Jun 14, 2011
May 29, 2011
May 28, 2011
May 2, 2011
helmet legislation for nc motorcyclists…
if you live in north carolina and you to choose whether or not you wear a helmet, now is the time to take action…
house bill 392, permitting motorcyclists and passengers 18 and older to decide if they want to wear a helmet, was introduced march 17 and referred to the house transportation committee. the crossover date for the bill is may 12.
in an effort to help this happen, if you’re a north carolina resident, you should contact the committee chairs as well as your representative.
from the american motorcyclist association web site (linked above):
What is needed?
In order to advance, HB-392 must be called for consideration and passed out of the House Transportation Committee before the crossover deadline of May 12.
What can I do?
Contact the committee chairs to request HB-392 be taken up for consideration and voted favorably out of the House Transportation Committee.
How do I contact the committee chairs?
Rep. Frank Iler: 919-301-1450; email: Frank.Iler@ncleg.net
Rep. Grey Mills: 919-733-5741; email: Grey.Mills@ncleg.net
What should my message be?
Consider using the following talking points:
- 30 states already allow adult motorcycle operators and passengers to make their own decision with regard to motorcycle helmet use
- Motorcycle rider education and motorist awareness are the keys to reducing crashes involving motorcycles
- As a responsible adult, I’m already making adult decisions regarding my personal protective equipment needs
- Add any other personal reasons why motorcycling is important to you and why you feel that you, not the government, should make the decision regarding helmet use
Remember, May 12 is the deadline for advancing HB-392 to the full House for consideration. Take a few minutes NOW to make your voice heard on voluntary helmet use in North Carolina.
As a follow up, contact your representative to make your position known on voluntary motorcycle helmet use. If your representative is already signed on to HB-392 as a primary or co-sponsor, say “thank you.” If not, respectfully request he or she consider doing so. Mention that as a constituent and registered voter, why this is an important issue to you.
Don’t know who your representative is? Click here and enter your Zip code in the box under “Find Your Officials” to learn more.
get out and do your part…
Apr 15, 2011
Apr 2, 2011
amendment to end ban on youth motorcycles…
senator amy klobuchar recently introduced legislation, senate amendment 264, co-sponsored by senator jon tester, that would exempt youth off-highway vehicles from the consumer product safety improvement act (cpsia) of 2008.
call your senators and let them know you support sa 264. of course the american motorcyclist association is going to make this extremely easy for you. go to this form, enter your phone number and they’ll let you know who your senators are, how to contact them and some talking points.
the vote is supposed to take place this coming week so don’t waste any time contacting your senators.
Mar 4, 2011
mark your calendars…
on the heels of my last post and according to a rome news-tribune article, it looks like georgia is serious about setting up the motorcycle-only checkpoints. according to the article they have the budget to run six one-day checkpoints. about the only piece of good news to come out of this is the announcements of the date, times and locations for the first checkpoint:
- wednesday, march 9, 8am-5pm; interstate 75, southbound commercial vehicle inspection station in monroe county
- wednesday, march 9, 8am-5pm; interstate 95, southbound commercial vehicle inspection station in chatham county north of savannah
yesterday representative jim sensenbrenner (r-wi) introduced legislation to prohibit the secretary of transportation funding the motorcycle-only checkpoints. of course if you want to do something about it, head over to the ama web site, fill out the form and let your representative know how you feel…
Feb 22, 2011
daytona bike week…
with the daytona 500 behind us, we can start the countdown to bike week starting next weekend. are you planning on riding down there?? for once, the better option may be to trailer your bike!! that or detour around georgia through alabama to get there. why?? because georgia is planning to use some federal funds to set up motorcycle-only checkpoints during bike week.
according to this action alert from the ama, georgia might be taking new york’s lead in setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints. and as if that isn’t bad enough, they want to set them up during daytona bike week to target as many bikers as they can.
what can you do?? besides trailering your bike – which of course was only mentioned in jest. i, for one, would never suggest someone trailer their bike over riding. the best option is to follow the ama’s suggestion to contact governor deal. you can send him a prewritten letter. once you follow the link, click on the contact tab –> click on ‘web form’ (contact governor nathan deal via web form) –> select ‘please suspend grant to conduct motorcycle-only checkpoints’ and click next step. fill out your contact information and send it on its way.
the other option is to contact him directly from his web site. fill in the contact information, select ‘transportation’ for the category, and the message section. the ama suggests the text below for the message section. i also suggest leaving the ‘i just want governor deal to know my opinion so it will be counted’ unchecked. i know i want to get a response from him.
