Getting Some Head

I had to drop my Jeep off yesterday to have some work done.  I need an inspection sticker but my engine light has been on for a bit.  Zig checked the code for me and it's a misfire on the #4 cylinder.  I'd hoped it was something simple like a clogged injector but nope, it's more serious than that.  Apparently the head has to be replaced.  (The thought of what that was going to cost made my wallet begin to pucker, but then he said it was covered under warranty so all was good again.)

It also needs rear brakes and new wiper blades but I can take care of those so I passed on having the dealership do those.  Besides, I need to get it back as soon as possible because without it, I only have the bike for transportation.  Ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem but we are in the midst of (what's supposed to be) winter-time-weather and wouldn't you know it; snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  We've had balmy temps for the whole stretch so far but as soon as I'm relegated to just the bike, we get snow.  Granted; nothing too bad, but still; ice, snow, sleet and lousy roads.  Awesome.  Just...awesome.

I don't mean to bitch.  I think I'm just grumpy because my Jeep is getting more head than I am.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Merry Ho Ho Ho

It's Christmas! That wondrous time of the year for peace, love and harmony...

Or, you grab Matt and Zig, jump on the bikes and fucking hammer the highway for a little over an hour, pull in to Foxwoods casino, stroll the floors for a bit, looking for a table with a minimum bet limit that fits our thin wallets, finally give up and drop $5 into a slot machine and promptly kiss it goodbye, then you say fuck it and hit the bar.

It's another good day!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Another Good Problem To Have

Having to squint.

Because the sun is in my eyes...

On the eve of Christmas...

Temps in the high 60's...

On two wheels...

It's a good day.

Ride Hard, Merry Christmas Eve!

Winter Solstice!

Wa-Hoo!  Today is the shortest day of the year!  From here on out, the days begin to get longer again!  Sunshiney mornings!  Sunshiney evenings!  Not having to wear clears on the way in to, nor on the way out from, work!  Oh glorious sunshine, how we've missed you!!

(It's gotta be some kind of cruel joke, though, that today is also the official start of Winter...)

But no fear - longer days are coming!!!  We'll have lots of sunshine, any day now!

(All the better to see all the snow we've probably got coming our way...)

Wonderful, welcoming, warming sunshine!!

(Glinting off of ice covered roadways...)

Yay for summery sunshine!!

(Sub zero temperatures...)

Sunshine!

(Snow...)

Sunshine!

(Ice...)

Sun?


Ride Hard, Fight with your inner multiple personalities

RIP Dana

We're experiencing the warmest winter on record so far. Do we have you to thank for that, Dana? Or are you and Russell (and Chuck, and Gapper, and Garv) setting us up for a fantastic prank? Is this going to be like last year where we have a great December but then get walloped in January/February?  If yes, I think it's safe to say we're ok with it. I'll gladly put miles on now,  and worry about the cold and snow later.

Either way,  it makes for a funny thought, thinking of you all huddled together and chuckling at what is coming our way.

We miss you guys...

An Early Christmas Present

Here we are, over half way through December and it hasn't snowed yet.  Yeah, it's cold (and raining again today), but it sure as hell beats snow and salt and slush!  Still riding each day and still getting weird looks from people who don't get it, but this is awesome!  Normally I'd be sliding into a seasonal depression from lack of cycle miles, but I'm still flying high and loving life.  It's like an early Christmas present from the road gods!

Sure, we may wind up having to pay the bill for this in January, but - like those enormous credit card bills that Christmas presents cause us to have - we'll worry about that then!  For now, live the moment!  Get out there and ride!

Don't forget to bundle up, though.  It's cold, windy and rainy out there...

I'll take it over snow, though!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Christmas Cards!!

I was at CVS at lunchtime, printing out this year's Christmas cards, when a woman happened to walk behind me, then paused (I could tell she was looking over my shoulder at the picture on the screen) and then laughed.

Sitting down at the photo kiosk next to me, she said;

"When I first saw you, I thought "Isn't that nice; a big burly biker guy is actually making Christmas cards!"  (I was in full gear because it's cold and raining outside.)

"And then I saw what you were making, and I thought; well...that fits."

We had a good laugh and when it was time for me to leave, I wished her a great day.  She seemed like a good sport with a good sense of humor.

Maybe I should've asked for her address to send her one?

Ride Hard, Keep An Eye Out - The Cards Are Coming...

A Good Problem To Have

My company closes each year for the week between Christmas and New Year's.  For the past 3 years, Christmas has fallen in the middle-ish of the week which basically bungs up the whole week off because there's so many things going on.  This year, though, with Christmas on a Friday and New Year's on the following Friday, it means I've got almost a whole week in between that (as of right now) I don't have anything planned for.  On top of that, the weather has been amazingly favorable to those that enjoy two wheels, and they're saying that this pattern is going to last right through Christmas.

So that leaves me with the possibility of clear roads, not-bad temperatures, and almost a week with nothing to do.  Granted; the weather could turn quickly and even something like a rain storm followed by a drop in temps could spin any road trip plans out of reach.  But for now, I should start thinking about some place to go.

Zig just got his bike back and is tentatively planning on heading out to Olean for the Christmas weekend.  I'd love to join him but I do have plans for the Christmas weekend and can't make it.  Besides, I'm going to be out there in Feb for President's day weekend and I don't want to wear my welcome out.

So...where to go?  It'd probably be somewhere in a southerly direction since I don't want to run into colder temps, but where to?  Where to take a road trip during unseasonably warm temps in December...

It's not a bad problem to have.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Misplaced Trust

The weather forecasters have been saying it's going to a nice week; warmer than normal temps, no rain until Thursday, then a nice weekend.  Sweet!  Sure, we'll probably pay for this later (like last year), but that's "later", and I'll take the good weather "now".

