The Hoolie Crew

That's my boy!

2012-01-20T20:47:00.002-06:00

I will not preface this with much. Just watch the video. This is my step son. He taught me the joy of Halo (among other things). We have had a lot of great times and good laughs together. He has a great sense of humor. And now for our feature presentation....

Make Sure and Get My Good Side

2011-11-24T20:31:00.004-06:00

As for the title of this post…“Be Sure to Get My Good Side”….that is in reference to the OTHER side of the tank having a dent and road rash. My plan is to leave the tank the way it is though.

I finished doing all of the actual repairs to the bike a week or so ago. There are still a few odds and ends I may attend to, but mechanically the bike is sound. The finishing touch went on this morning. I had not replaced the bar end mirror and so I stopped by O’Reilley’s last night and purchased one of the standard 3-inch convex mirrors that are meant to go in the bottom corner of an ordinary side mirror on a car. Turns out it also fits beautifully in a high-dollar CRG that’s had the glass broken out of it. And keep in mind that the bike is an aesthetic work in progress. I like the current round headlight I have on there, but it’s maybe 7 inches in diameter at most. This week I purchased from Ebay what the guys on the board call a “train light”, which is more than 9 inches in diameter. I do think the big train light looks great on the muscley ZRX. And while the light on there now is chrome, I’ll paint the big train light flat black.

I took the bike out for a 150 mile run today. It was the first time doing any kind of real miles on the bike since the accident. I hit a twisty route up near Leavenworth. It was sunny and in the mid sixties here today – Thanksgiving day. I was a bit tentative at first. But honestly I am always a bit rusty after I haven’t ridden in a while. It was a little different this time; I could more easily envision hitting the pavement or worse. But I found my comfort zone about 50 miles into the day. I scrubbed all the dirt off the rear tire that I had picked up in the accident. That was pretty cool to scrub that off “the honest way”.

I made a lot of stops today as I was taking more pics than usual. I would say that I started the bike maybe 12 to 15 times today. And on two occasions, the bike didn’t want to start for some reason. It would turn over, but it just wouldn’t actually start up. Each of those two times it took maybe 10 to 12 attempts to get the bike running. The second time it happened, I turned the petcock to PRIME position since I suspected fuel delivery might be the issue. That seemed to help. I have never had this issue until now. The only thing I can think is that maybe in the accident some debris from the bottom of the tank got kicked up and is causing problems in fuel delivery. I am grasping at straws. I’ll have to wait and see if it happens again. But like I said, it started pretty quick each time. And the bike is running strong as ever other than that. Overall, a good day of riding.

As for me, I am pretty much healed up. I am still nursing a hurt knee. I had an MRI two weeks ago and the results of that showed a sprain (small tear) in the outer ligament of my right knee. The orthopedic specialist says that particular ligament gets good blood flow and should heal on its own. He suggested I cut back on my activities and give it more time, but the prognosis is good right now.

Just Wanted to Polish Off That Rear Tire

2011-09-07T21:05:00.010-05:00

All I wanted to do was finish off the rest of that rear tire. I had about two thousand miles on it and I guessed I had maybe one more overnight trip into Arkansas left in it. So I set off Sunday with every intention of spending the night in Mountain View again.

I left out at 7:30am. Not too much daylight wasted. The main drag out of town (Metcalf Ave) was pretty deserted on a Sunday morning. A svelte, young chap in full riding gear rode up next to me on a Honda CBR600 at one of the stop lights. We behaved ourselves off the line once. But I think we both knew where things were headed. At the next light, we crawled off the line like adults, but then I slowly rolled on the throttle hard to see if he would follow. Sure enough…he took the bait and went right along with me. It was like a polite question: “Are we going to dance?” And we danced. We wound up through the gears hard. I damn near hit the rev limiter in second, but then I did hit it in third. I took that as my cue to back off as we had to be approaching 100mph at that point. I know I shouldn’t feel too much like a man for beating a guy on a bike half the displacement of mine, but racing like that puts a smile on my face every time. He gave me a wave as we slowed. What a heck of a way to start the day. And yes, I’m an idiot for doing that kind of stuff in town.

The slog to Carthage, MO, is always the hardest. That’s 145 miles of “super slab”, or 4-lane highway for you non-bike riders. Then another marginally decent 40 miles to Cassville, MO, where it feels like you’re getting into the twisties finally. By that point, I had hit a little bit of mist and some sprinkles and had donned my rain gear. I was in Eureka Springs by noon. But before I hit Eureka, I had started thinking I didn’t HAVE to go all the way to Mountain View. One option would be to come back to Eureka. But if I’m in Eureka, then I’m only 240 miles from home. Summer months mean more daylight hours. So it wasn’t long before I had talked myself into making this a day trip. The new goal was to be back home in Kansas City that night. I knew this was going to be a long day of riding.

I was able to shed the rain gear by the time I made it to Huntsville. I took hwy 23 (“The Pig Trail”) all the way to Turner Bend. I got there at around 2:30pm. Funny thing: I saw a guy I knew there. It was a guy I had met in Huntsville just three weeks before. We had sat and talked at a gas station there for about half an hour that day. He rides a 1000cc V-Strom. Just coincidence running into him again three weeks later.

From Turner Bend, I took hwy 215 east to Oark, AR. I wanted to go to Catalpa and venture out onto that 8 or 9-mile stretch of gravel road that hooks up with hwy 21. We’ve talked about that gravel road several times as a shortcut, but no one wants to lead a group of guys on shiny bikes down an unfamiliar gravel road. So I thought this would be the perfect chance to scout the route. It looked to be 7 miles according to Google Maps. The gravel is quite large and it makes for slightly scary 2nd gear riding. It’s not so bad if you can find a “swept” track to ride in (as the rally car drivers would say), but the bike never really feels stable.

