msf ridercoach screening part 2...

went to the ridercoach screening in asheboro today... although it was slightly colder than i was expecting and threatening rain (later in the day) i decided to ride out there. it turned out to be a bit cooler than i expected. thankfully my wife talked me into getting some heated gloves last night.

when i first took off, i had to get gas, so i didn't plug the gloves in (since i would have to remove them to pump gas anyway). got to the gas station and pumped my gas. my hands were fine, but i knew that i would be happy to have heated gloves for the longer ride - if they worked. i've never used them before, so i didn't know what to expect. i get all suited up, plug in the gloves and take off... as soon as i get on the road, i realize i didn't fasten the strap on my helmet. yikes - not good... go down the road a couple of miles to pull over at a safe place. i pull my gloves off to fasten the strap and the first thing i notice is how much cooler it is with the glove off. wow, i guess these gloves are working!!! i fasten the strap and put the gloves back on - i could already feel the warmth of the gloves!!! but, would they keep my hands, or more importantly my fingers, warm for the whole ride??

the answer is most definitely yes!!! in the past when i've ridden and it's been cold, the only real problem i have is with my fingers getting cold. the rest of my body seems to stay warm - or at least it doesn't get freezing cold. as it turns out, the gloves worked so well keeping my fingers warm, now my toes and knees were getting cold!! i think in the past, my fingers got so cold, i never realized other parts of my body were getting cold as well. now that my fingers aren't a problem, the focus shifts to other parts of my body. i guess in the future, i wear warmer socks and warmer pants. still have to give props to the gloves - they are great!!!

okay, so after enduring the cold ride to asheboro, it's time for the screening. i got there about an hour early, so i rode to the facility to make sure i could find it. the facility is for fire and firearms training. as i approached the lot, i could see the parking lot was sectioned off with cones and you had to follow them around to a specific parking area. when i got through the gates, i could head gun shots. as i looked to my left, i could see a bunch of people lined up at the firing range, shooting away. at this point, since i was an hour early, i decided to head back to a gas station, get some water to drink and call my wife to let her know i made it safely. got to the station, bought some water and called my wife. there were two little tables inside the station, so i sat there, warming up a little and listening to the locals talk about the latest happenings. after killing some time, i head back to the facility.

while riding to the facility i get behind a guy on a bwm. i follow him in, weaving around the cones to a parking area. i stop, unplug everything - okay, only my heated gloves and myself from the battery harness. pack everything into the tour-pak and head inside. when i get inside, they ask for my license. i hand it to dave and he recognizes my name from e-mails and phone calls. i figure that's a good thing. after writing some stuff down, he hands my license and a package or papers to me. i proceed to find an empty spot to fill out the forms. there are more people here than i thought there would be. i don't know how many i was expecting, but it turns out there were twenty-one of us.

so while we were filling out the forms, they told us that we would be selected based on the forms we filled out and the skills test. there was no guarantee on who would be picked. it partially depended on where we lived, where they needed instructors and how far we were willing to travel to instruct. well, those and the skills test we were about to take.

i had two problems with filling out the forms - first, the pen they gave me wouldn't write. so i exchanged it for another one that wouldn't write!! good thing i brought my own. the second problem i had was writing why i thought i would be a good instructor. i put some corny reason about motorcycle safety, blah, blah, blah... i actually thought that there were going to speak to each one of us individually, so i was expecting to talk about it, not write about it. oh well... after filling out the forms, they gave us numbers. these would be the order we went in for the skills test. since there were so many of us, they broke us into two groups. i was number ten in the first group.

we got outside, picked a bike and headed out to the range. in my head, i went through all the fine-c steps, ensuring i turned the gas on!!! one or two people forget - at least i wasn't one of them. as we headed to the range, i could feel the bike pulling as i made my turns. i realized how much more my weight affects the turning on a smaller bike. so we get out to the range and start weaving in and out of two sets of cones to warm up. this is good. i'm getting a good feel for the bike and getting more confident that i can do the box easily on this bike. after about five minutes of weaving, they line us up for the skills test. no practice runs - straight into the evaluation. we don't need it, we're already experienced riders - at least that's the reason they gave us. the first skills test was the box followed by a swerve to miss an obstacle. the second was a quick stop. the final one was a timed turn. i think i did pretty well on all the tests. at least i didn't do the box backwards, lock up my tires on the quick stop or go through the turn too slowly.

now i'll have to wait to see if i get the call. he said we won't hear until january. no big deal. if i make it good. if i don't, that's fine too...

after the evaluation, it was time to head home. i was expecting to stay until three o'clock, but it was only one o'clock. getting out early!!! i was suiting up and started talking to a guy who was from rolesville. i hate it when i do this, but i couldn't remember him name. doh!!! it was really nice talking to him - seems like he would be fun to ride with. he gave me his e-mail address so i should hook up with him to do some riding. i'll shoot that e-mail off later today.

so now time for the ride home. called my wife to let he know that i would be leaving but probably stopping for some food before making the journey home. at least the ride home was warmer - no cold toes or knees. i did use the heated gloves again. why not, i have them, i might as well use them!! the ride home was good - uneventful. no crazy cages or real hazards to worry about today. just smooth riding. another successful ride!!

msf ridercoach screening...

i'm heading out to asheboro tomorrow for ridercoach screening. i'm not sure what to expect at the screening. i know there is an overview of the ridercoach training program, an interview and a skills test. i'm a little nervous about the interview - i just want to make sure i'm prepared for the questions. i don't know what kind of questions they may ask. will it be more personal questions or rider/safety question?? i'm thinking about reviewing some of the training materials tonight - just to brush up. for example, i had to be reminded yesterday that it is fine-c and not fine-t. i don't know if that's the type of stuff i need to know for the interview.

