Wrapping Up Another Year of Riding and Writing

December 27th, 2012
Bikes head out on a ride at the Overland Expo

Bikes head out on a ride at the Overland Expo, one of the many places I went this year.

In my fourth year as a freelance moto-journalist I went all out. This has been the year I’ve dreamed of. And frankly, the coming year isn’t going to be anything close.

In the year 2012 I had another article published in Rider magazine and a couple published in Kawasaki’s Accelerate magazine. I rode my bike in 16 states and set a new personal record for total miles. I don’t know what that number is yet, because the year is not over yet, but it’s already a record.

I had some very cool gear given to me in exchange for testing and writing it. A bluetooth helmet-to-helmet communicator has proven to be a welcome little gadget, and a bluetooth-communicator-equipped helmet may yet prove to be even nicer. I just need some reasonably decent weather to continue testing that one. I’ve also received some good books, as well as some crappy ones, and some killer motorcycle maps.

July found me crossing the country on my way to Vintage Motorcycle Days, in Ohio, and earlier in the year I headed down to Flagstaff for the Overland Expo. Of course the OFMC took its annual summer trip. And I checked out STAR 2012, the Motorcycle Sport-Touring Association’s shindig.

I stayed with a whole bunch of folks from the Motorcycle Travel Network and we had a bunch who stayed with us. This thing beats the heck out of staying in motels. Cheaper and a lot more fun.

As I try to do every year, I rode a bunch of different demo bikes. I also had my first-ever flat tire on a bike and I got my first-ever speeding ticket on a bike. Oh well, it’s all grist for the pen.

I doubt I’m going to be able to say half as much about 2013 come this time next year because this freelancer got a job. It was pretty necessary considering that my main staple income source, RumBum, shut down, and my number two, Examiner, jacked around with their pay so badly that my earnings from them dropped by 90 percent. If you have noticed that I hardly write for them anymore, that’s why.

Still, I’m working now at the National Park Service, and if the clowns in Washington don’t pull some rabbit out of a hat soon I figure it’s contractors like me who will be the first to take the hit if the government agency we work for has to start trimming costs. At least this job has allowed me to pay off all this expensive dental work I’ve had done recently, and if a lay-off comes in a couple months–rather than next week–I’ll have put aside enough cash that I could end up doing a lot of two-wheeled traveling once again this summer. I’m a winner either way.

So hey, I figure I’m pretty dang fortunate. I’ve had a terrific year and the future looks bright. What more is there?

Recent from the National Motorcycle Examiner
Nothing at all.

Biker Quote for Today

“Whenever my mood turns foul and I find myself wandering beyond control, I pull out my motorbike and hurl it top speed down these unfit roads for hour after hour.” – T.E. Lawrence

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Weather Looks OK For Last Brass Monkey Run

December 24th, 2012
Last Brass Monkey Run in 2008

Riders starting out from the Frontier Club for the 2008 Last Brass Monkey Run.

Yeah, it’s cold and gonna get colder the next couple days, but then we’re supposed to get a little warmer. Just in time for this year’s final organized motorcycle ride, the Last Brass Monkey Run.

The Last Brass Monkey Run is put on each year by ABATE of Colorado and it starts out at a couple spots, The Frontier Club in Aurora and Susie’s in Golden, and comes together at the Grizzly Rose.

Registration at the starting points begins at 9 a.m. and the party at the Grizzly Rose begins at noon. Registration is $10 for ABATE members and $15 for non-members. Plus, if you’re an ABATE member and you renew your membership at the event it only costs you $5 to get in.

Goings-on include food and live music, a chili cook-off, cash prizes, door prizes, 50-50, and of course the chance to catch up with friends and get in your last ride of the year.

Of course, if the weather turns nasty or you just can’t motivate yourself to get on the bike, you can come in your car. What the heck.

So hey! I’ll see you there, right?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Butler Maps goes east to the Ozarks

Biker Quote for Today

Trailering your bike is a sickness. Call 1-800 2 SCARED TO RIDE

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Posted in ABATE, Colorado motorcycle rides, Day Rides, motorcycle events | No Comments »

Getting Really Invisible On The Motorcycle

December 20th, 2012
headlight on my Kawasaki Concours

Who knew the bulb blew?

Safe riding promoters tell you to ride as if you were invisible, because for the most part you are. Well, I took that one step further recently, I almost really was invisible, although I didn’t know it at first.

I recently started a regular day job–something I hadn’t had in nearly four years–and frankly, I don’t expect to ride to work very much. The direct route takes me up I-25 to 6th Avenue and then west. The part on I-25 is a bear, with really bad stop and go traffic. That kind of thing is murderous on your wrists on a bike, as I’m sure you know.

But I have ridden twice. On Wednesday before Thanksgiving I knew traffic would be light, and it was supposed to be a beautiful day. It was, and I rode.

Then the following week, also on Wednesday, it was going to be another gorgeous day so I decided I would take a longer route that would help me avoid the really bad traffic. That worked out OK.

So that evening I was heading home, and it was dusk, getting darker all the time. I started noticing that my headlight wasn’t doing all that good a job illuminating the road in front of me, but I could still see OK so I wasn’t concerned.

But it kept getting darker. And I was starting to have a suspicion that something was wrong. I suspected that my headlight was out. I flipped on the brights and there was definitely light. I flipped them back off and there did not seem to be any light. I wanted to pull up close behind a car and see if I was shining a light on it but couldn’t really do that at highway speed. Finally I just decided that oncoming traffic, I apologize, but I’m running with my brights on. And when I finally did get off the highway and pulled up close behind a car there was nothing when I flipped the brights off.

