Now that the New Year is Here and Spring Approaching Rapidly!!! I just wanted to touch on the Subject of riding your Scoot and having A Couple of Brewski's!!!!

DON'T DO IT, DAMMIT!!!! YOU WILL KILL YOURSELF!!!!

You Have to remember that your not in a Cage and it's bad enough out there SOBER!!!

Not to mention the Fact that you Will Lose your License, and wouldn't be able to Ride your Beloved Scoot!!! For you CDL driver's out there you WILL lose your Job!!!! Explain that to your Wife, Kids, and Family!!!

Trust ME, I know!!! I went Through A DWI(DUI) over ten years ago, IT'S NOT FUN,
IT'S :censor UP!!

No, I Didn't lose my license or my job. But it Cost Me Close to $5,000.00 in Lawyer Fee's, Plus Time off from Work for Court Date's, Meeting with the Lawyer, etc....

So, Please when you Stop to get a Drink make it a Coke, the Brewski's can wait!!!! To Steal a saying from Florida.. "Arrive Alive"

Plus We all here on the Forum want to be able to Jack with you again!!! :yikes

:soap I'm off my Soapbox Now!!!! :D

This is Something That Needed to be Brought Up. To Many of our Riders are being Killed. Because They Think It's Cool To Drink and Ride!!! NOT!!!!

Please Have a Safe, and Sober:

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

I'll second that. I had one of those incidents almost 20 years ago when I was quite young and stupid. I won't bore you with the details, but it was embarassing, expensive and put the kabosh on a career choice I had been considering that required a clean arrest record (made the choice easier :headbang). Anyhow, I quickly realized it wasn't worth it. I still chug 'em down from time to time, but NEVER if I'm on the bike. Hell, I don't even wash the bike if I'm drinking, I'm afraid I'll scratch it :cry1.

I had one major wreck on my scoot in the 60s as a result of drinking. I also subsequently got two DUIs. My insistence on drinking and driving ruined a well paying commercial driving career not to mention the expenses involved in litigation. Interestingly, I thought I was more than capable of riding/driving each time.

No lectures. Just make sober riding as important as the mods on our machines. Make the last one :coffee

Good point txsporty. I'm glad you brought it up. I was stupid many times years ago, but no more. It was pure luck I didn't get busted or killed. The only things I need for a great time is my bike, an open road, and good friends, tho a drink with friends is nice after the days riding is done.

Good point txsporty. I'm glad you brought it up. I was stupid many times years ago, but no more. It was pure luck I didn't get busted or killed. The only things I need for a great time is my bike, an open road, and good friends, tho a drink with friends is nice after the days riding is done.

Thanks Mountainrun

There's always a Time to Ride and a Time to Drink, We shouldn't get the two mixed up!!! As Stated, I'm not an Angel Myself!!!

:bump This a thread that needs to be bumped up. If I had my way, it would be required reading for bikers everywhere.

:feedback Let's keep this thread alive for a while.

Your sooooo right there Mike, it's not worth the major problems you'll have, provided you don't kill yourself or someone else! Talk about a life altering event! :frownthre

I'll second what people have said. I'll also add that smoking pot and riding don't mix either. Back in the 70s I did both and was just plain lucky I never crashed or got stopped. I've since aged and matured and now enjoy riding more than ever. Just read an article about drinking and riding last month in I think it was Motorcyclist too many riders are killed because of drinking and riding, single bike accidents. Stay safe this year.

Excellent points all... Cagers make it hard enough for us to keep the shiny side up as it is, without handicapping yourself by being drunk. Hope everyone had a safe holiday.

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?

RedRider,

I don't see that as a theory...I kinda see it as stupidity.

No offense to your friend.....that's just not sound thinking.

Ride Safe.

Greg....

Excellent points all... Cagers make it hard enough for us to keep the shiny side up as it is, without handicapping yourself by being drunk. Hope everyone had a safe holiday.

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?
I would put that right up there with this absolutely stupid law I hear Florida has which does not require motorcycles to have liability insurance. It only came to light because a fellow on the Ducati list was speaking of how his wife was Tboned by an idiot on a sport bike with no insurance, totaled their car and now can basically walk away because he probably doesn't have anything worth suing him for. A motorcycle is perfectly capable of inflicting plenty of damage under the right conditions.
As to drinking and riding, motorcycles and alcohol don't mix any better than guns and alcohol.
I wish I could introduce everyone who thinks a few drinks won't hurt anything to a young fellow I took care of a while back who thought that, subsequently killed his best friend (his passenger) and suffered fairly severe traumatic brain injury.
Nothing wrong with a few drinks, just so long as operation of a vehicle isn't involved afterward.

thats like saying that drunks don't get hurt driving cars , you know , every time you here of a wreck the drunk walked away and the victums die , so if everyone drove drunk then no one would get hurt

pure B.S.

RedRider,

I don't see that as a theory...I kinda see it as stupidity.

No offense to your friend.....that's just not sound thinking.

Ride Safe.

Greg....

That was my thought too, but I wondered if there was some kind of Zen philosophy involved that I didn't understand.

I also second all the above mentioned aspects about drinking @ riding (or driving for that matter), just NOT a good idea at all. Been there , done that......thank God I din'nt hurt anyone else or kill myself ( had a couple close calls though). Also concider this.....I may be the first (or only ) example of a biker to a young person (or my own kids) I certainly wouldnt want to taint the image of the lifestyle (any more than it already is) by being F'd up and disgusting on the road....I lokk at it this way, ride safe , considerate , and sober.....Good topic this time of year......there's a time and place for everthing....Booze and bikes don't mix on the road!!!!!!! MIKe

Willprevale

Maybe we can get Bert to make this a Sticky!!!!

Hello Bert!!!! :D

I found the article from Motorcyclist on driving drunk on a motorcycle that Rider1951 was referring to...it was about seventeen years ago that they did this study with their own staff...here's the start of the article with the link to the rest of the story if you're interested...it's very enlightening and not your typical "Don't Drink and Drive" sermon!

Drunk on a Motorcycle: We Try Alcohol-Addled Riding...and Crashing

Back when were were young and crazy, the staff of Motorcyclist magazine tried drinking alcohol and riding motorcycles (on a closed course). The results—including a couple of crashes—weren't pretty as our drunks recall.

Seventeen years ago, Motorcyclist did a stupid thing. We drank gallons of malt liquor and then climbed onto—and fell off—a motorcycle. Why? To examine just how alcohol affects the ability of riders to ride. Or their ability to choose not to ride. Since then, a lot of ethanol has flowed into motorcyclists, a lot of whom have wound up dead.

Motorcyclist fatalities have been steadily rising since 1997, when 2116 riders expired. In '03, the number was a sobering 3592. That's more people than were killed on September 11, '01. And it represents a whopping 70 percent increase in just seven years.

Alcohol-related fatalities, as one might expect, have risen commensurately. In fact, 45 percent of the riders killed in single-vehicle crashes in '02 had been drinking. And a staggering 36 percent of those riders were staggering drunk, with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 or higher.

On weekend nights, the time one would expect to find more drinking riders, the numbers are even worse: In '02, 62 percent of motorcyclist fatalities on Friday and Saturday nights involved alcohol.

Why are motorcycle fatalities increasing? Well, nobody knows because nobody has funded a real, comprehensive study of motorcycle accidents since the Hurt Report way back in '81.

FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, CLICK ON THIS LINK!

http://motorcyclistonline.com/drunk/

I just noticed that at the end of the Motorcyclist article is two related articles from Motorcycle Cruiser...these are almost as informative as the Motorcyclist article, so if the weather's bad, pull up a comfy chair and read all three! Let's not any of us become a statistic! If you want your fifteen minutes of fame, please don't make it as a dead drunk driving Sportster owner! You don't want to give us a bad name, do you? :)

Willprevale

Maybe we can get Bert to make this a Sticky!!!!