with regard to the skills portion of the test - i should be able to handle that. the box has me a little concerned - i know i can do it, i've done it before. it's just that i will be on a different bike - thankfully a smaller bike. i don't know if i could do it on my bike!!! especially the smaller box - i don't know that i've ever done the smaller box. once i get used to the smaller bike, i should be fine. the trick is going to be remembering things like turning on the fuel before i start the bike - i don't have to worry about that on my bike now. and i guess that's what things like fine-c are for...

i'm also thinking about riding out there tomorrow. will that be to assuming?? my wife has talked me to purchasing some electric gloves for the ride tomorrow. the high tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 50s. that's not too bad. but i'll be leaving in the morning, so it will be a bit cooler - maybe in the 30s. and it's about a two and a half hour drive. i'm thinking it might be nice to have warm fingers - or at least not freezing fingers - when i get there. going to pick up the gloves this evening - already called the dealer and have some on hold.

okay - guess that's it for now... i'll report back with my results and the ride... looking forward to it...

it happened again...

so i'm sitting here, just killing time in between preparations for the big turkey dinner. my (wonderful) wife looks over at me and asks if i want to take my motorcycle out for a ride... i can remember the last time i heard that question. since it was a beautiful, clear day in the mid-60s, i get a big grin and ask her what she needs... the price for my ride: a newspaper with the sale ads. yeah, tomorrow's black friday and she wants (likes) to hit the stores early. sure enough, i tell her, i'll be back in a bit...

so i head out to wal-mart - i wasn't sure what else might be open on thanksgiving, but i knew they were. i get to wal-mart, go to their newspaper section/stand, and nothing. well, a couple of wal-mart sale ads, but no newspapers. nada, squat, zilch, nuthin'... okay, i decide to head up to the gas station, they have those newspaper boxes outside. ride up to hess and pull up to the boxes - empty. both of them. hmmmm, this isn't looking good. okay, i'll back track and head to lowes food, i saw they were open. as i pull into the lowes parking lot, another gas station is open - let me check there. nope, nothing there either, guess i'll try lowes. what do i find?? nothing again, except for the local paper - which won't carry any of the big sale ads my darling wife wants. well, i'll pick it up anyway - it does have a kohl's ad, maybe she'll be happy about that.

as i'm cruising back, i decide to hit one more gas station - this ones closer to our house, but not close to much else. maybe they'll have it. i pull in to the station, locate the newspaper boxes and pull up next to them. two boxes, one of them empty, the other has newspapers!!! schweeeeeet!!!! of course i spent what measly change i had on the paper i bought at lowes, so now i have to go inside and use the atm machine. after paying two dollars for the pleasure of getting twenty bucks out of the atm machine, i head to the counter to get change. as the lady at the counter is making change for my twenty, she starts to marvel at one of the state quarters she's never seen. i'm thinking, please, please, please hurry - my luck someone will buy the last paper before i get out there. she finally hands me all my change and i head out, quickly, hoping no one else has taken the last paper. i walk around the corner, spy the box and the paper is still there!!! ahhhh, yes, this is great. i bend over to drop my quarters into the slot and the top of the paper catches my eye - sunday edition. wait, it's not sunday, it's, uh, it's thursday. then i look at the headlines and the date - damn!! it is sunday's paper. crap!!! my luck... at least i had the local paper. or so i'm thinking.

when i get home, my wife wonders where i've been. i don't blame her, i was gone unusually long for just picking up a newspaper. i tell her i've been all over and i can't get her the paper she wants, but i did pick up the local one. she's like, no, you're kidding, right?? i'm like, no, i'm serious and i recount my journey. needless to say, she was disappointed. she didn't get the ads she wanted and that didn't help with her plans to head out early on black friday.

there were a couple of highlights riding today, aside from just being out there. during one of my journey's back and forth, i pulled up to a stop light. while waiting, a guy on a gorgeous black and white deluxe pulls up on my left. he's got his daughter in tow and an ear to ear grin. i look over, with a smile i tell him nice looking bike. he tells me he just got it and he's out enjoying the day. we exchange comments about how great a day it is to be out riding. the light turns green we say our goodbyes and off we go. i'm thinking to myself about how friendly bikers are to each other. it's a great brotherhood.

another highlight of the ride actually happened after i got home. i pull into the garage and as i'm getting off the bike, i notice someone in a truck has pulled into the bottom of our driveway. i remove my gloves, helmet, and head to the bottom of the driveway. the guy is already out of his truck and coming up my driveway. he saw me riding and wanted to introduce himself. he lives in the neighborhood, rides and is always looking for people to ride with. he tells me he's got a fatboy and a big dog chopper. i can tell he's pretty proud of his big dog. he didn't stay too long, said he was out to get some marinade after his riding buddy from durham stood him up this morning. he says any time i want to ride, stop by his house, rev the engine and he'll be out. cool - another riding partner!!!

overall, the ride was great. as usual, the weather was awesome. (seems i'm saying that a lot lately!!) sunny, mid-60s, not a cloud in the sky. in fact, before i took off, i put the liner in my coat thinking it was a little cooler than what it really was. i regretted doing that as i was riding. i even swapped out my winter gloves for my summer gloves. i could have ridden all day. and just may have if i didn't have to get back and get the bird in the oven.

hope everyone else had as great of a thanksgiving as i did... i am truly blessed...

stupid motorcycle tricks...

and now for something a little different... when motorcycle stunts go bad... i don't know why this makes me laugh...