I was making my way along at a decent clip and was feeling fine when I thought……I can’t believe this bike handles THIS poorly on gravel. Then it occurred to me that I probably had a flat. Sure enough, when I stopped the bike, the ground was WAY closer than it’s supposed to be. At this point, I was about 4 or 5 miles down a gravel road, heading up a slight incline and staring at a completely flat rear tire. My immediate concern was that I had no idea how long I had ridden on the flat….2 miles?…4 miles? I was worried that I could have separated the bead from the tire. My second concern was that I immediately saw one obvious puncture in the tire. If that was the case, how many more punctures were there? I inspected the tire and found only that one puncture. Huge relief! I took out my plug kit and used the biggest plug I had. So easy a caveman could do it. It really is simple to do. The catch is that you just need to HAVE the plugs. In my haste, I forgot to use the glue that comes with the plug kit. But the tire aired up to about 15psi with the cigarette lighter air compressor I keep under my seat. That may not sound like much, but the tire feels decent with that much air in it, and it got me up the road. I traveled at least another 2 to 3 miles on the gravel. There was one juncture where I wasn’t completely sure I was making the right turn. But luckily I chose right and I hit hwy 21 before too long. Pavement at last. It had been exactly one hour since I went off road there at Catalpa. The 8 or 9 miles of gravel road and the flat tire repair had eaten up sixty minutes of my day. Not too shabby really.

I headed north on hwy 21 and within 3 miles I noticed an older gentleman in his back yard. Carl Sory was his name. Sure enough, he had an air compressor and he had me aired up to full pressure in no time. Super nice guy. Still works as a truck driver for the lumber yard. With my dad being a trucker, we were able to trade trucking stories. I just remember being hot and sweaty in my gear, being powdered with dust from having fixed the flat, and being happy as a pig in shit to have come across a nice guy with an air compressor. It was probably around 4:15pm when I left there. I was at roughly the southernmost point in my day trip and I had about three and a half hours of daylight left……and I was riding on a plug at this point. I’ve got to say….I still felt great about the day.

I took hwy 21 to Boxley Corner. I made my way over to Ponca and saw the elk heard out in that piece of bottom land there. Then I headed north on hwy 103. Hwy 103 took me pretty much all the way into Missouri…..Blue Eye, MO, to be exact. Then back to Cassville, MO, which I had passed through earlier in the day. I stopped in Cassville and took some pictures of my bike in front of a bad ass army tank. I also had myself a nice Sonic dinner there. Grilled cheese sandwich with lettuce, onion, and tomato and a side of onion rings. Up until that point, I had been nourishing myself with bananas, a pear, and one fabulous nectarine that I had brought from home.

Within ten miles of leaving Cassville, I stopped to switch from a tinted helmet shield to a clear shield. At that time, I noticed my rear tire was low on air…maybe down to 20psi. Evidently I had a tolerably slow leak. I assumed it was leaking from the plug. Perhaps the glue was an important step that should not have been overlooked in the plugging process. I knew that if things got bad enough, all I had to do was get the tools out and put a new plug in there with glue this time. And that would have been easy enough since I would have likely had my choice of WHERE to do the RE-repair.

As I was slowly making my way back over to Carthage, MO, on the back roads, the sunset was really beautiful. I never really plan to ride in the dark. I think it’s a crap shoot whether you live or die because you can’t really “be prepared” for the deer that’s going to dart out in front of you or t-bone you. But I do really love the sights I see when I get caught out at dusk. For example, I passed some cows on a hill and all you could make out were their perfect silhouettes. It was dark and I was far away from home still, but I had to stop and take a picture. Okay…..I took nineteen pictures to be exact. It was well worth it.

I stopped in Carthage and got a cup of coffee at McDonalds. Knowing I had another 145 miles ahead of me, I was really worried about what that last leg would be like. But luckily being on the slab in the dark was better than being on the back roads in pitch black. The slab has more distractions, more lights, more reflectors, more signs. Back roads can get difficult because there is a real absence of stimuli. It’s like a dark tunnel. It actually starts to feel scary after a while. Not scary as in I’m going to wreck, but scary as in I’m afraid right now. It’s a strange feeling. But then when I got on the slab from Carthage to Kansas City, while it wasn’t scary like the back roads, I caught myself staring at my instruments a lot. I felt compelled to look at something stationary…..like I had been watching movement for too long. These are just the strange things your mind does when it has to do things it isn’t used to doing.
(This bit reminds me of a book I read recently: Unbroken. The main character is stranded at sea on a 2-man raft for over a month and eventually the lack of stimuli becomes unbearable and little things like the smell of his own ear wax become coveted distractions.)

About midway between Carthage and Kansas City, I stopped in Nevada, MO, to check the rear tire. It was down to about 20psi again, so I found an air compressor and aired it back up to 40psi. That was my last stop before I made it home to Kansas City. I pulled into the garage just after midnight. From 7:30am to midnight (almost 17 hours), I traveled 682 miles. I’m pretty sure that’s my personal best for one day of riding. And just as I had intended, I polished off that rear tire. Now I’m ready for a new tire just in time for the Fall Rally in a few weeks.

I love reading motorcycle travelogues and Jupiter’s Travels is one of my favorites. The author, Ted Simon, says that a biker should travel alone sometimes so you meet people and see how connected you are to the world we travel through.
And I will not say that getting a flat tire is “fun” in the typical sense. I’ve been in that pickle before where you have to put the route on hold, backtrack to the nearest town, and then pay Baghdad black market prices for a rear tire. But when you can pull out that plug kit and get the bike back on the road in less time than most lunch breaks, well that just rocks! I dig that shit. Some of the things I remember most over the years were the jams we got into and out of. For example, at the very first rally I ever attended, I recall missing an upshift. I immediately looked down and saw fluid trickling down onto my boot and thought, “Oh shit, I BROKE it!” I pulled off the road and Jody pulled in behind me. He quickly assessed that it was merely coolant and he calmly instructed me how to “pull the tank” using the factory toolkit. He walked me through that whole repair on the side of the road. I still can’t believe we cobbled Deek’s bike back together and got it road worthy after his accident. And then there was that day spent trying to track down that short on my bike. All memorable experiences.

Yes, Those are Tassels on my Levers

2011-07-10T13:05:00.002-05:00

I went home to Tennessee this week to visit family for the 4th of July holiday. On a lark, I went ahead and threw my helmet and one of my riding coats, my boots, and gloves into the car. Turns out that was a good call.
When we visited with my mom on Tuesday, one of the first things she asked me was if I wanted to go for a ride. She recently purchased a Honda Shadow 1300cc for her girlfriend and so she has TWO bikes under the carport. It didn’t take much convincing. The next day I was at Goodwill purchasing a pair of black denim pants for $2. Riding pants were the only thing I forgot in my haste.
I spent Wednesday night on Google Maps coming up with a good route. My mom does a lot of riding in the area but could not remember being on the Blue Ridge Parkway since maybe back in the 70’s when her and my dad were together. So the BRP was my goal. See the route details below. We would take the back way to Gatlinburg (via Cosby) and then take 441 into Cherokee, NC. Get on the BRP there in Cherokee (where it starts, by the way). Take the BRP for maybe 60 miles or so, then get off before Asheville and head north. Through Canton, then Hot Springs, then back to her home in White Pine, TN. See route details below. (See the Google map HERE.)