When I walked the bike out this morning, the sky was pretty overcast but I just chalked it up to overnight cloud cover which would soon burn off.  I mean hell; the forecasters have declared clear weather for another two days!  Surely I can trust them!

And then I got to the gym and the TV's were talking about the 60% chance of rain we have today.  Dammit!

Oh well, it won't be too bad.  The temps aren't that cold today and with all the gear I'm wrapped up in, I doubt any precipitation will actually reach me.

Still, though...I shoulda known better than to trust those stupid forecasters...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Where's The (Family) Love?

Anyone that rides, knows that cage drivers are a breed to be wary of.  Whether they're stuffing their faces, playing with their GPS', or finger diddling their phones, they're not focused on the road, which means they're a danger to those of us on two wheels.  It's unfortunate, but it's something that riders are aware of and we do our best to prevent any unwanted introductions to their bumpers.

So one would think that folks who ride would understand that they should drive carefully - especially when driving a cage - and watch out for their brothers and sisters of the two wheeled variety.

Why is it, then,  that some of the worst offenders are these idiots whose vehicles are boldly displaying (HD, Victory, crotch rocket - take your pick) window decals or bumper stickers or hitch receiver caps?   If  you're sporting one of these "I ride a motorcycle" proclamations and then you almost wipe one of us out, the Road Gods should immediately materialize and shove that decal/sticker/hitch cap up your ass.  Or let me do it, if the Gods themselves are too busy to make a personal appearance.

At the least (and in particular to the asshat from this morning who is the pretext for today's rant); take the decal/sticker/hitch cap off of your vehicle and throw it away.  You've lost the privilege to fly it, douchebag.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Loving The Gloves

The Garmin electric gloves I ordered last week, arrived at my door on Friday - sweet, that was quick!  I didn't get a chance to try them out until this morning, though.  (The weather wasn't too cold this weekend, and I'll always be ok with that.)

The ride in this morning wasn't too bad; only 31 degrees, and the gloves handled the temps with ease.  The heat seems to be mostly focused in the palm and bottoms of the fingers, rather than on the backs.  I guess that makes sense as it's easier to keep the heat up if it's not being blown away by the wind.

I don't know when I'll get temps in the 20's again.  Tomorrow and Wednesday looks like rain so I don't think I'll be riding in (cold is ok, rain is ok, but cold + rain just plain sucks).  I'm sure the real cold weather will be here soon enough, so I probably won't have to wait very long.

Now to do something about my toes...

Glove Love!

I made up my mind on the way in this morning; it was time to buy some electric gloves.  I'd only made it a couple of miles from my driveway before my fingers were already complaining about the lack of ambient heat in the air.  By the time I'd made it halfway, I was taking advantage of opportunities to let go of the handlebars and shake my hands vigorously to get more blood in to them.  That's bad enough, but beyond that, they're also ancient and bulky as hell (they're not motorcycling gloves, they're snowmobiling gloves that belonged to my father).  Needless to say they do not offer optimal cold protection, nor are they even geared for motorcycles.  They are a mix of glove/mitten (forefinger is alone, the rest of the fingers are in a mitten), which makes it less than easy to use controls on the bike.  So getting heated gloves will be a win-win; my hands and fingers will be toasty, and I'll be able to operate the bike in a safer manner.

I did a ton of research and found a lot of good reviews for the Gerbing G3 model.  More searching led me to The Warming Store website which had them on sale, and an even further search found me a coupon which granted me 5% off the purchase.  So not too shabby at all.  I elected the normal shipping so I don't expect to see them any time soon.  Hopefully I'll have them before the temps drop into the REALLY cold range, though...you know; single digits.

Maybe this'll be the start of something...I already had the electric jacket (which I highly recommend!), now I'll have the gloves.  Maybe an electric pant liner is next?  I don't see myself getting the boot inserts...although, my toes have been complaining a bit as well, and once they see how happy my fingers are, they may well start stepping up their complaints.

Who knows.  I just know that before too long, my hands and fingers will be happy, and that'll lead to longer wintertime road trips, and that'll make ME happy.

Ride Hard, Keep Toasty

Longing for Longer Daylight

The wintry weather isn't far off.  I don't need a calendar to tell me that, I can tell by how many layers of clothing I have on.  This morning; it was about maxed out, with the most layers being on my face and around the sides of my head.

The attractive weather lady on the news this morning said it was in the teens and I wasn't going to argue with her; it felt every bit that cold on my way in this morning.

It's times like this that I think maybe I should get a full-faced helmet.  It would block the wind on everything above my collar line, and that would certainly make things easier, rather than donning a face mask, neck tube, hat, helmet...and then looking in a mirror to make sure that no skin is exposed.  Which of course only lasts until the first time I have to turn my head to one side or the other, at which point some carefully-placed piece of wind-blocking material is pulled out of place, leaving a tiny, yet very vulnerable, piece of pink flesh exposed.

Maybe this is the year that I buy electric gloves?  Maybe...

I just wish the daylight was longer, for that would mean we'd passed through the clutches of another winter and were on our way to warmer temps again.  More daylight = more sunshine = warmer!

But that's a long, cold ways off still...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Russell Remembrance

How can it be 9 years ago that we lost you?  9 long years of not hearing your laughter or enjoying telling (and making) road stories with you.  Life has gone on since you've passed, but it seems somewhat emptier now.

Last year I posted what is probably my best memory of Russell, when he let me drive his bike during the first Dana run.

This year, I'll opt for a more lighthearted story.  It happened on the way out to the first Dana run.  Russ and I were in my truck, our bikes were loaded up in the back, and it was late-night, for we had set out after I'd gotten home from work.

