These last couple of days have been slow for me. I managed to catch a stomach virus on top of everything else I got going on.
The doctor said " just lay around and you'll know when it passes".
That is hard to do. Especially when the weather is half way decent for riding. I made through to the evening of the second day and I guess the doc was right. I noticed that I felt much better.
I had'nt eaten anything in Three days so I decided to try some soup. That meant running down to the store as I did'nt have any of the standby 'chicken noodle.'
It was cool to cold out but not freezing so I figured a little ride would'nt do too much damage.
The bike fired up on the second kick and we were off.
Let me tell you it was a great ride! I rolled in at the store, grabbed the soup and was back on the road in record time. (if everytime I had to go shopping went this quick)
I fired up and really wound the bike up on the return trip. When I pulled in to park I realized, like most times, I could have just kept going. Maybe tomorrows weather will be at least as good and I can put on more than a mile or so.
catch ya on the road
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
By the light of the silvery moon
Last night the moon was full and with the cold weather it was a very nice night.
I hadnt been doing too much lately. Health wise there just wasnt any energy. So when a friend called up and said lets go get coffee I thought maybe a little fresh air would hit the spot.
I fired up the bike as I was only going down to the little gas station. I figured I could stir a better quality of air if I was out in it. The ride down was pretty quick and the chill went all the way to the bone. The air was fresh! By the time I got to the station, like most times I get started on the old gal, I was ready to put on a few miles.
We visited and had coffee till about 8pm. As we were leaving my friends asked several times about how I was feeling and I guess were concerned since it had cooled a bit while we were there. I ran over again all that the Doctor had said and that seemed to satisfy everyone that I'd make it back the whole quarter mile to the house.
I was feeling pretty good as I fired up and decided, just for grins and giggles you understand, to take the long way home.
Pulling on to the highway I ran west to the mountain and cut across to Highway 412 and ran east to Huntsville. From Huntsville I ran the back roads through Wesley and around back to the house.
About a hundred miles later it was 38 degrees when I got back to the house. Yep, it was cold! However, like most other times when I ride...it's only cold when I'm stopped. I actually felt great when I got back. There is a lot to be said for fresh air on a full moon night. I may have to research this form of treatment further?
catch ya on the road
I hadnt been doing too much lately. Health wise there just wasnt any energy. So when a friend called up and said lets go get coffee I thought maybe a little fresh air would hit the spot.
I fired up the bike as I was only going down to the little gas station. I figured I could stir a better quality of air if I was out in it. The ride down was pretty quick and the chill went all the way to the bone. The air was fresh! By the time I got to the station, like most times I get started on the old gal, I was ready to put on a few miles.
We visited and had coffee till about 8pm. As we were leaving my friends asked several times about how I was feeling and I guess were concerned since it had cooled a bit while we were there. I ran over again all that the Doctor had said and that seemed to satisfy everyone that I'd make it back the whole quarter mile to the house.
I was feeling pretty good as I fired up and decided, just for grins and giggles you understand, to take the long way home.
Pulling on to the highway I ran west to the mountain and cut across to Highway 412 and ran east to Huntsville. From Huntsville I ran the back roads through Wesley and around back to the house.
About a hundred miles later it was 38 degrees when I got back to the house. Yep, it was cold! However, like most other times when I ride...it's only cold when I'm stopped. I actually felt great when I got back. There is a lot to be said for fresh air on a full moon night. I may have to research this form of treatment further?
catch ya on the road
Saturday, December 3, 2011
back in the saddle again
I had a fork seal leaking on the old gal. At 35 years old I guess it was time she started showing her age.
A friend help me refill the forks as a stop gap till I could manage to get new seals. That helped with the 'all over the road' feel in the ride.