Hello Bert!!!! :D

Let's hope so. If not the complete thread, certainly the first one.

If you want your fifteen minutes of fame, please don't make it as a dead drunk driving Sportster owner!

I can't nor would I even consider adding to this.

Another thing. Don't ride with drunks either. If you are ona group ride and (like a poker run) and the drivers state drinking alot then take off on your own of with others that have not been drinking.

I quit drinking 8 years because it was gettingg the best of me.

Nope, don't do it myself... I have ENOUGH trouble WITHOUT drinking!

:yikes

Excellent points all...
Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?

Sounds like a good way to weed out the stupid, no offense to your friend. If he had to go on disability because of injuries he affects us all.

That was my thought too, but I wondered if there was some kind of Zen philosophy involved that I didn't understand.


ZEN?!?!?!?

A school of Mahayana Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion

No, more like rationale...and why in the world would one take advice about bike riding from a non-rider?

As is usually the case, this thread appears at a most opportune time for me. I have always had the notion that a few beers won't hurt you anbd that riding with a few in you is ok, provided you're careful, and that you haven't overdone it.

::::::::::::Cut to two days ago::::::::::::

Its about 10 pm, I just finished putting on my clamp-on lights that I got for Xmas.....cool lights...the small rectangular style....washes the road directly in front really nice, and provides and excellent profile for others on the road to see....I had been drinking most of the day, but slowly....maybe a six pack and 2 sips of Jack all day.....maybe 2 of those beers and a sip in the past 2 hrs while I worked on the bike......

THEN, I notice.........its 45 degrees! and DRY In WESTERN NEW YORK!!!! Love to have the bragging rights to the last ride on the last day of the year!!

I get her fired up ,and the wife comes out to the garage and asks where I'm going......I say- "just around the block to check out the lights!"

She asks me not to go (knowing I've been drinking), and I tell her I'll be careful...wife is NOT happy....

I turn her out and get down the street, make a left and go down the road past the cop-shop (staties).....the lights look GREAT...and I'm definately paying too much attention to the lights, but I know this road well, and I think I'm being careful enough.

I get to a stop sign and stop.....checking out the lights, re-aiming, etc....and she stalls.....(maybe not QUITE warm yet)...

I fire her up again, but she doesn't sound very strong as she turns.....

I make the right hand turn, and don't like what I did with one of the lights....pull over....re-aim......stall.....NO RESTART

I try a couple of push-starts, but no-go...AND forgot my cell phone in all of the excitement.....ugh....

OK, sit and have a smoke and wait for a bit, maybe she'll turn over after a rest....maybe I'll walk home.....

Suddenly, cruiser comes up and parks behind me....Must have gotten a call, but I'm about 500 feet past his jurisdiction (unbeknowngst to me)....I fake a cell phone call with something in my pocket as he gets out....
He gets out and we talk a bit....he asks me if I've been drinking, and I tell him I had about 3 beers....we talk a few minutes more, and behind him come 2 County cruisers.......;uh-oh.....this is NOT GOOD, I think.

The local guy leaves and tells me the county guys are going to "screen" me.

There it is...

Suddenly, I realize that I REEK of booze.....much more than my condition would warrant....not that I don't have a bit of a buzz.......

Long story short, I blow a .08.....the cop reams my ass (as he should) and tells me I'm a VERY lucky man because he figures I would drop a point or two by the time we reach the station......WHEW!!!

They call the wife, who arrives in a very unhappy mood. :wifemad

We park the bike in a garage across the street belonging to a CO that my wife knows (we live near Attica) and I go home with a bruised ego, a bike garaged NOT at my home, a CRAZY pissed off wife and a ticket for driving out of class, to boot!!

I tell this story, NOT bragging, but to warn....Drinking and riding is stupid and can kill me or worse......SOMEONE must be looking out for me but that won't last forever......

Needless to say, I had an Epiphany that night....I see the situation (and myself) ENTIRELY differently now, and have vowed not to start the bike if I've had a drink that day....period...

:surrender :surrender :surrender :surrender

And the wife has my permission now (she didn't know how I'd react) to take the keys if I get stupid again.....

One young man dying as a result of drinking and driving (my younger brother, in HS years ago, cut down by a drunk driver) is enough....You'd think I'd have learned this years ago, and at 41 I'd have more sense, but....that's what experience is for......

THAT is my zen....I don't need God to tell me what's best for me (That's what the WIFE is for! lol) I know intuitively that I need to change my ways....

and so it goes......

:soap :soap :soap :soap

:drinkbeer :drinkup :rockband :danceman :clap :D :)


:drinkbeer :drinkup :tour :not

Oh, the other thing I learned is that those little Halogen lights do a helluva number on my electrical system......yeah, that too......

The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains
is the Zen you bring up there.
~Robert M. Persig

From http://motorcyclistonline.com/drunk/... "while the law of the land might give you a break if your alcohol level is below the legal threshold, rest assured you'll get no break from the laws of medicine and physics".

That pretty much speaks for itsef!

Long story short, I blow a .08.....the cop reams my ass (as he should) and tells me I'm a VERY lucky man because he figures I would drop a point or two by the time we reach the station......WHEW!!!


You're one lucky SOB, those coppers were giving you a serious break, I guess they're not all bad. What was wrong with the bike in the first place. I hope you weren't too buzzed to remember to flip the petcock on :smackh

p.s. FWIW, In drunk driving school they tell you never to admit having anything to drink no matter what you smell like.

ZEN?!?!?!?


As is usually the case, this thread appears at a most opportune time for me. I have always had the notion that a few beers won't hurt you anbd that riding with a few in you is ok, provided you're careful, and that you haven't overdone it.

::::::::::::Cut to two days ago::::::::::::


They call the wife, who arrives in a very unhappy mood. :wifemad

Needless to say, I had an Epiphany that night....I see the situation (and myself) ENTIRELY differently now, and have vowed not to start the bike if I've had a drink that day....period...



the biggest reason I quit drinkin' is the fact that the old lady throws a fit anytime I'm even offered a beer , so insted of dealing with her crap I just gave up drinking , the plus side is that I normaly have money in my pocket at the end of the week
I'da never been able to buy my bike if I was still drinking cause I'm the type who will sit in a bar till it closes , no matter how long that is or how drunk I get , then I'd jump in the car or on the bike and drive home
many times I'd wake up in the morning and not know how I got home ,( or even if I was in my home ) then I'd go out and see the bike in the garage and wonder how the hell it got there
thas a scarey feeling now that I look back . but now I have fun riding around town at night (2:00-2:30) seeing all the drunks and trying to get stopped by the cops , I love it when they can't beleave that I'm not drunk :clap

one cop asked me when I had my last drink (thinking he could trip me up) and I told him january 1st 2001 , I think the cops here are starting to hate me (again) but this time its not cause I'm in trouble , its cause I'm not in trouble

Cantolina

Your a Very Lucky Person!!!!!!

They could have very well have arrested you!!! :yikes

From what I remember your a CDL Driver?? If So, I believe that if you blow a .04 you can be arrested and your license taken away!!!! Most Local Cops don't know that.. :shhhh

Hope that was a Lesson learned for everyone Here!!! :D

I think wisconson is "absolute sobriaty" with a CDL , at least thats what I heard

my DWI (many years ago ) was nothing more than a slap on the wrist by todays standards and the field test put me at 1.1 but when they got me into the station I blew a 2.5 (I musta been drinking in the squadcar) you might have been on the down side of your high but who knows , you could have been on the up side like I was (getting drunker and not drinking)

now I know I've said that I don't drink anymore but that doesn't stop me from having a beer , but it stops at a beer (I love the taste of beer so I sometimes drink N.A.)
and being the druged out drunkin partier that I usta be stopping at one beer isn't as easy as it seems so for the most part I just don't drink any more

oh god I'm rammbling again ,I'll stop now , sorry

Excellent points all... Cagers make it hard enough for us to keep the shiny side up as it is, without handicapping yourself by being drunk. Hope everyone had a safe holiday.

