May 3, 2008 - NOT BEING ONE TO WASTE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO RIDE...
My daughter is on a competitive dance team. Up
until a few years ago I had no idea there was even such a thing but let me
tell you... it is real and it is real intense! These kids are completely
dedicated to it and spend hours upon hours perfecting their routines. The
pay off comes when they go and compete with other studios at these HUGE
competitions. Well, today was one of those competition days and it took place
at the Opryland Hotel and Resort, just north of Nashville. It started at
5:30 but of course the team had to be there much earlier so off went the
wife and daughter early this afternoon, leaving me all alone.
Not being one to waste an opportunity to ride...
I hopped on the Electra Glide and headed north to Bowling Green, Kentucky.
I figured I had just enough time to take the backroads all the way up there,
hang at the Harley Dealer for a bit and then zip back down the Interstate
to Nashville, just in time to catch my daughters competition. It worked out
great... I got a great ride in and my daughters team... well, they took first
place in their division... again!
May 1, 2008 - IT SOUNDS CRAZY TO YOU
SOUTHERNERS I'M SURE
Four
of my riding buddies and I hooked up tonight to do a little riding... and
to check out another local Bike Night. The plan was to meet at 5:00 at a
specified parking lot and take off from there on a quick ride before heading
to the Bike Night. I was the first one to arrive so I took a few goofy shots
of the SV while I waited for the others to get there... like the one posted
to the right. It's not a great photo but it does serve as a reminder to me
that 1) I really need to invest in that Fender Eliminator kit. The SV would
look so much better if that hideous license plate bracket were removed...
And 2) I really need to clean the thing up. That rear wheel is supposed
to be silver... not brake dust gray!
Anyway, despite the the fact that the pollen is
so thick in the Middle Tennessee air right now that you can cut it with a
knife... we had a good little ride. It was about 40 miles total and a lot
of it was over roads that I had either never been on before or not been on
in a long time. It was quite fun and a beautiful night to ride... and to
top it all off, after our ride we stopped for a bite at a new place in town
that I've been wanting to check out. It's called Dugouts and they serve authentic
Chicago Style Hotdogs, Italian Beef Sandwiches... and other foods that call
Chicago home.
Now for those of you that don't know, I grew up
in the Chicago area and let me tell you... although I love the South... one
of the things I miss about Chicago is the Hotdogs and Italian Beef Sandwiches.
It sounds crazy to you Southerners I'm sure
(can a Hotdog really be that good?) but you Chicagoans
reading this know exactly what I'm talking about. It's been a long time since
I have had a good Chicago Style Dog so throwing the the health food craze
to the wind for the night, I indulged myself in one awesome Chicago Style
Vienna Hotdog. And it was great... in fact I could have had two but I exhibited
restraint and moved on!
From there it was on to one of the newer bike nights
in town. It's put on by a local Honda dealership and I think this is the
second one they have had this year. There was food (which we all passed on...
how can you top Dugouts?), a live band, lot's of people and quite a few bikes.
None were really anything out of the ordinary so the camera pretty much stayed
in my pocket all night. Here's one shot to the left... but like I said...
nothing out of the ordinary.
But... while I'm on the subject of out of the
ordinary... check out the pickup truck below. It was in the parking lot when
we left Dugouts and was massive. The guy standing in front of it is not a
small dude by any means... he's probably 6'-'2" so that gives you an idea
how huge this truck really was. I didn't even know Ford made an F650 but
here's the proof.
I
wore my Wheels Through Time T-Shirt today while running a couple of errands
and while I was standing in line at one store an older gentleman asked if
I had been recently. I explained that I made a trip last summer and he proceeded
to tell me that it was a good thing I went when I did. When I asked why he
explained that museum curator Dale Walksler has decided to close shop this
September! My jaw just about hit the floor.
If you have ever been to Wheels Through Time, you
know that it is a National Treasure for any motorcycle enthusiast... and
the thought of it closing is heart breaking. What a shame! You can check
out the full explanation on the WTT website by clicking
here.
Apparently there will be an auction September 25th - 27th on the premises
where 150 of the collectable rare machines will be sold.
CLICK HERE to
see pics of my trip to Wheels Through Time last June... and if you get the
chance... go visit them before September.