in the video, you'll see a guy doing a burn out. but he's not the one to watch. look to the back of the video. there's another guy attempting to do a burnout while sitting on the front guard. he gets too much traction, can't hit the rear brake and forgets to hit the clutch...

check it out

thank you mr. officer...

went out for a ride today... actually, i rode my bike to lunch today. one of the bad habits i've gotten in riding on all these back roads is not coming to a complete stop at stop signs. usually, there isn't much traffic on these two lane roads that i ride. so i've gotten into the habit of slowing down as i approach a stop sign. if i have good visibility and can see there isn't any traffic, i won't come to a complete stop. i'll slow down quite a bit, but then i'll keep going. not a very good habit. i will say, though, i do come to a complete stop if i don't have good visibility at an intersection...

so today i'm out and i approach an intersection i'm familiar with. it's a "T" intersection and i'm coming up the "T" where i have to make a left or a right. after stopping, of course. i do my usual, slow down and look both ways as i approach the stop sign. this particular intersection is fairly open and you can see a fair distance in both directions. i scan to my right and then to my left. from the left, i can see a white jeep cherokee approaching. now like i said, i do slow down enough when i approach these intersections, i just don't come to a complete stop. i decide that the jeep is far enough away that i can safely make a left turn. so i do. as i pass the jeep, i see it's a local police vehicle. it didn't have the lights on top, though. had it had the lights, you can guarantee i would have some to a complete stop!!! as i approached the jeep, it had turned on its right turn signal - turning onto the road i just came off. so i watch my rear-view mirror to determine if it's going to do a u-ey and come after me. it looked like he was slowing down enough to turn around... but he made the right turn and just kept going... whew...

now i don't know if he didn't come after me because he didn't see me come to a rolling stop (is there such a thing??), or if he couldn't quickly make the u-turn because another vehicle approached the stop sign and blocked the intersection. either way, it was a wake up call!!! time to stop the rolling stops and come to a complete stop!!!

ride safe - i'll be riding safer!!!

finally, a true "outlaw" motorcycyle...

came across this article about a real "outlaw" bike. of course they are calling themselves bighouse choppers. motto: bikes built with convictions. should have figured someone would come up with the bright idea of having inmates build choppers...

props to the dude with the ingenuity to put something like this together... they're charging $40K per bike, with a $15K licensing fee to start building. seems like a bit much to me, but then again, i'm not much into the new style choppers.

i've been wondering about the price tag. my first instinct is to think that's too much for a bike built by criminals. but should the cost really be driven by who builds the bike?? i realize that the builder of the bike will drive the cost of the bike somewhat. face it, people will pay more for a bike built by russell mitchell than the same bike built by someone like me. so, if they can sell a bike for $40K, why not?? just because they're criminals doesn't mean they shouldn't charge that price. so what the heck?? if someone will pay that much, go for it...

okay, that's it for now...

what's there to say??

well, i haven't ridden since my last post but i thought i would share something i experienced yesterday...

we were driving home from our weekend visit in virginia when we decide to take the "bumpy" road. my daughter dubbed it the "bumpy" road several years ago, probably because that's how it felt to her when we drive on this road. basically it's a two lane, twisty and hilly stretch of road maybe ten miles long. although most of the twists and hills are in the first quarter of the road (in the direction we normally take it). there is a gas station on the opposite side of the road where we turn onto the "bumpy" road. as i make the right turn onto the road, i notice about seven or eight bikes, crotch rockets, at the gas station waiting to pull out. about 100 yards on the "bumpy" road, there are three more bikes, obviously waiting for the rest of the crew. we pass the bikes and continue on our way...

shortly after we're on this road, the three bikes come up behind us. before i know it, one of them is passing me. again, this is a two lane, twisty road, with double yellow lines in the center. you're lucky if you can see 50 yards in front of you - most of the times you can't see but 20 yards in front. no regard for traffic in the other direction, he (maybe it was she - there was at least one female in the group) went whipping by me. as the other two behind me are jockeying to get around, another bike joins them. another bikes attempts to go around me when we reach a sharp turn. i guess he decided to back off and stay behind me. as i look in my rearview mirror, the three bikes are slowing down as one of them is now riding on the shoulder trying to maintain control of his bike. he manages to slow maintain control of the bikes, slowing it down enough to bring it back onto the road. do you think that deterred them?? of course not!!! in short order, two of the three bikes went zipping past us. the third guy, the one who ran off the road, was a little leery about passing - i don't blame him. okay - so now there are two bikes sandwiched in front of me and the cage in from of me and one behind. one of the two yahoos between me and the cage in front of me decides to pass on a curve. i don't know how he managed to do it, but just as he was pulling back into the lane in front of the cage, a cage in the opposite direction passes. i'm really surprised he didn't get wiped out by one of the cages... jeez... after being behind me for about six or seven miles, the bike behind me finally had a clear stretch where he passed me - still had the double yellow lines on the road, though.

i don't know what happened to the other bikes, i'm sure there were more in the pack. maybe they were a little smarter... well, when we got to the highway where the road opens up, wouldn't you know it?? here's the group of bikers, getting ready to head back in the opposite direction!!!

now, i will be one of the first to say i love the thrill of riding fast on a twisty, hilly road - heck read back a couple posts. but, to me, there has to be some semblance of common sense... it seemed like these riders knew their limitations. but what i didn't like was the way they were riding with cages around. not only were they putting themselves in danger, they were putting the cages around them in danger too. why not wait on the side of the road for a bit?? let the traffic get far enough in front of you. they go hauling ass down the road!!!