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?


This is about as assinine an argument as I have ever heard. What about the wives , mothers, sons and daughters you leave behind? They will suffer the loss the rest of their lives. The person who made that statement is an incredibly selfish self indulgent ass. No offense to your buddy of course. :rolleyes:

I'm gonna make a key fob outa this picture and look at it before I start my bike!

Hey Flathead, it's refreshing to hear a fellow that (let's say) mended his evil ways. I too used to be that drugged out drunk-a&@ "bad example" myself. I quit it all Thanksgivig 2001, and all I can say now is "LIFE"S GOOD"!!! I used to sit on a bar (and other places people do intersting things) stool for "days" dreamin of stuff I wanted and wanted to do, and nothin got done. I woudnt have the things I have today if I'd kept on like I was. Right after Txgvn 2001 I bought a basket 53FLH and spent about a year buildin it , learned alot and had alot of fun with it, then traded it for a horse-chokin wad of cash and the 74XLH I have today (LOVE the XL man...nice little bike). This spring I'm gonna buy my first "brand new" Harley....may the new 1200 custom or a FXDL but the 74XL will permanent "stock". The list goes on man, but NOT possible if I was doin what I was doin. Should I get off the soapbox now?...........Mike

Fifteen years as an EMT and EMT-Instructor. Worked too many bike accidents in that time and, in almost every case, alcohol was involved, not always to the biker, but often a cager who was too out of it to pay attention and the biker paid the price. So often the drunk escapes uninjured and someone else pays for the inconsiderate drinker. I body-bagged a three-year-old killed by a drunk biker who ran onto a curb and killer her. That image will haunt me 'til the day I die.

I don't drink and drive and I don't ride with those who do.

:soap

You're one lucky SOB, those coppers were giving you a serious break, I guess they're not all bad. What was wrong with the bike in the first place. I hope you weren't too buzzed to remember to flip the petcock on :smackh

p.s. FWIW, In drunk driving school they tell you never to admit having anything to drink no matter what you smell like.

Yes, well...that probably IS the smartest course, especially if you're really screwed, but lots of cops HATE to be lied to.....

Its a small town, one of them knew who I was, my wife and I are fairly prominent in the community.....not enough to deserve a break, but I'll take it.....won't NEED another one! :)

The lights (when I stalled twice) were what screwed my battery....

Fifteen years as an EMT and EMT-Instructor. Worked too many bike accidents in that time and, in almost every case, alcohol was involved, not always to the biker, but often a cager who was too out of it to pay attention and the biker paid the price. So often the drunk escapes uninjured and someone else pays for the inconsiderate drinker. I body-bagged a three-year-old killed by a drunk biker who ran onto a curb and killer her. That image will haunt me 'til the day I die.

I don't drink and drive and I don't ride with those who do.

:soap


Amen Brother. Although Alchohol is not an issue with me (I wrestled that demon many years ago) I know what you mean about f :censor king drunks and machinery. Yesterday I was able to go out for and extended scoot (put about 200 miles on Annabelle)on the way home I got off the superslab to go under it. As the light turned green I eased into the intersection when a grey streak cought the corner of my eye. I instinctively grabbed the binders and as Annabelle lurched to a stop this cager streaked through a red light at at least 70mph not ten feet in front of me. If I had been in any way impared, if my reaction would have been delayed by a split second, I would not be writing this. I believe that Divine Providence played a major part as well and gave due thanks. I was so thunderstruck by the speed at wich this all transpired, I could not even get my self together enough to give a one fingered wave to the idiot as he faded into the distance. Alchohol and machinery do not mix. Period. You need to have all your wits about you when you are out there Brothers.

74 fe , I know what you mean "sittin' there wishin' "

I do not preach "the evils of alcohol" to any one , Its not worth it , wasting my time , cause a drunk will not listen . even now I know that if I get on a barstool I won't (read can't) get off
but for me its one of the best things I've done , I've bought my jeep , sporty, computer, tools for the garage, almost everything I have right now cause I'm not drinking and the best part that I like is no longer waking up with a hang over

as I said earlier I'm not against drinking , just stay off the bike , please , I don't want to be hit by any freinds I've made here on this forum
have a drink , drink yourself stupid , just get a ride or walk if ya do . hell most bars now have some kind of safe ride system in affect now so driving drunk is just plain stupid






god I sound like my old man now , thats scary

We all recieve the 'DAD' gene. It just takes a while to surface, that's all! When did you first notice the Dad gene emerge from you? Sounds like a possible new thread!

Sorry guys, didn't mean to sound preachy, as for sounding like my Dad? Started about thirty years ago with the birth of my son :laugh

As is usually the case, this thread appears at a most opportune time for me. I have always had the notion that a few beers won't hurt you anbd that riding with a few in you is ok, provided you're careful, and that you haven't overdone it.
I tell this story, NOT bragging, but to warn....Drinking and riding is stupid and can kill me or worse......SOMEONE must be looking out for me but that won't last forever......
Needless to say, I had an Epiphany that night....I see the situation (and myself) ENTIRELY differently now, and have vowed not to start the bike if I've had a drink that day....period...
One young man dying as a result of drinking and driving (my younger brother, in HS years ago, cut down by a drunk driver) is enough....You'd think I'd have learned this years ago, and at 41 I'd have more sense, but....that's what experience is for......
THAT is my zen....I don't need God to tell me what's best for me (That's what the WIFE is for! lol) I know intuitively that I need to change my ways....

Catolina,

I feel your post (testimony) is one of the most meaningful to Txsporty's thread on drinking. You certainly didn't have to reveal an incident that most of us would keep to ourselves. Your admission is brave and honest, and there is no doubt in my mind that lessons were learned. Your account of a simple careless event teaches me, and many others that we are riding on luck, not skill, when we mix alcohol and machinery (especially the motorbike).

Many of us can relate to a beer or three, over a few hours, while wrenching or detailing our bikes. It's awfully easy to carelessly hop on and take a quick ride, without thinking. However, the mental edge we need to manuver 600 lbs of bike, has been diminished to some degree.

Unfortunately, simple carelessness or downright irresponsibility, can put us, or others in the same early grave. An earlier post is accurate quoting a $5,000 minimum legal cost, in order to climb out from under an alcohol related arrest. Financial damage doesn't begin to compare to the human tragedy that results when we don't use the best of care when climbing on our bikes.

It's a fact, that most people don't ride motorcycles because it's, DUH, dangerous. Most people view any motorcycle rider as a person who lives dangeously. Many, maybe most, of our wives and loved ones, don't share our dangerous sport. We owe those who love us, and depend upon us, at least the comforting knowledge, that we will do everything we can, to display responsibility in our riding.

One more time! We owe those who love us, and depend upon us, at least the comforting knowledge, that we will do everything we can, to display responsibility in our riding.

Billy BikerSermon

...................One more time! We owe those who love us, and depend upon us, at least the comforting knowledge, that we will do everything we can, to display responcibility in our riding.

Billy BikerSermon


BillyTheCoolBadAssBiker!!!

That's the most important thing about riding!!! We all have Someone that will Miss us If we do Something Stupid, as it's been Said Before it's Bad enough out there when we're Sober!!! :yikes

Cantolina- glad to hear your story. I think there is a lesson to be learned there for sure. I'm also glad to hear that things worked out for you. It sounds like it could have been a lot uglier than it was.

My aquaintance that made the remark that I posted may have been saying it in jest at the time- he has a weird sense of humor. I'm not the kind of person who takes advice from many people at all, let alone that little gem he told me.

My personal views are that I don't drink and ride or drive. There's just too much at stake to lose. I don't even think I would let a drunk on the back of my scoot. Everyone chooses a different path through life...this is mine.

