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!!!

market square...

went downtown to market square for the rally in raleigh saturday... wasn't sure what the weather was going to do - it was calling for scattered showers during the day. when i took off at 11:00AM the sky was cloudy. since it looked like it might rain, i threw on my rain jacket for the ride down - figured i didn't want to start the day out wet...

on the ride downtown i didn't see a single bike - not one!!! i was starting to wonder if maybe they canceled the rally (which i knew they wouldn't) or if maybe there was a lack of interest because of the weather. as i pulled up to market square i finally saw a bike - parked in the bike only parking lot. so i parked my bike next to it and started walking around.

for an event that was supposed to start at 10:00AM i was really surprised a lot of vendors were still setting up around noon. i realize they probably got a late start because of the weather, but this late?? guess it didn't matter too much though; there weren't a lot of people walking around.

along a couple of the streets they had the usual vendors hawking jewelry, leathers, helmet stickers, hats, clothes, lights, you name it... there was one guy there that was selling motorcycles made from wire.it was pretty neat. i would have picked one up but it seemed too expensive for my blood.as you can see, fifty bucks for a small motorcycle - add thirty if you want a gecko!!!

after walking through the street vendors i decided to check out the bike builders. while i can appreciate all the creativity and talent that goes into creating these new, sleek choppers, i don't think i would really want one.

as i was walking around, the one below caught my eye. you'll notice there is no down tube on the bike... in case you don't know, the down tube provides strength and stability to the frame. other bikes have been built without down tubes, but i guess because of the other modifications that have to be made to the frame to accommodate for the lack of a down tube, they're not real popular. i ended up talking to russell marlowe for a couple minutes - he's in the background of the picture and the builder of the bike. i'll post later about my conversation and impression of mr. marlowe.

i decided to check out the ride-in bike show. i know it was still early and bikes were still entering, but there were about twenty bikes in the show already. there were all sorts of bikes, some stock, some modified, some completely built from the ground up. of all the bikes there, i was most impressed by this one. it's called "Gold School" and was built by hank thibodeau from a '79 Gold Wing!!! i ended up talking to hank for a couple minutes about the bike. this bike has a little bit of everything - honda (obviously), harely, yamaha, suzuki... i think he even said it has car parts from honda, mazda, vw... amazing... after seeing this bike, it didn't seem like any of the other bikes in the show were even worth looking at!!!

after checking out the bikes in the show, i figured i'd seen about everything there was to see, so i figured i'd head home... decided to grab a quite bite to eat before jumping on the bike. as i was sitting at a table, munching down a hot dog and gulping down a mountain dew, three guys sat down at the table with me. one guy asked if i worked for exile cycles. that was the second comment i got about the exile shirt i was wearing - the first being from russell marlowe, which i will tell you about in a later post... anyway, it turns out these guys run a web site called no rules riders. the site is put together for people who like to ride for the freedom or riding. check it out... i'll probably end up riding with these guys some time...

so, after about two or three hours at the rally, i was back on my bike heading home... can't say i was totally impressed. maybe it was the weather, maybe it was because it was the first year. maybe it will get better. i will say i'm glad i didn't travel a long distance to get here - i would have been totally disappointed!!!

okay - that's it...

rally in raleigh...

well, the first rally in raleigh starts tonight and runs through tomorrow. wouldn't you know it; we've been in need of rain for a long, long time. and now that's all we're getting. to top it off, we're supposed to get rain through the weekend. i'm sure this rain is putting a bit of a damper on the festivities.

i was, and am still, planning on attending tomorrow. the only way i wouldn't attend is if it's raining so hard that riding isn't safe. otherwise, i'll probably head down there for at least a couple hours to see what it's all about. look for pictures...

last night's ride...

went out for a ride just before sunset yesterday... it rained earlier and was threatening rain when i left. the roads weren't too bad - a little wet but not enough to splash up a lot of mist, water and dirt. my main concern when riding are the cages - i'm never sure they're aware of my presence. and when the weather is like it was last night, i'm even more concerned about them. i ride assuming they don't know i'm there, waiting for them to cut in front of me or switch into my lane. so i'm watching the cages more, looking forward, looking left, looking right, looking behind - you have to be aware that they'll come from anywhere... as i'm scanning my environment, i look back in my left mirror - in it is a rainbow. i look again to confirm the rainbow, as i do, i feel a sense of relief, some of the stress seems to melt away, the ride becomes a lot more enjoyable.

i've never seen a rainbow while on the bike. i kinda of wish i had my camera with me. although that would have presented another set of obstacles. i would have to pull over to get the camera - which wouldn't be easy in traffic. then i'd have to position the bike just right to get a picture of the rainbow in the mirror... i guess some things are better left to memory...