We left my mom’s place at around 9:30am. That was a bit of a scare. I had never ridden this behemoth bike before. My mom’s first instruction was to ride the bike out of the carport, uphill through about 40 yards of wet grass, and then out into the gravel driveway. Ugh! But….I watched my mom do it with no trouble and I executed the same bad idea as effortlessly as she had.
The first few stops were pretty standard stuff. Nice sunny weather and pretty easy riding. The road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee (441) is pretty busy, but it’s still a very winding, twisty road with plenty of vistas. It sprinkled on us a few times on the way to Cherokee, but we didn’t get soaked.
It was well after noon by the time we got on the BRP and we had only gone maybe 85 miles by that point. We weren’t setting a blistering pace. We were taking plenty of breaks and just enjoying the ride. My mom smokes like a chimney, so she never complains if I stop. See below a pic of my mom at the very start of the BRP in Cherokee, NC.

Once we were on the BRP, I was in heaven. That big heavy V-twin is quite a different ride from the smooth power delivery of an inline four. The Shadow I was riding has handlebars that sort of swoop back like the old vintage bikes, so it was easy to imagine I was riding an old Indian. We sputtered along between 35mph and 45mph most of the time. And on a bike like that, it’s easy to get into an enjoyable rhythm and savor the curves even at that slow speed. It was quite a leap from the start of the day when I was utterly flummoxed as to how one goes about riding a bike with no tach.

We ran through a decent amount of rain on the BRP and that’s where I eventually got soaked. But we also had some sun and I took some great pics of us, the bikes, and the view.

Pounding Mill Overlook is very close to where we had planned to exit the BRP. We stopped there and took shelter from the rain under an overhanging rock. At that point, you could see a very ominous “cloud” tip toeing around the next corner from where we were parked. All of the bikers there, including a couple of squids in ripped blue jeans were eyeing the cloud and debating on just turning and heading back the way they came. But my mom and I suited up and rode on…..heading right for the “cloud”.

As soon as we rounded the corner, we were in the “cloud” and I was assessing visibility. I looked back and all I could see was my mom’s headlight. That fog lasted maybe a mile at most. In another couple of miles we were exiting the parkway onto 276 and heading north toward Canton. However, at that point, we were in a heavy, steady rain. And as most of us well know, all roads leading to and from the BRP are typically steep since the BRP runs along the ridge of the mountains. So now we were descending on 276 in heavy rain. I saw a yellow speed advisory sign that read “15mph / Next 4 Miles”. I dropped it into first gear and we crept down the mountain. I kept an eye on my mirror and could see a car behind my mom the whole way down. With rain too heavy for me to see through my visor, I raised my shield and just drank in the rain. I was hyper focused on not wrecking this big Shadow and then it dawned on me that my Mom was behind me doing the exact same thing. She’s got 20 plus years on me. I know she’s in her early sixties, she wears glasses, she surely can’t be as strong as she once was, and here she is riding this cruiser down a mountain in heavy rain. When it finally leveled out, we pulled over and I told my mom she had earned her merit badge. We were both soaked to the core, but both very relieved to have made it down in one piece.
We made our way toward Canton, NC. We merged onto 215 at some point. We fueled up in Canton. (I don’t go on and on about all of these roads, but they were ALL good. Western North Carolina is replete with great riding.) At Canton, I needed to be on the lookout for a small side road that would allow us to wind our way over to 209 and into Hot Springs. I kept looking for this Thickety Road that I had found on Google Maps. Finding Thickety would keep us from having to resort to interstate travel. Luck was with me and I found the road. It took us right over Interstate 40 and I gave a middle finger salute to the interstate traffic as we crossed overhead. Thickety took us to Crabtree Mountain Road. Ah…….Crabtree Mountain Road…..a meandering little road on the Google Maps that gave no hint at the adventure it held in store for us. Crabtree Mountain Road was just supposed to be a back roads route for us to get to 209 (a GREAT road) and then into Hot Springs. It wound up being a generous reward for having ridden in so much rain a half hour earlier. With almost no warning, the road turned into steep switchbacks, the goat path of all goat paths leading to the top of the mountain in the absolute shortest distance possible. The inside corners were scraped by cars’ undercarriages……as we have all seen before. It was probably only two or three miles of road, but it was a first-gear climb that required courage, finesse, and a smile. It was very much like Mount Judea in Arkansas, but it went on for longer. When I finally crested the summit, I HAD to pull over and get my mom’s reaction. She went on and on like it had scared the shit out of her, and I do believe it did, but it was also something she seemed to enjoy. Quite an adventure. All I kept thinking and repeating to myself was that the “road had redeemed itself.” Riding in the rain earlier had sucked, but climbing this mountain goat path in the warm sun of late afternoon had been the reward.

We eventually got back on the bikes and made our way down the other side of Crabtree Mountain Road. Luckily the other side wasn’t quite as steep and we were able to safely control our descent. At the junction of 209, we tried to take Max Patch Road (107) over into TN instead of taking 209 (a road that we have both been on previously). But Max Patch turned to gravel and we had to double back about 5 miles. We (the Hoolie Crew) have all been on 209. It goes over into Hot Springs where a lot of Appalachian Trail through hikers stop for respite. 209 is a great road. I think some people in the area call it the Snake or the Rattle Snake, or the Rattler, or something like that. My mom and I stopped there in Hot Springs and ate dinner at a little diner she remembered was there. See below a picture of how my hands were inked blue from a day of riding with wet gloves and a through hiker who had been eating at the diner.

We left Hot Springs at about 8:30pm. As we made our way back home, we crossed over the French Broad River as the sun was setting. A beautiful view to end the day. We rode along the river most of the 25 miles back to Newport. We finally returned home at around 9:30pm. 12 hours on the road. 257 miles on the trip meter. One hell of a great day of riding.

There, I Fixed it.....

