This is what we did.
Here's video of Justin jumping the legendary Belgian Step.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Responsibility
As I was writing this recent post to my blog, the focus of the piece turned to responsibility. Too many times people don't take responsibility for what they do nor do they take responsibility for what happens to them. Yeah, that's right, you are responsible not only for your actions but also for what happens to you.
This is a concept that a lot of people have trouble understanding. Let me illustrate with a couple of examples.
Imagine your heart is broken because you catch your girlfriend shacking up with another guy in Samui when she tells you that she's on a junket with the girls from the travel agency or that your gf becomes pregnant and you know you're not the father because you had a vasectomy 10 years ago.
Who's responsible for your broken heart? The girl who ripped your heart out of your chest, tossed it on the floor and stomped on it with her heels, or you?
You are.
If you hadn't let her get close to you, your feelings could never have been hurt.
In case you don't get it, here's another example. When you're riding your motocy in Thailand and get T-boned by a step-through, who's responsible?
You are.
When I say this to people they think I'm crazy. "Of course the step-through is responsible" is the answer most often given.
In fact, I can tell you who is responsible for any motorcycle accident - the rider is responsible. The rider CHOSE to get on the bike and ride it, thus making the decision to put himself in harm's way by participating in a risk filled activity. Most people don't take any responsibility for their decisions or actions and feel victimized when something bad happens to them.
If you can get your head around this and really take responsibility for what happens to you, you'll find that it's an incredibly empowering way to live your life. You might say that I'm just playing with words here and that I don't know what I'm talking about. Like I said, most people don't get this and most likely never will.
This is a concept that a lot of people have trouble understanding. Let me illustrate with a couple of examples.
Imagine your heart is broken because you catch your girlfriend shacking up with another guy in Samui when she tells you that she's on a junket with the girls from the travel agency or that your gf becomes pregnant and you know you're not the father because you had a vasectomy 10 years ago.
Who's responsible for your broken heart? The girl who ripped your heart out of your chest, tossed it on the floor and stomped on it with her heels, or you?
You are.
If you hadn't let her get close to you, your feelings could never have been hurt.
In case you don't get it, here's another example. When you're riding your motocy in Thailand and get T-boned by a step-through, who's responsible?
You are.
When I say this to people they think I'm crazy. "Of course the step-through is responsible" is the answer most often given.
In fact, I can tell you who is responsible for any motorcycle accident - the rider is responsible. The rider CHOSE to get on the bike and ride it, thus making the decision to put himself in harm's way by participating in a risk filled activity. Most people don't take any responsibility for their decisions or actions and feel victimized when something bad happens to them.
If you can get your head around this and really take responsibility for what happens to you, you'll find that it's an incredibly empowering way to live your life. You might say that I'm just playing with words here and that I don't know what I'm talking about. Like I said, most people don't get this and most likely never will.
Money, again...
Somebody posted a comment in this post that quoted Shakespeare. I guess great minds think alike eh?
The lender cc'ed a couple of dozen people on this email. In doing so, he comes off looking like a petty, whining, name calling jerk.
The borrower has made what he considers a final payment to the lender. Good for him, paying the principal off. The lender is still seeking interest over 20,000 baht.
Is there any way that you could take assertive action to collect a 6 year old debt from a "friend" and not look like a jerk? Probably not. These guys must have been good friends at one time, now it seems that money has divided them forever.
If this had happened back in the USA, the lender could have filed a suit in small claims court, won a judgment and taken steps to garnish the borrowers wages or assets. I had to employ this tactic once to recover my money.
I have a friend that told me a story of how he spent $10,000 to collect a $375 debt. This guy is a good riding buddy. Money can make you do funny things. We ride together and have many similar research interests. We joke about loaning each other money often because we both know that the quickest way to lose a friend is to loan him money.
For farangs in Thailand, there is no legal recourse in cases like this. We have to rely on the integrity of our fellow farang to resolve these kinds of problems.
In a similar matter there was a farang that owned a motorcycle shop in Bangkok. To make a long story short, he let a dishonest employee get leverage over his business and eventually lost the assets of the business leaving many farang customers with unkept promises of bikes and/or book & plates. Who's responsible for the unkept promises? The owner who didn't watch his business close enough.
