Tomorrow morning, me and McCarthy hit the road to Olean for their annual Pigapalooza feast on Sat. Aaron and Chrissy are heading out tomorrow around noontime and will meet up with us out there. It's gonna be a great weekend! The weather looks pretty decent, maybe some T-storms on Friday and some morning showers on Sunday (of course), but no matter we're still gonna have a good time.
This will be McCarthy's first trip out to visit the crew from out west. I'm sure it'll be interesting (in a good way). Lots of laughs and lots of liver damage, but that's par for the course.
So to those that I'll see soon; Hail! And to those that aren't making the trip but should be; Next Year!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
Big Nick's Ride for the Fallen
Yesterday was the annual Big Nick's ride, down on the Cape. Last year when we did this, we left early and did a breakfast stop at iHop, just over the Bourne bridge and that had been a big hit with the crew. Unfortunately this year, the organizers had bumped up the start time by an hour and a half, which meant we still had to head down at 7:30, but we wouldn't have time for a breakfast stop.
The night before had found me hanging out with Matt, Rex and Kim which of course meant that after we'd paid Mick Morgans' mortgage for the month, we headed to my house to have some Johnny Blue. Because that's what makes sense at that time of night.
Suffice to say that my head was still cloudy when I rolled out of my driveway the next morning. A quick stop for gas, a regrettable stop at McDonald's for a couple of breakfast sandwiches, and I was off to the Post.
We wound up with a much smaller crew this year - partially due to the no-breakfast-stop thing, but also partially due to some of the crew already being down there. The Mass Fallen Heroes foundation had invited Billy and Mary to a Gold Star event with other Gold Star families, as well as set them all up with rooms for the overnight. Some of the other crew had gone down with them so we'd agreed to meet up at the registration point.
The ride down was quick and painless and we were soon in line and waiting. The sun was beating down quite strongly so sunscreen and shade were our friends.
Kim and her family have a house in Onset so the group of us that had ridden down that morning had decided we'd forgo the run's after party and just head straight to Onset for some fun and relaxation. (The headaches of last year's traffic debacle were still fresh in our heads so we hoped that by heading out earlier, we'd get a jump on things.)
The run itself was (as usual) very well organized and supported, and there wasn't a single intersection that wasn't safely closed by state and local LEO's. We found out from Dale, afterward, that a car had actually made its way in to the column at one point, driven by an exceptionally old gentleman who apparently just didn't understand/realize that this was a motorcycle run, so he was finally escorted to the side of the road where he could safely wait things out.
There was a bike/sidecar that was two slots ahead of me during the run and the woman in the sidecar had brought a ton of candy; boxes of gum, lollipops, etc. and was tossing it out to kids along the route. This Is A Monumentally Stupid Thing To Do. What happens when a kid sees candy? They run for it. The lady doing the throwing was trying to make sure she landed the stuff on the grass, but she wasn't always successful and many times I saw a parent grab their child back from the edge of the road as bikes were roaring by. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
One thing that was funny, though; I saw a kid on crutches, standing up on the grass alongside the road. But when that candy came flying in, he dropped the crutches and went running for it, both legs working just fine. Hallelujah! He'd been cured!!
When we got to the end point, we slid right on by the entrance and headed off to find a route to Onset. We stumbled upon Rte 6 and were soon flying along nicely...for a little while. Then it was feet-down, killing the engine to coast down a long hill, etc. Man, this Cape traffic sucks balls!
Eventually we made it over to the mainland and were soon pulling in to the beach house. Cold BL's were handed out and we kicked back for a bit before collecting ourselves up again and stolling over to a nearby restaurant for libations and food.
The establishment was cool; lots of funny signs all over the place, but it backs up to a marina and (from appearances), a number of folks bring their boats in to dock and then hit the restaurant for eats. The clientele seemed a bit stuffy, and I'm sure they didn't know what to make of the dirty bikers who swept in, pushed some tables together, and started in with the boorish behavior. Oh well, I'm sure they've heard all the bad words before and so what if one of the girls wants to grab a guy's boob, prompting a group discussion on areola vs nipple. (It was not lost on us, though, that the place seemed to clear out a bit while we were there.)