So there we were,  I was driving, Russ was navigating.  Navigating is an important task you see.  You hold the fate of everyone else in the vehicle, in your hands.  It's up to you to steer them along the proper route and save them from getting lost.  This was especially important in this case, as I'd never been out to Olean before, and I didn't know the way.

We're driving along, the traffic is getting lighter and lighter - due most likely to the fact that it was getting later and later (it was well after midnight by this time).  But we're making good time and we're in good spirits.

Russ was enjoying being chauffeured and made the most of it by taking tokes off of his pipe now and then.  (Those of you who knew Russ, will know what kind of pipe I'm talking about.)  As we rolled along further into the night, his visits to the pipe got more and more often, until he was pretty far gone, in a wonderful mood, prone to fits of laughter.  Which had me laughing at times, just watching him say nonsense things and start laughing about them.

So the miles are ticking off and we're blasting further and further westward along highway 17.  I see the sign for "Rte 16 - Olean" and I asked Russ if this was our exit.  He says "Hell no, we've got a long ways to go still."  Ok, I keep the accelerator pressed, and we sail past the Olean exit.

On to the next one; Buffalo St - Olean.
    Is this our exit?
    "No, no, no - keep on going, we're not even close yet!"

And then the one after that; 417 - Allegany
    How about this one?
    "Just keep on going, I'll tell you which one."

And so on - each exit comes up, I ask him if this is the one, he says no, and we sail on by.

Finally, we get almost to Jamestown and he says "Keep an eye out for the Olean exit, that's the one we want."
    Wait...what?  What exit?
     "The Olean exit, that's the one we're taking."
     Russ...we passed that one almost an hour ago...
     "Oh!  Well, we better turn around then! HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!" (He thought this was the most hilarious thing that had ever happened and couldn't stop laughing about it for some time.)
Me?  Not so much.  I'd been a long day, going to work, then home and loading the bikes, and then hitting the highways and winding spending an extra couple of hours which we hadn't needed to.  I soon got over my aggravation, though.  How can you stay mad at someone that just keeps laughing?  It's infectious.

I sure wish I could hear that laughter again.

Victrola Brother.  I sure miss the hell out of you.

Higgins' 29th Annual Toy Run

A few of us did the annual Higgins' toy run yesterday.  The temps were cool but the turnout was great.  Having a run this late in the year means there aren't any other runs going on to bleed off participants.  And, as Matty said; it weeds out the idiots and warm-temp-warriors who don't know how to ride.

Nelly had hoped to join us for the run but his bike wasn't cooperating.  He still took the time to swing by my house and drop off his toy for the kids.  Which of course, I strapped to the back of my bike for the ride over.

I got a few looks from people on my way over to the Post, but that's nothing new.

Doolo, Matt and Artie were there when I arrived.  Unfortunately, Artie's bike is also giving him some troubles, so he was out for the day, but he also had toys to hand off for us to donate for him.

Dale arrived soon after, and we were off.  We headed to the ending location first to drop off our toys and to register for the feed that would happen later.  There were already a few toys lined up but we knew the stash would certainly grow in size before the day was over.

When we pulled in, there were already quite a few bikes lined up, which was great to see.  Damn the temps, this is for the kids!!

Ed and Susan live close to the 49'ers club so they just met us here.  We'd beaten them by a few minutes, so by the time the got inside, the rest of us already had a beer...er...a soda in our hands.  Despite our protestations, Ed was determined that we each get a new one.  He's good like that.

We had to pound those pretty quickly because the run was taking off in a few minutes.  Thankfully we're seasoned pros and it wasn't an issue.

The run itself was good; only about 30 miles, but scenic, relatively straight, and the traffic we tied up seemed to understand what was going on.

When we pulled in to the Commercial Club (ending spot), the lot filled up quickly and folks headed inside to get in line for libations and food.

Doolo had to head back to the Post for the meat raffle, so we bade him well and then headed inside ourselves.  The food line was already almost out the door, but we took our places and moved up until we finally held bowls of sustenance in our hands (all you can eat chowder, chili and beef stew!)

All the tables inside were jammed up so we headed outside to the picnic tables.  Things were much calmer here and we got to kick back and enjoy our feed without being jostled about by the crowd.

When we'd finished eating and had kicked back for a bit, we decided to head back to the Post and catch the end of the meat raffle, and the first half of the Pats game.

I stopped to snap a pic of the toy collection - pretty impressive, once again!

On the way through the parking lot, there was on bike...er; trike that caught my eye.  Why a trike?  Because of the mill that was running it.  Love me some Shovelhead!

It was an uneventful ride back to the Post, and that was just fine with us.  We headed in, found a spot to stand (and eventually sit), and I even managed to win a bundle of meat, which wasn't shabby at all.

At half time, we broke off into our own directions and headed for home to catch the 2nd half...and to just about have full-on heart attacks before they managed to finally seal the with in the final seconds.

Good friends, lots of laughs, and lots of toys and cash were raised for some kids that really need the love at this time of year.

It was a great day.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Bentley's Saloon!!

I'd heard many good things about Bentley's from buddies that have gone before, but I'd never made it up myself.  Well, that all changed this year, as me and some of the guys headed up for a camping weekend.  That's right, Baby; motorcycle camping in October!

As it turns out, the weather blessed us with clear skies for the most part, and seasonable temps.  Well ok, not so seasonable; a cold front moved in on that Friday, plunging the temps far below what they had (or should have) been.  No matter!  We're fearless bikers!  We thumb our noses at the elements!  (Well, I did.  The other chose to sleep indoors, but no matter, we all had fun!)

The ride up on Friday was smooth and uneventful for me, Artie and Greg.  (Dan and Ed weren't able to make it up on Friday night with us, but did show up early on Saturday morning.)

