Rant Archive - November 2007

November 30, 2007 - A SAD DAY FOR THE MOTORCYCLE WORLD... SO LONG EVEL

On Friday, November 30, 2007, the motorcycle world suffered a great loss when the legendary Evel Knievel passed away in Clearwater, Florida at the age of 69. A true child-hood hero of mine (and many others my age) Evel was the World's Greatest Daredevil and a motorcycle world icon. I was fortunate enough to meet him in person back in 2004 (see pic below) and that memory will always be special to me. For more on Evel, read my RANT from December 9, 2005.

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www.evelknievel.com

Friday, November 30 marked the end of what will forever be remembered as the longest and most courageous battle between one man, a man we all know as the world's greatest daredevil, and death. Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, finally succumbing after nearly a three-year bout with the terminal lung disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 69.

His death was preceded by more than 40 years of constant battle against the persistent pain of broken bones and severe trauma after jumping and crashing motorcycles like no man had ever done before. In addition, he fought to overcome the tremendous obstacles of diabetes, hepatitis C, a liver transplant, numerous surgeries and two strokes.

Knievel's legacy as America's Legendary Daredevil, Last of the Gladiators, and King of the Stuntmen will undeniably live on among millions of fans, past, present and future. However, the memories of the man apart from his legend will live on even stronger in the hearts of his friends and family. Despite his well-known swagger of self confidence, the legacy he wished for most of all was simply to be an inspiration.

"The fame of great men ought to be judged always by the means they used to acquire it."

By this maxim, nothing will ever be able to take away or challenge the things accomplished by Evel Knievel.

Whether it was unmatched courage or just an absolute unwillingness to give in to fear, Robert Craig Knievel was a man's man through all the days of his life. He took great pride in the simply stated, yet most difficult to accomplish principles: always living up to his word, never shirking the responsibility or consequences for his actions regardless of the personal risk, and never, not ever, failing to stop trying.

Knievel was born in Butte, Montana on October 17, 1938 to Robert Edward and Ann (Keough) Knievel. He and his younger brother Nic were raised by the loving family of paternal grandparents Ignatius and Emma Knievel.

Growing up and living in Butte were some of the most valued times of his life. His fame took him far and wide across the country and even over seas, but Knievel never let go of the love and pride he had for his hometown.

Growing up in a blue-collar mining town, Knievel attended Butte public schools before serving in the U.S. Army reserves. As a young man he was always an exceptional athlete, hard worker and determined individual. Knievel explored and excelled in many different professions, if only for a short time, before finding his calling as the ultimate daredevil.

During his prime as a bona fide celebrity, Knievel enjoyed his spoils to the highest. He loved fast cars, private airplanes, fancy yachts and the finest clothes and jewelry money could buy. He was sought out by Hollywood and remained friends with many famous people until his death.

In the end, he had a few regrets, but he always sincerely strived to do the right thing. He never forgot who his real friends were. He never forgot his love for his family. And he never forgot the place from where he came, what he'd learned or what others had done to help him get to where he did. The red, white and blue for which he is famous were a tribute to his Butte character as much as they were for America. In his last years, one of the greatest honors was being able to share his hometown with his world of fans and to participate and take pride in the celebration of his annual event, "Evel Knievel Days."

He dearly loved his grandchildren and he always made it a point to stay in touch with the people he loved the most, his friends and family. And lastly, most important to him above all was his new-found faith in Jesus Christ. Just as he always took great care in surrounding himself with the best people he could depend upon to help him make his jumps during his motorcycle career, Knievel found his greatest friend of all in preparation for his final leap from life. He was profoundly happy that he gave his life to God, who comforted him and gave him the strength he needed to make it through the end.

Knievel is survived by his loyal friend and wife, Krystal Kennedy-Knievel, whom he married in 1999. She stood by his side through his greatest struggles with health until his death. He will also be very missed by sidekick, "Rocket," his pet Maltese, as well as Rocket's brother, "Squirt." Knievel's in-laws include Krystal's mother Sylvia and her husband Wayne Croft; father Glen Kennedy, and Krystal's sister Shawn and husband Rory with their two children.