Gary Woodford

i was watching an episode of Southern Steel last night and learned that Gary Woodford, of Milwaukee Iron, passed away.



when i saw the credit last night dedicating the show to him, i felt a sense of loss. i don't really know much about him, pretty much that he's one of the three primary builders at milwaukee iron. i've been watching southern steel for about a year and really only know him from what they show on the program. but i liked what i was able to learn about gary, as well as lee and randy. i liked the interaction they had with each other. i liked the way gary never seemed to let things get to him - he always took things in stride. he really seemed to enjoy life, knowing what was important and what wasn't.

i'm assuming the above is a picture of gary in younger years - i think you can see his sense of humor in the photo...

i got to see gary, lee and randy earlier this year at the easyrider show in charlotte, nc. i didn't know much about them and didn't really take the opportunity to talk to them other than to say hi and i liked the bikes they build. i wish i would have talked to them more. in case you don't know, from the very left (to right) it's gary, lee and randy. the others in the picture are just spectators.

this is the build they were building in the show they dedicated to gary.



there's a memorial service for gary on october 29 and 30 in lynchburg, va. the memorial will be held at rubs restaurunt in lynchburg. i'm going to try to be there the 30th.

Peace Gary...

fall is approaching...

took my usual sunday morning ride to pick up the paper... i knew it would be a bit cool out, so i threw a long sleeve thermal shirt over my t-shirt. took off and noticed it was a bit chillier than i expected!! if i was going for a longer ride, i would have turned around and got my coat. maybe even my chaps... ahhhhh, the days of riding in hot, humid weather is over - at least for a while. as i'm riding i can fell the cold on my arms and the chill in my chest, making me shiver slightly every now and then.

on the ride home, i got to thinking about riding in winter, when the temps are in the 30s... i know i'll be wishing to be only as cold as i think i am right now. if i can get/stay as warm (or as cold) as i think i am right now - i'll have it made.

at least the good news is that i have a couple weeks, hopefully months, or nice riding weather...

maybe i really don't care...

so two weekends ago i added a clock to my bike... i was worried that i might start paying more attention to the clock and worrying about getting to my destination...

ended up taking about a 200 mile ride sunday... i'm happy to say that the clock didn't become a distraction - in fact, i probably looked at it less than i thought i would. i can remember looking at it as we were heading out of the parking lot after brunch. what's funny is that i don't remember what time is was - i want to say noon. during the ride, i remember looking at it one or two more times. again, i don't remember the time, although i think it was 3:00pm when i looked one time...

soooo, it's a relief to know that having the clock on my bike isn't a distraction. i wasn't too keen on the thought of removing, especially after buying it!! so the clock can stay...

200 miles there and back...

took off yesterday for another great ride... the temperature was perfect for riding with a short-sleeve shirt - not too hot, not too cool. sky was slightly overcast, so we didn't get beat up by the sun. started by meeting a couple of the "regulars" for brunch at lucky32. after eating and chatting, we took off for points north. we started north of raleigh and headed to louisburg via 401. after a quick stop for fuel in louisburg, we headed up 561 to 4 to lake gaston.

as we're riding, i'm thinking these roads look familiar. i can't quite place them... i'm fairly sure i've never ridden my bike along these roads - but why else would i have been out here?? we finally pass a sign - medoc mountain, 5 miles. of course, these are the roads we took when we went camping with the boy scouts last fall. i remember now that while we were camping, there was another couple camping. they were traveling by motorcycle. what a fun trip that would be - sure, it would be rough, but it would be quite an adventure.

finally we make lake gaston. jim's friend, brian, has a house on the lake. what a host - as soon as we pulled up on our bikes be was inviting us in, breaking out drinks - very gracious. we visited, talking bikes, boats, jet skis, rc planes - just hanging out on his dock. must say i was very disappointed the battery in my camera was dead. (note to self - recharge all batteries the night before - never assume the batteries are charged. a lesson i should really know!!!)

after about an hour, it was time to head out and let brian and his family get their peace back... after heading north and getting lottery tickets in virginia, it was time to head back... we took 48 back to 561 through louisburg. on the other side of louisburg we stopped to split up and say goodbye. some were heading further south while the rest of us were starting west. the last leg of the journey was nice, but too short. i was home before i knew it...