Artie and Greg had reserved one of the "motel~ish" rooms on-site so we got them checked in and then I headed out back to the camping area.  I'd asked at the check-in office what areas were for tenting, and she'd marked a couple of areas on the map, saying "You're the only tent this weekend, so set up wherever you like."  Sweet!

Entering the camping area out back, I immediately took a liking to the site right near the entrance.  Flat land, a few trees, right on the road for easy access.  Nice!  They even had water and electric hookups, which seemed like overkill to me, but what the hell.  I'd heard great things about this place, and it sure was delivering!

I got the tent set up and soon Artie and Greg arrived, and we all marveled at my sweet home-sweet-home.

 

It was a bit early to start hitting the wobbly-pops, so we decided to go for a ride.  A quick check at the office on the best way to get to the ocean, and we were off.

Man, that didn't disappoint, either.  Talk about beautiful!!

The tide was on its way out and I didn't have to wait long at all before being able to climb on those rocks and check out the various tidal pools.  I love the ocean when the sun isn't blasting down on me!

From there, we rode around the coast a bit and checked out the ramshackle abodes along the water's edge (IE: mansions).  Man, some of these folks really live the lifestyle.

After a while, we hit the roadways and wound our way back to Bentley's.  Feeling strangely content, we still opted to hold off on the bar scene for a bit, and chose instead to head back out and see if we could find a Legion to belly up to.  We'd passed one on our way back, but hadn't gotten a real good look at it because it was off to our side as we'd banked a corner.

Well, it turns out we hadn't missed much...

A Friday night and nobody home.  WTH??
Well, there's gotta be others in the area, let's check Google.  Yep; sure enough; there's one in the next town over, and it should only take us about 20 minutes to get there.

Damn...

Another Post, buttoned up tight on a Friday night.  Man, business must be pretty bad around here!

Rather than wasting more time and gas, we scoured the Interwebs again and found two more Posts that were semi-within our area.  We tried calling them both, but nobody picked up.  Holy shite.  0 - 4 on the night.  Well, nothing much else to do but head back to Bentley's.  Our stomachs were more than ready for dinner...

And the drinks that come with it....

The main bar area is pretty big; kinda looks like a hunting cabin with all the exposed pine boards (which I love!), but that's about as far as the hunting lodge comparison goes.  Because this place has motorcycles hanging from the ceiling, amongst (what we estimated to be about) 400 bras.  Yay, bras on the ceiling!!

The band came out to do a sound check...that lasted for about an hour.  Which was entirely unnecessary because the place isn't that big.  Once they were happy with how things sounded, they dove right in to their first song.  It was ok, poppy country~ish, but whatever.  When in Rome.

After that song, they disappeared again.  Huh?  Ok, maybe musicians take a lot of breaks up here, I dunno.

After another hour long absence, they returned.  But this time they were all sporting tight jeans, fashion-forward shirts and fancy cowboy hats.  What happened to their comfy jeans, t-shirts, and baseball caps?  I guess they like dressing up and playing Cowboy for the crowd.  Bunch of posers.  And the music?  Egads, it was terrible.  The name of the band was "Good Question", and I envisioned them earning that name from someone walking up and asking "Are you guys for real"? and they answer' "Good Question".

Anyway, we had fun, the place got quite jammed up and the drinks were flowing well.  When the evening got long in the tooth, we decided we'd had enough for the day and settled up.  I said my goodbyes to Artie and Greg, hopped on the bike and rolled to the camping area out back.

When I got to where my tent was...er...had been...there was nothing but an entire row of campers.  Huh?  Am I in the wrong spot?  (I know I haven't had THAT much to drink...or have I??).  No, I'm pretty sure it was right....wait...am I in the right spot?  Yeah...I am...so where is my...

Setting my kickstand, I ambled between a couple of the campers to the open area with the fire and all the guys gathered round.  They looked at me inquisitively, and I at them.
"Did you guys happen to see a tent around here?"
     "Oh, that was yours?"
"It sure was...why isn't it here still?"
     "You set up in the wrong spot.  These are trailer spots."
"Huh...well, that would explain the water and electrical hookups."
     "But don't worry; we moved your stuff very carefully!  It's right over there..."

(Sure enough, they'd set me up in the actual camping spot about 20' further back, nice and neat, with everything just like I had it, even my camp chair.)

"Oh...ok, cool, thanks."
     "You want a beer?"
"Why yes, yes I do."

And that's how I wound up staying up another two hours past what I'd planned on, on Friday night.  (And it's also why I was hung over on Saturday morning.)

After breakfast, I hung out with Artie and Greg in their room for a bit (meaning; I napped for about 20 minutes).  My phone rings, it's Dan; he and Ed (and a couple of other guys) have arrived and are in the camping area.  Cool, let's go meet up!

We caught up with the crew, they'd found my tent and were deciding on where to set theirs up.  Dan was going to sleep in his monster trike (those who have seen it, will understand), and Ed was looking to pick a spot.  After discussion with Scott, the other guy who was going to tent with him, they decided to skip the tent and sleep inside; Ed would sleep on the floor of the camper that Artie and Greg had for the night, and Scott was going to sleep inside the van that Dan's uncle had driven up in.  So that left just lil' ol' me sleeping in the cold.  Oh well, less chance of me stumbling out and peeing on someone else's tent in the middle of the night.

We all got settled in, went out and did some riding (checked out the coast again), picked up some beer and firewood, and headed back to the site.  Cold beer and a hot campfire.  Afternoons don't get much better than that.  Well, except for the hail.  Yes, it was that cold; it actually hailed on us as we were gathered 'round the fire.   Did I mention that it was cold this weekend?