He is also survived by his former wife and dear friend of 38 years, Linda Bork Knievel. Though they divorced, Linda and Evel had four children that all made them proud. Son, Kelly Knievel and daughter-in-law Shelli with granddaughter Lily; son, Robbie Knievel and granddaughters Krysten and Karmen, with great-granddaughter Analiese; daughter Tracey and son-in-law Mitch McCloud with grandchildren Josiah, Jesse, Melody, Cody, Cole, Casey and Dusty with wife Rachel and great-granddaughter Lucy; and his youngest daughter Alicia, with son-in-law Matt Vincent and grandchildren Madelyn, Jaicee, Rye and his sixteenth grandchild expected this June.

Other surviving family members include his stepmother, Mrs. Robert Edward Knievel; brother, Nic and his wife Rusty; sister, Kristy and brother-in-law Hugh Lawrence; sister, Renee and brother-in-law Bill Slaughter; sister Robin and brother-in-law John Dick; and sisters Loretta Young and Kadie Boney. His is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, extended family, friends and his millions and millions of fans.

Public services will be held for family, friends and fans at the Butte Civic Center at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 10th. A private Christian burial and graveside services will take place at the Mountain View Cemetery.

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November 24, 2007 - TOO BAD BOYS... YOU MISSED A GREAT RIDE!

Last night, while attending our towns high school football game I made a few calls from the bleachers. No... not referee calls... phone calls. Three of them to be exact. One to each of three riding buddies who I thought might want to join me this morning for a Saturday ride through the hills of Middle Tennessee. The first one responded with a "are you kidding me" laugh. The forecasted freezing temperature was too much for him. The second one said he would but the honey-do list was two weeks over-due and the third one again claimed cold-weather-itis.

Not one to be discouraged by my friends lack of riding enthusiasm, I decided I was going anyway and at 8:00am this morning I rolled the Electra Glide out of the garage and let the EFI do it's thing. Man... I have to tell you that winter makes me the biggest Fuel Injection fan on the planet. The EG hadn't been started in about a week and with the deck thermometer reading 32 degrees, the bike kicked right over and ran like a champ from the first crank. No choking, no nothing... just hit the starter and go-time. I wish the SV had EFI... the newer models do.

Anyway, off I went and with all my gear on and the sun shining, it wasn't bad at all and even after clocking about 100 miles I was not cold. Too bad boys... you missed a great ride! I ended up east of Nashville in one of my favorite towns... Milton, TN. There's not a lot in Milton, just a little down-home type diner, a one-room post office, a little league diamond and a couple of churches... still it has a ton of character and is the kind of place my wife and I want to retire in one day. Life seems simpler there, most everyone waves at you, all seem friendly and the view of the surrounding Tennessee hills is quite breath-taking... definitely our kind of place. Oh, and I actually found a tree that is still hanging on to it fall colors there so it must be a nice town...hahaha.

And by the way... just so you know, we won last night. Now it's on to the semi-finals and then hopefully to the High School State Championship game. Go Bulldogs!

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November 18, 2007 - THE PROMISE OF SPRING TO COME

Every year I'm amazed at how fast the Fall tree colors fade away. On Tuesday I commuted to the office on the SV and the colors were just amazing with bright reds and glowing yellows... the kind of colors that were so brilliant, they didn't seem real. I made a mental note that this weekend I would get out and take some nice pictures of God's little prism but when I headed for the hills early this morning... I soon realized I was too late. In just four days time most of the leaves had fallen and the landscape had settled into a much more earthtone state.

I still got a couple of pictures... the one above shows that there is still a hint of color in some areas but the one below is a better representation of most of what I saw. It's weird though, even with all of it's leaves fallen to the ground the tree below still somehow looked strong and alive... posing there all by itself. Maybe it was quietly reminding me of the promise of Spring to come.

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November 18, 2007 - THUNDER ROADS TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE

The December issue of Thunder Roads Tennessee will be in the stores any day now. You can grab your FREE copy at just about any motorcycle establishment in the state or all my out of state readers can grab it on-line in .pdf format at www.thunderroadstennessee.com.

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November 17, 2007 - THERE'LL BE A FAILURE TO EXCOMMUNICATE

One of the churches here in Middle Tennessee recently posted signs at each entrance to their parking lot that read: NO MOTORCYCLES OR ATV'S ON CHURCH LOT. The church happens to be located right next door to a local bike shop and apparently the good "Christian Brethren" at this neighboring church decided that they don't want the riff-raff that frequents said bike shop anywhere near their parking lot.

