http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...i-keep-riding/


tl;dr

The last two paragraphs are the best and sum up riding in a great way (to me at least)


"At 90 mph, there's so very little between you and oblivion that there might as well be nothing there at all. You feel your mortality humming like a plucked thread somewhere behind your ribs, and somehow, it's worth it.

A bike demands an ante. The wager is the rest of your life. All of it. Every dreary Monday, every willowy summer dusk. Every word you might utter, the whispers of unknown lovers, smiles and tears, and chest-bursting pride. The crunch of snow under your boot and the first saltwater kiss of the sea. You put it all up every time you twist the throttle and go reaching for some crooked stitch of unknown asphalt."

 

I don't have time to check in with my feelings at 90+ mph because I am too busy concentrating on my riding.

Besides, if a person starts to worry about making a mistake at those speeds, they are going too fast for their own good.

 

I stopped reading R&T decades ago.
When I was growing up, my dad subscribed to R&T and he kept every issue he had, I remember the cabinets in the living room having every issue going back to 1961 or something like that...and when I was a kid, I read, and re-read, and re-read again..all those issues. Memorizing 0-60 times, engine specs, etc.

Back in then and probably up until the late 80's or early 90's..they had a great editor, Peter Egan. I always hit up his stories.

Anyways, this kid did OK in this article. Good to see some class in there, an old BMW R90. Would love one of those in my stable.

 

I would like your Dad. Egan was great editor and I liked Denise McCluggage writing too. Do you still have those R&T issues?

 

I am not sure if my mom still has them or not. My dad died when I was in my early 20's...after I flew the coop. I'm not sure if the stacks of them are still on the shelves in the basement, or attic. Would be neat to find that they were....I'd love to flip through them again. Man..the memories....all those road tests of the cars I grew up with in the late 60's and through the 70's and into the early 80's. Loved his "Side Glances" editorials.

Haven't seen my mom in a while, I barely stop over there a couple of times a year, I'll have to make an effort to see if they're still there next time I'm over there.
In the late 70's into the mid 80's I used to get Cycle World magazine...he wrote for them too...his "Leanings" editorials.

 

I guess everyone feels differently. At 90, I'm wondering how 100 might feel and how much the ticket will be if I get caught. My bike seems to like 75-80 best, and no tickets so far.

 

Eagan's "Leanings" articles have been compiled into a couple of books. The books are also called Leanings. Makes for a good read if the magazines are long gone.

 

90 mph on a heavy bike may be dangerous, it does not inspire confidence like it would on a Duc or some other sport bike intended for higher speed riding and cornering.

This fella daydreaming about his new kid is a recipe for disaster. Questioning his own riding is like doubling down.

It's like riding angry or pissed, your head has to be in the ride.

 

Eagan's articles and stories on motorcycles and cars were the best reading available. He has three books out now based on his Leanings motorcycle articles. Wish he didn't retire,but all good things come to a end. He is doing guest articles and bike reviews every once and a while.

 

One of those things that fades into memory...Peter Egans writings. I'll have to go find those compilation books.

..back to point of the story in this thread...it is something that can run through ones mind. I am certainly one who has pushed his wheels, be it 2..or 4. Triple digits is common...in the truck, and although not on my current Shovelhead (I'll only take her into the 80's)....my prior Dyna tasted triple digits quite a few times. And yes those points can come into your mind as you're doing that. For me...it was the fact that I have a wife and kids to come home to. Those would make me back off 10 or 20 mph...get closer to 70.

...and then another day comes...and you find yourself doing it again...


..and again...