Category: Motorcycles
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Thank you, Elliot
Danke Schön Somehow, saying goodbye never gets any easier. I can remember hearing as a little kid that my grandmother passed. My dad came into the room where we were watching TV and told us that grandmother would no longer be with us anymore. Looking back on it, it was clear that I really didn’t…
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Hello Old Friend
I walked into the garage and didn’t realize how much time had passed. About eight weeks ago I slipped on a Dell keyboard and my foot slammed into the television stand. I took a hard fall and sprained my ankle badly. I knew that it was going to be a long haul as joint injuries…
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Riding the S1000RR
One of the riders this weekend offered his BMW S 1000 RR to ride after lunch. Compared to my bike, this motorcycle is a finely tuned corner carving machine. In contrast my bike is the Japanese tractor that lumbers along the roadway. I’ve only ridden such a bike a few times before. The most recent…
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V vs Wee Strom
I’ve been riding a 2003 DL 1000 since it was new. The bike has about 85,000 miles on it and it’s been a great bike. Recently I was up in Colorado on vacation and rented a 2009 V-Strom 650. I wanted to get a sense for that bike to see if I made the right…
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Bikers and Truckers
This classic came on the radio today and made me smile. GetThereItis sometimes plauges both of us when we see that the end is near. I’ve been rolling down the western seaboard at a pretty good clip at times seeing California in sight. I can remember riding US 101 in Oregon with a very late…
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John Ryan: The Living Legend
Everyone has their version of what a “long” day was. When I first started riding, 100 miles was a long day. As I got more tuned into what made me more comfortable and I got stronger the mileage went up. Currently more than 500 miles is a “long” day for me. I’ve done it twice:…
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Bed Bugs: Motorcyclists aren’t exempt
On one of my trips up to the Sierras I had a run in with these little critters that was less than pleasant. I didn’t know it at the time but one of the hotel beds I believe had these little critters inside of it. A week after arriving home I had about 150 bites…
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60,000 and it keeps on ticking!
Happy Halloween! Last night the DL rolled over 60,000 miles on the odometer. It was a beautiful day here in California (plus I wanted to get some more miles on the bike) so I decided to ride out to the various evening engagements. For some reason I’d been really anticipating this milestone for quite a…
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Leading group motorcycle rides
Once the day has come to actually ride the ride, here are some tips to help everything run a bit smoother and for all the riders to have a good time. Overcommunicate: If I can say only one thing, this would be it. It’s amazing how many times you can say things and people just…
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Planning group rides for motorcycles
Mike and I have been planning a group rides for motorcycles for a number of years each year and with each ride I learn things. On our first ride up to Lake Tahoe in 2007, while fun, the group was pretty small and all the riders were well experienced. That winter I got to go…
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I miss motorcycling
I feel like it has been a really long time since I’ve been out on the bike. The overnight in Tahoe was fabulous, but that seems like ages ago. About five or so weeks later I needed to go see the dentist for my biannual checkup. I have moved a few times in my stay…
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Time is consantly going….
The reality that I’m leaving has now hit me hard. They say that time is a unidirectional vector that moves at the pace of about 24 hours every day. With all the planning and prep that has gone into this trip, it’s hard to believe I’ll be leaving tomorrow. Anel has be great and patient…