Commuting…The strange. The Odd… And the FUN

[eric2]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

why post a video nobody else can watch? (this video is private)

It wasn't private originally. They probably got too many negative comments or something and made it private later.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by eric2

why post a video nobody else can watch? (this video is private)

It wasn't when I posted it.

It played on another thread... Let's try again.

[Phlemdog]

Nope. It's definitely been switched to private.

[gunut75]

"Was this on the Buell? Those things make stoppies too easy."

Yeah, it was the Buell. I have since put a radial MC on it for even better modulation.

[MikeJansen]

On my way into work this past winter (Nov? Jan? something like that) at about 6:30 in the dark I noticed a guy driving about 50mph and playing Angry Birds on his phone held in front of him on his steering wheel.

Have seen a kid on a step through texting at 35mph on a dual carriageway . . . .

Watched a 14.5 tonne truck climb the curb and take out a bunch of those safety-barrier-orange-and-white-filled-with-sand-or-water-thingies then jerk back on the to road like nothing happened.

The other evening there was a lovely moment when the traffic opened in front of me and I was behind a Aston DB9 who gave it a foot full of throttle. The noise made my night.

[ThatOtherGuy]

Originally Posted by MikeJansen

On my way into work this past winter (Nov? Jan? something like that) at about 6:30 in the dark I noticed a guy driving about 50mph and playing Angry Birds on his phone held in front of him on his steering wheel.

Have seen a kid on a step through texting at 35mph on a dual carriageway . . . .

Watched a 14.5 tonne truck climb the curb and take out a bunch of those safety-barrier-orange-and-white-filled-with-sand-or-water-thingies then jerk back on the to road like nothing happened.

The other evening there was a lovely moment when the traffic opened in front of me and I was behind a Aston DB9 who gave it a foot full of throttle. The noise made my night.

The sound of a well tuned engine being wrung out always puts a big stupid grin on your face, I don't care who you are.

[WVhillbilly]

I'm working along I395 just west of Miami Beach. I see and hear quite a few examples of expensive Italian autos wind it up just as the road opens up next to the site.
Beautiful sound

There is normally a speed trap about a quarter mile ahead of them, so I don't know how it plays out for them tho

[khager]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

It wasn't when I posted it.

It played on another thread... Let's try again.

Looks like he slightly swerved, and cracked open the throttle simultaneously to me. Can't have too much HP in a situation like that. With my Wee-Strom I would definitely have to rely on me brakes here!

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by khager

With my Wee-Strom I would definitely have to rely on me brakes here!

Nah.... Just keep your revs up a bit. You are running a gear too high.

[shaddix]

Bump :(?

[SomethingClever]

Had a very weird experience this morning heading into work.

I was heading west on Woodstock just east of 52nd. The speed limit is 35 and I was going around 40. I started to slow down a bit in anticipation of a 25 zone (where they often stick one of those stupid police photo vans ) when I was PASSED aggressively by a light blue Lexus!

Keep in mind that this is a city street, not a highway. I have never been passed on a 2-lane street riding or driving around Portland, or even SEEN anyone be passed.

It happened so fast that I could barely even process it. When I realized what had just happened, I got pretty mad. They had no reason to pass (I was already speeding) and they really whipped around me with no warning at all. The car was probably going 50+ mph but of course it had to slow and stop at 52nd behind a line of cars. I was turning right so I saw an opportunity to pull up next to the car and yell at whoever was driving. I expected to see some young hotshot douche or maybe a wannabe gangster.

Nope. Two seemingly mild-mannered, professionally dressed women in their early 30s. I yelled and shook my fist at them and then rode off, but I'm not sure they noticed.

What the actual fuck?

[slartidbartfast]

Originally Posted by SomethingClever

Had a very weird experience this morning heading into work.

I was heading west on Woodstock just east of 52nd. The speed limit is 35 and I was going around 40. I started to slow down a bit in anticipation of a 25 zone (where they often stick one of those stupid police photo vans ) when I was PASSED aggressively by a light blue Lexus!

Keep in mind that this is a city street, not a highway. I have never been passed on a 2-lane street riding or driving around Portland, or even SEEN anyone be passed.

It happened so fast that I could barely even process it. When I realized what had just happened, I got pretty mad. They had no reason to pass (I was already speeding) and they really whipped around me with no warning at all. The car was probably going 50+ mph but of course it had to slow and stop at 52nd behind a line of cars. I was turning right so I saw an opportunity to pull up next to the car and yell at whoever was driving. I expected to see some young hotshot douche or maybe a wannabe gangster.

Nope. Two seemingly mild-mannered, professionally dressed women in their early 30s. I yelled and shook my fist at them and then rode off, but I'm not sure they noticed.

What the actual fuck?

So your speeding was ok but theirs wasn't? Why is that? They surprised you?

Seems like you just set back the image of motorcyclists for a couple of other road users when you should have been berating yourself for not paying enough attention to your mirrors

[SomethingClever]

So your speeding was ok but theirs wasn't? Why is that? They surprised you?

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I wasn't on the freeway, or a rural highway. I was in the fuckin' city. People don't pass people in the city here. I called it a two-lane road so maybe you pictured two lanes going the same direction. Not the case. There is one lane going in each direction.

On this particular stretch of road, I don't think their speed, while above the posted limit, was incredibly excessive. It's a wide street with no major intersections. 35 is the speed limit, most people go 40; I'd say 50 is right about the cutoff for unreasonable.

So the point wasn't their speed... it was that they made a dangerous pass on a city street for absolutely no reason (we were heading into a 25 zone and probably 1/4 mile from a stoplight.

I can't emphasize this enough. I've been driving and riding for a long time in this town and I have NEVER been passed on a city street like this!

Edit to further clarify. Imagine you are pulling up to a light where you can see a line of stopped cars. You begin to slow down. Someone then passes you, only to immediately have to slow down behind the other cars. That is almost exactly what happened. We could see the goddamn cars at the light ahead!

If this had happened half a mile earlier, I would have still been annoyed and confused as to why they passed me in the city like that... but less so because at least we wouldn't have been about to come to a stop!

[SomethingClever]

Translation: Today I was riding and oblivious to what was going on behind me and was startled when someone passed me…


If you find yourself getting pissed off you are doing it wrong. Stop and take a break.

Honestly I don't have the same zen level of acceptance as you when I'm riding. I just don't. I do make an effort to let most things roll off my back when I'm on the bike (not so when I'm in a cage), but whenever someone does something dangerously retarded I have to at least let them know.

You live in Portland (or near Portland). Have you ever seen someone make a pass like this in the city? I have been driving here for almost 20 years and I have literally never seen it. It's one thing to be oblivious... it's another to be taken by surprise by something completely unexpected. Like if I went to get in the shower in the morning and a guy in a clown suit was already standing in there. That's what it felt like. My jaw just dropped.

Another edit here too: I was steady and in control when they passed, in fact I hardly reacted at all because it was so surprising that I honestly could barely process it as it was happening. I thought it must be a police car at first, off to an urgent response. Nope.