Too Soon!!!

The weather outside is rain at the moment, but it's right on the verge of crossing over to being sleet...which is then to be followed by heavy snow.  The forecasters can't seem to get the rain/snow line figured out and have been going back and forth for days now, in terms of how much accumulation we're going to wind up with.

Latest updates have us getting anywhere from 2-4", which isn't too bad...but it's still much too soon for me.  I don't want the white stuff at all!

With any luck, it won't last long and the bike will still have some more miles to achieve before 2014 closes out.

Fingers crossed!!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Keenan's Crossing

I was out riding this past weekend and was headed back toward the homestead after having ridden to the point of chilled fingers and toes.  I was on a wooded road which I'm fairly familiar with, and there's a certain spot along the way that I enjoy riding by.  It's right where a set of (active) train tracks cross the road, and there's an American Flag that is always on display there.  I didn't know who first erected the posts which the flag hangs from, but I've always been impressed with the whole setup.

Ahh, but today when I rode by, things were amiss..

We'd been having quite a bit of wind lately and that had obviously had an impact upon the draped flag.

Well, we can't have that, so I did a quick U-turn, parked, and set things right...

While I was there, I figured I would take a pic of the marker that lies there...

Just as I was taking the pic, a truck passed by behind me, and the driver beeped.  I didn't bother to look because I don't know anyone that lives in the area, and didn't expect anyone that I knew would be driving by at that moment.

As I was strolling back across the street toward my parked bike, I saw up the road a short way that the truck had apparently pulled into a driveway and the driver was walking hurriedly up the road in my direction.

Ok, I thought; what's this all about.  But then the guy called out "Would you like some history?"  Sure, I replied, and up he came with his hand outstretched to shake mine.

It turns out the guy had grown up at the house whose driveway he'd pulled in to, and the guy who this crossing was named after (Arthur Keenan) had grown up across the street from him, just a shot ways down the street from where we were standing.

Not only had Arthur been a WWII Army veteran, he'd also been a member of the first special service force, the Devil's Brigade, and had been a recipient of a Bronze Star.  After he'd retired from the Army, he'd been a volunteer fireman, an EMT, a custodian of Veteran's graves, and had belonged to the Norfolk American Legion.

Arthur had apparently been the one who initially erected the framework for the flag, and he always tended the area and made sure the flag being displayed was in excellent condition, replacing it when necessary.

When he passed, the town took over the care and maintenance of the area, and officially named it Keenan's Crossing, and installed the memorial marker and fencing around it.  A very nice tribute to someone who certainly earned it.

My new friend's name was John, and I thanked him for his time and information.  We shook hands again and went our separate ways.

I love when little episodes like this happen.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Comprehension

Some folks are having difficulty comprehending that I'm still riding.  Case in point; I rec'd this text from a friend of mine this morning;

That's a screen shot from my phone and in the top left corner, you can see what the temps are at the moment (I'm running two weather apps, that's why there's two different temps listed).  And that's not even as cold as it was @ 5:30 on the way in this morning.

But yes, it was a nice ride in - not much traffic to deal with at all.  I guess folks had a hard time tossing off the warm covers this morning.

In all honesty, my fingers were a bit chilled by the time I arrived.  The gauntlet-style mittens I've been using for years and years aren't cutting it like they used to.  (Hell, they're actually my father's gloves from when he used to snowmobiling, so they're pretty old.)

Oh, my toes?  I had tucked a couple of those carbon, air-activated hand warmer things into my boots to keep them nice and toasty.  Those work great for when it gets really cold, but it's not economically feasible to keep buying them.

I definitely need to make some upgrades.  I'm going to try and find a Gerbing dealer around here and hit them up tonight for some electric gloves as well as some electric socks (although, I see they have electric inserts now...hmmm....)

I may need to get the electric pants so that I can plug in whichever foot option I go with (socks or inserts).  I'm probably looking at some serious cash layout, but I'm getting too old to be bundling up with layer upon layer upon layer, just to enjoy the roadways in the wintertime.