I think that this thread has brought out a lot of good points and should be made a sticky. What do you think, Bert?

Forgive my newness....but what is a sticky?

sticky keeps a thread at the top of the list , and I think this one is already

I like the occational drink but the drinking only starts after you finished your ride for the day. The bottom line is that there is just too much to loose.

I agree that you no doubt will kill yourself if you drink and ride. no doubt about it!!

Either something is going to happen to you, or worse! Imagine what will happen if you make it back OK and someone the likes of badassbilly finds out you've been guzzlin on the ride... watch out!! :eek:

Nevermind badassbilly! I have Willprevale to deal with!

:)

Nevermind badassbilly! I have Willprevale to deal with!

:)

And don't ever forget it!

god I sound like my old man now , thats scary

I was born in the winter of 65, now its 05 what the hell happened ? :laugh :laugh
Hey Flathead... When you grow older you start to realise that you can learn from some from your fathers experiences. Yea it's scary, but it just happens after 40 years whether we want it to or not :wonderlan

I'm reminded of a great ride I went on last summer... Started out at home near Syracuse, took Rt 20 west through the middle of the state, got to Warsaw and headed north west to Niagara Falls, then rode along the south shore of Lake Ontario back home. I had a close call in Niagara Falls on the Robert Moses Pkwy, I was totally sober, but wasn't paying enough attention when the car ahead of me stopped fast. I almost laid the bike down trying to stop, the rear wheel was swinging out to the right and I had no control, at the last second somehow it straightened out and I ended up right along side the car. Days like these make you realise that just the smallest amount of hinderance to your reflexes (such as having a few beers) can mean the difference between life and death. Here's a picture from that ride.....
BTW Cantonlina, please don't let my next trip to Warsaw be for a funeral :tour

http://home.twcny.rr.com/embedded/pictures/south_warsaw.jpg

Gary

No way, Gary...

Just make it up here again, is all...

I promise to be alive and ridin!

That sign is about 3 miles from my house! (behind the hospital)

Cool... I'll promise to watch out for cars stopping too fast in front of me too :D

Gary

Fair enough!

cantolina

badassbilly AND willprevale!!!!! :yikes

You better watch yourself!!!! :D


:spineyes :spineyes

I refuse to say anything about this subject because last time it got me into trouble. That's my story and I'm stickin to it! ;)

Drinkin and ridin are no good 'cos it's hard to hold your beer and your bike at the same time.....


AS you can see from this photo I sensibly put down my beer while I concentrated on handling the massive power output of my bike..


http://www.iqconnect.net.au/~stevo/pocketburn2.jpg

Stevo

That Looks like a Ginger Ale to me!!!!!! :D

ya gotta be drinkin to ride one of those mini monsters ;)

Many Unanswered Questions in Officers' Deaths
BY JORDAN SMITH

This week the Austin Police Department is mourning the loss of two officers killed in a motorcycle wreck last weekend on Highway 71 in Spicewood. Next week, APD Internal Affairs detectives will begin an inquiry into the fatal accident in an attempt to determine exactly what happened in the hours leading up to the wreck. Late Wednesday, Travis Co. medical examiner Roberto Bayardo reported that the two victims each had high blood alcohol levels.

On Saturday, Dec. 11, at about 7pm, APD Cmdr. Shauna Jacobson, 46, and her husband, retired APD Detective Malcolm "Kurt" Jacobson, 42, were killed when the motorcycle they were riding struck a guardrail on Highway 71 near Bee Creek. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the accident; DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said it may be another three weeks before the department issues an official word on the cause. Meanwhile, the tragedy has raised numerous questions about responsibility – the responsibility of both the drivers and of onlookers, many of whom were apparently Austin police officers.

On Saturday afternoon, Bobby Joe Bailey was working at his restaurant, Cedars Bar and Grill on Highway 71. Bailey's establishment was scheduled to be the last stop on a "poker run," a popular charity event during which motorcyclists make five sequential stops – typically at bars and/or restaurants – retrieving a playing card at each stop, in an attempt to build the best five-card poker hand. APD officers organized the Dec. 11 run through western Travis Co. as a fundraiser for a colleague suffering from multiple sclerosis. According to APD sources, Kurt Jacobson was happy to take part in the run – at least in part, they say, because 12 years ago he too had been diagnosed with MS, a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. By midafternoon, Bailey said, the bar and grill he opened nearly five years ago was filled with poker-run participants.

Bailey's restaurant had been a stop in previous runs, and on Saturday he'd agreed to be the run's food stop, donating a barbecue dinner and hiring a band to entertain the more than 100 riders that passed through Cedars' doors that day – most of them off-duty police officers.

Some time around 5pm, the festivities took a wrong turn. According to Bailey, he was preparing to leave the restaurant when one of the poker riders, Kurt Jacobson, rode his motorcycle into the restaurant and did an extended burnout – engaging the bike's front brakes, popping the clutch and revving the engine in order to race the rear wheel – right in the middle of the dining room. "It was bad with the burning rubber," Bailey recalled Tuesday, so bad that many patrons fled for fresh air and the band "quit playing and wouldn't come back." Indeed, the rear-wheel burnout ate through the restaurant's floor, down to the concrete, and left a black slick of burnt rubber.

Bailey asked Kurt to "take it outside." Kurt took the bike back out to the parking lot, Bailey said, and that's the last he saw of him. He doesn't know whether Kurt returned to the restaurant; he says he didn't follow him outside and couldn't keep tabs on the 100-plus similarly dressed riders. Shortly thereafter, just after 5pm, Bailey left the restaurant, and the dining room of poker riders, in the hands of his employees – among them bartender Candi Summers. Two hours later, the Jacobsons died after Kurt's motorcycle slammed into a highway guardrail less than two miles from Bailey's restaurant. When police arrived at the scene, sources say, the motorcycle's smashed speedometer read 90 mph. Neither the driver, Kurt Jacobson, nor his passenger and wife, Shauna, had been wearing a helmet.

What remains unknown – at least publicly – is what happened before the couple arrived at Bailey's restaurant, what happened after Bailey told Kurt to take the bike back to the parking lot, or what actually caused the fatal crash. For now, no one is saying much in response to several open questions. Had Kurt had an MS-related episode while driving? Did his impromptu burnout degrade the bike's rear tire to the point that he lost traction and, ultimately, control of the bike? Was Kurt drunk? Had he been drinking at the four poker stops before arriving at Bailey's? Did he drink at Cedars? And if he had been drinking, or was drunk, did any of his fellow riders, his brothers in blue, try to stop him from driving?

Some of these questions are beginning to be answered, including confirmation that the Jacobsons were indeed legally intoxicated at the time of the accident. According to medical examiner Bayardo, Kurt's blood alcohol level was .24 (three times the legal limit of .08), and Shauna's was .33 (more than four times the limit). Bayardo added that he found no evidence of drugs, including no evidence in Kurt of medicines that might be prescribed for multiple sclerosis.

According to Mange, DPS investigators are still in the process of reconstructing the accident, completing mathematical computations and assessing any possible "contributing factors" – everything from how fast the couple were traveling, what kind of tires the bike had and whether the burnout caused loss of traction, to whether the couple had been drinking. Toxicology results are pending, she said, and the investigators' accident reconstruction will likely take several weeks. In addition to the DPS inquiry, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officers are conducting their own investigation, "incorporating everything," said Capt. David Ferrero of the TABC law enforcement division. "Not only the folks involved in the accident," and whether they were intoxicated, he said, "but also back to the [alcoholic beverage] license holder" – that is, Bobby Joe Bailey.