My shop called with the seals and I took her over. I was expecting a couple of days at the most to be a "slave to the cage" as a friend put it. He kept saying "embrace the cage"
The next day the shop called and the lady says 'John, do you have another set of forks that would fit your bike?' Now I'm not a expert or anything but this did'nt sound in any way like a good thing. Come to find out the forks had worn in one spot to the point they broke. Yep, wasnt good. I had a set off an XS1100 that were close looking to the same size. I ran them over right fast in a double quick hurry. (We're in kind of an Indian summer feeling kind of weather right now. Perfect riding weather and I got nothing to ride. plus there was this voice running through my head saying 'embrace the cage') Ok, couple of days now and I'll be back on the road I'm thinking when the phone rings..."have you got anymore forks laying around?" The XS forks wont work. Like I said, I aint no expert, but anybody could tell this was just wrong. This weather is not going to last and I'm still walkin and that voice was getting louder.
Finally I broke down and got the forks off my parts bike, and hurried them over.
Looking at the caller ID on my phone I started getting nervous. This last set had worked and I could pick it up anytime.
I caught a ride out to the shop and got the low down on all that was done to the forks and steering neck. My bill ended up costing me a little more due to the extra labor involved.
I fired up and got out on the road. Let me tell you, words cannot describe the difference in the ride. At 85 miles per hour you can let the bars go and she just floats down the road.
The weather is still holding and I'm riding along without even the slightest thought of 'embracing the cage.'
In thinking about it all my friends are the real reason I'm not 'embracing the cage.' I thank you all. (God has blessed me with the greatest friends.)
And a big thank you to my mail order bride for all your help.
catch ya on the road
A friend help me refill the forks as a stop gap till I could manage to get new seals. That helped with the 'all over the road' feel in the ride.
My shop called with the seals and I took her over. I was expecting a couple of days at the most to be a "slave to the cage" as a friend put it. He kept saying "embrace the cage"
The next day the shop called and the lady says 'John, do you have another set of forks that would fit your bike?' Now I'm not a expert or anything but this did'nt sound in any way like a good thing. Come to find out the forks had worn in one spot to the point they broke. Yep, wasnt good. I had a set off an XS1100 that were close looking to the same size. I ran them over right fast in a double quick hurry. (We're in kind of an Indian summer feeling kind of weather right now. Perfect riding weather and I got nothing to ride. plus there was this voice running through my head saying 'embrace the cage') Ok, couple of days now and I'll be back on the road I'm thinking when the phone rings..."have you got anymore forks laying around?" The XS forks wont work. Like I said, I aint no expert, but anybody could tell this was just wrong. This weather is not going to last and I'm still walkin and that voice was getting louder.
Finally I broke down and got the forks off my parts bike, and hurried them over.
Looking at the caller ID on my phone I started getting nervous. This last set had worked and I could pick it up anytime.
I caught a ride out to the shop and got the low down on all that was done to the forks and steering neck. My bill ended up costing me a little more due to the extra labor involved.
I fired up and got out on the road. Let me tell you, words cannot describe the difference in the ride. At 85 miles per hour you can let the bars go and she just floats down the road.
The weather is still holding and I'm riding along without even the slightest thought of 'embracing the cage.'
In thinking about it all my friends are the real reason I'm not 'embracing the cage.' I thank you all. (God has blessed me with the greatest friends.)
And a big thank you to my mail order bride for all your help.
catch ya on the road
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Non issues and the odd conspricy
A good number of years ago I owned a Triumph motorcycle. Like a lot of motorcycles I've owned through out my life there was nothing really special about it. It stuck in my mind because it was the first bike I had saw that didnt have a rear brake light. It had a bright tail light but no brake light. As I remember it there was no switch or anything. It just didnt have one. This wasnt a big deal given the area I was in, very rural, and the point in my life, very young. Today they refer to it as a non issue.
Flash forward to present day. A while back the rear brake light switch on my KZ had finally worn out. Only 35 years old and worn out. At the time of this discovery I remember thinking that at least it quit in the on position and people could at least see me in lower light, that sucker was bright with both sides of the bulb burning. It also has a large clear side so I had bright red and clear light after dark. The biggest thing was, it was "English", remembering my old Triumph. Over the several months that I have been running it this way I have been out in all kinds of weather and all kinds of traffic without any kind of problem what so ever...untill last night.
