Cult of Dualsport

Jesus would ride a dualsport

The guys at MISSIONmoto were interviewed by the West Seattle Herald recently. My favorite quote?

"Jesus would drive a dual-sport ... You can get anywhere."

Talk about fatal flaws

For some reason, I'm subscribed to the Wildlands CPR email list. In one of their latest articles, The Forest Service's Fatal Flaw, Executive Director Bethanie Walder opens with this:

Oedipus Rex, Macbeth, Willy Loman, Tony Soprano, and ... the Forest Service? A diverse group with a common theme – tragic or fatal flaws. From ancient literature to modern times, people have written about, read about and dissected the concept of the fatal flaw.

My "metaphorical synapses" may be as rusty as Ms. Walder's -- to her credit, she admits it -- and I can appreciate the effort she makes to build the foundation of her essay. But the Forest Service isn't a character and thus cannot have a "fatal flaw" of the kind that Walder attributes to it.

She identifies "accountability" as the flaw which plagues the Forest Service, and goes on to say that "one word may be too simplistic to describe the whole problem." Eventually, she uses more than 1,400 words in a quest to fully develop her essay on the tragedy of government.

About halfway through, we find out what Walder thinks the real flaw is, and it's not "accountability":

Their tragic flaw, therefore, may be their failure to create a new infrastructure to develop, promote, direct and implement their watershed restoration plans.

The "flaw" of the Forest Service is that it's not big enough! It apparently doesn't have enough money, either, for Walder says they have "largely failed" to implement the Legacy Roads and Trails program  despite receiving $180 million in the last three years. And she wants to give them $700 million a year for a proposed Integrated Resource Restoration Program.

Now, pardon my ignorance, but I'd like to propose that there's a different fatal flaw at work here. On the one hand, Walder (and, by extension, Wildlands CPR itself) acknowledges the Forest Service's failure. At the same time, she wants to give them more money to build bigger programs and hire more staff.

For example, we think they should develop a national Watershed Restoration Program, led by a national Director of Watershed Restoration, with regional Restoration Directors, and we have proposed this to the agency. These staff should be trained in hydrology and/or aquatic/fisheries ecology, and they should be tasked with developing and implementing clear, science-based, ecoregion-specific restoration agendas for the agency that put resource needs over economic returns.

Clearly, Walder thinks she knows best. She demonstrates an unfailing willingness to put taxpayer money where her mouth is. And she has a fatal flaw that is truly the equal of its classical brethren: hubris.

Hubris: extreme haughtiness or arrogance. Hubris often indicates being out of touch with reality and overestimating one's own competence or capabilities, especially for people in positions of power.

In a fashion worthy of her opener -- which is to say that it's lacking -- Walder takes the essay full circle. The Forest Service can, she says, avoid becoming a tragedy.

The agency can make an attitude adjustment, they can create the necessary infrastructure and accountability, and they can implement the restoration vision that Secretary Vilsack and others have laid out. In typical tragedies, the “hero” is incapable of overcoming their flaw, and thus they fail. But this isn’t a story, it’s real life, and it doesn’t have to be a tragedy.

There's a small problem here, and it comes directly from the liberal worldview that Walder so eloquently embraces: the government must not fail. No matter how much money it squanders, no matter how badly it actually does fail at every program it undertakes, people like Walder will always want to funnel more taxpayer money into it.

To her literary credit, she does recognize the essence of a tragedy; the moral makeup of its main character makes redemption impossible. What she fails to recognize is that such tragedies have their genesis in real life; and that, in order to succeed, government must be smaller and not bigger.

Flaw, thy name is Walder.

A motorcycle, a sidecar and a dog

Midnight at the oasis? Not quite, and obviously not as sultry as Maria Muldaur, but a dog and a motorcycle can be an attractive combination. I found this site linked over at Rugged Rider -- which I've been meaning to mention ever since reading about her ride to the Grand Canyon.

But, back to the oasis. For me, three words describe it: poetic, photographic, cathartic. There's something special about a guy when one of his favorite eating establishments is called Food Shark and the place serves its customers out of an old panel truck.

I'm reminded of my friend John, who has a similar truck; but he makes decals and window signs in the back of his, not Mediterranean-by-West-of-Texas food.

Death to Co-Ed Dualsporters

Controversial headline, I know. But not nearly as controversial as the idea it represents. I'm just glad I don't live in a Muslim country governed under Sharia Law, where women who ride motorcycles with men are stoned to death. (Check out the full set of images from Other Africas, a museum display at Southern Illinois University.)

While Southern Nigeria is largely Christian, The Northern states are predominantly Muslim. In October of 1999, the governor of the northwestern state of Zamfara, Alhaji Ahmed Sani adopted Sharia law. He banned prostitution and the selling and drinking of alcohol. He also encouraged men to grow beards and demanded the segregation of men and women in public transportation system. In this poster, the rules and of Sharia law are laid out on the left hand side and on the right are the consequences for breaking these rules.

Here's a full view of the poster:

Roost: Doug Ross @ Journal.

RideFar

"Adventure Motorcycling thru Africa & South America." Blog by cult member Mark Hammond. There's a funny bit about Burger King in Nouadhibou in his post from Oct. 17. Ride like Mark and you, too, can enjoy food like this:

Update: Africa packing list. And I thought I carried a lot of crap. Of course, I don't ride in Africa...

MotorGirl

Another cult member. MotorGirl. I've been in the publishing business at various levels for more than 20 years, and have edited two different art magazines (although that was a long time ago, indeed). So MotorGirl speaks to me. The picture below is a cropped version of art on her site (please don't make me delete it, MotorGirl!). You'll have to browse her site to see the whole thing...

Lesley Gering aka Fireweed is an award winning Emily Carr Graduate, Mother and Motorcyclist who crosses the mediums with photography, film, writing, video, 2-D art and even fire performance.  Her work has been published in over fifty publications worldwide and her photography and writing have been published in over a dozen motorcycle magazines internationally.

... Her passion for riding motorcycles and for the ancient near east and Indian culture have brought her to the top of the Himalayas on small dirt bikes and into the archives of Eastern European engineering/scientific museums discovering that science and old mythology have links – you just have to look between the lines.

Evan Fell Cycle Works

1,538 photos and counting. Riding at elevation. 1983 Honda XL600R.

I just can’t seem to get enough of Dual Sport bikes lately. I’ve owned around 50 street bikes in the last few years, and very few off-road bikes. I’ve got the off-road itch and I can’t shake it.

Evan Fell Cycle Works. Cult member? You decide. I already have...

Dissin' Larry Hagman

OK, so my headline is a cheap ploy to trade on Larry Hagman's name. Larry isn't even the point. It's about this "working bike" ridden by Chris, author of The Bike Blog and an obvious member of the cult of motorcycling.

What struck me was a comment one of the celebrity guests made, I think it was Larry Hagman, the guy from Dallas that got shot - apparently he’s also a bike owner. Anyway, he said motorcycles are no longer a cheap mode of transport, they’re now recreational vehicles. That got my attention, because if that is indeed the case, I must be living in the dark ages of motorcycling.

As for Mr. Hagman, he starred in Harley Davidson: American Motorcycle, his nickname is allegedly the "Mad Monk of Malibu" and he owns a Harley.

'Is KTM running some kind of cult?'

Heh. So asks Gem at the Blue Mountain Motorcycle Club.

Is KTM running some kind of a cult? I mean you see the bikes everywhere. I've had KTM riders show up on my doorstep early in the morning asking if I wanted to join them. Should I be concerned?

...

If KTM is truly great why is their web site www.ktmsucks.com. Check it out for yourself.