Motorcycles

SO IF YOU DRINK BUG JUICE:

I took this photo after riding a couple hundred miles. I lost the lens cover so when I ride, if I forget to put the camera behind my shoulder, I accumulate bugs on the lens and the box.  Well...

At camp with the Boy Scouts, 
they gave us a drink. 
We thought it was kool-aid 
because it was pink. 

But the thing that they gave us 
would gross out a moose, 
for that great-tasting pink drink 
was really bug juice. 

It looked fresh and fruity 
like tasty kool-aid 
but the bugs that were in it 
were murdered with raid. 

We drank it by gallons. 
We drank it by tons. 
But, then the next morning 
we all had the runs. 

So if you drink bug juice 
and a fly drives you mad 
he's just getting even 
because you swallowed his dad. 

Through the Looking Glass

by Alison Clare Grills

One morning rising from your bed

A funny thought pops in your head

What fun you’d have if you could pass

Like Alice, through the looking glass

But your mirror is no magic door

Of that you feel you can be sure

The reflection shows no one but you

Then a hand snaps out and pulls you through

At first it seems like nothing’s changed

Then things begin to rearrange

It isn’t your house, or even your town

It seems the world’s turned upside down

The moon’s bright red, the sun is blue

Grass is purple, leaves are too

Birds all crawl on claw and wing

While cats and dogs both fly and sing

North is south and left is right

Hot is cold and day is night

Yes means no and go means stop

In is out and bottom’s top

Dark is light and good is bad

Wet is dry, happy is sad

Big is small and high is low

Loud is soft and fast is slow

Your head begins to spin and ache

This is much more than you can take

Feeling confused and so alone

You close your eyes and think of home

The air around you starts to shift

You feel you’re being cast adrift

While falling up you look around

Below is sky, above is ground

Your face about to hit the dirt

This crazy world seems to revert

Soft pillows now support your head

As you bounce awake in your own bed

You think at first "Twas just a dream"

Then notice things aren’t as they seem

You’re wearing shoes beneath the sheet

And they’re on your hands ‘stead of your feet

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month - Watch Out for Motorcycles

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. Motorcycles are coming on the road in great numbers after being absent for most of the winter in northern climates. We all need to be reminded to watch for motorcycles. Consumer Reports has an article on this most important safety issue. Here's an excerpt:

"May kicks off Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, an initiative supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). With spring well underway, riders are hitting the highways and byways, and this serves as a reminder to all drivers to be mindful that motorcycles are sharing the road." -- Jeff Bartlett, ConsumerReports.org

Read more.

It's also a good time to read my 10 Ways to Be Safe on a Motorcycle.

Summer Movies Feature Motorcycles

Summer movies are action filled and what's better than major characters riding motorcycles to keep you on the edge of your seat. Picture Anne Hathaway as Catwoman riding a custom motorcycle in the new Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises." Susan Carpenter of the Los Angeles Times published an article that gives you a rundown of summer films featuring motorcycles. Here's an excerpt:

"The superhero extravaganza 'The Avengers' marks the first of many movies that will feature motorcycles racing onto the big screen this summer. Not only will Captain America helm a Harley-Davidson in the big-budget Marvel movie, but one of the leads of 'Men in Black' will time-travel to 1969 on board an 'Easy Rider'-esque chopper. A circus bear will even throw a furry leg over a Ducati in the animated feature 'Madagascar 3.'" -- Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times

Read more.

Newest Flying Car Undergoing Rigorous Testing

There have been several flying cars introduced over the past 40 years but the newest one, dubbed the Terrafugia Transition, must undergo 75 test flights to verify its airworthiness for the Federal Aviation Administration. An article by Christine Negron of NYTimes.com gives details about this vehicle that combines aspects of a car, motorcycle, and airplane. Here's an excerpt:

"The promise of an airplane parked in every driveway, for decades a fantasy of suburban commuters and a staple of men's magazines, resurfaced this month in Manhattan. On display at the New York auto show was the Terrafugia Transition, an airplane with folding wings and a drive system that enabled it to be used on the road." -- Christine Negron, NYTimes.com

Read the rest of the article.