200 miles in a leisurely day. not bad. although i could have ridden longer, it was nice to get back home to the family.

does anybody know what time it is??

...does anybody really care?? apparently i do...

one of the things i noticed and i like about being on the bike is that mileage and time don't really seem to matter... when i'm taking a longer trip in a cage, it seems i'm always looking at the mile markers on the side of the road, the odometer and the clock in the cage and calculating how much longer i have until i get to my destination... when i'm on the bike, i don't do this. about the only time i really pay attention to the odometer on my bike is for maintenance and sometimes to calculate gas mileage, although three quarters of the time i forget to do that!! i think it's rooted in the "journey" concept and i'll get there when i get there...

but yesterday, having a harley certificate waiting to be spent, i bought a clock for my bike... i've toyed with the idea of buying a clock for a while and since it was about the only thing within the price range of the certificate that i could get, i decided to get it...

after mulling over three locations for the clock, i finally decided to mount it to the underside of the left grip.

i haven't had a chance to take a longer ride with it yet, but i'm not sure i really like it... i guess it's okay - it looks nice on the bike. as my wife reminded me after seeing it mounted - it's more stuff for me to keep clean on the bike... great, i already spend enough time cleaning the bike... so now i'm wondering if i'm going to become more concerned with time while i'm riding... will it pressure me to push a little harder to get there if i'm running late?? even when i don't have to be there on time, will i start watching it more, missing out on some of the scenery while i'm riding?? maybe if i'm running early, it will encourage me to take a little more time, take a different, longer road home...

guess i'll just have to get out on the road and find out...

old v. new

so i mixed a little pleasure with business today. i had to go out to roxboro today and decided to take the bike... this road seems to be a regular route for me now - it seems that all my longer trips lately have involved this path.

the roads are pretty much two lane country roads, mostly old farm land, some still active. as you take these roads you see old dilapidated homes and trailers, some still being lived in, some abandoned years ago. i've often wondered what happened to the people/families that used to live in the now empty homes. what did they do when they lived there?? were they happy?? i'm thinking most of them used to be farmers. were they successful?? or did their farms lose so much value that they had to give it up, living their final days in poverty?? it makes me sad to think they may not have lived their final days happily.

the road is also mixed with subdivisions filled with new, sometimes expensive houses. and there are signs of more subdivisions coming. old farms for sale to builders or farms staked out with lots for sale individually. what do these people do?? certainly not farmers. do they commute in to work?? or do they work from home?? i can see why people would move out to this area - it's so beautiful. and probably cheap - at least cheaper. still mostly farm land, not a lot of congestions, with the exception of the subdivisions, you have some room between your house and your neighbor's.

i've seen this before. but today i start thinking about the old and the new. the urban sprawl seems to be taking over the once beautiful country side. how much longer until the farm land and country houses and barns are replaced with subdivisions and shopping centers?? until this area is just considered another suburb or raleigh or durham?? or both?? the two lanes become four lanes or six lanes?? the countryside isn't so quiet any more, isn't so peaceful.

okay - so this is change i can see happening now. i start thinking even further into the future. what happens when the new becomes the old?? what will replace the subdivisions and the shopping centers and the six lane roads?? what will be the "new"?? and will it seem better at the time?? will it be better?? is it better now?? i don't know...

journey v. destination

on the way home from my ride to the races, i was having the classic journey v. destination debate in my head...

for me, it always seems to be more about the journey. heck, i've been on rides where we didn't even get to our destination, but the ride was still great because of what we did end up seeing or doing...

after being at the races, seeing and doing all there was to do, i was wondering if this trip was different - was this one more about the destination and not the journey?? the ride out to vir was great, and the ride home was very pleasant. but i had such a great time at the races...

then i asked myself, would i have had as good of a time if i had gotten there by cage?? no came to my mind pretty quickly. okay, would i have had as good a time if i rode up there and come home without seeing the races?? maybe...

so, for me it seems the journey still edges out the destination. the destination can certainly enhance the journey, as it did in this case. but i think the journey always enhances the destination.

ride safe...