It took a year before anything hit my IVR with the insurance company, so in my head I would pay the fines and be done with it. It caught up to me, but it was far too late. I just kept screwing up because I wasn't suffering the full consequences. I honestly would have slowed down much sooner if I saw my insurance rates going up each time. Now it's double what it was....
A____ (it ain't fast if it ain't blue!)
2001 lightning candy blue ZX6R (sold)
2005 candy plasma blue ZX6R/636
Roanoke, VA
--
You know, I fidget with words the way you do with small objects in your hands. How many times did I say the word suspicious?
After being in the green parts of the country for so long...
Well, anyway, I talk to you and I hear a twang in your voice. Right now that's the most hilarious thing in the world to me. Even you. Here I am trying to get away from all this and--I'm only making fun. Maybe it's required for the music of our language?
Man, the South is so wacky. There's a town called Pigeon Forge that is like one big theme park, 5 go-kart tracks in a row, a huge building designed to look like an upside down Parthenon...it's nuts.
All of Ge_____ and Al_____ smoky, everything in a haze. A place where it's okay to name your road Booze Mountain.
...
(u2 - new year's day)
I have to remember to tell C______ he might have to buy my bike for a dollar. Hopefully they won't decide to take it now.
The miles, the danger, the sights, they're not fazing me anymore. Deep feeling...
Nothing but the massive bumps in the city sections of the freeway.
So, feeling disillusioned without any illusions to actually lose (which may actually be the reason for the feeling), unless feelings are illusions, I point my bike westward.
Guess I'm a professional now. On an amateur level, like Sage Francis likes to say.
Man, of all the gas stations I stop at. -What- -a- -mechanic-. Fixed his rocker arm in 3 days after taking apart his engine totally to find the problem. No manual, no nothing. Smoking a joint. Talking to me about how to live for free in America. Telling me about distributors, how he doesn't need to know the firing order of any motor anymore. About his old dad in Kentucky. How he was good at brain teasers and an excellent musician by ear. About how weed actually helps you remember things you forgot. Rebuilding alternators.
Lenny.
A fuel truck rolls by, the image on the rear of its tank a road shifted into an extreme perspective of speed.
I'm definitely going to have to add that as a project. A website for submitting and verifying good speed trap spots.
Remembering why I'm out here. Who I am. (What?) Slowly, piece by piece, pulling off the polite self-deprecating mask. Remember how to get angry again. To have some feeling.
Removing the fear.
Figuring out who I am now (is that any better?), if there's anything really 'learned' here.
The M________ River is hazed on both sides. And then there's walls of moisture in L________.
My gloves have worn until they are as soft as the skin of my hands. I need them to keep riding, to get me to the day's 600th mile. My hands are red from doing one long, slow pull-up.
Above the slowly setting sun, the clouds move, and expose two lit contrails across each other in an X like the one at the base of my left hand.
I can't even tell any of these bikers apart anymore. All slightly chubby, wearing sunglasses, bright T-shirts, dome helmets, and black fingerless gloves. No women riding, sometimes as passengers. I quit waving because I don't even know if I've seen them twice.
A semi slides up ahead of me and slowly accelerates away. Its draft and a bump in the road arrive at exactly the same time, making my whole life skip a beat like a CD caught on a scratch. My head wonders while I adjust throttle, shift my body, twitch my knee, move my shoulders, and eyeball the semi in front of me while glancing at everything else, the usual maintenance of riding...
Subtract the time backwards and catch up to me...
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