Saturday, December 22, 2007

Cruising



Why do I like cruising? It’s about the freedom of hitting the open road, feeling the sun on your back and the wind in your face. Hearing the basso profundo throbbing of the pipes, and feeling the throb of that V-twin between your knees. You don’t have to scrape the pegs at every corner, of blast through every sweeper with a hard turn of the thottle. Oh, sure, you can do those things–and often do–but it isn’t esssential to the ride. Because for a cruiser, the ride’s the thing. It’s the journey itself that matters.

http://motorcycleparadise.blogspot.com/2007/12/another-year-gone.html

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Why the heck would you want to ride a motorcycle?

I've heard that question a lot of times since I started riding in 1949. From my first ride on a ServiceCycle that I bought for $64 to my last ride last summer there was never any doubt in my mind that riding a motorcycle was the fun. Just plain fun. A pilot friend that I used to ride with said it was like low level flying.

From cruising across the great plains with nobody else in sight for hours to maneuvering through traffic in New York City, riding is always exhilarating. And there is that occasional time when it provides a high that cannot be described. It is a feeling of peace and unity with the surroundings I've never found anywhere else. It usually happens to me when I ride over the North Cascade Pass in Washington state. There is a place there that, as you round a curve on the way up the mountain, you see the high snowed capped mountain framed in the handlebars. You want it to last but, all too quickly, it passes. But you know it will happen again.

What kind of a life would we have without motorcycles?
http://biker90-jimsjourney.blogspot.com/

Pack Wisley

Motorcycle Packing for a Short Trip and a Longer Trip


Small Gadgets

In my left glove box, I have a small pack with a good pocket knife, a folding multi-tool pliers, a couple spoons and forks, a camping can opener, a weekly pill container, a cigarette lighter and a small metal flashlight. Big 5 sporting goods sells most of this stuff at really good prices if you watch for a sale. The weekly pill container holds aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), antihistamine (Allegra), cold tablets (Aleve / Sudafed), caffeine, and melatonin. Long's drugs gives away the pill containers for free. A small camera bag holds a digital camera and spare batteries and flash ram. A small portable tripod. A zip-lock baggy holds 10 pair of spare earplugs. Ask around, everyone who rides long distances wears foam earplugs. Reading glasses (I'm not young anymore, I can't read a map without them). Sun block. A few hair bands wrapped around the sun block tube.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Thursday, December 06, 2007