One More Sleep!

Only one more sleep and then we’re on our way to RENDEZVOUS 2008!!

I’m going to extend my weekend a bit; instead of riding back with the crew on Sunday, I’m going to head up through VT into NH and crash for a day or so up at the Wolfeboro house. Arrive sometime on Sunday afternoon and relax (catch up on sleep!) for the rest of the day. Monday, I’m going to shoot up to Mt. Washington to check that out – can you believe I’ve never been there? I almost did a winter hike/camp trip years ago, but luckily that fell through (I don’t think we knew what we were getting ourselves into at the time) and check out some other sights. Then it'll be back to the Wolfe Tavern for some libations and then a good night's sleep.

It’s up in the air, but right now my plan is to come home early Tuesday and do some work on the Fatboy. We’ll see how that pans out.

The NY crew is already en-route to the ‘Vous, (as is Too-Led Ed - he’s riding out with Jimmy’s crew). Jealous? Yes, very definitely. But I just got the word that I can take off from work so my day isn’t looking too bad, either.

Have a great weekend everyone. If you’re going to the ‘vous, I’ll see you soon. If not…you need to get there next year! By far, the best biker party around!

Talk to you on the other side of the weekend.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Laconia fades behind, 'Vous looms ahead!

We had a successful trip up to Laconia this past weekend. Friday night was just a couple of beers and relaxing at the house with Zig, his son Randy, and Randy's friend Chris. Saturday morning we shot over to Weir's for the token walkabout. There were plenty of bikes and people milling around, but at least a third of the vendors hadn't even opened shop yet. Oh well, no great loss.

The rest of the day was spent riding some of the scenic roadways far away from the congestion that is Weir's beach during rally week. We even managed to find a "Lost River" and explored some of the mini caves therein. When the day was winding down, a quick shot to the food store supplied us with the ingredients for grilling and chilling back at the house.

Sunday dawned overcast and drizzly. We chowed some breakfast and hit the road for home. The pavement was thoroughly soaked as we got closer and closer to home - and we later found out that it had poured unmercifully only an hour before we'd arrived - but we made it home without encountering any rain.

All in all, a nice and relaxing weekend. Now the rush is on to get everything lined up for the trip out to the VOUS!!! I made the last batches of jello shots tonight. I haven't been keeping track of how many I'm making, but judging from the number of cups that I bought and how many are left, I think I'm going to be bringing something closer to 850, rather than the planned 750. No worries! I'm sure we can handle them.

Weather out in Pattersonville looks like it shouldn't be too bad. Some chances of scattered thunderstorms each day, but as of right now; no soaking rains are forecast. Let's hope that holds true for us.

Three sleeps left! Can't wait...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

No Rest for the Wicked... (Wicked Thirsty, that is!)

Whew, just got home from work and it’s been quite a long, busy week; short on sleep, long on work hours. I didn’t even get to go out for beers at lunch today!

No time to rest, though. Gotta pack, throw some food down my throat and jump back onto the highways. I’m heading up to Laconia for the weekend. Zig headed up when he got out of work, but he called a while ago to say that traffic wasn’t moving at all so maybe I’ll take some back roads up, instead. At this point, I’m just hoping to get up there before midnight so that I can suck down a few frosties before my body starts to crash.

Getting psyched for the Rendezvous next week! Word on the street, though, is that the LEO’s will have a checkpoint waiting for us. They’ll be looking for things like illegal helmets, illegal pipes, proper paperwork…sobriety (damn!), etc. I’m working on a couple of plans to try and avoid running into this foolish thing, but only time will tell if we succeed.

That’s it for now. Zig just called again and said traffic is beginning to break up, so I gotta get rolling.

Weather looks good for the weekend - get out there and get some miles tacked on.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Beurocracy

Massachusetts can kiss my f'ing ass. I rec'd an excise tax bill for the Fatboy...you know; the bike that's not on the road. So when I called the tax collector about this, they tell me that the state requires that I pay the excise tax, regardless.

Just the fact that the vehicle was on the road at some point during the year, means I'm liable for the full amount. Even though I transferred the plate to a new vehicle...a new vehicle which I have also received a full tax bill on. So I'm paying a full tax bill on each bike, even though I only had one on the road at a time. WTF.

