There are some people who are just really really good at what they do, and Toni Bou is one of them!
Check out Toni, as he displays some crazy mad skills on his trials bike in various situations. Some of these landscapes would be difficult to walk over, let along bounce a motorcycle through, up, around, or over!!
One Broken Biker is a group of riders "dedicated to raising funds and awareness for injured motorcyclists and their families, to provide financial support and compassionate services to help heal minds and bodies"
Normally, I post on Saturdays and Wednesdays but this post is better served up a day early so that anyone reading it might consider joining in on the One Broken Biker Poker Run taking place Saturday, May 26th.
This fun-filled day of riding, charity and, awareness is one you won't want to miss. The ride will start at Calgary Harley Davidson, with a pancake breakfast. Leaving the lot in a staggered non-parade format for the remainder of the day. That means you're able to ride with your friends and others with the same experience. If you're coming solo, no worries, you can ride with the OBB team at the end of the line, which sounds pretty awesome to us! Finally, the ride will end at Big Sky BBQ for amazing food, and prizes.
BlueCircle Insurance added a few prizes to the mix as well, so make sure to stay and enjoy the full day with some awesome riders!
Come join the fun and ride with like-minded souls who want to help this worthy cause and say hello to founder Ashlee Atkin while you're there!
Back in the 60's and 70's, the two wheeled rocket known as Drag Waye was doing some damage on the drag strip.
Of course, compared to todays' top fuel drag bike record of 258.27 mph and a 1/4 mile in 5.611 seconds, the feat seems less impressive, but think back to the era and give them a nod. And give a nod to the guy who' riding this thing too. Sure doesn't look quite as comfortable or as safe as the drag bikes of today!
An old newspaper clipping
A few different views of this crazy land rocket
Just pick up your feet, twist the throttle, and HANG ON!!
I'm one of those guys who finds the whole "virtual personal assistant" thing a bit creepy and invasive, but this version, hacked into a Billy Bass talking fish, got me laughing enough to make me actually want one of these devices! haha!!
Many people who attended the 2016 Two Wheel Sunday event will remember the bike "Icarus", which attracted a lot of well deserved attention when it was kindly lent for display at our BlueCircle booth, as shown in the above photo along with builder Jack Burrows.
The cool thing about all the attention was the fact that the build wasn't even finished yet, and Jack had many ideas and major ambition to get every detail right on his labour of love. And indeed he did, over the course of another two years, getting this rolling piece of art refined with the just the right finishing touches.
Eventually the bike went on to be much admired in many other places too, like the 2017 Kickstart competition here in Calgary, then in Portland this year, winning the "Overall Vibe Of The Show" at the One Moto Show.
Jack sent me these fantastic photos, taken by photographer Jon Macdowell (?), so you can see how Icarus looks when all finished up.
Fast forward to May 2018, where Icarus made the long journey south, all the way down to Carmel, California to be a part of the Quail Motorcycle Gathering.
Needless to say, Jack's creation turned a lot of heads thee too and earned many accolades. Actually, Icarus won two awards at this iconic event, taking the "Industry Award" and "Modified Custom". Not sure how often a bike wins two awards but that's pretty amazing! Way to go Jack!!
With Spring weather just around the corner ( we hope!) it would seem appropriate to discuss the emergence of bugs and insects that we'll soon be dealing with as we spend more time in the great outdoors.
Here's a bunch of crazy facts about flying and crawling critters that i read in the book "1001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out Of You", written by Cary McNeal. The book is quite interesting and the commentary by McNeal is quite funny too.
As for the bugs and insects....
There are 10 quintillion insects on the planet at any given moment, meaning there's approx 1.5 million bugs for every human.
It would take 500-800 honey bee stings to kill you, based on the toxic effects of the venom alone, though 1 sting could kill a person with an allergy due to an anaphylactic reaction.
The seemingly harmless Ladybug has been know to inflict unprovoked bites and release a defensive secretion that causes a stinging sensation on human skin.
The most dangerous insect in the world is the mosquito! It is responsible for the spread of malaria, which infects 350 - 500 million people annually and kills about a million of those victims. There are 2500 species of mosquitoes in the world, with 200 of them existing in the United States alone.
One of the largest terrestrial insects in North America is the wheel bug. They are considered as beneficial to the garden as lady bugs because they kill off other insect pests by piercing their prey with a large beak and injecting them with flesh dissolving poison. That means that if they bite a human, the wound can take weeks to heal and the pain can be excruciating.
Cockroaches can carry as many as 40 different pathogens that can be transferred to humans, including pneumonia, hepatitis and typhoid. They can also survive for up to two weeks without a head.
Aside from defensive riding/driving, there are other ways that motorcyclists can protect themselves while riding.
For example, being aware of the most common reasons for accidents should help raise awareness and teach a rider to focus on these areas and be extra cautious when on the road.
There are plenty of tips on the topic of defensive driving in my blog post "ATGATT" and "Speed Kills", but for the most part this article will give you some common causes of motorcycle accidents, thus increasing your awareness of these situations and helping you recognize and react when they arise.
