new google map...

so i've decided to play around a little and see what i can do about adding a google map ... this is/will most likely be a work in progress for the next couple days or so as i learn all the different functions/capabilities of the googlemap api. if i can get this working, i plan on making a map plotting our trip to sturgis this year - assuming i make the trip to sturgis!!!

anyway, here's the first map...

i would like to thank ron for his excellent post on getting google maps to work in blogger and some additional information i found here.

first ride - 2006

took my first ride of 2006 last night - not that i plan on keeping track of every ride i go on this year!!! since it was the first wednesday of the month, it was hog meeting time. i hadn't been on the bike in a couple weeks, so i was a little nervous - not sure why. maybe more cautious instead of nervous. anyway, it felt good to be on the bike. traffic wasn't bad, weather wasn't as cold as i had expected. it was just nice to be riding again.

hog meeting wasn't anything spectacular... never really are unless i win the 50/50 raffle. last night they had the head coach and a couple of players from the raleigh rebels. the rebels want to encourage participation from our local hog club. apparently before each home game, they're going to have five or six motorcycles from our club ride in. they're really trying to boost support for the rebels. and i guess since they are a new team, i can understand that. don't know if i'm much of an indoor football fan, but i can see attending a game or two.

after the coach spoke to us, it was the usually business - talking about the budget, upcoming rides, etc. then the 50/50 raffle. although i didn't win the big prize, $186, i did manage to win a bottle of champagne!! guess that's another bottle to add to my growing collection...

ride back was good. i rode back with hans, who lives about ten minutes from me. other than rides back from meetings, hans and i haven't been on any rides together. we've threatened to go on rides, but things just haven't panned out yet. we'll probably get something worked out for the spring or summer.

so, that's it. a quick recap of the ride last night. actually, less about the ride and more about other things, huh?? oh well...

ride on...

damn!!!

earlier (today) i was talking about becoming motorcycle instructor... well, this afternoon i got a call to attend a class in goldsboro. only problem is it's a monday through sunday class at the end of february. with all the other vacation plans i have for this year, i won't be able to attend this training... i hope turning down this running doesn't hurt my chances for another class.

8092

so, i'm beginning the year with 8092 miles on my bike... not as many miles as i thought; although i'm not sure how many miles i was expecting to put on...

my plans for riding this year include the usual brunch rides, a few trips to motorcycle shows and at least one rally. i also plan on becoming a motorcycle safety instructor, if i'm accepted (which i should learn later this month). i don't know how/why, but i'm thinking becoming an instructor will provide me more opportunity to ride. i'm not sure how much instructing i'll actually do - it probably won't be more than once a month, if that much.

i am planning on riding to sturgis or myrtle beach this year. right now, two factors will influence my ride to sturgis: 1) cost; 2) if someone can talk my wife into going to myrtle beach. if i don't make it to sturgis, i'll be at myrtle. i can't go to both myrtle beach and sturgis - too much time away from the family and time off work. so if my wife decides to go to myrtle, then that's where i'll be!! if not, and it doesn't cost too much, then i'll be riding out to sturgis.

i would really like to make the trip to sturgis - not so much to be at sturgis but for the ride back... my bro and his group are planning to beat feet to sturgis, stay a couple days and then spend the next week and a half riding back - hitting twenty two states in two weeks. sure, it'd be great to be able to look back on day and say i was at sturgis, but being on the road, riding through different states and towns is was gets me going. that's what i really look forward to... it would be even more awesome if i could take my wife along... it will be a few years before we'll be able to take a trip like that. i'm sure we will one day - and it will be more than worth the wait.

my wife has also talked about taking a vacation in the mountains this year. if we do that, which i really hope we manage to swing this year, i'd like to take my bike along. i've dropped hints to her but we'll have to see how that goes...

this year i also plan on doing some self teaching/learning. a guy in colorado developed a self-study course based on the harley davidson police motor course. it was pretty cool that he put it together and is willing to share it for the asking. when i get some free time on the weekends, i plan on running through the exercises. i've looked over the first couple of exercises and am mixed. i want the exercises to be easy. but if they were easy, i wouldn't learn and improve my skills. for example, part of the first lesson consists of only putting one foot down when stopping. one of my fears is dropping the bike when i only have one foot down. but i know it will only benefit me to be able to put one foot down when stopping. so, i'll have to work at it - and work at it quite a bit. with work, reward will follow...

so, those are some of my plans for this year. we'll see how things shape up...

ride safe...

2006 rides

once again, a map of the places i rode in 2006...

