Skies had cleared, the rain was gone…and of course; the temps had dropped right back down into the low 20’s again. Oh well, at least I’m riding!
Saddle up, hit the gym, then off to work. Come to a 4-way stop…taking a left…hey now…what’s up with that shimmer coming off of the road I’m turning into? Why, it looks just like black i - Whoooaaa big fella! Keep that ass end behind me where it belongs!! A quick shift of the weight, an adjustment with the handlebars, some fancy two-stepping with the feet…there; stabilized, rockin’ and rollin’ again.
Why hello there heart-rate, so nice of you to join me on this fine morning. It’s ok, it’s ok, you can settle down now. We’ll just keep an eye out for more dark patches on the way in, shall we? And while I’m at it, I can probably pull the seat out of my ass cheeks now –c’mon guys; unclench, unclench...
Slide Hard, Get 2nd Chances
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Turkey Day 2008
Up early, suit up and hit the roadways. Brrr, a bit chilly for a November morning. I didn't get an exact reading, but the needle on the bike was floating just under the 20 degree mark.
Arriving at McCarthy's, I met up with the rest of the crew that would be joining us for breakfast. Scott, Dan, Mike and Mike's son (Mike) and myself hit a breakfast nook down the road a piece. Stuffing down a good breakfast was key for the day's activities; standing outside in the frosty temps, assiting The Mad Butcher as he made his way through the turkey horde.
(For those that would like some background on this day, see last year's post; http://twowheeledtales.blogspot.com/2007/11/turkey-day-2007.html )
As Paul so aptly mentioned in one of his recent posts; what good is a blog without a pic? So here's the pic; it's easy to keep your beers cold when they're wrapped in ice!
One of the guys had used a claw hammer to bust up the ice in the cooler and try to get a beer out. Well, he missed and wound up wearing one of the beers. Good fun for those of us watching - not so much fun for him.
There was a good turnout this year, and the turkeys never stood a chance. Unfortunately, I had to bail at noontime, but everything was in good hands when I left.
Good laughs, good times. Anyone interested in making it next year? All you gotta do is bring some food for the feast, a few beers, and a strong stomach.
Not sure I'll have anything else to post before Thanksgiving, so here's wishing everyone a great holiday, full of food, fun, and frivolity.
Eat Hard, Take Naps
Arriving at McCarthy's, I met up with the rest of the crew that would be joining us for breakfast. Scott, Dan, Mike and Mike's son (Mike) and myself hit a breakfast nook down the road a piece. Stuffing down a good breakfast was key for the day's activities; standing outside in the frosty temps, assiting The Mad Butcher as he made his way through the turkey horde.
(For those that would like some background on this day, see last year's post; http://twowheeledtales.blogspot.com/2007/11/turkey-day-2007.html )
As Paul so aptly mentioned in one of his recent posts; what good is a blog without a pic? So here's the pic; it's easy to keep your beers cold when they're wrapped in ice!
One of the guys had used a claw hammer to bust up the ice in the cooler and try to get a beer out. Well, he missed and wound up wearing one of the beers. Good fun for those of us watching - not so much fun for him.There was a good turnout this year, and the turkeys never stood a chance. Unfortunately, I had to bail at noontime, but everything was in good hands when I left.
Good laughs, good times. Anyone interested in making it next year? All you gotta do is bring some food for the feast, a few beers, and a strong stomach.
Not sure I'll have anything else to post before Thanksgiving, so here's wishing everyone a great holiday, full of food, fun, and frivolity.
Eat Hard, Take Naps
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Quit Yer Whining
So the weather today is calling for some flurries in the afternoon. Being one of the folks that wish they could ride year-round, I naturally took some offense to the suggestion/possibility that I might actually have some white stuff interfering with my riding today. I mean, WTF? It's not even Thanksgiving yet, why are we talking about snow? It's too early! I'm not ready!! Noooooo!!!!!!!
And then I come in and see a post on Paul's blog (check it out, the link is on my page, over on the right, below the pic of me and my pet flying horse...see it?), and he's got some snow in his backyard. No flurries, but actual snow. Enough to give the ground a hint of white to it. Huh. Ok, well he's got it worse than I do, the ground around here is still plenty clear.
And then I get a text from King. And he's got a picture attached.