i told my wife as this was going on that these are the riders that give us bad names... which is something i've been thinking about for a bit and will be the subject of a future post. i will say that i'm glad none of them got hurt and didn't hurt any one else - as far as i know...

ride safe...

great riding weather...

these past few days, heck almost a week, have been great for riding. and even better, i've been able to get out riding. mostly small, short trips around town, deciding to take the long way home. as i mentioned earlier, the colors have been beautiful. i'm glad i've been able to take advantage of the weather and ride around during this time of the season. i doubt the leaves will be this beautiful many more days.

friday i took my bike in for its 7500 mile service. in addition to the normal service, i got them to adjust my clutch and replace the brakes. when i take my bike in for service, i usually wait while they do the work. friday i decided to do the same thing - they finished the work is fairly short order - hour and a half, maybe two. they ask if i want the bike washed. what the heck?? they didn't do a great job the last time they "washed" the bike, but it really isn't that dirty, so i figure i don't have much to lose. except time... i waited nearly two hours for them to wash the bike!!! yeah, two hours... after about an hour, they told me that there was only one guy cleaning bikes, something about the other guys had to help unload some bikes... so i waited another hour for them to finally bring the bike around. when they finally did bring it around, the bike was beautiful - all clean and shiny. don't know if it was worth the two hour wait, but it sure did look good.

the brake and clutch work they did on the bike was great too. now the clutch catches at a much more comfortable point than before - i was wondering if it may have slipped a bit. and the brakes were great. i didn't realize how worn they were until i got new ones on. uhhhh, i don't have to pull nearly as far as i used to to stop.

so anyway, i was supposed to be writing about riding around in this wonderful weather we've been having. so for the past several days i've been able to get out for at least a short ride. in fact, i guess they've all been short rides, nothing like the 200+ mile trips i take on some weekends.

so friday i rode to the dealership to get the bike serviced. if i wouldn't have been there so long, i would have taken a longer route home. but, since i had to get back to work, it was pretty much a straight shot back. saturday i got some riding in between smoking out some pork bbq. i cook the pork eight hours, so it pretty much takes up the whole day as i have to tend to it. well, i was able to sneak in about two hours worth of riding - which was nice.

sunday was my usual morning ride to get the paper and other breakfast goodies. i often wonder what other people think when i pull up on my bike, walk in the store with my helmet and pick up a newspaper, juice, eggs, bread... ahhh, the beauty of saddlebags and a tour-pak. although i didn't have the tour-pak this weekend, so i just stuffed everything in the bags. rode home and enjoyed breakfast...

didn't end up doing much more riding on sunday because i've been out the past couple weekends and decided to spend it with the family. told my son that i would help him with his social studies project - building a catapult. told my wife that i would help her around the house - although i guess i didn't really do much of that. she did talk me into putting up the christmas tree, though. i know, i know, it's early. but we've managed to get ourselves into this tradition of putting up the tree before her birthday - which is towards the end of november. since we're booked for the next couple weekends, yesterday was about the only day i had to set it up. i'm always complaining about christmas starting too early anymore, but here i am, part of the problem. oh well - it's our little tradition and i wouldn't change it for anything...

so - that's it... a quick recap of the weekend...

ride safe...

riding in the fall...

meet some friends for lunch today, so i decided to take the bike... i took major roads (highways) to get to the place we were meeting - i was running a little behind and didn't want to be late. i'm usually the last one there, but this time i was determined to be the first... and i was... anyway, after lunch, i decided to take the back roads home - all two lane, twisty roads.

today i saw some of the most beautiful scenery - yellows, oranges, read, browns, greens. the leaves are changing colors and it was so beautiful riding along those roads, soaking in the scenery. the colors seemed to be so vibrant, mixing and mingling amongst each other. soon this visual treat will be done and we'll be left with empty, bare trees. but today i enjoyed every minute of my ride back home...

run / brake / turn lights

a couple weeks ago i told you about adding the run / brake/ turn signal module to my bike. i'm glad i have the module. because i can't see the lights, i really don't think about them much... well, this weekend i got to see them in action on my bike. during the ride this weekend, i switched bikes with another rider. now that i've seen them working, i really appreciate them. the added visibility from just having the turn signal lights act as running lights is well worth the cost of the module. the additional brake light capability is awesome. i don't know if it will help cages see me, especially at night, but it can't hurt...

sunday ride...

went for another awesome ride yesterday... weather was great - sunny, cool, simply a great day for riding...

sunday started out as usual. went out in the morning to pick up the sunday paper for my wife. also picked up some eggs since i was making french toast for her and we were getting low on eggs. knowing it was cold out this early in the morning (6:30ish), i put on a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, my leather coat as well as chaps and took off. remember i cleaned my bike saturday and stripped it down?? remember i decided to leave the windshield off?? considering the temp (or maybe not considering the temp), i quickly learned that was a mistake!!! i thought about going back home and slapping the windshield on real quick, but, since it was a (fairly) short trip, i decided to tough it out... obviously before starting the day long trip, i put the windshield back on the bike. when i left the house for the brunch ride, i was really glad i had the windshield on the bike. it was probably a combination of having the windshield on and the temps going up, but the ride was a lot warmer.

so, the day started off, again as usual, with brunch at lucky32. only three of us showed up for the ride. before leaving, i told jim that i wanted him to test my bike - i had some concern over where/when the clutch was grabbing as i released it. i thought it should be grabbing a little sooner, although i guess something like that could fall into a personal preference area. jim said that during the ride, we would switch bikes so that he could determine what was going on. i thought this would also be a good opportunity to have him tell me about the general performance of the bike. jim has been around motorcycles for a long, long time and i really appreciate his views.

