Volvos can be fast too
Published: Mon, 05/19/14
In 1980 I became the proud owner of a Yamaha XS 650 motorcycle. It
wasn't the fastest machine on the road but it could move and I
was very fond of it. I was still living in London at that time and
speed cameras had not yet arrived, so unless you actually had a
police vehicle on your tail or failed to notice an officer with a
radar gun getting caught speeding was pretty unlikely.
There was one occasion when I was going somewhere on the North
circular road and I was on the section going East towards the A10.
There was a traffic lights and then a couple of miles of dual
carriageway to a roundabout. At the lights I found myself
alongside a Volvo three litre, a big, slab sided tank of a car with
a big ugly snout of a radiator. As I recall I was on the outside
lane and when the light went green I accelerated away briskly and
didn't give the Volvo much thought. But as I changed to second
gear the big car started to overtake me on the inside, so I wound
up the revs in second and pulled ahead again. Then the same thing
happened again as I changed to third gear and again, each time I
changed up the car would try and get past on the inside. I got to
fifth and thought I had left the Volvo behind, but no, he was still
trying to get past. At this point I realised I was doing over
ninety miles per hour and the roundabout was approaching fast, so I
braked down to a sensible speed for approaching the junction and
the Volvo shot past and how the driver made it round the roundabout
without rolling the car I will never know. It was just a good
thing there was no other traffic on the roundabout because the
Volvo driver wasn't stopping for anyone.
Moral of this story? A few thoughts come to mine, don't be
deceived by stereotypes, Volvo drivers used to have an image of
being middle class, slightly staid and usually responsible law
abiding citizens. If the vehicle had been a BMW I would have been
half expecting a burn up but a Volvo? Okay, my mistake. If you do
find yourself competing with someone else (okay, I could just have
dropped back when I reached he speed limit but I was in my early
20s, was riding a decent bike and I was the one in the outside
lane.) they may just be willing to push the situation to a
dangerous point. So do ask yourself. "What am I trying to
prove here?" It is surprisingly easy to find yourself in
dangerous situations without realising how you got there. You will
feel pretty stupid when you find yourself in court or hospital
trying to justify your actions with. "It wasn't my fault,
I didn't start it, the other guy was the one who wouldn't
slow down/back off/ shut his mouth/leave etc." Thats okay if
you are five years old, not so credible if you are old enough to
vote and have a driving licence. Also, be aware of situations by
making sure you really know what you are dealing with. In the
story I have recounted I remember the car, but I never noted who
was driving and I still have no idea who they were. The car would
probably have been bought by a stereotypical Volvo owner, but that
doesn't mean he or she was driving the damn thing, could have
been an 18 year old son who wanted to see what his Dad's car
could do against my bike, if I had clocked the driver as well as
the car I might have expected something different.
Ivar has always said that Stav is about seeing the web, observing
all the strands that make up reality and seeing through the obvious
to the reality beneath. So I would like to remind you about the
Summer Camp, late bank holiday weekend in Somerset, it will be fun
and a rare chance to meet Ivar and train with him. Details at
http://www.stavcamp.org
regards
Graham
PS Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for feedback on
my publicity material last week. I was given plenty to think
about. I will be responding individually where appropriate.