When the afternoon had wound down we decided it was time to head on back so we settled up, ambled back for the bikes, and were soon humming along the highway toward home.
It was a fun day; a great cause in the morning for the run, lots of community support (tons and tons, and TONS of people lining the route to clap, shout, wave flags, etc.), followed by a more intimate, but no less enjoyable time with good friends.
Sometimes life doesn't suck.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
The night before had found me hanging out with Matt, Rex and Kim which of course meant that after we'd paid Mick Morgans' mortgage for the month, we headed to my house to have some Johnny Blue. Because that's what makes sense at that time of night.
Suffice to say that my head was still cloudy when I rolled out of my driveway the next morning. A quick stop for gas, a regrettable stop at McDonald's for a couple of breakfast sandwiches, and I was off to the Post.
We wound up with a much smaller crew this year - partially due to the no-breakfast-stop thing, but also partially due to some of the crew already being down there. The Mass Fallen Heroes foundation had invited Billy and Mary to a Gold Star event with other Gold Star families, as well as set them all up with rooms for the overnight. Some of the other crew had gone down with them so we'd agreed to meet up at the registration point.
The ride down was quick and painless and we were soon in line and waiting. The sun was beating down quite strongly so sunscreen and shade were our friends.
Kim and her family have a house in Onset so the group of us that had ridden down that morning had decided we'd forgo the run's after party and just head straight to Onset for some fun and relaxation. (The headaches of last year's traffic debacle were still fresh in our heads so we hoped that by heading out earlier, we'd get a jump on things.)
The run itself was (as usual) very well organized and supported, and there wasn't a single intersection that wasn't safely closed by state and local LEO's. We found out from Dale, afterward, that a car had actually made its way in to the column at one point, driven by an exceptionally old gentleman who apparently just didn't understand/realize that this was a motorcycle run, so he was finally escorted to the side of the road where he could safely wait things out.
There was a bike/sidecar that was two slots ahead of me during the run and the woman in the sidecar had brought a ton of candy; boxes of gum, lollipops, etc. and was tossing it out to kids along the route. This Is A Monumentally Stupid Thing To Do. What happens when a kid sees candy? They run for it. The lady doing the throwing was trying to make sure she landed the stuff on the grass, but she wasn't always successful and many times I saw a parent grab their child back from the edge of the road as bikes were roaring by. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
One thing that was funny, though; I saw a kid on crutches, standing up on the grass alongside the road. But when that candy came flying in, he dropped the crutches and went running for it, both legs working just fine. Hallelujah! He'd been cured!!
When we got to the end point, we slid right on by the entrance and headed off to find a route to Onset. We stumbled upon Rte 6 and were soon flying along nicely...for a little while. Then it was feet-down, killing the engine to coast down a long hill, etc. Man, this Cape traffic sucks balls!
Eventually we made it over to the mainland and were soon pulling in to the beach house. Cold BL's were handed out and we kicked back for a bit before collecting ourselves up again and stolling over to a nearby restaurant for libations and food.
The establishment was cool; lots of funny signs all over the place, but it backs up to a marina and (from appearances), a number of folks bring their boats in to dock and then hit the restaurant for eats. The clientele seemed a bit stuffy, and I'm sure they didn't know what to make of the dirty bikers who swept in, pushed some tables together, and started in with the boorish behavior. Oh well, I'm sure they've heard all the bad words before and so what if one of the girls wants to grab a guy's boob, prompting a group discussion on areola vs nipple. (It was not lost on us, though, that the place seemed to clear out a bit while we were there.)
When the afternoon had wound down we decided it was time to head on back so we settled up, ambled back for the bikes, and were soon humming along the highway toward home.
It was a fun day; a great cause in the morning for the run, lots of community support (tons and tons, and TONS of people lining the route to clap, shout, wave flags, etc.), followed by a more intimate, but no less enjoyable time with good friends.
Sometimes life doesn't suck.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Two Wheels Are Two Wheels....right?
