>>>>I cannot find it in the post you made reference...maybe I am going nutz... but before I commit to the nearest nut-house.... would you show me where i state what you are suggesting... about the car and such...?<<<<
Right here.
Message 20371762
To:Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (22767)
From: X Y Zebra Monday, Aug 2, 2004 7:25 PM
View Replies (2) | Respond to of 22904
mind if I post this to you,
Not at all, thanks for the good intent.
I have a few things to say in respect to bikes and cars... -g
Actually, not all is from me, (make sure you read the stories I have linked below, particularly the one about Mike Hailwood it is actually quite interesting and I myself did not know all of the details until I read it today, so thank you for bringing up the subject.)
First, my part...
I can drive anything on 4 wheels (even NASCAR - which it ain't racing, -g; but that's another subject).
Car control comes natural to me and the rain only makes it more interesting...
And yes, safety is always on my mind, even though it may not be apparent.
Re: motorcycles...
I have a great deal of respect for those who race bikes. I have always readily admitted I would never race them.
As for ride them on the streets, I have relatively no problem with that, except in heavy traffic. It is dumb and the risk reward is simply out of whack in terms of the pleasure one gets out of the ride relative to the tremendous risk due to the number of seriously IDIOT drivers who never pay attention to their mirrors.
It has nothing to do with courage; it is more of a common sense thing... like swimming in shark infested waters...
Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know sharks don't attack humans and all that jazz...
w h a t e v e r.
I had two bikes in my past, a Kawasaki 550 and a Suzuki 650 (or so) both where crotch rockets. little can compare to the adrenaline rush of going down a hill cornering at high speed, transferring weight left and right as the corners come at you... I can see the fun doing this in a race track...
Once, going about 75 mph on a busy highway... just following the traffic flow, (not raining, but damped pavement)... traffic began to get really busy and a lady driving directly in front of me, slammed on her brakes... I had to do the same and even with a relatively safe distance to spare, I was sliding sideways, approaching her rear end quite quickly (well, actually her car's rear end -g)...
Luckily for me, she LOOKED at her rear view mirror, saw me coming at her in full Technicolor slide (and I mean seriously sideways)... (i was already picturing the image of me smashing against her trunk and flying well over her car, so I was ready for it -I did NOT want to hit her and go under her car)... just before what would have been the impact, she released her brake, and accelerated to create some air between my bike and her car... enough so, that it allowed me to regain control and avoid the crash....
It was close... (Once more -g)
However, as i said, in 4 wheels, I’ll drive anything you want under a competitive environment. 2 wheels, I will, without hesitation decline the offer, i listen to my instincts and that is simply something I would not do (I mean competition)...
As for helmets...
I have always wore mine when I owned those 2 bikes and I agree with you and I would go further in saying that anyone riding a bike (even the little Vespa-type ones) without a helmet is plain and simple an idiot of unparallel proportions, asking for injury or death...
No question in my mind.
...
Now, for the good stuff...
Such is the disconnect between good motorcycle riders and good car drivers that...
ONLY ONE MAN has been able to win World Championships in both... Cars and motorcycles
John Surtees
8w.forix.com
grandprix.com
There is another world champion biker that sort of made it in the world of cars... no, he did not became a champ, or even a contender, however, he was a good driver...
Read his story, or in this case a story about him written by his girlfriend (or at least so he considered her)...
It is funny, interesting, intense, sad, and more importantly, true...
I hope you like it.
Mike Hailwood
8w.forix.com
grandprix.com
This is just an appetizer....
_______________________________________________________
Fast-forward 2 years to 1967. I was just beginning my career in public education and fundraising for international development and relief agencies. I worked full-time for one that could afford to pay me and volunteered nights and weekends for several others.
I had a friend from my engineering period who was very keen on racing. He had two tickets to a reception for the factory teams that were in Toronto for the first ever Canadian motorcycle Grand Prix to be held that next weekend at Mosport. I was out of touch with racing and wasn't that keen, but he convinced me to go. He also gave me a stack of magazines to read. He told me as much as he could about the riders, bikes, etc. In the summer of 1967 there had been a number of squabbles over starting money and other issues between the factory and non-factory riders. Emotions ran high and a lot of them were directed at Mike Hailwood. Those stories combined with stories depicting Mike Hailwood as a glamorous playboy shaped my negative mental image of him.
When my friend and I arrived at the reception at the Westbury Hotel we saw that there were about 200 people there. We separated because he wanted to try to get some autographs. I went over to the buffet table. The only one there was a rather forlorn looking Japanese man. I said, "Hello" and started talking with him. He showed me pictures of his family in Japan and asked about my family - that sort of thing. Out of the corner of my eye I became aware that someone was watching me. You know that feeling.
Soon a very nice looking man with a stylish moustache walked over to me and said, "I think that is just about the nicest thing I have ever seen a woman do."
"What's that?" I asked as my Japanese friend faded away.
"I've been watching you and you have been spending about 10 minutes talking to Teddy - that's what we call him - and you gave him your full attention - that was very nice. Unless you speak Japanese it must have been a very limited conversation."
I laughed and replied, "Well he looked lonely." To which he replied, "Well, I'm lonely, would you talk to me?"
We talked for approximately 5 hours. We talked about music, history, travel - everything but racing. I actually assumed that he was a journalist or a public relations type for one of the teams. I was impressed by his gentleness and wide knowledge of the world.
At one point during the evening flash bulbs went off amidst a burst of laughter at the opposite end of the very large room. I was startled and looked in the direction of the lights for a second. He asked if I would rather be over there. I said, "No, not at all." Then it happened again and he repeated the question a little more insistently. When I replied "No" a second time, he asked "Are you sure?"
I replied with a laugh and giggling - "Oh no, that's probably just Mike Hailwood and I wouldn't walk across the room to meet him."
I emphasize that I was laughing when I said that. He looked stricken for a second and asked, "Why ever not?" I explained about my friend, the magazines and the stories. I said that from everything I had heard Mike Hailwood was a jet setting playboy and womanizer, probably rather superficial and not at all the kind of person I would enjoy talking to. He asked if I was enjoying talking to him and I replied, "Oh yes, very much so!"
A little after midnight the reception was breaking up. Amazingly we hadn't been interrupted during the whole evening. He asked me to have breakfast with him, then he suggested lunch, dinner, etc.. With each suggestion I kept explaining that I had commitments at work. He suggested every day until the weekend. I was smiling at his persistence. Then he asked me if I was going to the practice on Friday.
I said, "No, I told you I am really not a racing fan and besides I have to work." Then finally he asked if I was going to go to the races on Saturday.
I asked him if he was going to be there and he got an odd look on his face and said, "You really don't know who I am, do you?"
I said, laughing again (I laugh and giggle a lot), "No, who are you?" He replied, "I'm Mike Hailwood and I'm going to marry you."
Needless to say we saw each other the next day and every day that week.
The following week was magical.
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