Rip William Dunlop

Sadly over the weekend for the third time ,the Dunlop family have lost a loved one to road bike racing.
In their native Co Antrim ,and indeed right across the race community in the country of Ireland ,incredibly well loved people all of them . All mickey mouse borders ,religious divides and politics these men transcended .

This morning on local talk radio in the very south of Ireland where I am an item came on from friends of William and his family.
In the moments after Williams fatal crash ,a bystander took it upon themself to film the mans  last moments ,not only that but he also felt the need to post the footage on social media after ,It ended up being clicked on by people close to William ,by virtue of media sharing etc.  The extra pain and anguish this caused is almost beyond repair .

In the letter to the radio show ,a close friend of Williams simply asked the person who posted the video  'do you really think what you've done is ok ?' and also asked the people who copy and pasted the link to their friends 'do you really believe this kind of behaviour is acceptable ?'

It was a beautifully concise, fitting and timely responce to this shameless social media 'like' whore behaviour, at an already difficult time for family and friends of William .By confronting this situation in the media in the way she did she has given tremendous strenght to everybody closeby, Im certain of that .

Theres a character trait you find here sometimes ,its rare as anything ,but it involves being able to think and voice yourself with absolute cristal clarity even though the world is falling apart around you ,times of bereavement especially.

Willy died doing something he loved, it was in the blood ,he knew the risks ,both his father and uncle both lost their lives road racing  ,
It will bring meaning if their passing stands as a sign post in the road for the rest of us though, a cautionary sign about social media.

Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~Hunter S Thompson

Isle of Man TT.  Good gravy in striped pajamas the brass orbs these souls have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmNXCJt7K3Q

Edit: To your point about respect for the dead, it's what you get from 40 years of bloody journalism.
The market cap. of shock does not bode well for our species.
My condolences to you.

I guess the story above,for me,re-affirms something Ive been shouting about a long time

I saw you were fishing  for reading material in a previous post Boji ,
if you havent read Hunter S Thompson  ,I would recommend the hells angels
have a look at Aldous Huxley ,you'll have to grapple with the phraseiology ,but there are moments of enlightenment,
I havent read Aleister Crowley  ,one of my mates sped read it and got caught in a funk ,its powerfull medicine ,small doses if any .I read a book by Crowleys son ,even the watered down version of his philosophy is real 'dark matter' ,its stuff you've known in your heart of hearts all along ,but nobody was brave enough to say for sake of national security .Its almost as if you can feel it rewiring your brain as you read it ,deprogramming .You need to be in a strong 'world aware' head space to begin with ,or Master Crowley will feast on your brains for breakfeast

Heres a literary& musical fav of mine ,the doors an American prayer,no less relevant now than the day Jim spoke it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkymTQysNg

In a funny way Boji,
its not actually about respect for the dead ,but more for the living ,the dead have no cross to bear.

Tubetec said:

Willy died doing something he loved, it was in the blood ,he knew the risks ,both his father and uncle both lost their lives road racing  ,
It will bring meaning if their passing stands as a sign post in the road for the rest of us though, a cautionary sign about social media.

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Gotta disagree on this one.  There's no meaning here, just a daughter who will grow up without a Dad. 

The cautionary tale is not to race motorbikes when the dangers are so evident, no?

Street racer is fairly dangerous on the list of professions alright Ruairi, theres no doubt theres an escapism/adrenalin rush invlolved.
Im not sure if racing bikes is anymore dangerous than going to war for a flag though ,at least in racing they dont turn you into a killer before you go down to the devil. Maybe they wire em up different in the North ,they do like their motorsports , its certainly not a career choice Id consider even as a lone soldier.

I personally just cant see any up sides to dying for a cause as opposed to dying doing something you love ,I wouldnt underplay the pain of the loss in either case .

To thine own self be true. If he won tons of races and earned lots of money and lived, no one would give him grief.  At least his kids will know he died doing what he loved. More than I can say for many fathers.

Hello

Man TT as other UK road race are insane...

There is at least two death per year at TT only, and now big money involved by sponsor and all manufacture, game editor...
Passion is one thing, but dealing many $ to play russian roullette is a shame.

Best
Zam

I can see the point you and Ruari are making Zam, I agree with what your both saying on a personal level ,hurtling around the roads at that speed is way to risky in my book too. I did drive bikes in my younger years a small bit ,came within inches of of getting splatted one time while on holidays in Morrocco. My near death experience ,even though I came away without a scratch made me seriously think about ever driving a bike again .

Theres a drive in some people to take serious risks ,the high peak mountaineer ,TT style road racer or single handed trans oceanic yachtsman ,its all on the same spectrum .My guess is theres a determination in these people that cant be held back by any body, I think its maybe more to do with setting personal goals then surpassing them than fame or fortune .

Tubetec said:

I can see the point you and Ruari are making Zam, I agree with what your both saying on a personal level ,hurtling around the roads at that speed is way to risky in my book too. I did drive bikes in my younger years a small bit ,came within inches of of getting splatted one time while on holidays in Morrocco. My near death experience ,even though I came away without a scratch made me seriously think about ever driving a bike again .

Theres a drive in some people to take serious risks ,the high peak mountaineer ,TT style road racer or single handed trans oceanic yachtsman ,its all on the same spectrum .My guess is theres a determination in these people that cant be held back by any body, I think its maybe more to do with setting personal goals then surpassing them than fame or fortune .

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I used to own a motorcycle and used it routinely for errands.  In hindsight it seems a little crazy, but there would typically be one potentially deadly conflict with a car almost every trip. It was not that car drivers were trying to kill motorcyclists but A) the size of motorcycles make them harder to see and gauge distance, and B) the high speed motorcyclists generally drive (I would routinely double posted speed limits) makes it harder for cars to safely judge approach rates, so getting cut off by cars was so routine that you expected it.  The bad news is that over time you become blase' about the potentially deadly hazards.