Who's responsible for this rift between these 2 ex-friends? They both are.
Who do I think is right in this case? In my opinion, neither party can take the high ground. The lender loaned money to a borrower that was a bad credit risk. Suck it up and admit that you screwed up. The borrower is at fault as well for not clearing the books long ago.
The lender has an apparently big heart and has even loaned money to members of his Thai wife's family. I can't imagine myself ever doing that - even if I had Thai wife. If you look in a Thai-English dictionary you'll see "loan" in English translates as "kong faak" (ของฝาก - gift) in Thai.
We don't like to see our fellow riding buddies suffer and will do what we can to help them out.
In the words of Rodney King, why can't we all just get along?
From Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1603:That’s the last thing I would want, to have the edge of my husbandry dulled.
LORD POLONIUS:
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
The lender cc'ed a couple of dozen people on this email. In doing so, he comes off looking like a petty, whining, name calling jerk.
Assuming that you have made those last two payments (which I have yet to confirm) here is your current balance:Soon after this email was sent, about 6 of the cc'ed people replied to all asking to be excluded from future emails. Likely there will be efforts made to choose sides in this conflict.
Balance as of May 1 64,060B
Payment – May 2 -3000B
Payment – May 18 -3000B
Payment – May 22 -35,000B
Balance as of May 22 23,060B
As you can see, your figures only take into account the amounts that you originally borrowed over a 6 and 1/2 year period. You were informed quite some time ago that you would be charged whatever interest that I was paying to carry your debt. And you agreed to it.
So as far as I am concerned, your balance is still 23,060 baht, and will continue to grow at the interest rate that I am paying for that money. You can take your "BALANCE now equals ZERO baht" comment and stick it right up there with the rest of your BS.
What the *&^% do you think, xxxxxxxx? That the rest of the world owes you a living? Guess again. It is real funny that I was your "good buddy" when you needed the cash, but after 6 years of putting up with your crap, I am a rotten b*&^%$d for wanting my own money back.
You have told me to "Please see that you distribute this to every man & dog whom you have bad-mouthed / emailed me behind my back!" Rest assured that I will do that - and more. But what they will be told is the complete truth about the situation - and that you have been, and continue to be, an arrogant prick.
And, by the way, when you tell somone the truth about a situation, it is not "bad-mouthing". Your own actions have ruined your reputation - not me telling people about your actions.
This money that you still owe is not in any way making money for me. It is only recovering what I am out of pocket - interest that I have paid on this money for the past 6 1/2 years. Let's hear your reasons why I should be eating those costs, instead of saying "F&^% You - that is all you are getting".
I have put up with more than enough of your crap. You have often cried "I have no money to pay you" then get caught blowing the cash on booze, girls, and vacations. And anyone that knows you realizes that this is true.
And your promise of a year ago - that the debt would be completely paid off by the end of 2006? Well the talk was not followed by a single baht. You know the saying - Money talks, BS walks.
So screw you and your totals. You still owe me lots of money, and I intend to keep asking for it.
The borrower has made what he considers a final payment to the lender. Good for him, paying the principal off. The lender is still seeking interest over 20,000 baht.
Is there any way that you could take assertive action to collect a 6 year old debt from a "friend" and not look like a jerk? Probably not. These guys must have been good friends at one time, now it seems that money has divided them forever.
If this had happened back in the USA, the lender could have filed a suit in small claims court, won a judgment and taken steps to garnish the borrowers wages or assets. I had to employ this tactic once to recover my money.
I have a friend that told me a story of how he spent $10,000 to collect a $375 debt. This guy is a good riding buddy. Money can make you do funny things. We ride together and have many similar research interests. We joke about loaning each other money often because we both know that the quickest way to lose a friend is to loan him money.
For farangs in Thailand, there is no legal recourse in cases like this. We have to rely on the integrity of our fellow farang to resolve these kinds of problems.
In a similar matter there was a farang that owned a motorcycle shop in Bangkok. To make a long story short, he let a dishonest employee get leverage over his business and eventually lost the assets of the business leaving many farang customers with unkept promises of bikes and/or book & plates. Who's responsible for the unkept promises? The owner who didn't watch his business close enough.