so, we started out, jim leading the way. we were taking our normal route up to danville - bicycle 1 to 96 to oxford, 158 to roxboro, 57 to milton and 62 up to 58/danville. when we got near wilton jim pulled over at a gas station - time to switch rides. jim jumped on my road king and did a couple small radius circles, testing the clutch. when he stopped, he said the clutch could probably use adjustment. so then we decide to take off. now i get a chance to test jim's gold wing. okay, so i'm really nervous. here i am on this bike i'm not too familiar with. jim steps me through the controls real quick - ignition, started, turn signals, radio, heater controls, etc. i'm thinking i'm not using the radio or the heater - we're on two lane, twisty roads, i don't need to be worrying about what i'm listening to on the radio. so i start the bike and it's so quiet. and there's no vibration. i look at jim and jokingly ask him if it's running. starting off wasn't that great - we went around the back of the gas station, through a gravel road and had to make a right turn onto the road we were traveling on. so here i am, on a gold wing, trying not to dump it, the steering is totally different from my road king, so i'm wobbling around, trying to hold it up at slow speed and approach the turn. i probably over thought the whole situation as i made it through without any real problems.

so i got to ride the gold wing for about 40 miles. great ride - smooth, comfortable, the bike had good pick up. honda sure does know how to engineer a bike. so we get to roxboro where jim and i switch back to our bikes. i had a bike grin on my face because the gold wing was a lot of fun to ride. if i was considering another cruiser, i would definitely consider the gold wing. but i wouldn't want the gold wing in place of my road king - in addition to, sure, but not in place of. guess i'm stuck on that "harley thing." go before going again, jim gives me a quick evaluation of my bike - overall runs well. need new front brake pads. he would recommend replacing the stock air shocks with progressive 440s to remove the feeling like you're riding on a hose. jim also commented that the seat was very comfortable. i replaced the stock seat with a mustang seat and haven't regretted that decision - especially when my wife rides with me. she couldn't go 75 miles on the stock seat - with the mustang seat, we can ride all day.

after getting back on our own bikes, we head up to danville and the trials. the ride up there was great - the sky was clear, the temps were great - cool, and getting warmer, but not hot. the roads were clear, not a lot of traffic. just the kind of day you want to be out... the trials were good - getting to know a couple of the riders since i've been to a couple of the events.







after spending a couple hours at the trials, we decide to head back home - the long way. as i mentioned in an earlier post, we decided to go through yanceyville and hit little deals gap. it's about a five mile stretch of road that's full or twists and turns, a couple one lane bridges and some near-hairpin turns. it's great. the only problem yesterday was there was gravel in the road around a couple of the turns. apparently whoever maintains the road decided to put gravel on the shoulders of the roads. i guess some of the yahoos around there can't manage to stay on the road, so they kick the gravel from the shoulder into the road. it took a little fun out of the ride because we have to be really cautious going into the turns. at one point, to avoid the gravel, i had to go into the opposite lane - lucky for me, no one was coming in the other direction. once we reached the end, we decided to go back the other way. it was good riding it in both directions. i was wondering if some of the local animals were targeting me - on the first pass a squirrel ran out in front of me. on the second pass a woodchuck ran across the road and almost ran into my back tire. guess it just made for a more exciting ride...

after that, we decided to head home, with a quick stop in oxford for some food. after eating, we decided to go different directions because it was getting dark and we wanted to get home. i took off along the two lane roads between oxford and my house. having the experience earlier of having the animals run out into the road, my concern was deer running out. this is the time of season for them... luckily i was behind cages most of the way - that was a little more reassuring.

bike cleaning...

it's been a little while since i've cleaned my bike... it wasn't terribly dirty, but it had some dust and bugs on it. it seems the longer you leave the bugs on the bike, the harder they are to clean... i was kind of torn cleaning the bike since i'll be out riding it tomorrow - maybe it's wasted time. since we're going to a trials event, we'll most likely be riding our bikes off road and onto a dirt/gravel road. means more dust and probably another cleaning. oh well...

so i stripped down the bike, put it on the lift and cleaned away. took a couple hours. i started with the tires, scrubbing the whitewalls - boy were they dirty. then i cleaned the rims and the spokes. then onto the bike. after wetting down the bike, i usually spray on some s100, wash the bike and then hose the s100 off the bike. i've turned to using our leaf blower to dry the bike - it works pretty well and helps get the water out of all the nooks and crannies. then comes waxing - this usually takes the longest. but once i'm done, the bike looks pretty good. after today's cleaning, i decided to leave the bike stripped down, put the saddlebags and solo seat back on, but i'll leave the passenger seat, tour-pak and windshield off. give me a stripped down look for a while...

as i go through the process of cleaning, i ask myself why i do this. why do i take so much time and effort cleaning my bike?? i mean it's not like i'm going to be putting it into a show... i could actually be out riding instead of cleaning. and after i clean it and go riding, the bike is only going to get dirty. i know several guys who keep their bikes minimally clean - they keep the bugs and dust off, wash it once a year whether it needs it or not. why can't i be like that?? i guess i just like the look of a clean bike. makes me feel good as i'm going down the road on my clean bike. so i guess it's worth the time and effort i put into the bike...

as a side note, i do have to mention that i didn't make my wife happy cleaning my bike today. she was out running kids here and there and running errands. i think she expected me to do more yard/house work after mowing the lawn and edging. when she got home, i was just finishing cleaning my bike. yeah, she was not too happy with me. so i decided to clean the gutters on the house as well as wash some of the outside windows. she was going to clean the windows, but i decided i better do them. i tried to do a couple other things, but i think i still need to do more to get on her good side... i'm thinking about skipping the ride tomorrow and maybe doing more around the house. damn, i don't know what to do...

another ride...

looks like we're taking a ride sunday to the lawless creek trials hosted by the carolina virginia observed trials club. as usual we'll be meeting at lucky32 for some grub before we go. looks like i'll be leading the ride up to the trials - that should be a lot of fun. i'm hoping on the way back, we go through yanceyville to hit what we're calling small deals gap. i know it fails in comparison to the real tail of the dragon, but it's a fun little stretch of road that has some nice curves. looks like we're going to have nice weather for the ride... can't wait...

so my wife asks me if i want to ride my motorcycle this evening...

