Monday, December 28, 2009

A Short Note On Motorcycling Technique

It's a fairly well known fact amongst readers of these musings that Millbrooker Towers harbours a biker or two. Well, technically just the one because I'm not allowed to be in charge of a motorised vehicle any more; the police get upset if white cane users start driving or riding around on the public highway.

The Depitty, though, continues to enjoy the freedom of the road on his yellow thingy.Now, every once in a while, a biker has a split second decision or two to make. That's the way you stay safe and also the way you keep a hold on your licence.

So imagine, if you will, that you're astride a large and powerful machine. Perhaps it might be a bright yellow SV650.
You're doing a fair old lick (a tad above the legal limit) along a dual carriageway; you glance at your clocks and realise that you're travelling along at something in excess of 85mph. Not hugely dangerous on a clear road, in good conditions and with a fairly experienced pilot in the saddle - but decidedly well above what you should be doing according to the law of the land.

Before you know it, you're alongside a rozzer wagon that you find yourself in the midst of overtaking. Even though it is already doing 85mph and is in pursuit of a speeding car in front.

Here's the that split second choice that you now have to make.

Do you:

(A) Glance in the direction of the copper on your left, glance quickly at your speedometer, make an "oops, how-stupid-of-me" gesture, ease off the throttle and pull in behind thus allowing Mr Thin-Blue-Line to continue on his way without having seen your number plate and (hopefully) thinking you'd just lost concentration for a moment?

or do you

(B) Open the throttle a bit more and hope for the best, thus ensuring a bit of an unequal chase followed by some awkward questions and an expensive court appearance?

Now who would possibly think that (B) could be the right answer? Now, no names and no pack drill, but there are only two bikers at Millbrooker Towers and one of them isn't allowed to ride any more. The other one is still allowed to ride - but his licence isn't as unblemished as it once was.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Joshua & Nicky,

Just thought I'd let you know how Charlie is doing on his charity trip driving to Mali in Africa.

Don't know if you knew but Charlie had mechanical problems with the 1968 Renault, and on Boxing day ended up buying a 1992 Suzuki jeep for £175 in Liskeard - so a day late they raced through the night to the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone to catch the 04:35 Calais train - and at check-in were told they had too much fuel and to pour 20 litres of petrol away!!

Charlie (with co-pilot Mike) drove virtually non-stop through France yesterday, and all through the night in horrendous torrential rain weather conditions through the Pyrenees mountains but the road was empty - so fuelled with a Maccie D and 3 Red Bulls he kept going until reaching outskirts of Madrid at 5am this morning.

Mike's driving now to give Charlie Farley a rest ...... I spoke to Charlie at lunchtime today and they are now between Madrid and Algeciris/Tarifa, due there early evening where they join up with the rest of the party.

They've got a 4-star hotel so they can have a much needed hot shower, a good dinner, and a beer with the other peeps in the convoy - and a good night's sleep.

They leave Tarifa on the ferry tomorrow morning for Tangier, Morocco ...... and hope to be in Marrakesh for a bit of a celebration on New Year's Eve.

Then the target is the border at Mauritania for 5th January - where they pick up their armed escort ........