I hope I'm not jinxing myself.  It would suck to buy this stuff and then have snow arrive.  I think all we have in the forecast is some rain on Monday, and then more clear air for most of next week.

Yup.  Still lots of riding to get in before the end of the year!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Russell Remembrance

It's hard to believe it's been 8 years since we've heard your laughter.  We still talk about you and the fun times we had.

I think I'll post a remembrance each year.  Something funny or impressive that stands out from the rest of the impressive and/or funny stories.

This year, I'll go with one of the best ones.  To me, this story showed how strongly you believed in brotherhood.

A few days before heading out to Olean for the very first Dana run, I'd crashed my bike.  There was no time to get it fixed before our departure, so only one bike (yours) made the ride out there in the back of my truck.

On the day of the run, I had the distinct...let's call it 'privilege', of being your passenger.  All the teasing and laughter at being "the bitch" aside, at least it meant I was still able to participate in the run.

We'd gotten about halfway through the run and were coming back out to the parking lot from one of the stops, when you stuck your hand out to me.  In your palm were the keys to your bike.  I looked at you quizzically...why would I need your keys?  You're the rider, I'm the passenger.  And that's when you said that I should drive the next leg, and you would ride on the back.

You rode as the passenger...on your own bike...so that I could take the handlebars and have a proper part in the run for Dana.

Another part to this story is on that next leg, as I was leaning the bike around a corner, I heard/felt the pipes begin to drag on the pavement.  Horrified that I was causing damage to your bike, I instantly slowed and brought it back up out of the drag.  You leaned forward in to my ear and bellowed "JUST GIVE IT TO 'ER!!!".  That was all I needed to hear, so I ripped the throttle and dropped her back down into the lean, leaving an impressive marking on the pavement as we passed.

I love telling people this story.  Those that ride, understand the true significance of what Russell did.  How many people do you know that would ride bitch on their own bike, just to let their brother have a spell on the bars?

I'm proud to say that I knew someone who would.

Victrola, Russell.

First Snow!!!

So we got our first snow of the season.  It wound up to be a whopping 1/2 inch, and it caused traffic on the way in this morning to be snarled for minutes upon minutes.  No real need for that, though.  The 1/2 inch only managed to turn the grass slightly white but the roadways were nothing more than wet.

Looking out my window right now, I should have brought the bike in but took the Jeep because I wasn't sure what the black ice conditions would be.  (As it turns out, they were non-existent.)  Oh well, I'll have it out again this weekend.

Winter has its shoulder pressed against the door and is trying to force its way in but I've got my boot wedged against the bottom and am shoving back with all I have.  I'm not ready yet.

There's still time to ride!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

It's For The Kids!

This past Sunday, a few of us went on a benefit run.  I'd never heard of it before, but this was apparently it's 10th year in operation.  It was a toy run, to benefit kids in New England Hospital, so how could we refuse?

We  hadn't even been notified about the run until about 5 days beforehand, but once folks heard it was for kids, those who able to rearrange their schedules to accommodate, did.  When Sunday arrived, we had 5 people - not a bad showing considering the short notice.

The weather seemed like it was going to cooperate; mid 50's and sunny.  Very nice for a November day!

We all had our toys loaded up and headed off to the run.  Pulling in to the 49's Club in Bridgewater, I didn't see that many bikes.  Huh...that's too bad.  Well, let's see where we can find a parking spot...

As we continued past the few rows of bikes in front of the club, we soon saw that we'd have to continue on past the club to find an open spot...and that's when we saw the parking lot tucked in behind the building, and it was pretty full of bikes.  Nice!  This is much better!

We tucked ourselves in toward the back of those already there, stowed our gear and then headed in to get registered.

On the way in, I couldn't help but take a pic of this character.  I'm sure some kid will be very happy to wind up with this sizeable toy!

After registering and milling about for a bit, it was time to get rolling.  I snapped a quick pic of part of the back parking lot...