April 19, 2008 - I HIP-HOPPED MY REAR
STRAIGHT TO THE ELECTRA GLIDE
Today I was on my own. The family was off on an
all-day adventure of the competitive nature so I hip-hopped my rear straight
to the Electra Glide and took off! The weather was awesome in the morning
with bright sunshine and I lead a group of 16 bikes on a great ride through
the hills of Middle Tennessee. There is something powerful about 16 bikes
in staggered formation, taking each curve as a single unit. Tons of
fun!
After that some of us headed down to Bumpus
Harley-Davidson in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to check out their Spring Bike
Show. I just happened to have a camera with me ;-) and grabbed a few pics.
Well, more than a few. Most of my riding partners were gone by the time I
got done. On the way back home I rode through a Thunder Shower for about
5 miles... which gave me plenty to do this evening... clean the bike up.
It was a pretty good biken' kind of day.
Another cool thing about Spring in Middle Tennessee
is the fact that all the local bike nights kick off. You can usually find
one on any given Thursday night... and some even on Wednesday and Friday.
I made my way to one of the better known ones this evening and got there
early enough to get a couple of pics. (That's one bad thing about having
bike nights at night... rarely get good pics... too dark!) By the time I
left there were so many bikes that I seriously thought I would not get out
of the parking lot. Everybody had the same idea I guess. I saw a couple of
friends and chatted for a bit but then got out of there when I saw a break
in the incoming traffic.
There were tons of cool bikes but these two here
were the most interesting to me. The first one is an MV Agusta. It's one
of the Brutale models but I'm not sure which one. All I know is that it is
BAD! The second bike is a Ducati but again I have no idea what model it is.
Could be a 916 Strada. One thing I can tell you for sure though... Italy
has it GOING ON with motorcycles. Both of these bikes made my heart race...
or maybe it was the the scorching Hot Wings I ate! No... it was definitely
the bikes... way cool!
April 17, 2008 - THUNDER ROADS TENNESSEE
- MAY 2008
The May 2008 issue of Thunder Roads Tennessee will
be in the stores next week. If you are in Tennessee, be sure to pick up your
FREE copy at just about any shop in the state. Others can check it out on-line
at
www.thunderroadstennessee.com.
This month my column is about the Spring Thaw Bike Show... and I also did
the photography and layout for the monthly calendar image.
April 17, 2008 - 45 SECONDS OF SV650S
COMMUTING IN NASHVILLE, TN.
Today was one of those perfect days to commute.
The weather was beautiful as witnessed by the still image above that I shot
just outside my office this afternoon. Check out how blue the sky was...
and those aren't clouds but rather vapor trails from passing airliners. Of
course no commute in Nashville would be complete without a traffic jam. Check
out the 45 second video below for a glimpse into my commuting world. (Sorry
about the wind noise.)
April 14, 2008 - I WOULD FEEL GUILTY
IF I DIDN'T SHARE IT
OK... so I have to admit... most of the bikes I'm
hired to shoot are pretty "run-of-the-mill" fare. It's usually a pretty stock
machine, and while I thoroughly enjoy those "everyday" kind of shoots, every
once in a while I get to shoot a bike that just makes the hair on the back
of my neck stand up. Such was the case this past weekend when I got to shoot
a bike for a guy here in the Middle Tennessee area. Talk about a kid in a
candy store! His '58 Panhead is the kind of bike that I dream about... and
like I told him... it would be next to impossible to take a bad picture of
it. This bike is just so totally BADDDD that I would feel guilty if
I didn't share it with others here on my RANT. So enjoy... here ya
go!
April 11, 2008 - ALL IN ALL I THINK
IT CAME OUT PRETTY GOOD
The
guys over at Both Barrels Promotions recently commissioned me to do a new
print ad for them. They are looking to get the word out about their parts
business so I came up with this concept, shot the image and did the
layout.
The photography was done on location... on the
floor of their shop, and I even got the owner Scooter in on the fun (that's
him wrenching on the bike). The layout utilizes a quazi monochrome
technique designed to draw your eye to specific parts of the ad. All in all
I think it came out pretty good.
So hey... if you're looking for Harley-Davidson
or other American V-Twin parts check out
www.BothBarrelsPromotions.com.