In fact, just over five hours after the accident, TABC officers arrested bartender Summers and charged her with on-the-job intoxication, Bailey said. Bailey bailed her out the next day. "TABC says she was drunk, but I don't believe them," he said. "She'll have a beer, but she's not a sit-and-suck." (In fact, he said, several witnesses, including members of the band that were playing at Cedars' that afternoon, have agreed to testify on Summers' behalf.) Ferrero would not comment on the details of the agency's investigation nor on Summers' arrest, but said that information will be released to the public some time after the Jacobsons' funeral, which takes place today (Thursday).

Meanwhile, APD has its own investigating to do – and, in the end, the department will have to answer the investigation's most troubling questions. That is, if any APD officers were drinking and driving while participating in Saturday's poker run, and if alcohol consumption played any role in the Jacobsons' accident, the department will have to account for the action – or inaction – of any officers who participated in Saturday's fatal run. On Monday, detectives from APD's Internal Affairs will begin an "administrative inquiry" into the matter, said APD spokesman Kevin Buchman. However, he said, the inquiry is neither an IA case, which investigates alleged policy violations, nor a case for the Officer Involved Unit, whose officers investigate alleged criminal conduct of fellow officers, because there are no "criminal or policy violations" involved in the Jacobsons' death. Instead, he said, the department is undertaking an inquiry "simply so that [the department] can put to rest the rumors circulating about what happened with these officers or at this event."

Well, I guess even our friends in blue aren't perfect, either! This should validate that none of us are exempt from the effects of alcohol! Do be careful out there!

"Beer...helping ugly people to have sex for over 2,000 years!"

Sucks that these two officers died but at least they did not take any innocent bystanders with their stupidity.

It's a Damn Shame that the People we trust with upholding our Laws turn around and Break them and in turn cause Heartaches and Headaches for the People around them!!! :frownthre

It is not a good thing I found out the hard way

In reality police officers are human beings like all the rest of us. They are subject to the same weaknesses and human frailties that all of us are. We tend to hold them up as supermen but they are mere mortals like the rest of us. Prone to the same lapses of judgement and stupid decision making dispite their training. Truly an unfortunate tradgedy.

Sorry to say I drink and ride all the time just the other day I had 2 beers before I left for a ride then 2 more beers when I got home good stuff that Bundaberg Beer, been drinking it for years without any affect to my riding skills.
:laugh :laugh :laugh

Drinking and riding is a personal choice . However just like riding one should drink responsibly in other words one beer maybe 2 don't go getting yourself rip roaring drunk its illegal and the consequences permanent.:soap

no more for me!!

i'm the first to chug a cold one but the first to tell a ride invite that i dont drink on the bike, or the car now

was at a gathering with a 12 pack, drank 8 of them from around 5:30 at night to about 11ish then had a burger on the grill andf headed home, bout an hour ride

was going through downtown and was on the cell to the wife, cop runs out in front of the van telling me to pull in (speed trap with 5 cars)

turns out i was doing 45 in a 25 not paying attention cause i was on the stupid phone telling the wife i'm on my way home

i pull in, he asks the normal questions and i hand him my license, asked if i had been drinking....yep had a few beers....get outa the van......process begins

they held me there for about an hour with 2 sets of cops giving me 2 different sobriety tests

after the first test they tell me stand by the van, another cop comes over and says we are waiting for the DUI car....i said i know sir, no problem

i kept my mouth shut, didnt lean on anything, didint have a smoke

next set came up and gave me the drill

send me back to stand by the van

original cop comes up and asks me the same line of questions six others had asked me, i answered with the same answers for the 7th time

he says........

your borderline......understand?........you have a class A license here and you dont need any trouble do ya!!

i'm gonna give you a speeding ticket, you go straight home, we held you long enough to let the alcohol either tone down or get to ya more depending on your level, were not gonna breathalize ya so get on home, pay the ticket at the court house


SCARED THE F>>OUTA ME i thought it was over

been doing that sheot all my life, was a self acclaimed pro at it, first time i went through THAT!!!

things go through your mind standing there ya normally dont think about.......but damn sure better think about BEFORE ya start the drinkin and plan on not going anywhere

was helping my brother in law the other night framing some walls, he said want a beer? NOPE>>>GOTTA DRIVE HOME i said ;)

still drink to a hangover sometimes but STAY HOME DOING IT ;)

no more, not worth it

MT

BUNDY BEER DRINK ALL DAY AND DONT GET DRUNK

I don't think they realise it's Bundaberg GINGER beer ...non alcoholic.... but it sounds good ;)

It took me 30 long years to get a Harley, there is no way I'm going to throw my licence away for the sake of a drink.

Sorry to say I drink and ride all the time just the other day I had 2 beers before I left for a ride then 2 more beers when I got home good stuff that Bundaberg Beer, been drinking it for years without any affect to my riding skills.


BUNDY BEER DRINK ALL DAY AND DONT GET DRUNKI don't think they realise it's Bundaberg GINGER beer ...non alcoholic.... but it sounds good
You Ozzies gotta stop sayin stuff upside down like that! You're getting people all worked up fer nothin'!

I never drank much, but did get behind the wheel in my teenage years a few times with a lot of alcool in my veins. This was before we were bombarded with anti-drinikng and driving campaigns. I can't belive people still do it, and the message is not ingrained in our minds. I remember how the alcohol fills with with a false sense of invulnerabilty, and that leads to disaster.
Now, I don't touch the stuff. Not that I ever had a problem with it, I just hate feeling crappy the next morning. I go to a party and make one drink last all night.
Roll me a big fatty anytime, :smoke but I'll enjoy it from my or a friend's sofa or backyard.

My local HOG chapter just announced a zero tolerance policy. If anyone sees you drink or do drugs during the ride(like a lunch stop) you will not be allowed to ride with the group the rest of the day. Occasionally I will have 1 beer with lunch(same with the truck), but that is where I cut myself off. There are just too many morons dirving in So. Cal. to risk it.

Class A drivers and CDL holders will tell you that all it takes for them is a .04 to lose it all. There's a reason for that ya know.

I won't tell any man how to live his life. Do what you want but don't take anyone with you and make sure those you leave behind will be better off without you.

Amen, willprevale :clap

I just can't find a cup holder that fits on the bars tight enough to hold a drink.

Maybe I could invent one.....

nah ya jjust fill ya camel back with Stones Green Ginger wine .....now that is alcoholic

I just can't find a cup holder that fits on the bars tight enough to hold a drink.

Maybe I could invent one.....
go to a honda shop , they have a thing called a "bike bouy" its a can holder that hangs like a lantern from your bars and keeps your soda fron tipping

People can always tell you've been drinking>

People can always tell you've been drinking>


Could be a fashion statement, I suppose.

On the topic, I gave up drinking twenty-two years ago and have have worked in the substance abuse treatment and recovery field for the past 18 years.

Alcohol, even in small quantities affects judgement, vision and reaction times, three things indespensible for safe operation of any vehicle but most especially a motorcycle. The impairment effects begin to occur at BAC levels as low as .02%.

Bottom line: If you're gonna do it, wait until the hoss is in the corral for the night. Bikin' and boozin' means you'll be losin'.

Glad I don't do it anymore. Much safer (and more pleasant) to be around me now for a variety of reasons.

Instant Axxh@le, Just add alcohol. :yikes

Could be a fashion statement, I suppose.

On the topic, I gave up drinking twenty-two years ago and have have worked in the substance abuse treatment and recovery field for the past 18 years.

Alcohol, even in small quantities affects judgement, vision and reaction times, three things indespensible for safe operation of any vehicle but most especially a motorcycle. The impairment effects begin to occur at BAC levels as low as .02%.

Bottom line: If you're gonna do it, wait until the hoss is in the corral for the night. Bikin' and boozin' means you'll be losin'.

Glad I don't do it anymore. Much safer (and more pleasant) to be around me now for a variety of reasons.

Instant Axxh@le, Just add alcohol. :yikes



Just a added note for you CDL drivers at .02 you can be put out of Service and at .04 you can be Arrested for DUI, even in your POV!!! :yikes

Just read the Federal Regs.!!! :D

Just a added note for you CDL drivers at .02 you can be put out of Service and at .04 you can be Arrested for DUI, even in your POV!!! :yikes
Yessir, that's 100% true!