The run itself was very, very good.  Not only was the weather awesome, but the route was very nice as well; long stretches of open biway without much interaction with other vehicles.  There was one spot where we bunged up a large rotary quite badly, but as is usually the case; most folks 'got' it.

At the end of the run, we set our kickstands and deposited our toys in the ever-expanding pile inside.  That is a great collection of toys!!!

We grabbed some grub and threw some money down on some raffles, and then kinda milled about again.  The hall was huge, but there was such a great turnout that it was pretty packed, and many of us were almost elbow-to-elbow.

Fortunately, Phil noticed a few folks head to the back of the hall and exit through a doorway.  Opening the door to check things out, he was happy to report back to us that the party was going on outside, too.  Sweet!  Let's get some fresh air and elbow room!

This place had an awesome setup.  We grabbed a table beneath an open pavilion and kicked back while listening to the outside band play (there were bands playing inside, too - this party was big!)

They also had a fire pit going, ringed with chairs and bales of hay.

Before not long at all, there was quite a crowd gathered around it and tossing more wood on to it.  Nothing like a November day with a happy crowd gathered around a campfire!

The sustenance was delicious.  There was chili, chowder, and my favorite; beef stew!

This stew was some solid, stick-to-your-ribs kind of stuff.  Perfect for a day like today!

After a couple of hours, we decided to break for home.  Along the way, Greg pointed up at the sky; there was a bit of a cloud halo around the setting sun.  It stood out much more in person than these pics convey.  I did my best to snap pics of it, but I was operating a moving motorcycle so you'll have to forgive me if they're not the best pics.

As we got closer toward our homes, the group began to shrink as folks peeled off in their own directions.  Phil and I wound up back at the Post to check in.  We had some more laughs with a few of the guys that were already there, and it was a great way to wrap up what had been a great day.

A great run, a great cause, and a great number of toys for some kids who I'm sure will greatly appreciate them.  That, is what I call an awesome day.

This run has been added to the rotation and will definitely be done again next year!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Day Trippin'

I realize I'd said I would head south on my Saturday day trip but after looking at the weather again on Friday afternoon and seeing that the wintry mix had moved further up (Maine), I figured this would be a good chance to head up to Vermont and check out some roads I've been meaning to check out, for ages.  Vermont isn't too far at all so I didn't see the need to head out in the darkness of Friday night and instead; waited until daybreak on Saturday morning.

Ahhh...looks like a balmy day for riding...

Let's get some miles on!!

I headed up 495 and picked up Rte 2 west.  When I got to the border of ? and ? (I forget the names of the towns), there's a bridge that I've passed over many times before and have always admired the light posts on either end.  I figured today would be a great day to stop and snap some pics;

There were a couple of plaques to take pics of, too.  First one was on the concrete base below the light post...

And the second one was on the bridge itself...

Can't walk out onto a bridge and not snap a pic of the amazing scenery below...

After continuing on for a while, I picked up 91 north and crossed over into Vermont, proper.  Taking the 2nd exit put me briefly onto Rte 9 at the same spot that we hit when cruising from Olean to Maine for Labor Day.  But I was going in the opposite direction, rather than heading towards Maine (unfortunately).

At any rate, about a half mile up from there, I turned on to a side road which was to bring me out to Rte 30.  However, just before I got to that intersection, I spotted an old dirt bridge on my left so of course I had to pull a U-turn and go back to check it out...

Wow - 1889!  That's pretty impressive. 

I took a bunch of pics, but you get the idea.  I think this one here is my favorite one from the day.

Too bad Matty wasn't with me, I imagine he would've loved this thing.  What he probably wouldn't have loved was the way the edges were pressing outward, at the tops of the walls.  I noticed it at first when I was standing on top of the bridge and looking over the side.  Once I was down inside of the tunnel, looking up at the ceiling revealed just how bad things are.  (This pic is looking directly up at the ceiling...whoa...that's one hell of a crack!)

