December 08, 2006

100,000 miles on two wheels – the good, the bad and the ugly

Follow-up to More surprising facts about motorcycling from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

My GS is still in the garage in bits. So I have time to reflect upon the experience of motorcycling. Here’s a list of highlights and downers…

The good:

  1. Just going around any fast and wide sweeping corner with excellent grip and visibility.
  2. Heavily scented country air being forced through the vents at the front of my helmet.
  3. 0-60 in 5 seconds on a 15 year old trail-bike, 0-60 in 3.5 seconds on a new Ducati.
  4. Overtaking a Porsche Boxster out of a right hand bend.
  5. Every time a complete stranger on a bike signals hello (nod of the head in the UK, wave in SA, shake of the leg in continental Europe).
  6. Filtering past a Maserati stuck in a mile long line of cars, millions of pounds worth of vehicles, all going nowhere – fools!
  7. Riding a twisty mountain road with an incredible view, locations including the Pyrenees, Montserrat, Auvergne and Chapman’s Peak Drive in Cape Town.
  8. Crossing France in a day on back roads.
  9. Riding dry dirt roads in southern Europe or South Africa.
  10. Kick starting a BMW 1000cc transverse twin.

The bad:

  1. Being hit on the head and knocked out by debris at 85mph on the motorway in Catalunya (glad I wasn’t driving a car, it would have come straight through the windscreen).
  2. Hitting a dead swan at 80mph in the middle lane of the M40.
  3. Dodging past sheets of glass falling off the back of a lorry on the M40 (I passed the lorry and stopped it).
  4. Being blown off a motorway while riding an F650 in heavy wind.
  5. Exhaust valve burn out in the outside lane of the motorway.
  6. Riding on motorways, especially the Paris Peripherique.
  7. Falling off in deep mud, glamorous locations including Salisbury Plane, the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire and the Karoo desert.
  8. Riding at 90mph in the outside lane of a French motorway, and being overtaken by a car with half of its wheels off the road.
  9. Diesel spills, especially around Warwick University (blame the bus company?)
  10. Car drivers, van drivers, caravaners.

And the ugly:

..the Moosehead biker gang (notice the complete absence of functioning motorcycles).


Robert O'Toole : 08 Dec 2006 22:49 |  Tags:         |  Comments (2) |  Report a problem

- 2 comments by 2 or more people Not publicly viewable

  1. Dean McIlwraith

    Hmmm – I like.

    I wish I’d seen more of ‘the good’ before my biking days were cut short.
    I’m thankful that ‘the bad’ I experienced wasn’t worse.
    I have an ugly scar on my leg.

    I don’t think it’s too long before all bikers have a bad experience of some sort. Some do time in hospital! I have, and for me it’s tipped the balance. I can’t see ‘the good’ for ‘the bad’ at the moment :O( Meanwhile, I’m hobbling around on crutches and making good progress to full recovery.

    Steve (metal leg) Ranford

    13 Dec 2006, 10:05

  2. Robert O'Toole

    Hi Steve, welcome back. And congratulations on the new job.

    You’ve had the worst luck imaginable. I’m not surprised that you are feeling bad. But I bet you’ve got less metal in your legs than Sete Gibernau, if that’s any comfort. I foresee a glorious career for you in MotoGP racing.

    13 Dec 2006, 10:59

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