OF COURSE!!! is the first thing that popped into my head... but before answering, my brain kicks in (one of the few times my brain works faster than my mouth). so i ask for clarification, "you mean ride my bike tonight??" i ask. she says yup... this is odd - she asking me if i want to ride my bike, tonight, on short notice... there's something more to this... so i ask, what's up?? her response, "well, i was thinking while you are out you can pick up some stuff from the grocery store." ah ha!! i knew there was more to it... but what the heck - we both win, huh??

my wife is so cool!!!

sturgis '06

looks like plans are underway for the ride out to sturgis next year. it's a ride i would like to take, but most likely won't. it would be an incredible journey - the guys that will be going are a lot of fun to travel with. if i went, it would mean taking two weeks off work - which is half of what i have. i want to go to myrtle beach next year, which is a week. that would leave one week for the rest of the year. we've been talking about taking a family vacation, which we haven't done in years - that would be a week. which would leave no other time for me to take... i digress...

here's the e-mail i found in my mailbox this morning... you can just tell this is going to be a good trip:

subject: Sturgis.......our time has come
text:
Preface: Frankie, pass this on to Ron Two-Times and Buck Naked, really, sincerely hope they can make this one,

Mike, pass this on to Nick, not in the habit of keeping homo email addresses,

Wayne, I understand you and Jimmy read poetry to each other at lunch, please let him know,

Anyone: Jamie F and Kregg E still use Morse Code and have small genitalia, someone please pass this on.

Preliminary planning is under way for the August, 2006 trip to Sturgis, South Dakota, not a trip to be missed nor taken lightly. A relatively small and covert rendezvous took place this weekend in a lesser known underground parking garage beneath the Target store on Parham Rd. in Richmond, Virginia, to discuss the mechanics and logistics of this most manly of rides. A special thanks to Ali Mauswali, owner of Mauswali’s Meatloaf and Crab Shak for catering the event. Our adventure will begin on Friday, August 4, 2006, at approximately 9:00 am leaving Manassas, and will encompass 15 days of fuel burning, beer drinking, asphalt melting, sight seeing, 103 cubic inch stump-pulling, train of 12 biker riding good times. The plan is to make it to Fort Wayne, Indiana by Friday night; Sioux Falls, South Dakota Saturday night…….and roll into Sturgis like we own the bitch Sunday afternoon, the rally begins the next day. We’ll stay in/around Sturgis Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and take a couple day trips to Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands, Deadwood, SD, as well as any place I deem necessary to satisfy my immortal liver. Thursday, we’re done with the little whore known as Sturgis, and head west past Devil’s Tower and on to Yellowstone N.P. A day there and we’re headed south through Idaho destined for Salt Lake City, Utah. Eight days into it, time to think about heading east, down to Interstate 70 through Denver and onto Kansas. We’ll make a pit in St. Louis, Missouri and head southeast to the capital of the toothless (sorry Kim), Paducah, Kentucky, where we have friends (Leon’s in-laws), and free outhouses to stay in. From there, its 12 hours back to Northern Virginia that can be broken up into two days if necessary. All said, given 15 days, this trip should be cake, two weeks through 22 states. The longest riding day we’re looking at is the first Saturday getting from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 11 riding hours. Beyond that, the day/night can be as long or as short as we want it to be. Below is a list of the men and women (sex to be determined by their response to this email), that may be interested in going. On a serious note, the state of South Dakota and I will consider you legally bound heretofore, upon acceptance of the above mentioned agreement.

In other words, get off you dead asses and go to Sturgis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frank                                           Ron Two-Times

Pollock 2                                       Buck Naked

Frankie                                         Jimmy M

Fatty                                           Jim B

Nate                                            Ron G

Pollock 1                                       Kregg E

Mike (WVA)                                      Chester “Huck” H

Nick (WVA)                                      Gene W

Gollum                                          Jamie “I love the Taliban” W

Jamie F


Let’s ride.

lunch ride...

a couple weeks ago my neighbor, george, helped trim our hedges. guess i'm out riding too much or just too lazy. anyway, my wife talked him into trimming and shaping a couple of the hedges in front of our house. i don't know how it came up, but he said in return for trimming the hedges he wanted a ride on my bike. no problem with me, just another reason to ride - like i need one.

george said all he wanted was a ride around the neighborhood. problem is our neighborhood consists of all of two roads and one way in/out. i figured instead of riding from the end of one street to the other, turning around and repeating, we'd get out a little. i also knew george wouldn't want to go too far... george had a bike years ago and really enjoyed riding. he hasn't had a bike for a long time and he just wanted to get that feeling again... he wasn't looking for a day out or a longer ride - something short, to feel the wind again. so i decided to pick a place for lunch and ride there. i heard george wanted to try holden's barbeque, so holden's it was - and today was the day... holden's is close enough that it wasn't too long of a ride for george and long enough to at least get out there and feel the wind.