I've been kicking around the idea of getting a bicycle for a while now. I need to get me some more exercise and the wimpy little workouts on the elliptical here at work in the morning ain't cuttin' it. I put some feelers out and Maynard came back with the website that he'd bought his bike off of; http://bikesdirect.com/ I checked 'em out and man, they have all kinds of selections, options, sizes, etc. And, (according to both Maynard and other independent websites), this place sells the same bikes you'd get in brick and mortar stores for a fraction of the usual price. That's something I could get behind!
It's been eons since I pedaled a bike before so I had no idea what I was looking for or even what many of the fancy new terms meant, like SS, or lock-out suspension, 29er, etc. What kind of derailleur (I had to verify that was how you spelled it) I should look for, what size frame, pedals, handlebars, chainrings (what the hell is a chainring?), sprockets, gear ratios, etc. What the fcuk? I just want to buy a bicycle!
Having no idea on where to start, I went with the trusted method; let's start with the wallet. IE: let's start with the cheap stuff.
Holy crap, some of these bikes can get really expensive, even on this site. Ok, let's look at some of the lwoer cost ones. Hmm...lots of bikes still...ok, lemme focus on what kind of riding I'd like to do. Well, the Tour de France is out. Pan Mass Challenge is out (it's call "pan" Mass for a reason, and the only bike I'm taking across Mass is one that does the work for me). I'm not looking for a commuter ride, I've already got one of those. I'm not planning on getting all outfitted with brightly colored shorts and a matching hat, just to go riding from town to town, so that's out. That left me with local, side street riding, as well as the dirt bike trails and high tension paths that are all around in the woods behind me. That certainly narrowed things down and made it clear; I need a mountain bike!
Ok, so now what? Well, still looking at low-cost entry versions. After all, I still have no idea if I'm going to love this activity or if I'm going to hang the bike up after a month and walk away from it, so short money is the way to go.
Low cost mountain bikes. Let's see....this one looks kind of cool...but it's a 29er. What the hell is a 29er. Google was my friend once again, and now I know it's a 29 inch wheel (compared against the traditional 26 inch size). Apparently the larger wheels travel better over things like rocks, sticks, small children, etc. Ok, that sounds good to me. So I'm looking for a 29er mountain bike. What's next...
Gears. How many do I want, how do I want them spread out, and how do I want to shift between them. Well, I can get a single chainring (thanks to Google, I now know that that's what you call the front sprockets, found on the pedal axle), a double chainring, or a triple. And cassettes (the collection of rear sprockets on the rear axle - thanks Google). They can come anywhere from 1 to 12. Seriously? If you look at all the components, you can get a bike with between 1 and 36 gears. Who the hell needs 36 gears? (I wouldn't mind having more gears on the Harley, but even 36 would be pretty ridiculous.)
Those of you paying attention may have noticed that I said you can get a bike with 1 gear. How? Ahhh, by running a single cassette with a single chainring. (Don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about!)
I thought huh...all this nonsense about multiple gears. When I was a kid, I used to remember how much of a pain it was if the chain became crossed between sprockets, or the derailler (we would have spelled it that way when I was a kid) got bunged up. And since I'm just starting out and not even sure if I'm going to like this activity at my advanced age, why not keep things simple (stupid).
Sweet! I've made another choice! Ok, so I'm looking at a 29er, SS (that's the term cyclists use for single speed - I'm getting hip to the phraseology) mountain bike. Awesome, let's see what we've got. Hey, there's a pretty awesome looking one for $350, that sounds pretty damn good. Let's go back to Google and see if we can find any reviews on this kind of thing. Hot damn - all kinds of reviews, and people LOVE this thing. Even folks who have been riding for years, and on multi-geared, full suspensions, said they had a lot of fun on one of these when given the chance to try it. Ok, I'm sold. Let's do this.
The color options were a dull black, a plain white, and a flourescent orange that screams "Hey, I'm a rebel! I'm cool!"...so of course I decided to go with the orange. You know, because I need to affirm my coolness to myself and everyone around me whenever I can.
Next up was sizing. The website is awesome on that, too. They give you directions on some measurements to take of yourself, then email them with that info, the bike you are intersted in, and the type/style of riding you're going to be doing. I did, and they replied a few hours later, and voila! I had what I needed!