Who's responsible for this rift between these 2 ex-friends? They both are.
Who do I think is right in this case? In my opinion, neither party can take the high ground. The lender loaned money to a borrower that was a bad credit risk. Suck it up and admit that you screwed up. The borrower is at fault as well for not clearing the books long ago.
The lender has an apparently big heart and has even loaned money to members of his Thai wife's family. I can't imagine myself ever doing that - even if I had Thai wife. If you look in a Thai-English dictionary you'll see "loan" in English translates as "kong faak" (ของฝาก - gift) in Thai.
We don't like to see our fellow riding buddies suffer and will do what we can to help them out.
In the words of Rodney King, why can't we all just get along?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
One last off-road trip...
With the off-road riding season coming to a close and my riding buddy Greg leaving Chiang Mai soon, we decided to take an overnight trip by dirt. There were three riders (not drivers), BarryBBQ, Dr. G, and Alaska Joe. I rode my DRZ400, Greg drove my XR250 and Joe rented an XR250. We left Chiang Mai and headed to Wat Chan, stopped for lunch and headed to Pai. We noticed that the bridge labeled “This river crossing wet season impassable” in section E4 of the latest MHS map was finished and a river crossing was no longer required. Chiang Mai – Samoeng – Wat Chan – Pai was kind of boring, not my idea of a great dirt ride.
Pai didn’t seem as bad as the last time I was there in November, only a few hippies, lots of empty rooms. We ate a nice farang meal and made plans to explore some single track the next day. Our plan was to leave Pai and ride east to Wiang Haeng where we would stop for lunch and continue south to Huai Ya Sai and then follow the trail labeled “This Track Motorcycle Only” on the latest MHS map. The trail from Pai to Wiang Haeng had recently been bladed and made for good riding with very little traffic. I enjoyed riding ahead of the group on my DR, occasionally twisting the throttle hard and roosting some dirt behind me.
In Wiang Haeng we stopped for noodles and headed south – in search of single track. We made numerous water crossings and did our best to follow the nice single track trail towards Muang
2 km later, Greg made a slight error in judgment and dropped my XR in a very small water crossing. Of course, he wouldn’t smile for a photo – nor even suffer the shame of having one’s picture taken with a downed bike. Damage to the bike? Broken LH mirror – it cost 30 baht at the Chinaman’s shop on Chiang Moi road to replace it.
Joe must have been feeling pretty smug as he was the only rider who hadn’t tasted the dirt yet. We let him ride ahead and watched with glee as his over confidence caused him to blast across the last major water crossing a little too hard and a little too fast. It was as if I could see it coming. As I watched him start to cross the river I shut off my bike and got my camera ready. Sure enough, the rental XR was drowned. I snapped a few pix and shouted to Joe that if he would only turn around and pose for a photo I would walk out in the water and help him pick up his bike. I’m sure he heard me, but pride is a powerful motivator and Joe picked his bike up and pushed it to the bank by himself.
We had never drowned an XR250 before but we knew that we had to pull the plug and pump the water out of the cylinder. And we did. Time after time again we pulled the plug and pumped water from the cylinder. Afraid that the battery would die, I made several attempts to bump start the bike with no success. What we didn’t realize was that the carb bowl had filled with water and every time we pumped the cylinder dry the carb filled it back up with water again. Once we drained the bowl until gasoline ran clear the bike fired under its own power and off we rode back to Chiang Mai. Thank goodness Joe wasn’t riding a kick start only XR400.
The 1322 is a very nice, twisty road that you would probably never ride if you weren’t arriving by dirt. Joe took off quickly and left us in his dust. He had much more confidence in his knobbies than I had in mine. Riding at a slower pace allowed Greg and I to intermingle with the locals. I watched with trepidation as I came around a corner and saw three dogs doing a three-way butt sniff in front of me. I knew from past experience that once you get into a 3-way butt sniff, all common sense goes out the window. I wanked on my horn and hit the brakes and just as I did, the lead butt sniffer headed for my front wheel. I’ve hit dogs before and I always remember the rule that you should always maintain a straight line in this situation.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
No Stranger - part 2
20 miles from our hotel in Phnom Penh, Greg’s shift lever came loose again while he was driving. We pulled into a roadside gasoline shop and repairs commenced. The sun was going down. Greg refused to give up on bolting the stripped shift lever to the semi-stripped shaft. He had a nice, long pair of needle nose vice grips in his toolkit that I kindly suggested Greg use as a make-shift shift lever but he was reluctant to cause any harm to any piece of his beloved cult bike. Just as the sun set on the horizon, the shaft was firmly attached. The tools were gathered quickly and I rode, Greg drove, to our hotel with the help of headlights.
