Odds and Ends, January Motorcycle Rides

Oh well, shucks. I just got the newest issue of Rider magazine in the mail today and my Vetter piece is not in it. I had had the impression it would be, but it’s not in my hands. Maybe next issue.

V-Strom at the Stagecoach

I rode down to Franktown Saturday, to the Stagecoach.

I’ve been able to do some riding lately. We get cold and snow–like today–and then we get some warm and clear. If we get enough warm and clear the roads get melted off and I can get out. On Saturday I headed down to Franktown, to the Stagecoach, as you can see in the photo. I saw a lot of guys out on bikes and the closer I got to Franktown the more I saw. There were probably 50 or so parked at the Stagecoach.

Sunday I got out again, not going anywhere in particular but doing some exploring. That can be a really fun thing to do if you pick a good area to go explore. I ended up down in Highlands Ranch and just followed some of the major streets. I fail to comprehend–as I have for years–where all the money comes from for so many people to buy so many huge houses. Yeah, I guess many of them may be owned by bank after the housing crash of a few years ago, but certainly not all of them.

The other thing that really struck me was how out of date that whole area is already. With that sprawling lay-out there is no way you can go anywhere other than to your neighbor’s or to the nearby park without driving. That’s the way they built neighborhoods for decades but times are a changin’. People want to somewhere that they can walk to the cafe or whatever other thing and those are the neighborhoods of the future. You couldn’t give me a house in Highlands Ranch.

So it seems like I never just go out for a ride anymore. I’m always testing some product or other and these rides were no different. I’ve got these high-tech earplugs I’m trying out and more recently I received a back brace that is supposed to prevent back pain on long rides. I’m not ready to report on either of them but I’ve been able to use both a few times now.

The earplugs I’m having trouble with. They’re supposed to block bad noise but let you hear people talking and road noises that you need to hear. I put them in and can hardly tell they’re blocking any sound at all, until I take them out and hear what I was not hearing before. I don’t know what to make of them.

The back brace is supposedly for long rides but because I won’t be doing any of those any time real soon I figured I’d just wear it around the house and to work. It’s not at all uncomfortable but considering that I don’t suffer from back pain it’s hard for me to really tell how good a job it’s doing. But I’ll keep using it and will have a report before too long, I expect.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if there are no wrinkled, faded, creased, or scratched areas on your leathers.

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