Aug 21, 2007

17500 service...

here i am, taking the bike in for it's 17500 mile service - hard to believe. although it actually has closer to 18300 miles... it's been a very frustrating adventure - if i can call it that...

started out with the ride in - traffic wasn't too bad with the exception of one or two cages. since i was riding in the morning commute traffic, i was expecting to see (and avoid) a few bozos. they're usually easy to spot: reading the paper, on the cell phone, putting make-up on, shaving, still rubbing their sleepy eyes, trying to drink their hot coffee without spilling it in their laps, etc - we've all seen them... i'm cruising down the road - keeping with traffic but keeping a margin around me. then i get some asshole riding my tail. i've got nowhere to go - i'm in the left lane, cages to the right, cages in front. it's not like i'm holding traffic up. and he's got to be riding on my rear wheel. i tried looking back at him, thinking it might make him realize - nope, that didn't work. if i slowed any, he got closer. not what i needed this morning. eventually he was able to weave in and out of traffic and get in front. funny thing is i passed him a little later on. seems his cutting in and out of traffic got him stuck in a slow lane.

i make it to the dealership and talk to the service doods. seems my preferred customer plan has run out. last month!!! i explain to service dood that i called last month, explained that i was close to the 17500 mile service, had about 17200 on the clock, and was planning a trip. the trip would take me over the 17500, closer to 18000+. would that be a problem. they told me it wouldn't be a problem - besides, they were booked and wouldn't be able to get my in before the trip anyway. long story short - took trip, got fender fixed, called to schedule service, couldn't get me in for two weeks. i'm arguing they should give this service to me. i also throw in the fact that i thought the preferred program was until 2011 - that's what it has printed on my card, and i show handy dandy card. service dood explains that the program wasn't explained clearly and a lot of customers have that confusion. then it hits me - what about the rental bike?? that's usually included - now i'm going to have to pay for that too... he says hold on, he'll talk to a couple people and see what he can work out.

one thing i will mention, the service people at the dealership are super - they really go out of their way to help out. and this dood was certainly doing what he could to take care of me.

he comes back a little later and tells me the rental is taken care of. at least i can get home without a lot of hassle. he says he's still checking on the service and has to wait for someone else to come in. he says that no matter what, he's still going to service my bike as a preferred customer - prompt service, bike cleaning, etc. he preps the bike and i wait.

he comes back and tells me that i can renew my preferred customer plan. he quotes me a price and tells me what i've already saved being a member of the plan. without going into exact numbers, it's saved me over seven grand. i have to admit - it's been a great plan. i just wasn't expecting to drop that much money today.

now i have to go talk to underwriter dood. main dood isn't there, so i have to talk to assistant dood. he doesn't seem too friendly and quotes me a price twice as much as service dood. i about fall out of my seat. i tell him that's not what i was quoted. he asks if i talked to main dood. i tell him i talked to service dood who talk to someone else - that's how i got the price. in addition, i wasn't expecting to drop that kind of money and wouldn't be able to pay today. we work it out so that i can pay when i pick up the bike.

i get the rental bike and start my venture home, not happy... on the way home, some woman decides to try to run me out of my lane. she was oblivious to the fact that i was even on the road. i'm in the middle lane, a cage in front, a cage to the right, this woman to the left and, thankfully, someone not too close behind. the woman in the left just starts coming into my lane. i can't go into the right lane and i can't speed up past her. i start hitting the brakes and the horn, quickly moving to the right portion of the lane to avoid her running into me. i was able to slow down enough that by the time she was fully in my lane, i was behind her. i don't think she ever knew i was there - even after that little mishap. today's a day i'd be happy to park the bike and wait for another day to ride...

here's a pitcure of the rental bike i got this time - a 2007 softail custom. rides smoothly. i like the lower seating position. i don't like the position of the forward controls - they need to be out a little further for my liking.



Aug 20, 2007

another ride...

finally got out for a longer ride yesterday... it was between riding and cleaning - and believe me, my bike is pretty dirty right now. so instead of sitting around cleaning most of the day, i decided to ride. the other factor is that i'm taking it in for service tomorrow and they usually clean the bike for me. might as well let them do it and i'll enjoy riding. so off we went, destination: no where in particular.

i did say we - my father-in-law and me. i need to come up with a good nickname for him - i don't want to keep typing father-in-law. sometimes i call him old man, but that seems to be a bit cliche-ish. sometimes it's gramps. who knows, i'll come up with something...

i really enjoy riding with him. he loves to ride and is eager to head anywhere - except interstates. but that's just his style - he doesn't want to be on interstates even in his cage. he's fun to ride with - no matter where we go, where we stop, he's got something to say to someone. i know i'll have a day filled with laughs when i'm riding with him.

as usual, it was a good ride. i plotted the route to take us around a big circle. he wanted to stop at the lake, so i put that in. what i didn't realize at the time was how big i made the loop - guess i wasn't zoomed in as much as i thought i was. the only real problem with the longer ride today was he was riding home today - about a two hundred and fifty mile ride. i was worried the back-to-back long rides like that may be a bit much for him to handle.

anyway, off we went. ride was nice - found some new roads. spotted some places i should have pulled over and taken some pictures. gives me a reason to go back... while it was nice to ride, it was also good to get home - it was hot!!! one of those days you needed to keep moving. total ride came out to about one hundred and fifty miles - all but about twenty of it on two lane roads.

you can see the route we took on the ride map - this one in orangish red...

and here's one of the few pictures i got...

Aug 18, 2007

rocky mount...

in an effort to catch up on some of the rides i've taken...

back in may, i rode out to rocky mount... my brother and the guys were heading to myrtle beach for bike week and they overnight in rocky mount. since it's not too far from the house, i decided to ride out and see what's up... of course, i would have liked to have been going to bike week with them, but i was leaving sunday for a week in columbia, south carolina. i think if it would have been closer, i would have tried to make it out to myrtle beach one night - but that never happened.

i ended up spending the night in rocky mount and headed back saturday morning. i made an early start back on saturday, leaving before most of the guys were up. but it's probably a good thing, because it would have taken me forever to get out of there otherwise...

it was a nice ride out to see my brother - and i think he was a bit surprised to see me...

you can check out the 2007 ride map to see the route - this one in purple...

Aug 14, 2007

finally...

...got the bike back together and took it out for a ride. a very short ride, mind you - around the "block" which included a stop for gas. took it easy leaving the neighborhood mostly because i wanted to make sure the front brake was working before i got too far or too fast. by the time i got to the top of the neighborhood, i was fairly confident everything was back in working order - so off to enjoy the (short) ride...

it was great to be back on the bike again - even if it was less than thirty minutes. there's also something to be said for just having the bike in working/riding condition. even though i didn't have much time to ride while i had it apart, just knowing i couldn't take it out didn't feel right. it doesn't really matter if you have the time to ride or not, it's about being able to ride. and when you can't, it's a bummer.

Aug 13, 2007

the state of things...

well, it's been a while since i've posted... doesn't mean i haven't been out and about - just not taking the time to post... although lately i haven't been able to do much riding since my fender is under repair...
you'll find out more about what happened when i recap the trip to the smoke out in june. over the next couple days i also hope to post about the ride to the tail of the dragon, down to south carolina, rocky mount and maybe some others...

until then, peace...

