Benchracing: Of Serious Intent
By Jeff Hughes, Sport Rider Magazine

I call them the four horsemen. Not because of any ill will they bring, but because of their propensity for roaming the countryside with a swift, sure certainty.
They are an eclectic bunch, tending toward middle age, not especially notable when they're off their bikes. Just four friends who happen to share a love of riding. Typical sport riders, you might think, seeing them laughing and talking quietly amongst themselves at the cafe. But you'd be wrong.

Their bikes are diverse and, some would say, uninspiring: a 929, a several-years-old G5X-R750, an RC51 and a first-generation R1. Not exactly cutting edge. But all four machines are well maintained. You never see any of them without good tires, chains, brakes and cables, the machines washed and clean. But they all show the signs of much use -- little worn bits here and there, dull rubbings on the wheels from count-less tire changes, not-quite-as-bright-as-it-once-was bodywork. These guys are definitely riders, not polishers.

The first clue you get, even before you see them on the road, is written on their odometers. A closer inspection of their bikes reveals a second clue: Despite their age and miles and lack of flashy aftermarket accessories, each of the four bikes wears top-notch suspenders fore and aft. The Ohlins and Penske units sit there in subtle contrast to the mundane plainness of the rest of the bikes. You see those expensive bits and wonder a little bit, and then a dawning sense of these riders' priorities starts to emerge.

If you asked -- you'd have to ask because they won't offer it -- you'd find that each of the four has been riding for quite a long time. One has a club-racing background. All have done dozens of track days. And though they all obviously love the sport -- you see them out almost every weekend -- you never hear the brashness and boasting that usually accompanies a group of riders getting together. Oh, they'll talk at length about good roads they've been on or a particular corner that was fun, challenging or scary, and they'll regale one another with the technicalities of this tire or that suspension setting or who did well in the race last weekend. Just like the rest of us. But hearing it from them
somehow seems different. Somewhere along the line these four riders found a way to leave their egos behind.

They're friendly enough, freely talking to anyone who engages them. But with a smiling "Thanks anyway." they'll politely decline offers to join the large throngs of riders who get together on the weekends in the usual haunts. They tend to head toward roads of their own choosing, a little farther away than most, a little less well-known, a little less crowded. And, preferably, they ride those roads with just each other -- a small circle of friends where trust and respect were long ago earned.

Once the morning coffee is finished they'll be gone, four shadows flashing quickly across the landscape, not to be seen again for many hours. If you make the effort to get out there on those same distant roads yourself, you might see it where it matters most -- in their riding. To trail behind them and watch is to see poetry in motion -- a perfect, rolling form snaking across the landscape. Closely matched in terms of speed, temperament and style, they'll swap off the lead occasionally, but otherwise you never see them pass one another. They just ride along in perfect synch, a half-dozen bike lengths separating one from the next, as if each were connected by an invisible wire.

Deceptively fast, their smoothness and lack of any abruptness lends a quiet sense of nonchalance to their cadence. You see them carving gracefully through the corners with lots of lean angle but not a lot of hanging off. They make time, but without any sense of effort. After a while it comes to you what you're witnessing, what it reminds you of: The liquid flow of running w

 

that was a nice read .. sounds like the type of old dude i want to be some day . kinda like "oldfatguy" hey will you be my mentor ! hahaha

 

My favorite was the last paragraph (makes sense as it is wrapping up the article). I think these are the kind of guys we aspire to be. Good article.

 

From the latest issue?

Good stuff...

 

good read

im always doing my best to learn something new every time i go out...cause i know im young and naive