When I'm by myself in the country twisties I'm much more cautious than in a pack, knowing that if I lose it in a corner and no one sees the crash, I could end up face down in the mud with my bike on top of me and no one to help.
Or a lot worse. What a crap way to die...saying your final words to a raccoon.
But even so it's really tough to hold back on a perfect banked sweeper so I dive in and suffer fantasies of crashing alone all the way through it.
It's a perpetual conflict for me, and other than going to the track, there's only one remedy: ride with other people. Then you've got built-in medical services.
In a pack, the way I ride depends on the other guys. If it's a slow group, I grit my teeth and stay with them, firing off the occasional speed run or wheely and blasting through the occasional corner. But in this situation, I feel bad about sniping because the other guys prefer to ride slower and sniping makes me look show-off.
At the end of the day, even if I really like the guys, I subconsciously avoid riding with slow guys and in this way I rob myself of their company and whatever they're doing that day. I guess riding at least briskly is more important to me that any good time at the destination.
But a fast group is another thing. There's always at least one extra fast guy in a fast group, and I'll always find him and do WHATEVER it takes to beat him. This is where the hooligan fun starts for me and for him. If he's faster than me, I learn. If he's slower, it's still fast riding. If we're matched...perfect. And the group always enjoys it too because it makes them pick up the pace.
Riding with hooligan riders on the street makes me insane. A danger to myself and others. And there's nothing I can do to stop myself.
That's the riding I enjoy most. Even more than track racing.
Whenever I get home from a run like that, I mentally cross myself as I park the bike and an evil little smile crosses my mouth.
-Fool Injected Dirty Pete
[This message has been edited by Dirty Pete (edited 26 September 1999).]