Everything...except the bike itself. They're out of that size (and almost all other sizes in that color). Dammit! I emailed them again, asking if they would be getting any more of these. They replied, and said they do expect to have more...in October.
Awesome.
I went back into the website and tried to find another bike but kept being drawn back to the one I'd already chosen. There were other bikes that were close 29er SS mountain bike with lockout suspension - which also thanks to Google, I now know means you can "turn the suspension off" to make it a rigid. I guess this helps when you're riding uphill...or maybe it's downhill...I forget. But no matter; my friend Google will be there again if I need her. Her? Him? It. Anyway, those models were $100 more, and while I could probably live with that, they too are sold out in orange.
I guess there must be a lot of cool people riding out there. I can't wait to join them. (As Matt would say; I'll have another "me too" bike.)
So it's a waiting game now. Starting in late August, I'll check the site each week to make sure I don't miss the boat if the bikes happen to come in before October.
October?? But I'm itching to get out on those trails and hi-t paths now!!
I wonder how the Harley would do on the dirt bike trails out back...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
It's been eons since I pedaled a bike before so I had no idea what I was looking for or even what many of the fancy new terms meant, like SS, or lock-out suspension, 29er, etc. What kind of derailleur (I had to verify that was how you spelled it) I should look for, what size frame, pedals, handlebars, chainrings (what the hell is a chainring?), sprockets, gear ratios, etc. What the fcuk? I just want to buy a bicycle!
Having no idea on where to start, I went with the trusted method; let's start with the wallet. IE: let's start with the cheap stuff.
Holy crap, some of these bikes can get really expensive, even on this site. Ok, let's look at some of the lwoer cost ones. Hmm...lots of bikes still...ok, lemme focus on what kind of riding I'd like to do. Well, the Tour de France is out. Pan Mass Challenge is out (it's call "pan" Mass for a reason, and the only bike I'm taking across Mass is one that does the work for me). I'm not looking for a commuter ride, I've already got one of those. I'm not planning on getting all outfitted with brightly colored shorts and a matching hat, just to go riding from town to town, so that's out. That left me with local, side street riding, as well as the dirt bike trails and high tension paths that are all around in the woods behind me. That certainly narrowed things down and made it clear; I need a mountain bike!
Ok, so now what? Well, still looking at low-cost entry versions. After all, I still have no idea if I'm going to love this activity or if I'm going to hang the bike up after a month and walk away from it, so short money is the way to go.
Low cost mountain bikes. Let's see....this one looks kind of cool...but it's a 29er. What the hell is a 29er. Google was my friend once again, and now I know it's a 29 inch wheel (compared against the traditional 26 inch size). Apparently the larger wheels travel better over things like rocks, sticks, small children, etc. Ok, that sounds good to me. So I'm looking for a 29er mountain bike. What's next...
Gears. How many do I want, how do I want them spread out, and how do I want to shift between them. Well, I can get a single chainring (thanks to Google, I now know that that's what you call the front sprockets, found on the pedal axle), a double chainring, or a triple. And cassettes (the collection of rear sprockets on the rear axle - thanks Google). They can come anywhere from 1 to 12. Seriously? If you look at all the components, you can get a bike with between 1 and 36 gears. Who the hell needs 36 gears? (I wouldn't mind having more gears on the Harley, but even 36 would be pretty ridiculous.)
Those of you paying attention may have noticed that I said you can get a bike with 1 gear. How? Ahhh, by running a single cassette with a single chainring. (Don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about!)
I thought huh...all this nonsense about multiple gears. When I was a kid, I used to remember how much of a pain it was if the chain became crossed between sprockets, or the derailler (we would have spelled it that way when I was a kid) got bunged up. And since I'm just starting out and not even sure if I'm going to like this activity at my advanced age, why not keep things simple (stupid).