So essentially, I had been riding in the dark with no light to tell other drivers that I existed. Talk about invisible. And how long do you suppose the light had been out? I don’t ride at night a lot so it could have been a good long time. Now I know; all I have to do is remember to do something about it.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Going over the edge of the Grand Mesa

Biker Quote for Today

When in doubt, PIN IT! It may not help, but it’ll sure end the suspense…

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Posted in Biker Issues, Motorcycle Gear | No Comments »

Some Highlights From The 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball Run

December 17th, 2012
A BSA that rode in the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball Run

A BSA that rode in the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball Run.

This presentation on the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball Run could have been better if the acoustics had been better. I mentioned to the guys afterward that I only heard about half of what was said, and Dan replied that I had done about 10 times better than he did. That’s too bad, because what I did hear was pretty interesting.

This thing was held up in Frederick at High Country Harley-Davidson, and there was a reason for that: Michael Lichter, the photographer who rode the entire ride sitting backward, was on a bike under the command of Dave Przygocki, whose card says he holds the title of Cycle Therapist and Sales Manager at High Country H-D. Lichter and Przygocki both shared in the telling, as did several others on hand who had made the ride.

Route guidance on this thing was pretty interesting for starters. Each bike had a scrolling sheet that the rider had to advance, telling them things like, “go 6 miles and turn left at the gas station.” One of the speakers–I forget who–told how there were times when he wondered if he had missed a turn, but would pull in to a gas station and see the oily drips and other detritus of this band of ancient motorcycles and be reassured he was on the right route.

And can you imagine riding 3,000 miles on a bike that is 75 years old? Those things broke down a lot when they were new; what do you thing they do now? There were tales of splitting the crankcase and doing entire engine rebuilds overnight, and we’re not talking about just one or two such instances. Another speaker noted that they had left a trail of irreplaceable parts across the country. You know, they’d be riding along and something would fall off, never to be found. Then the rider had to compensate in some way. Sometimes they had spares; other times they jury-rigged.

While some of the riders took advantage of modern riding gear, others went all the way and wore the kind of things that were available way back then. Things such as leather helmets.

Then there was the 5-foot, 1-inch woman whose bike had to be push started–that was how it worked when it was new. So she push started this bike the entire way across the U.S.

There was a lot more. You should have been there, if you weren’t. And there were a bunch of people there. I saw Linda and Russ McCartney, of Thunder Roads Colorado; Jerry Pokorny of the British Motorcycle Association of Colorado; and Todd Wallace, also of the BMAC and a restorer of old bikes. Alan ran into the guy he bought his current Harley from. It was old home week.

The word is that the next Cannonball should be in 2014. Just in case you want to join in.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Butler Maps goes east to the Ozarks

Biker Quote for Today

It takes less time to do things the hard way than to be too nervous to even start at all.

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Doing The Motorcycle Cannonball Run Backward

December 13th, 2012
Old motorcycle on the road

Not old enough for the Motorcycle Cannonball Run.

Here’s something on Saturday that sounds good. Dan and Alan and I will be there.

I frankly don’t remember all the details, but there was recently an event called the Motorcycle Cannonball Run, where a bunch of really old bikes rode from the East Coast to the West Coast. As I recall, you had to either be on a bike that was at least 75 years old or else you had to be 70 years old yourself. Or something like that.

That’s cool enough, but what if you did the entire ride facing backward? What better way to photograph the event–which is what this guy did–but can you imagine doing that? Of course, someone else was up front in control of the bike.

So here’s the scoop. This guy, Michael Lichter, will be at High Country Harley-Davidson on 1 p.m. on Saturday making a presentation about his experience. With pictures, of course. No charge. Also, Gary Wright, one of the contestants, will be there, too.

Here’s what the promo has to say about it:

  • 23 days on the road
  • 3,596 miles, if you didn’t miss a turn
  • 78 motorcycles built from 1913 to 1929
  • 78 riders ages from 20 to 70 years old
  • entrants from Poland, Japan, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Germany, Italy, USA, France
  • Excelsior, Indian, J.A.P., BSA, BMW, Triumph, Vellocette, Harley-Davidson, Henderson, Rudge
  • and just one guy rode backwards the entire way!

Sounds like something worth giving up a weekend afternoon for.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom, #24

Biker Quote for Today

Just remember, once you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.

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Posted in motorcycle events | 1 Comment »

A Good Spot For A Motorcycle Repair Shop?

December 10th, 2012
Possible Motorcycle Service Location

If you want to start a motorcycle repair operation, this space right next to Susie's could be the perfect spot.

On the very off chance that you are looking to set up a motorcycle service shop and are looking for the right location, here’s a possibility.

I got an email recently from Joe Dunn, of CRESCO Properties, Inc., saying he has “about 3200 SF 5 bay repair shop for lease at 17981 W. Colfax Avenue in Golden, CO directly east of Susie’s Bar And Grill. Might be a natural for someone looking to relocate a shop since Susie’s is motorcycle friendly.”

Then in a follow-up email when I requested a photo, Joe said, “Looks like it would be perfect for motorcycle repair, and customers can get lunch and a brew while they wait. Rent for 3,163 SF is $2800 per month including taxes. Maybe one or more of your readers is looking to relocate their business.”

Now, there’s no finder’s fee or anything involved here; I have nothing to gain. But I thought I’d pass this along just in case someone out there is looking for exactly this sort of thing. FWIW. You can reach Joe at c.properties@comcast.net.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Butler Maps goes east to the Ozarks

Biker Quote for Today

And the Moto Gods said “Let there be tinkering.” And the people said “yes we will tinker, and we will buy parts, and we will clean old parts, until such time that old parts and new parts become one, and she rumbles forth anew. Yea, I will tinker.”

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Posted in motorcycle problems | No Comments »

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