Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Dementia
I miss riding motorcycles. There is nothing else that can deliver the sense of speed and reality of speed. Doing 40 on a bike is not like doing 40 in a car. 40 in a car, in a straight line of course, is boring. 40 on a 2 wheeled terror is not. The wind rushing past your helmet, or lack thereof if you so choose, knocks your head around and all you can hear is the engine, exhaust, wind and your thoughts.
It's such a pure vehicular experience. There is no radio to keep your mind distracted. You have to be super vigilant because any number of road hazards can eat your lunch. It keeps your mind sharp, but at the same time you are free to mull over your thoughts. Had a bad day? Nothing a 20 minute commute home on a bike can't cure. That and they're very fuel efficient. Even big Harleys get around 30 mpg, which isn't great but it's better than alot of vehicles on the roads today.
But that sense of speed is also why they call motorcycle riders "organ donors". Because it's true. If you're in a serious accident, odds are heavily against you surviving. Yes there are a few measures you can take and superbike riders do wreck doing 130 mph and walk away, but that usually involves one bike, a slide across some grass and hitting a bail of hay. No cars or trees or street signs or rocks.
Lastly, I've always been amazed by large people. By that I mean tall and big. Like Rob's size, 6'5", 260 lbs. Football player size. And also basketball player sized people. They're just so much bigger than the normal person. I was watching Shaq's Cribs episode and he has a room with a gigantic oversized desk. It's "size" therapy for him. Since he is so enormous, 7'1", 325 lbs., he has this desk that makes him reach for things. He has to reach over the desk to get the pencil, reach over the desk to get a paper clip. And the chair is low so it comes up to his chest. He feels so big all the time that to keep him sane, he needs to balance it out and feel small sometimes. Which is why I think we always feel sorry for the giants. They're not bad people, they just seem scary because of their size.
It's such a pure vehicular experience. There is no radio to keep your mind distracted. You have to be super vigilant because any number of road hazards can eat your lunch. It keeps your mind sharp, but at the same time you are free to mull over your thoughts. Had a bad day? Nothing a 20 minute commute home on a bike can't cure. That and they're very fuel efficient. Even big Harleys get around 30 mpg, which isn't great but it's better than alot of vehicles on the roads today.
But that sense of speed is also why they call motorcycle riders "organ donors". Because it's true. If you're in a serious accident, odds are heavily against you surviving. Yes there are a few measures you can take and superbike riders do wreck doing 130 mph and walk away, but that usually involves one bike, a slide across some grass and hitting a bail of hay. No cars or trees or street signs or rocks.
Lastly, I've always been amazed by large people. By that I mean tall and big. Like Rob's size, 6'5", 260 lbs. Football player size. And also basketball player sized people. They're just so much bigger than the normal person. I was watching Shaq's Cribs episode and he has a room with a gigantic oversized desk. It's "size" therapy for him. Since he is so enormous, 7'1", 325 lbs., he has this desk that makes him reach for things. He has to reach over the desk to get the pencil, reach over the desk to get a paper clip. And the chair is low so it comes up to his chest. He feels so big all the time that to keep him sane, he needs to balance it out and feel small sometimes. Which is why I think we always feel sorry for the giants. They're not bad people, they just seem scary because of their size.
# posted by Seth @ 6:57 AM 
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