Holy crap! Now that's snow! And he says it's 18 degrees out there with more snow on the way.
Then, I was emailing with TEP and he writes;
"Started bike, ran carb out of gas and covered it up Sunday
Took mower off tractor and put on the plow and chains
Found a couple of shovels
The 4WD engaged OK on my Dodge
Guess I'm ready.....dammit"
Hmmm...seems everyone else has it worse than I do...guess I should stop bitching about a few flurries then.
Doesn't mean I gotta like them, though...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
And then I come in and see a post on Paul's blog (check it out, the link is on my page, over on the right, below the pic of me and my pet flying horse...see it?), and he's got some snow in his backyard. No flurries, but actual snow. Enough to give the ground a hint of white to it. Huh. Ok, well he's got it worse than I do, the ground around here is still plenty clear.
And then I get a text from King. And he's got a picture attached.
Holy crap! Now that's snow! And he says it's 18 degrees out there with more snow on the way.
Then, I was emailing with TEP and he writes;
"Started bike, ran carb out of gas and covered it up Sunday
Took mower off tractor and put on the plow and chains
Found a couple of shovels
The 4WD engaged OK on my Dodge
Guess I'm ready.....dammit"
Hmmm...seems everyone else has it worse than I do...guess I should stop bitching about a few flurries then.
Doesn't mean I gotta like them, though...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Friday, November 7, 2008
All Hallow's Eve
Friday night…Halloween. The sun had said it’s goodbyes and the dark was settling in quickly. I was itching for the road, so I donned the gear and followed my front tire out of the driveway.
Not having any destination, I began heading south. I figured I’d check out downtown Providence and see what that city had going on, on this fine evening.
However, I hadn’t even made it to the border yet, when a new plan formed in my head. I wasn’t much in the mood for crowds (which I was sure to encounter in Rhode Island’s capital), so I cut things hard and sliced to the east, picking up a road which I knew would take me to the ocean. I figured it would be a nice long and leisurely ride – the end of which would find me standing on sandy shores, with the waves lapping lazily over my bare feet. Then I’d hop back onto the bike and make for home - an honorable, if not exactly “wild” ride.
I’d cruised through several towns and was jamming along with the tunes flowing from my speakers, when it dawned upon me that I’d be passing near a couple of very dear friends of mine. What the hell, the ocean isn’t going anywhere, let’s see if Ed and Sue are home on this evening.
As their house came into view, I was greeted with darkened windows and silence. Ahhh, good for them – they’re out and about, enjoying the night. I’ll continue along with my previous plan to greet the sea.
Hold on, what’s this? As I cruised gently past their driveway, something caught my eye. Light…in their driveway…and…is that a couple of bodies? It is! It’s Ed and Sue, and they’re sitting in their driveway – candles going, and just hanging out! Sweet!
Banking hard, I circled back and down to greet them. Setting the kickstand to the dirt, I dismounted and we exchanged hugs and greetings. They had a table set up which held several candles for illumination, and an enormous bowl of candy for the little costumed critters making the rounds. I pulled up a chair, graciously accepted the offered frosty and we caught up on things long overdue.
Their street was awash with ghosties and ghoulies, skeletons and storm troopers, pirates and princesses – all manner of creatures! All mischief and assorted evil spells were warded off with bribes of candy and laughter.
Ed and Sue had some excellent setups in their yard and I tried to take pics as best I could, but with near-zero light (the flash just ruins the ambiance of the settings!), most of the pics came out somewhat blurry. Maybe I need to start carrying my tripod on the bike?
Here’s a pic of the front of their house – ghosts in the attic, and creepy eyes in the first floor windows…
A close-up of the eyes. These were blinking in and out. Pretty cool!
Here’s a pic of their mini graveyard. With the flash turned on (which ruins the ‘feel’ of it)…
And here’s the same shot, with the flash off. Bear in mind that while it looks like you can’t see much of the graveyard in the pic, if you were just looking at it with your eyes, you could see everything and it looked really cool.
This guy was visible to the naked eye, but not to my camera, so I had to turn my flash back on.
Ed had a neon light going in the barn, acting as a creepy backlight to everything else. I snuck inside and snapped a pic of his bike – I liked the blue tint to it. Kinda hard to make out here, but the pic did come out well.