Sweet! I've made another choice! Ok, so I'm looking at a 29er, SS (that's the term cyclists use for single speed - I'm getting hip to the phraseology) mountain bike. Awesome, let's see what we've got. Hey, there's a pretty awesome looking one for $350, that sounds pretty damn good. Let's go back to Google and see if we can find any reviews on this kind of thing. Hot damn - all kinds of reviews, and people LOVE this thing. Even folks who have been riding for years, and on multi-geared, full suspensions, said they had a lot of fun on one of these when given the chance to try it. Ok, I'm sold. Let's do this.
The color options were a dull black, a plain white, and a flourescent orange that screams "Hey, I'm a rebel! I'm cool!"...so of course I decided to go with the orange. You know, because I need to affirm my coolness to myself and everyone around me whenever I can.
Next up was sizing. The website is awesome on that, too. They give you directions on some measurements to take of yourself, then email them with that info, the bike you are intersted in, and the type/style of riding you're going to be doing. I did, and they replied a few hours later, and voila! I had what I needed!
Everything...except the bike itself. They're out of that size (and almost all other sizes in that color). Dammit! I emailed them again, asking if they would be getting any more of these. They replied, and said they do expect to have more...in October.
Awesome.
I went back into the website and tried to find another bike but kept being drawn back to the one I'd already chosen. There were other bikes that were close 29er SS mountain bike with lockout suspension - which also thanks to Google, I now know means you can "turn the suspension off" to make it a rigid. I guess this helps when you're riding uphill...or maybe it's downhill...I forget. But no matter; my friend Google will be there again if I need her. Her? Him? It. Anyway, those models were $100 more, and while I could probably live with that, they too are sold out in orange.
I guess there must be a lot of cool people riding out there. I can't wait to join them. (As Matt would say; I'll have another "me too" bike.)
So it's a waiting game now. Starting in late August, I'll check the site each week to make sure I don't miss the boat if the bikes happen to come in before October.
October?? But I'm itching to get out on those trails and hi-t paths now!!
I wonder how the Harley would do on the dirt bike trails out back...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Friday, July 15, 2016
Blackbeard Run
This past weekend a number of us attended the annual Blackbeard Run, in memory of SSG Matthew Pucino, a US Army Special Forces soldier KIA on 23 Nov, 2009.
This year was the 6th annual run but we only became aware of it last year (man, there are so many runus out there each year!). Anyway, we hadn't been able to make the actual run itself due to attending a funeral last year, but we had ridden to the end location and had been impressed with things. It was well run, the feed was good and the after-party was rockin', so we made sure to put it on our docket for this year.
The weather all week had been calling for overcast skies with intermittent showers, so naturally they were right this time. (Why can't they be wrong when they're forecasting bad weather?)
Despite this, the turnout was pretty impressive. Final count from the organizers claimed 475 bikes but we agreed it was probably about 350 - still an impressive turnout, given the weather.
The rally point was in Buzzards Bay, deep in the shadow of the train bridge that crosses the Cape Cod Canal;
The wind was having it's way with the ginormous flag that was on display, but that did nothing to lessen the awesomeness of a flag this big flying high.
Here's how things looked at the end location (Plymouth VFW). Their parking lot was soon overrun and they started just stuffing rows and rows of bikes wherever they could fit them.
Here's a panoramic shot, from one end to the other.
All during the after-party, the DJ kept making announcements, asking folks to move their bikes so that folks who were stuck in the middle, could leave. We stuck around for several hours, shooting the chit with friends we don't see often enough, and by the time we finally decided to ramble on home, we figured we'd have no problem getting our bikes out because most of the crowd had left already.
When we got out to the parking lot, sure enough; everyone's bike was free and clear of the congestion from earlier. Well...everyone except yours truly.
Yes, that's my bike stuck in the middle.
(If you look closely, you can see that I had room to back out. Not that it was needed, though; the bike behind me was Greg's. :-) )
We made good time on the ride home and of course; tempted fate once again by far-exceeding the posted speed limits. When we arrived safely back at the Post, Matt was there, working hard on the front steps (he's rebuilding the entire mess that was there). We all agreed it was quitting time so he joined us at the bar for some beerfreshments.
