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Against The Wind
By Paul Lancia

Be true to your work, your word, your friend.
~Henry David Thoreau

Funny how everything is going fine one day and then in an instant, every changes. For me that happened recently when I was the beneficiary of a distracted driver nearly driving right through me on my Triple 9R Ducati. I managed to dodge most of the vehicle, but not quite all. I was thrown from the bike landing on my left hand (still can't figure that out!) and the bike went down. Days later, I am thankful that I was wearing a helmet and had the good fortune to walk away from that incident. While the operator drove off into the sunset, possibly never to seen or heard from again, I have taken away some important lessons from this.

  1. Never assume that the operator of the other vehicle is going to follow the traffic rules and/or common sense.
  2. Always be aware of a bail out move in the event of imminent collision.
  3. Always wear safety gear, no matter how short the ride or how nice the day.

I'll survive this, albeit with my "swollen hand blues" and my banged up machine, but both can and will be fixed. Usually accidents like this don't allow people to walk away intact and for that I am thankful.

I digress. Back to business and it's booming if you are in the noise enforcement business. I know that I speak ad nauseam about the sound emanating from our bikes and the impending problems if we do not deal with this issue, but I am sorry to report it's getting worse. Much worse. The fight is on and it's David v. Goliath and we are David I have reports of noise related citations from Maine especially the seacoast towns, the same in New Hampshire, more from The Cape, Fall River and Plymouth, Massachusetts and finally Providence, Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island. The anti-noise groups are getting stronger and while I see great activity on the part of the statewide Motorcycle Associations, I am not seeing it from many individual riders. The time will come when law enforcement stumbles upon the method to identify noise offenders and then has the tools to make it stick in court and then there will be little we can do. Join your State Motorcycle Association. They are on the front lines for you, but they need your support.

I hope you had a good time during bike week in Laconia. Having lived in the area throughout my teens, I have fond memories of bikes screaming around that sweet corner in front of Triple Trouble Farm on Route 11A in Gilford on their way up to Gunstock for the hill climbing races or camping. It was like music to my ears and it always continued throughout the night. While things are much different now, I'm sure that each one of you had a memorable time riding the mountain roads and around the lakes.

NEWS FLASH

Well the summertime is here and I'm hoping that each one of you enjoys your time, your bikes and your friends, new and old. To recap, be aware of your bike's noise is all summer communities, seaside villages and towns throughout New England. People are fed up with the noise and the police are tired of listening to them complain. Be cool, be quiet and enjoy. It's all about the scene, not the noise.

Until next month, when I will have a report on my attendance of some Northern European bike events and activities; here is an excerpt from a poem by Thomas Weilang:

There I am, on the road again,
It's where I belong.
From the streets of Bar Harbour-
To the Alaskan road.
It's America we venture-
No fences can hold.

 New England Biker News is doing what it can to spread the word about changes in the laws concerning bikes, actions against bikers and any other noteworthy events that effect your enjoyment of riding. If we miss something or you have any questions on a legal matter, NEBN urges you to contact me.