Rant Archive - June 2007

June 30, 2007 - NEW TURN SIGNAL RINGS... A GIFT FROM A COUPLE OF BUDDIES

A few months ago a couple of buddies of mine gave me a Harley-Davidson gift card in appreciation for the work I put in to the riding group that I started and lead for four years... and of which they were a part. It was just after I stepped out of the leadership role and they surprised me with this kind gesture. I really appreciated it because I think they were probably only two of very few who really understood how much work it took to keep that group organized and going... and it felt good that they appreciated my efforts.

Well, today I finally got around to spending the balance. I've always hated the "flat" look of the Electra Glide signals so I got these cool rings that are just the ticket to give them a little depth. I really like them a lot and now every time I look at them I can remember a kind gesture from a couple of good friends.

I took a before and after shot... the pics are pretty horrible with bad reflections but at least you get the idea of what I think is an improved look. If you ride an EG or a Road King you should check them out.

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June 29, 2007 - RIDING THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

My wife and I just spent the week riding the Blue Ridge Parkway with a couple of our good friends and man, it was a blast! We made our way to Chattanooga, TN. via the Interstate, then rode the Cherahola skyway into North Carolina where we hopped on the Parkway and traveled as far north as possible before having to turn around and come back home.

If you have not ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina yet, you gotta do it. It is without a doubt some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see on a bike and the winding mountain road is fabulous for riding. We also got the chance to stop off in Maggie Valley, NC. to check out the Wheels Through Time Museum. Check out my post below for the scoop on that.

CLICK HERE NOW to check out pics of our Blue Ridge Parkway trip.

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June 29, 2007 - WHEELS THROUGH TIME MUSEUM - MAGGIE VALLEY, NC.

I had heard from a bunch of guys how great the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC. was but I was not prepared for what I saw this past Tuesday. This place is more than a museum... it ought to be declared a National Treasure. There is so much motorcycle related history that you could easily spend two whole days in the place just soaking it all in... and I'm still not sure that would be enough time to grasp it all. The staff is wonderful and their passion for motorcycles is more than evident in every aspect of the museum. You gotta get there and check it out!.

CLICK HERE NOW to check out my pics of the Wheels Through Time Museum.

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June 22, 2007 - THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE TENNESSEE - JULY 2007

The July 2007 issue of Thunder Roads Magazine should be on the shelf in just a few days. My monthly column is about my recent ride of Tennessee Highway 41. Be sure and pick up a copy if you are in Tennessee or you can grab it on line in .pdf format HERE.

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June 16, 2007 - LYNCHBURG MOTORCYCLE RALLY 2007

Each year about this time, the city of Lynchburg, Tennessee  (located about 60 miles south of Nashville) hosts a motorcycle rally that draws bikers from all over the Mid-South. This years rally was today so this morning I hooked up with the local HOG chapter and about 40 of us made the trek from Nashville to the big event...and big it was... there were tons of bikes and tons of people. I wandered around with the group for a while and snapped a few pics but I had to be at another event in Nashville in the afternoon so after checking it all out I hopped on the Electra Glide for the solo trip back to Nashville. Or so I thought.

I stopped off for a quick bite at Pope's Cafe in Shelbyville, snarfed down a burger and headed out for the remainder of the ride home. When I came to the first stop light, I looked to my right and was surprised to see two of my buddies who were also on their way back from the Rally. I had no idea they were even going to be there but I'm glad they were... and I'm glad I ran into them because I got to ride with them rest of the way home. Another great day of riding here in Middle Tennessee.

CLICK HERE to check out a few of my pics from the Lynchburg Rally.

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June 12, 2007 - GROUP RIDE TO THOMPSON'S STATION, TENNESSEE

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I started a riding group here in Middle Tennessee about four years ago and lead it up until this year. My intention was to take the year off, refresh my batteries, do some other things and just sit back and enjoy the rides for a change. Long story short, things have not turned out as I had hoped.

As a result I've started riding with some other groups to take up the slack. One of them had a dinner ride tonight and the weather was so awesome, of course I had to go. About 25 bikes made their way from Nashville to Thompson's Station, Tennessee, a sleepy little town about 40 miles south of town. It was a great time with some awesome backroad riding and a nice meal to boot.

One of the guys had a cool sidecar set-up. I don't know though, it looked a bit unstable in the curves but I guess you get used to it. Nonetheless, it was pretty cool looking and definitely a conversation piece.

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June 11, 2007 - MAYBE JOHN DENVER WAS TALKING ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL

John Denver had a smash hit years ago called "Rocky Mountain High" that referred to the exhilarating feeling of experiencing the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Today, the song may be better suited as the theme song for the Denver City Council. What are they smoking out there?

In a blatant act of discrimination, the city of Denver, Colorado took a sucker-punch at the general motorcycle riding public last week when the Denver City Council voted on Monday, June 4th to pass an ordinance that will require all motorcycles made since 1982 to have a Federal Environmental Protection Agency sound certificate label on the exhaust system. In practical terms, that means that any bike riding through Denver that doesn't have the original exhaust system, installed by the manufacturer is subject to a $500 fine. The ordinance goes into effect July 1.

According to the Council, the new law is to help curb the ever growing noise pollution problem that the city faces but as is becoming typical with most levels of government these days, they have taken the "Ready-Fire-Aim" approach to shooting their target, hastily jumping to conclusions before considering the consequences of their "I know what's best for you" attitudes.