After a short stint there, we agreed we needed food so we headed off to Chickie Flynn's. (The Olean crew will recognize that name.) We filled our bellies and aggravated our livers into the latter hours of the evening. Nothing too late, it'd been a long day and some of us (me) can't maintain like we used to, so before things got too late, we split off into our own directions.
A good run, a good cause, and a good day. What's better than that?
Ride Hard, Take Chances
This year was the 6th annual run but we only became aware of it last year (man, there are so many runus out there each year!). Anyway, we hadn't been able to make the actual run itself due to attending a funeral last year, but we had ridden to the end location and had been impressed with things. It was well run, the feed was good and the after-party was rockin', so we made sure to put it on our docket for this year.
The weather all week had been calling for overcast skies with intermittent showers, so naturally they were right this time. (Why can't they be wrong when they're forecasting bad weather?)
Despite this, the turnout was pretty impressive. Final count from the organizers claimed 475 bikes but we agreed it was probably about 350 - still an impressive turnout, given the weather.
The rally point was in Buzzards Bay, deep in the shadow of the train bridge that crosses the Cape Cod Canal;
The wind was having it's way with the ginormous flag that was on display, but that did nothing to lessen the awesomeness of a flag this big flying high.
Here's how things looked at the end location (Plymouth VFW). Their parking lot was soon overrun and they started just stuffing rows and rows of bikes wherever they could fit them.
Here's a panoramic shot, from one end to the other.
All during the after-party, the DJ kept making announcements, asking folks to move their bikes so that folks who were stuck in the middle, could leave. We stuck around for several hours, shooting the chit with friends we don't see often enough, and by the time we finally decided to ramble on home, we figured we'd have no problem getting our bikes out because most of the crowd had left already.
When we got out to the parking lot, sure enough; everyone's bike was free and clear of the congestion from earlier. Well...everyone except yours truly.
Yes, that's my bike stuck in the middle.
(If you look closely, you can see that I had room to back out. Not that it was needed, though; the bike behind me was Greg's. :-) )
We made good time on the ride home and of course; tempted fate once again by far-exceeding the posted speed limits. When we arrived safely back at the Post, Matt was there, working hard on the front steps (he's rebuilding the entire mess that was there). We all agreed it was quitting time so he joined us at the bar for some beerfreshments.
After a short stint there, we agreed we needed food so we headed off to Chickie Flynn's. (The Olean crew will recognize that name.) We filled our bellies and aggravated our livers into the latter hours of the evening. Nothing too late, it'd been a long day and some of us (me) can't maintain like we used to, so before things got too late, we split off into our own directions.
A good run, a good cause, and a good day. What's better than that?
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Yabba Dabba Doo!!
I rode out to the liquor store near Matt about a week and a half ago, looking to stock up on my craft beers for the fireworks party. As I passed by the Wrentham Outlets, I saw something that hasn't been there for very long (I don't think)... Fred Flintsone's car!!
And how appropriate - it's the Bedrock Granite Company!
This thing was too cool not to take some pics of, so after the beer stop, I found a place to pull over, set the kickstand, and ambled across some open field to get up close and personal with this thing. It actually looks like it would roll! Whoever built this put some real time in to it and it shows. Impressive! I love things like this, and it's so cool that we're contemplating including it as one of the point stops for our upcoming Scavenger hunt fundraiser in August.
I'll try and get another post up tomorrow about the run we attended this past weekend. Pretty jammed up here at work, though. Oh well, it beats poverty.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
And how appropriate - it's the Bedrock Granite Company!
This thing was too cool not to take some pics of, so after the beer stop, I found a place to pull over, set the kickstand, and ambled across some open field to get up close and personal with this thing. It actually looks like it would roll! Whoever built this put some real time in to it and it shows. Impressive! I love things like this, and it's so cool that we're contemplating including it as one of the point stops for our upcoming Scavenger hunt fundraiser in August.
I'll try and get another post up tomorrow about the run we attended this past weekend. Pretty jammed up here at work, though. Oh well, it beats poverty.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Return To (Of) The Light
When last we met, I had emailed Cyron (the bulb ompany) to see if the harness I'd seen on their site would allow me to run their bulb. They replied promptly and let me know that no, that harness would not work, and in fact; the bulb I'd bought would not work in the headlight I have.