2005 rides

here are the non-brunch rides i went on in 2005. i think i got them all... whatever i didn't get will be added when i remember...

it happened again...

well, got a letter from the dealership... another discount offer. the odd thing about this one is that this offer is being given to me because i took the rider's edge class. that may not seem odd at first, but i took the rider's edge class well over a year ago. and they didn't offer me a discount last year because i took the class...

these two offers lately only make me feel the dealership is desperate to get me in there and spend money. i know in the winter sales slow down and they try to make offers to get people in. but come on, make me some good offers. 15% off doesn't make me want to rush down there and spend money - the harley stuff is expensive enough to start with. maybe if they were offering 50% off... is that too much to ask?? i might consider 35% off if there was something i felt i needed.

the funny thing is i still have fifty dollars to spend at the dealer. you'd think with the discounts, i'd be rushing in there... nope... oh well, guess i'll be passing on this offer too...

another ride...

wasn't planning on taking a ride yesterday - it just kind of happened... it all started with having to return a work shirt to exile. well, that and wanting to get our christmas (yes, i said christmas) cards in the mail. well, if i had to go out, might as well take the bike. it was sunny, in the low 50s... decided i didn't need the heated gloves, just the winter ones. also decided to wear the chaps. it wasn't going to be a long ride - just to the post office and back. i knew i wouldn't get real cold, but what the heck, why get too cold at all??

so i get everything all together and head out... well, i thought i had everything... forgot the letter to go with the shirt i was returning. it wasn't critical, but i did want to put a note in there. another dilemma - do i go around the "block" or do i make a quick u-turn at the intersection. i decided to make the u-turn because of time - not something i usually worry about on the bike... anyway, i approach the street, which is a left hand turn, where i'm going to make the u-turn. there was a cage behind me, but it was far enough behind me that i didn't feel pressure to go into the turn quicker than i wanted. however, as i started making my turn, i noticed a cage coming in the other direction. because i was watching where i was going, i wasn't able to determine exactly how fast the cage was coming. i did figure that if i made it through the turn quick enough, i would have enough time to continue without cutting the cage off or worrying about it riding up on my butt. well, the u-turn went very well. i was confident going into the turn and i walked through the steps in my head - i think that helped me execute the u-turn very well. once i completed the turn and was back on the road, i accelerated so that i wasn't a hazard to the cage. in didn't really matter though, because the cage was far enough away that it wasn't a factor. you know, it's making successful maneuvers like this that build up confidence in one's riding skills.

okay, so i make it back home, pick up the letter and head to the post office. the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. which i guess in certain terms is a good thing - it basically means that nothing bad happened on the ride. it was a great ride. nice cool temps - i was dressed appropriately for the amount of time i was out. if it would have been a longer ride, i would have definitely opted for the heated gloves.

now i'm thinking about my next ride... hopefully i'll get out this weekend. the temps are looking like high 40s / low 50s. but, most importantly, clear - no rain, sleet or snow. i'll be a little bummed if i don't get out this weekend as yesterday will have been the last ride of the year for me... it would be great to get one more ride in.

that's it for now...

no, no, thank you...

i got a christmas/thank card from my local dealership the other day... actually, it was probably a "holiday" card because they don't want to offend anyone by saying "christmas." what offends me are the people the don't have the courage to say christmas or merry christmas and the people who don't believe in christmas that don't have the self-esteem to just let it roll off... but that's a whole different diatribe that i won't go in to here...

so, about this card... as i mentioned, it was a thank you card as well. i guess they were thanking me for all the money i've spent in there for the overpriced goods... i know, i know - it's my own fault, i shop there, it's my money, i can spend it somewhere else if i don't like it. but i do fall into the trap and do spend my money there... damn!!! as part of the thank you, they included a card for 25% off leather good for the month of november and december. i have two basic problems with this card.... first, and most obviously, the promotion is about three-quarters over. now they send it to me!!! what happened to sending it out at the beginning of november when it would give me more of a chance to use it?? or maybe that was their plan; i wouldn't be able to take advantage of it. i was thinking about taking it in and asking if i could use it for january and february as it's pretty much done now - but i don't think it's worth my time...

the second problem i have with this is its too late!! a little over a week ago i spent close to two hundred dollars buying heated (leather) gloves. it would have been nice to save some money. and i guess if i would have shopped around, i could have saved - but a lack of planning on my part constituted me spending full price. a purchase i don't regret after riding in the cold... i thought about taking the discount card in and asking for the discount on the gloves - but again, i don't know if it's worth my time. let's see, fifty bucks... it probably is worth my time. okay, chalk this one up to laziness.

so i ended up tossing out the note and the discount card... doubt i'll buy anything before the card expires!! at least anything leather... for myself...

ride on...

hog meeting...

rode to the hog meeting last night... it was a cold night - not as cold as it could have been, but cold enough... my new electric/heated gloves have either made me brave or crazy. actually, whether i had the gloves or not, i would have most likely ridden to the meeting last night. now january or february might have been a different story.