When the sounds wafting up from the Saloon, proper, began getting decently loud, we cleaned up and headed over.  Holy crap!  They really pack this place in!  They have huge parking areas, and it looked like every spot was already taken.  There were even vehicles parked on the grass, bikes tucked two-to-a-spot, etc.  The bar inside was beyond jammed, and the huge outside area was jamming, too.  Bands inside, bands outside, bars inside, bars outside, women inside, women...well...you get the idea.

Unlike the night before, we lasted until last call this night.  (I think we did, anyway?)  Artie, Ed and Greg got settled in to their camper thing and then I rode back to my tent.  Everyone else was out, so I tucked myself into my sleeping bag and welcomed the cool night air - great for sleeping, no matter how much your breath crystalizes from the plummeting temps.

Sunday morning, myself, Artie and Greg had to hit the highway early to get back for a meat raffle at the Post.  Ed and Dan headed out with us, while the other two guys opted to sleep in a little bit longer.

The ride home was also smooth and uneventful, and that was most welcome.  Nothing like going hard for two days and then having to deal with a bunch of nonsense traffic when you just want to get where you're going.

So there you have it; my first Bentley's excursion.  It sure as hell won't be my last, and I'm already looking ahead to making this an annual thing.

For those that haven't checked Bentley's out yet, I cannot recommend it enough.  For those that have gone before; when are we going again??

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Costume Creation

The Cognex work party has come and gone.  I did quite well - all day long, folks were coming up and telling me that my Scarecrow costume was the best they had EVER seen at Cognex (we've been doing this contest thing for over 20 years, so that's not a shabby compliment).

At the after-party, where the winners get announced, I had folks that didn't even work at Cognex coming up and asking to take pictures with me, and saying how awesome it was.  Sweet!

So I was buying in to the whole thing pretty deeply by the time the winners were announced.  How did I do?  2nd place.  Say what?  Yep; I lost to a semi-exec that is a favorite of the owner (he makes the final decision over what order the winners are).  I literally thought the crowd was going to start changing Bull Shit!  Bull Shit!  but apparently we all like being employed too much to do that.

For the rest of the night, I did have coworkers coming up and telling me that I got royally f'd over, and now back at work this week, I keep having folks coming and saying the same thing.  So it eases the pain a little bit, knowing that everyone else knows I got jobbed.

But enough about that, on to more fun things.  Saturday (Halloween, proper), I brought the costume over to Ed & Susan's for the annual driveway Trick or Treat party.  Matty, Bill and Tara, and some other friends of theirs showed up as well and we got lots of laughs out of utilizing the scarecrow.  Some of the little kids were too scared to get close until I'd pull the mask off and hunker down to say hello.  Others would walk right up to me, asking questions ("Is that a real bird?", "Are you really that tall?"), which was awesome.  One little girl, dressed as a magician, raised her staff at me and shouted "I command you to DANCE!", so I started hopping about, exclaiming that I didn't know what was going on, and why were my legs moving on their own.  She loved it and it put her at ease.

Then there was the group of tweens who came in, got their candy and marveled at the costume, then mosied on down the street to other houses.  On their way back, they called down the driveway, saying things like "We're not afraid of you, Scarecrow!".  Well, that was all well and good until I started up the driveway after them.  I wasn't running, but with those stilts on, my strides were covering a lot of ground, and in no time, I was chasing them down the street.  All in good fun!  They were screaming and laughing and I was doing my best not to get going so fast that I flopped forward onto my face (my arms were still outstretched to the sides, due to the wooden handle across my shoulders).

How about some pics?  I took a few of the headpiece as I was making it, and here are also some pics from the party, and from Halloween...

Here's near the starting point.  I'd bought the face mask, stapled it to a hat, and then stapled burlap around it.

 I didn't like the simple edging against the mask, it looked too much like an English knight's armor or something.

So I took pieces of burlap, crunched them up until the threads were pointing in different directions, and then glued them to the edges.

I next had to glue the rope around the neck.  The first piece was the hardest to figure out.  It took me several tries before I was able to mark where I wanted it to go, and then glue it into place.  After that, the next two pieces (three, total), were easy to glue on.

 

Nice.  Now we're getting somewhere.

But the neck flared too much.  I needed something to hold the back together so the headpiece would be more form-fitting around my head.

So a bit of Velcro near the top, and some wire to hold the edges of rope together...

 

...and I was good to go.

 

 I was all done with the headpiece and taking a break for the night.  Made and ate dinner, and was doing the dishes in the kitchen...when I had a feeling I was being watched.  I looked over at the headpiece, half expecting it to now be looking at me (creeeeepy!!), but nope, it was still facing the opposite direction.

But as I looked at it, I still had the feeling it was looking at me...and then I saw it.  (Click on the pic to enlarge it and then look at the TV screen...)

Ok, well...let's go out to the porch and get moving on the legs, shall we?

This part wasn't hard, but it did take some time.  I'd picked up some corn stalks from Home Depot and had to cut them a bit, so that I'd stand high enough to not be obscured by them.

Here's one leg done, and one leg to go.  (Did I mention that with the stilts on, I stood 7.5 feet tall?  It was awesome to be tall for a change!)

My last post showed you how it looked from the front.  Here's a look from the back (LOL, my friend Ann felt it was necessary to take this pic.)  I couldn't walk with my arms out to the side because it would have been too wide for the hallways.

 And now on to Ed & Susan's Halloween night party.  Here's a few shots that Ed took of me in their graveyard.  I cropped the last one down to get a closer look at things.