Coming in late last night I pulled into my parking space at the house and turned off my head light. I hit the kill switch instead of the key for some reason and got to listening to the foxes barking behind the house. They sounded closer than usual. I was hearing them over the bikes engine as I pulled in. With all of the noise and so forth I didnt notice my tail light burning brightly. This morning I thought it odd that the bike wouldnt do anything. A quick check of the main fuse led me to a dead battery. A quick jump from the car(they are good for a few things) and it fired off. Then it all came clearly to mind. My "English" style light pulled the battery down. In thinking it over, I used the kill switch and left the key on. Maybe a brake light switch would'nt be a bad investment? Then again it might have been the Foxes? A conspricy! Ya never know...
Catch ya on the road
Flash forward to present day. A while back the rear brake light switch on my KZ had finally worn out. Only 35 years old and worn out. At the time of this discovery I remember thinking that at least it quit in the on position and people could at least see me in lower light, that sucker was bright with both sides of the bulb burning. It also has a large clear side so I had bright red and clear light after dark. The biggest thing was, it was "English", remembering my old Triumph. Over the several months that I have been running it this way I have been out in all kinds of weather and all kinds of traffic without any kind of problem what so ever...untill last night.
Coming in late last night I pulled into my parking space at the house and turned off my head light. I hit the kill switch instead of the key for some reason and got to listening to the foxes barking behind the house. They sounded closer than usual. I was hearing them over the bikes engine as I pulled in. With all of the noise and so forth I didnt notice my tail light burning brightly. This morning I thought it odd that the bike wouldnt do anything. A quick check of the main fuse led me to a dead battery. A quick jump from the car(they are good for a few things) and it fired off. Then it all came clearly to mind. My "English" style light pulled the battery down. In thinking it over, I used the kill switch and left the key on. Maybe a brake light switch would'nt be a bad investment? Then again it might have been the Foxes? A conspricy! Ya never know...
Catch ya on the road
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Bullet Proof
By some folks accounts today was "freezing."
When I got up this morning the weather line said it was 34 degrees with a chance of rain. Looking out I saw that it had rained.
I figured on a cool ride so I pulled on some extra layers and headed out. It was actually kind of nice. No wind made it cool not cold.
I strapped on the thermos and kicked the old gal to life. while warming up I thought about something a friend had said about my old bike. "That's really some bike. It's taken everything you've thrown at it and keeps on going." ( that was a genuine Bull moose of a complement) Yep, so far it's shown it's self to be nearly bullet proof. I've owned several bikes over the years and have always had the best luck and most fun with the older vertical twins.
I got on the road and had a enjoyable ride. Traffic was slight and we all just kind of flowed through the early morning.
Riding through town I didn't see another bike anywhere and to me that's just sad. People just don't know what they are missing. It really was a good morning for riding.
Later in the morning at work when people started to venture out I started getting the comments about the cold and rain. I don't get near as many as I use to. Like one of the corporate office ladies said "after 10 years of seeing you roar in on that thing every morning rain or shine, whats left to say?" However she did go on to say that they all thought I was crazy. Really, I'm not crazy...I have been diagnosed as being a carrier for it though.
Toward the noon hour the sun came out and it turned out to be a great afternoon. My ride to the house was just about perfect. (It could have lasted a little longer)
Tomorrow is suppose to be a tad bit warmer and I'm hoping to maybe get in a little longer trip.
"she may lay down on me tomorrow... today she runs with the heart of a timex"
catch ya on the road
When I got up this morning the weather line said it was 34 degrees with a chance of rain. Looking out I saw that it had rained.
I figured on a cool ride so I pulled on some extra layers and headed out. It was actually kind of nice. No wind made it cool not cold.
I strapped on the thermos and kicked the old gal to life. while warming up I thought about something a friend had said about my old bike. "That's really some bike. It's taken everything you've thrown at it and keeps on going." ( that was a genuine Bull moose of a complement) Yep, so far it's shown it's self to be nearly bullet proof. I've owned several bikes over the years and have always had the best luck and most fun with the older vertical twins.
