catching up on some old stuff – i can’t believe i let this one go so long…
rode up to the washington area towards the end of may to attend my first rolling thunder, subject of my next post. patriot h-d holds their open house the day before…
a quick recap of the event in pictures…
the way the day was shaping up, it was looking more and more like i was going to have to make a late night run in order to rack up any miles for million mile monday. and sure enough, the sun was setting as i was starting my journey.
i didn’t really have a route in mind. and since it was much later than i expected, i made it a shorter ride. and to make things a little more interesting, i wanted to take a route i’d never taken before… note to self: in the future, unless there’s no other choice, don’t plan to ride two lane, country roads for the first time in the dark…
some reflections from the trip:
i guess that’s about it. i did manage to squeeze in seventy five miles. when i added my miles to the hog site, there was only a shade over two million miles. guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the numbers come through… somehow i think they will…
million mile monday is finally here. today, hog members worldwide will try to rack up five million miles. i had planned on doing my part by getting out early and racking up a few miles… unfortunately, the day has already started to spin out of control. although an evening ride may be the ticket…
seems as soon as son got up this morning, he was talking/asking about going for a ride. unfortunately i was booked all day with meetings and couldn’t slip away - even for a little bit. so he had be patient all day – an almost impossible task for a six year-old who’s just been exposed to the joys of riding…
after work, the wife and i are sitting on the front porch, sharing the events of our day. as son walks up, wife comments on how badly he and i need a hairscut. son, of course, is only concerned with squeezing a ride out of me. but not just any ride… seems he’s already progressed beyond the short rides around the ‘hood – he wants to hit the streets!!!
much to my surprise, wife mentions us going to get hairscuts on the bike. this was quite an offer from wife considering she was seriously not ready for him to start riding. so from being reluctant about him even riding the streets in our ‘hood yesterday, to offering to get him out on the roads today was quite a step for her. (thanks honey – you’re the best.)
of course son had no interest in the hairscut part – he just wanted to ride, out of the ‘hood and into the world. plus he knows the barber shop is only about a ten minute ride. i tell him we’ll get our hairscut and then we’ll head out for a longer ride… he agrees, knowing it was pretty much the only way he was getting a ride tonight. and let’s face it, even if the ride was only ten minutes, it’s still better than no ride!!
i think the short ride to the barber was also comforting to me. this would be the first time we really got any speed over twenty-five. i didn’t know how he would react. or how i would feel about it. only riding to the barber shop would give either of us an out – we could decide to head home and not have to admit we weren’t totally comfortable.
in hindsight, there was little chance of that happening!!! the ride to the barber only solidified his passion for riding.
after the barber, with son declaring how hungry he was, we decided to grab a bite to eat. me, not quite being ready to take him out on a major road, decided to take the back roads to the eatery. the added benefit being the longer ride. and the even longer ride back home after eating.
looking back on the evening, and yesterday, i’m thrilled i get to share the experience of his first ride with him. i’m sure he’ll be asking to go on a ride every day. unfortunately he’s got to share riding time with others in the family. i’m not looking forward to the disappointment, the look in his eyes, when he has to watch someone else riding off with me and he’s left behind.
i haven’t broke the news to him yet that wife/mom has first right-of-refusal on all rides. maybe that’s something i’ll let him discover on his own… for now, i’ll enjoy his excitement…
took the little one on his first ride today. i’m not sure who was more excited, me or him. i 
do know his mom was a wreck, she definitely wasn’t ready for it…
since it was his first ride, i didn’t want to go too far, and definitely not in traffic. so we took a quick spin around the ‘hood. when we got back, i shut the bike off and all he could say was, “dad, i’ve been trying to tell you i want to keep riding.” not wanting to disappoint, i fired the bike up and off we went again.
he was thrilled and can’t wait for his next ride - tomorrow according to his wishes!!
. . . to john q public’s comment on my earlier post… i would have just responded in the comments, but i think this deserves more than being obscured in post comments…
from facts and figures page on for car drivers site (emphasis added):
Cell Phones
A University of Utah study, "A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver, found that "…the impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk." Furthermore, the impairment levels were similar whether the cell phones were used in handheld or hands-free mode.
yikes!!!
