Happy to be back

After many work and personal interruptions blogging will resume. Thoughts and musings on motorcycles, film, traffic, asshattery and other compelling topics will follow at a more frequent pace. No guarantees either explicit or implied are offered on the quality of these future post. Future comments coming soon.


Rubber Ducky Photo and Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved

11,000 times a minute

Eleven thousand times a minute the crank goes around and around. Eleven thousand times a minute the pistons go up and down. Suck, squeeze, bang, blow is the sequence that makes the Blue Meanie go. A gasp of air comes in and goes out. Over and over again the process repeats itself. Almost three thousand liters of air and a few drops of fuel mixed to perfection and used all up. Every minute this goes on as I ride past the people in their wheeled boxes. I hear the sound of the wind, feel the warmth of the sun, smell the tortillas cooking at the bakery. There is no radio, no cell phone calls, nothing to distract me from the world around me. There is speed and motion, sunlight and warmth. I feel the pitch, yaw and roll and I am focused. I am focused on the imminent dangers and the unparalleled pleasures around me. Eleven thousand times a minute the crank goes around as I ride.


Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved
Crankshaft photo courtesy of Wikicommons - Alex Kovach

A Curious Encounter

This morning as I rode the big Blue Meanie to work I had something occur which I have heard about but until that moment had never encountered myself. As I pulled onto the main street that leads to the on ramp of the interstate I saw a Japanese cruiser in front of me. I pulled up next to the bike and saw that the rider was a mid fifties grey bearded guy who proceeded to pointedly ignore me. Usually when I pull up next to someone on another two wheeler there is an acknowledgement of some fashion.From a simple head nod to a conversation about each others bikes I have always had a cordial interaction. It doesn't seem to matter what either of us is riding we understand that the other person knows what it is like to catch a bug in the teeth and taste that gooey, vegetale taste. We have both had a cell phone talking box driver drift over into our lane and had a fender close enough to polish if we wanted to reach out and do so. We both know that without a jacket rain at fifty miles an hour hurts and that gravel is a poor substitute for asphalt to fill potholes. Perhaps the rider I was along side today had a bad morning. Perhaps he was lost in thought or perhaps he was just anti-social. I'll never know but it was the first time a fellow two wheeler chose to respond in such a way. Then again maybe it was my cologne.



Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved
Harley riders on I4 photo courtesy of Wikicommons - Ian Griffiths

Raindrops

This morning was damp and misty but I decided to ride the little red dragon instead of taking the transportation module. As I rode it started to sprinkle and the first few raindrops made me wonder if I had made the right decision. Then a small raindrop hit my lips and I tasted how clean and fresh it was and I knew that it was going to be a good ride. It rained just enough to make the streets slick. I slowed down a little and realized that none of the people in their cars had any idea how wonderful the rain tasted or how cool and refreshing the air had become. I was extremely happy that I didn't take the car today.

Motorcycle Photo and Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved

Last night I watched "You've got Mail" and what surprised me most about the movie was the continual blatant product placement and the fact that the lead characters are not particularly likable. Writer/director Nora Ephron had things she wanted to say with the story but it just seemed to come across flat. I also found it hard to believe that after destroying the family business that the Meg Ryan character would ever consider forgiving the Tom Hanks character. It was a completely predictable romantic comedy that made common mistakes. characters were introduced and not expanded upon. There was the stereotypical trophy wife who runs off with the nanny. The significant others of Hank's and Ryan's characters were interesting people who deserved better partners and hopefully found them after being cut loose. Just random thoughts on an old movie.


Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved
Sandwich photo courtesy of Wikicommons - KF

Exploration

I was looking at a building as I walked down the street a few days ago and I wondered what it looked like inside. I figure many people have that same thought but I have often tried to answer that question. I will walk inside and ride the elevator and explore the floors which are open to me. I look in utility closets and take stairwells. I examine the art on the walls and try out the furniture. These explorations have led to discoveries of amazing palatial bathrooms with more square footage and finer appointments than my home. I've discovered secret alcoves with wonderful mosaic tile work and a private smoking balcony with amazing chairs and an ashtray that was one of the nicest pieces of design I have seen. Then there are the discoveries of mundane cubicle farms and sad lonely offices with dying plants and photos of disgruntled families on the desk. It is a crap shoot but a fascinating one.I don't just explore urban places I try to explore everywhere I go. When I was in high school a buddy and I would grab a backpack and go on all day hikes along the drainage ditches and canals that ran behind and through the suburban community where we lived. We saw the wild unkempt side of the local country club as well as the tennis pro and one of his students studying more than tennis. We had lunch under a grove of pecan trees that must have been over a hundred years old and that now unfortunately has been bulldozed and replaced with a strip center. We wandered stoned in the dappled sun and reveled in the secret joy of discover. I have a friend that likes to take his boat up the canals that run through Houston and show visitors the downtown skyscrapers from a unique vantage point. They gaze up at the towering buildings as herons fly past and fish splash near by them. Even when I am walking through the grocery store I take time to explore the offerings on the shelves. Vacuum sealed gnocchi and smoked,salty seaweed have been two of my better discoveries. I plan to start sharing my discoveries here and hope that I inspire some of you to do the same.




Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved
Allen's Landing photo courtesy of Wikicommons - Scott Ehardt

Laughing at the absurdity

This morning as I rode to work on the Blue Meanie I promised myself I would show a little discretion and control. I managed to make it about 2 miles into my ride when I saw cars taking evasive maneuvers as Captain Arrogance entered the freeway with total disregard for everyone else on the road. Using no signals and cutting vehicles off without regard for safety or courtesy Captain Arrogance was a barracuda amongst the snapper. He sipped his caffeinated beverage and cut off another driver as he entered the fast lane. As I watched him an overwhelming juvenile urge descended on me and I rolled onto the throttle hard. I pulled up beside the $73,000 Porsche Cayenne GTS and as I pulled even I looked over and waved. He glanced over and as he sipped his coffee he floored the throttle to show me what money and Teutonic engineering could accomplish. I believe he really thought that his high dollar panzer could run with the Blue Meanie. I dropped a couple of downshifts to drive the lesson home and showed Captain Arrogance what two wheeled superbike performance was like. I thought that might be the end of it but the Captain was too stubborn for that and he proceeded to cut traffic off in an even more asinine manner. He got stuck behind some traffic I had passed and in his frustration pulled into the lane of a large black Suburban. As I watched events unfold in my mirrors he almost hit the massive American box causing its driver to start chasing him. My juvenile activity had started a multi-vehicle chase on a busy freeway. I decided I would put some distance between myself and Captain Arrogance and his pursuer. Traffic didn't cooperate and as I waited for a hole to run and hide in the red Porsche pulled up next to me and I saw the angry beet-red face of the Captain cursing at me for having the audacity to show up his 400 horsepower SUV. The black Suburban and its red-faced cursing driver pulled along side and horn honking, middle finger flashing and cursing ensued. I took the opportunity to find the elusive hole and disappeared at a high rate of speed. As I rounded a curve and decelerated to a safe and prudent speed, I saw the Porsche driver make a highly illegal lane change and using all of his power rocket away from the Chevy. Unfortunately he did this just as a cop car entered the freeway. Lights flashed and I am betting Captain Arrogance had the pleasure of receiving many tickets and perhaps getting the chance to sample the City's special accommodations. I laughed in relief that I wasn't joining him then I laughed even harder at my own stupid, juvenile behavior. I laughed so hard I cried at the memory of Captain Arrogance red face spewing profanity at me. I'm not proud of my stupid and dangerous behavior. High speed blasts in morning traffic are antisocial and thoughtless and I do not recommend them. I hope as Captain Arrogance was sitting in the City's metal-barred accommodations he came to have the same realization.

Motorcycle Photo and Text © Crownedstoat – All rights reserved
Porsche Cayenne photo courtesy Wikicommons - 3268zauber