Why bother with a blog, boring people to death with your rambling and inane views? Is it ego that compels us, wanting to show people how important our little world is or is it just that basic human need to communicate? I confess that I am not sure of either but there is something that gnaws away at my conscious – why don’t bike blogs have soul? A sweeping statement of generalisation? Probably, but I must have been terribly unlucky to have read several bike blogs that describe the hackneyed and tiresome view of riding a motorbike - “Took the A54678999 to Upper Fartpants, loads of twisty roads, got my kneedown, stopped for a cup of tea with my mate chunky…..etc, etc”. Unfortunately I can’t stop myself from reading them, compulsion takes over, but I find myself empty at the end of the latest instalment wishing I hadn’t bothered. The last entry on which tires to choose being just too dull to comprehend – “dear God, why did you make me read it”?!!. That’s it “never again” I tell myself. The problem is could I do better? I don’t know, that will be for other people to decide.
If I’m to write a blog it has to have “soul” – a description of feelings be they pleasurable, excitement or sadness. A love of the ride for it being just that, describing the sights, smells and relationships along the way. The bike has to be an integral part of me, feeling an affinity for each other when we bond, cursing when we do not. It’s almost marriage like. Mix in some humour and wit and maybe I can stretch the reader enough to come back for more, not because they feel compelled to but because they want to. I’ve set myself a challenge now. Judge me accordingly – is it genuine desire or just compulsion to read further?
So who am I? Well we British are terribly reserved and appallingly bad at describing ourselves particularly our perception of where we stand in the world. I’m afraid I too am made of this British mould. They’ll be a few details that will leak out and for those that do know me I hope you find an accurate description as you read. For those of you that don’t know me I hope you agree that it’s a little bit more interesting if I remain a somewhat elusive and anonymous blogger. Form your own picture, maybe we’ll meet at some point. What I will say is that I’m not an expert in all things Bike related. Far from it and this will quickly become apparent. Put simply I’m a normal bloke that has a healthy respect for the escapism my bike provides.
I hope you return, remember desire not compulsion, hopefully I’ll keep you interested. If I start describing the A54678999 to Upper Fartpants then I have failed and you have every right to remove me from your browser.
About Me
- SuzyQ
- This blog is a collection of my writings describing more than the ride. It is a blog to stimulate the romance of bike ownership - describing the feelings and passion. I hope it stirs your interest.
Waiting to go on honeymoon
Blog Flux
Very enjoyable to read about the emotional content of your bike experience. I have been a motorcycle dealer for 28 years and in the shop doing various jobs for another 7 before that.So the '60s are not retro for me, they are my foundation in biking. My favorite songs from that era are Duke of Earl and Born to be Wild. But mostly I listen to Bach and Mozart. I am still a passionate biker and occasional poet. I find that empathy with the customer's own connection to motorcycling is the way to a great relationship and also results in more personal enjoyment and better sales!
ReplyDeleteWe do a lot of rides with customers and some of my best friends
are people who just came in the shop to look at bikes. By the way,
when my wife and I married, we drove 3,000 miles across the country on two bikes to get married, then 3,000 miles back as our honeymoon. That was back in 1978, you probably weren't born yet!
Scrmblerkari (Kari Prager)
Thanks for your kind words Kari, it is an honour to have someone with such a heritage and passion for bikes read my blog. I hope you return. Interestingly my next post is to be about my admiration for a bike mechanic, his love of what he does simply inspires me -come back and have a read.
ReplyDeleteI was but a little boy in 1978.....I'm sure details of me will leak out more as I write.
I've also added your blog to my favourites.
Re: your comments about motorcycle mechanics: being a motorcycle mechanic is a little like being a musician. You have to practice daily if you want to be good at it. You are constantly dealing with sound: rhythm, pitch, harmony, "mistakes" in the melody, of course this applies primarily to mechanical diagnosis and tuning. I've always felt that listening to a lot of Bach
ReplyDeletecontrapuntal music was great training for setting/synchronizing
two carburetors by ear and hearing motor defects. No one ever seems to relate to the concept, though. Not much general interest in Bach any more. Too bad, people are missing some of the greatest music of all time!
Electrical problems, for example, require a whole different approach, a combination of logic, experience and intuition. All in all it is very satisfying work, although I rarely do it anymore.
The bikes have gotten so complicated and computer driven that my experience doesn't count much. They do call me in for the old stuff, the '70's through the mid-90's.
Your comments about the emotional content of riding are right on.
I believe the bike has to be an extension of your immediate experience in present time, so much a part of you that your awareness of the bike itself is submerged in the awareness of the
experience of riding. I ride a lot of different bikes, and my favorites are the ones that are transparent - that do not intrude on the ride,
but act as a corporeal extension - I don't need to think about them
and make conscious adjustments to my riding. This is probably why to me the most important improvements to a bike are suspension and tires. There is no "Best" in this - it is what fits your riding style.
For example I run rather lower pressures than most, and am set up
to have a little less rake and trail for quicker turn-in and holding the line through corners better. I used find myself running wide in the corners with my Scrambler but not any more since I jacked up
the back in relation to the front to get my chassis spec. numbers right for me. Plus it is much higher at both ends so there are no ground clearance issues any more.
Kari
Kari - love your comments re the connection between music and mechanics of bike ownership. You'll see from my latest writing that I am not much of a mechanic.
ReplyDeleteMusic though plays an important part in my world, rockabilly makes me smile, relax, drink etc Occaisionally I lose myself in it (it's playing now as I write). It's link to the bonnie cannot be understated.