Wheelies-the front wheel in the air, and stoppies, the rear wheel in the
air have become commonplace among today's motorcyclists. Whereas in the past
only the brave on a dirt bike, or the rare Evel Knievel type would wheelie, now
we see them on the freeways, leaving a stoplight, and other places. Not an
unusual sight. Not as common, but still gaining in popularity are stoppies,
grabbing the front brake and watching the rear wheel leave the ground. Giving
Harley riders an argument for not using their front brake, while they skid past
you only using their rear. I have done both, stoppies unintentially, and ended
up sitting on the tank. It felt cool, I wish I had known it was coming.
Wheelies-well the Street Triple encourages them, and bringing the front wheel up
while accelerating in second gear is fun. I don't recommend either one, but I
don't discourage them either. They're fun when done right.
My first impromptu wheelie was on BH's CB 750, with Brennan on back. I
missed the shift between first and second, and with the engine at redline, hit
second-and got hit in the head by Brennan's foot as they left the pegs. Scared
me, which I never admitted-but scared him even more-which he did. My other BH
example was when he was showing off for a girl-and wheelied the same bike, sans
passenger. Watching the young lady watch him, he failed to notice the car in
front of him stopping, and brought the front wheel down on the trunk. Unhurt,
bike OK, but the cop in the car that he landed on had no sense of humor, or of
trying to impress girls, never mind wheelies, and gave him a ticket. Over the
years I have had various friends wheelie 15-17 miles at time, I'm impressed,
they're nuts. And I wish I had the skill, or at least the courage to attempt
either one. Sometimes fear can be a good thing, in my case it probably has
added years to my riding, which I consider a fair trade.
On the latest Triumph Explorer I rode, it has traction control and ABS.
Which makes skidding and burnouts all but impossible, call it an anti-fun mode.
Fortunately it can be turned off. And overall it hasn't made a better rider,
but a safer one. Which can't be all bad, but there are times you just gotta
wheelie, skid, or stoppie-what good is fun if you don't enjoy it? Yet it is the
power that your wrist controls that controls these things also, and for racers
wins races. It is hard to steer while wheeling-and without the rear wheel on
the ground, no power is getting to the track. And although it looks cool, the
winners save it for their victory lap. I could name some exceptions, but will
honor their talent by not implicating them. Power under control keeps both
wheels on the ground, allows you to use all your braking capability, go faster,
steer better, and still have more fun than should be legal.
Power under control is not a new concept, but spoken of for almost 2000
years. God calls it meekness, quite different from the weakness that meekness
invokes today. Meekness meant, and still means doing the right thing, although
a wrong retaliation would be proper given the situation. We recently were
verbally confronted by someone, and it would have been easy to verbally
retaliate, but yet we chose to just get up and leave-winning the argument by
default. And not causing any further continuance that could be blamed on us.
It is the fruit of the spirit, and is listed just before self control-it is a
choice you make to control the situation, let it get out of control, or let God
deal with it. Meekness allows God to deal with it for you-your choice, because
He never forces His way upon you. And just like riding, you get better traction
with both feet on the ground, on special footing. Jesus tells us the wise man
built his house upon the rock, all else is sinking sand. Remember that next
time you lose traction-and the ABS or traction control is slow. Jesus isn't, He
has everything under control, and offers this same to you-via your choice to be
meek. Power under control, the quality of every race winner, survivor on the
street, and Christians everywhere.
To truly enjoy the freedom of the road, you need to keep the wheels
turning, and life is also like that. Few have the talents, and even fewer the
road to showcase other skills, and for most of us survival is more important
than showing off. I don't have to brag about what kind of rider I am, my skills
reflect it, and so do the many miles on different types of bikes. Meekness is
soft spoken, doesn't brag on itself, and is there when needed, even in emergency
situations. And just ask my friend BH who landed on the trunk of the police
car. The fine was well over a week's pay for him, the girl kept going, and he
had a severely bruised ego. But the story goes on, as does his riding, showing
God's mercy and grace. May you keep the rubber side down, the shiny side up,
and get every thrill from riding and life you can. Power under control can
allow you great wheelies, impressive stoppies, and even a date with the pretty
girl. But like my friend Ivan Stewart once said, "it is not the jumps that
scare him, it is the landing." Stay on solid ground with Jesus, meekness can be
as close as your throttle hand. A marksman is known by his aim, not his
arrows. What your life reflects will tell us what you are known by. Power
under control...a twist of the wrist for some, a confidence in God offered to
all who believe.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com