Damn.
They did point me to the bulb setup they sold which would fit my bike, but it was something much different; more of a light panel than an actual bulb. And it would require a mounting plate and harness, which brought the grand total to $280.
Zoinks.
I replied, thanking them for their help but said that was more money than I was looking to spend on a headlight, and asked if there was any chance they would offer a refund. Amazingly, they said yes.
Think about that. This is electronics we're talking about. I haven't seen or heard of much luck when it comes to returning something electrical. So I was quite please, to say the least.
It'll cost me the price of shipping it back to them, but it's worth it since the mistake was mine to begin with.
They just sent me the RA form so I'll get things in to the mail shortly and then we should be good to go.
(For those that are thinking $280 is worth it to be able to see clearly at night, the other reason I didn't opt for this setup is I believe it's the same setup that Chris Maynard put on his bike just before going down to DC. If you've read that trip's writeup that I posted, you'll recall that we had some issues with fitment to his bike. Granted, he's got a different model bike than I do but I didn't want to take the chance of the headlight assembly falling out on to my fender at some point when I'm hammering down the highway.)
I've got a busy week ahead so it might take me a bit to post again, but I'll try and get something up here when I'm able. In the meantime, get some miles on!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Damn.
They did point me to the bulb setup they sold which would fit my bike, but it was something much different; more of a light panel than an actual bulb. And it would require a mounting plate and harness, which brought the grand total to $280.
Zoinks.
I replied, thanking them for their help but said that was more money than I was looking to spend on a headlight, and asked if there was any chance they would offer a refund. Amazingly, they said yes.
Think about that. This is electronics we're talking about. I haven't seen or heard of much luck when it comes to returning something electrical. So I was quite please, to say the least.
It'll cost me the price of shipping it back to them, but it's worth it since the mistake was mine to begin with.
They just sent me the RA form so I'll get things in to the mail shortly and then we should be good to go.
(For those that are thinking $280 is worth it to be able to see clearly at night, the other reason I didn't opt for this setup is I believe it's the same setup that Chris Maynard put on his bike just before going down to DC. If you've read that trip's writeup that I posted, you'll recall that we had some issues with fitment to his bike. Granted, he's got a different model bike than I do but I didn't want to take the chance of the headlight assembly falling out on to my fender at some point when I'm hammering down the highway.)
I've got a busy week ahead so it might take me a bit to post again, but I'll try and get something up here when I'm able. In the meantime, get some miles on!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Let There Be Light!! (Or...maybe not...)
At this year’s ‘Vous, King showed me a new headlight bulb he’d
installed on his Ultra. Man, talk about
lumens! This things was BRIGHT!
Lately, I’ve been feeling that my halogen bulb has been getting weaker, especially the low beam. At night (and at the speeds I usually ride at), I find myself overriding it’s beam quite often which is not a good idea at all. (I use the highbeam as often as possible, but if there’s oncoming traffic, I’ll run the low beam out of courtesy – maybe that’s not a good idea, either.)
Lately, I’ve been feeling that my halogen bulb has been getting weaker, especially the low beam. At night (and at the speeds I usually ride at), I find myself overriding it’s beam quite often which is not a good idea at all. (I use the highbeam as often as possible, but if there’s oncoming traffic, I’ll run the low beam out of courtesy – maybe that’s not a good idea, either.)
Anyway – the bulb King had was farkin’ powerful! And white!
Not the lazy yellow stuff that sealed bulbs (and of late; my halogen
bulb) give off. This thing gave off a
clear, crisp, bright-white beam that was easily seeable even in the bright
sunshine of mid-day in the middle of a field at the Rendezvous.
He looked in to the part number for me and off I went. I found the bulb and the manufacturer’s home
page and then went into research mode on the interwebs; would this bulb fit my 2014
Street Glide? It comes with three
different base adapters so the website claimed it would fit 90% of all bikes
out there. Well that’s great and all,
but I know my luck and if there’s a chance something won’t work for me, there’s
a high probability I’ll fall into that small percentage of non-fitment.
Back to the research.