‘nuff said…
even though i work from home, i rode to work today… normally i would take the bike around the block in the spirit of the day. but this morning, i picked up my bike from the dealership, so i really did get to ride to work…
was downtown yesterday, heading home, in the far left of three lanes of traffic. cruising thirty-five, the speed limit. i’m even with the rear tire of an suv in the center lane when the knucklehead (i don’t think i was that kind at the time) decides he needs to make a left turn. yes, a left turn from the center.
i quickly hit the brakes and move as far to the left as i can. i would have gotten up on the sidewalk if the curb wasn’t there. once i was out of harm’s way, i laid on the horn. looking directly at me through the driver’s side mirror, i see a surprised look on a guy with a cell phone jammed in his ear.
of course he finishes his left turn and keeps going. had i not been wrapped up in being thankful for not making any contact with said knucklehead, i probably would have followed him and given him an earful. of course i would have had to wait until he removed the cell phone from his ear.
the only thing i can hope is that he’s learned to take the cell phone out of his ear and pay attention to the primary task at hand – driving.
a couple things to consider:
sorry – don’t mean to be preachy, but…
ironically, as i was starting my journey home, i was following a mass transit bus. the bus number happened to be seven. as you may recall, seven is my lucky number. so i’m thinking about what may be in store for me. i think about playing the lottery, especially since i missed out earlier. but since i only have one number, i can’t really do that. i figure whatever it is, it will happen naturally. in hindsight, i think it was my butt not being wiped out!!
…or maybe it’s my past since we’re talking brake and tail lights!!
my father-in-law and i took a trip over to custom dynamics to talk to them about led replacement options for the brake and turn signals. the folks at custom dynamics told us know what we needed then proceeded to work up an awesome deal. next thing i know, we’re walking out with a new set of lights – thanks gramps…
installation of the turn signals, both front and rear were as easy as removing the lens cover and bulb, replacing them with the led fixture and replacing the lens. the brake light wasn’t quite as simple as it required disassembling the lens housing and gluing the led array in place.
on advice from the folks at custom dynamics, we used the plumbing version of amazing goop to glue the led array to housing… the thing to know about this stuff is it’s runny and it’s sticky. use in small quantities and wait for it to set before adding more. i know from experience on this one… also, don’t use alcohol to clean the silver fixture inside the lens housing – it won’t stay silver very long…
waiting for the assembled lens housing, containing the led array and goop, to dry before reattaching to the bike.
a big key to installing the led fixture in the lens housing it to make sure you have it oriented correctly. one edge of the led array contains white leds to light up the license plate. you want to make sure the leds are facing up to actually light the plate.
the results…
not something i’m necessarily going to notice while riding. but it’s not about me noticing, it’s about getting others to notice me!!! and from a couple of trusted sources, they work extremely well.
…was the winning number in the 50/50 at the hog meeting tonight… there was anticipation as everyone checked their tickets, waiting for someone to claim the prize. i quickly scan my tickets for the last three numbers – no luck… i’m out another ten bucks.
soon no one is claiming the booty… the number is read again – still no winner. some genius in the crowd wonders out loud if the number being read is upside down. the new number, 6 – 6 – 9 – 9 – 8 – 9, is read. bingo!! i’m one hundred sixty some odd dollars richer (minus the wife’s share).
drinks are on me tonight…
had a nice ride with the wife last week. recall the earlier post when daughter lost wife’s glove. well, the gloves finally came in and we decided to go pick them up.
being the knucklehead i am, i start heading out the door with car keys in hand. okay, it was early and i was still mentally asleep. mostly due to the fact that i was faced with another day of work and it would be easier to sleep through it!!
we get out to the garage and wife says she thought we were taking the bike. like a deer in headlights, i freeze. hmmmm, bike… it is a pretty day outside, what better way to spend it that riding around with the wife!!! why didn’t i think of that?? suddenly awake, i head inside and change into more appropriate riding attire…
we hop on the bike and head to ray price. but not without a stop at waffle house first. i think that’s going to be a recurring theme here – what’s better than riding and toppin’ off the tummy with some scattered hash browns all the way?? the waitress didn’t think i was serious and was surprised i finished off the whole plate.