May 2, 2007

msf videos

i did a quick search on youtube and found the videos from the msf... for being motorcycle safety awareness month and promoting videos on youtube, i was a little disappointed to only find three videos from the msf. you can find all three videos here... this is the only one i've watched so far:

May 1, 2007

motorcycle awareness month

today kicks off motorcycle awareness month. seems like the amount of effort being put into actually raising awareness varies from state to state. some states are going all out - well maybe not all out, but they seem to be making some effort. other states don't seem like they're doing anything.

the ama and msf are putting together a campaign to raise awareness. the ama has a humorous video on their web site. the msf is supposed to be putting videos up on youtube. i'll have to see if i can locate them...

the msf has come up with five rules for staying safe - actually ten rules, five for a motorcyclist and five for cages. here they are:

motorcyclists
  • get trained and licensed - take an msf ridercourse and get licensed by the department of motor vehicles
  • wear protective gear - wear proper protective riding gear, most importantly a helmet made to department of transportation standards
  • ride unimpaired - ride unimpaired, never drinking or using other drugs before getting on a motorcycle
  • ride within your limits - stay within your personal limits, never riding faster or farther than your abilities can handle
  • be a lifelong learner - be lifelong learners, regularly returning for refresher riding courses


cages
  • look out for motorcyclists - use your eyes and mirrors to see what’s around
  • don't be distracted - hang up and drive, put down the food, the pet, the personal grooming gear, the cd, and the reading material and save it for later
  • give two-wheelers some room - don't tailgate or get too close side-by-side
  • use your turn signals - signal your intentions. it's also the law
  • keep it in the car - don’t throw trash and cigarettes out the window, and securely lash down cargo that can fall out on the road and be a deadly hazard


there ya have it...

ride safe...

Apr 30, 2007

yikes!!!

guess it's been a while since i've posted - too long... instead of sitting here making excuses, i'll just say i've been busy - extremely busy. which has also affected the amount of time i've had to ride. i've been getting some riding in, although it hasn't been as much as i wanted.

i've been on a couple rides - most just short rides around here. the one most worth noting is probably taking my sister-in-law for a ride... she and her son were visiting for a drum-line competition and she stayed with us. she's ridden before and has been contemplating getting back into it. she also has a early 70s honda 350 that needs repairs and is another story... we were talking about motorcycles and riding and, of course, she wanted a ride.

we hopped on the bike and i took her for about a forty-five minute ride around the area - avoiding traffic and sticking to two-lane twisty roads. i think she was pretty excited and enjoyed the ride. i think it confirmed for her that she wanted to get back into biking.

since the alst time i've written, i also had the 15,000 mile service done on the bike. some people would consider that average mileage, some low mileage. i'm impressed by the number of miles on it. to me, i just never really imagined putting that many miles on my bike. and it makes me think about putting 50k or 100k on the bike. it'd be neat to put 100k on it. it's working out to about 5k a year. and each year i say i'm going to put more miles on. this year, i think i will...

i took the bike in to the dealer for the service. because of the time crunch i was in at work, i decided to leave it there and pick up a loaner. what a great deal and chance to try out a different bike. this time, i got an '07 fat boy.


it was a fun bike to ride. i liked the new engine - it definitely had more get-up-n-go. i'm sure part of it was the lighter weight of the bike (compared to mine) and the larger engine. i also like the seating position on the bike. of all the bikes i've gotten while mine has been serviced, i think this has been my favorite. i wish i would have had more time to ride it around.

one final note, which may seem like an odd place to post this but is connected to motorcycling, i got a lesson in pre-judging people. while i try not to do it, sometimes it just happens - i think we all do it. i came across a guy, a guy in his 50's, that could barely read and write. i started thinking to myself, how could someone get by in life barely being able to read and write?? why wasn't he motivated enough to make more of/for himself?? i just don't understand it. after working with him for two days, i had the opportunity to sit down and have a real conversation with him. he opened the door by saying, you know, i used to be able to read and write really well. back in the 70s, he was in an accident that left him paralyzed, basically a vegetable. doctors said he would never be able to walk again. here is today, walking around - you'd never know he was ever in a wheelchair or an accident. and he's progressed far enough to not only walk, but learn to ride a motorcycle. i had a brand new respect for him - and a little bit of embarrassment for myself because i was quick to jump to conclusions. looking back, i wish i would have gotten some contact information from him to stay in touch with him...

peace...

Feb 19, 2007

mc expo...

went to the northeast motorcycle expo this weekend... overall, the expo was okay... from a show perspective, they had a lot of variety in vendors - harley, ducati, honda, victory, suzuki, and some customs. they also had the usual merchandise vendors - leathers, parts, trailers, shirts, etc. sometimes it just seemed so chaotic there. but what really made it fun was my brother and in-laws decided to go with us.

i have to admit, the main draw of the expo, for me, was russell mitchell of exile cycles. i've always been a fan of his building style. so, when i have the chance to meet and talk to him, i try not to pass up the chance. of course i probably end up sounding like babbling idiot...

while i was talking to russell, he mentioned that he's heading down to daytona bike week to build another bike in a week. he said they're going to be taping the build for a show on tlc. wish i could remember the name of the show - it's supposed to air in april. anyway, he's building the bike for john mellencamp. after the build, john and russell are supposed to head off on a ride to the keys. damn - this makes me want to head to bike week even more... not to be this year, though. or for several years most likely...

one of my favorite bikes of russell's is the rx-streetfighter. if i had the cash - which i never will - this is one bike i would love to have...






one of the ducati dealers had the new 1098 at the show. pretty cool looking bike. was nice to actually see one after reading all the raving reviews.



what i can't figure out is what's leaking of of this bike....



saw a couple other "rides" that look like they might be fun to own...




not really much else to report from the show...

Feb 15, 2007

more on billy lane...

been a while since i've posted... guess it's been a while since i've ridden too - since my last post. doesn't mean things haven't been going on - just haven't posted about them. i guess i'll be covering them in the next couple of posts...

first thing i want to cover - well, not necessarily the first - but it's the one i'll start with, is billy lane. just came across this article at www.floridatoday.com. it doesn't seem like this case will ever end. but i guess it's getting closer now that a date has been set. but this is only the civil case. a date for the criminal case has yet to be set. from the article, a date may be set on march 23.

i'm not sure why billy doesn't own up to the fact that he was at fault and face the consequences. one argument is that our criminal justice system is based in the belief that you're innocence until proven guilty. so billy is going to make the state prove he's guilty. makes sense. but it is the right thing to do?? if they do in fact prove his guilt - will be appeal?? i'm sure he will - thus dragging the process on even longer.

i can understand the family's civil suit against billy lane - recoup loss of earnings, pain and suffering, etc. but i'm not sure i agree with including daimlerchrysler. to me, billy should be held solely responsible for his actions. he's the one that was drinking, he's the one that got behind the wheel, he's the one that crossed the double yellow. should daimlerchrysler be held responsible because they gave him the vehicle?? the family thinks so because daimlerchrysler gave him the vehicle despite his driving record. again, i think billy is solely responsible. i also believe more people should start taking responsibility for themselves and stop trying to blame other people or make excuses. but i know that day is a long way off...

peace out...