Man, this was so much fun!  There were kids (and adults) who began showing up, asking about the Scarecrow they'd been hearing about.  And, later when I was home, Susan texted me to say they had some friends come by late-night who were inquiring about the "Scarecrow at Ed & Susan's house".  Apparently word had made it around the neighborhood!  So I think it's safe to say that I will be breaking this costume out again next year.

So there you go.  My Halloween costume for this year.  It's definitely my favorite costume so far.  I wonder if I can top it (for my work party) next year...

One last pic, from my work party.  I stood in a corner and struck the pose.  With the lighting off to the sides, people thought I was just a prop...up until I moved.  Then they'd jump.  Which was awesome.  :-)

Fright Hard, Get (scared) Glances!

All Hallow's Eve

So today is my work party-day.  Everyone dresses up in costumes and the general populace votes on their favorites.  Then there's a party off-site after work hours and the votes are tabulated...and then the execs toss out the vote numbers and rank the winners in order that they like them (usually company product themed costumes get ranked high.  (shrug)  It's a process I've come to accept, and I don't play that game, I like to do my own thing.  So enough about the process, here's this year's offering...

First up; the poem/poster I created to put up around work (lots of folks put up flyers to drum up interest/awareness of their costume).

Here's a pic of the headpiece I put together...

And here are the legs; plastering stilts with corn stalks zip tied to them...

And here's how the costume came out...

I added bloodied gloves and a broom handle with a crow on it.  Not too shabby.

I haven't fallen yet while walking around, but the day is still young.  I'm about to head out a bit early with the rest of the fun people and hit the bar for a bit of priming before the work party.  I gotta be sure to go easy, though.  Nothing will ruin my chances of winning faster than wiping out half of the execs up on stage.

Or maybe that will help?

At least in years to come, folks would be like; Remember that year that Dave took out the President, CEO and CFO with his costume?  Yeah, that was hilarious!  I wonder where he's working now...

Tomorrow I'm headed to Ed & Susan's for their annual driveway trick-or-treat shindig and I'll wear whatever is left of this costume to that.  So wish me luck.

Everyone have a happy, safe, and SKEERY HALLOWEEN!!

No Glove, No Love

Gonna be another quick one today.  Short on time and need to get outta here so I can finish up my costume for tomorrow's annual Halloween day/party extravaganza.  And, the Pats are on tonight and they'll be kicking some Dolphin ass up and down the field - hopefully!  Lynner will owe me a beer if we win!

So anyway; on to the glove thing.  The tan fingerless riding gloves I've been using for the past 6 or 8 years have pros and cons.  The pros are that they look great (I think), and I've never seen anyone else wearing a set like them, which I like even more.  The cons are that, to be honest; they are kinda thin and wouldn't offer much protection if I went down.  Being thin also lends to them wearing out sooner than a sturdier glove would.  And one more con; I've always had a tough time finding replacements when the ones I have, finally wear out.  The only place I could ever find them was at the Keene swap meet.  On-line?  Oh believe me; I've looked.  I had the brand name, size, model, etc.  And all I could ever find was huge lots of the Medium size.  I wear the Large size (thanks Dad)  :-D

But anyway, after yet another trip up to the swap meet and having no luck finding them once again, I realized that I needed to improvise.  So, I began searching hardware stores, on-line welding supply places, etc.  Looking for a beefy leather glove, in tan, that would work for what I needed.

Low and behold, I found what I was looking for at my corner Ace hardware store.  Sweet!  But they needed a little tweaking...

First up; the latest pair of the gloves I've been using for years...

They look mummified!  Like they were peeled off of some ancient Egyptian biker or something.

Next up; the new gloves...

Now what the F...the pic is loading upside down.  Let me try and fix it...nope, no luck.  Sorry...

The tweaking they needed was to measure the angle of the finger/fingerless and cut the new gloves to match.  Voila!

Dammit...this one's upside down, too.

Oh well, if you click on 'em to expand 'em, you'll get the idea.

These gloves are thick and sturdy.  And the stitching is top-notch.  I meant to put a few drops of Super Glue onto the spots where I'd scissored right through the stitching, but I didn't get around to it for a few months (yes, that's how long ago I made these gloves).  The stitching held for quite a while, even though it was no longer tied off at all, since I'd cut the fingertips off.  Only about a week ago did I finally break down and get some Super Glue, because the seams had started to spread just a wee bit.  I just lined up the seams, applied a little line of glue, held them in place with a binder clip for about a minute, and they were rock solid.

There ya go.  No need to drop a ton of dough on a good set of gloves when for short money you can pick up a set of normal work gloves and turn 'em into something that nobody else has...

...unless they read this blog and decide they like them.  Or that they're gonna make a pair of these just to bust my chops...

Not that I know anyone that would do that...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Chipmunker

I know, I know; I've been an absentee blogger.  I've been jammed up with the budget season but you don't want to hear that, you want to hear motorcycle stories and tales of adventure.  Well, I hadn't been having any of those so there was no need to bother (bore) you with nonsensical whining about my long work hours.

I will try and get you caught up on Monday with some of the non-work stuff which has started to appear again, things like the Bentley's camping weekend last weekend (fun!), or the new gloves I got (Not exciting for you, but I love 'em), etc.

So why not get you caught up now?  Because it's almost quitting time and I'm thirsty as hell.  But I will leave you with one little observation I had on the way in this morning, which is the reason for the odd title on this post.

Taking back roads on the way in this morning, I kept seeing chipmunks darting across the street.  One of them even almost ran right under my front tire, the stupid little varmint.  I guess all the leaves that have fallen (and are lining the lawns and edges of the roadways) offer these guys more cover than they're used to, so they're getting more bold about just darting across open pavement.  Well that's all well and good, but it's downright dangerous for the little buggers.

Ok Dave, that's great and all, but what's with the "er" on the end of the blog title?