And lastly, here’s a pic of the hospitable hosts, who opened their…driveway…to the creatures of the night, and also to a lone rider. Thanks Guys!!
I hope everyone else was able to scare up a frightfully good time. I know I did!
Happy All Hallow’s Eve!
Not having any destination, I began heading south. I figured I’d check out downtown Providence and see what that city had going on, on this fine evening.
However, I hadn’t even made it to the border yet, when a new plan formed in my head. I wasn’t much in the mood for crowds (which I was sure to encounter in Rhode Island’s capital), so I cut things hard and sliced to the east, picking up a road which I knew would take me to the ocean. I figured it would be a nice long and leisurely ride – the end of which would find me standing on sandy shores, with the waves lapping lazily over my bare feet. Then I’d hop back onto the bike and make for home - an honorable, if not exactly “wild” ride.
I’d cruised through several towns and was jamming along with the tunes flowing from my speakers, when it dawned upon me that I’d be passing near a couple of very dear friends of mine. What the hell, the ocean isn’t going anywhere, let’s see if Ed and Sue are home on this evening.
As their house came into view, I was greeted with darkened windows and silence. Ahhh, good for them – they’re out and about, enjoying the night. I’ll continue along with my previous plan to greet the sea.
Hold on, what’s this? As I cruised gently past their driveway, something caught my eye. Light…in their driveway…and…is that a couple of bodies? It is! It’s Ed and Sue, and they’re sitting in their driveway – candles going, and just hanging out! Sweet!
Banking hard, I circled back and down to greet them. Setting the kickstand to the dirt, I dismounted and we exchanged hugs and greetings. They had a table set up which held several candles for illumination, and an enormous bowl of candy for the little costumed critters making the rounds. I pulled up a chair, graciously accepted the offered frosty and we caught up on things long overdue.
Their street was awash with ghosties and ghoulies, skeletons and storm troopers, pirates and princesses – all manner of creatures! All mischief and assorted evil spells were warded off with bribes of candy and laughter.
Ed and Sue had some excellent setups in their yard and I tried to take pics as best I could, but with near-zero light (the flash just ruins the ambiance of the settings!), most of the pics came out somewhat blurry. Maybe I need to start carrying my tripod on the bike?
Here’s a pic of the front of their house – ghosts in the attic, and creepy eyes in the first floor windows…
A close-up of the eyes. These were blinking in and out. Pretty cool!
Here’s a pic of their mini graveyard. With the flash turned on (which ruins the ‘feel’ of it)…
And here’s the same shot, with the flash off. Bear in mind that while it looks like you can’t see much of the graveyard in the pic, if you were just looking at it with your eyes, you could see everything and it looked really cool.
This guy was visible to the naked eye, but not to my camera, so I had to turn my flash back on.
Ed had a neon light going in the barn, acting as a creepy backlight to everything else. I snuck inside and snapped a pic of his bike – I liked the blue tint to it. Kinda hard to make out here, but the pic did come out well.
And lastly, here’s a pic of the hospitable hosts, who opened their…driveway…to the creatures of the night, and also to a lone rider. Thanks Guys!!
I hope everyone else was able to scare up a frightfully good time. I know I did!
Happy All Hallow’s Eve!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Costume Prep, Part II
I still owe you guys the rest of the pics from my costume, as well as the pics from when I got together with my niece and nephew. So here ya go…
I used part of a second box to make the inner bench, as well as what would be the foot rest for my feet. I used a pair of older boots, some long-johns for my legs, and then just a pair of jeans tucked around the boots. I rolled up some towels inside the long-johns to make them look like legs, and voila! Well…not quite. The legs had nothing to keep them from flopping all over the place, so I cut pieces of strapping and stuck them down into the boots (behind the long-johns) and then stuck them into the (back of the) knees of the legs. This kept everything in place and looking good.
I applied wood-grained contact paper to the outside walls to give them a nice wooden look, and then took a long straightedge and a black marker and drew lines to make it look like there were individual boards. Then came the cutouts for the front door, as well as the much smaller back door which I’d use to enter/exit the thing. Oh yeah – can’t forget the moon sliver window for the front door!