That night, after we showered and settled in for the weekend and quickly learned that we had the town to ourselves. Chinese New Year is a time when people go back to their village and share their wealth with the family. How lucky for us, a nice quiet weekend.
On advice of the good Reverend Bob, we hired a tuk tuk for the day and toured the city. Being Chinese New Year, there was light traffic and we moved about swiftly. We visited open air riverside bamboo huts where fresh, local fruits and juices were served. We searched for the best value we could find for our hard earned money. That night, our driver to us to one of the finest establishments in Phnom Penh and we quickly decided to go eat somewhere we knew could stomach it. We went for a walk about and ended up having tossed salad and shark fin soup. For drinks, we had a martini and then we finished with a hearty massage.
A frequent Phnom Penh visitor from Alaska was in town with his tg. We exchanged current data and he was off the next day to Angkor while we were off to find our sand at the beach. Sihanoukville was our destination. We stayed at Oceans – nice place, secure parking, close to food and drinks. If I was a beach guy, I think I would like it there. Nice cool breezes, good value for money and nice European food in the restaurants and mini marts.
Having decided to pass on the three day minimum rental/ride (not drive) to Bokor, we pushed on towards Koh Kong. Greg was hearing things again. Little voices kept telling him to take the ferry. Our Alaskan friend told us how wonderful the road to Koh Kong was so off we went.
The little voice knew his stuff. We rain into rain between the 3rd and 4th river crossings. For 10 km we trudged along what used to be bull dust but with water added became wet bull patties. If Bull Dust Bob were here, I’m sure he would have earned a new nickname. Greg rode ahead and stopped periodically to take photos. I soon realized that he was stopping to take photos of me with hopes of me sliding sideways on my arse. We watched as bulldozers pulled waiting mini-vans up the steep sections.
Being 200 cm tall has its advantages. My legs make good outriggers for slalom skiing on the GS. Things went well for a long time, especially the flat sections and downhill’s. Then we came to the section where they were drilling rock and the road went uphill. I stopped when I was exhausted and needed a break but the drilling machine nearby was just so danged loud that I had to push on another 50 meters. This time when I stopped, the air compressor that powered the drilling machine seemed just as loud so I pushed on again – into the uphill incline. I watched as the cult bike climbed up the hill and out of sight.
I spotted a nice place to park and rest and just as I was making my way there the rear wheel spun and slipped out from under me causing me to lay my wonderful ENDURO bike in the mud. Fugetaboutit I said, as I stopped to drink a bottle of water and contemplate my next move. A construction truck pulled up behind the GS and looked anxious for me to move it. I motioned to him to come and help me pick it up as I wasn’t ready to do it alone.
We stayed at the Champa Koh Kong guest house and enjoyed the hot shower, hot food and cold supply liquid refreshments. Our Alaskan friend came through this road 2 days later on his Africa Twin and commented that the road was only wet in a few places. I think Greg's cloaking device upset the cosmic karma balance and caused the rain. The locals said it hadn’t rained there in months. After a restful night’s sleep, Greg announced the morning that he was still “Master of his Domain, Lord of the Manor”. He also commented that “The accommodations at the Champa Koh Kong Guest House leave you feeling refreshed and ready to ride the next morning.”
We crossed the border at Hat Lek, and made our way towards Pattaya. The highway opened up to 6 lanes as we approached our destination and I enjoyed opening up the GS between red lights and then waiting for the cult bike to catch up. About 20 km out of Pattaya, I stopped and waited for Greg. Two cigarettes later, I made a u-turn to find my friend. I rode 25 km back to the last place I saw him and made another u-turn. Another 25 km back to my original stopping place and the cult bike was not to be seen. I wondered if the cloaking device had finally started working?