Back out onto the road, I picked up Rte 30 north and saw some nice sights along the way.  Including a very long covered wooden bridge.  I could see that it was blocked off, but still had to pull in and see what the deal was with it.

Some history...

Ok, so I wonder why (specifically) this thing is closed off.  Hey now, look at the sag in that floor!  That's probably not very safe...

Holy crap - now that's what I call a fallen arch...

This is what it's supposed to look like...

Back to the road, and continued up 30 until I connected with Rte 100.  Ahhh "Scenic Byway"...I love these signs.

Cruising around some cool twisties, I was keeping a sidelong glance at the (almost dry) riverbed which was matching the road for twists and turns.  Just as I exited one of the corners, I spotted something out in the middle of the riverbed which warranted yet another U-turn.

After finding a spot to set the kickstand, I first felt an obligation to take a pic of the riverbed itself.

And then - hey look - it's a rock stack.  These things are pretty cool...

Ta da!  This is what I'd spotted from the road.  It was a very tall rock stack, sitting atop a huge boulder, out near the inner edge of the riverbed.

If you go back to the first picture of the riverbed and look at it again, you'll see the huge boulder with the stack on it.  It's located on the right side of the pic, roughly mid-way, top to bottom (of the pic).  It was tall enough to have caught my eye as I was rounding past it.

I placed my helmet next to it to give a rough idea of perspective.  This thing was pretty tall!

Back out to the roadways, I continued meandering down 100, around corners, up and down hills...and found I was soon riding in areas that had snow on the ground.  Granted; it's not much snow, but it's still snow!  And if you open up this pic and look at the background, that's a ski area (Mt Snow) and the wisps of white are their snow making equipment, working full blast.  Aaaarrrgghhh!!!  It's too early for this stuff!

Thankfully the road soon took me out of the snowy area and into...Hey...what was that I just saw flash by on the right?  Yep; another U-turn...look, it's Snoopy!  I found him!

(Which reminded me that I still need to see if I can find a place to mount my stuffed Snoopy on my new bike...)

Anyway, continuing on, I soon picked up Rte 9 and headed east, and before too long, I found myself atop a very familiar overlook...

Yup; Hogback Mountain.  Man it sure is different in the late Fall.  I went inside to see if I could get a Cherry Garcia ice cream.  It would have been great to send King a pic of me eating one of those, but no dice.  I guess there's not much market for ice cream when the temps are in the high 30's.

Here's a nice panoramic photo for you.  The view was very good and clear.  The skies were beautiful...not so much the dead brown landscape.  Bleah.  Winter is far too close...

And there you go.  There weren't any other pic-worthy items on the rest of the trip home.  The temps had peaked slightly during the mid-day, but were now dropping again and the chill was beginning to work its way into my bones so I hammered the throttle and shot for home.

I wound up with a hair under 350 miles for the day.  Not bad for a November day trip with chilly temps.

Where should I take the bike this coming weekend?

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Sights, Sounds and Smells

Another alliterative title today, Dave.  What's up?  Well, let's find out...

The morning commutes have been getting chillier and chillier, as expected as the Fall slides by and Winter has begun to appear on the horizon.  Daylight savings has passed, bringing the accompanying morning blackness as well.  They say things happen in threes, so what's the third one?  Well that would be the woodland creatures (deer, mostly) foraging and looking to bulk up for the coming winter months.  And that means they're out and about now and visible more often.  Just yesterday morning I passed one on the side of the road, standing there as if patiently waiting for me to pass by before proceeding out into the roadway.  I'm sure I can't count on all of his brethren being as polite, so alertness will be key in the coming days and nights!

There's your "sights"...what about sounds and smells?

