Odd blog title from someone who has always advocated that Quiet Pipes Save Rights and has vociferously denounced the Loud Pipe philosophy I have to say that the experiences of today, while probably not converting me yet, at least gave me some insight on that topic.
You see, today was the first time in over a year I had done LA Combat Driving on two wheels. Now there are certain levels of achievement in motorcycling, little plaques people sometimes give us or ones we just give ourselves.
1000 mile days
Iron Butts
Round The World
You get the picture. In my humble opinion, anyone who can negotiate I-5/I-405 in around Los Angeles at 5:15 PM on a Tuesday deserves some kind of recognition. OK, I will just settle for another step in getting my MOJO back. As usual though I am rambling and not getting to the point.
The point being that I was just riding along in traffic feeling fairly pleased with myself. Doing the thing that LA traffic does at that time alternating between 0 and 30 miles an hour. At 0 MPH or maybe even 5 or 10 I will attempt a long split.
I have always been wary of splits involving higher speeds because of the possibilities of unannounced and abrupt lane changes by cagers or even open doors. So anyway some nameless place amid that twelve lane vastness traffic is cruising along at 30 or so and I am dutifully keeping my place in line, when from behind be two BIG freakin' Harleys just blow past me splitting between lanes one and two on the northbound side of 5. What I noticed was is that they were constantly blipping there throttles to alert others of their presence as they approached. I have to tell you, as much as it pains me to admit, it was an effective tactic.
So that is observation one for the day. Arriving at Ferenci Music in Los Angeles I met with my long-time friend and recently acquired business partner Michael Ferenci who treated me to selections an insights on the projects he is currently working on.
FERENCI MUSIC, LOS ANGELES, CA
Fortunately FERENCI MUSIC is right down the street from the Griffith Observatory which has been closed for a couple of years and just recently re-opened after a much needed re-modeling. Back in the days before it closed. Back in the days when I was in the Harriet Schock School of Songwriting, I used to haunt the observatory grounds, in those days armed with pencil and notepad. That was back in the grand days of Laserium. Geez...I remember an even earlier time going up there as a youth and smoking pot in line waiting to go in to a Pink Floyd Laserim show.
Wow...I am all over the place with this blog!
Back to reality.
As I was saying Ferenci was keen to visit the Obsevatory since he had not been up there since the recent re-opening. It was pretty damn impressive, both in what they did and did not do.
GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY, LOS ANGELES, CA
An excellent example of what the did not do, which I am glad they didn't is polish the copper domes letting them maintain their natural patina of age.
Inside and around the grounds though is a different story, and all to the better.
The rest in the next blog entry..
For Now...Good Night and BMWeerman out.....
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