Upon arrival at the hotel I found that Greg was already there, having ridden the last 20 km in the back of a pickup. We decided that this is where we should rest and recover from our long journey. We worked hard, rode hard and Greg even drove hard. We deserved a rest and Pattaya was the natural choice.
That night, after we showered and settled in for the weekend and quickly learned that we had the town to ourselves. Chinese New Year is a time when people go back to their village and share their wealth with the family. How lucky for us, a nice quiet weekend.
On advice of the good Reverend Bob, we hired a tuk tuk for the day and toured the city. Being Chinese New Year, there was light traffic and we moved about swiftly. We visited open air riverside bamboo huts where fresh, local fruits and juices were served. We searched for the best value we could find for our hard earned money. That night, our driver to us to one of the finest establishments in Phnom Penh and we quickly decided to go eat somewhere we knew could stomach it. We went for a walk about and ended up having tossed salad and shark fin soup. For drinks, we had a martini and then we finished with a hearty massage.
A frequent Phnom Penh visitor from Alaska was in town with his tg. We exchanged current data and he was off the next day to Angkor while we were off to find our sand at the beach. Sihanoukville was our destination. We stayed at Oceans – nice place, secure parking, close to food and drinks. If I was a beach guy, I think I would like it there. Nice cool breezes, good value for money and nice European food in the restaurants and mini marts.
Having decided to pass on the three day minimum rental/ride (not drive) to Bokor, we pushed on towards Koh Kong. Greg was hearing things again. Little voices kept telling him to take the ferry. Our Alaskan friend told us how wonderful the road to Koh Kong was so off we went.
The little voice knew his stuff. We rain into rain between the 3rd and 4th river crossings. For 10 km we trudged along what used to be bull dust but with water added became wet bull patties. If Bull Dust Bob were here, I’m sure he would have earned a new nickname. Greg rode ahead and stopped periodically to take photos. I soon realized that he was stopping to take photos of me with hopes of me sliding sideways on my arse. We watched as bulldozers pulled waiting mini-vans up the steep sections.
Being 200 cm tall has its advantages. My legs make good outriggers for slalom skiing on the GS. Things went well for a long time, especially the flat sections and downhill’s. Then we came to the section where they were drilling rock and the road went uphill. I stopped when I was exhausted and needed a break but the drilling machine nearby was just so danged loud that I had to push on another 50 meters. This time when I stopped, the air compressor that powered the drilling machine seemed just as loud so I pushed on again – into the uphill incline. I watched as the cult bike climbed up the hill and out of sight.
I spotted a nice place to park and rest and just as I was making my way there the rear wheel spun and slipped out from under me causing me to lay my wonderful ENDURO bike in the mud. Fugetaboutit I said, as I stopped to drink a bottle of water and contemplate my next move. A construction truck pulled up behind the GS and looked anxious for me to move it. I motioned to him to come and help me pick it up as I wasn’t ready to do it alone.
We stayed at the Champa Koh Kong guest house and enjoyed the hot shower, hot food and cold supply liquid refreshments. Our Alaskan friend came through this road 2 days later on his Africa Twin and commented that the road was only wet in a few places. I think Greg's cloaking device upset the cosmic karma balance and caused the rain. The locals said it hadn’t rained there in months. After a restful night’s sleep, Greg announced the morning that he was still “Master of his Domain, Lord of the Manor”. He also commented that “The accommodations at the Champa Koh Kong Guest House leave you feeling refreshed and ready to ride the next morning.”
We crossed the border at Hat Lek, and made our way towards Pattaya. The highway opened up to 6 lanes as we approached our destination and I enjoyed opening up the GS between red lights and then waiting for the cult bike to catch up. About 20 km out of Pattaya, I stopped and waited for Greg. Two cigarettes later, I made a u-turn to find my friend. I rode 25 km back to the last place I saw him and made another u-turn. Another 25 km back to my original stopping place and the cult bike was not to be seen. I wondered if the cloaking device had finally started working?
Upon arrival at the hotel I found that Greg was already there, having ridden the last 20 km in the back of a pickup. We decided that this is where we should rest and recover from our long journey. We worked hard, rode hard and Greg even drove hard. We deserved a rest and Pattaya was the natural choice.
