BMW

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="3" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="056d4c00dduajq.png"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> I started riding at a very early age. Here is a photo of me on my first motorcycle:</div> <div> <IMG SRC="05eb77e0.jpg" border=0 width="183" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="1100rt_m.htm#why_do_i_ride_" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="BMW"><U>Why Do I Ride?</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Captain Justice & The Bailiff</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Captain Justice The Bailiff"><U>home</U></A>    <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Captain Justice The Bailiff"><U>Up One Level</U></A>    <A HREF="1100rt_m.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="BMW"><U>Top of This Page</U></A>   <A HREF="http://dajudge.us/site_search.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://dajudge.us/site_search.htm"><U>Search This Site</U></A></div> <div> <B>BMW</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="computing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Computing"><U>Computing</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="digfoto.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Digital Photography"><U>Digital Photography</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="thoughts.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal Thoughts and Stories"><U>Personal Thoughts and Stories</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="other.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other Interesting Stuff"><U>Other Interesting Stuff</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="about.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About"><U>About</U></A><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="yahoo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yahoo Groups"><U>Yahoo Groups</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=358 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> BMW</div> <div> <A HREF="ridepics.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pics from Rides"><U>Pics from Rides</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="trips.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trips Area Rides"><U>Trips & Area Rides</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="mods.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Modifications"><U>Modifications</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bike Links"><U>Bike Links</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="gear.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gear"><U>Gear</U></A></div> <div>  <embed src="HTMLobj-115/missionimpossible.mid" autostart="true" hidden="true">  </div> <div> About motorcycling:</div> <div> ..."Motorcycling: a form of entertainment that can appeal only to the most</div> <div> enthusiastic of mechanical eccentrics...we think it doubtful whether the</div> <div> motorcycles will, when the novelty has worn off, take a firm hold of public</div> <div> favour"</div> <bR> <div> Engineering Magazine, 1901</div> <bR> <div> Shows what they knew about it!   ;-)</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="r1100rt"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>This is the most fantastic touring motorcycle made. More description following the photo:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="01e40d60.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="214" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Wet (gas, oil, etc.) the motorcycle weighs about 620 lbs. The horizontally opposed twin-cylinder engine displaces 1085 cc (nominally 1100 cc) and puts out 90 horsepower. With a top speed of about 125 mph and a 1/4 mile speed of around 95 mph, the machine is plenty quick, yet is a smooth and tireless touring motorcycle which will run either the interstate or the mountain backroads with ease -- all day long.</div> <bR> <div> This machine replaced a Harley-Davidson Wide-Glide (FXDWG):</div> <div> <IMG SRC="02540f00.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="240" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A fun machine, but not for extended, long-distance touring. Ideally I'd have both, but the boss might raise an eyebrow.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="why_do_i_ride_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Why Do I Ride?</B></div> <div> To some extent, if you have to ask the question you probably won't understand the answer.  But I'll try to explain it.  A sub-question at this time (circa 2003) also has to be "isn't it awfully dangerous in light of your responsibilities as a State District Judge?"  A fair question and I'll try to answer both.</div> <bR> <div> In my present position as the caretaker of the 33rd District bench it is important to keep my body and mind in good shape.  Not to mention my humor!  And in that process I think it's important that the job not define me ... that I maintain my own identity separate from the bench.</div> <bR> <div> And a portion of that identity is someone with a bit of wanderlust and need for adventure, and who loves the out of doors but is confined indoors most of the time.  Thus my major recreation, also enjoyed by Jennifer, has become long-distance motorcycle touring. What's that?  Well, it's all about getting from point "A" to another point more than a mere few hundred miles away and to do so by the most scenic, circuituous, backroad route possible . . . and the destination is irrelevant.  A classic example is the <A HREF="co2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Colorado 2003"><U>2003 trip to Colorado and Northern New Mexico</U></A>.  </div> <bR> <div> So what does this "sport" do for me?  It relieves the mind, rests the body, recharges the soul and brings back to the surface an unparalled appreciation for this country and its people -- including those I serve from the bench.  The 2003 trip was 3,000 miles in 6 days of riding -- 500 miles per day average -- with one day of 788 miles in the heat across Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.  Yet, the trip was totally refreshing.  How could that be?</div> <bR> <div> Touring on a smooth, powerful, totally capable and reliable motorcycle immerses you in the environment like nothing else can do.  I just ride the purring beast giving it little thought and I feel, see, hear, smell and "intuit" everything about me.  Except for the occasional dead animal along the roadway its an exhillirating and fulfilling experience.  I've owned a number of convertible top motorcars and they do a lot to put me into the environment but the motorcycle does so 100 times over.  Even within blocks from my house I see things from the bike that I've never seen when driving by in the car.  I think that happens simply as part of the necessary method of operating the machine.  You <U>have</U> to be aware, be looking, be hearing.  </div> <bR> <div> How does relate to my job on the bench?  Just the same as it would for an vocation.  It refreshes me mentally and spiritually and I return to the bench with a better sense of reality and humor, refreshed and recharged.  After all, who wants a fatigued, burned out, grouchy judge hearing their case?  But isn't it dangerous?  Yes, but the level of danger can be reasonably managed.  I have a keen sense of responsibility to not only my family but to the people whom I serve from the bench.  To that end I do several things to protect myself to the greatest extent possible.</div> <bR> <div> Foremost is to have good equipment and know how to operate it.  The BMW "RT" is a thoroughly capable machine and to it I've added a number of safety features in terms of additional lighting for visibility and louder horns.  It has a lot of power and superb brakes (dual-disk with ABS), and is large enough to be visible (visibility is the motorcyclist's friend).  I work on riding skills and constantly think about potentially hazardous situations.</div> <bR> <div> And I <A HREF="gear.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gear"><U>dress for the crash</U></A>, not the ride.  Morbid as that seems, it has saved many lives and LOTS of skin.  Full face helmet, riding suit with body armor, boots made for motorcycling with foot and ankle protection built in, gloves, eye protection.  </div> <bR> <div> Lastly, I approach the bike like I did an airplane when I was flying.  If I ever throw a leg over it and am not a little afraid of it, it's time to walk away.</div> <bR> <div> In summary, I'd say I ride for the same reason that some people hike, some jog, some climb mountains.  Because it's there.  The "it" is this beautiful country.  I've been in about 1/2 of the lower 48 states and intend to visit the entire continental US by motorcycle.  Why?  Because it's there.  I hope you get as much pleasure from whatever you do as I do from criss-crossing this US of A on two wheels ... chasing the wind.  Perhaps the best demonstration of all of the reasons I ride is a description of my ideal vacation.  It would be to load the bike with all the goodies I might need for an extended trip, ride about 500 miles north to get out of the heat, then pick a random direction to start.  I mean just pull up to an intersection and decide, without any prior thought or research whatsover, left or right.  And as I get to each subsequent decision point simply do what Yogi Berra said to do when you come to the fork in the road:  take it.  The only rule would be to avoid roads I had been on before.  Chase the wind ... because it's there.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="17c6b200.gif" border=0 width="107" height="32" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=22 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="1100rt_m.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="BMW"><U>Back to Top of This Page</U></A>   back to<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Captain Justice The Bailiff"><U><B>Captain Justice & The Bailiff</B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>