Well, as these things kept darting back and forth, some pausing at different intervals, others just blasting straight across, it reminded me of the old video game "Frogger" where you had to move your frog across the street in between traffic.  Except now it was with chipmunks.  So I give you; Chipmunker.

You're welcome.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Singin' the Budget Blues

It's Sunday - the sun is shining, the temps are in the low 50's, and the roadways are clear and calling.  Unfortunately, it's budget season which means instead of our enjoying the highways and byways, I'm sitting here at work.

I think all the time about retiring so that I can get away from this nonsense...

...but then I remember that I like beer and food, and if I retire, I won't be able to afford either of those...

...so it's back to the spreadsheets.

Ride Hard, Ignore the beautiful day outside...

Back In The Saddle

Picked up the bike on Saturday and took Kate out for lunch to say thanks for lugging my ass in to get it. That turned into drinks with Matt and Zig, which meant the rest of the day was a wash, but that was ok, it was a good day.
Sunday morning was the coldest we've had yet this season but there were miles to roll up. I was headed to the annual Fall Keene swap meet.
I like strolling around and looking at the offerings, both in the parking lot and on the tables inside.
Unfortunately, the offerings in the parking lot were nothing fancy. No stripped bobbers, no hardtails, nothing terribly custom at all.
This thing wasn't too bad, though...

I ambled inside and began the strolling. The usual sights greeted me; bins and totes overflowing with mostly unrecognizable (to me) components,  tarps and tabletops covered with handlebars, tanks, fenders, frames, etc. There were basket cases and rolling frames. There were even a smattering of complete bikes for sale. Old repair manuals, and assorted biker paraphernalia. In a nutshell; it was the same-ol', same-ol'. But that was ok, it was what I'd expected.
There was one fantastic surprise. As I was walking past an EZ-up, there was a guy talking to the proprietor. ..and I instantly recognized his voice. It was Malcolm!!
I haven't seen him since 3 'Vous' ago. We caught each other up on our lives and how we've been doing - he's clean and sober, has been for over 2 years, and says he won't be at the 'Vous again, which I understand,  given his new lifestyle.  I met his new woman (Martha), she was very nice. We exchanged numbers and he wants the crew to come up and visit him and go riding. Hopefully we'll be able to make that happen.
A guy there was hawking his carving abilities and he had a section of tree carved into a spine and skull...

I knew the person that had to see this thing so I snapped the pic and sent it off to Robbo. He replied, quite impressed with it.

That was pretty much it for this year. On my way out,  I snapped a few pics of bikes that had paint colors I liked...

Love the deep metallic blue of this one...

And the bright green on this one...

I could've spent more time there but I wanted to get back for the Pats game, so I made for the roadways home.

One last pic of the parking lot to wrap things up...

 Ride Hard, Take Chances

Missing Motorcycle

I dropped my bike off at the dealership last weekend for it's 20k service.  While it was there, I asked them to put new skins on the front and back, and replace the broken cover on the USB compartment in the fairing.  I'd hoped they'd have it done in a day or two.  Well, they informed me that they were now closed on Mondays, and had a company-wide outing on Tuesday.  Meaning they probably wouldn't get to my bike until Wednesday.  Awesome.  Oh well.

I called them yesterday to see how things were going and they said they'd found a rocker box leak when they were doing the service and had taken care of it (under warranty).  Hmmm...ok....I hadn't noticed any leak and had just washed the bike a few days before dropping it off, but hey; thanks for the fix.

They said it'd probably be done by yesterday but I said no worries, I'd be in on Saturday to pick it up, and they said cool.

So it's been a week of 4-wheels and I no likey.  Ok, the mornings have been pretty chilly and it's been kinda nice to just hop into the Jeep and have heat, but those afternoon rides home, with temps in the 70's, have been killing me.

Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Happy Birthday, Russ

We still miss the hell out of you, Brother.  This year's Maine Event was a small one, as you know.  Many of us took a moment to visit your marker and send you thoughts of love and memory.

I still have that pic of you in my chair, and it's still tucked into the spiderweb you made me.  That won't ever change.

Wish you were still with us, Chum.

An Extended (Front-Loaded) Labor Day Maine Event

I'm long on work that needs to get done and short on time to do it, so this is gonna be another "lots of pics with scattered commentary" posts.

The annual Labor Day Maine Event had arrived, but the weather looked awesome for quite a stretch so I decided to add a couple days on to the front end and knock off a couple of things from my like-to-do list.

Wednesday night, stayed a bit late, headed to Wolfeboro, stopped in at the Wolfe's Tavern and slapped an ALR decal onto the bottom of my mug.

Thursday morning it was up early, and winding my way along scenic roadways, to the Mount Washington Auto Road.  $16 not only got me into the park, but also got me one of those "This BIke Climbed Mount Washington" stickers...which of course will not make it's way to my bike.

Very scenic on the way up!

This was not unlike some of the roadways in the Alps, which made me very nostalgic!  I'm hoping to get over there again next year...

Damn...clouds are moving in.  This was the wall that was waiting for me at (I forget what) elevation.

Arrival!  And not a thing to see in the distance!

I didn't even realize they had an old hotel on top of this mountain, way back in the day.  Talk about rustic!

The dining area was pretty big, which didn't really make sense...

Since the sleeping quarters only fit about 8 people.  Maybe they had large day-parties or something.

I loved all the rock stacks all over the place.  They were stacked up along the edges of trail paths.  The way they looked like silent sentinels reminded me of Morder from Lord of the Rings somewhat.

These were at the summit...

You know the wind gets bad when they have to chain the buildings down.

Many of the rocks had a very interesting green lichen on them.

More silent sentinels...

 ...leading off into the mist...