Jan 28, 2007

sanford...

had to ride to sanford today. the weather forecast had been iffy - first calling for cold weather, then warmer, then rain, then colder but no rain. in my mind, i had already decided to ride. i have the 'lectric gloves and can bundle up if it's cold. rain?? that's what rain suits are for... i think the only thing that could have started me thinking of not riding was a sleet/snow/freezing rain forecast. the forecast this morning was mid 50s, slight possibility of rain - i was riding!!!

timing was a bot of a concern this morning. i was riding to sanford via durham - meeting a couple other riders at the bob evans in durham. plans were to meet at eight thirty, leave by nine. i wasn't sure what route i wanted to take - more scenic v. direct, so i wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. i was planning at least an hour, which meant that i would have to leave the house no later than seven thirty.

being sunday morning, i wanted to make the morning journey to get my wife's newspaper. i did feel bad that i wouldn't be able to make her breakfast this morning - figuring she's prefer to sleep over eating breakfast at seven. to ensure enough time to get to the store and back before leaving for durham, i figured i had to leave for the store at six. which meant having to get up at five thirty.

this was all getting too much - or more than i wanted to deal with. if i just decided earlier to head straight to sanford, i could have left later and had a more relaxed morning. i decided to forgo the bike ride to the store - figgering i could save a little time since i wouldn't have to mess with my equipment at the store. but, i would have to add a couple minutes to my leaving time for durham since i needed gas.

taking the cage this morning turned into its own little fiasco - which i won't detail here. suffice it to say i wasn't thinking as clearly as i should have been. now i was wondering if this was an omen for how the day was going to go. whether or not, i knew i just better be a little more attentive today...

i also had to put my bike together - not that it was really apart - i just wanted to put the tour-pak back on it to carry all the crap i wouldn't need. easy as that sounds, i had to glue a rubber gasket back on to the screw so i could secure the passenger seat. not a big deal - just something else that needed to be done before i left...

about seven twenty and i finally hit the road. first stop - gas station. on the way there, i decided to take the more direct route to bob evans. in the hour since i had been out earlier, it felt like it got a little cooler and the sky had definitely clouded over - looked like rain. i figured the highway would be the best route. in addition, i didn't need the added stress of showing up late. already enough going on this morning - don't want to add to it needlessly.

sure enough, on the way out to durham it starts sprinkling... a few drops at first, nothing bad. then it picks up a little. do i stop and throw rain gear on or is it going to stop. at this point, it could go either way and the way my day's been going - they sky is going to open up!!! at this point, it's not raining hard enough... it's not that far of a ride to durham - what's the worse that can happen?? i have theliner in my leather jacket, i'm wearing my chaps - maybe my jeans get a little wet. i press on - i'm not stopping until i get to bob evans...

i do make it to durham with no problems. it rained about halfway there - but nothing bad, definitely nothing worth stopping for. and i'm a couple minutes early. maybe my day is turning for the better.

i get there, another rider is already there and one is pulling up. we hang there for thirty minutes, waiting for other riders. two others show up while a volley of phone calls takes place figuring out who we're picking up where on the ride to sanford - the beauty of trying to coordinate a ride. and in the end it all works out...

we finally head out to sanford... we left bob evans with five bikes. picked another up in route. didn't even waste any time. as we pulled off the exist, there he was on the side of the road. we looped around, made a u-turn and he fell in line with us. we didn't even bother to stop.

the ride to sanford was easy - down 15/501 to rt. 1. weather was good - mostly sunny, no rain. cool but not cold. really a good day for a ride. then again, when isn't it a good day to ride??

the ride back from sanford was great. sun was out, it was a tad bit warmer. i was following another rider that lived in the raleigh area. i had considered taking some back roads, but i was ready to get home, so plotted a direct route.

overall - another great day for a ride... this january has been awesome for riding... i was fortunate enough to have ridden every weekend except one. and that weekend we were out of town.

and you can check out the route over on my ride map - this one in girlish pink...

Jan 24, 2007

flame thrower v2...

a while ago i posted about a road king modified to throw flames. turns out the guy has a newer version that throws bigger flames. enjoy...

Jan 14, 2007

what's with the weather??

first, i can't believe what's going on with the weather - the temps have been awesome. second, i got to go out riding again today - what an even more awesome wife i have!!!

biggest decision was where to ride... i wasn't aware of anything going on and didn't really want to ride somewhere and ride the same route back. with that, i decided to make a counterclockwise circle to the north - that way i'd stay on two lane roads and avoid the busier roads. i also wanted to travel some roads i hadn't been on before.

i plotted out a route on my gps. it's nice being able to plot the route, but i'm not confident that it's one hundred percent accurate - in fact, i know it isn't. showing roads that aren't there, tell you to turn in one direction when you really want to go the other way... i figured i'd let it be my rough guide - if it had me turn in a direction i didn't want to go or put me somewhere i didn't want to be, i'd easily be able to find a road i knew and follow that home... i guess that's the nice part of having a gps - you can only get a little lost!!! instead of being in the middle of somewhere without a clue to where you are and only a paper map, at least you could pinpoint where you are and navigate to a known location - even if you had to take mystery roads. you know, even with the gps, i still don't have the confidence to travel without a paper map. mostly because i can more easily get a broader view from a paper map than a gps. maybe that will change with time - until then, a paper map accompanies on my travels.

my route took me through youngsville, louisburg, warrenton, norlina, up to boydton, over to clarksville, back through virgilina and back home. the second half of the trip was all familiar road - a lot of which i've been traveling on these last few trips. but the first half, once i got north of louisburg was totally new roads for me. the beauty of the countryside is simply amazing.

as usualy, i was looking around in awe of the land, the farms, the houses, the communities, the small towns... i keep thinking it would be so nice to move out a little further - move a little more into the country. maybe one day we'll decide to do it...

the ride today was good for the soul - as the rides tend to be. just me, the bike and the road - the only real destination being home, the route not mattering, stops being optional. i opted not to make any stops on this trip - didn't need to, didn't want to. i was enjoying moving in the warm air and the sunny skies.

three hours, a little over half a tank of gas and i was back home... nice to be out riding on such a beautiful day, but nice to be home too...

check out the route on the ride map, this on in funky blue.

Jan 13, 2007

another saturday ride...

here we are, the second weekend in january and the temps are in the sixties!!! i can't believe the awesome weather we're having - trying to take advantage of it while i can...

i talked to a neighbor yesterday and he mentioned going riding today. i told him if he decided to go, to be sure to get me. this morning, i waited around for him to call or stop by... nothing... i decided to head out on my own. as i put some stuff on the bike and geared up, he pulls his bike out of his garage. we wave and i'm wondering if he's coming over or if he has other plans... i take my time waiting to see if he leaves or comes over. sure enough, he fires his bike up and heads over...

after talking for a couple minutes, we head out. he's trying to catch up to one of his buddies and plans to meet him at shelton's. since i have the gps, i lead the way. i have a feeling the gps will put me in front of a lot of rides. i'm not so sure i'm all over that - there are times i'd just like to hang back in the pack.

the ride to shelton's is mostly two lanes, hardly any traffic. that makes for a really nice ride - you can relax a little more and enjoy the scenery. although i've been on this road many times, i still enjoy looking around, seeing things that have been there for years that i've never noticed, as well as seeing how things are changing. one of the biggest changes are new houses being built. so see old farms and tracts of land being bought by developers and houses being built. the city is expanding and getting closer and closer to us.

we get to shelton's. i've never been there before, so i'm eager to check it out. the showroom huge. like many harley dealers, it's got all the departments - bikes, of course, parts and motor clothes. i didn't notice the service department, but i'm sure it's around the side or the back. nice looking dealership.

stanley's buddy finally shows up. after a short meet and greet, we decide to head to twin specialties. my brother got his pictures in biker magazine and i was trying to get a hold of it. being a magazine that has uhhhh, scantily clad women, they don't carry a copy of it at the local grocery store. i couldn't even find a copy of it at the local harley dealers. i figured if it's around, a place like twin specialties will have it.

the ride to win specialties wasn't the best. mostly because of traffic. we were on a heavier traveled road, and being saturday, it seemed every one was out. well, it still beats being in a cage.

we finally make it to twin specialties. i hop off the bike and head in to see if they have a copy of biker. sure enough they do. i plunk down a boat load of money for the mag - much, much more than i expected. without disappointment, i flip through the pages to find him - he's the one on the right.



we look at a couple of the bikes at twin specialties and decide it's time to head back home. wanting to be on two lane, less congested roads, we have to head east to rt. 96 and then head north back home.

it was a great day for a ride... weather was about perfect. you know, about every time i'm out riding on the bike, it seems i think the weather is about perfect. i guess it just has something to do with being on the road. as long as it's not raining or extremely cold, i guess the weather is perfect.

anyway, it was nice to finally take a ride with my neighbor. with the number of bikers increasing in the neighborhood, we might have to start our own club...

again, you can check out the route we took on the ride map page - it's the one in ucky green

until next time...

peace...