Yessir, that's 100% true!


Thanks for the Back-up Will!!! :D

I'm 24 Years Old and have never been into drinking. Even if I'm not driving. I have my bike to thank for that one. For a looong time it was my main transportation. I already learned that it hurts when you go down and always thought about my life 1st before picking up a drink. It wasnt till I was 22 when my car became my main transportation. 21 came and gone and the idea of getting drunk was never there. I didn't even have a drink on my b-day! Pretty pathetic huh? Oh wel. lI figured that it was more fun being sober and riding then being drunk or dying.

Just a added note for you CDL drivers at .02 you can be put out of Service and at .04 you can be Arrested for DUI, even in your POV!!! :yikes

Just read the Federal Regs.!!! :D
Hell, where I work ,we are subject to random drug and alchohol tests, anything other than .00 and you freakin' FIRED!!!! :eek: ANY DUI ticket, on or off the clock, and you're freakin' FIRED!!! :eek:

Hell, where I work ,we are subject to random drug and alchohol tests, anything other than .00 and you freakin' FIRED!!!! :eek: ANY DUI ticket, on or off the clock, and you're freakin' FIRED!!! :eek:


We have the Same policy where I work!! No second chance, we figure If your dumb enough to come to work after being drunked up or high on drugs once you'll do it again!!! :yikes

No second chance, we figure If your dumb enough to come to work after being drunked up or high on drugs once you'll do it again!!! :yikes
I think ours comes mostly from pressure from our insurance carrier. Anyone who drives a company vehicle (which is LOT of people) are subjected to it.

I think ours comes mostly from pressure from our insurance carrier. Anyone who drives a company vehicle (which is LOT of people) are subjected to it.

That's exactly where our policies come from!!! Insurance Company!!!

As an active firefighter, I have seen many accidents with bikers. Both due to
the driver and the biker. Its not pretty scrapping someone up off the road or
peeling someone out of the front of a car or truck. Know your limits and enjoy
the road and the wind while your sober. 1 drink can put you in a wheelchair
for the rest of your life! Haven't seen 1 of those in a V-twin. DON'T DRINK
AND DRIVE!! Make it Coffee!!!

Chip

I agree 1000%!!!

I did see a guy in a wheelchair riding a BMW from the wheelchair. The controls were extended to a modified sidecar!!! This was in Austin, TX.

We have the Same policy where I work!! No second chance, we figure If your dumb enough to come to work after being drunked up or high on drugs once you'll do it again!!! :yikes


Well actually about 10 years ago when the policy was first implimented, they gave everyone a chance. "If you have a problem, come see us we will get you help. Counciling, rehab, whatever. We will even pay for it. Don't wait until you get caught, no second chance. It's too late then."

How Alcohol Affects Your Driving

Contrary to popular mythology, alcohol impairment begins at a relatively low BAC, even at a level as low as .01%.

.01% Hardly measurable but your eye’s ability to recover from glare is reduced.

.02% Your ability to detect peripheral visual stimuli is reduced as well as your perception and reaction to movement and rate of motion, such as a pedestrian crossing in front of you. Your coordination and ability to stay within your lane while following another vehicle are also affected.

.03% Now your level of impairment begins to pick up steam. Your simple reaction time as well as your choice reaction time is reduced. This means your ability to choose the appropriate response such as braking, steering or sounding your horn is retarded. As your ability to track decreases you find yourself making increased corrections to stay in your own lane. Though perhaps imperceptible, basic driving skills, such as steering, braking, and changing gears have become more difficult, requiring greater effort and concentration.

.04% Your choice reaction time continues to worsen, as does your peripheral vision and your ability to respond to peripheral stimuli. A new wrinkle, however, is that your ability to respond to central stimuli (what’s in your normal field of vision) is also reduced, as is your ability to track multiple objects. Your distance visual acuity is also reduced. To add to the complications, your time perception and spatial judgement are impaired reducing your emergency braking response.

.05% It becomes more difficult to maintain visual search, you check your mirrors less, as you try to concentrate on what lies ahead. Your situational awareness declines. Your ability to interpret visual signals is affected as is your ability to track and follow moving objects. Your contrast sensitivity is reduced, making it harder to discern an object from its environment. It now takes longer to perceive and respond to visual stimuli. An added bonus, it’s suddenly become trickier to negotiate turns and curves.

.06% Psychomotor performance and visual information processing continue to decline as does the ability to make decisions based on visual information. In other words it’s getting harder to act on information that is getting harder to acquire and evaluate. You are slower to perceive, slower to evaluate, and slower to respond appropriately to changes that occur.

.07% Your attention is reduced. It’s harder to focus on the road. Your ability to react to complex situations is further impaired. It’s also more difficult to maintain a constant speed so you find yourself speeding up or slowing down. Your ability to judge distance is reduced even as it takes you longer to make steering corrections, you may find yourself weaving within your lane or “crossing the line.”

.0799% Your distance judgement is further reduced as your depth perception worsens. Your ability to judge another vehicle’s motion and speed are also diminished. It is now more difficult to focus both eyes sharply on an object and to sense it’s relative motion, range of motion and speed. You are at the edge of the legal BAC limit.

.08% You are now legally “under the influence.” Whether or not you feel intoxicated, the law considers you sufficiently impaired to be a danger to yourself and others if you operate a motor vehicle in your current condition.

Let's face it. Alcohol, even in small amounts affects judgement, vision and reaction time, all of which are necessary to the max when up on two wheels.

Regards :sporty:

eagle101

Nice overview!! :clap :clap

Thanks!!

My wife was cool when I pulled up in the driveway with my bike to show her before I put any money down. She said go for it, you deserve it. Only request she had was helmet and no drinking.

No problem, I have three young boys and waited years to buy this bike. Not going to blow it now!

My wife was cool when I pulled up in the driveway with my bike to show her before I put any money down. She said go for it, you deserve it. Only request she had was helmet and no drinking.

No problem, I have three young boys and waited years to buy this bike. Not going to blow it now!


That's excellant.....she wants around as you are now... :clap

It's nice to get out on ya bike but there's no shortage of idiots tryin to kill us on the roads....

It's good to see a balance of priorities.......



You'd like to see ya kids grow up and I think they'd like their dad around for a while longer (at least till they get to teens, then it turns to shit for a few years ,but at least boys are easier than girls at that age :shhhh )

Amen! I had a nice ride last Saturday in Southern, CA and stopped and had me a sprite. Many folks looked at the Biker but when I got home and pulled into the driveway it was time for a few cold ones. Turned on the tunes and cleaned the bike.

I will never ride drunk or under the influence it's f-cking suicide. Like you said, it's bad enough sober let alone after a few brews.

I agree. Stuff happens way to fast on a motorcycle to even have one or 2 drinks. That and even though PA doesnt have a mandatory helmet law I will still wear my brain bucket.

I have been riding 27 years and never under the influence. If I ride with someone else and they have a beer when we stop for lunch, I don't say anything, but I never ride with them again.

Uber

You guys are so right. Riding a motorcycle under the influence is one of the dumbest things anyone can do--I'd just as soon play Russian roulette. But, I'll be we are in the minority among all bikers when it comes to drinking and riding. Where I'm from here in NC, there are quite a few bars in town that cater to bikers--and they are packed with Harley riders on the weekends. Bet they ain't drinking Sprite or coffee!

I agree with you Uber, I'm not riding with some knucklehead who has had a couple of beers in him. Things happen too quickly on a bike...

Plus always try to visualize how tough it would be to have to hold your friend or do CPR on your bud until the paramedics get there after he endo's...talk about time standing still...you'll think you've been there for an hour even though it's only been a few minutes...it just isn't worth it, folks. These toys can kill or maim you in a milli-second...and bikes aren't prejudiced...they'll bite anyone who misjudges them which is why you need all your senses at their peak!