at 11:30 i rode up to george's house to pick him up. he comes around the corner with a big grin on his face. of course he goes through the normal, "we don't have to do this" banter. what george doesn't understand is i'm doing this for me as much as i'm doing it for him!!! we stand around the bike and george's wife takes a couple pictures of us. george was a little shocked and disappointed to learn north carolina has a helmet law. he was looking forward to riding lidless. in light of that, he chose the half helmet. we jump on the bike as his wife takes more pictures as we take off.

as we ride to holden's, george marvels in the beautiful day we have for riding and starts recalling the memories of his riding days. it's fun to listen to george. i smile as i realize the instant, unspoken bond between riders.

we pull up to holden's, george takes a look at the building and asks (again) about their barbeque. of course this place has good barbeque. look at the building, how would a place like this stay in business it if wasn't good. another sign is the parking lot is always full. i won't bore you with the details of our meal - suffice it to say the barbeque was excellent and we even decided to try the desert, a delicious coconut pineapple pie.

after eating, it was time to head back. of course i didn't take the most direct route home - i think george appreciated that. i know i could have ridden all day - if it wasn't for this pesky thing called work!!! anyway, i dropped george back off at his place. i think he enjoyed the ride. i got home, got off the bike and started thinking about my next ride - whenever that may be...

oh yeah, russell marlowe...

in an earlier post i mentioned that i would tell you about my experience meeting russell marlowe...

it started as i was looking at some of the bikes russell had on display at the rally in raleigh. as i'm looking at one of the bikes i hear someone say, "if you knew what i knew, you wouldn't be wearing that shirt." the comment caught my attention, so i look around to see who was talking. it was russell marlowe... and he was talking to me as i was the only one standing around. (if you read my earlier post, you will remember i was wearing my exile cycles shirt.) so i asked him what he meant by that - and he just repeated his comment. after making his comment, it was like i had to pry information out of him. he was being cryptic but his basic message was russell mitchell was not a very nice person. i told him i met russell mitchell at myrtle beach this summer and he seemed like a very nice guy - not that i thought i would convince russell marlowe. he said that a lot of the bike builders don't like russell mitchell - when they're all at an event, most of the bikers go out to eat together and russell mitchell is eating by himself.

so i turn the conversation to bike building, asking more about his bike without the down tube. as we talk, he tells me that he's turned down all these bike building shows; biker build-off, build-or-bust, etc. he said they were too commercialized for him. then he starts getting cryptic again and tells me about a tv show he's done that will be airing soon. he did this one because it's more educational. i asked him what he meant by more educational - more about actual bike building, the mechanics of a motorcycle, the history of motorcycles. he wouldn't elaborate. so again i was left feeling like a dentist, trying to pry information from him. after a couple more minutes of chit-chat, i moved on...

i guess i have mixed impressions of russell marlowe. he does some good bike building - several of his bikes have won competitions, including his latest without the down tube. while these new choppers aren't necessarily my style of bike, i can appreciate the creativity and effort that goes into building one of these bikes. props to anyone who can build a motorcycle - i hope to one day... i'm impressed by russell's ability to build a motorcycle. but as a person, i'm not so sure. i walked away wondering if his feelings have been hurt because he hasn't been on one of these national bike building shows and therefore isn't as well known... i don't know... and i guess it doesn't really matter to me...

contrary to what russell marlowe tried to tell me, when (or should it be if??) i finally get ready to build my own bike, i'll probably end up with one from russell mitchell/exile cycles. i like russell mitchell's style in bike building and for the brief time i talked to him, i like him...

sunday brunch ride

went out for a ride yesterday... what a beautiful day for a ride - i don't know if the weather could have been any better. cool, crisp, clean air; sunny skies - simply awesome.

the day started out as usual. got up early to get the sunday paper for my wife - as usual, i jumped on the bike. this was particularly good because the short trip to/from the store would help determine what i should wear for today's ride. i decided it was cold enough for my leather jacket but not cold enough for chaps... with it potentially getting warmer during the day, i decided to also bring a sweatshirt.

had another decision to make before i took off. i was originally planning to head to the ahdra races in rockingham. i had told ellen i would take her to the drag races. she was supposed to go with me last year, but since i didn't know what they were like, i went by myself. this year i was planning on taking her. friday i got an e-mail from jim saying there was a brunch ride on sunday... he didn't say where the ride was going, but with jim the rides are always good. so i asked ellen if she cared if we went to the races or not - she didn't have a preference. so, we decided on the brunch ride to parts unknown...

met up with jim, dave, mary, steve, jeff, jim and his wife at lucky32 for some brunch before riding. after some eating and chit-chatting, it was time to hit the road. jim finally revealed that we would be heading to southern pines via whispering pines and back roads. i wish that i could remember the route we took or even the roads we were on. what i really remember was riding in beautiful weather on two lane, twisty roads.

oh yeah - i do remember almost getting wiped out by a cage right after we started. i could see it happening. we were on the outer beltline; i was in the second to far left lane. we had just passed the six forks ramps and here comes a porsche. from the on ramp he takes the first right lane and then the second right lane without looking around. when get got into the second right lane, he was next to me. i quickly checked the left lane to determine if i could move into it. then i hit my horn a coupe times and revved the engine. it didn't do any good - this guy was in his own world. i'm staring down at his front left tire as i see it start to cross the white line into my lane. i quickly move into the left lane and pull even with his driver side door. i stare him down a bit and then move forward to rejoin the rest of the group. dave and mary were behind me. dave said as he went by the guy wouldn't even look at him - dave said he knew he screwed up. damn, you always have to be aware out there. i'm always riding like others don't see me or know i'm there - i guess this time it paid off.

