daytona bike week…

with the daytona 500 behind us, we can start the countdown to bike week starting next weekend. are you planning on riding down there?? for once, the better option may be to trailer your bike!! that or detour around georgia through alabama to get there. why?? because georgia is planning to use some federal funds to set up motorcycle-only checkpoints during bike week.

according to this action alert from the ama, georgia might be taking new york’s lead in setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints. and as if that isn’t bad enough, they want to set them up during daytona bike week to target as many bikers as they can.

what can you do?? besides trailering your bike – which of course was only mentioned in jest. i, for one, would never suggest someone trailer their bike over riding. the best option is to follow the ama’s suggestion to contact governor deal. you can send him a prewritten letter. once you follow the link, click on the contact tab –> click on ‘web form’ (contact governor nathan deal via web form) –> select ‘please suspend grant to conduct motorcycle-only checkpoints’ and click next step. fill out your contact information and send it on its way.

the other option is to contact him directly from his web site. fill in the contact information, select ‘transportation’ for the category, and the message section. the ama suggests the text below for the message section. i also suggest leaving the ‘i just want governor deal to know my opinion so it will be counted’ unchecked. i know i want to get a response from him.

As a motorcyclist, I understand the Georgia Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a series of motorcycle-only checkpoints (MOCs). The NHTSA Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstrations grant is in the amount of $70,000 and Georgia is the only state to receive this grant for Fiscal Year 2010. I request that Georgia suspend the motorcycle-only checkpoint program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Specifically, how do MOCs increase the safety of motorcyclists? Where does Georgia draw their authority to conduct MOCs? Will "probable cause" be required to stop a motorcycle under the terms of this grant program? If so, what will constitute "probable cause?" What types of infractions will be recorded by law enforcement officials at these traffic stops? What criteria will be used to measure the success of the MOCs? And, do states have the jurisdiction to inspect vehicles registered in another state?

Again, please suspend this program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

hopefully with enough response no one will get hassled in georgia on their way to daytona… unless, of course, they deserve it!!

bikes, beers, babes and beaches...

rode out to myrtle beach for a couple days during bike week. so much to do, so much to see, it was hard to cram into a couple days... but, i did my best...

ride out on monday was good. cooler weather made the ride more enjoyable. nothing special to report on the ride down - which is a good thing in this case. traffic was a lot lighter than i expected, especially for a monday on ninety-five. the majority of bikes i saw, which was that many to begin with, were heading away from myrtle. must have been the weekend warriors...

i made a quick stop for food and fuel in selma. plenty of fireworks stands in the area, particularly around the state lines. if i wasn't on the front end of my trip, i may have picked some up.




made it into town and, after riding around in the wrong area, finally made it to the place. everyone was already out and about, so i dumped my stuff and headed to the iron gate saloon...


















after the frivolity at iron gate, we headed over to td's sports bar. i guess some of the guys felt their bikes were too dirty...




crazy eric holding the truck back so it can do a burnout...


after a couple beverages, we headed back to the house... the house was nice, with a pool, a view of the sound on one side and a view of more houses on the other...








monday night we headed to suck bang blow, where eric decided to do a burnout...




tuesday was pretty much spent at the rat hole... crazy eric and i participated in some of the bike games while the rest of the crew sat back and watched...


























it wasn't until after trying my skills in the slow roll that i realized maybe it wasn't such a good idea. i've had to have my clutch adjusted several times already this year - this certainly didn't help. the next bike service was coming up soon. i figured i would have them look at doing something more than just adjusting the clutch this time. there had to be something wrong with it...

wednesday was spent riding home. the slipping clutch altered my route home. originally i was planning on taking back roads home. considering the state of the clutch, i decide it was probably best to just get home - quickly.

overall it was a good trip. short but fun... there weren't as many bikes and people compared to the last time i was there. it was kind of nice because i didn't feel like i was spending most of my time on the road, getting around...

and just in case you're interested, check out the 2008 ride map to see the route - this one in pink...