naming things.

I don't have a super-clever reason why this blog is called "Threewheel Burning".
I didn't put more than 60 seconds thought in to it, to be honest.

As of a few years ago, (2008 to be precise), there were an estimated 184 million english language blogs. I generally view all statistics skeptically, and this one is no exception... but needless to say there are at least enough to render this one completely irrelevant. I suspect I will eventually attract 5 to 12 "followers" who, for whatever reason, are interested in my views on things... so... I didn't see much point in racking my brain to be clever about the name of my blog.

The facts are thus.

I am the proud owner of a 2005 Ural (Урал) "Patrol" motorcycle. The bike is Russian, so I have named her "Ekaterina" (еКатерина) after Catherine the Great. I only call her by her full name when she isn't being difficult, and she usually is... so I normally refer to her by her nickname, "Katya" (Катя)... If you must Americanize, my bikes name is Cathy.

The shorthand story on Urals is that Stalin got his hands on some military BMW R71 motorcycle-sidecar combos from Hitler just before the start of WWII. They either reverse-engineered them or they actually got the technical drawings, there is some disagreement on that, and started churning their copies out once the war began. Hitler and Stalin got crosswise... the Luftwaffe started bombing. Stalin moved the motorcycle factory inland to Irbit, near the Ural mountain range, where they proceeded to make about 3 million of the bikes over the next 40-odd years. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the company privatized and still makes about 2000 bikes a year, mostly for export.

Owning something of Russian manufacture takes a different mindset. She needs attention. If you ignore her, she will let you know. Bolts will unbolt themselves and deposit themselves on the highway at speed. She isnt a fast machine. She enjoys the road slipping past at around 45-55mph... though she can hold 65mph if I ask her nicely enough, and once we drafted a tractor trailer at 75 for a bit.

Once.

A Russian motocycle with a sidecar is an asymmetrical death magnet at any speed, and you are constantly fighting physics when you are on the move. She pulls to the right when you accelerate.. jerks to the left when you decelerate... A sharp RIGHT turn will flip the sidecar up in the air at anything over 25mph and if you take a LEFT hand turn too sharp and the nose of the car digs in to the ground... well...

Anyway.. I digress... I figure I will mention Katya in the blog from time to time... so that is the reference for "Threewheel". Also... being a single guy.. I often end up in situations where I feel like a third wheel myself. Though I am rarely bitter any more. It is just the way things are.

So what about "Burning"? It implies speed, don't you think? Katya has none of that, really, but when you are driving 65mph on an asymmetrical vehicle of skechy Russian manufature... trust me... you feel like you are doing 150mph on a skateboard. Naked.

Lastly, the blog name is a reference to a tasty Judas Priest tune from my youth. "Freewheel Burning". Not the best Priest song... (by a long shot)... but far and away the best one for paraphrasing in the title of a blog by a guy with a sidecar motorcycle.

Like me.

-S

A Blog

I used to blog on myspace a lot... but I deleted my account and all my posts long ago.
I have written a couple of "notes" on facebook, but never with any regularity.
My old website has gone unupdated for over a decade and gone to seed.

What should I do?

I should start a blog. That would be awesome.

In it, I shall detail... something... at somewhat irregular intervals.

If at all.

Welcome to it. Give me some time to figure out what I am doing, here...