As a motorcyclist, I understand the Georgia Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a series of motorcycle-only checkpoints (MOCs). The NHTSA Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstrations grant is in the amount of $70,000 and Georgia is the only state to receive this grant for Fiscal Year 2010. I request that Georgia suspend the motorcycle-only checkpoint program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.
Specifically, how do MOCs increase the safety of motorcyclists? Where does Georgia draw their authority to conduct MOCs? Will "probable cause" be required to stop a motorcycle under the terms of this grant program? If so, what will constitute "probable cause?" What types of infractions will be recorded by law enforcement officials at these traffic stops? What criteria will be used to measure the success of the MOCs? And, do states have the jurisdiction to inspect vehicles registered in another state?
Again, please suspend this program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
hopefully with enough response no one will get hassled in georgia on their way to daytona… unless, of course, they deserve it!!
Feb 19, 2011
what a nice surprise....
Feb 2, 2011
day late…
ever wonder where the time is going?? time just seems to be flying lately. i realized it’s already february when i went to pay some bills this morning. which reminded me i needed to flip my waffle house and bike calendars over to february.
this month the waffle house calendar is giving me a free sausage biscuit. i ran out of time to use the free coupon for bert’s chili last month. i’ll be sure not to make the same mistake this month. i also have a coupon for a free waffle and i think they’re giving away something for valentine’s day. if i play it right, i can probably feed the whole family for free!!
my bike calendar is a free calendar i got from an attorney pushing his business. the calendar is supposed to be one of these bikes and babes calendars. the only problem is the models aren’t really babes. i’m wondering where they found these models. out of twelve of them only one is halfway decent. i seriously considered just leaving my calendar on that month for the whole year.
the calendar got me to thinking that either bikers will settle or my standards are a bit higher. i was talking to my wife about the quality, or lack thereof, of the models in the calendar. i don’t even know that many people but i could probably put a better calendar together…
Jan 26, 2011
it could be worse…
that’s the phrase my father-in-law responds with when someone is complaining about something. when he first said it to me i figured it was his polite way of telling me to stop whining. but knowing my father-in-law, he’d just tell you to stop whining.
what he is really doing is reminding us that we should be appreciative. now i resist the urge to immediately complain about something and i look at the positives in a situation. i’ve heard him use it enough that i’ve adopted the phrase as well. it helps keep things in perspective.
and that perspective really helped when i was riding on sunday. i remember several rides at the beginning of last year that were cold. temps for those rides were probably in the twenties and thirties. maybe forties.
sunday’s ride was in the upper thirties. but i actually felt warm. so warm that i removed my electric vest and switched out my electric gloves for my winter gloves. it felt great to be out riding, i was enjoying it so much.
perspective… perspective made the ride feel so good. and the reminder that it could be worse. and it was worse that morning when i met up with a fellow rider to head out to thomasville - in thirteen degree temps!! now that was cold…
Jan 11, 2011
Jan 3, 2011
first ride…
took the first ride of the year today. not the usual beginning-of-the-year lake loop that i’ve traditionally taken. today’s was just a short ride.
today’s ride had several purposes. first, and most importantly, was just to get out and ride again. the sun was finally shining and the temps were in the 40s – perfect for a nice january ride.
second reason for today’s ride was to test the new nolan helmet. i was a little concerned with the weight of the helmet. turns out it wasn’t a problem – i didn’t notice the weight at all. a quick note about new helmets, figure out where the vent adjustments are *before* you head out.
the best reason for today’s ride was to check out the contour gps video camera my wife gave me for christmas. i couldn’t wait to get home to see the results. and i was pleasantly surprised. the quality of the video is excellent. being able to watch the video, the speed and route is quite impressive. once i get the video edited and posted, i’ll share a link.
Jan 1, 2011
41073
starting a new year with 41073 miles on the bike… although i didn’t put as many miles on the bike towards the end of the year it was still a good year of riding. in addition to the usual trips around the lake and to the smoke out, i got in a trip to milwaukee as well as another saddle sore 1000.
this year i’m looking forward to the normal rides as well as spending a couple days at myrtle beach, at wilmington and hopefully another iron butt ride – maybe a butt burner 1500 this time. and some rides with my wife – i really enjoy the trips we were able to take last year.
if all goes well i’ll have some video footage of some of my rides – my awesome wife got me a portable video camera for the motorcycle. i attempted to test it out today but by the time i got my lazy butt around to securing the camera to the bike it started to rain. i bagged the ride today in favor of better weather (and a day off work) monday.
here’s looking to another great year of riding – see ya out there…