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Reddemon wrote:
Um.....pardon the newbie question but...
what is a 'squid'?

I've heard it said "squirlly kid" - rammed together - squid.

Usually means a rider who is inexperianced and rides carelessly and way beyond their ability. We make jokes sometimes about "squid gear" - flip flops, wife beater, and short - a passenger sometimes is seen with a tube top.

The discussion turned to that because the non-gear folks here don't get that much respect from the gear wearing folks. I wear gear myself, but to each his own, I say.

Reddemon wrote:
Um.....pardon the newbie question but...
what is a 'squid'?

I've heard it said "squirlly kid" - rammed together - squid.

Usually means a rider who is inexperianced and rides carelessly and way beyond their ability. We make jokes sometimes about "squid gear" - flip flops, wife beater, and short - a passenger sometimes is seen with a tube top.

The discussion turned to that because the non-gear folks here don't get that much respect from the gear wearing folks. I wear gear myself, but to each his own, I say.

Alright, Dave, we heard you already!!!

I saw this when I lived in Indiana in the same town as Purdue University. Indiana's a no-helmet-law state, BTW. Sometimes I think I was the only biker in the state to wear a helmet. Mostly, I'd see college kids on sportbikes wearing the standard flip-flops, shorts, t-shirt...mirror shades for protection. usually popping wheelies in heavy traffic.

About monthly the local paper or tv news would have a story about a kid killed in a bike accident...always the same. "authorities say the student was travelling too fast, and would have lived had he been wearing a helmet."

Two things would bug me. A) popping wheelies right next to MY car, with MY kid in the backseat -- to each their own unless you're endangering MY family. B) getting sneered at by a pack of squids because I WAS wearing helmet, jacket, boots, pants, gloves, etc. Then again, I was sneering back...they just couldn't see it through the helmet.

I always hated when I was out riding, and a pack of these squids would be pulling their antics around me...and the cagers would automatically assume I was with them. Ick.

I know - one more story..

Near Albany NY a sportr bike rider was exiting the Northway, and got into it with a car. The biker popped a wheelie, and came down wrong, and went down. Bike spun into guard rail and biker was decapitated by a truck.

Sad. It didn't have to happen. Why pop a wheelie in traffic? Is that the "game"? To pull it when traffic is passing you? I notice I will be approaching and not till we "meet" the wheelies go up. Groups of five sport bike riders pulling all at one time. On my bikes, in my car...

I can't help but think of the carnage.

Once on my cruiser pulling into a "festival" little boys (7 - 8 yrs old) yelled do a wheelie... I could only thikn these boys are just itching to do daring stuff.

I guess I don't get it.

It scares me to see riders without at leas a helmet. I consider sturdy pants, high shoes, gloves, a leather jacket and a helmet to be required equipment for my motorcycle to work correctly. I would wear armored things, but I can't really afford it right now. Bad excuse because they're definitely cheaper than a hospital bill.

If Zoo were still with us here at TMW I'm sure he'd agree

Why did we drag up this old dead thread?

Should be moved to soap box.