about ten minutes after taking off, we had to stop for jeff to adjust something. we all just pulled over to the side of the road while jeff did whatever he was doing. when we started again, jeff and his wife must have turned around - don't know why, but i hope everything was okay.

as we're riding, i'm just enjoying the two lane roads, the weather, the scenery. riding on a day like this is just plain good for the soul. you can think about anything, everything and nothing, all at the same time. here i am, riding with friends, we're all together, but we're in our own little worlds. amazing how that works.

we stop for a quick break in sanford. jim asks if i've been this way before. nope. most of my rides have been north and east; this is the first ride south. he jokingly asks if i could find my way back. of course i can - maybe not on the roads we took, but i could get back home.

we jump back on the bikes and start the last leg of the journey to our destination - a coffee shop called frankie's coffee station in southern pines. by the time we reach frankie's, i've put about 110 miles on the bike. sure doesn't seem like it, on a day like that, i could have ridden a lot longer. frankie's is a quaint little place. it looks like an old house that has had the first floor turned into a coffee shop. you walk up some stairs to the porch of the house. there are a few tables and chairs on the porch - all being used by people enjoying their drinks, conversing with each other or reading books. when you walk into the house/shop you in another room filled with tables, chairs, couches, newspapers, books. again, people are talking, reading, playing board games. to the right is another room where the coffee drinks are ordered and made. they also sell snack type food - muffins, pastries, candy... i couldn't decide what to get. ellen had an italian soda. i finally decided on some iced coffee/chocolate milk drink advertised as a snickers. i have to admit, while it was very good, i can't say it tasted anything like a snickers. so our group takes over a room at the back of the house. more tables, chairs and a couch. this room also had a wood burning stove - although we didn't need it today. we must have spent forty five minutes to an hour, sipping our drinks, talking, joking laughing. then we decided to head back.

followed the same route back with one slight modification. on the way to southern pines, we ended up on a freshly paved road that had a lot of loose gravel. we decided to bypass that road on the way back. again a quick stop in sanford. this time dave and mary decided to head their own way. dave wanted to go out to the airport to see if he could maybe fly a little. so we say our goodbyes and head back to raleigh. on the way in town, we stop by susan's to say hi. it was too bad she couldn't ride with us today, but her daughter was in town and she was working on her house.

before we hit the road for the last leg home, i called my wife to find out what the dinner plans were. she decided to leave the up to us. she said when we got closer to home and stopped somewhere, give he a call and she'd let us know what she wanted. ellen and i decided to stop a mcdonalds. i wasn't going to order drinks, but i asked ellen what she thought. i asked her if she thought i could get the drinks home in the tour-pak if i put them in a drink carrier. ellen looked at me like i was crazy and offered to hold the drinks on the way home. hmmmmm - doesn't sound like much of a challenge to me. so in we go to mcdonalds to order food. i call my wife to finalize the fine dining arrangements. after placing our order, a young guy behind the counter starts asking about the bike. we talk about bikes - he seems to know a bit about them. he's about half way through getting our drinks when he turns around to us and asks how we're going to get the drinks home. i point to ellen. he turns to finish the drinks and quickly turns back around and asks how we're getting the food home. simple, i tell him, saddlebags. and the neat thing about the saddlebags is i can keep the food warm!!! so we hope on the bike, ellen with drinks in hand and me with drinks in my back. we made it home without spilling a drop.

what a great ride it was. we over 225 miles on the bike yesterday - sure didn't seem like it. great weather, great friends (as always). but you know, as great as it is to ride, it's always nice to get back home.

these next couple weeks are going to make for some great riding...

r/b/t module installation

installed the run/brake/turn signal module today... installation went quickly and smoothly - took less than ten minutes, including removing and replacing the seat. the toughest part of the installation was deciding where to locate the module. there really wasn't much choice, it was more a matter of placing it so the wires didn't get pinched by the seat pan and the module itself was secured.

the next decision is whether to replace the amber turn signal lenses with red ones. to meet DOT requirements/standards, the lenses are supposed to be red. i don't know how much hassle i'll get for leaving them amber... i may just find out...

additional lighting...

i've been a little concerned with the lighting on the rear of my bike - as in not enough of it...

right now, only the center brake light is on constantly. when i apply the brakes, the center (brake) light becomes brighter. the left/right turn signals only come on when i turn then on - the rest of the time they're off. right now, my main concern is riding at night. i'd like to have more lighting and thus (hopefully) more visibility. don't know how effective it would be, but at least i would feel a bit better.

initially i was looking to just add running light capability to the rear turn signals. when i first started searching, it seemed all i could find were modules that would add brake-only or run/brake/turn capability. the brake-only option lights up the turn signals lights only when the brake is applied. that didn't really solve the problem of adding more lighting to the rear of my bike. the run/brake/turn capability was more than i was looking for, but i couldn't seem to find a way to add just running lights. after thinking about it for a while, i decided that having the added brake lights couldn't hurt - in fact, they could only help... and wouldn't you know it, after resigning myself to the fact that i would have run/brake/turn lights, i stumbled across a couple modules that added only running light capability to the rear turn signals. but i decided to stick with the run/brake/turn signals. and i decided on the biketronics tailbones module.

so today i went by custom dynamics to pick up the run/brake/turn module. very good experience. the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. i really enjoyed talking to them, learning more about them and their business. i will definitely be using them for all my lighting needs. if you're in the market for lights for your bike, be sure to check them out. they have the cheapest prices i've found and are serious about customer satisfaction. now i've just got to get the module installed on the bike!!!