Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128405
letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, PO Box 5084, Costa Mesa,
.. Roberts Sr. managing and
Kenny Jr. and Kurtis riding?
Might be a question to pose."
CgcleNews
Volume
Sharon Clayton - President
Michael Klinger - Publisher
EDITORIAL
CA 92628-5084; foxed 10 714-751-6685 or emailedloedilar@cyclenews.com. Published
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All letters should contain the writer's nome, address and daytime phone number... Editor.
Shut Up And Ride
I've read the past two comments [letters] in
Cycle News and feel for the rider. I've ridden
with Justin Ross on our hometown track at
Grange and he just loves the sport. It kills me
to see all this negative crap happening to him
because his mother wanted to voice her opinion and some other person has a personal
vendetta against him. His mother needs to get
over herself and stay out of a rider's business.
Yes, the eligibility of Ross for the championship is in question, and yes, there are
some questions regarding eligibility, but
unless you were there when he was signing
up, or when he was talking to the officials
prior to the race, you need to stop slamming him because you don't know. How are
we going to get riders into the sport with
other riders talking trash?
He rides every weekend for the love of
the sport. That is why people ride - for the
undeniable love of this unforgiving sport. Is
it worth trashing someone who, if asked,
will praise all the other riders?
People need to shut up and ride!
Ian Johnson
via the Internet
China Time
Having spent two weeks in China this
September for the first time, I found myself
laughing out loud at Blake Conner's unerringly accurate descriptions of traffic conditions
there. I consider myself a risk-taker at times,
especially when the call of the throttle sounds
in my ears while piloting the latest and greatest machinery. However, when I first sat
down in one of those natural-gas-powered,
rattletrap Chinese taxis and ventured out into
traffic... I honestly thought I wouldn't make it
to my hotel. Iattempted to strap in, but there
were no seatbelts. And a metal gate like they
use in police cars only a few feet in front of
your face. Can you say "crushed skull"?
I was also stymied as to why pedestrians
- especially young women - would simply
stroll right into a raging river of speeding
traffic, with no apparent concern for their
safety. My Chinese friend tried to explain
the traffic "rules" (not laws - yes, they have
those, but they're routinely ignored):
I) like you discovered, the horn gives
you the right of way - the first driver to lay
on the horn (or the first bicyclist to ring
their little handlebar-mounted bell!) is
telling you he is not stopping. Alternatively,
a pedestrian "stepping in front of you" is
also signaling the same thing - they are not
stopping, and you'd better not hit them!
One morning in Tianjin, I witnessed the
follOWing in the space of three minutes: a
teenage girl on her bicycle, slowly meandering across an insanely busy major thoroughfare in Tianjin, cell phone clamped to
6
her head, while four lanes of traffic
swarmed around her at top speed; another
young woman standing in the middle of a
highway, smack-dab between two lanes,
while - I kid you not - buses, trucks, cars
whizzed by her on either side with inches
to spare - she patiently waited until traffic
jammed up, then threaded her way to the
other side of the road; the traffic light at the
main intersection turned from red to green,
but opposing traffic kept streaming by, blaring their horns - eventually, the cars at the
front of the line slowly started creeping
across the intersection, also blaring their
horns, and eventually, there were cars
streaming every which way through the
intersection, blaring their horns, in complete defiance of the helpless traffic light and all the while, traffic "police" standing at
the nearby corner passively watched, doing
nothing.
2) Lanes are merely "suggestions" and
shoulders act as alternate lanes whenever
someone is slOWing you up. On the modern
two-lane highway between Beijing and
Tianjin, I routinely saw dump trucks and
semis barreling past slower traffic - on the
shoulder! And more than once that slower
traffic was a police car!
3) Sometimes you can't discern a driver's
intentions until the last split second before
he either crushes you like a bug or narrowly
misses you. If it weren't for my friend leading
me across the streets, I'd probably be in
traction in a Chinese hospital right now. Half
the time I'd think a driver was going to stop,
so I'd start to step out and my friend would
pull me back just before the car would barrel past. At other times, I'd be dragged out in
front of an oncoming vehicle and, sure
enough, they'd stop. It must be instinct,
gained from years of daily subconscious risk
assessment. I can't explain it any other way.
Excellent story, Blake.
Bill Willis
Torrance, CA
Still More China
I was pleasantly surprised to open issue
number 44 and see Blake Conner's account
of his trip to China. I recently returned from
a trip to Shanghai with my two brothers-inlaw to see the Formula One car race there.
Our adventure also included a trip to Beijing.
Though we did not travel by motorcycle, we
saw many of the same sights described in
Blake's article, and our impressions of the
country and its people were similar to his.
The F I race was fun, though I follow
MotoGP more closely. The noise in the
main grandstands was the loudest thing I've
ever heard. I'm glad I took earplugs.
Blake was right about the traffic - it's
crazy! Traffic lights, signs, and lane markings
NOVEMBER 23, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
XLII
were all generally ignored, and horns blare
constantly, but we only saw two small
wrecks. I never drove a car or rode a
motorcycle while I was there, but I did hit
the streets with the locals on a bicycle for a
couple of days. Yipes!
We did see lots of small motorcycles.
There were 125cc Hondas and Suzukis, a
few Yamahas, and some unfamiliar brands
that appeared to be Honda knockoffs. We
saw many policemen on Suzuki 12Scc cruisers. I think we only saw two full-size bikes
in two weeks. Of course, there were also
lots of scooters and mopeds - mostly electric and with people sometimes riding
three- or four-up. There were all sorts of
bicycles and big tricycles. Bike lanes are
well defined, and would be used by all of
the vehicles described above. Most freeway
on-ramps had signs declaring motorcycles
off-limits.
Overall, it was a great experience.
Everyone we met was open, friendly and
helpful, and made us feel very welcome.
Blake's article will go in the scrapbook.
Since I've got your attention, is there any
word on when Ducati will release the GT
1000 SportClassic? Not much was said in
the "First Ride" article in issue number 43.
I put down a deposit nearly a year ago.
Tam Stein
Hillsboro, OR
Paul Carruthers - Editor
Kit Palmer - Off-Rood Editor
Scot[ Rousseau - Managing Editor
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