Alert: Good biker feature in Saturday's Dominion Post

[Hitcher]

Stefan Herrick has a great feature in Saturday's Dominion Post (11 February) entitled "Why I ride my bike". A bloody good read. Not bad for a Guzzi rider...

A good excuse for a run down to the dairy tomorrow morning.

[Str8 Jacket]

A good excuse for a run down to the dairy tomorrow morning.

Thanks for letting us know, will have to go get a paper tomorrow. Though I strongly doubt i'll be running anywhere to get it, especially if this weather persists!

[Beemer]

It's got to be better than the gay looking biker on a Ducati in the "I love my..." section last week. Give me a break!

Has the DomPost suddenly realised it's not just gang members who ride motorcycles? No articles, then three in a short space of time...;)

[Rashika]

any chance of a post of it here... for those of us not in that particular island?

[Colapop]

That may be a Mr Hitcher's expertise one, there. I had a look and I can't sse it (online @ Stuff)

[Hitcher]

It's in the weekend magazine section, towards the back. Half a page. I'll try to find a link, otherwise will scan.

[MD]

That was one good read. Well written, obviously not a KBer.
His description of us civies commuting in tin cans and the mundane lives we all live until we get on our bikes. I can see a lot of people seeing their sad lives in print and topping themselves because they don't ride a m/bike and have no release valve. Just got back from a ride and it's just as he summed it up - a happy drug to 'flush the day from your head'. And his dig at the middle management lost breed, born again bikies getting bad arse looking bikes and pristine riding gear to look cool with no idea about riding. 'Creases in there jeans', ha ha that cracked me up. Got to go and iron my riding gear now.
Hitcher, so we can congratulate this gentleman of the road what does he ride - I suspect the GSXR picture is just a page filler they stuck in.
You said a Guzzi rider above.

[Hitcher]

Stefan rides a Guzzi California. Somebody has discarded our Saturday Dompost. I will track down.

[Paul in NZ]

Stefan rides a Guzzi California. Somebody has discarded our Saturday Dompost. I will track down.

Please do, my dom post was missing it's magazine... bah humbug! Ruined my brunch!

[MD]

Stefan rides a Guzzi California. Somebody has discarded our Saturday Dompost. I will track down.
Where is the justice in the world when someone can write a masterpiece on the joys of motorcycling, yet have absolutely no taste in bikes at all? He owns the 1993 Corrolla equivalent in bikes.

[Shadows]

any chance of a post of it here... for those of us not in that particular island?

I'm no lawyer, but apparently not.

[Rashika]

:spudbooge That was marvellous!! :rockon:
Very well written, thanks for posting it shadmeister!

[Storm]

Truly excellant, well done that man

[James Deuce]

One hopes that was reproduced with the permission of the original publisher?

If not it will have to be removed.

[Grahameeboy]

One hopes that was reproduced with the permission of the original publisher?

If not it will have to be removed.

Gooday sport.........up early like all us nutters!!!:rockon:

[James Deuce]

Haven't been to bed.

Anyone wanna buy some slightly used kids?

[Grahameeboy]

Haven't been to bed.

Anyone wanna buy some slightly used kids?

How do you find the energy with 3 kids!!!.......serioulsy hope Alex is okay, PM me if not.

[Paul in NZ]

Where is the justice in the world when someone can write a masterpiece on the joys of motorcycling, yet have absolutely no taste in bikes at all? He owns the 1993 Corrolla equivalent in bikes.

Yeah, funny the way that works out isn't it?

Equally strange is the inability of the owners of so called 'exciting' bikes to string an illuminating or positive sentence together at all.... Very odd... After reading through a lot of this site you could conclude that taste is entirely subjective and that perhaps the humour to enjoy a modern sports bike must require (as a minimum) appreciation of such modern classics as 'Jackass' (ie the ritual and televised humiliation of your fellow man)? .... Or perhaps the riders are all so wired from their wild rides that they don't have time to write or ponder?

As a general observation... Some of the most enjoyable works of motorcycling literature have been generated by, or dedicated to, low volume 'enthusiast' bikes. Moto Guzzi in particular has a very literary ownership base. (try 'The Perfect Vehicle' Perhaps you should pick up a Moto Guzzi owners club magazine some time, the standard is usually quite high.

I know most people bag Guzzi, often for good reason, but I can assure you that I have never met a more decent group of hard core riders in all my years. Make of it what you will....

Paul N

btw - Most bike owners would be happy with 1993 Corolla levels of reliability and economy!

[MD]

To err is Human, so that's makes me more human than the rest of you.
A well deserved dressing down Paul and quite right. I was out of line slagging off another brand, even if it was intended as light humour. Feel free to fire a broadside at Kawasaki and charge it to my account.
Slip up number two was using the word 'taste' - totally open to personal interpretation. But I do reserve my rights to have a personal opinion on Corrollas, that to me are one of the most bland vehicles on our roads.

