I grew up with a TOTALLY different motorbike outlook than any of you. Obviously. I always wanted to ride 'em, and when I was young my father would take me for rides. It was pretty scary riding with him, looking back he was probably drunk. Anyway, my uncle he raced 'em. If you've got an uncle that races motorbikes, he'll ruin it for the rest of the entire family.
When I say race, I mean drag racing IHRA champion (1980 something, he just passed away last winter). I think it was at Bristol but can't be sure.
The first bad wreck happened at over 100mph on a track where the catch can blew on a previous run (a catch can is racing safety device that collects any leaking or lost fluids --oils, coolants, water, etc.). When water and oil mix, it becomes slicker than goose shit and he just wiped out. You run most of the race on one wheel anyway with a long wheelie bar to keep you from flipping. When he hit that shit, the bike just went right out from under him and were it not for the leathers he'd be dead. Not cheap store leathers, they had nylon fibers and shit inside and the pavement wore right through it in places. I forget how many broken bones, but Evel Kneivel type shit, and he went all the way down the track on his back. Busted his helmet in to, right down the middle, but it saved him. Shattered his glasses in his eyes. road rash to the point the bone wore flat. He was fucked up and damn near in one of those cartoon body casts, damn near it.
As soon as he healed up, some grandma pulls in front of him on a highway in front of a walmart. She was driving a land yacht and he couldn't avoid it, knew this time it was coming. Flew over the hood at 60 or so and continued on sliding down the pavement on his ass. More broken bones and this time he started losing function. He had one more small wreck after that, but it did the most damage because it caused loss of use in all the previously damaged parts.
He still worked on 'em though up until he just got too sick to do it. He got old and COPD and other shit caught up with him and he didn't leave any for old age, so that ate him up fast. I figure I was able to do about all that without a motorcycle so maybe mom was right keeping me off of 'em.
I did get a blast out of using our four wheelers in the army though, those were a blast. That's about all my motor bike experience right there.
So stay safe AJ! Place wouldn't be the same without you.
www.sunsigns.org