2011-06-27T20:00:00.004-05:00

For anyone NOT familiar with the official "There, I Fixed it" web site, I highly suggest giving it a look. I love receiving their daily emails. Something about that mentality of fixing things on the fly and making do with what you've got really resonates with me. That's actually one of the many reasons I enjoy hanging around with my buddy John. As he puts, he was 12 or 13 years old before he realized you could just BUY things; his dad was the type to fix or fabricate anything they needed or needed repair. Anywho, my family is very much like that. I still remember being with my cousins at my grandparents house and trying to ride an old bicycle that had no tires.....just bare rims. Not an easy task on pea gravel. My papaw saw us doing this and he took some old, thick, rigid, pink fuel hoses and mounted them on the rims. Not an extremely pleasant ride, but it was a hell of an improvement over bare rims. On a recent visit to see my grandparents, I noticed this old lawn mower body in the shed. I asked my granny about the mower and she explained that my papaw used it to cart a water pump to the creek when he need to pump water out for the garden. Notice the piece of wood so the pump mounts up just right.

Anywho, I am always saving containers and reusing them when I can....often in the garage. But tonight I needed a way to preserve a can of sweetened condensed milk I had opened. (I use it for my coffee.) I had a plastic peanut butter jar in the cabinet. The can fit in nicely, but how to retrieve it each time. The solution gave me a little giggle when I figured it out. There, I fixed it.

Scrabble Turns 37!!!

2011-06-19T21:43:00.003-05:00

I swear to Jebus it felt like I was 36yo FOREVER. I even did the math at one point a few months ago to make sure I wasn't adding it up wrong. But it had to end sometime, and that sometime was Saturday. I celebrated by getting a haircut, having a late lunch at Houston's on the Plaza. Houston's makes the world's BEST veggie burger in house, and they also serve a crazy good roasted artichoke. I LOVE their artichoke. There's not a lot of "meat" on the leaves, so it winds up being all about the taste.

What better way to spend a summer evening than at a dirt track. We drove out to Grain Valley, MO, which is just a few miles outside of Kansas City. Valley Speedway has a 3/8 mile dirt oval. They had Modifieds and Street Stock racing last night. The heat races were a little bit better than the actual races. As you would expect, the more cars, the more cautions. I uploaded and embedded some video below. I use to go down south to Adrian, MO. There was an awesome little dirt track down there that was only 1/3 mile. Seeing modifieds race around that tiny track was quite the spectacle.

The End of an Era: Corobra Finds New Home

2011-04-18T18:51:00.002-05:00

I knew this day had to come. I sold her tonight. I won't use this time to reminisce too much. We had a good run with lots of great memories, but it was the Corobra's time to go. I knew I was selling it to a good guy, but I was for sure when I went to lay the money down after the sale and noticed he had kept with tradition, scibbling on the bank envelope simply "Corobra $".

Newest Member of the Vibrator Club

2011-04-02T19:25:00.007-05:00

About three months ago, I started looking for a new car. I knew I wanted a small 4 cylinder, something that would get good gas mileage, and preferably a wagon. I also wanted something with dark interior, an automatic of course, and something with AIR CONDITIONING. I looked at a lot of cars and did a lot of searching and researching over the last three months.

I kept coming back to the Pontiac Vibe. 1.8L, 4cyl. Rated at 29/36 mpg. The Vibe has lots of neat features like the 110 volt outlet, fold flat rear seats, the front passenger seat that folds flat (ideal for a laptop). The Vibe also sits a little more upright that most compact sedans, so it's a little easier to get in and out of. This one even has the sunroof!

Now I am the LAST person who would recommend owning a Pontiac / GM product. However, something you may not know is that the Vibe was built alongside the Toyota Matrix at the NUMMI assembly plant in Fremont, California. And the Vibe and Matrix are built on the Corolla platform with the Matrix power train and drive train. The is the closest there there is to a contemporary Corolla wagon without buying the less attractive Matrix. I'm all about the Corolla, as you all know. The Vibe gets good reviews, has built a good reputation for itself, and is less expensive that a Corolla of comparable age and mileage.

So, I located a good one at a large Chevrolet dealership up in Des Moines, Iowa. I drove up today (420 miles round trip) and pulled the trigger. Found this beauty with a mere SIXTY THOUSAND miles on the odometer. It's a 2003 model. I talked them down from retail and basically got it for what Kelley Blue Book considers "private party price". That's okay with me. Clean one-owner, no-accident CarFax and I was allowed to inspect it closely on the lift prior to purchase.

I'm the proud new owner of this 2003 Pontiac Vibe and the newest member of what my two female Vibe-owning coworkers fondly refer to as "The Vibrator Club".

Blizzard at Chuck's House!

2011-01-31T18:52:00.002-06:00

Blizzard at my house too for that matter. The "Northern Alliance" constituency of the Hoolie Crew is collectively screwed. An actual blizzard is forecast. 10 to 15 inches of snow in the works. Hold on to your hats.

A True Comedy of Errors....

2010-11-06T19:29:00.011-05:00

I put wrenching into at least three categories. I'm sure there are more, but the ones that come to mind are (1) plumbing, like radiators and such (2) precision stuff, like valve adjustments, and (3) knuckle busters, like struts and other suspension issues. I knew it would be a knuckle buster going into it today. Start with a hammer and then get a bigger hammer.

The first strut installed was really pretty easy. The only tricky part was the brake hanger. I tried chiseling it off there, but that didn't work so well. Trying to break the metal off the side of the strut with the chisel seems like it would work, but that was unsuccessful. I found that starting a cut with the hack saw and then using the chisel as a cutting tool was the best method. That chisel cuts through the metal quite well. And the nice thing is that it left a downward pointed barb toward the end of the cut. That barb then went down into the eyelet on the new strut (the eyelet meant for the brake line). Once the strut was installed, I just set the old part on top of the new, the barb held it in place, and then followed with a hose clamp. The hose clamp was Joe's idea and it worked like a charm. Very solid mount. Great solution.

One fun trick I learned / used was that the bolts on the top of the strut, since they didn't line up just perfect with the holes in the strut housing of the car, had to be coaxed into place. I could see the bolts sort of start into the holes, but they wouldn't go. It was just slightly too tight of a fit. So, I attached the bottom of the strut and lowered the car down onto the tire and the force popped the top of the strut up through the holes. POP! All done. Then just put the nuts onto the posts.