Now I'm sure that someone thought they had good reason to take the time, money and effort to post these signs and granted, I don't know all the details… but I have to wonder if they really thought it through. I personally frequent the bike shop next door and I can tell you that those signs are not helping the cause of the church. The comments I've overheard range from "who do they think they are" to "that's why I'll never go back to church" to some others that I can't print on a family-oriented website like this… and frankly, I completely understand. As a biker, the signs offend me as well but beyond that, as a believer they completely embarrass me.

Aren't we believers supposed to love our neighbors? Jesus said that next to loving God with all your heart, the greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Putting up signs to keep your neighbors at a distance doesn't exactly shout "I love you" in my book and I have to question if this particular church even understands the basics of Christianity. If they did they might have posted signs that read "FREE PARKING FOR ALL MOTORCYCLES... WELCOME!"

Maybe I'm a tad over-sensitive to this particular issue because I ride but just for the record… let me say that I hope those of you outside the church won't judge Christianity on the ignorance of some. Believe it or not, there are churches out there that welcome bikers... just like Jesus does... and you don't have to be perfect to check it out. I'm hoping this particular church, whatever it's original intentions were, decides to take down their signs and instead reaches out to their neighbors. They would do well to hear a line from one of my favorite bands, Relient K when they sing…"Jesus loved the outcasts. He loves the ones the world just loves to hate. And as long as there's a heaven, there'll be a failure to excommunicate." (From the song Failure to Excommunicate on the Relient K 2001 project "Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek".)

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November 13, 2007 - I'D SAY KAWASAKI JUST SMACKED A GAME WINNING GRAND SLAM WITH THE 2008 NINJA 250R

I usually don't get excited about a 250cc street bike (or devote RANT space to new motorcycle plugs) but the folks at Kawasaki have me almost giddy about the new 2008 Ninja 250R. You're probably wondering what the big deal is… after all, the Green Machine has been pumping out 250Rs in huge quantities for years but the rumors of a complete redesign of the entry level bike are now confirmed and this bike should be at dealers soon … and it is one sweet little ride!

Gone is the outdated old Ninja, replaced by an all new machine with a full fairing, single kicked-up muffler, upgraded suspension, upgraded brakes, larger 17" wheels and a retuned 249cc parallel twin power plant. But even with all of these spec upgrades, what's really going to make this bike popular is the fact that it looks fantastic! With similar lines, a lot of people are going to mistake the new 250R for its bigger brothers the Ninja 650R or ZX-6R at first glance and with an MSRP of only $3,499, it's going to sell like hotcakes... which can only be a good thing for the industry.

The new Ninja 250R is no doubt going to further cement Kawasaki as the leader in the entry level sport market but with its awesome looks, 60-70 miles per gallon and a price that's easy on the wallet I think you're going to find that a lot of veteran riders will snatch these up as well. If the motorcycle industry were a baseball game, I'd say Kawasaki just smacked a game winning, grand-slam with the 2008 NINJA 250R!

Photos courtesy of www.kawasaki.com.

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November 10, 2007 - RIDING WITH SPEEDY... AND THEN WITH THE EAGLES!

It was rather brisk at 8:30 this morning at a cool 40 degrees, still my buddy Speedy and I braved the elements to get a long overdue ride fix. We clocked about 100 miles and hit some of my favorite roads east of Nashville. Riding with Speedy is always a learning experience for me. He's one of the best riders I ride with and I learn a lot just from following his lines and watching him. Of course I can't keep up with him! At one point today I was so far behind that I accidentally made a wrong turn. I realized it pretty quickly though, turned around and finally caught up with him a mile or so down the road where he sat waiting for me. Pretty funny... he didn't mind though and understands the rule that you ride within your own limits no matter how fast or slow the other riders in your group are. People get in trouble trying to keep up with riders who are faster than they are.

A pretty sweet bike he has there too, don't you think? It's an '05 Honda 1000RR with full Repsol racing graphics. Every time I'm out with him people always stop and comment on his bike and today was no different. It looks great. Anyway, he had to be at a kids soccer game at 11:00 but since I didn't have to be back home until 12:00, we split and I kept riding for a while... and at a much more leisurely pace I might add.

On the solo portion of my ride I popped in the old iPod earbuds and enjoyed the new Eagles CD, Long Road Out Of Eden. This band has had more of an impact on me as a musician than just about any other and the new CD (20 new original songs) reminds me of why. Something magical happens when these guys get together and create music. Perhaps Vince Gill said it best Wednesday night at the CMA Award Show here in Nashville when he said, "For 35 years these guys have been writing the songs we all wish we had written, playing the music we wish we had played and singing the songs we wish we had sung." I couldn't agree more!