[dangerous]

A well deserved dressing down Paul and quite right. I was out of line slagging off another brand, even if it was intended as light humour. Feel free to fire a broadside at Kawasaki and charge it to my account
But I do reserve my rights to have a personal opinion on Corrollas, that to me are one of the most bland vehicles on our roads.
Ya see MD..... a Guzzisti isent about to take a swing at Kawa or any other brand, as the Guzzisti appreciate all motocycles, a bike is a bike.

I agree that a Corolla is a bland vehicle.... Guzzi can not possibly be put in this category, just cant happen.
Paul..... Guzzi poetry as usual :clap:

What a great read that article was..... and knowing the qurks of a Guzzi I fully understand were he is comming from.

[pritch]

One hopes that was reproduced with the permission of the original publisher?

If not it will have to be removed.

I'm glad it wasn't removed, bling to the poster :-)

[James Deuce]

Pritch, it's potential big time liability issues if we don't get an answer soon. Intellectual property rights cost money, and if you want a copy it can be requested from the Dom-Post. Reprinting here without permission is a little dangerous especially in the country of origin. If challenged Spank Me will be liable as the domain holder. Are you going to contribute to the fine and is Shadmeister ever going to answer that he had permission from the Dom-Post to reproduce it here on KB? Btw, linking to another site, prefereably a Fairfax owned one, is not illegal. Reprinting it here without permission is.

[idb]

Jeez you Guzzi riders are a touchy bunch.
You'd think the callouses would be tougher after all these years.........

[Shadows]

Well I'm not really sure. I'll try to find out if the fellow has a problem with it being reproduced considering he has already been recognised as the author. Nobody here is trying to gain anything from it.

[James Deuce]

He doesn't own it once it's published. You have to ask permission from the Dom-Post.

[Shadows]

He doesn't own it once it's published. You have to ask permission from the Dom-Post.

Thanks, I'll see what they have to say. No post on advice.

[dangerous]

Jeez you Guzzi riders are a touchy bunch.
You'd think the callouses would be tougher after all these years.........
Hey... you got that POS water cooled Iti contrapsion with the arse about face donk running yet??? thought not still on that old big bore air head aye.... way to go man Guzzi would clean you up sooooooo easy :yeah:

BTW: who the hell is Jan to ya anyway? shes done the rounds down here, and been sent home.... proberly broken just like ya fancy 8888888888888 thingamejig :kick:

PS: 2.5 weeks to the hare..... ya going :ride:

[Paul in NZ]

To err is Human, so that's makes me more human than the rest of you.
A well deserved dressing down Paul and quite right. I was out of line slagging off another brand, even if it was intended as light humour. Feel free to fire a broadside at Kawasaki and charge it to my account.
Slip up number two was using the word 'taste' - totally open to personal interpretation. But I do reserve my rights to have a personal opinion on Corrollas, that to me are one of the most bland vehicles on our roads.


Nah! Surely not a dressing down? If you want to take my bike for a spin sometime you are welcome. Us Guzzi riders wanna spread the love!

[MD]

Get me a ride on a jackal, I always liked the look of them. Probably one of the best handling cruisers around.

[idb]

Hey... you got that POS water cooled Iti contrapsion with the arse about face donk running yet??? thought not still on that old big bore air head aye.... way to go man Guzzi would clean you up sooooooo easy :yeah:
PS: 2.5 weeks to the hare..... ya going :ride:
Ohhh.....water cooled you say? I think I've been putting the water in the wrong hole!
The main reason I'm on the air-cooled is because I wanna be just like you and ignore all advances in automotive technology in the last 30 years. Mind you, my bike is 25 years older than yours but had still left pushrods behind 5 years before.
Do you still adjust the points with cigarette paper?

I'll be at the Hare, I'll try to get there before 7.30 so I catch you still up.

[James Deuce]

Thanks, I'll see what they have to say. No post on advice.

Cheers Shad. If it's reproduced with the permission of the author and he gave it directly to the site that would be OK.

Reproducing it from a Dom-Post source is where the trouble starts.

[Shadows]

Cheers Shad. If it's reproduced with the permission of the author and he gave it directly to the site that would be OK.

Reproducing it from a Dom-Post source is where the trouble starts.

All good, he following article by Stefan Herrick has been reproduced with the kind permission of the Dominion Post.

"After a big day at the office crafting miracles from bits of old wire and a few coins in the time-honoured New Zealand tradition of doing it well and doing it cheap, I throw my briefcase in the back seat of the car and join the queue out on the motorway.

Driving home in my car is a joyless experience. It is a 1993 Toyota Corolla in a shade some wag at Toyota's marketing department decided to call "Bali Seas Blue". It is the most anonymous car in the world.

