Last Sunday Katie & I were looking for a place to ride dirt bikes. I really wasn't excited about Crystal Coast MX Park on Hwy 58 near Pollocksville. I felt like exploring a little. So I convinced Katie to try the ATV trails at Croatan National Park. Take Catfish Lake road for a few miles and cross the concrete bridge, the parking area in close by on your right. The coast is $5.00 per day or $30 annually. At first that didn't seem too bad. Posted on the board are the rules: No riding on roads except designated, must have license tag and insurance if on the roads, must stay in or on the designated trails. All of the these rules were crimes chargeable by a park ranger. The route available to ride consisted of a one lane road, arrow straight, which appeared to run for ten miles. No turns, no curves, no jumps, no single track, no berms, no fun. There were three other trails but they also went straight as an arrow for a couple of hundred yards where they deadended and you had to turn around and go back to the main trail. While it would seem the national park service could install a nice single track for off road motorcycle, that is not to be. While my daughter enjoyed the ride, it being the first time she has ridden straight for such a distance, I would not recommend this area for anything but a beginner who is looking for more practice operating the controls.

On Wednesday, I rode the full tilt boogie, siren, blue lights, lane splittin', passing everyone, blowing red lights, max throttle from Wrightsville Beach to S. Kerr and Market St. due to a report of a motorcycle accident. I found a moped which was trying to cut through stopped traffic at a ninety degree angla and it was clobbered in the last lane it crossed. Personal injury? Certainly!! The question which troubled me was: How did this guy go about 35 feet and get involved in a wreck at very slow speed, while I had travelled about 5 miles at full throttle with no problems? The answer for the injured moped rider is failure to not pay attention to the fundamentals of survival. By making his attempted move through stopped traffic, he exposed himself to a certain collision and it happened. How many times had he made this move before and made it? Impossible to tell. It may have been a thousand, it may have been just one. How much training did he have? Uncertain, probably none. The lesson is that whatever your age or experience, it is always good to be trained & tested by professionals and that training should periodically be assessed. Attending a basic or experienced rider course through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and following it up with an on-the-road assessment course such as BikeSafeNorth Carolina is very heplful in your war to survive on the mean streets. Here at the Wilmington Police Department, we offer BikeSafeNC monthly for no charge!

Yesterday, March 27, was really a beautiful day. I set out in the morning to ride to Kinston, N.C. The trip initially was on US 17 North of Wilmington. The first rider I passed, I have seen many times on his distictively marked BMW. NO WAVE. Later I passed two more BMW riders, again NO WAVE. Finally I passed a red Honda, NO WAVE. I just don't understand the lack of brotherhood here people. When I first hit the streets back in 1973 on my SL 125 Honda, I was instructed by other riders that motorcyclists always waved to each other. I have tried to practice this ritual since that time. The issue is not wether you are too cool to wave or not. It is not about being cool, having a rad bike, or being better in any way. It is about brotherhood, and it is time that some of you wake up to that fact!

Recently, the idea has surfaced from Mr. Hickey that I like. The idea is to purchase a KTM or Husky 500cc Dual Sport which are street legal. In addition to modifing the motorcycle to make it faster, but also buying a second set of 19" rims with sticky street tires to use it for local riding ala supermoto! Now when I enter my garage today, it is filled with two street motorcycle and three dirt bikes. This is really a lot of wasted space and machines. I can only ride one at a time. The idea is to get rid of all of these and make the combo dirt/supermoto. If you want to ride street, put on the street tires, exchange them again to ride dirt. Plus you can really explore places in your town off the beaten track. I really like the idea, especially if your intend to ride this machine for long distance, like the ride across America using only dirt roads and paths! I have asked to go with Mr. Hickey when he purchases his new machine, then I will consider this move myself.

With spring quickly approaching, we riders need to pay attention to of bikes which generally have been sitting since the last ride of the fall. A good T-CLOCK inspection is due, NOT for riding though, but to identify needs for repair and maintenance. Once shortcomings are identified, we need to make a plan for getting it fixed prior to riding! Once the maintenance is up to speed, we should also "maintenance" ourselves, by mentally and physically preparing ourselves for the ride. Remember to practice, practice, practice!! Braking and avoidance drills!!!!