I found all sorts of info about how great the bulb was, but nothing
about whether it would specifically fit my bike. Over and over, I found testimony about how
the various base adapters made this thing work for such a broad spectrum of
bikes, and there wasn’t one person yet who’d run into non-fitment issues.
I finally gave up (due more to exuberance about buying a new
super bright headlight than anything else) and went ahead and ordered it. I followed the tracking, and sure enough; it
was waiting for me when I got home last night.
SWEET!!
The heat be damned (it was Hazy, Hot & Humid out), I set
right to opening the box up and then removing my fairing. And that’s when I found that my bike indeed
fell within the 10% category.
Dammit! This is also where I
found that in addition to doing research on-line, I should have also looked at
my bike. I had forgotten that I have two
separate bulbs! Even worse, the harness
connection is the wrong fit for the bulb. Fcuk! I
now own a $70 bulb which is useless to me.
Awesome.
So I came in this morning to look up the website and see if
they have any kind of return policy (fat chance with electronics). I didn’t see anything about refunds or
returns, but I did find they sell a harness adapter…which looks like it would
fix the problem for me. It would replace
the existing HD harness, which runs power to both bulbs, with a harness that
would run just to the new bulb, presumably leaving the other bulb unused.
I emailed them this morning to ask specifically that; will
the harness allow me to run the bulb I just bought, presumably leaving the
other bulb sitting in the headlamp housing, unused? I’d like to have some kind of confirmation
from them before I hand them any more money.
(Maybe if I’d done this the first time, I’d have had all the info I
needed at the start.)
So we’re in a holding pattern. I hope the replacement harness works, because
I really want to run that bulb.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Fireworks!!
Sunday was the annual Night Before the 4th party at my house. I'd sent the word out a bit ago and had received lots of "Wish I could but I'll be away" responses so I was expecting it to be a small event, maybe even as low as 2 or 3 folks. But come Sunday, the texts started popping in; "What can I bring?" Nice! BYOB and something for the grille!
As the afternoon wore on, more and more vehicles showed up and we wound up with a very respectable almost-twenty people. The grille was doing its job with a variety of meats and the drinks were flowing well. I dragged the giant Jenga game out and we took our turns with the blocks.
When it was time to head off to Walpole's fireworks show, we piled into a couple of vehicles and made the short run down toward the center, then hopped out and completed the trip on foot. We made our way to the usual viewing spot and settled in. Cans of silly string appeared from pockets and there were soon strands strafing faces and hair all over the place.
The fireworks show was good - Walpole always does a good job, but I thought this year's was a little off. Last year's was amazing. (shrug) It was still a very good showing.
When the flashes and the booms had ended, we meandered back to the vehicles and then back to the house. Some folks took their leave, others stuck around for a bit before heading home as well. At the end of the evening , it was just Matt and I doing speed rounds of giant Jenga. At about 1:30am, we decided the neighbors probably didn't need to keep hearing the crash of lumber in my driveway, so we packed things up and called it a night.
I love the annual fireworks party, and thanks to all that were able to make it this year!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
As the afternoon wore on, more and more vehicles showed up and we wound up with a very respectable almost-twenty people. The grille was doing its job with a variety of meats and the drinks were flowing well. I dragged the giant Jenga game out and we took our turns with the blocks.
When it was time to head off to Walpole's fireworks show, we piled into a couple of vehicles and made the short run down toward the center, then hopped out and completed the trip on foot. We made our way to the usual viewing spot and settled in. Cans of silly string appeared from pockets and there were soon strands strafing faces and hair all over the place.
The fireworks show was good - Walpole always does a good job, but I thought this year's was a little off. Last year's was amazing. (shrug) It was still a very good showing.
When the flashes and the booms had ended, we meandered back to the vehicles and then back to the house. Some folks took their leave, others stuck around for a bit before heading home as well. At the end of the evening , it was just Matt and I doing speed rounds of giant Jenga. At about 1:30am, we decided the neighbors probably didn't need to keep hearing the crash of lumber in my driveway, so we packed things up and called it a night.
I love the annual fireworks party, and thanks to all that were able to make it this year!
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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