I have never had a ticket in this car. It is so anonymous that parking wardens don't seem to notice it is there. At drink-drive checkpoints, I am always waved. Even speed cameras fail to go off as I pass, over the limit.

Inside the Corolla, I am encased in an environment that teams of brilliant designers, engineers and psychologists agonised over to ensure it was as inoffensive as possible. From dash to parcel shelf, the interior is a safe shade of Pacific Rim Grey.

Turn the key and the engine makes the same sort of efficient mechanical hum as a refrigerator or food processor.

Depress the accelerator and there is a complete absence of drama, or anything that comes close to tingling the spine - just a slow and sensible accumulation of speed.

On Boulcott St I join the long line of people also encased in their boxes of Pacific Rim Grey. They look the way I feel. We're all under no illusion that we are part of a big machine.

My fellow motorists don't all choose to take to their cars at the same time - it is what the rhythm of business dictates we must do. We emerge from our workstations and are funnelled into vast tarseal races where we trickle along in an orderly queue, unquestioningly obeying the instructions from the central brain. We are theirs until the minute we pull into our driveways.

The Corolla is well-made and reliable car, but it is a cloak of conformity, a bland collection of curves fashioned by 20 million customer experiences, a link in a conveyor belt that carries me to my workstation each day. It is not an instrument of freedom.

That honour goes to the other vehicle in my garage.

I used to snigger at the middle-aged white-collar types out on the highways on their designer motorcycles buffed to a mirror sheen with soft open-weave cloth. To me, it always seemed a bit sad that these freshly soaped pillars of the establishment saw the need to convince people they were bad and dangerous. How bad can you be with a crease in your jeans? Who are they fooling?

Now I'm one of the Middle Management Lost Breed. I was reminded so when I was filling my open road touring motorcycle at a petrol station. A friend bounded up. "You're such a big kid!" he said.

A couple of nights a week, after tea, I'll head out on the bike for an hour. My wife says that when I get home I am a much more agreeable husband.

Sometimes I'll head north along the motorway, turn right at Paremata and head over the hill behind Pauatahanui. Other times, I'll wind my way to the car park at the top of the Rimutakas and sit on the fence for a while.

It's never long before another after dinner bikie shows up. The other day it was a prison officer steeling himself for a night at work. His bosses, he explained, were squeezing more productivity out of him with extra shifts and extra duties. He looked close to breaking point, but a snatched hour with his bike on the road was his lifeline.

Another time, it was a young guy working in foreign exchange. His world was one of 12-hour days, impossible targets and the weighty burden of millions of his clients' dollars. Many of his colleagues drank. He rode.

It amazes me how many of them there are, because Wellington is an insane place to own a bike. Because we're at the end of the island, there is only one direction to go, and that's north, where the choice is between the coastal traffic jam or the Hutt Valley traffic jam.

In town, the roads are narrow, uneven, badly cambered and full of surprises - cars parked on blind corners, buses that overflow into the oncoming lane and slippery manhole covers in the middle of corners.

Then there's the weather. Rare is the day when it's not blowing or raining. Yet, the need to get their fix impels riders to put up with the gusts that could sweep them into the path of the truck in the next lane, frozen jowls or laps full of rainwater.

Unlike the family car, where the passengers are cocooned from the mechanical parts by sheetmetal and layers of sound-absorbing foam, a motorcycle lays its hot, greasy bits sluttily bare. You become intimate with the miracle of locomotion down there between your knees - the tick of the tappets, the whine of the gearbox, the fast, deep breaths of the carburettors, the whir of the alternator and the heat of the cylinder pots. It is as if the machine is alive.

There is nothing like a ride to flush the day from your head. It is as much a form of meditation as yoga, a stroll around Red Rocks or 10 glasses of Bookbinder. The perfect state of mind in which to ride a motorcycle is one of complete alertness and complete relaxation. Often, I'll arrive home unable to recall where I've been.

On a motorcycle, you are only ever one small mistake away from a lifetime of severe physical discomfort, which focuses the mind to an incredible extent. Each minute, you make hundreds of decisions to keep yourself alive as the road races by a few inches beneath your feet like a giant belt sander.

It's not about looking bad or dangerous, or stoking the dying embers of a time when you had hair and a Jethro Tull T-shirt. I understand that now. Out there, it's about escaping the anodyne and artificial corporate world, with its commitment to excellence, delivering value to stakeholders, exceeding the expectations of customers, its grey acrylic carpets, its PowerPoint presentations and its line authority.

Wellington is a high-pressure city, and for many of those up there in the high rises, the machine in their garage is their ticket to a saner place."

[James Deuce]

Brilliant!! Big ups to Shadmeister. This is what we need to do when we reproduce stuff from other publications people.

Make sure you guys give him some green.