The first side took me about two hours. Pretty good I thought. The way these things go, I was kind of thinking I would burn through the second in maybe half the time. "Sit back, relax, enjoy this, Douglas," I thought to myself, "You've got this job under hand."
Well, wouldn't you know it. I sort of suspected maybe I got lucky on the first side. I didn't use a torch or anything and I was able to break those two big bottom bolts free. Just a pipe on the end of a regular 3/8 inch drive ratchet did the trick. But, on the second side, I actually broke the ratchet. It just jammed up. I guess the internals get jammed and it's dead after that. I tried a second ratchet and actually broke the nub off the thing where the socket attaches. Okay....so this isn't going well. I read in some forums and I was told by some people that I might need to use a torch on those big bolts to get them loose. Oh well, to be expected. I don't have a torch, so I ran to Walmart on the ZRX. Bought a new ratchet and a torch and some of the spray lube for loosening rusty parts. In this next pic, you can see one of the two big bolts to which I am referring. Actually, this is a pic of the side I was having trouble with.

Torch, torch, torch. Push, push, push. Bolt isn't budging. Spray some of the stuff on. Bang with hammer. Torch, torch, torch. POW! There's goes my third ratchet. Broken. That's okay......that wasn't the new one I bought. We're still good. One more left. No biggy. I AM LITERALLY RATIONING RATCHETS AT THIS POINT BECAUSE I AM BREAKING THEM SO PREDICTABLY. Torch, torch, torch. Hammer, hammer, hammer. Time for my ace in the hole.....my new ratchet. I bent a pipe I was using as a breaker bar, so I scavenged a HUGE pipe off my front work stand. New ratchet, enormous breaker bar. POP!!!! Fourth broken ratchet. Fuck!
Hey wait a minute..... I turned the car around to do this side. I was pushing on the other side, that means I should be.........pulling on this side. Jesus H Christ, I have been tightening this whole time. It took me FOUR ratchets to realize....oh yeah, righty tighty, lefty loosey. Below is a pic of the four broken ratchets....casualties of an idiot mind....

So I'm out of ratchets and down to my box wrenches at this point. I torch and low and behold....with a LOT of whacking with the hammer on the open end of the box wrench I was able to get the top bolt free. Luckily, I hadn't had much access to the bottom bolt, so I didn't get a chance to tighten it beyond belief like i had the top one. Also, another little bit of silver lining here is that at least I broke the ratchets instead of breaking a bolt or rounding the bolt off. No parts on the car itself were actually damaged in this tsunami of stupidity. THAT I consider to be QUITE A BLESSING and is what allowed me to retain my sense of humor about the whole ordeal.
Okay. So, we're cooking now. I use my top strut mount bolts trick and that works like a charm. I attach the brake line, sway bar, the two big bolts. And then back on with the wheel. I give the lug nuts one last good tug and the whole assembly drops like something broke. OH SHIT! This can't be good.
Of course it didn't take me long to realize I had not actually bolted the strut in at the top. I had gotten the posts through the holes and then moved on to the bottom because that's the order the book suggests. Only I never went back and actually screwed the top in.
So back off with the wheel. Only now I can't find the nut and the bolt that secure the top of the strut. They are NO WHERE to be found. In fact, I can't even remember taking the new ones out of the top of the strut. That's when I hear the faint laughter. I inspect the strut housing and discover that I left them IN the new strut. I cannot believe this! I immediately worry that I am going to have to COMPLETELY remove the new strut ENTIRELY. Luckily.....by the grace of JEBUS almighty, I was able to just pull down on the whole assembly and remove the two nuts and the one bolt. It was a tight fight, but I was able to jam my arm and hands up there to retrieve them. And low.....the offending bolts....

And believe it or not, I was able to actually tighten the top of the strut down this time. Impressive...

Now, aside from breaking FOUR ratchets because I didn't remember righty tighty lefty loosey, and aside from completely failing to bolt in the top of one of the struts, and aside from leaving vital hardware attached to the new strut and then having to retrieve said hardware like I was birthing a breached baby calf.....I would say today was a huge success. The job took me about 6 hours and a few busted knuckles, but I saved myself a good five or six hundred bucks. The pair of struts only cost me $190 SHIPPED off Ebay and I had the job priced out at two shops between seven and eight hundred dollars. Well worth it in my opinion.
Took the car out for a test drive tonight and the ride is much improved and way quieter. The front struts don't look bad, but they've got 165k miles on them as well. So, I'll probably be doing those soon enough. Thanks to Joe for his idea on how to attach the brake line without opening the line.

HWY 221 ZRXOA Fall Rally Eureka Springs (09/24/10)

2010-10-25T20:55:00.001-05:00

Following Neal back to Eureka Springs from Brushy's Corner after Roland's off.

Push Mountain Rd. ZRXOA Fall Rally Eureka Springs (09/23/10)

2010-10-25T20:50:00.001-05:00

Push Mountain Rod. from HWY14 heading north, running it to just over the crest of the hill.

SUFJAN STEVENS

2010-10-18T21:34:00.002-05:00

If you see one show this year, I can almost bet it will NOT be this one. You'll be missing something though. I had a coworker ask me to go to this so I checked his older stuff out on the net. Had plenty of banjo in it, so I thought, "What the heck for $35." All his stuff last night was new - and in Sufjan's words and my opinion - experimental. I knew almost nothing that was played. However, I can say that this was probably the best live show I have ever attended in my life. I had made this decision about three songs into the evening. There just seemed to be a tremendous energy in the music. At times, I would think, why do I like this so much? What are they doing up there that I dig so dang much? And it wasn't the banjo, because he put that down after this first song and never touched it again the rest of the night. What a fantastic show. Just amazing.

New Radiator Installed Successfully.

