I do not understand why anyone complains about others using a trailer. Never rode my dirt bike to the strip mines on sunday morning, always used a trailer and geared up when we got there. Never drove the race car to the track, always towed the boat to the river, so why is it unacceptable to trailer to a week long rally?
I trailer, proud of it, have a trailer I am also proud of. I also do not, and never will, go a week early or late to miss the crowds. The crowds, bikes, vendors are the rally and the reason we, personally, go. We go every couple years to Sturgis and ride 1200 - 1500 miles while there, Every year to Daytona and occassionaly to other rallyes, but I tow there and back and totally enjoy the complete experience. We have friends who say they will only go when they can ride, and have never been to Sturgis, Myrtle Beach etc.. But are proud that they only ride!
So IMHO we all, hopefully, do what we want, when we want and how we want. I know I do.
OK I started this discussion mostly to stir things up a little for laughs but there is little bit of truth to what I said about trailering. Again: I am in no way saying those who can't ride for 1000's of miles should not trailer. My point is directed towards able-bodied riders who choose comfort. And no matter what, please do not give up on me as a potential future friend if you meet me in person. Despite what I might say below, some of my best buddies trailer (IMHO for all the right reasons). Just ask Jimmy 2K! He will vouch for the fact that I'm not really a judgmental A-hole most of the time.
So here it goes: (deep breath)
Why does your analogy not work?
You can not drive a boat to and from the marina! And by law you are not supposed to ride a dirt bike or drive a race car on public roads. Our bikes are designed and licensed specifically for public roads. So it's not the laws of physics or the land that causes us to trailer our road-going bikes. It's our desire for comfort, or in some cases, our health, age, etc. A better analogy would be if you are trailering an antique car to a car show or vintage racing. By all means, if you have an antique bike, trailer it. I most certainly understand the need to trailer for two reasons: 1-it's an antique and as such it may not make it otherwise. 2-There aren't 100's of thousands of antiques that would be trailered to a rally, causing endless train of slow moving shipping containers on any and all roads around the rally site. So in this case it's not the rider that has or might have health issues but the ride.
Why is it my business?
Too many are opting to do so. Clogging up the highways, restaurant parking lots, gas stations. We saw 'riders' trailering their rides on Iron Mountain, Needles Highway (trying to thread the needle, so to speak, by driving his trailer through the tunnel at the speed of 1 mile per day!), Mount Rushmore, and Beartooth Pass! One was hauling his ride and his golf cart so that, you know, for those short distances he could just use the cart. When our choice threatens the enjoyment of the very thing we are gathering for, in this case riding a motorcycle, then we open ourselves to criticism. Now last year I spent a few evenings having beers with a gentleman who had his bike shipped to Sturgis and flew his own jet to and from! He had a CVO so I encouraged him to join us on this site and for all I know he might be a member. I HAVE NO PROBLEM/IT'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS how he chooses to get to Sturgis because his method in no way impacts what I'm going there for. Same with another friend who, because of back problems, travels by train to Daytona. He rides his bike to the train station in VA, they load up his bike here and unload it there. Again, his method does not impact me when I hit the roads because, knock on wood, I am still able to ride for hours and hours, with a smile on my face.
Why do I ride when I can take the train or ship/fly?
I love the road as much as, if not more than, the rally itself. The best way to describe how I feel about being on the road with a few, or in the case of the ride to Sturgis this year just one, KIRO, is to listen to Willie Nelson's On the Road Again.
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And IMO it just wouldn't be the same in a car. Was I beat up and tired physically? Of course. Would I trade the memories for comfort, not as long as I'm able. See, I got into the whole riding thing when I saw Easy Rider oh so many years ago. The idea of being free to take any path, stop anywhere, and meet all kinds of folks in small towns that you may never travel through again is the real reason I ride. Which brings me to the remake of this iconic movie I just heard about. They have made a few adjustments to the storyline for it to better match the current trends in the rider scene so we all can relate to the story better. Here's the poster. I think it will be able to inspire a new generation of future riders to take up the activity we are all so passionate about just like the original inspired so many of us.
Ride safe.
Apologies again if I hurt any feelings. Not my intention at all and if I pissed anybody off, I owe you a beer or two if and when we meet. The pic below is me on my CVO BO, which I rode to and from Sturgis, on Main Street. So now you know who to hate on! Photo by one of my BRBF (best riding buddies forever) Kiro!
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Topic: Week after Sturgis (Read 7993 times)