From MySpace blog: First ten things I learned...

[alanmcorcoran]

...on the motorcycle:

10. Bikers "wave" to eachother. You're supposed to wave back. Some do. Some don't. It's a little divisive. The wavers think the non-wavers are douches. And, vice versa. I've decided to be a mostly waver, for now, for I am already a douche.

9. There's no f'ing gas gauge. You basically ride until you run out. There's a switch you flip after you run out that gives you a few quarts to get to the next Mobil. A little disconcerting, but I guess I'll get used to it.

8. Filling up is a bit of a challenge. The auto-shutoff switch pretty much goes off right at the get go, so you have to kind of goose the gas in. First fill up I spilled a bunch on the tank and the ground. The second one, I actually kept looking in the tank to see how much I had. Haven't done my third one yet. (That's one of the cool things.) Last fillup? Nine bucks.

7. It's not a crack in the visor - it's an exploded bug. You could do your entomology thesis on what I've scraped off my helmet in the last 200 miles.

6. If you are riding a 250cc cruiser, you don't need a "puck" on your pants. Ever see the X gamer's touch their knees to the pavement whilst cornering? The thing that actually touches is a hard plastic disk, called a "puck." Pussies!

5. A permit doesn't allow you to ride at night or on the freeway. Found that out a tad late. Shoulda' probably been a question on the test I passed to get the permit.

4. Heavy leather or Kevlar will wear through to the skin after 75 to 85 feet of sliding. Denim? about 5. I'm just sayin'.

3. The "low-side" is the side you fall on when you lay the bike down. The "high-side" is the side you are flipped over when you slide into a guard rail. It's important to keep these straight when explaining your injuries to fellow bikers.

2. Never realized how itchy my nose can get until I was sailing around a corner on Santiago Canyon in a full face helmet at 55 plus. My first attempt at a scratch was thwarted by the impact resistant, anti-fog face shield. (Oh.. yeah.. That's not gonna work.) Before making any moves aimed at relief, ask yourself, "Is this a clutch hand or throttle hand situation?" Choose wisely: circumstances can change quickly out in the canyons.

1. I'm probably gonna kill myself.

http://www.myspace.com/alanmcorcoran