Of course, as a guitar player, it will forever be hard for me to visualize the Eagles without the great Don Felder but on Long Road Out OF Eden, Glen Frey's writing and singing are as strong as ever, Tim Schmit proves again why he is one of the best crooning balladeers on the planet, Joe Walsh as usual adds the meat (along with the sarcasm) and my favorite, Don Henley demonstrates why he is a living legend in the music world. His vocals are magnificent and as usual his lyrics hit me deep inside like not many other writers lyrics do. The man is the artists artist.

"I've been biding time with crows and sparrows, while peacocks prance and strut upon the stage
If finding love is just a dance, proximity and chance, you will excuse me if I skip the masquerade"
... from Waiting In The Weeds

"I won't hold you back, I won't stand in your way if you need to make a new start
But I still want to know, when my arms let you go, what do I do, what do I do with my heart"
... from What Do I Do With My Heart

"Been down the road to Damascas, the road to Mandalay, Met the ghost of Ceasar on the Appian Way
He said it's hard to stop the bingeing, once you get a taste, But the road to empire is a bloody stupid waste
Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools, But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools"
... from Long Road Out of Eden

Another great project from one of the greatest bands ever. Even after all these years, they still got IT.

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November 8, 2007 - WHEN YOU CAN SCORE DEALS LIKE THESE, IT'S PRETTY SWEET!

Hey folks... It's been a little crazy in Swagland this week. I have been working on a complete website redesign for a client and haven't had much spare time to get out and ride. Plus, it has been downright COLD in Middle Tennessee this week with lows dropping into the upper 20's so riding hasn't been at the top of my todo list. But, I'm starting to hit the wall and am Jonesing a bit and I plan to get out this weekend for a little canyon carving to resolve the problem. (Well, at least some Tennessee hill carving!)

But hey, I did score a couple of items off of eBay this week. I got this brand new KBC TK-8 Predator. MSRP on the thing is $139 but I was the only one who bid and I got it for $33 bucks! Then I got these hand-made Italian Vendramini riding boots for $35. They go for $190 new. I'm not a big eBay fan but when you can score deals like these, it's pretty sweet!

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November 3, 2007 - A LITTLE WINTER PREP... UGH... THE DARK MONTHS

Fresh fluids in the SV to start out the Dark Months.

I did a little winter prep on the SV today while my wife worked more on the yard. I'm tellin' ya... we ought to have the lawn from Eden this spring if all the hard work (and hard cash) pays off. In the mean time, I have a winter to fight through... ugh... the Dark Months are upon us again. That period between November 1st and March 31st when riding a motorcycle becomes a lesson in frost-bite survival. (See my RANT from 03/01/06 for further explanation of this dreadful time of year!) Frankly, it sucks and I don't look forward to it.

But as in years past, I refuse to let Old-Man-Winter get the best of me and again have vowed to ride all winter long. The only thing that will stop me is snow and ice. And the SV is now ready to go... with all fresh fluids and a brand new battery.

Oh, and I got some of those nifty Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 pants in the mail today as well. I scored them off of eBay for half the price of a new pair and they are in perfect condition. If you don't know what they are... they are riding pants made of a synthetic material that is both wind and water proof and come complete with a quilted liner and armor in the knees. They are designed to fit over your regular pants and they will be nice and cozy on those 35 degree commutes.

A new battery for the SV gets charged up.

My latest eBay score... the awesome Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 pants.

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November 2, 2007 - A DIRT RIDE IN NOVEMBER

Can you believe it is already November? Thanksgiving is just around the corner with Christmas not far behind it and there is no doubt that winter is on our doorstep here in the midsouth. If you've been reading my RANTs for any length of time, you already know how much I HATE winter but you also know that one thing that helps me get through it is off-road riding. People don't realize it but off-road riding and motocross riding is so physically intense that a nice cool winter day is the best time to get out there and roost it up... which is exactly what I did today. I had a good ride with a friend who participates in the Midsouth Hare Scramble Series on a regular basis. By the end of the day he had me convinced that I'm ready for a Hare Scramble... Stay tuned...

CLICK HERE NOW to check out my pics from today.

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