2010-10-10T22:46:00.003-05:00

I received the new radiator in the mail Monday. Installed it Wednesday with no real problems. I put straight water in there, though Jody very wisely told me that I should be careful just not to tell anyone that. Thanks for the tip, Jody. Anywho, I rode the bike to work Friday and maybe put a total of 35 to 40 miles on the bike like that.
So today I took the time to flush the system and put the proper coolant and water mix in there. Figured I would share the process. I was able to pull the tank BACK about 6 to 10 inches and didn't even need to pull it completely off the bike....that way I was able to use the fuel source as a fuel source without rigging something up. No one has ever mentioned this, but it works fine as long as you take the fuel drain line off the back of the tank. That's all you need to disconnect. And with the bike on the rear stand, you can turn the handle bars to the left, and you have plenty of room to pour from a gallon jug into a funnel in the filler neck.
PROCESS. I removed the rad cap, started the bike, and then removed the drain plug at the bottom. Back to the top and I started pouring water in as water drained from the bottom. Turned the bike off when the gallon jug got low. Rushed down and replaced the plug. Topped the rad back off with more water. Started the bike again. Ran the bike until water in filler neck got hot. Then pulled the plug again. Filled from filler neck as water drained from the bottom. (I was careful to never let the water drain out completely, which prevented me from having to bleed from the water pump each and every time.) I did several slightly different variations of this and used a total of maybe 6 or 7 gallons of water until the water ran good and clean with minimal particulates left over from the Alumaseal that I put in there at the rally. It was interesting how when I would pull the plug, hot water would be draining at first but by the time I was near the bottom of the jug, cold water would be coming out at the bottom. Anyway..... I did have the fleeting thought....I hope these temp changes in water don't crack my head in like 12 different places. I'm not really smart enough to know if that could happen, but it just flashed in my head as an epic thread on the OA.
When I finally put the coolant mix in there, I let about 6 to 8 cups drain straight through in hopes that that would displace any straight water that might have been left in there. I did clean and refill the reservoir bottle as well. And of course I bled air from the water pump and thermostat housings. And I plan to check my ratio mix for freeze level with a tester later in the week. I'll be road testing the bike this week to make sure all is fine. But it seems to be a good fix thus far.

Look What Daddy Got....

2010-10-04T23:51:00.005-05:00

It's one thing when you get a plain brown package on your door step and you think....."Oh, sweet, my radiator came."

And then it's a whole other thing when you carefully cut that boring brown box open and you realize....I just entered the world of aftermarket parts, aka the mod world. That red box is downright impressive.

I pulled the rad out completely and it looks real good. Appears to be straight; I did the Jody-laying-it-on-a-flat-surface test.

Pics of the replacement to follow, as well as other updates.

Went Hiking and almost stepped on a THIS.....

2010-09-19T21:56:00.003-05:00

So I set out hiking yesterday. I hit Weston Bend State Park, which overlooks the Missouri River. The trail I chose evidently hadn't been walked in a few days because I fought spider webs across the trail the whole way. I hate that. I had to use a branch held out in front of me to cut down the webs so I wouldn't get tangled up every few feet. Anywho, on my way back DOWN the trail and moving at probably a slightly quicker clip, I stopped well in advance of these copperheads. They had crawled out and were lying dead square in the middle of the trail. I proceeded around them with extreme caution and only took the picture after passing safely.

I also saw this creature, which wouldn't stop moving long enough for me to take a decent pic.

MORE TO THE STORY.....

2010-09-19T21:25:00.004-05:00

After I obtained my urban tapestry, about a week later, I passed the scene of the first acquisition, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a second tag. This time it was on the back of the mattress. So out comes the carpet knife and now I have the companion piece of artwork.

But then I started seeing this "Olivera" tag all over midtown. So I took a few pictures. Actually, most of these other tag pics were taken within a stones throw of Steve's house. (If you have to ask who Steve is, you don't read the blog often enough.)

This next pic, which is poor resolution because it was taken with a cell phone, was taken in the bathroom at Wesport Coffee House where I play Scrabble. The presence of the tag caught me by surprise, but the symbols below it were of even more significance. The "$O$" is the name of the Die Antwoord album that was recently released - their debut album. Most of you will have never heard of Die Antwoord. However, Die Antwoord is responsible for the quote on the pic at the top of the Blog: "You picked the wrong Ninjas to fuck with." And low we have come full circle. Did I just BLOW YOUR MIND???

Ken Block - Gymkhana Part 3

2010-09-15T17:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, just wow! Go to YouTube and watch in hi-def if possible.

Speaking of the People's Republic.....

2010-09-12T20:59:00.004-05:00

As I was driving to and from Tennessee recently, I had a concern for my safety. Over the 800 miles, there are plenty of high speed bumps....plenty of places to loose the tail end of the Corobra because of the crapped out struts in the rear. It really is pretty bad. I haven't had any scares or close calls, but I can sometimes feel the back of the car wanting to go its own way. And the thought occurred to me that it would be pretty bad to have an accident and injure myself because I wasn't willing to spend the bucks to fix the ol' girl. What would make it worse is that I have the money; I'm just reluctant to spend the seven or eight hundred dollars to get it done.

So, I found out that one option is to replace the whole strut and spring assembly. They're called Quick Struts and they can be had on Ebay for quite a fair price. I can get the set for the rear for under $200 shipped. Anyone see anything wrong with this? I imagine this would be just a few bolts and voila! The quick struts for that price aren't Monroe or anything name brand, but the sellers have good ratings and anything has to be better than the crapped out struts I have in there. And on top of everything else, I think it would be fun to fix this. Get a little wrenching in in my kick-ass conditioned garage space.

The Hulk - Universal Studios Orlando

2010-09-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

What a ride!

I Love China

2010-09-11T10:47:00.000-05:00

eBay levers

Crazy good for $30 levers for the pair! Fit like a charm.

"I told you - damn it - ENOUGH with that infernal racket!"

2010-08-15T21:15:00.004-05:00

Since I moved to my new place, I take walks in the evening as often as I can. Typically I'm out for an about an hour. It's a very cool neighborhood. Anywho, I should have been "blogging" all summer about all the cool stuff I've seen. For example, I came across this scene tonight.
Shameless repost below:

wwwelp…..I joined a gang.

2010-08-08T22:08:00.003-05:00

Faced with the void after recent life events, I turned to Craig’s List on a hot and lonely summer weekend. In the “Community Groups” section along with blue hairs looking for a friendly game of rummy, I found an ad with the title, “Let’s do some crime.” It seemed clever, funny, fresh, and oh so enticing to an impressionable young man of 36 years. It started out as a friendly get together, a few forties at a block party in the worst part of town. The next morning, I wake up wearing a wife beater t-shirt sporting a fresh tattoo (of poor quality, might I add) and a nickname; they chose “Sling Blade” evidently due to my southern accent. But the kicker is they’re actually a really cool group of guys. They get me. I mean they really get me. They’re as fed up with the rat race as I am. Not only do they not ask me about my “bucket list”, but I haven’t found anyone in the gang who even knows what that is. 401K? Please. These guys – nay WE are living in the moment. Health insurance? Try life insurance. Heck, most of these guys have never even met someone as old as me, much less expect to reach my age. Yep, I’ve found my group of fellas, my homies, my new family.

