April 21, 2014

     My brother-in-law called and said he was riding up from Fort Worth to visit mom.  He has a newer Harley-Bago that he was itching to get out and ride.  Sounded good to me and I arranged to take the coming Friday off to go down and visit.

     My ride over was a good one.  The temps are getting warmer and it went quick.  I pulled in and parked next to Harley's offering to the world of motorcycling and got in a few jabs at my brother-in-law about how his Winnebago was missing most of it's wheels.  We visited for a while and decided to make a run through the hills.  We managed about a hundred miles in really great weather.  The traffic was light and the roads were fun.  I headed back to the house and a really good ride.  It was just a great day for getting out and putting on the miles.

     On Saturday I spent the day working on a couple of project bikes.  I actually made some progress on one of them.  The other not so much.  I'll have to get it to the shop where they have more specialized tools.  I made arrangements for the shop and call Saturday a day.

    Sunday I gave mom a call to check on her and see how she was holding up under a house full of visitors.  I also wanted to find out when my brother-in-law Ray was heading back.  Mom said she was doing pretty good but Ray was going to be staying for a while.  Ray got on the phone and explained that he'd went out riding and managed to roll his Ultra Classic.  Nine broken ribs.  One broken ankle and several staples in his head.  Apparently Ray forgot that the curves here are a tad bit different than what he was used to in Texas.  The next morning I saddled up and headed down to moms to check on everybody in person.  This just seemed a little wild to me for some reason.  I had a good run through the hills and even managed to stop and visit with my Norton riding Doctor. 

     I pulled into moms drive and saw quite a sight.  On one hand a regular sight in this area....Harley on a trailer.  On the other hand I can't remember ever seeing one of Rays bikes on a trailer.  Or all torn up either.  From the looks of things most of the damage was cosmetic.  I looked it all over and there didn't seem to be any damage to the bike itself.  From the looks of everything the crash bars and saddle bags took the most of the wreck.  From what I could find out from a couple of shops in the area and different people, probably around $10,000 in cosmetic damage and shop time.  I didn't get to see Ray as they had taken him back to the hospital for further checking.  I visited with mom and then headed back to the house.

  

     This early spring in the hills makes for some great riding.  People come from all walks of life to vacation and ride through our mountains.  They create memories that last a life time on a motorcycle....Just like my luck as hell brother-in-law Ray.

remember the next ride is just a kick or two away....

April 7, 2014

     I walked out this morning to light rain.

     It was supposed to be rainy off and on all day today.  The temperature was about as good as it gets.  Somewhere in the middle 40's early and in the middle 60's later in the day.  The bike didn't give me too much trouble and before I knew it I was bouncing along like normal.

     The trouble with days like this isn't the bike and all that "two wheels vs four wheels" junk you always hear debated.  It's the people with the four wheels and their lack of general intelligence.  They tend to drive like they do everyday and that causes issues for people like me that don't drive at all.

    This morning I was lucky as I hit one of those spots in traffic where there wasn't anyone on the road but me for the first four miles or so.  I had a local that knows me pull up behind me as I came up on my turn off the highway.  Coming up on my turn off I looked back and saw their signal light come on.  I made my turn and they honked and went straight.

     I dodged the rain along my route to work and really enjoyed the ride.  The best part was just feeling of riding a good ride.  Cool, damp and the bike purring with no hiccups.

     I got a few looks from folks safely tucked in the cars at traffic lights.  Always do when it's the least bit cool or damp.  At one light a lady in a car beside me made gestures like it was cold.  I looked  at her, grinned and patted my back seat.  She cracked a large smile and shook her head no.  I could see in her eyes, she did think about it for a brief second.

     Riding in this area is a lot of fun.  You can manage to ride most of the year if you really want to.  There is a down side to it though.  Seems that there always is.  A man that worked at the sister operation to the one I work at hit a gravel patch on a curve and flipped his bike.  He was 56 and really enjoyed riding.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

     My ride back home was just as good.  Dodged rain and just enjoyed it.  I hope that tomorrow is as good.

catch ya on the road

April 6, 2014

     Sitting here in the nerve center of Fort Awesome wondering if the weather is ever going to get warm enough to rip around the country without a jacket.

     Today is overcast and much cooler than yesterday was.  I managed to get a few things done to my bikes yesterday.  I got a makeshift cover done for the seat and started on trimming down signal light stems to replace the missing front ones.  That in its self has turned out to be more of a job than I first thought.  My tubing cutter doesn't go deep enough so those smooth cuts I had envisioned will just have to end up a little ragged.  I have maybe located all the things I need to put the magic push button back into play.  If the weather had held I could have run through it and maybe been leading the life of luxury with a shiny hardware store push button.  Ahhhh well, the next ride is just a kick or two away.

     As soon as the weather gets steady I have a couple of projects bikes to get stared on.  One in particular is a special project, an 85 Yamaha Virago 700, as I had waited 15 years to get it.  Now that I have another special reason in a daughter to fix it up for.  She's even said she wanted to help with it. Can't beat that now can ya?