Sounds...well, I'm beginning to wonder if the new motorcycle is damaging my sense of hearing at all.  I don't blast the radio very often, and the pipes aren't that loud, so how can this be happening?  Believe it or not, I'm wondering if the new windshield design, which sends most of the passing air sliding over my shoulders and past my ears, is causing a higher-than-normal level of "white noise".  This causes me to have my radio louder than normal, but it doesn't sound louder.  However, whenever I shut the bike off, I'm finding that the radio is pretty loud.  What are the implications of all of this?  Well, the tinnitus that I've had since a young age is getting a lot louder lately.  I've gone had it for so long that I'm able to block it out most of the time, but lately I'm noticing it more and more.  I guess time will tell how this progresses and whether I decide to do anything about it.

And that takes care of "sounds".  Now, on to smells...

One of my favorite things at this time of year is cruising back roads in the chilly air and coming upon a house that has a wood stove burning.  I see the light gray smoke rising from the chimney and slowly wafting down around the yard and (hopefully) across the road.  When I see this, I know my olfactory sense is about to get a treat.  Sure enough, as I pass through the mix of smoke and air, my head is filled with the pleasant aromas of burning wood, which give rise to thoughts of gatherings around campfires and fireplaces.  Good times with good friends come to mind, and it makes me long for some of the times past, while also looking forward to great times still to come.

The weather folks are calling for a clear night tonight and a sunny day tomorrow.  I don't have any current plans until tomorrow night so I'm contemplating stretching the bike's legs on a good long ride.  I have no destination in mind - I'd contemplated heading north but with a wintry mix in that forecast, I think I'll head south, instead.  I may take off tonight and just ride until it's late, then find a place to stay.  Or, I may wait until tomorrow morning when there's daylight and the viewing will be better.  Either way, there'll be some throttle twistin' going on.

Riding season is dwindling and I want to get some more miles rolled up before the snows start arriving.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Halloween Hijinks

I headed over to Ed & Sue's for their annual Halloween event on Friday night.  They had set up decorations galore, had the fire going, and it was a great evening.  A bit chilly, but not too bad considering it was November Eve.

I brought my usual pumpkin + roll of TP + kerosene with me so that we could have a nice flaming pumpkin.  I also brought a couple of extra ingredients this year; boric acid and gas-line antifreeze.  Wheee!!!

Ok, first the decoration pics...

 

Trust me when I say that there were MANY more decorations than just these, and that they looked amazing in person.  It's tough to snap a decent pic when it's dark out.  (Yes, I even tried using my "night" setting.)

Ok, on to the pumpkin.  Ed and I scrounged around until we found a piece of plywood to lay down to protect the grass (we had marginal success on that), as well as a cinder block to place the pumpkin onto.

A simple face was carved, the kerosene-soaked TP was placed inside, and voila!  A flaming pumkin!

I added some more kerosene to increase the flames a bit and snapped a few pics. This one caught our eye - what the heck is that thing at the top, just to the right of the flames?  It looks like a flame fairy or something.  (I thought it looked like something jumping from the third rope in a wrestling match...)

Ok, on to the green flames; boric acid - HEET gas-line antifreeze, and ta daaaa!

I started getting a little carried away with this stuff and began just pouring it all over the pumpkin.  The problem with that, of course, is that being spread out so thin, it burned up very quickly....

...but was awesome!!

More than once, Russ came up in our conversations.  After all, he'd introduced us to "copper wood" and we're pretty sure he would have gotten quite a kick out of our version of the green flames.

Here's an action segment for your viewing pleasure (please forgive the sideways angle).  I wanted to get a vid of the green flames shooting up so I asked Ed to do the dumping.  He got a little too close and the flames shot up inside the little container of mixed fluid, and you can hear a bit of a "whoosh" right near the beginning, but since the container was just about empty, and wasn't capped, there was no injury, just an accelerated heartbeat on the poor kid.  :-D

When all was said and done and the flames had burned out, my poor pumpkin looked rather disgruntled.  Actually, he looks like a pissed off Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, lol.

For next year, I'll need to make some changes; maybe I'll soak the TP in the boric acid + HEET, rather than the kerosene.  I also want to see about making different colors in addition to the green.

It was another great and fun night, spent with great friends.  Hopefully you all had a fun and safe evening as well!