Actually, the real story behind this new garage adornment (what I have dubbed an Urban Tapestry) is that I saw this painted on a curb-discarded box spring in midtown. I passed it and admired it for a few days and then it occurred to me that I could simply cut the material off the box spring. And so I did. Brought it home and hung it in my garage. After hanging it, it dawned on me that the top part reads “OLIVERA”…perhaps a last name. While the bottom is still a mystery, it kind of looks like “PSTE”. Any help in deciphering would be much appreciated.

A tad dramatic...

2010-07-17T07:31:00.003-05:00

Perhaps, but it does sum up how I feel right now. Even through the pain I feel like there is improvement in my range of motion and less "tightness" in my joint which was being caused by the thickened bursa. Might be too early to get my hopes up but I am trying to stay positive. The fact that I won't be immobilized for 6 weeks has gotten me excited enough to start looking towards the next Roadeo!

Nothing Really Mattress

2010-07-12T21:44:00.003-05:00

You know, I've known for a while now that I like this new neighborhood that I'm living in. But after seeing this, well, this is home. I saw this out on my walk last night. Had to go back tonight with a camera for documentation.

Happy Father's Day - Late

2010-06-22T07:22:00.003-05:00

For all you Dads...

It's Official....

2010-05-03T22:39:00.004-05:00

....Best Garage Ever. It's so nice I sweep pretty much every time I work on anything in there. As for the need to post a new pic, well that would be to show off the new Kawasaki flag I purchased on fleabay. I have a second one I'm gonna hang on the left side. It's red lettering on black background with similar Kaw theme.

And in an effort to make this a completely random post, I decided to post pics of a house that I passed on my way to work this morning. It's on a side street within walking distance of my house. So when I got home this evening just before dark, I went out on foot and took a few "recky" shots as Chuck would say. Not sure what this place might have been before it was residential. Cool as all get out though. I think I could see a big tree growing inside, although I'm pretty sure it's a residence.

Route 2. Hot Springs, Roan Mt, and the BRP

2010-05-02T00:55:00.003-05:00

This is a route that utilizes the corridor of the western Piedmont with which I am actually quite familiar. I think Roan Mountain and Linville Falls are a couple of the most beautiful places in the region and I wanted to include those on a ride. This is the suggested 330 mile route.

From Maggie Valley, we get to 209 and head east to Hot Springs. That is a GREAT stretch of road. Lots of hairpins. Then we head on to Roan Mountain where we can get off the bikes and trek to the top of a "bald" to see the view. The short "hike" is optional. On to Banner Elk and Jonas Ridge and we take HWY181 towards Morganton. Everyone has said that 181 is a great road and I do remember running it often (many years ago) in a car. Turn and head back north up HWY181 and stop off at Linville Falls, which is another very nice scenic spot. Another stretch of the legs to see the beautiful waterfall. Short hike....very easy. Here's where it might get tricky. We can actually pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway right there at Linville Falls and it will meander (and I do mean meander) all the way back to Maggie Valley via Asheville. I think this could be a bit on the naive side because I think I remember someone telling me that the BRP moves along quite slowly. But if we got tired of it, we could hop on a main road and jettison back to Maggie in no time. However, I've been on parts of the BRP and it is quite beautiful and I think it would be fun to take in as much of it as we can.

Here's a pic of the route and a LINK to the Google page.

I40 is OPEN!!!!

2010-05-02T00:21:00.003-05:00

I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it is. This means we will be able to take the interstate pretty much straight into Maggie Valley, NC. No dodgin' opossum at midnight on back country roads while trailering our precious cargo.

ALSO, another HUGE benefit is that I40 is a connecting route to a ton of good roads in the area. So while we won't be on it much, it connects a lot of awesome destinations that may have been difficult to access via gravel forest roads.

Downside? The potential for being on the receiving end of one of those rock slides that closed I40 to begin with.

Route 1. Highlands and Lake Toxaway.

2010-05-01T22:52:00.003-05:00

Hey all. I started a thread on the OA and have been asking for route suggestions for the Maggie Valley Roadeo. Here's one that I've mapped out on the Google. I got this one from "Flying Dave" off the board.

From Maggie, pick up the BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway) to 23. Head down to Sylva. Take 107 out to Tuckaseegee. Pick up 281 to Lake Toxaway. 64 over to Highlands and up to Tilley Creek road back to Cullowhee. Ride back to Maggie.

This appears to be about a 155 mile route, so we could make it a part of longer ride or whatever. Here's the Google link if interested.
Also, if you want to see the thread on the OA, follow this link.
More routes to follow and feel free to add routes of your own.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

2010-04-28T20:45:00.004-05:00

I just couldn't stand not knowing what kind of shape the bike was in so I went up to the storage yard to take a look. I think several factors played into my advantage that kept damage to a minimum. Wreck happened at low speeds and we actually ended up in the entrance to a parking lot which has some upward slope to it which took some vertical out of the drop.

Front rim seems to have taken the worst of it as it must have "dug in" on the incline. Bottom of fork leg is scuffed.

2 of the 3 places the front fairing is scuffed. Bottom of radiator shroud is scuffed. Custom blinker is scuffed.

3 of 3 places the front fairing is scuffed.

Can is scuffed.

Bar end and lever on right side.

Left rearset looks bent and heelplate was sheared off.

Rear brake lever mangles and possibly the rearset bent.

The savior!

All in all I feel I got pretty lucky considering I was physically struck by the truck. Hopefully I can get the rear sets sorted before the rally and I'll deal with the other items afterwords.

Man Down, Man Down!

2010-04-27T18:29:00.003-05:00

Got sideswiped by a pickup turning left off of a light. I was behind him as the light turned green and pulled into the right lane as soon as we cleared the intersection I pulled into the right lane. He decided he needed Taco Bueno and cut on me hard. Honestly, it happened so fast I didn't have a chance. I didn't even get a chance to check the bke but obviously it's not going on the trip. Doctor coming in, will update later.

