Super-long shot - Does anyone here have Gibson ES-345TD serial #70418082?

[Doctor Jeff]

The traffic here on the Central California coast has gotten as bad and as angry as the traffic in the Northeast. It has caused me to ride the two-wheelers much less. It is not fun when you are playing a constant game of survival against distracted, angry humans. The older we get, the more dangerous life becomes.

At a certain age your brain makes decisions on not is this fun, but could this seriously hurt me in a way that won’t be solved with a night’s sleep and a couple of Tylenol? Like jumping down from a ledge, lifting a heavy piece of furniture, etc.

I’m afraid my episode of sciatica last fall permanently changed me. That was NOT an experience I want to go through again.

I do ride 2-wheelers, in fact rode an e-bike through the highlands of Scotland in ‘23 and planning to ride from Glacier to Banff in August. And yes I’ve fallen on a bike and injured myself significantly. But an injury going 5-25 mph is not as bad as one going 50-60-70-80. (My worst injury that put me on crutches and a cane for 2 months I was going 5 mph and flipped over, when my tire got caught in a road seam.)

I have been thinking a little about a smallish commuting cycle, either vintage or modern retro (Janus, Royal Enfield) for riding in town. I don’t foresee ever riding on the highway for any distance.

But…my enthusiasm for that isn’t great enough for me to go forward. I’ve got to sell the house we moved out of before I could even consider buying a new toy.

[SierraTango]

We LOVE our 03 Miata!

[Fear the Reaper]

I was talking to a guy in the parking lot of the local hardware store. We were talking about his sports car there. Then we moved on to motorcycles. He was living in Southern California back when. Was going to buy a good friend's motorcycle. Apparently someone didn't see him, his good friend, and crossed over and hit him. He was knocked off the bike and was run over by several cars that couldn't stop. Needless to say he never thought about another motorcycle after that.

The traffic here on the Central California coast has gotten as bad and as angry as the traffic in the Northeast. It has caused me to ride the two-wheelers much less. It is not fun when you are playing a constant game of survival against distracted, angry humans. The older we get, the more dangerous life becomes.

[Irishmuso]

I have a 1982 ES-355 TDV stereo which I have managed to hold on to. As my mother said at the time, 'If it's a good instrument, you'll have it all your life'. If I had sold it, that's the guitar I would try to get back. I guess I'm lucky on that score.

As for motorbikes, I gave up both motorbikes and horse riding when I realised I had young children who needed their dad in a fit state. I came off both in my time - more times of the horses - and neither experiences are recommended.

[Cunamara]

Being a bicyclist rather than a motorcyclist, my sense isn't that drivers are more hostile so much as oblivious (not that it's any better being hit by an idiot than by someone aiming). Most are looking at/talking on the phone instead of minding the road. But I'm not riding my bike in 70 mph traffic, so it may be different.

Everybody's an idiot on the road sometimes. Usually we get away with maybe just a close call. Sometimes not. Glad everybody here lived to tell the story.

[Stringswinger]

Being a bicyclist rather than a motorcyclist, my sense isn't that drivers are more hostile so much as oblivious (not that it's any better being hit by an idiot than by someone aiming). Most are looking at/talking on the phone instead of minding the road. But I'm not riding my bike in 70 mph traffic, so it may be different.

Everybody's an idiot on the road sometimes. Usually we get away with maybe just a close call. Sometimes not. Glad everybody here lived to tell the story.

Remember what George Carlin once opined: "It is funny how everyone who drives slower than you do is an asshole and everyone who drives faster than you do is a maniac".

Hostile drivers are not aiming for you so much, they are just angry and do unsafe stuff like quick lane changes without signaling.

[Cunamara]

George was not wrong!