with full tummies, we made our way to ray price. when ms. brenda presented the gloves daughter ordered for her, wife wasn’t real keen on them. no surprise there. so i encouraged wife to pick out another pair. ironically, the pair she ended up choosing is one pair we looked at and thought she wouldn’t like. go figure!!! not only that, wife ended up picking up another pair of lighter gloves for summer riding. in the end, wife ended up with two pairs of gloves and daughter got the pair we originally ordered for wife.
after staying at ray price much longer than i expected, we decided to head home. the weather was awesome and i could have spent the whole day riding around with my wife… unfortunately work was calling and i had to get back… with that, i faced the bike north and started riding off…
the thought of work must have put me back to sleep… as we’re approaching a split in the road, i’m in the lane for the most direct route home. wife leans forward and suggested the longer, scenic route home. nice idea… i do a quick head-check and jump over a couple lanes to take the other fork…
once the road slimmed down to two lanes, i rolled off the throttle a little and took my time getting home – enjoying the beautiful scenery and sharing the ride with my wife… it got me thinking about a few years down the road – when the kids are grown (out of the house) and we can spend more time together. just heading out at the spur of the moment. much like we used to do when we were dating. i miss those days. and i look forward to them again…
participated in the ray price easter basket ride saturday… first time i’ve joined in and it was quite an experience…
daughter and i headed out in the morning, starting the morning off right by filling out bellies with bo’s… after that, it was too the dealership to line up for the ride…
when we got to the dealership, i was informed by daughter that she needed to spend some of her hard earned money to buy mom a new set of gloves… she wanted to take a picture of a fellow rider that followed us for a short period of time. she took the glove off to get her camera out of her pocket and it went flying… oops... now mom has a new set of gloves… mom was kinda fond of her old gloves, which of course were a seasonal item. so we couldn’t get her those again. and picking out something mom likes is definitely no easy task.
after ordering the gloves, we cruised around the dealership killing time, waiting for departure…
ray price on his trike, posing for a short press conference…
some of the over one hundred bikes that rode along…
the national guard convoy that escorted us around. it was reported they collect over 600 baskets to be distributed…
bob, of bob and the showgram, lead the ride…
first stop… when you’re on a ride like this, you don’t really get a feel for how many bikes and riders there are until you make a stop and see the place packed with bikes…
i was a little surprised by the (lack of) turnout at the first stop. not sure why, but i was expecting more kids. especially with about six hundred baskets to deliver.
the activities started out with an entertaining lesson about easter, god and jesus from bob fowler of the child evangelism fellowship. after his talk, the baskets were passed out to the kids…
then it was time to head to the second stop, where the number of kids definitely made up for the lack of kids at the first stop… i had no doubt we’d be able to pass out all the baskets at this stop…
this little kid was so cute. the basket was a big as he was. i think the joy he was feeling in receiving the basket overcame any difficultly he may have had with the size of the basket. 
this ride was a really special ride… i enjoyed being able to pass out baskets to underprivileged kids. but there was a dark side to giving. or more rightfully, the receiving. and i really saw it when we got to the second, larger stop.
as we were passing out baskets, i saw several children refuse certain baskets, asking, no almost demanding a basket with something else in it. i can fully understand requesting a basket specific for a boy or girl. but to turn down a basket with one toy in favor of another?? isn’t it satisfying enough just to be receiving something??
and then there were the kids that would grab a basket, hand it off to mom and go get another. and another. and another. again, isn’t it satisfying enough just to get a basket??
but it’s not for me to judge. all i can do is learn from the lesson and try not to make the same mistake. to be grateful when someone is there to help. not greedy, asking or taking more than what’s being offered. maybe it’s the place i am in my life right now. i’m grateful for where i am, the people that are in my life, for what i have. would it be nice to have more?? of course!! but the other side of the coin is it could always be worse. a lot worse.
so the ride was a good one. i really enjoyed it. it’s really about the joy you can bring to the many who are appreciative you’re there, appreciative that you care enough to think of them.
peace…
or maybe it is…
passed by the bike today and noticed the tour-pak covered in pollen… and from the disrupted pollen marks, it appears someone else noticed it before me!!
at first i was embarrassed. then i thought what the hell, it’s not going to get washed any time soon!! the best i’ll be able to do is give it a good dusting. wonder if it will all blow off if i go riding??
