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The Yamaha TW200 Scrambler (a TWambler?)

Last year I posted about the two beater TW200s that I had restored with my kids as a fun project for them to learn mechanics, learn to ride, and become responsible for their own vehicles.

With lots of love and a few pounds of elbow grease, we took them from this…




… to this…




But now one of them just went through a major TWansformation (see what I did there?) for my daughter’s birthday!

Yellow Yamaha TW200 Scrambler 1

I was a racist

I was a racist. I thought it was ok. I thought it was normal.

I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.

I grew up in a society where labeling and humiliating others based on the color of their skin and the shape of their body was expected and applauded.

I was also raised in a racist religion that, from a young age, brainwashed me by telling me I was part of a “chosen kind”, that good people from old were “white and exceeding fair and delightful” and that people with a dark skin were descendants of lazy and evil people. We sang songs about it as kids; we read scriptures about it every Sunday. This is the same church that, until forty-two years ago, openly taught that black folk were lesser beings, undeserving of the full blessings of god.

I escaped that toxic society 12 years ago but disassociating myself from the mormon church and its shameful teachings took me decades...

Riding a motorcycle between lanes is legal in California (lane splitting)

If you drive a car or truck in California, please read the following:

Lane splitting (motorcycles driving in the space between traffic lanes on public roads and freeways) is legal in the state of California. CHP recently stated very clearly that —just as it is expected from motorcyclists to lane-split responsibly— drivers of cars and trucks have responsibilities too. It’s illegal to intentionally block or impede a motorcyclist from lane splitting, including by opening a vehicle door. CHP also says that vehicles in the far-left lane should move to the left part of the lane so motorcycles have room to pass on their right safely.

Lane Splitting in California

The new CHP guidelines also include the following tips:
  • Check mirrors and blind spots, especially before changing lanes or turning...

The 3 ingredients

The 3 ingredients for a safe, successful motorcycle rider are:

1. Situational AWARENESS to know where trouble is.

2. Good JUDGEMENT to stay away from trouble.

3. Sharp SKILLS to get out of trouble when 1 or 2 fail.

Proper motorcycle training is like wearing a helmet

Proper motorcycle training is like wearing a helmet. You can ride for 40 years without one and make a case that you've never needed it.
Until you do.
But by then it's too late to make that decision.

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