Four Of The Most Common Reasons For Motorcycle Accidents
A vehicle turns left in front of you and strikes your motorcycle, or you cannot stop or manoeuvre in time and run into them. There are many reasons why the operator of the vehicle may do this, be it misjudging the speed of the motorcycle, inattention or just plain arrogance.
The trick in this situation is for the motorcyclist to recognize the situations where an oncoming vehicle may make that turn in front of them and make the necessary adjustments to prepare themselves should that vehicle make the turn.
The motorcyclist hits a patch of sand or gravel on a blind curve. Obviously, avoiding the sand or gravel is the best line of defense, but in order to do so the rider must have adequate time and should be entering a curve slowly and exiting fast.
Too fast in a curve. Don't ride beyond your personal limits and follow the same defensive driving skill as mentioned in #2. If the road is unknown, use the visual clues given by power poles and trees that show the direction of the road on a blind curve. Check out Lazy Motorbike for good suggestions on proper cornering techniques.
Alcohol! Sad to say but statistics show that 45% of fatal motorcycle accidents involve alcohol, with 30% of those fatalities being illegal blood alcohol concentrations. That's 2.5 times higher than the average in similar situations involving vehicles. Sadder yet, the over 40 crowd, who should know better, are particularly guilty of drinking and riding.
Wearing proper gear for protection and visibility, can go a long way to help avoid accidents, and when discussing safety I never miss an oppportunity to mention defensive riding/driving.
Yes, avoiding accidents in the first place by riding/driving defensively is one of hte easiest and best ways to protect yourself and others.
Follow the mantra, "Ride/drive to prevent accidents despite the action or inaction of other drivers/riders"
Here's a video clip recorded on a motorcyclists' on-board camera which is an example of that concept, since it seems to me that the rider and many of the drivers in the situation could have avoided the accident had they done a quick check before entering the intersection.
Without actually being there, it's hard to say exactly what they may have been able to see but do you think this accident could have been avoided by everyone who proceeded on that green light?
Here's a procedure you can follow when in these dangerous siuations.
Keep your head up and on a swivel, alternating your gaze between all the danger zones around you, including what's going on behind.
Never ever enter an intersection without first looking left, to see what the traffic is doing in the lanes which will be crossed first ( in the scenario shown in the video, this would mean looking left before accelerating after the light turns green)
If it is safe to proceed, the next lanes crossed will be for traffic coming from the right, so add that direction in to the mix for your focus.
If riding up to an intersection that already has a green light, don't just keep an eye out for traffic that may be entering the intersection from the left but also look behind you, tapping the brakes a few times to warn anyone who may be following too close ( this may help prevent those vehicles from slamming into your bike and pushing you into the intersection if there is a need to stop suddenly)
Prioritize your focus on the traffic in the lanes which will be crossed in sequence i.e look left, then to the left and rear, then to the left and forward, then left, rear, forward and right.
Again, even if the light is or has been green for any duration, trust no-one and be prepared to stop or take evasive action to avoid a vehicle which has illegally entered the intersection.
Remember, looking forward is equally important, as people may be turning left from the opposing lanes, especially if there's an advanced green (quite often a driver further back in the line may be hurrying to make the turn before the light changes and doesn't stop on the amber)
Again, any scenario in which you are already moving as you an approach an intersection has the compounding issue of speed with which to contend.
As we all know, an accident can always be deadly to the rider, and following these procedures may just help you avoid being in that situation in the first place.
Defensive driving means you avoid an accident no matter whether you have the right of way or not. My father used to say "you may be dead right, but it doesn't matter because you're dead!" Keep your head up and on a swivel and get there in one piece.
Here's a flashback to International Female Ride Day on Saturday May 2nd 2015, an occasion designed to celebrate, support and encourage women in motorcycling around the world.
At that time, BlueCircle's Angela Murray was working strictlyas a part of Ride Stop n Go, and decided to get an inaugural ride going here in Calgary. Typical of Ang, when she puts out the word in the motorcycle community, she gets a major response and despite single digit temperatures, high winds and the threat of rain or snow, 24 ladies from Calgary and another half dozen from Red Deer jumped on their bikes and set out on a 400 km trip through the province for our first ever IFRD event..
Thank you Ang for putting it all together and making the first Calgary IFRD a great day for everyone involved! Hopefully this re-post brings back good memories and adds to the fun we'll be having today on the 2018 ride!
What an awesome team....Cycleworks, Ride Stop n Go and Blue Circle, getting set to ride on IFRD
A hardy group of woman riders!!
Ride Stop n Go's Angela Murray welcomes the riders to the breakfast reception hosted by Cycleworks Calgary
Rex (R.I.P.) was there, sporting his Blue Circle Motorcycle Club tee! haha
Kathey brought the Blue Circle truck to act as 'sweeper' on the ride.
The group braved some high winds and chilly air as they rolled along this stretch of prairie.
Freedom!
Heading west on Hwy 54
After rain and snow, the wood stove at Bearberry was much welcome!!
Saw the link to this video on the Two Wheel Sunday Facebook page and thought it was pretty cool. Some say music is a universal language, but so are motorcycles tales!