 

I was on a tight schedule, lotsa miles to knock out, so I didn't stay too long, unfortunately.  I definitely will go back, it was amazing, even not being able to see much.

Again, the weather was calling for clear skies and warm sunshine the whole stretch, so I wasn't too thrilled when a monsoon swept through and soaked me entirely.

I asked a guy what the deal was with the rain and he said it was heading north.  Huh.  I'm heading north...maybe I should scrap the next leg of my plan and just head to the clearing.  Maybe I'll check my weather radar...

WTF...it wasn't moving north, it was moving south.  Which meant I could keep going with my plan.

It also meant after about an hour, I was back to skies that looked like this...

 

After a good long stretch of amazing scenic byway, I arrived at my destination; Fort Kent, at the northernmost tip of Maine, right at the Canadian border.

It was getting late in the day and I hadn't eaten anything all day but a couple of protein bars so I was pretty starving.  I found a Subway, shoved a foot-long down my throat (leave that alone, it's way too easy), and started gearing up for the ride down to the Clearing.

A guy in the parking lot noticed my ALR vest and commented that he belonged to the local Legion as well.  He noticed that I was tossing the gear on kind of rapidly and asked where I was headed.  The conversation went like this;

Me: To be honest; about 6 hours south of here.

    (Him, looking at his wristwatch in shock and then back at me);  Do you know what time it is?!?

Yes (it was 6:30)

    It's gonna get cold!

Yep, that's why I'm gearing up.

    No, you don't understand.
    When that sun goes down (motioning to the sky), it's gonna get COLD!!!

Yep, that's why I'm gearing up.

    There's MOOSE on those roads!

Yep, I saw the signs (there were signs all over the place, warning of high impact rates).

    No, there's moose everywhere - You Don't Want To BE On Those Roads!!

I understand, but that's why I'm trying to get going as soon as possible.  I'm not trying to be rude, but I gotta get rolling.

He shook his head, wished me luck, and with that, I was off.

Rte 11 is amazingly scenic and I would have loved to have enjoyed it and stopped to take lots of pics, but I wanted to roll up as much of that black carpet as I could while there was still light in the sky.

I was doing about 20 over the speed limit until the last vestiges of light finally vanished from the sky.  Now, with nothing more than my (seemingly far too yellow and dim) headlight to guide me, I dropped it down to 10 over and kept scanning the sides for any large movement.

Fortunately, no moose came charging out at me, but one stupid-as-fcuk raccoon did.  He shot out from some tall grass like he had a death wish he wanted to carry out with my front tire.  I gave a not-terribly-manly cry of surprise and managed to avoid him at the last second, and we both were able to continue on our way, unimpeded.

I finally arrived at the Clearing, and it was only 11:30 so I'd managed to shave an hour off of the ride time...but it was still quite dark out.  I'd been hoping to find Dave awake so that I could have a drink with him, but the camper was dark and nobody was around, so I headed over to the clearing and set the tent up.

It was the weekend!  Time for the official "thing" that is the Maine Event!
People were going to be arriving soon so that meant we had preparations to make, and that included grabbing some picnic tables.

Charlie and his tractor made the job quite easy...

 

A sad note to this year's event; our friend Garv had passed and wanted some of his ashes to be spread up in Maine.  Some would be spread in the clearing, and some would be spread on top of "Moby Dick".  I had no idea what Moby Dick was but it's a huge rock in an inlet that the Olean crew used to go and sit on late at night and wait for the tide to come in.  Here are some pics of Moby, of the inlet, and of the dirty bikers. 

You can see the container that Garv rode out in, in King's hands.  It's Garv's travel Yahtzee container that he took when he went on trips

King said some words, Andrea read a poem she'd written, and we all toasted to the memory of our good friend Garv.  Another one gone, far too soon.

The inlet was quite beautiful...

So why is this rock called Moby Dick?  I'm told that Dana, many years ago, was riding by, glanced over (it must have been low tide), saw this rock, and proclaimed it to be Moby Dick.  Why?  Because if you click on and open the pic, you'll see an indentation near the top (that was it's lidded eye), as well as a cross-shaped crack in the side of it.  Dana said that was where Captain Ahab's harpoon had struck the mighty whale.  Sounds pretty good to me!

One last lineup...

A few of us hit The Slipway just outside of Thomaston center for the obligatory mid-day meal.  I found a beer on the bottled beer list which sounded enticing so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I wasn't a bottle, but it made up for it by having funny sayings on it...

I then tried a bottle...but shoulda stuck with the can.  This porter wasn't very good....

Sunday brought the lobster fest, which meant it was a very bad day for these guys...

They had steak tips for us non-sea-spider eaters!

And more tips...

And marinated pork!!

Spiders and corn...

 

 

A couple of random pics of the attendees. It was a very small group this year, but we still had a fantastic time.

 

And the weather couldn't have been better...

 We held the Sunday night ceremony, introduced the knights and ladies present, as well as knighted Tim and Ladied Steph and Ally.  We remembered those of our crew who aren't with us any longer, and toasted Life before kicking back into party mode for one last evening.

The next morning would see me on the road quite early so I didn't stay up too late (not too far past midnight), before turning in.

The next morning I was up and on the road even earlier than planned, which lent itself to a quick ride home; only 3 hours.  Not shabby at all considering the amount of LEO speed patrol that was out (5 staties in a row at one point, all had people pulled over).

It's crunch time at work now (budget season) but I wish I were back out on the roads.  I'm getting quite tired of this working for a living thing.  Life goes by too quickly, and there are too many miles out there still to be had.  Maybe I should quit the rat race and just go ride

Too bad beer and food cost money.  Otherwise I'd quit tomorrow.

Ride Hard, Take Chances.