I have had a few friends messed up by motorcycle accidents with cars... my worst motorcycle accident was with a moving tree...   A dry rotted tree branch fell on me. I ended up going down and got some road rash... the cars behind me were able to stop in time, so no serious injury.
======
George Clooney just crashed his scooter into a car (that turned into his lane) in italy... The good news is that he was wearing a helmet, the better news is he was headed to the set to film a new version of Catch-22 (Hellers great anti-war book about WWII). I like that book so hope they don't screw it up. They can't make it any more anti-war.  8)

JR

PS: It makes me a little crazy to see kids riding without helmets on the street on 4 wheel off road vehicles. Sometimes it's a young parent with two or three young kids haphazardly hanging off the vehicle.  I am about the only person I see around town wearing a helmet on a bicycle.  As a libertarian I don't like helmet laws, but see kids too young to decide intelligently for themselves.  Of course as a kid I didn't wear a helmet while riding my bike, but doubt they were widely available if at all back then. 

Tubetec said:

My guess is theres a determination in these people that cant be held back by any body, I think its maybe more to do with setting personal goals then surpassing them than fame or fortune .

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yes of course, this can be "noble".
In other "extrem sport" the K2 or worst Annapurna get about 1 chance of 3 to die in the ascent...

Still, fascination (for death?) make ppl looking at this, as company that pay /invest to have there name associated to the "race" where the chance to die (statistically) is so important and somehow disturbing 

I don't know how legally this is handled at the other side of the Channel, but here (other side) I guess after a single  w-e with 4 death (which happen lot of time at TT) the safety enforcement as technical change requested at the road according to this may force the race to not exist anymore

Honestly this is modern gladiators, fascinating and disturbing. I'm guilty too, it happen I watch TT  :-X

Best
Zam

I used to do a lot of rock climbing and went through a big phase of reading mountaineering books, getting inside the heads of these kinds of people.

My take is that if your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband knows what they are taking on then fair enough.  Having kids though, when your life is about seeking these kinds of thrills seems irresponsible to me.

Perhaps society over idolizes these kinds of (pointless?) risk takers, as a release from the drudgery of life?  My dad worked in an oily and noisy factory as a tool maker for 40 years to provide me and my siblings with everything we needed and opportunities.  That's more my kind of hero.

(Hellers great anti-war book about WWII).

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I liked that ,thanks Boji.
Ive always taken the printed word with a grain of salt really .I remember my grandad on the subject of historical reading ,he used say ,'remember history is always written by the winners' and encouraged me to look beyond how historical characters are portrayed for reasons of propaganda/face saving.On the shelves in my granny and grandad's house was almost every book written on Irish history ,I had the pick of them after they passed away , I took only two books one written by my grandad about prominent Irish historical leaders ,'portraits in leadership' he called it ,and another one called 'antiquities of the Irish countryside'. I formed my opinions on more recent Irish history ,mostly by word of mouth. I guess there are certain things that are easier said than put into print for a number of reasons , also because an entire section of the history here has been airbrushed ,it doesnt even really appear on the school curriculum . I was always the kind of child who had the adults ears burning from awkward and difficult questions  , I was lucky to have been surrounded by mostly patient people too though.

because an entire section of the history here has been airbrushed ,it doesnt even really appear on the school curriculum .

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Ever read Zinn's "A People's History"?  (It's mostly about America so why would you? : )  but...it's a shocking good read and is nothing like the standard curriculum offered in our public schools.

No I havent read it ,I have seen it mentioned in here a few times though.
I will have a look at some extracts online for sure , Actually theres a friend of mine might have copy.
.

Tubetec said:

I guess the story above,for me,re-affirms something Ive been shouting about a long time

I saw you were fishing  for reading material in a previous post Boji ,
if you havent read Hunter S Thompson  ,I would recommend the hells angels
have a look at Aldous Huxley ,you'll have to grapple with the phraseiology ,but there are moments of enlightenment,
I havent read Aleister Crowley  ,one of my mates sped read it and got caught in a funk ,its powerfull medicine ,small doses if any .I read a book by Crowleys son ,even the watered down version of his philosophy is real 'dark matter' ,its stuff you've known in your heart of hearts all along ,but nobody was brave enough to say for sake of national security .Its almost as if you can feel it rewiring your brain as you read it ,deprogramming .You need to be in a strong 'world aware' head space to begin with ,or Master Crowley will feast on your brains for breakfeast

Heres a literary& musical fav of mine ,the doors an American prayer,no less relevant now than the day Jim spoke it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkymTQysNg

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Wow...Crowley was such a dark, dark, dark individual...not saying you can't find truth anywhere you look but...damn.

Crowley was such a dark, dark, dark individual

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I have the fortunate position to be friends with a very dark dude who took to the works of Crowley and Lovecraft at an early age. He's always going on about the evil side of things. As a typical person who gravitates towards the beauty of this world, he has done a good job at keeping me balanced- much at his own expense.  I should call him my enlightened Dolores were he not hypersensitivly masculine.  ;D

Edit: autocorrect, you no always rite.

Tubetec said:

Heres a literary& musical fav of mine ,the doors an American prayer,no less relevant now than the day Jim spoke it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkymTQysNg

Click to expand...

Really nice. Nearly put me to sleep. It's been so long since I've heard something so good, it seems.

Very sorry to hear about the Dunlop family loss, and very sad to hear about the resultant privacy breach. Total lack of respect for the family...