Waterfalls, Mountain Views and Riding Motorcycles

Spring is officially here of course.  The salt is MOSTLY cleared from the roads, and the warmth of spring has forced open the lilies, caused the trees to awaken from dormancy pushing forth their new Spring colors like a fashion show in Milan.

It's also caused the 2 wheeled motorcycle public to drag out their own drowsy machines, give em a good spit polish and cruise up and down the boulevard, by-ways and back roads.  It's spring fever time. Those of us that can...DO.

My Lil Girl is not running happily. Something is wrong. AGAIN...I hate this carb. It's the CV carb style that comes stock from the factory. I've had major problems with it for years.  Oh, yes I know, some years I will have no problems, the the next year I will drop in mileage until the problem is tracked down and solved.  This year my mileage has dropped from 50 miles a gallon to somewhere around 43 (depends on the type of driving I do.)  So now, with my new saddle bags, I carry an extra gallon of gas with me.  How convenient. (Sarcasm read here please.) I've only carried gas with me one other time, and that was when I was riding out west with fuel stations few and far between out in AZ, NM, and CO.  I hate feeling like a rolling bomb.

This spring is not one of those beautifully explosive springs that hit after a long, hard, cold winter.  This winter was hard to call a "winter". Sure, we had a couple inches of snow, but it didn't last. It was gone the next day in the lower elevations where I live.  Going into the mountains one could find the snow still lingering on the shady side of the giant rock masses, but where the sun was able to linger, one could find bare patches of ground and rivulets of melt-stream dripping down the rock face near the roadway.  Of course it was still colder than spring or summer, but if you hankered for a ride all you had to do was bundle up, plug in, and ride.

This spring, the color started to arrive as early as February. Because of this, there was no fantastic orchestra of of unrestrained joyous awakening of hard sleeping foliage.  They were all kind of in a twilight sleep, where they were out of their heads, but still awake, still sprouting color when they should have been sleeping.

No matter though. It's warm. The salt is gone from the roads, the birds are singing outside my bedroom window long before the sun is up, the bugs are thick as thieves in the Sudan.  No matter, I wanna ride.

So ride I do.  Here's the map of where I've been.

View Larger MapDriving Directions

Driving up to Roan Mountain and Carver's Gap is a ride meant to bring you closer to happiness. I made the drive feeling very good. I ran to very little traffic ahead of me, and made great time as I drove through the state park to the pinnacle of Roan Mountain.

The Appalachian Trail runs through here and I've read the Gap provides an excellent view of the valleys surrounding it.  It's a short hike to the Bald where no trees grow and an industrious motorcyclist in riding boots can get to without killing herself and snag some fantastic photos of the views.

I begin to climb the trial to the top of the Knob, it don't look like much of a walk when you see it like this, but it meanders left and right up the hill, through woods and around boulders.  It's a wonderful walk...even in biker boots.

This is a very popular part of the trail. Many tourists hike this small part of the trail in order to see the views.  They've had to install barb wire in some places in order to keep the idiots from taking "short cuts" to the top.

A small portion of the trail runs through this cute little forest.  It's very nice indeed.

After leaving the forest, it is still a bit of a walk up to the top of the mountain, but once you get to the bald, this is what greets ya.

There's so much more to this part of the world. You have to see it for yourself!

I left here and headed for Bakersville in N.C.  I decided I wanted to grab some photos of an old mill that is back in the woods there.  I did get the photos, but that's for another blog post.  As you can see from the map, I had a great ride visiting the mountains of North Carolina, Linville Falls, and The Snake in Shady Valley.  Loads of photos for y'all. Keep an eye out for the good stuff. It's coming. I promise!

Random Shots

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Today a few random shots from last summer by our crew mate Benoit.

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