Motorcycle manners...

What you see before you is my new Motorcycle, a 2003 Honda VTX 1800R. I have had it since June28th, but have not written much about it as on the day I picked it up, one of my dogs suffered either a heat stroke or a brain stroke and the worry kind of took the thrill out of the purchase. And then the 4th of July weekend comes around and that is a busy time for me, so no attempt to hit the Blog was made. And then, I head out to Boston for 10 days. And finally, when I get back, my other dog suffers a major stroke and passes away, leaving me without much concern for writing about something that I have lusted after for so long. But now things are back to normal, so to speak and I must tell you about my Bike.
A Honda VTX 1800 is the largest production V-Twin motorcyle on the streets today, bigger than anything else anyone has to offer. (soon there is to be a Kawasaki 2000) It can (and has) do 70 mph at 3rd gear with 2 more gears to go. It has trememdous power but is a dream to ride. (Although my wife's rear end my argue that point.) But I am not here to talk about the bike. You can see how beautiful she is from the photo. What I want to talk about is the etiquette or manners that bikers must have when riding on the road. Specifically, the greeting or handwave given to other bikers you meet on the road.

As long as I have ridden a motorcycle on the road, I have made a point to wave at other motorcycle riders I meet. However, in these years I have noticed something that makes me curious. Why is it that any time I pass a rider on a Harley Davidson, I rarely get a wave, or even a nod of acknowledgement? If I pass another biker, on something other than a Harley, almost 95% of the time I will get the low hand wave ( the wave of the clutch hand removed from the handle and extended out straight, parallel to the ground), or if he or she is a more friendly, the high hand wave (the wave of the clutch hand, raised up from the handle into the air). If I am riding and wearing a helmet, and the other person is wearing a helmet, and normally not on a Harley, I get a wave almost 100% of the time.

Now, if I pass a Harley rider along the road and I am wearing a helmet, even if I give him or her a wave, I get no wave back. This almost always happens. If I am not wearing a helmet, I might get a wave one out of ten times. Why is this? Maybe when I do get a wave, my guess is that they probably think I am on a Harley and then deserve the brotherly wave. (Sometimes, I get a small finger wave, which I suspect is becasue they can't really tell if I am on a Harley or not.) I know that if it is obvious that I am a "rice burner" I will not get the wave. Why? Are we not all part of the two wheeled brotherhood? We all have motorcycles for pretty much the same reason. Is it part of the Harley handbook that you be a snob and effect the airs of someone who is a bad ass? I know that most Harley riders are really good guys, so why then do they act so unfriendly on the road?

I probably will never really know. It is probably a secret. And in reality it is no big thing, but wouldn't the road be alot nicer if people waved at each other alot more? I for one will wave at every biker I meet. And now, with the VTX, it is much harder to tell from a distance, what her manufacturer is. I bet I get alot more Harley riders waving at me...

Later!

Losing my friend....

Just recently I lost a very good friend and companion. My dog, Han Gunther Geiken, a good old dog of 15-16 years was put down on a Saturday evening after having suffered a stroke that he would never recover from. His passing struck me far harder than I expected, especially after seeing how much of part of my family he had really become by the way my children greived for him. We had a nice funeral for him and he is probably chasing rabbits now, somewhere in a grassy field where there are chicken bones convienent for snacking upon.

Hans came into my life (and my wife's) when we were somewhat pressured by good friends of ours who decided we needed a dog to go along with the one they had. We had had a dog before, but our land lord made us get rid of her and another one that died of Parvo due to the neglect of careless neighbors. I think we were reluctant to get another one, as we had not had good luck up until then, getting and keeping a dog.

Regardless, we went to the Humane Society pound and began to look. I was adamant that I would not pick a dog as I did not think we needed one at that time and I was convinced that the only good dog was a farm dog. Boy was I wrong. We looked at many dogs but one dog really stood out to me. This beautiful blonde dog with black lips and a black shepard saddle. His name was Dingo. He was skiny thing and very standoffish, but man was he handsome. I think on some deep level I connected with him because before I was leaving the pound I had signed papers that I would take him home with me.

Hans was an abused dog as a puppy. He was very cautious around men, especially ones with deep voices. It took a long time for him to forget his bad past and understand that he would be cared for and loved. He was always kind of a nervous, or anxious dog, as travelling bothered him and being left alone was not to his liking. He did love to go on walks and loved to run! He could, and did, on many occasions, out race a rabbit to catch and kill it in the field. He was not much of a hunting dog though, as he was gun shy. But more than anything, he was a lover. He loved people and he loved kids. Or better stated, he loved babies. Of any kind or any species. He adopted a litter of kittens to the point that the mother could barely get to them. Any babies that he met he insisted that he lick them from head to toe to promote hair growth to protect them from the cold and to cover their scent from predators. One of the first things we did with our kids was to strip them naked and let him lick them while they squiggled around on the floor. He would lick them till they turned red if we let them. He would sit for hours lying next to them just sniffing them and getting to know them and vice versa.

Has became a real member of our family. He and I would go round and round about a number of things, and I think that it was a result of the struggle to gain the Alpha Male status in the family, or in his eyes, the Pack. I don't know if I ever really managed to gain that status over him, but for the most part, he was a willing member of the family.

His passing was the first real death my kids have had to deal with. They were there as he had his stroke, they were there as he slipped into a catatonic state and it was the kids the were the first to verbally say that we need to put him out of his misery. I think that it is a day that they will remember for a very long time. Had circumstances been different, I would have tried to hide their eyes from the tragedy that was unfolding for them. But in many ways, I think that this was a growing experience for them. It made the idea of death very real. I also spoke more about death with my kids than ever before. The funeral helped in many ways to ease their pain, much like the shot that eased Hans'.

I will not forget the pain that Hans went through in his final hours. I know that he wanted me near. He would only calm down when I was there. Maybe he was looking for the Alpha Male to do his part and end his time and suffering. I hope he understood the words I said to him, or at least felt and knew the love I had for him. He waited for his Pack to come home before leaving this world. That is the sign of a good dog. Making sure everything and everyone is safe and well. He found that to be true and then I believe, he succumbed to the old age that found him so quickly in these last few months.

Our whole family will miss him. Konnor, his fellow dog buddy is lost with out him. Pets are more than just pets. I will not take my other pets for granted any longer. I lost a very good friend and one of my best buddies. I will miss him for a very long time.