Jan 6, 2007

saturday ride...

took off for a nice long ride today in what turned out to be an unusually warm day and possibly weekend... the original plans were to go riding tomorrow and meet up with a couple buddies. but the weather is calling for thundershowers, so we reschedule for today.

the plan was for two of us to meet in smithfield then head to greenville to meet the other guy - if he was showing up. from there, we'd decide what to do...

i took off late morning towards smithfield. i couldn't believe the warm weather we had today. as i was approaching smithfield, i spotted a few clouds that looked like they could be holding some rain. they weren't calling for rain today. soon, i rode under a could of the clouds and could feel the temp drop. the drop in temp gave me a chill and i thought about how cold it felt. then i realized it was still january and this wasn't cold at all. thankfully those were about the only clouds i saw all day - the rest of the day would remain sunny and (relatively) warm.

when i got to smithfield, doug was already there waiting - about ten minutes. figures since i was about ten minutes late. after jabbering for a couple minutes, we headed to hooters in greenville. we decided to opt for the more scenic route. it would get us to greenville a little later than planned, but what the hell?? always better to take a scenic route and more time. besides, there'd be less traffic along this road.

having the gps adds a level of comfort while riding. instead of having to plan out the route, either remember of write down the route and then try to remember to look for all the roads, let the gps do the work. it gave me a lot of confidence that i was along the right roads and knew when i would need to turn. it's really going to make exploring unfamiliar territory nice.

we cruised along for about an hour and a half, enjoying the scenery along the mostly two lane roads. at once point we passed two people on the side of the road painting. they had their canvas on their easels, painting away... i looked across the road to see what they might be painting. to be honest, all i saw was an empty field - can't figure out what was there. and maybe that's what they were painting.

we finally made it to hooters... not too much happening there - seemed kinda dead. a lot more kids and families than i expected. not that there's a problem with it - just not used to seeing so many families and kids. after downing some wings and drinks, we decided to head to the hospital. a friend/colleague was recently injured while riding his bike. he's been in the trauma icu since before christmas. while we knew we wouldn't be able to see him, we thought it would be nice to visit for a couple minutes with his family.

i figured this would be a good test of the gps. i tried to plug in the name of the hospital - no luck, could find it... seems you have to have to correct name - which i did not. i was searching on pitt memorial and i should have been searching on pitt county memorial... so we plugged in the address for the hospital, which doug retrieved from his crackberry. following the directions on the gps only lead us to the wrong place. i kinda got the feeling we weren't going in the right direction when i saw a sign for the hospital pointing in one direction and the gps telling us to turn in the other direction. after ending up in the wrong place, we decided to follow the road signs. even those lead us to the wrong side of the hospital. eventually we ended up in the right place.

we managed our way up to the icu waiting room and talked to dave's wife for a couple minutes. the waiting room was cramped and hot. the heat forced us out sooner than we wanted, but it was time to go. it was getting late and we needed to get home.

deciding not to take a major road home, i tried to use the gps to track our way back to smithfield. i quickly discovered another problem with the gps - i really need my glasses to see the roads clearly. as i couldn't see the roads, we ended up on 264, heading west. not wanting to be on 264 the whole way, we eventually pulled off and wounds our way around on some two lane roads until we got back to smithfield. at that point, we split off and headed home...

it was a great day for a ride - can't believe how warm it was today - hard to believe it's the first weekend in january. well, i guess winter will be arriving tomorrow. as long as it's not snowing or sleeting, i should still be out there - maybe on shorter (much shorter) rides, but i try not to let the temps stop me.

you can check out the 2007 ride map to see the route - this one is in red...

Jan 4, 2007

here i am...

first, i have to say santa was extremely good to me this year. i'm still pretty sure i wasn't deserving of it, but santa left a gps under the tree for me... thanks santa!!!

took a ride down to the dealership this morning to have a gps mount installed on my bike... now before you go gettin' your panties in a bunch about me not doing the job myself - i have my reasons... first, i'm not sure it's a job i wanted to tackle on my own. believe it or not, the directions had me disassembling half my bike, removing the gas tank among other parts... second, time was of the essence - got an e-mail from a buddy about going to a ride this weekend since the weather is going to be so great. figured i wanted to take along the gps so i wouldn't get lost. or if i did get lost, i'd know where i was!!!

got up early and geared up for a cool january ride to the dealership. i say cool because, being january, it wasn't exactly cold. i was expecting the morning temps to be somewhere in the high thirties, low forties. turns out it was fifty degrees when i left. yup - fifty!! still, not wanting to take too much of a chance, i decided to bundle up anyway.

ride to the dealership, other than traffic was great. nice-n-cool. the way i like it. as soon as i walked through the doors, ned, the service-dood, was checking me in. i tell you, the service department here is very good - at least as far as i'm concerned. they've always treated me right and seem to go the extra step.

i was told the install would take about an hour, maybe an hour and a half... so i cruised around the dealership, checking out any deals they may have had - none to be found. then i sat around the service department, reading and waiting.

it's interesting to watch the people come and go... two cops walked in - i thought they may be there to pick up a bike. seems they just chatted with the service-doods for about thirty minutes and then left. before the cops showed up, someone brought a couple dozen donuts... wait a minute, now i know why the cops showed up!!! the funny part was watching all the other people show up to grab a couple donuts - word spread fast and they came crawling out of the woodwork. i guess if you ever wanted to talk to all the employees, you could gather them by announcing you have donuts!!

the install took a little longer than i expected. the guy was apologetic about how long it took him - said he would rather take his time and get it right than rush through it. i told him i agreed and would rather have it that way. reminds me of flying one time. we all boarded the plane, they closed the doors and pushed back from the gate. then they figured out something was wrong with the plane and they needed to fix it. sure - it took a while, but people were getting upset. complaining - wishing the crew would hurry up. i'm sitting there thinking - doods, take your time, get it fixed right. i'd much rather be on the ground when something goes wrong with the plane than up in the air.

anyway, the dood finishes with the bike and is telling me all about the installation. i think he was as excited as i was about it. a couple people gathered around to check it out before i bolted out of there.

using the gps to navigate was pretty cool - although i did know my way home. one really neat feature i can see coming in real handy is the gps displays the names of the cross streets as you approach - no more looking all over the place for street signs. i was also able to track my way back home - another cool feature. i added the track to my ride map...

so now i don't have an excuse for getting lost. well, i can still get lost, i just don't have an excuse for not finding my way home...

Jan 3, 2007

'nother hog meeting...

i guess this counts as the first ride of the season... being january you'd expect it to be cold... it was near sixty degrees when i took off for the meeting!!! and the temps are supposed to remain warmer through the weekend!! i'll have to squeeze some riding time in...

i picked up my neighbor on the way to the meeting. this was his first meeting. although he's not a member, he'll probably join. that got me to thinking about our meetings compared to other hog meetings. ours are pretty much the same every time - pledge of allegiance, prayer, reports from the board members, shop talk from the dealership and then giveaways. nothing really super exciting. so are most other hog meetings like this?? i started wondering about what really draws me to the meetings. i think it's the opportunity to ride - just gives me another reason to hop on the bike and ride in the middle of the week...

after sitting around for an hour, the meeting ended and it was time to ride. i was expecting the ride home to be a bit colder. it was actually very nice. this can't be january... the funny thing is our dealership is having their polar bear ride this weekend. the idea is it's supposed to be cold and you're supposed to ride your bike to the dealership. you show up on your bike and they give you discounts as well as have other things going on at the shop. well, i believe saturday is going to be in the seventies - close to record breaking temps... not going to be much of a polar bear ride!!! i won't complain about it - just enjoy it while it lasts...

ride safe...