Plus always try to visualize how tough it would be to have to hold your friend or do CPR on your bud until the paramedics get there after he endo's...talk about time standing still...you'll think you've been there for an hour even though it's only been a few minutes...it just isn't worth it, folks. These toys can kill or maim you in a milli-second...and bikes aren't prejudiced...they'll bite anyone who misjudges them which is why you need all your senses at their peak!


Planb

I believe you have hit the Nail on the head!!!!

Thanks!! :D

How could I tell my kids not to drink & drive with a straight face if I don't do the same?
And not just your own kids are watching. You may not realize out many kids are wanting to be just like you in whatever you do in life.

Sounds like quite a few of you guys wouldn't ride with our crew....

Australia sorta has a different attitude than a lot of places...

We have a 0.05 alcohol limit here and it's policed heavily...... heavier than I noticed in the States and you have a 0.08 limit there

We have light beers or softdrink at stops on our runs.....keeping in mind the 0.05....

Like most things ... moderation....then when we're back at the clubhouse ...it's park the bikes for the night and party..

If I'm doin a ride by myself I will often stop for lunch at a pub and I will have a beer or 2 with my meal and I'll either stay if there's a good crew I feel comfortable with and party on or I'll get back on my bike and ride a bit further..... then find a pub to pull up at for the night...

I don't condone getting smashed and riding....same as it's not a good idea to geat rollin drunk and pick some wench up.... ya never know where you'll end up..... and some things are bloody ugly when ya wake up sober :D

This also applies if you are too tired to ride or drive. For any diabetics out there remember if you do not eat and let your blood glucose get to low you also suffer the same problems. I am a diabetic and must watch out for these same problems. :tour

... there's no shortage of idiots tryin to kill us on the roads....
one more reason to be alert and sober. :clap

Granted Will........

But i'm not gonna change the way i do things now for many years yet...if ever..

I don't ride smashed anymore....I've had times in the past where I've rung a cab to go and pick the bike up from a party ....... and then gone down stairs and the bikes been there...

Addmittedly I was still an apprentice then.....and there's many more stories like that..

I figure where I'm at at the moment is not too bad a place as far as ridin is concerned ... I don't do most of the shit I used ta...but i'm still livin life...
Did half a dozen ride past wheelstands out the front of the clubhouse tonight......
Guess if you're a ratbag , then you're a ratbag ;) ....

I prefer to call myself an all round balanced individual :D:D:D:D:D

Here's an interesting article for those that think they can drink heaps and still ride


http://motorcyclistonline.com/drunk/

Stevo

Great article!!!! :clap :clap

I read that article when it came out. Valid then and now. I still have a ways to go, but I'm workin' on it.
Thanks for the reminder.

Kim

You guys are so right. Riding a motorcycle under the influence is one of the dumbest things anyone can do--I'd just as soon play Russian roulette. But, I'll be we are in the minority among all bikers when it comes to drinking and riding. Where I'm from here in NC, there are quite a few bars in town that cater to bikers--and they are packed with Harley riders on the weekends. Bet they ain't drinking Sprite or coffee!

I agree with you Uber, I'm not riding with some knucklehead who has had a couple of beers in him. Things happen too quickly on a bike...

I enjoy a beer or 10 and some good times with a chosen few. I'm still young at 36 years of age but I know and have seen enough in them years to know that drinking and riding is just plain insanity. I know a few Bro's that will down some JD and putt around with thier cheesecakes (yeah I've preached and even had a fist fight with one over his keys) but sooner or later we are burying them anyways. I have a nice ride, will stop for a sprite or water during but when the ride is in the garage or at a friends for the night, then it's on. Hand me a beer or a snort of whiskey.

:smoke

This sober riding issue causes me a lot of conflict. Of course I agree that riding sober is the only sane thing to do, but my husband and his riding buddies (who are also my riding buddies) drink way to much beer in the course of a day while we're still riding around. I can't tell them anything though. I just drink my coke while they're pounding down beers. Last weekend we were less than a mile from home and stopped at a bar and they said "you're almost home, why not have one drink". So I did. Well, when we left stoopid me did not pay attention to making sure my enrichener was out enough (it was cold out!) so I stalled and when I pulled to the side of the road I ended up dropping the bike when my right foot sunk down in some soft dirt and leaves. Broke my damn mirror and bruised up my legs. :cry1 I'm convinced that this never would have happened if I hadn't had that one drink.

This sober riding issue causes me a lot of conflict. Of course I agree that riding sober is the only sane thing to do, but my husband and his riding buddies (who are also my riding buddies) drink way to much beer in the course of a day while we're still riding around. I can't tell them anything though. I just drink my coke while they're pounding down beers. Last weekend we were less than a mile from home and stopped at a bar and they said "you're almost home, why not have one drink". So I did. Well, when we left stoopid me did not pay attention to making sure my enrichener was out enough (it was cold out!) so I stalled and when I pulled to the side of the road I ended up dropping the bike when my right foot sunk down in some soft dirt and leaves. Broke my damn mirror and bruised up my legs. :cry1 I'm convinced that this never would have happened if I hadn't had that one drink.Hey Blue, with luck you've already learned your lesson. Here's something to think about: What happens when your drunk buddies wipe out in front of you, or worse yet INTO you? I see your dilemma, but is the commeraderie worth your life and/or limb? If I was in your boots I'd be riding solo.

Yeah . . . definitely something to think about.

Depending on your Size one beer may get you a DUI!! Maryland is pretty strict about Drinking and Driving/Riding!!!!

I know, I lived there for 22 years!!! And My sister works for the MD State Police!!! :yikes

:D

Wow long thread! :D I gave up the hard stuff years ago but still have a couple of beers once in a while.I've dumped a couple of bikes like a dummy from too much alcohol and for years have had a self imposed 3 beer limit on the bike.I'm 250lbs and it takes 3 just to wet my whistle :laugh
I stay the hell outta the city when I ride for pleasure so it's usually a couple of cold ones in the sddlebag and a long stretch out in the hills and one beer per stop averaged out over several hours.I must confess I likes a cold brewski and a warm spot in the sun way up in the hills with a view of the lakes and mountains but I learned long ago about moderation the hard way.
Y2K :smoke

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?

when my wife gets really mad at me she asks why i don't just go down to the bar, drink a full bottle of rum and then try to drive home :roflblack

:wifemad :drinkup

I like a cold beer on a hot day....

I've just spent the better part of a week playin on one our twisties roads...

It has pub at the bottom...

SO it's up and down and up and down and into the pub....

one pot of light beer

then up and down and up and down

one pot of light beer

then up and down etc etc etc etc etc etc


:D:D:D:D

Well I buried two friends when I was in my early twenties due to alcohol. There is a time and place for everything. Need I say more.....

There were some guys that I used to ride with that said they drove better after a few during stops on rides. Can u believe it!!! They were serious!

For every beer you drink, shot of hard stuff or a glass of wine it takes your body 1 hr to get it out of your system. I'm guilty of having a beer at the watering hole, 2 is my limit and that is over an extended time period of nursing 1 or 2 and BSing with whoever wants to bs. If I even feel the slighest effect I don't ride. High blood pressure and alchol can do funny things to your system. Know your limit or limit yourself, a man or woman doen't prove anything by being disgusting. How many like a drunk hanging over you at your favorite watering hole. stay safe and ride safe

A very close friend of mine was in an accident recently. He was a newbie, and drinking. The person in front of him had no brake lights, and he lost control. Brain damager, lost use and function of an eye. Tested double legal limit, keeps me very cautious while riding.

DON'T DRINK AND RIDE.

Paulie

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully he will someday get a little better.

Kinda hard to though to have sympathy for adults that do this to themselves.