KISS MY ASS!!!!!!!

Jello's and Hello's

Started making the jello shots last night! Stopped at a party supply store and stocked up on the cups and lids, then shot to a food store to pick up the jello. The girl at the checkout gave me a knowing smile but didn't say anything. I mean; I show up at the register and all I'm buying is 20 packages of jello. What else would I be doing with it?

Wait a second...maybe she thought I was managing a jello wrestling league and she smiled because she wanted in! DAMN! I never thought of that...

Anyway, the first batch of shots is complete. Green jello and green apple vodka (folks like to know I put that extra bit of effort into making these shots, and nothing says 'I care' like matching flavors to colors).

Later in the evening, my phone rang and I was pleasanty surprised to see that it was a couple that we know from the 'Vous. I haven't spoken to them since last year so it was fantastic to catch up. We're all getting excited for next week! We get to see brothers and sisters that we haven't seen for 355.25 days! Can't wait!

But in the meantime, I've gotta slog through another 7 days of work before the madness ensues.

I think I can make it...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Modifications and Minivans

Sorry folks, I'd hoped to accomplish a modification to the Fatboy over the weekend and post a tech tip for you today but it didn't happen - I spent too much of my weekend testing the physical limitations (and recovery abilities) of my liver. But it's all for a good reason; the Rendezvous is coming up fast and my liver will need all the fortitude it can muster!

Speaking of the 'Vous; I'll have to start getting the jello shots prepared. Last year, I brought 1,000 of them and it wound up being a few too many. I know! Shocking! So this year I'm going to bring it back down to 750 and that should be good. I've got a week and a half to get them made, so shouldn't be a problem.

Heading to Laconia this weekend. I haven't overnighted that event in years, opting to just day-trip it, instead. But Zig called and said he's bringing his son and one of his son's friends up there for the weekend so I figure what the hell. Take the ride, kick back at the house and relax some, etc. Not sure yet if I'll head up on Fri or Sat; prob depend on weather.

Keep an eye on your rear view mirrors! I almost got my ticket punched on Saturday morning by a woman in a minivan that decided to pass me when I was taking a turn. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem with this. However, in this instance, I was taking a right and the minivan opted to pass...on the right.

She'd been way over the speed limit (judging by the skid marks and length of time that her tires were screaming), but luckily we managed to keep her front end out of my lap. Although, when we finally came to a stop, there wasn't even enough room for me to put my right foot down. I was ready to lay into her but she basically had a breakdown right in front of me when she realized she'd almost cashed me in. I got her (and her kids, who were pretty scared, too) calmed down and stressed the importance of paying attention. When she seemed like she had a handle on things again, I mosied back on my way. (Meaning I rode around the corner, out of sight, and pulled over to let the shakes work their way out of my system.)

Every day is an adventure...but I haven't had as close a one as that in some time. Let's hope I don't again, for a long time, eh?

Ride Hard, Take Chances.
And watch out for the other drivers, 'cause they sure ain't looking out for you!

Meetings and Maintenance

We had our first (and dare I say; only?) Rendezvous meeting this past Friday night. Most of the guys were able to make it and we actually managed to hammer out a good plan in terms of who’s bringing what, meeting/departure time, etc. We knocked back some frosties and burned some meat on the grille, but all this really did was whet our appetites for the actual event. 15 sleeps until we head out!

I dropped the bike off at the nearby dealership for it’s 5k service yesterday. I mentioned the EFI problem that Zig and I have been dealing with and they feigned ignorance about it. When I picked it up they said they’d been unable to replicate the problem so they’d been unable to look into it. (Suffice to say that I was hardly surprised by this.)

Nor was I surprised when it was racing again later that night when I started it up after dinner…or again this morning when I was leaving the gym. Ahh yes…a most-difficult problem to replicate, indeed. Sh*theads.

Might have a tech-tip to post on Monday, but it depends on time/schedule over the weekend. Stay tuned…

The forecast is calling for 80 degrees on Saturday, 90 on Sunday. Get out there and notch those odometers up!

Ride Hard, Take Chances