I got on the road and had a enjoyable ride. Traffic was slight and we all just kind of flowed through the early morning.
Riding through town I didn't see another bike anywhere and to me that's just sad. People just don't know what they are missing. It really was a good morning for riding.
Later in the morning at work when people started to venture out I started getting the comments about the cold and rain. I don't get near as many as I use to. Like one of the corporate office ladies said "after 10 years of seeing you roar in on that thing every morning rain or shine, whats left to say?" However she did go on to say that they all thought I was crazy. Really, I'm not crazy...I have been diagnosed as being a carrier for it though.
Toward the noon hour the sun came out and it turned out to be a great afternoon. My ride to the house was just about perfect. (It could have lasted a little longer)
Tomorrow is suppose to be a tad bit warmer and I'm hoping to maybe get in a little longer trip.
"she may lay down on me tomorrow... today she runs with the heart of a timex"
catch ya on the road
Monday, October 31, 2011
Elk on a pension
I had plans to get a few things done today. Things I've been putting off for quite a while. Sometimes it just does me no good to plan. I headed out this morning in a cool 40 or so degrees to get some breakfast and get a mile or two in. I had a spur of the moment change of mind and had breakfast packed to go. Filled my thermos with coffee and headed east toward Hwy 412. I just figured to ride a while and stop some place along the way and eat breakfast off the tank.
After about ten miles I decided to run over to Boxley and see if I could get a couple of shots of the Elk.
I'm not sure what was up today but traffic on 412 was almost bumper to bumper. I cant ever remember traffic like this. It was kind of a 'high speed' slow going feeling. we were running along at speed but with all the traffic it seemed like I was just creeping along.
I eased through Marble and traffic seemed to thin a bit. Turning onto Hwy 21 I was able to open up a little and feel like I was getting some place. As I made the miles over to Kingston I was really starting to enjoy the ride. All except for the heavy cross winds. I fought a cross wind all day. Running through Kingston I met several bikes and it just made everything seem all that much better.
As I started down the mountain to the valley I let the old gal just roll letting the engine hold it back and listened to the pipes. I really enjoy how it sounds like an old truck more than it did a motorcycle. At the brake check area I saw four bikes so I eased in to say howdy. Three newer BMW's and a new LARGE Victory. They were headed to Kansas City on the return part of their trip. We visited a bit then headed on.
I ran through the valley and couldnt find any Elk. Since I was close I ran on out and had lunch with mom.
I headed back to try and make an appointment at my bike shop for a new front tube. The crosswind was still with me but it was a great ride. No Elk on the return trip either. I'm begining to think those Elk are union.
Droping down into Kingston a yellow motorcycle caught my eye and I pulled over to check it out. It was SHARP! I believe it was a stock 1970 Norton Comando. I visited with the owner, a cool guy name Steve. He lives in the Kingston area. We talked verticle twins for a few and about doing some riding one of these days.
Finally I headed out to the bike shop where I postponed my new tube for a week so they could have the bike for a while and get my fork seals put in at the same time.
Pulling back in at the house, I realized I didnt get a bunch done today. I did meet a cool guy on an old Norton and had a great ride of 168 miles.
catch ya on the road
After about ten miles I decided to run over to Boxley and see if I could get a couple of shots of the Elk.
I'm not sure what was up today but traffic on 412 was almost bumper to bumper. I cant ever remember traffic like this. It was kind of a 'high speed' slow going feeling. we were running along at speed but with all the traffic it seemed like I was just creeping along.
I eased through Marble and traffic seemed to thin a bit. Turning onto Hwy 21 I was able to open up a little and feel like I was getting some place. As I made the miles over to Kingston I was really starting to enjoy the ride. All except for the heavy cross winds. I fought a cross wind all day. Running through Kingston I met several bikes and it just made everything seem all that much better.
As I started down the mountain to the valley I let the old gal just roll letting the engine hold it back and listened to the pipes. I really enjoy how it sounds like an old truck more than it did a motorcycle. At the brake check area I saw four bikes so I eased in to say howdy. Three newer BMW's and a new LARGE Victory. They were headed to Kansas City on the return part of their trip. We visited a bit then headed on.
