PUEBLO BLANCO
Discovering Spain on Two Wheels
Story bu Neale Bayly
Photos by Neale Bayly and Fish Eye Video

The way the early morning sun lights the village clinging to the side of the mountain behind me brings the name of my story to me in a second, and the moment is instantly consigned to my mental notebook.
The warm, golden sunshine ignites my soul as it sets the Spanish countryside ablaze with color.  It is the moment I thought would never come.  Struggling through heavy rain for three days, fighting inner demons as we picked our way along treacherous roads, riding with our hearts in our mouths, knuckles white on the bars, had been tough.  These difficulties were important, though, and at that moment totally necessary because the scene of intense beauty filling my visor could not have been so incredible without the struggle. 
Anyone can come to Spain, when, under the cloudless blue sky, the late afternoon sun is turning the small, white Pueblos gold against the pastel Spanish landscape.  But to see it after the rain intensifies the moment.  In the saddle of the Tuono I am singing in my helmet, as the throttle gets twisted hard in search of the day’s new horizons.
On the pages of Jupiter’s Travels, Ted Simon learned not to let the rain enter his soul.  Trudging around Cordoba, Spain, under skies heavy with low-lying rain clouds, I had reminded myself of this, over and over.  Accompanied by my friends, Dennis and Sam Gage, for our third European adventure together on two wheels, if anyone was feeling down, they weren’t admitting to it as we explored the ancient Spanish city.

For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.


2nd Feature Story

ARE YOU KIDDING?
Story and Photos by Neale Bayly

My son Patrick is now seven years old and a lot of people probably wonder why I don’t have him riding a motorcycle yet. 
With my job as a motorcycle journalist and my passion for the sport, it would seem the most natural thing in the world for my little guy to be spending his free time blasting around on two wheels. 
The truth be told, Patrick has never really been that interested in riding yet.  While he has been a passenger with me and has occasionally worked the throttle of various scooters and pit bikes, he has never ridden alone.  Until a few weeks ago at Road Atlanta, that is.
It was a conversation with Yamaha’s Steve Liberatore during a vintage race we were competing in that provided the perfect storm for Patrick’s first lesson. 
I am a big proponent of safety equipment and proper training, and Steve offered both.  He had brought along his Yamaha TTR-50E so his daughters could ride after the race, which took care of the equipment side of things.  And his experience as an MSF instructor who has trained kids for years took care of the proper training side of things.  The timing couldn’t have been better.

For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.

Ask the Sergeant:

Last night, on the way home from work, a bike passed me on the freeway at what must have been over 110 miles per hour.  It literally startled me it was going so fast.  A few seconds later I was passed by two CHP cars that appeared to be trying to catch up to the bike.  I never saw what happened and don’t know if they caught up, but the incident got me wondering what would happen to the biker if he were caught.  Is it reckless driving if you’re going that fast?  Does he go to jail?

