-
Dancing with Windmills
The WordPress.com team launched a new feature called #wordPrompt where they post a term each month to inspire content for your blog. This month’s word: green. When it comes to motorcycle posts, I almost always lead with a picture, stories, and conclude with a route map. As to every rule, there is always an exception.…
-
80 miles
Shit! It’s hard to believe it’s already mid June. Where has the year been going? Life is becoming more and more like “old normal.” Work travel is starting to pick up again. While back east I got to see my family again, which was great! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the Monterey…
-
Protected: Solar: Year 4 Review
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
-
California Alpine & Low Country Boils
This post is retroactive. All events took place on Memorial Day weekend 2021. A half-written post sat in my drafts folder for almost a year, so it’s now time to finish! I was highly emotional after I got my first shot. After more than a year of relative isolation, I could feel that change was…
-
Grinding the Grouse Grind
This post is highlighted by Your Daily Word Prompt – a random word on a random website designed to spark creativity! Today’s word is grouse! I’m doing a look back on the climb of my life back in September 2021. I love playing tourist – especially in my backyard. Even here at home, I love…
-
A motorcyclist marked by Covid
This post is a follow-up to my first pandemic post: It’s ok to say “I’m hurting”. Talk to any seasoned motorcycle rider, and you often hear the phrase “There is cold, and there is cold on a motorcycle.” Without the proper gear, riding extended distances in cold weather leaves the rider chilled to the bones.…
-
On Winter Riding
If I’m honest, there’s definitely a part of me that has been feeling the winter blues. For the last 3 to 4 weeks here in Northern California, it’s been cold, wet, and cloudy just about every day. Since we generally have so many great days to go riding, it’s easy to forgo your motorcycle, and…
-
Save rooftop solar!
California is a leader in solar power generation. The abundance of sunshine makes California the ideal place to go solar. Utilities often generate solar power through large-scale solar farms. Homeowners and other property owners generate solar power to offset their own consumption in a small-scale format. Those generation methods have value. However new legislation threatens…
-
Aquagoggles: Super Sharp Swimming
I love it when I stumble upon a truly neat product. It’s even better when the company behind it is awesome as well. For me, Aquagoggles meets both bars. Let me tell you why I’m so excited about this product. I recently got back into lap and somewhat open water swimming as the pandemic has…
-
Returning Sonora
After a night in Bishop, I realized I wanted an additional day up here in the Sierras. The air quality was fantastic, and being up here lifted my spirits and so many ways. I was adventuring again in a place I love to call home. There’s so much about this area that’s rugged, unexplored yet…
-
Revisiting Yosemite
It’s hard to believe it’s already September. The summer has flown by! In many ways, the pandemic has messed with my head. In particular, the long stretches of stay-at-home due to the virus, the fires, rioting have got me accustomed to staying home. I often laugh that some days accomplishment means, “I got out of…
-
Turning Left on Highway 20 East
WordPress, the software that powers this blog, has a small folder called “Drafts.” The drafts folder contains thoughts that got started but were not quite finished. Some of those posts sit days. Some of them sit for months. A few of them sit years. This post sat years. If it had finished on time, I…
-
Whole House Fan 2.0
This blog post is a follow-up from QuietCool Whole House Fan Four years later, I still love my whole house fan. It’s one of the best things I put into my house for the money. In particular, I love: fresh air rolling through the house reduced demand for air conditioning in the late afternoon when electricity…
-
Old Stories; New Beginnings
My bike has been in the shop for almost a month. Having just rolled over 12,000 miles, the Beemer needed its thousand dollars of love. That includes a major service: oil, valves, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I also wanted BMWs to help troubleshoot why the installation of HeliBars was crimping the front…
-
Old motorcycle musings…
I still remember the thrill of buying copies of Cycle World as a kid. I remember pouring over each issue flipping through bikes, the riders, and all the latest gear. Somehow reading motorcycle magazines kept my desire for a motorcycle thriving until I was old enough to be on my own and make my own…
-
Sodastream: pursuing fizzy!
This past weekend I ran into a couple of neighbors on the street, and we stumbled into talking about Sodastream. As we were speaking, she remarked, “you should do a blog on this!” So, here you go. This one’s for you! Sodastream is one of those products I didn’t know I needed until I saw…
-
Shutterfly: Cloud Christmas Cards
I sent my first holiday cards out in 2002. I selected the least dorky cards I could find so late in the season. Based on what I saw, I was hoping that all of the fun cards had sold out. I hoped prepackaged cards really were better than what remained on the shelf that year…
-
GS 911 for Mac OS Tutorial
To date, I’ve owned three motorcycles. Each new motorcycle ushers in a whole new level of technology. My first bike, a 2001 Vulcan 750, was an extremely simple motorcycle. It was carbureted at its core with minimal adjustability. The second bike, a 2003 V-Strom, added fuel injection, which solved many of the problems inherent with…
-
Rinnai Tankless Review
Rinnai completely bailed on their Google Home integration. It doesn’t work. The company promised it in their marketing and then did an about face and removed it in a subsequent update. Buyer Beware. This review highlights the Rinnai RUR98eN but talks about many concepts common to all tankless water heaters. When I was looking at…
-
North Coast Loop
After a glorious ride down the Sierra Nevadas, I was ready for a bit more. I spent the middle of the week catching up on life here in the Bay Area and wanted to get one more ride in on my staycation. Larry, a buddy of mine, lives up north on the coast in a…
-
Almost Heaven; California!
This post is a continuation of the ride: Trekking for Givi Luggage Here I am sitting at the corner of US 395 and US 50 in Carson City, Nevada. I had a decision to make: do I head south and feed my motorcycling soul or do I head north and fill the heart with good people.…
Got any book recommendations?