It's always fun to read posts of a new guy gets his first taste. Here's something I wrote on the old forum. I was going to toss it out but I thought I'd post it here first. I'm kind of laughing at myself reading this two years later. It sure was exciting. I'm happy to say there is so much i still have not experienced. Thanks newbs for keeping the spirit alive.
A short time ago I replied to a post and the topic of age came up. We don’t really know how old anyone on the forum is. I ended my reply with a quip that reminded me of a thing that happened to me while riding my 14 earlier this summer. I’d like to relay the story for anyone who cares to read it.
I put my kids to bed , said goodbye to the wife and went out for a night ride on my bike. I could hear sound of engines screaming into the red off in the distance and I thought, “Oh yeah, I might just be doing some of that myself tonight.” After zooming through the parkway I was passed by a dude on a liter bike. I waved, he waved back. He came to a stoplight and I pulled up behind him. His pipes sounded pretty mean compared to my stock exhaust. I thought maybe I could take him but that would be a bit confrontational seeing as how we both just waved to each other. I didn’t have a lot of experience on this beast of mine (still don’t-) but I knew I was going to come up against somebody sooner or later. At 750 miles, my 14 was cleanly broke in but I wasn’t. See, my last bike was just an 800 cc Vulcan cruiser. Whole different ballgame there. The light changed and he took off cornering pretty hard & pretty fast. “Nope. I better not,” I thought. The 14 is up to the task but not me. Not yet. He turned onto a local thoroughfare here on the west side of town and he was gone in a second or two.
I continued down the road. It was the first hot night we’d had this summer. Lots of traffic for nighttime. Some people going kind of fast. “Oh, that’s right,” I thought. “It’s Friday night on the strip. Lots of hotrods looking for action out on a Friday night. Young folks- lots of teenagers. Well. I’ve gone fast but never competively against another vehicle. I chickened out on the bike I just met but if anyone pulls up on me here I’m taking ‘em.
Several miles down the road I see cars wolf packing ahead of me. Five – six at a time. Tires screeching engines roaring. Three lanes of traffic. Kids are in the mood. Lots of cops. They know where to come to write tickets on a hot summer Friday night. A couple cops have bubbles spinning with speeders pulled over to the side. I played cool going slow in the far right lane
I could have jumped on the expressway but instead I turned off onto a side street and turned around to head back North on the strip. It wasn’t long before a yellow Honda eased up along side me modulating the gas a bit here and there. I sped up and so did he. Up comes a silver Trans-Am. Both cars had loud exhaust systems. Louder than mine, that’s for sure but I could feel my exhaust reverberating through my body. The resonation of our motor noise was exhilarating. We had our own little pack crossing all three lanes all holding our position for some minutes. I figured out the game we just played. Fill all lanes, maintain formation and sooner or later you will all find yourself at a light. Yup. The time had come. We had a light. I didn’t know what to expect but I figured I had pretty good odds; even with my greenhorn skills. I might get beat but so what. I wouldn’t get totally trounced.
I wasn’t sure what they would do. I didn’t want to look like a fool and tear off at the green light if the young bucks were just going to sit there and laugh at me. I decided to wait and listen for tires breaking loose or engines waling – something. The cross traffic lights turned yellow…red, I stared up at our light…GREEN. The cars took off, engines blaring. I dumped my clutch and opened half throttle. All they saw of me was a streak of headlights shooting past their side and then my AY-ES-ES up in front of them. By the time I was done with second, I couldn’t even see their headlights on the street below me. I hit third and fourth. Where’d they go? I slowed down. I was going way to fast and there was traffic up ahead. I checked my mirrors but they were so far back, all I could see was a hundred tiny lights. I was pretty proud of my Mimi. She didn’t just win; she dominated. She flat out crushed them. – and it was easy for her. Not even close to her limits and they HAD NO CHANCE.
I continued on very slowly for a couple of miles when the yellow Honda finally caught up and passed me. No silver Trans-Am but there was a red car pursuing the Honda. I looked over wanting to wave a thumbs up or something. The kid in the car just stared straight ahead like he didn’t even see me and crept on by. I felt kind of like a bully. Like maybe I should have picked a more equal match - and this kid knew it. He pulled into the far left lane and into an opening in the median with the red car right behind him. It seemed like they were going to pull into the parking lot on the other side of the road so I swung over to follow them.
At that moment I saw a few slender arms reach out of the red car’s windows waving and signaling me. I heard a laugh. It was a carload of girls beconning me to follow. With my helmet on, they thought I was some teenager, too! I’m guessing they wanted to see who this tall hunk who just spanked their chums Honda was. Both cars u-turned and took off back south. I stopped in the median and thought, “Oh sheeze! What do I do now? This was the kind of crap I lived for when I was 18, but now I’m 41. I have a wife and two daughters just starting school. Well, those helmets protect more than your head; they protect your ego when you’re getting scoped out by some way too young broads who haven’t a clue as to how old you are.
I pulled straight into the parking lot in front of me, turned around and and headed home. On the way I laughed in my helmet thinking of how their faces would have dropped had I met them and took off that helmet.
I don’t bother with cagers anymore. There’s no point and it’s just not worth the risk of getting a ticket.
Rook
That last sentence didn't turn out to be true at all. 
* Last updated by: Rook on 2/7/2010 @ 9:56 PM *