Sorry to hear about your friend, Paulie...I'm glad you've learned from that experience, and hopefully it will stay with you forever...

Sadly judgement is the first thing to go when drinking.

A no drink and ride policy is best. Zero tolerance if you will.

Sorry to hear about your friend Paulie.

Drinking and riding?
Never!
There are some things in life, that don't mix.
And drinking and driving is on top. Numero Uno! Period.
No matter which machine/equipment. None of it mix with booze!
I've had my share of experience. DUI, losing friends, one is now a half retarded. Another handicaped.
Never again.
The same goes for any other drug. Be it dope or pills.
No mercy for anybody who gets into trouble because of it.

Ride safe and sober!

SierraBiker

Drinking and riding?

No mercy for anybody who gets into trouble because of it.

Ride safe and sober!


Best thing I have ever read here.

Drinking and riding? No mercy for anybody who gets into trouble because of it. Ride safe and sober! SierraBiker
:clap :clap :clap

no way bro.......

if i go out with my bike,
i want to came back.........

ride safe

There's old bikers and drunk bikers but... there are no old drunk bikers!

Not to get off-topic, but an acquaintance of mine (a non-rider) believes that you should be able to drink & drive on a bike, as the odds of hurting anyone else are slim.

Has anyone else heard of this theory?

If the odds were zero and he considered property damage as well he might have a point.

I went through a DUI routine and it was probably one of the worst years of my life. With the thousands of $$$ that changed hands between me, my attorneys and the courts, I could've upgraded with some sweet items for my bike and my family. That money doesn't include the extra I had to pay for years in added insurance costs.

Not only do you have to hassle with the courts, you also have to handle all the serious problems with your state's DMV office.... The court can whack your pee-pee if they want to, but the freakin' DMV seriously wants your "OFF THE ROAD."

If you're gonna party, make sure you have a designated driver or just get a cab... Think of how many miles of fun riding you'll have in the future!

See ya a little further on down the road... Ride safe.

hey tx i love to drink but refuse to leave my house when ive got the captain with me!not only do i not want to crash my bike but i would hate to hurt someone else. a few years a go there was a man who called his wife to pick him up at the bar cause he did not want to drink and drive, so she put thier baby in the car seat and headed out.She was then hit by a drunk driver.who killed both of them instantly.how he lives with himself today im not sure.

by the way i LOVE YOUR sporty!!!!!!!!!

I lost a very good friend to a drunk driver. So it isn't even a consideration to me. Lapse of judgement or whatever, I firmly believe in a permanent loss of drivers license for this or driving under the influence of drugs.

RB

hey tx i love to drink but refuse to leave my house when ive got the captain with me!not only do i not want to crash my bike but i would hate to hurt someone else. a few years a go there was a man who called his wife to pick him up at the bar cause he did not want to drink and drive, so she put thier baby in the car seat and headed out.She was then hit by a drunk driver.who killed both of them instantly.how he lives with himself today im not sure.

by the way i LOVE YOUR sporty!!!!!!!!!

What a Shame!!!!:frownthre


And Thanks!!!!!:D

theres a really good chance that drinking and riding will be the last mistake you ever make. just dont do it.

Some sobering stats to start the New Year out...I don't have the figures yet for 2005, but it's pretty evident it'll be close to the same as years past...to lose almost twice as many fellow riders (4,095) in one year as we have lost soldiers in Iraq (in total 2,178) is quite disturbing to me! And to have 27% of these fatalities due to alcohol impairment is just plain unacceptable...if I have a one in four chance of dying while drinking and riding my bike, I'm not going to take that gamble, thank you very much! And watch out for your buddies, too!

This data at the link below is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which annually collects crash statistics from 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and is made available by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA).

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2005/809939/809939.htm

its good too see there are some smart folks out there.i learn eveything the hardway thats why my nickname is dodgenbullets.i dodged the booze bullet for 15 years of daily drinking.now i can happily say i havnt had a drink in a year.i can ride without looking in the rear veiw mirror for cops.more importantly i can look myself in the mirror and see a sober guy.

Awful story from last night just a few blocks from my house.

Motorcyclist crashes into skateboarder on Alki Beach

07:04 AM PDT on Friday, April 28, 2006
By CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 News



SEATTLE - Two people are dead after a motorcycle rider crashed along Seattle’s popular Alki Beach late Thursday night. Police say speed and alcohol may have played a part in the collision.



The motorcycle rider, in his late 20s or early 30s, was speeding and may have been drinking when he lost control on a curve, said police. He hit a teen who was skateboarding or rollerblading with two relatives on a popular bike path on the 1200 block of Alki Avenue Southwest.



Police spokeswoman Debra Brown said both the driver and the teen were taken to Harborview Medical Center in "extremely critical" condition. Both died a short time later.



"At this point, the individual was exceeding the speed limit, alcohol may have be a factor and everyone knows don't drink and drive," said Brown.



Police investigated the scene for roughly six hours before reopening Alki Avenue Southwest Friday morning.


http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_042806WABmotorcycleaccidentLJ.7c8c8f97.html

Another version here: http://www.kirotv.com/news/9060746/detail.html

Eh, getting intoxicated and driving in general is just plain stupid. Now that i've said that, notice i said intoxicated. If i am drivin meh car, i'll drink max 3 beers in a night and follow it up with equal part of soda or water to help out. I think one time out of the last 6 of drinking, i've felt just a bit tipsy and waited till it went away.

When riding the bike, the most i'll drink is 1 bottle of ice house. I preceed to follow it up w/ some coke (soda) and then drive my ass home.

If you drive while intoxicated, i wish you death on a dark back road that no one ever drives down. I have seen to many childen dead, parents lost, and families destroyed because some SH!Tbag though he could drive and believed himself.....

its good too see there are some smart folks out there.i learn eveything the hardway thats why my nickname is dodgenbullets.i dodged the booze bullet for 15 years of daily drinking.now i can happily say i havnt had a drink in a year.i can ride without looking in the rear veiw mirror for cops.more importantly i can look myself in the mirror and see a sober guy.

Congrats on being sober.

For me:

One is too many !! And a Truckload is Not Enough !!!

If I drink more than a couple, You can bet I am gonna drink till theres none left !!

So I try not to drink the first one. But I do get Stressed out and just Lay one on every now and then !

But Damb!! It sure hurts more than it used too !!!

And it's a little rough on my Scooter too !!!

Alcohol & motorcycles mix about the same as deer hunting with high powered rifles & drinking. Not judging, but I don't do it, my luck just doesn't run that good anyway.

Needs A BUMP FOR SURE!... :bump

As a wife who loves her husband beyond what even he realizes, I'd like all you guys (and gals) out there to know that being married to a motorcycle rider is hard enough...we love you for your free spirit but we worry beyond belief - of course we don't let you know that EVERYTIME you go for a ride we put our heart on our sleeve - we say "Have a nice ride honey!" while we're praying desperately for your safe return. :o

Put the fact that we know you love a good beer with that and I can't even describe how it feels... :(

Remember your wife and kids who need you and don't deserve to always worry so much when you're on the bike that you might drink also...even two beers is NOT okay! :frownthre :doh

DON'T WE DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT!?!?!?!? :wonderlan

I dont disagree with this, but i really dont care if people arent smart enough to keep themselves from getting killed from doing something stupid. Its cold hearted i know.....but what can you do?

What's the difference between being drunk and being wasted?

What's the difference between being drunk and being wasted?

Usually when you're wasted you don't remember some, or anything after a certain point. Not that I would know...but, what I do know is that I don't ride drunk, it seems a little crazy to do so.

What's the difference between being drunk and being wasted?
When you're drunk you pull up to a stoplight on your motorcycle lose your balance and fall over. When you're wasted you fall over and keep on pedaling.

I have a major rule of not drinking and playing with anything that has a motor, it always leads to trouble eventually.