Jan 1, 2007

2007 rides

hopefully the map won't get too junked up, but i'm going to include routes i take on my rides... if it starts looking too cluttered, then maybe i'll create a separate map just for routes...


i realize it may be hard to determine the routes without actually zooming in - but that's the way it goes...

routes:
------ 01/04/2007 - ride home
------ 01/06/2007 - ride to greenville, nc
------ 01/13/2007 - saturday ride around
------ 01/14/2007 - sunday ride to nowhere
------ 01/28/2007 - ride to sanford
------ 05/11-12/2007 - ride to rocky mount
------ 05/13-19/2007 - columbia, sc
------ 06/23-24/2007 - salisbury, sc
------ 07/18-20/2007 - tail of the dragon
------ 08/19/2007 - sunday ride around the "block"
------ 10/28/2007 - sunday ride
------ 12/31/2007 - new year's eve ride

13494

starting the year with just under 13500 miles on the bike... which means i put on almost 5500 miles this past year. i was hoping to put on about 10k, which i would have done had i made the sturgis trip... still, not a bad total considering most of it is casual riding.

no trips planned this year - although my wife is talking about me going to the spring rally at myrtle beach for a couple days. we'll see how that goes. there will also be the yearly trek to the smoke out in salisbury. i might also try to squeeze in an iron butt ride. the seal's put one on that i'm looking at this year... and i'm sure there will be the occasional hopping on the bike, heading out for a day ride...

really looking forward to riding this year...

peace...

Dec 17, 2006

lake ride

looks like the year is ending about the same way it started, with a ride up to the kerr lake... i needed to close up the trailer at the lake and decided to make it part of the ride.

can't believe the temps we're having this time of year - in the seventies. and this is december!!!

i called up my neighbor to see if he wanted to tag along for the ride. he got a sporty about couple months ago and he's been riding quite a bit. i figured it'd be a lot of fun riding with him.

after a quick stop at the gas station, we headed for the kerr lake. as always, it was a beautiful day for a ride. we took rt. 1 north to rt. 158 east, then north on lee avenue in middleburg. after winding our way through back roads, we finally crossed the dam and made it to the trailer.

i got to work opening all the spigots, putting antifreeze in the drains and wiring the windows shut. while i was doing that, bill checked out the property and the lake. took me about an hour to get everything done. once i finished and got the place locked up, we headed back out on the bikes.

i offered to let bill lead... he didn't want to since he wasn't sure where we were going. i confessed and told him that i didn't either - i was just going to look for road signs and hope we didn't miss any. but the beauty of being on a bike is if you do miss any turns, it only makes for a new adventure!!!

one the way out, i stopped at the mailbox to see what might be in there. i pulled over to the side of the gravel road without actually pulling off. bill pulled up behind me. i jumped off the bike and looked into the empty mailbox. i hopped onto the bike and lifted it off the kickstand. as i lifted the bike up, it just kept going to the right... i planted my right foot solid onto the ground - as i did, i realized it was in a shallow ditch. between the weight of the bike leaning to the right, and my right foot being lower than i expected, the bike just kept going over - until it was laying on the ground. yup - i tipped my bike over!!! for the first time!!! it must have been pretty funny for bill to watch. the bike just seemed to slowly fall over. thankfully he was there to help me pick it back up as it was laying partway in the ditch. i told him i'd buy him lunch if the story didn't go any further. he upped it to a beer. done deal!!!

we hopped on to rt. 58 west in boydton and took that to clarksville. we decided to grab some food in clarksville before heading back home. after downing our meals, we headed on rt. 49 to virgilina where we picked up rt. 96 for the last leg home...

even though we were gone for over five hours, we only put 130 miles on the bikes. still, great day for a great ride. was nice to get out again - especially considering this may be the last real ride of the year. maybe if the weather holds the week of christmas, i'll be able to get a few more miles in...

until then, ride safe...

Dec 6, 2006

hog meeting

rode to the hog meeting tonight... although we've been getting warm weather lately, the ride in was a little cool. again i decided to dress in layers and wear the face mask. i tell you, the face mask has really paid off the few times i've worn it. i didn't realize it would help as much as it does...

ride to the meeting was pretty uneventful. got there and got upstairs to find everyone eating. doh!!! i forgot we were having our christmas "party" at this meeting. the meeting must have started at six or six thirty instead of the usual seven. most people were finishing up their dinners as a few of us straggled in, late.

i decided to throw a sandwich and a brownie on my plate. along with a bag of chips and a soda i was set. all except for a place to sit. there were a lot of tables set up, but no room at any of them - the pitfalls of showing up late!! i sat down in an empty chair and proceeded to eat - carefully balancing the plate on my knee. i managed to get through all the food with out dropping the plate - whew... i can imagine the comments that would have been made - all in jest of course.

the meeting was pretty packed - must have been the free food!! there wasn't really much to address at the meeting, so the meeting itself went quickly. a couple of final dollars to charities, talk of some goals for next year and that was about it. of course the best part of the meeting is the fifty-fifty drawing at the end. tonight's pot was the biggest it's ever been - one hundred ninety plus dollars. that'd make a nice christmas present. and guess who won?? yeah, i don't know either - it wasn't me. damn, that would have been a nice one to win...

ride home was good. got all bundled up before heading out. since the meeting got out a little early, i decided to stop by the store to get my wife some flowers. of course by the time i pulled into the parking lot, took off my gear, locked up the bike and got to the door, the store was closed. missed by minutes. i hate that - it would have been such a nice surprise for her. another time...

Nov 28, 2006

lunch ride

met a couple of coworkers for lunch today... can't believe this awesome weather we're having...

to prepare for the ride, i put on the usual tee shirt with a henley over it. i decided to wear my leather coat with the liner - to help keep me a little warmer. i figured i probably didn't need my electric gloves, not quite that cold.

i headed out for the ride... ended up making two mistakes... first was dressing too warmly. although if you're not going to dress appropriately, it's much better to wear too much than not enough. luckily i was dressed in layers and could shed some of the clothing for the ride home... which is exactly what i did. ended up removing the liner in my coat, not using the henley and riding with my summer gloves. ride home was much nicer - especially since i took the back roads home...

second mistake was leaving too early. got my times confused and ended up leaving thirty minutes earlier than i needed. and i didn't realize it until i was about five minutes from the restaurant. not so bad - it gave me a chance to people watch. although there really wasn't much going on or to see...

again, ride home was nice because i was on two lane roads the whole time. they're much less crowded and have more twists and turns. great for riding on a day like today...