Here’s a rough look of what it’d look like with me in it (I put up pics of m’cycles and such on the insides, so that it wouldn’t look so bare).
Here’s the finished product – complete with roof vent attached, toilet paper, and one of those red pine tree air fresheners. (Oh, the toilet paper? Why does it look like there’s writing on it? Because there is. In light of how well the stock market has been doing, I printed up a bunch of mini charts which were dropping in value, and labeled them “401k”).
With the H’ween party cancelled, I brought my costume over to Bill’s house so the kids and I could show off our costumes to each other. Here’s a few pics of that…
‘Course, then we had to mix things up a bit…
Then Zak wanted to try out the Outhouse for himself…
That wrapped up the costume for 2008.
The following day (Halloween), I did the usual riding to and from work with my skull mask on. As before; most folks “get” it and there were smiles, waves, and horns beeped.
And of course, there are those that just look at you with that oh-so-familiar “What’s wrong with you???” look.
I think I wear it mostly for those people.
Ride Hard, Take Chances.
I used part of a second box to make the inner bench, as well as what would be the foot rest for my feet. I used a pair of older boots, some long-johns for my legs, and then just a pair of jeans tucked around the boots. I rolled up some towels inside the long-johns to make them look like legs, and voila! Well…not quite. The legs had nothing to keep them from flopping all over the place, so I cut pieces of strapping and stuck them down into the boots (behind the long-johns) and then stuck them into the (back of the) knees of the legs. This kept everything in place and looking good.
I applied wood-grained contact paper to the outside walls to give them a nice wooden look, and then took a long straightedge and a black marker and drew lines to make it look like there were individual boards. Then came the cutouts for the front door, as well as the much smaller back door which I’d use to enter/exit the thing. Oh yeah – can’t forget the moon sliver window for the front door!
Here’s a rough look of what it’d look like with me in it (I put up pics of m’cycles and such on the insides, so that it wouldn’t look so bare).
Here’s the finished product – complete with roof vent attached, toilet paper, and one of those red pine tree air fresheners. (Oh, the toilet paper? Why does it look like there’s writing on it? Because there is. In light of how well the stock market has been doing, I printed up a bunch of mini charts which were dropping in value, and labeled them “401k”).
With the H’ween party cancelled, I brought my costume over to Bill’s house so the kids and I could show off our costumes to each other. Here’s a few pics of that…
‘Course, then we had to mix things up a bit…
Then Zak wanted to try out the Outhouse for himself…
That wrapped up the costume for 2008.
The following day (Halloween), I did the usual riding to and from work with my skull mask on. As before; most folks “get” it and there were smiles, waves, and horns beeped.
And of course, there are those that just look at you with that oh-so-familiar “What’s wrong with you???” look.
I think I wear it mostly for those people.
Ride Hard, Take Chances.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
You Never Know
Thursday was our Halloween celebration at work. We all dress in costumes and knock back a few drinks during the day. Work closes a bit early and we head off site to a kick ass party where the best costumes are awarded cool prizes.
Me and the crew had been out for lunch, we were back and enjoying a couple of frosties. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and things were looking good.
Then the call came in; one of the engineers on the second floor had had a heart attack. EMT’s worked on him for almost an hour before moving him to the hospital. Word came back that he didn’t made it. The Halloween party was understandably cancelled. We cleared out and headed home.
Jim was a hell of a nice guy – funny, and fun to talk with. He was a fellow rider, and we were just talking about cold riding gear last week. He was only 39 years old! A wife and 18 month old daughter, too. It sucks.
So take care of yourself and those you love. And get the miles rolled up while you can.
Because you never know.
RIP, Jim.
Me and the crew had been out for lunch, we were back and enjoying a couple of frosties. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and things were looking good.
Then the call came in; one of the engineers on the second floor had had a heart attack. EMT’s worked on him for almost an hour before moving him to the hospital. Word came back that he didn’t made it. The Halloween party was understandably cancelled. We cleared out and headed home.
Jim was a hell of a nice guy – funny, and fun to talk with. He was a fellow rider, and we were just talking about cold riding gear last week. He was only 39 years old! A wife and 18 month old daughter, too. It sucks.
So take care of yourself and those you love. And get the miles rolled up while you can.
Because you never know.
RIP, Jim.
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