Pricing is really good, product is delivered right to your door, and they
now have a really cool ad... hahaha! Look for it in various publications
around the Mid-South in the coming months.
And oh... BTW, the Sportster on the lift in the
picture is one of Both Barrels current project bikes and it is going to Slammin'
Sweet when they get it done. Very cool!
April 8, 2008 - SOMEONE JUST GOT A BRAND
NEW 2008 HONDA CBR600RR
No...
it wasn't me... but a guy I know. I was checking it out today and got a quick
camera phone image seen to the left here. He got the Metallic Silver version
and it looks SICK! I've always been a CBR fan (despite the fact that Suzuki
continues to kick their rears in AMA Superbike) and the new 600 is pretty
sweet.
I love the way they have "hidden" the lower fairing
this year. Check the factory photo below and note how the lower fairing is
painted the same color as the frame. It gives it an awesome swept-back look
and sort of a knife-edge vibe.
Makes you want to jump on and ride doesn't't it?
It just looks like it was made to go fast...
April 6, 2008 - A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
What a difference a couple of days makes. After
having massive amounts of rain over the past 72 hours, today was one of those
awesome riding days with temps in the lower 70's and lot's of sunshine. I
got in a little over 100 miles and re-discovered why I love riding the backroads
of Middle Tennessee. Man... what a fantastic state to ride in! Smalltown
Tennessee is the picture-perfect example of Americana... and I love it. For
example, today I saw a one-room post office, passed a family out for an afternoon
ride on their horses and found this cool old service station in one town.
It looked like it had been there for a while and I couldn't help but stop
and just take it in for a few minutes. Check out the video of my ride
below.
April 2, 2008 - A QUICK JAUNT BEFORE
THE DOWNPOURS BEGIN
The forecast for the next 3 days is calling for
something like an 80% chance of precipitation. Looks like the next shot at
good riding weather will be Sunday so tonight my much-better-half and I hopped
on the Electra Glide to get in a quick jaunt before the downpours begin.
We made our way to a local establishment for dinner and though it was just
a short distance and the skies were quite overcast... we still had a great
ride.
I didn't get any pics of the bike but I did get
a bunch of others as I enjoyed dinner with the love of my life. These were
taken with my little point-and-shoot Canon. I cranked the ISO all the way
up to 1600, disabled the flash and did my best to hold still enough to eliminate
camera shake. I don't know... there is something about low-light, grainy
images that I really like. They seem to have character... or something. See
what I mean?
Four
of my riding buddies and I hooked up tonight to do a little riding... and
to check out another local Bike Night. The plan was to meet at 5:00 at a
specified parking lot and take off from there on a quick ride before heading
to the Bike Night. I was the first one to arrive so I took a few goofy shots
of the SV while I waited for the others to get there... like the one posted
to the right. It's not a great photo but it does serve as a reminder to me
that 1) I really need to invest in that Fender Eliminator kit. The SV would
look so much better if that hideous license plate bracket were removed...
And 2) I really need to clean the thing up. That rear wheel is supposed
to be silver... not brake dust gray!
(can a Hotdog really be that good?) but you Chicagoans
reading this know exactly what I'm talking about. It's been a long time since
I have had a good Chicago Style Dog so throwing the the health food craze
to the wind for the night, I indulged myself in one awesome Chicago Style
Vienna Hotdog. And it was great... in fact I could have had two but I exhibited
restraint and moved on!
I
wore my Wheels Through Time T-Shirt today while running a couple of errands
and while I was standing in line at one store an older gentleman asked if
I had been recently. I explained that I made a trip last summer and he proceeded
to tell me that it was a good thing I went when I did. When I asked why he
explained that museum curator Dale Walksler has decided to close shop this
September! My jaw just about hit the floor.
The
guys over at Both Barrels Promotions recently commissioned me to do a new
print ad for them. They are looking to get the word out about their parts
business so I came up with this concept, shot the image and did the
layout.
No...
it wasn't me... but a guy I know. I was checking it out today and got a quick
camera phone image seen to the left here. He got the Metallic Silver version
and it looks SICK! I've always been a CBR fan (despite the fact that Suzuki
continues to kick their rears in AMA Superbike) and the new 600 is pretty
sweet.
