From fryd01@mcrcr6.med.nyu.edu Sun Jun 8 18:23:39 EDT 1997
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: RE: Book review: "Gathering Speed", by The Nashville Flash
In a previous article, ged@gmartin.demon.co.uk (Ged Martin) wrote: ->Well, I was one of those people who laid out real money, well US$28
I laid out the real bucks for the book, too. Got it autographed, too (if only you could read the author's scribble, it might be worth something some day). But I must point out, it was only $20 real dollars for me. It's $28 for all you Limey Wankers ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H highly literate Euro Motorcyclists.
->really, but you know what I mean, to buy a copy of David "The
->Nashville Flash" Brauns book, "Gathering Speed", and I liked it. So
I liked it, too. Liked it alot. In fact, all my riding buddies that come over and read it like it as well, and if they weren't wingnuts or cheap bastards (or both), they'd probably get their own damn copy.
->much that I've decided to write a review, a short & rather crappy
->review, but a review nonetheless....
Well, at least your honest, Ged.
->"Gathering Speed" isn't a mind fuck like "Zen and The Art..." and it
->isn't like that one the investment banker wrote.
->
->"Gathering Speed" isn't only a book about motorcycles, nor is it only
->a book about how one man "finds" himself during a motorcycle trip.
->It's a book by one of us, about people he's met along the road, people
->like you and me.
Funny, I thought it was a philosophy book. You have to pick out the subtle messages in between the lines of the tales. Some very subtle messages in there: like; marriage can be rough, motorcycles are fun, racing is expensive, having your own business can be lucrative, crashing can hurt you and your motorcycle, and travel can be broadening (well, that one's easy, it's the title of one of the chapters). All great philosophical lessons to be learned by experienced and novice motorcyclists alike.
->Based, in part, on some of the Tales he's posted to rec.motorcycles,
->Flash has managed to capture, not just the joy of owning a bike and
->riding/racing it, but also some of the pain in having one too.
Lots of pain, lots of joy. That's how it seemed to me. And lots and lots of wrenching and riding.
->Along the way, Flash explains some of his reasoning behind taking up
->motorcycling, why he started racing and wrenching them.
The way I read it, when the thought hit him (and he had the cash), he did it, whatever it was. A spontaneous fellow, that Flash.
->Like I said, this is my attempt at a review of a book I happen to
->like, by a person I happen to like too. It's not a very good review of
->a book, but do you know the funny thing about writing it....I found
->myself rereading bits out of "Gathering Speed" time and time again,
->because it's not one of those coffee table books you buy to have
->around and look good, it's just a fucking good book.
Yeah, I have reread many stories. And they still make me laugh. And sometimes, after a squidfest sunday ride, me and my buddies stop by my place (the Northern Manhattan Outpost, first stop on the way back into Cubicle City) and I'll have one of them read a certain story because it will have relevance to some of the day's events.
It's a book full of stories I can relate to, and stories that I hope I can relate to someday.
->If you want to read some of his Tales, or get some more information
->about the book, point your Web browser at
->
->http://maniac.deathstar.org/~flash/
->
->=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
->Ged "....a slick, affected, switchblade-flashing, motorcycle freak."
-> DoD #5088 MAG #90983 UKMC #9 LHFC #1 BOF#005
->=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-Shank