     Today hasn't been a total loss.  There are parts to hunt and a few miles to get in here and there.  Who knows I may even get lucky and find everything on my list.  That would be nice, just put it all together and let her start riding.

catch ya on the road

April 5, 2014

     My solo seat on my daily beater has started to show it's age badly.  After looking around locally for a replacement without any luck I started thinking of a temporary cover till I could come up with one.

     Since the seat is always exposed to the weather I don't really put a lot of expense into it.  This last one was only $9.99 and shipping from E-bay.  Anyway looking around I found an old canvas money bag from a vending company.  The seat appeared to be about the same size as the bag.  I pulled the bag on the old seat and it made a tight fit.  A few zip ties took out the slack and I had a pretty decent looking seat again.  Looking around again I found a new can of scotch guard stuff.  Three treatments of the stuff made for a nice water repellent solo seat again.  The best part of the whole thing is the seat rides like it always did.

  Since I already had everything it really didn't cost me anything so the price was right.  The down time was about an hour and since I'm riding it full time while Clementine is vacationing in sunny south central Texas, that was pretty alright too.  My pups came by and sniffed the whole process and not one of them acted like it was a fire plug (I took that to as a good sign) so I'm happy with the whole thing.

catch ya on the road

Todays thrilling episode...who was that masked man.

Today was another cold one. I got up late and the pups told me about it. As I let them out I noticed that it had rained last night. Glad the temperature hadn't gotten way down last night.
This was going to be a "real" morning. I discovered that I was out of coffee. Cold and no coffee... That wouldn't do. I finished dressing, got the pups in and headed out to the nearest store.
It really didn't seem too bad once I got out. There wasn't any wind and I figured what the heck, jumped on the bike and fired it up.
While I warmed up the bike I heard the sound of another bike coming and saw another bike down on the road go by. It was a couple and they seemed to be doing OK. Now convinced that it wasn't too cold to ride I plowed down my drive.
The first couple of hundred yards wasn't bad at all. As soon as I hit speed I began to change my mind and seriously thought about turning back. The wind chill had brought the temperature down to at least the middle teens. As I was starting to really decide to turn around I saw the big sign for the Conoco station pop up. I decided that I could tough it out and cranked on the throttle and hit 70 then let it just the bike wind itself down as I come into town. Pulling into the Conoco station I noticed that a couple of people looked me over real good. They had this look to them like they knew I wasn't playing with a full deck. Oh well, There was coffee inside and they could just live with it. Once inside I headed over and got a cup of hot coffee and sipped it continuously until it was gone. Now, slightly warmer I got another cup and took a little more time with it.
The girl at the counter has known me for years and just shook her head at me and with a little laugh said "who you tryin to impress"? I chuckle at hearing this and said "everybody".
After a couple or four cups of coffee and a cheese danish. I was ready to go and do battle once again. Filling up a couple of large cups with coffee for the road I settled up. Heading for the door I noticed the bike that I had seen earlier pull in. The riders were frozen! Thinking real fast I stepped out, nodded and handed a cup to each. Turning back to the store I got another couple of cups to go and told the girl to be easy on them when they come in. I walked out to my bike and tied on the coffee and gave her a gentle kick to life and eased out on to Highway45. Thinking that it was the same distance home no mater which way I went I opted to ride up through the Jay sub division and let some of my buddies see that I was out and riding. Also it would be a slower ride and therefore less cold.
Pulling back in at the house I noticed that my Little Republican Quartet were all in the window looking at me. I like them even more this morning as they didn't look at me like I had lost good sense. Setting the coffee in the microwave and thinking that I need to shower and all that I looked around at my pups and they all looked at me as if to say "ahemmm, you forgettin something?" I kind of laughed and fished them out a treat.
After getting all my normal morning routine back on schedule I thought I'd jump in the car and go get a few groceries. The Grocery store was it's usual and I loaded up and headed back to the house. As I came into town I noticed that I needed some gas and slid in to the Conoco station and topped off. When I went in to pay the girl at the counter started laughing. This was the same girl from earlier and my coffee run. Thinking I had left my zipper down or something else like that I asked here "what"?
She told me that the couple on the bike from earlier had finally gotten off their bike and came in to warm up and got another cup of coffee. She said that they were from Fayetteville and confessed that they weren't cold weather riders. They also said that they had seen me riding the other day, That they had followed me over to Springdale, and figured that if I could ride without a windshield then they could with one. According the clerk the woman said "boy was we wrong!"
They stood around for a while and finally started zipping back up and getting ready to head home when they both asked at the same time. Who was that guy on the bike that gave us the coffee? The clerk said it struck her as being too funny and she drew a blank. Finally, she told me that it just sorta popped into her head and she said nobody knows who he is. He's the "Lonesome stranger". She also said that a few of the locals were in there and it was all they could do to keep from cracking up as they laid a business card on the counter asking her to give it to me. She handed me their card and really busted up laughing. I paid for my gas and picked up the card and headed out.
At least they had the stuff to get out and try. Think Ill give it a few days and give them a call. Maybe on a warmer weekend?
Looks like I'm going to have to get some chrome head bolts to leave behind.
Hope to catch ya on the road