Nov 18, 2006

saturday ride - smithfield

took a ride down to smithfield today... as usual, it was a great day for a ride...

it started out with a short ride around the corner to attend our homeowners association meeting. what a joke that was. we're got a board that doesn't give a damn about what the home owners want and a bunch of homeowners that want to stick their heads in the sand. i was the only one who stood up and said anything at the meeting. of course, talking around the neighborhood, people tell you, i'll back you up. did that happen?? no... for the second year in a row, i put my name up for a position on the board. didn't win, again... at least i'm trying to make change instead of just whining about it...

after the meeting i was ready to ride... i needed to ride. as i threw my leg over the bike, i'm mumbling expletives in my head about the meeting, f-this, f-that, blah, blah, blah... i'm probably less that five miles down the road when the thoughts in my head are changing... i'm starting to think about the ride, the weather, the surroundings... before i knew it, thoughts of the homeowners meeting were totally out of my mind and i'm enjoying the hell out of the ride...

for me, that's one of the beauties of riding - it can be so relaxing, so meditating. it takes me to a different place - literally and figuratively!! it give me a new perspective - instead of looking at the negative and complaining, i start looking at the beauty in things.

i was prepared for a cool ride this morning. i bundled up in layers, put the face mask on and even geared up with the electric gloves. surprisingly, it was warmer that i thought it would be. i decided to start the trip to smithfield without the electric gloves and face mask. good choice because i didn't really need them and would have probably been a lot warmed that i needed to be... it was sunny and the skies were clear, except for a few white, puffy clouds floating around. again, a great day for a ride.

the ride down was uneventful. a little more traffic than usual. but that's not bad... the occasional person riding too slow... not that i wanted to be a speed demon, but at least keep up with the speed limit. it gets really frustrating to get behind someone going slow on a two lane road. especially this two lane road because there aren't many chance to pass. when you do finally have a passing lane, it's usually too short to pass, or the inevitable cage coming in the opposite direction. but, it doesn't matter, i'm enjoying the ride, being part of the countryside that i'm riding through.

got to smithfield and met up with some friends. we hung out for a couple hours and it was time to leave. ride home was gorgeous... didn't seem to get behind any one going slow... seemed as i approached people that might have been going slow, they turned off before i got to them.

while riding was nice today, it was also nice to get home...

Oct 26, 2006

new brakes

took the bike in to get new front rotors and brake pads that were found during the 12500 mile service...

it was a good ride in - a lot warmer than my last ride to the dealership. today's the kind of day you just want to blow off work and keep riding. but, on the bright side, i am out and riding a bit, which beats not riding at all.

i got to the dealership before they opened. i have a knack for doing that. i guess coming in so far, my fear is getting stuck in traffic and being late. i would much rather show up a bit early than late. so i had a couple minutes to kill waiting for the shop to open. made small talk with some of the mechanics before they headed in.

took a couple minutes but i finally realized the shop doors were open - so i could go inside and wait. scan through a motorcycle rag or two while i'm waiting. i looked on the shop floor and saw the mechanic that i thought was going to work on my bike. he was the one who would have worked on the bike had that parts been in stock originally - i just figure he'll be the one doing the work...

after a couple minutes, the service counter dood shows up, punches in on the computer and start printing out some paperwork. i figure i'll give him a couple minutes before i check in. before i know it, he's handing some paperwork to the mechanic who's supposed to work on my bike. after the exchange, he looks over at me and says i'm all set, should be about an hour or so. i'm thinking cool... this is the way service should be!!!

i sit back, relax and read through some more rags, just killing time. after reading for a bit, i decide to watch the guy work on my bike. i don't know why, but i feel kinda odd doing that. it's almost like i'm at a zoo or something, watch the exhibits. and i'm wondering what these guys are thinking about people watching them. of course i think it goes something along the lines of, what a bozo, doesn't know how to work on his own bike. and maybe that's true...

so i start to watch him and notice he doesn't even have the wheel off yet. hmmmmm, maybe this is going to take a little longer than expected. which i really don't care about - i'd rather the job take longer and be done right than rushed and wrong.

i keep switching from reading to watching, waiting for the wheel to come off. i do believe they have to take the wheel off to replace the rotors. could be wrong... before i know it, he's riding my bike out of the shop. a couple minutes later he returns and says it's done. wow!! that was quick. he says he took the bike down to be detailed but it didn't look that dirty. he offers to take it down there anyway. i decide to pass. and finally confess that i had only ridden the bike once since it was detailed last. so they busted my chops a bit for not riding more. of course i wasn't going to offer any excuses since they would only give me a harder time and there weren't really any excuses for not riding...

the ride home was beautiful. temps had warmed up a bit and the brakes felt sooooo much better. it's amazing how much your confidence increases when your bike is in top shape - or at least you believe it is but just don't know any better.

i was enjoying the ride home so much, i decided to stop and pick up some flowers for my wife. it'll be a nice surprise for her.

Oct 11, 2006

12500 mile service...

took my bike in for it's 12500 mile service today. was a good morning for a ride - the ride in was a little chilly, but not cold or nasty. the ride home was awesome - perfect temps, clear...

as i usually do, i decided to wait for the bike while it's being serviced. i also asked them to check out the front brakes because they seem to shutter or shake when i apply them. nothing bad, but it seems to be getting worse.

while they were working on the bike, i decided to pick up a face mask... i figure if i'm going to be riding in the colder weather, i might as well get one. i've been using my wife's, but it's a little small and tight - not something i want distracting me while i ride...

after my purchase, i wander back to the service area. they tell me the front brake rotors are warped - they have the parts in stock and are going to replace the rotors and brake pads. after about thirty minutes, they realize that what's listed as stock in the computer doesn't match what's actually on the shelf - they're short on rotor. they've ordered the rotors and i'll have to come back to have them replaced - no big deal...

in the meantime, they've sent the bike to be cleaned and detailed - a nice service they throw in for preferred customers. i wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... seems it takes them longer to clean the bike than it does to service it... not that i'm complaining - they do a really good job. at this point, i don't know if i should be happy or starting to get upset. it is taking longer than expected - but i guess that means they are doing a thorough job. i guess i just wasn't counting the added time to clean the bike and wanted to get back to get out of there.

i finally get the bike back. i must say, it is really clean - nice looking. what's really nice is i got it cleaned after my trip to the tail of the dragon and i didn't have to do it myself!!! i guess it was worth the wait...

so, 12500 miles... don't really know if that's more or less miles than i've expected to put on it by now... i guess if i was still working at an office and riding, i would have a lot more miles. but since i work from home and most of my miles come from weekend riding, that's not bad... i know it's not a while lot of miles, but it does seem like some sort of a milestone. wonder if i'll be able to squeak out 15000 before the end of the year??

ride safe...

Oct 9, 2006

why motorcycling is so much fun...

so i was trying to help a female with her bike. she had been running the engine on with the choke, which kinda fouled the plugs, and she was having problems getting it started again.

i went over to her, made a couple adjustments to the bike and got it started. i decided to try to clean the crap out of the engine, so i revved the engine - high and long... next thing i know, she's got a startled/surprised look on her face. didn't take me long to figure out what was going on - especially since she was still sitting on the bike. as i rolled off the throttle, she gets a grin on her face and says, "now i know why motorcycling is so much fun." not quite knowing what to say, i just kind of smiled and walked away...