Karen Elspeth, Porter Ranch

I’m sure everyone has seen it, whether it’s the newest sports car on the market or the kid with his first sport bike, that one guy a week trying to break Rollie Free’s land-speed record from 1948.  You remember Rollie.  He was the guy in the bathing suit, lying along the seat of his Vincent as he pinned the throttle on the Salt Flats.  He hit just over 150 miles per hour back then and, today, every day, people try to better that mark on the highway.  Some get away with it because they are out in the boondocks with no one around to know; others pick the 101 Freeway.
Speed is intoxicating and I’m sure that anyone who rides a motorcycle, myself included, will tell you that speed is part of the reason they first started riding.  Some of us went off and began racing in clubs, at tracks, and got our fix legally, relatively safely and responsibly.  Others just went fast wherever they were.  You saw a perfect example of that just the other night.  We all know that the reality of the world is that everyone drives faster than the posted speed limits, except my mother-in-law, who I often must caution about violations for impeding traffic. 
Simply exceeding the “safe” speed (California Vehicle Code 22350) or the “maximum” speed (CVC 22349) as discussed before is an infraction, punishable by a ticket and usually involves nothing more than a fine and the ability to do traffic school to hide the ticket and save those precious insurance premiums.  But something magical happens at over 100 miles per hour.  The California Vehicle Code has a specific violation, CVC 22348b, for speed over 100 mph.  It is pretty simple and self explanatory:  Go that fast, get caught, and get a ticket.  It is still just an infraction but, because of specially legislated enhancements, it carries bigger penalties.
In California, the courts use what is referred to as the Uniform Bail Schedule to determine punishments.  In this book you will find the sentencing “Guidelines” for each offense on everything from littering, fishing without a permit, or leaving the scene of a skiing accident.  But like all guidelines, each jurisdiction has its own way of dealing with things.  This is why tickets in L.A. County are a different price than those issued in Ventura and Kern.  The base fee is usually determined by the legislature and typically represents the perceived severity of the infraction.  Running a red light or, in this case, speeds in excess of 100 mph, are deemed serious violations and have a correspondingly high base fine, plus additional penalties.  Talking on the cell phone or forgetting to buckle-up are obviously low fines because of their less serious nature.
In court recently, I was present during a trial for CVC 22348b (speed over 100 mph).  The defendant was found guilty, was sentenced to pay an $854 fine, and got a six-month suspension on his license that took effect immediately.  It is typical for a “simple” exceeding 100 mph violation to result in just those two punishments and the defendant is not allowed to attend traffic school.  This puts the full force of the violation on his driving record for the insurance companies to see and employers to review.  As a side note, this particular defendant was brought back into court 30 minutes later in handcuffs when he was caught driving out of the courthouse parking lot by a Deputy who had been present when he was sentenced and had taken note of the suspension on his license.
 You also asked if what you saw might qualify for a reckless driving violation and whether there might be jail time involved.  The answer is an unequivocal maybe.  Like all violations, there are facts that support or diminish the severity of the act.  Riding at 120 miles per hour at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, eastbound between Baker and the state line, is viewed less harshly than doing 95 miles per hour at 7:50 am on a Monday near the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Burbank Boulevard.  The Baker example is merely violating the statutory requirements, where-as the Van Nuys example is really very dangerous. 
Reckless Driving is described under CVC 23103 as the willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.  It is a misdemeanor but, if the actions result in injury to someone other than the reckless driver, it is a felony.  Typically, the courts like to see three violations that together create a situation that would be inherently dangerous.  Speeding, running a red light and weaving in and out of other traffic, when combined, would be a typical reckless violation.  However, it is not required that you have those three violations before you can be charged.  A good prosecuting officer would only have to prove that the one act, by its very nature, lives up the “willful and wanton disregard” standard.  If the court agrees, then yes, the defendant would get jail time.
Something else to consider is the surrounding environment.  If the violator is in a crowded area another set of laws comes into effect.  These are known as “exhibition of speed” laws.  They cover such things as racing, speed contests, wheelies, “stoppies” and even being the guy standing around watching a race.  These laws were created to prevent street racing, especially as a spectator sport, but they can be used to enhance a violation if there is a lunchtime crowd sitting on the patio of a local restaurant when the violation occurs.
Last, but not least, if the violator was actively trying to evade the police, that is a whole different ballgame but from your description, it didn’t sound like that is what happened.  By law, before anyone can be found to be fleeing, the police must have a solid, forward-facing red light on and a siren sounding.  Absent these requirements, they are not running from the police.  Next, there has to be some act to show they knew the police were trying to stop them.  This would be something like accelerating to a higher speed to escape, running red lights or stop signs, or driving on the sidewalk to get around traffic.  Simply not yielding to the lights while otherwise obeying other traffic laws is just a “failure to yield” violation.  If convicted of an evading charge, however, the defendant will get jail time.

            I am a speed addict like most motorcyclists.  At motor school, I had the nickname of “Hot Rod” because I had the fastest time through the slalom and what was supposed to be a 30 mile-per-hour pattern I was able to do at nearly 40.  But like all things, there is a time and place for speed.  Most racetracks have open track days, drag strips have grudge-match or bracket racing, and you can always hit the open deserts and ride off-highway to get your fix.  Going 100 miles per hour among tractor trailers, cell-phone-using cage drivers and my mother-in-law will do nothing but get someone hurt and it’s usually the motorcyclist.
Ride safe, keep smiling, and take care of yourselves and each other out there.

For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.