i had to stop for gas on my way to the meeting. good thing i had to stop, i forgot to plug my gloves into the battery before taking off. i didn't realize that until i was about three minutes into the ride. i guess i would have pulled over and plugged them in if i didn't have to stop for gas. anyway, i get to the station and pump gas. it wasn't as cold as i had anticipated - at least on the ride there. the ride home may be a different story. after pumping the gas, i put my helmet on, jump on the bike and start putting my gloves on. as i look up, there's a guy on the opposite side of the pump i was using peering his head around at me. as we make eye contact, he starts shaking his head. he comments that it must be cold on the bike. of course, since i was pulling on my gloves i held up a glove and said the beauty of electric gloves. he said something about it still being too cold to ride. i just said it was better than being in a cage... we said our goodbyes and i took off for the meeting.

the ride to the meeting was pretty uneventful. something i noticed on the last ride to the meeting that i confirmed last night - part of the ride is definitely warmer than other parts. and this makes total sense... the stretch of road is capital boulevard between 540 and 440. it's so congested with stores and traffic. it really isn’t surprising that it's warmer along this part of the road. i guess what i find surprising is how much warmer. but maybe that has to do with the fact that it's just so much more densely populated and the traffic never continuously moves. so we don't get as much chance to get cold like we would if we kept moving. who really knows?? just something i did notice again while riding...

we had a full agenda at the hog meeting. lots-o-money going to charities, more charities than i can remember in one evening. we probably had at least eight charities and two or three weren't even there. the charities are a good thing. they are very thankful for our help. sometimes i think an organization like ours should actually be giving more - the standard amount seems to be a thousand dollars. but then i think of the number of charities we give to. the charities seem to be really appreciative of the donations. so maybe one thousand dollars is good - and by giving that much, we can give to more... anyway, it's really a good part of the meeting to watch the donations being made.

the other big agenda item was voting for new members for the board. correction, new member... everyone except the director ran unopposed. i thought about running for a position but i don't know that i would be able to commit the time right now. plus i'd probably lose - not too many people know me and these things are usually a popularity contest. so we have a new director...

the other highlight of the meeting was winning the fifty dollar gift certificate!!! yup, i won the gift certificate tonight. everyone who goes to the meeting is entered. tonight was my night... the club also does a 50/50 drawing that we always enter. my wife and i both throw in five bucks and we get twenty tickets for the raffle. we've been pretty successful at the 50/50. twice, maybe three times, we've won the pot - each time over a hundred bucks. lost count of the number of t-shirts and hats i've won. won a six-pack of beer once too... anyway, that's another fun part of the meeting - the anticipation and excitement of watching and matching your numbers as they're called out. of course the more numbers they call and you match, the more excited you get. of course there's also the disappointment when you've matched the first five numbers called but not the sixth!!! i've had the happen too... last night i wasn't even close on any of the 50/50 numbers. but i matched all six for the gift certificate. and when i match then all and stand up and say something like yeah, i got it, there's a moment of fear... fear that i've transposed my numbers and someone else it actually going to win. but then winning wouldn't be the bad part - it would be my embarrassment over having to sit back down after announcing that i was the (wrong) winner. i think i've seen it happen before and everyone just laughs and no one takes it seriously, but there's still that moment of fear...

the ride home was a little colder, but not as cold as i had anticipated. don't know if it was because i was anticipating it or if it just wasn't really that cold. or the fact i had my gloves cranked all the way up... don't know why i cranked them, i guess i just wanted to see how hot (warm) they may get. unlike before, when i had the thermostat set in the middle and my hands didn't get cold (as opposed to actually feeling warm), i could feel the warmth on my hands and fingers. it was neat actually feeling the warmth. although i don't think i would want this on longer rides - i think my hands would start sweating... but last night it was good...

to draw my ride to a close, i had some a$$hole cage run up on me - enough so that i was starting to reach into my pocket for the marble... i was approaching my turn off capital and was cruising about 62-63 in the left lane. apparently this wasn't fast enough for the cage and he thought i should be in the right lane. i don't know how close he got to me, but it was very close - i could have easily hit his windshield with the marble. i guess he figured he could force me over to the right lane by riding up on me. when people do this it really pisses me off, there was no one in the right lane, why couldn't he just use the right lane to go around me?? but obviously if he isn't smart enough to stay off my butt, he's not smart enough to use the right lane. like i said, i started reaching in my pocket for the marble when he suddenly pulls into the right lane and starts passing me. then his final act of stupidity is to swerve back over into the left lane, nearly hitting my front tire. what an a-hole!! as soon as he gets in front of me, the light in front of us turns red. so he has to stop (there's another cage in front of him) and i pull into the left turn lane. as i was approaching him i was wishing my balance and skills on the bike were a little better - i was thinking of kicking his door as i went by. instead i just glared - but i don't think he noticed. anyway, these people just really piss me off...lucky for me that i'm aware of my surroundings and i ride like i'm invisible - this guy definitely wouldn't have cared if he hit me... oh well - i was aware and i made it home safe...

so that's the tale of another ride... peace...

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...