But here's what pisses me off more than anything about this. Denver already has an ordinance for all motor vehicles, requiring each to be under 80 decibels at 25 feet. This standard remains in effect for cars and trucks, except that the allowable limits have been raised! Under the new ordinance, vehicles with a gross weight rating under 10,000 pounds can be 82 decibels at 25 feet, and trucks over 10,000 pounds can be 90 decibels at 50 feet. Only motorcycles are subject to the EPA sound certification labeling requirement… and cars and tucks can now be louder!

If you ask me, it sounds like the Council members in Denver have more than a noise pollution agenda. It sounds like they have issues with motorcycles. Here's what Ed Moreland, AMA Vice President for Government Relations had to say about it:

"We understand the motivation for cities to pass laws controlling sound levels from traffic, but the approach being taken in Denver creates a special class of enforcement that unfairly targets motorcyclists. Loud trucks and cars are every bit as annoying as loud motorcycles, but only motorcyclists would be subject to this new provision of the labeling law... We look forward to working with the Denver City Council to come up with a more reasonable solution for dealing with excessive sound levels from traffic. Our experience has shown that there are a range of approaches cities can take to this issue without imposing restrictive laws on motorcyclists."

Let's hope that the AMA can do something about this before July 1 because this seems completely out of line to me. Am I missing something? If so, someone in Denver email me and let me know.

It should be noted that the ordinance passed by a vote of 8-2. Council members Charlie Brown and Jeanne Faatz voted against the measure.

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June 10, 2007 - BIKERS AND PILOTS... A LOT IN COMMON

I've been around both motorcycles and airplanes my entire life (literally) and it's clear to me that the similarities between riding a motorcycle and flying an airplane are many. Both provide the same kind of exhilaration and some have even described riding a motorcycle as flying on the ground. I guess that's why I often meet people who are into both riding and flying and why I have the same passion for aviation as I do motorcycling... because bikers and pilots have a lot in common.

In particular I enjoy WWII aircraft so I was excited to find out that the Liberty Belle B-17 Flying Fortress was going to be in town today. I made my way over to the airport to check it out first-hand... and I'm glad I did. The immaculately restored WWII bomber is owned and operated by The Liberty Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation devoted to supporting WWII aviation history and the aircraft is certainly a sight to behold. It also has quite a story to tell. Here is an excerpt from www.LibertyFoundation.org:

On September 9, 1944 the 390th Bomb Group attacked a target in Dusseldorph, Germany and suffered its second largest single mission loss of the war. Over the target just prior to bomb release, one of the low squadron B-17s was hit in the Bomb bay by flak. The 1000 lb. bombs exploded and nine of the twelve aircraft in the squadron were instantly destroyed or knocked out of formation.

Six of the nine went down over the target, one flew two hours on a single engine and landed at Paris, another "crippled plane" landed in Belgium and the other struggled back to its home base and landed long after the other thirty nine B-17s had returned from the mission. The one that came home was "Liberty Belle", she went on to complete 64 combat missions before being salvaged on February 18, 1945.

As usual, I had a camera with me and got a few pics so be sure and check them out by clicking on the link below... and if the Liberty Belle is ever in your area I would highly recommend you go see this awesome piece of aviation history for yourself.

CLICK HERE NOW to check out my pics of The Liberty Belle.

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June 7, 2007 - MY NEPHEW SCORES AN XB12S LIGHTNING!

I got a call from my nephew in Tampa the other day. He was pretty excited because last week he went out and picked up a Buell XB12S Lightning. He sent me the picture above... sweet looking bike!

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June 5, 2007 - BIKER SWAG AVERAGING 5K... HOLY COW!

Every week I get a report from my hosting company that tells me how many people are visiting BikerSwag.com and I am happy to announce that over the last 90 days the site has spiked to an average of over 5,000 unique visitors per month! That may not seem, like all that much to some but to me it seems like a lot of people that are interested in the rants and ravings that I post here. A special thank you goes out to all my loyal readers out there who have passed the word along about BikerSwag.com.

And hopefully the traffic will be picking up even more in the near future. Starting this month I will be running print ads in various regional publications to promote my Web Design and Photography business to motorcycle related businesses throughout the Mid-South. I'm hoping that 5K will seem small 6 months from now. Check out my ads in the local rags and if you know of anyone with a motorcycle related business looking for web or photography assistance, please have them contact me.

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June 5, 2007 - DOES ANYBODY BESIDES ME READ PRINT MEDIA ANYMORE?

There's no doubt about it, we live in a Digital Media age. My grandfather would never believe how life has changed because of it. Who would have thought 20 years ago that today you can buy a personal computer that fits in a backpack for less than $600, hook up with an Internet Service Provider and within seconds be surfing the web for information on any subject you choose.

I can read the latest news, check the weather on the other side of the world, drop a note to my friend in South Korea, respond to a letter from my sister in Florida, watch David Letterman's Top-Ten list from last night, pay the electric bill, research my next automobile purchase and do it all in less time than it would take to drive to the mall and back!

But even with seemingly unlimited information at my fingertips, I still fill my brain with a lot of motorcycle information the old fashioned way... by reading a bunch of magazines. The wife gets tired of the growing stacks of back-issues laying around from years of subscriptions but as long as they are available, I'll always have motorcycle magazines around the house. It just wouldn't be the same without them.

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