Modern Vespa

Guilty as charged.

this is true

If life gives you lemons…

Actually life never gave us lemons. Lemons are a man made cross breed between a citron and a sour orange. If you've been given lemons it's from other people. People suck.

So it's no wonder that lemons make one pucker?

You don't know what your limits are until you exceed them and just because I am sliding doesn't mean I am out of control!

I bought a brand new KTM Duke in 1996. 600 cc single 4 stroke motocrosser with WP street suspension and bridgestone battleaxe tires.

While riding in my neighborhood I got a ticket for sliding the rear wheel around a corner with the front wheel off the ground a couple inches from the apex of the turn on. I had made this turn several times and you could see the line on the pavement from the rear tire.

I remember the cop saying something about being dangerously out of control and it really bothered me, dude you can't do what I just did unless you are in perfect control. I was dialed in!

Many years before that I learned how to drive a car on two wheels by accident when I overcooked it again on a corner in my neighborhood. I did not want to end up in my neighbors yard so I made a really hard left turn and when it came up as it was starting to roll I caught the balance point. I continued driving like that for a good 50 yards before I set it down and my friend riding shotgun calmly said "hey next time can I be on the high side?"

Amazing how quickly a car full of rambunctious young people will sit perfectly still and quiet when you bring it up on two wheels...just like these guys

This seems to apply to many things, riding included:

Courage is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.
Stupidity is the same.
And that's why life is hard.

And stupidity is like death.

When you are dead you don't know, but everyone else does.

Being stupid is the same.

I was at a Jimmy Buffett concert many years ago, and it was an outdoor venue.
And it was POURING rain.

Buckets.

My not-wife-yet-at-the-time was miserable. Wet rat sort of image.

So I grabbed her and said, very seriously, "You can only get so wet."

I frequently wonder when I witness stupid acts how does it not hurt the stupid actor? I think you are right they just don't know! I physically hurt from stupid mental acts. I have a high IQ so I make decisions really quickly, especially the stupid decisions!

A high IQ but not high enough, I am just smart enough to know how stupid I am. If only I was a little bit more stupid I would be blissfully ignorant!

I had a chief in the Navy that told me many times, "Mather, there's no sense in being stupid unless you show it."

My Dad told me,

From Neil Gaiman's American Gods:

Lowkey: "Do not [mess] with [women] in airports."

been down so long it looks like up to me

Richard Fariña


Genghis Khan and his brother Don
Couldn't keep on keepin' on

Dylan

"your other left dammit!"

"Mens, this morning...."

U.S. Army 1968

So a phrase that I have heard that I think very appropriate in that it fits this crowd of scooterists, motorcyclists, and bicylists is:

Don't be so afraid of dying that you are afraid to live.

There may well be a better term for it, better language, but what it means to me is don't be scared. And if you are a little scared it might be fun.

I mean your gonna die anyway. Yeah I get it lets not be totally stupid right? There is a time and a place to test your limits. You don't need to be testing them all the time. That would be just nuts but I think we all as we come of age from kid to adult we all test a little bit.

I would imagine most of the group in here doesn't have to worry about being to cautious to go out and try stuff, that most of us have tested our limits pretty well. You don't get to be any level of two wheeled vehicle pilot in modern society without having checked that box, if you have ridden you are in.

Some of us started young, some old. Some with social constraints or disabilities but we all of us had to see that and think on some level wow that looks like fun! It also looks like it could be dangerous and it could hurt if I crash but I wanna try that.

And it doesn't just apply to bikes or riding in general its about life is short go out and try stuff. Try not to blow yourself up but try not to be too careful either. See if you can do it and maybe even get good at it.

I know there are a bunch of people in here that think the same way. I have seen the threads about the edge of the wear on the tires and such. This group doesn't need to hear don't be so afraid of dying you don't live.

The mental picture I get is that this can only mean that your face wasn't showing enough pain when you realized what you had done and looked over to see the Chief staring right at you. As your eyes met you were not showing enough emotion or enough pain too much of a blank look still as it hadn't completely sunken in yet...

LOL! While what you say is true, I was really just a 19 year old dumb ass!<G>

Thanks, Skids!

You are quite welcome!

Why do you think that picture popped into my mind so clearly...as if I had the exact same thing happen to me...

I think it's fairly common thing to go through. If only I were just a little bit more stupid and blissfully ignorant.

If a man tells you he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or a Gurkha

so fish and chips I love. I know this has gone away from the first post but I love food and really love fish and chips. My wife and I took a British isles cruise a number of years ago. I had the local bear and local fish and chips every place we stopped. Each was a little different but all so tasty. I now live in AZ and good fish and chips is a bit harder to find and most are just not like what I had in the British isles. Oh well just though i should post.

@LarryMK how was the bear? [/quote]

The only thing worse than failure is the failure to try.

I tell my kids to always try their best, even if the outcome may not be what they hoped. Then again, they may surprise themselves!

Statement on my tombstone will be:

"I looked so good, because you all were so mediocre - Thank you"

Ba dee ba da,

Bob Copeland

i guess I need to read better before posting

My Mother asked me:* *I didn't because she's my mom.

I like lemon ice cream, lemon cake, lemon cookies and all are manmade delights from lemons which were created by we humans. I once had a California uncle who had lemons & grapefruit that allowed to tree ripen all the way were seriously sweet. All citrus we eat and use is bred by humans, whats the problemo?