I ran through the valley and couldnt find any Elk. Since I was close I ran on out and had lunch with mom.
I headed back to try and make an appointment at my bike shop for a new front tube. The crosswind was still with me but it was a great ride. No Elk on the return trip either. I'm begining to think those Elk are union.
Droping down into Kingston a yellow motorcycle caught my eye and I pulled over to check it out. It was SHARP! I believe it was a stock 1970 Norton Comando. I visited with the owner, a cool guy name Steve. He lives in the Kingston area. We talked verticle twins for a few and about doing some riding one of these days.
Finally I headed out to the bike shop where I postponed my new tube for a week so they could have the bike for a while and get my fork seals put in at the same time.
Pulling back in at the house, I realized I didnt get a bunch done today. I did meet a cool guy on an old Norton and had a great ride of 168 miles.
catch ya on the road
Thursday, October 27, 2011
another day in paradise
The thunder started about the time I got up this morning. Oh yeah. It's suppose to rain today.
Sipping my first cup of coffee I began to have thoughts of slipping over to the "dark side."
As I became more awake I remembered the situation with the tires on my car. No worries about the darkside. I have been putting off changing the tires out for this whole past summer. (ya never notice the hole in the roof till it rains) This coming weekend for sure.
I loaded up and headed out into the down pour. It had rained hard enough to wash the roads off and really, it wasnt too bad.
Traffic was light as I hit the hiway. got even lighter as pulled off and on running a few errands. By the time I finally got on the road to town I was pretty much by myself. It was a good ride, even with the rain and chill. I tried to just take it easy in the weather but still made about the same time I usually do.
Pulling in at the clinic I was surprised to see no other vehicles in the lot. Guess the rain kept everybody at home? The lady at the counter signed me in and asked if I was on my bike in the rain. We chatted a bit then I went in to see the Doctor. First thing he pointed out that I looked a little tired. I told him I had a late night texting with my "mail order bride." He couldnt come up with a reply so he did his doctoring stuff and said I'll see ya again in three months.
After the doctor I headed out to find some biscuts and gravy. Over a very late breakfast I figured It was going to be a good day for a ride and decided to run down and check on mom and the family. I was only a hundred miles or so away.
I pulled up to a red light, noticing all the people in all the cars around me. How really unhappy they looked. The light changed and I pulled away rather "briskly." Whatever was making them look so sour just migh rub off?
It's just not winter enough yet to give in to the allure of the darkside.
catch ya on the road
Sipping my first cup of coffee I began to have thoughts of slipping over to the "dark side."
As I became more awake I remembered the situation with the tires on my car. No worries about the darkside. I have been putting off changing the tires out for this whole past summer. (ya never notice the hole in the roof till it rains) This coming weekend for sure.
I loaded up and headed out into the down pour. It had rained hard enough to wash the roads off and really, it wasnt too bad.
Traffic was light as I hit the hiway. got even lighter as pulled off and on running a few errands. By the time I finally got on the road to town I was pretty much by myself. It was a good ride, even with the rain and chill. I tried to just take it easy in the weather but still made about the same time I usually do.
Pulling in at the clinic I was surprised to see no other vehicles in the lot. Guess the rain kept everybody at home? The lady at the counter signed me in and asked if I was on my bike in the rain. We chatted a bit then I went in to see the Doctor. First thing he pointed out that I looked a little tired. I told him I had a late night texting with my "mail order bride." He couldnt come up with a reply so he did his doctoring stuff and said I'll see ya again in three months.
After the doctor I headed out to find some biscuts and gravy. Over a very late breakfast I figured It was going to be a good day for a ride and decided to run down and check on mom and the family. I was only a hundred miles or so away.
I pulled up to a red light, noticing all the people in all the cars around me. How really unhappy they looked. The light changed and I pulled away rather "briskly." Whatever was making them look so sour just migh rub off?
It's just not winter enough yet to give in to the allure of the darkside.
catch ya on the road
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