No Stranger to Danger Expedition - part 1
While on our research mission in Manila, Dr G and I planned a trip to Cambodia via motorcycle. He would be riding his "cult bike", a 20 year old Kawasaki KMX200cc dirt bike and I would ride my BMW GS1200. We agreed to spend the night of the 16th in Aranyaprathet and cross the border on the morning of the 17th for a week, more or less, in Cambodia. I left Chiang Mai 6 days earlier so that I could complete my goal of visiting all 76 provinces in Thailand on my GS.
Sent: 2/15/07 8:01 PM
The cult bike
The following thread occurred via sms:
Sent: 2/15/07 8:01 PM
From: Frazier, Greg
THROTTLE CABLE BROKE-CAMPING IN JUNGLE TIL LIGHT. GET TWO ROOMS. LAST NIGHT FINED, THIS NIGHT STUCK IN THE JUNGLE. NOW I TAKE PILL-UP AT LIGHT, PUSH.
To: Frazier, Greg
Sent: 2/15/07 8:04 PM
OK, keep in touch. Good luck in the jungle. Watch out for the mosquitoes. BBQ
Sent: 2/15/07 8:09 PM
From: Frazier, Greg
SNAKES-I WILL SLEEP ON THE BIKE!
I ate fresh seafood with friends in Samut Sakhorn on the 15th and left for Bangkok the next morning. I took the ring road around Bangkok as I knew that the probability of hitting a police checkpoint on the ring road during rush hour was low. I’ve been nicked midday on the ring road before. I arrived in Aranyaprathet about 2:00 and stopped at customs to find out what time they opened and confirm that they wanted 3 copies of everything. I found the Nava Phanom guest house, 2.5 km before the border. I booked 2 rooms and as Greg said, I turned the air on in his room - because I’m a nice guy.
I showered, turned on the TV and took a nap. Greg rolled in just at dusk and did smell kinda funny. He mentioned the tiger and I couldn’t help but wonder to myself if it wasn’t a 660ml tiger rather than a 100kg tiger.
We ate dinner and then proceeded to finish the last of the refrigerated beverages and were reduced to drinking with ice cubes. We flew the Tea DrinkKing flag high. As we headed to our rooms, I noticed a strange glow coming from the cloaking device on Greg’s bike. I looked closer and could smell something burning. I put my hand near the device and exclaimed “this is freaking cold”. Greg said it had something to do with the superconductor the drove HPU (hand powered unit) in his cloaking device and that I should never touch it again. Little did he know that the very next day, during the first of many fuel stops, I caught the cloaking device as it fell off his bike. "Greg”, I said, “put this away and start RIDING your motorcycle.
Over breakfast the next morning, Greg gave some tips on writing. We talked about how you feel when you throw your leg over the saddle of an iron horse. We finished eating and jumped on our trusty steeds, brought them to life then headed for the border. I made sure to wear my lucky Buddhas on the outside of my shirt, as I usually wear them inside to give me more protection. Every civil servant that we came in contact with commented positively about them.
I tried to help Greg with the trouble he was having with his motorbike. He had breakdowns daily. I think he rode 200 km more than I did in Cambodia because of his early morning parts hunts / repair sessions. I told him it wasn’t the bike, but that it was he hadn’t become one with the machine yet. I tried as hard as I could to educate him and tell him that he should be RIDING his motorbike, not DRIVING it and that as soon as he became a rider the bike troubles would go away. He countered that if he was a rider then who is the person sitting behind him when he’s 2-up? I replied, “a passenger”. Despite my best efforts, bike gremlins would plague him for the remainder of the trip.
Greg driving his motorcycle
The cult bike
An all too common sight
The cult bike ate the master link and the rear tire ate the license plate.
I think I smoked more cigarettes this ride than any other in the past. I’m comfortable riding at 130 on the GS, the KMX200 ran best at 80 and had an 80 km tank. We stopped every hour for fuel. Out of concern for my friend, when I did ride ahead of him, I’d stop every 15 minutes (20 km) and wait for him to catch up. I don’t want to be accused of leaving the dead and crippled behind again.
Every darned hour!
Coming up? A lovely 10 km mud slalom on the GS
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