Oct 6, 2006

trip report - tail of the dragon...

what a busy but great two days... before i get too far into the trip, i again have to send props and thanks out to my wonderful wife. without too much detail, the kids were out of school, i was on vacation and we were supposed to do something as a family. well, appointments were scheduled during the week and we never did plan something for the family. instead, my wife talked me into taking a couple days and riding the dragon. although that's probably not totally true... my original plan was to hold out and not go - especially since we were supposed to do something as a family. my wife kept talking about me going and the thoughts of riding the dragon became too much - the next thing i knew, i was agreeing to go... so, my plan fell through - but i wasn't complaining...

wednesday morning i packed up the bike for my overnight trip. i left around noon, figuring that would give me plenty of time to get to hickory by 1600. plans were to meet doug at the hooters in hickory. he was spending the morning having his bike serviced in charlotte. i tried to get my bike serviced before i left, but it was kinda short notice. i called the dealership tuesday afternoon but they couldn't get me in that evening. the guy did offer for me to drop the bike off wednesday morning and he could get it back to me by friday... uhhhh, that's not gonna work. so, i'll get it serviced after the trip...

it was a little after three when i got to hooters. doug was already there - which surprised me a little since i wasn't expecting him until closer to four. this was either going to give us an earlier start on the rest of the trip, or some extra time to kill a few drinks at hooters. we ended up doing both... we killed a little time having some leisurely conversation and a couple drinks. i had never really thought about it, but the place is a little slow in the late afternoon/early evening. i was tempted to get my camera from the bike, but there really wasn't much reason...

after the few drinks, it was time to saddle up and head out. we managed to get going before four. the earlier start was good because it would be late by the time we got to the "inn" and it would be dark. not that i necessarily mind driving in the dark, i'm just not so sure about in on unfamiliar, twisty mountain roads.

we decided to take i-40 / rt 74 / rt 129 to get to robbinsville. we had reservations at the two wheel inn - which was just south of robbinsville. the trip from hickory to robbinsville was about four hours. while we wanted to get there, we did take our time and make it a leisurely journey. i took the lead towards the end of the trip because it was getting dark and i seem to have particularly bright lights.

we ended up missing the turn off for the inn. how the heck are you supposed to find a driveway on a two lane road in the dark without some sort of sign?? well, they do have a sign, but it's apparently not lit up at night. figgers... so we turn around and pull up to the office. as we're reading the notes taped to the office door, one of the owners comes around the corner. seems they had just closed the office and were heading home for the evening. instead of just bolting out of there, she showed us our rooms, and opened the garages for our bikes. yes, garages for our bikes.



the neat thing about the two wheel inn is every room has a garage for your bike. it's a really nice set up - and what more could you ask for?? towels to clean your bike?? they supply those. it's great being able to store the bike away for the evening. i would highly recommend the two wheel inn to anyone traveling in the area.

after unloading the bikes and getting them into the garage, we relaxed for a couple minutes. it was probably getting on ten and we were getting tired. the ride out was about 380 miles. a good ride i would say. weather was nice, not too many idiots on the road - the kind of ride you want to have...

thursday morning was up by six. kinda sleeping in for me since i normally get up at five thirty. even after the longer ride the day before, i felt rested. i peeked outside to see a fairly dreary day - i was hoping it was mostly fog and it wouldn't turn to rain. if it does rain, will i still ride the tail of the dragon?? i guess part of that would depend on how hard it was raining. assuming it wasn't raining hard enough to make it a total bust, would i still ride?? since this is my first time riding it, i would be real hesitant. in fact, i might not ride it - but that would be a bust after riding all the way out here. i'll keep my fingers crossed this is just a foggy morning and it will burn off.

i killed some time watching the news and waiting for doug. we didn't plan a specific time, so i wasn't sure what time doug would get going. i guess it didn't really matter since we weren't tied to a schedule - which is one of the beauties of motorcycling. as i was waiting, the fog was starting to burn off. they were calling for some rain, but later in the day. looks like it's going to be a good day for a great ride.

we killed an hour or two waiting for the fog to burn off. it was burning off, but slowly. we packed up the bikes, checked out of the rooms and caught some breakfast before heading up to the tail of the dragon. by the time we finished breakfast, the fog was pretty much gone and i was ready for the day.

doug led the way to the tail of the dragon. i find it's a little easier following someone on unfamiliar roads. you can watch then to see which way the road goes and you can judge the appropriate speed if they are slowing down or speeding up.

the roads leading up to the tail of the dragon are nice. not too twisty - enough to lean the bikes a bit through the turns. as we get closer, the turns start getting tighter. now i'm trying to imagine what the twists and turns are like on the dragon. will they be too much?? you hear about people wrecking... and there is the tree of shame...


but plenty of people have ridden it without problems. no need to psych myself out - if i just ride within my limits, pay attention to what i do, i will have no problems. besides, this ride up to the dragon is practice.

until we cross fugitive bridge. then the road narrows and the turns are tighter. the turns must seem tighter because the road is narrower. whatever, i figure this is going to be the way it is. besides, this is probably mild compared to the way it is. no need to panic - doug and i already said we were going to take it slow. at least the first time through.

we're cruising along the winding road, twists and turns... we pass a sign, "stay in your lane." a reminder this is a double yellow line, two lane road. then another sign, "do not cross the centerline." i don't actually remember if there were skulls and crossbones on the sign, but i do remember some sort of message of death for failing to heed the signs. hmmmmmmm, must the beginning...

twists and curves... just concentrating on the road - applying what i know about turns and counter steering... looking ahead at the line i want to follow into the turn. after the first couple curves, i can feel myself getting into a groove. of course, the more relaxed i am, the better i ride. this is actually a lot of fun. now i can understand what all the hype is about.

i'm managing to stay on my side of the double yellow, which was probably my biggest concern. i realize going off on the shoulder side of the road wouldn't necessarily be a walk in the park, but crossing the double yellow is worse in my mind. at one point, we had three or four cruisers pass us in the opposite direction. the last one was crossing the double yellow into our lane - that was not a good feeling. and now i really understand why they say not to cross the double yellow.

we were cruising along at what i think is a decent speed - especially our first time through. before i know it, i'm being passed by a sport bike. didn't even see this guy coming, next thing i know, he's between doug and me. he stays there for a couple curves and then passes doug. boom, he's gone. i can't necessarily say i agree with what he did... but i never did feel that my safety or riding was compromised by what he did - he didn't interfere with me at all. i guess i can't blame him for wanting to go faster and he managed to do it without affecting me. let him...

before long, we're pulling off at an overpass. kind of a nice break, but i was hoping to ride the whole dragon without stopping. well, i really can't complain, i needed a potty break, which some low-lying shrubs provided great cover. besides, the view was so beautiful.





after admiring the view and exchanging pleasantries with others, we hopped back on the bikes to ride to the end. i decided to lead the rest of the way... we didn't get too far before we realized the overlook we just left was the end. so we found a nice place to stop and turn around. funny, in what seems like the middle of nowhere, we find the official tennessee state toilet.


we're heading back and i'm in the lead... we only got to the overlook before we stopped again. this time it was because we were behind a ridiculously slow cage. not that we were trying to speed back through or anything, but the vehicle was going so slow i could have probably walked faster!!! we decided to let it get some distance before heading out again.

after a couple minutes of watching people come and go, we decided it was our turn again. i took the lead as we pulled out. this time through, i was going a little faster. although to someone who's ridden the dragon a few times i probably looked like a snail going through. it was fast enough for me. i seemed to take the curves a bit faster, dragging the floorboards a couple times. i was definitely enjoying the ride.

there were more people out as we rode back. some riding, some pulled over on the side of the road at pullovers. at one of the larger pullovers, there were quite a few bikes pulled over. i glanced at them, resisting the urge to watch - fearing i would end up with them instead of still on the road. as i passed them, i noticed one bike in the ditch. although it was a quick glance, what i think i remember was a white bike, harley davidson, female rider, she appeared to be okay, and there were two or three other people over there helping her. i do remember thinking how lucky the rider was to have not gone over the other side of the road.

we reached the end and we pulled into the deal's gap motorcycle resort to stretch our legs, take some pictures, buy some mementos, admire the tree of shame and be thankful no pieces of our bikes ended up on the tree today. we talked to a couple other riders, commenting on how nice the ride was, how beautiful of a day it was and each other's bikes. here i am standing at the sign...


after riding the dragon, we headed back into robbinsville. we decided to catch some lunch before heading home. well, i was heading home, doug was continuing his motorcycle adventure with a couple more days in western nc.

we ate at wendy's. while i don't usually mind fast food, i was definitely getting tired of it. i can't wait to get back home and have some real food. it seems like every meal has been fast food.

the journey home begins. it was actually a nice ride home - fairly uneventful. doug and i stay together until asheville - he split off to head a little north. i kept heading east. two stops and six hours later, i was home. and while it was an awesome trip, it sure was nice to be back home. eight hundred miles in two days - not a bad trip at all...

