Desiderider

[KMG_365]

Glide swiftly amid the curves and landscape,

And remember what peace there may be while riding.

 

As far as possible, without blowing the line

Delay your turn-in on all corners.

 

Ride your bike quietly and competently;

And watch out for hazards,

Especially the dullards in cages;

They will try to kill you.

 

Avoid loud pipes and aggressive riders,

They are vexations to the sport.

 

If you compare your riding with others,

You may become vain and bitter;

For always there will be greater and lesser riders than yourself.

 

Enjoy your rides as well as your Ride Planning.

 

Keep honing your own skill set, however rudimentary;

It is a real possession that will save your bacon somewhere down the road.

 

Exercise caution in your wrenching affairs;

For the novice breaks their share of expensive bits.

 

But let this not blind you to how empowering it is to maintain your own bike;

Many members strive for wrenching mastery;

And BMWSportTouring.com is full of gurus to guide or bail you out.

 

Ride your own ride.

Especially do not ride tipsy or overly tired.

 

Neither try to keep up with the Hoons;

For if they smoke you in the twisties and already crest the far horizon

They will wait for you at the next turn.

 

Take kindly the counsel of your peers,

Gracefully accepting their tips for improvement.

 

Nurture competence while braking to stop before a sudden impact.

But do not forget about swerving to avoid a collision.

Many wrecks are born of inattention and poor avoidance skills.

 

Beyond a wholesome roadworthiness,

Go easy on the polishing.

 

You are a user of the road,

No less than the cages and the trucks;

You have a right to your lane.

 

And whether or not the cagers ever see you,

No doubt you will lose any contest of Newtonian Mechanics.

 

Therefore be always situationally aware,

And keep a High Visual Horizon,

And whenever a cager has the opportunity to take you out,

In the noisy congestion of traffic, keep escape options in mind.

 

With all its expense, added risk and inherent danger,

It is still a beautiful sport.

 

Be cheerful.

 

Strive to Ride Well.

 

 

--------------------

 

by Jamie Edmonds, July 5th, 2007

 

 

. . . with humble apologies to Max Ehrmann

 

 

 

=============================

 

I stole the title and the idea from an anonymous (to me and the 'net anyway) author, and it is inspired by Max Ehrmann's Desiderata, but otherwise it is 90+% my own creation.

 

Whoooo Boy! I guess I'd better go to bed now!

[chrisd]

Very nice job, Jamie. I'm going to save this one.

[Wooster]

...

 

You are a user of the road,

No less than the cages and the trucks;

You have a right to your lane.

 

...

 

Ayefirmative.

 

retsooW (backwards poets write inverse)

[Bill_Walker]

Nice job, Jamie!

 

 

Much better than Deteriorata:

"You are a fluke of the universe.

You have no right to be here.

Whether you can hear it or not,

The universe is laughing behind your back"

[Fajah]

Fantastic adaption....made me smile and force to the wife to listen as I read it's poignant verses.

[Mike05]

Very nice job, Jamie. I'm going to save this one.

 

+1 Me too!!

 

Nicely done Jamie.

[Lawman]

I like it!!