Oct 3, 2006

tail of the dragon...

was talking to a buddy of mine yesterday... he tells me that after he gets his 6k service done on his ducati, he's riding the tail of the dragon... i mention how nice that's going to be - of course he invites me along... i can't - although i have the week off work, i have stuff to do appointments. besides, i'm teaching this weekend and i need to make sure i'm back in time for that. he says if we ride the dragon on thursday, i can be back in plenty of time to teach on friday - probably so...

later in the day, i mention to my wife that doug is riding the dragon. she says i should go. well, it's not like i don't want to go... it's just that i had taken a week off work thinking we could do something together - maybe the beach for a day or two, something. but, with life the way it usually goes, the kids were going here and there and we didn't really have time to get away like we wanted... so she's pretty much pushing me to go. and i had my defenses up pretty good, resisting her efforts to get me to go. don't get me wrong, i wanted to go - but i really wanted to spend time with her.

well, i don't know what happened, but she talked me into going. not that that's a bad thing - i just wanted to hold out and spend some time with her. well, i know i'm on the hook to make this one up to her - and i will. all i can say is that she's the greatest - i'm really lucky to have someone like her... thanks boo.

okay - enough being mushy... so now it looks like i'm finally going to ride the tail of the dragon. i was supposed to ride earlier this summer with my bro, but somehow that fell through... it won't be the same not riding with my brother, but it will still be fun. three hundred eighteen curves in eleven miles - that's crazy!!! you'll hear plenty about it when i get back...

Oct 1, 2006

2nd annual rally in raleigh...

attended the second annual capital city bike fest / rally in raleigh... i'm not really sure what it's called - it seems to go by both names.

the day started out heading down to the dealership for the charity ride. i ended up going down there early because i wanted to claim some warrenty work on my bike. i have some chrome chipping off one of the pipe endcaps. i wasn't going to claim it, but after talking to a qa guy from harley, he said it was contamination in the chroming process. soooo, i decided to talk to someone at the dealership to see what they could/would do about it. turns out the guy is going to file a warrenty claim for it - i'm not holding out much hope. even after talking to someone else who said harley hardly ever turns down a warrenty claim. i'll wait and see what happens.

after taking care of that business, it was time to wait around for the charity ride to begin. and after waiting, it did begin... it was a nice day for a ride - clear, sunny skies. the morning was a little cool, but by the time the ride started, it was perfect weather for riding. the charity ride was to support the united way - bikers seem to want to support charities. i actually think it just gives us another excuse to ride - like we really need one!!

it terms of time, the charity ride was a couple hours. in terms of stops, it was short - only two stops. well worth it, though. the first stop was harris wholesale - our local budweiser distributor. they were offering free drink, of the non-alcoholic variety. the closest they came to beer was o'doules. so i downed a monster drink that was pretty tasty - can't rightly recall what it was offhand. i think they were scraping the bottom of the barrel to make us feel welcome:



after giving us a quick thank you speech, it was time to hop back onto the bikes and head for the local caterpillar plant. this was pretty cool - of course it was more like big toys for big boys. while we were there, they gave us a demo of some of the equipment they manufacture at the plant - digging holes, moving holes, filling holes up... it was pretty cool - but you probably had to be there to really enjoy it. or at least be me!!! a couple of pics from the demo...





after being entertained at caterpillar, it was time for the ride back to the dealership. a couple notes/thoughts about the ride... fisrt, we had over two hundred bikes on the ride. i was kinda of in the first third of the pack. while i saw the beginning of the line several times, i never did see the end. this as easily the largest ride i've been on so far.

speaking of large groups of bikes - it's amazing how many highway drivers have a disregard for motorcycles - even when we're being escorted by police. i was suprised at the number of cars that would just pull into our lane - despite having bikes there. it was crazy. i guess they figured they had to get into the lane on the opposite side of us and just pulled on over. i'm sure that if we, as riders, hadn't been on the look out, some cage would have caused an accident. it amazes me how many cages don't pay attention to motorcycles on the highways. but haven't a group of two hundred bikes?? how can you miss that??

okay - enough about the charity ride. we did all make it back in one group and no one was wiped out - as least as far as i know.

while killing some time at the dealership, waiting to ride into the rally to kick it off, the occ caterpillar bike showed up. not really surprising since they had the bike made and they were also sponsoring the rally. while i can honestly say that i'm not really a fan of occ's, i do watch their show and seeing the bike was pretty neat. they do put some thought and detail into the bikes they build.




after killing time looking at the bike and snapping pics, it was time to ride into the rally to kick it off. kinda uneventful really. more or less stop and go riding - and not really that far. once i got there, i walked around for a bit before starting my stint volunteering. since our local hog club is sponsored by ray price, and he/they're really the ones putting on the event, they asked for volunteers. being the sucker that i am - i worked friday night. i ended up hanging out at one of the entrances - killing four hours.

didn't see much of the rally friday night, but went again saturday. there was more of a crowd saturday andi imagine saturday night was very festive - although i didn't stick around for that...

i think i've run of of things to day - or at least i don't feel like saying any more right now...

Sep 18, 2006

not a virgin anymore...

well, i officially taught my first class this weekend... and it went very well. but that's about all i'm going to say about the class itself and instructing. after thinking about it a bit, there is a certain image we're supposed to uphold. that being the case, and me not necessarily wanting to confine the content here, i've decided not post more about teaching... doesn't mean i might not post about antic dotes or certain aspects of the class - i just won't go into boring detail like i usually do!!!

speaking of boring details - sunday's ride to and from class was a reminder of the brotherhood of bikers... there's just some connection you make with other people on two wheels when you're cruising along. people are friendlier, more interested in taking the time to talk, or help should you need it.

i left the house about 0600, heading for smithfield. the road i take is pretty much two lanes the whole way - which makes riding there extremely nice. not even ten minutes out, there's a biker behind me. what are the chances?? here it is, six in the morning, two lane, rural road and another biker.

as he's following behind, conversations start in your head - wonder where he's (or she's) going, wonder what they're riding, wonder what they're doing out so early, etc. soon enough, we come to a red light and he pulls up next to me. we exchange hellos and i soon find out that he's a cork-maker in zebulon and he's on his way to work. he literally lives around the corner from me. we ride together for a bit longer. stop at another light and talk some more. the nice thing about traveling together so early in the morning is you can chat a little longer when the light turns green because no one is around. and we do... we ride together until we pass through zebulon - then he turns off to head to work. i'll probably never see him again - although every time i ride down his street, i'm looking for him and his bike.

on the way back home, heading north towards zebulon, i pass another biker... after i pass, he turns onto the road behind me. i slow a little, trying to close the distance between us... however, he seems to keep his distance - a constant distance. as i speed up, so does he. as i slow down, so does he... we finally get a red light in zebulon and he pulls up beside me. as we're exchanging hellos, i do a double take... donnie?!?!?! sure is... of course with a full face helmet on, he's not quite sure who i am... i tell him my name, remind him we rode to the smoke out together in june... then the light bulb goes off in his head. about that time the light turned green - unfortunately, he turned at the next light and i was going straight. short conversation...

it's amazing the people and friends you meet when you're out riding... and this is what makes riding so great...