Edited Account:

Got taken out today by a pickup truck at 11th and Delaware on the way home from work on my motorcycle. The truck in front of me, and myself, had just turned left onto 11th Street off of a redlight on Delaware coming south out of the TU campus. As soon as we cleared the intersection I moved into the right lane as I typically don't like to be behind pickups for sight-line issues. As I pulled next to him, my guess is that he decided to cut into one of the fast-food restaurants on the south side of the road as he cut hard from the left lane and tried to dart in the parking lot on the right, taking me out in the process. I had absolutely no time to react and was down before I could even begin to think about taking evasive maneuvers. By the time I got up and sorted myself out, someone had already called the ambulance and although I really didn't want to go to the hospital, Cindy insisted so I took a ride to the ER. By the time I was strapped into the ambulance, and the initial shock of the accident was wearing off, my shoulder was really starting to hurt and I my thoughts were that I might have broken/fractured my collar bone. X-Rays in the ER turned up negative so after 3.5 hrs in the ER I was released.

I never really got a chance to survey the bike at the scene as it was down on its right side and too close to the truck to pick up. I have no idea how bad the damage is but my guess is rashed right fairing, bent/broken right peg and bars and trashed exhaust can. Hopefully it is still rideable and I am going to try and retrieve it from the wrecker yard today. All in all I feel I came out of the incident in pretty good shape and hope to take a lesson from all of this. I want to be more upset with myself for not being able to avoid the situation but in running through the scenario over and over in my head, it was completely out of my control. The guy couldn't have done a better job of timing the sideswipe even if he was doing it intentionally. In any case, I'll keep you guys posted and thanks to everyone for the calls and well-wishes.

New Bars

2010-04-25T23:20:00.003-05:00

Finally got around to installing my "new" bars on the Fizzy and am looking forward to seeing how they ride tomorrow. On Friday, I messed around with quite a few different mounting positions as I had some lower bar mounts and 3 different sets of bars laying around. It quickly became obvious that I didn't really want to go lower so after thinking on it for a couple of days, I mounted the flat drag bars after cutting 1/2" off of each end. Sitting on the bike it seems much more comfortable now with the bars at a more natural position. See comparison below.

For you dog lovers...

2010-04-25T01:07:00.002-05:00

This is what I envision going through Milo and Bodie's heads when Dick or Brett comes over...

Bulldogged Akra

2010-04-18T21:23:00.007-05:00

Well, I have to say this was a mod that went exceptionally well considering how little info I had on what was involved. I knew I wanted approximately 4 inches taken out of the can but that was about it. The process was fairly straight-forward with disassembly requiring no more than drilling the rivets out. Cutting the carbon fiber was so much easier than I thought it was going to be and was accomplished with a hacksaw with a new blade. While I had the can off, I hit the pipe with my buffing wheel and voila, I solved my pipe color issue as well! I took the rear pegs off and used a ZRX MikiMoto pipe hanger and it worked out just right. The aftermarket pipe hangers for the Fizzy come perpendicular off of the frame and don't really look good where the MikiMoto has a nice rear sweep that works well with the lines of the bike. The only minor drawbacks to the entire mod are the strap marks on the carbon fiber wrap from the stock mounting location. Hopefully the sun will take care of that over time. Thanks to Deek for pitching in and helping!

Going Green

2010-04-14T20:39:00.003-05:00

They say some guys have a motorcycle as an accessory in their life.

You know you've got it bad when you furnish your home using the bike as a "central theme."

A Perfect Tuesday

2010-04-13T21:58:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful day to grill a steak!

Craig's List

2010-03-22T14:30:00.002-05:00

I'm blogging from my "mobile office" (the shuttle van), so I won't go on too long. Yesterday was quite productive for me. I was packing up a bunch of my stuff, schlepping tubs and boxes up from the basement, and I decided I was going to try and git rid of some stuff.
-Electronic dartboard. Posted free on CL. Had five takers in as many minutes. Manny came over and picked it up within half an hour. I put a smile on a stranger's face.
-30 to 40 articles of clothing. Shirts and blazers I never wear anymore. Posted as free. Takers within minutes. Gone within 2 hours. No questions asked. As anonymous as a gloryhole. Is "gloryhole" one word or two?
-New Columbia Messenger Bag. $15. Gone before the Bristol race was over.
-Books. Over a hundred and thirty of them; that's a lot of WEIGHT when moving. Set aside 20 or so for a friend. Sold the rest to a kid who looked to be in his mid twenties for the sum of $25. I was as glad to get rid of them as he was to take possession of them. He was eager to get his hands on the Nietzsche and Camus. After he got there, I threw in a couple of Kurt Vonnegut books just because the kid seemed so nice and said he liked Vonnegut.
Feels great making my pile of shit that much smaller.

Reynolds Weld Lab Custom Recumbent

2010-03-20T16:13:00.003-05:00

I could go on and on about this picture, but I don't think I need to. Picture says it all. This is probably around seven years ago.

An O-Maj (Homage) to my friend Steve

2010-03-18T20:43:00.002-05:00

I talk about Steve a lot, so I figured I would profile him here as an honorary member of the Hoolie Crew. As such, he will be afforded full member status with benefits. If he visits your town of residence, you will provide him food, lodging, a daily stipend and whatever else he requests. This is the code we live by.

I met Steve a few years ago when I decided I would one day work for his company. Long story short…..that ended disastrously, but we became good friends and remain so to this day. Up until a couple of weeks ago, he lived within walking distance of my house. I had even worked my way up to the “drop in” (the unannounced visit). We have a standing Saturday play date, which most often consists of first-person-shooter campaigns on the Xbox 360.

Things of note:
1. “Corobra”, the moniker? That was Steve’s doing. He came up with the name.
2. We’ve been to junk yards, flea markets, and dirt track races together.
3. Holds his own at Scrabble.
4. Recently finished a 500 page tome on the life of JP Morgan.
5. Named his cat “Outback Steak House”. Outback for short.
6. He has prepared some of the BEST meals that I have ever eaten. A dang good cook.
7. Funny as hell. Too many one liners to mention.
8. We eat a hell of a lot of pancakes together. Mostly at IHOP.
9. Taught me how to make gravy for biscuits and chai tea from scratch.

An Almost Haiku:
Pistols and pancakes,
Hash browns and hand grenades,
Waffles and rifles,
Eggs and boast.

Street Fightin' Whore

2010-03-14T18:05:00.004-05:00

What I mean is I'm quite a fan of street fighters. Here's some pics of a couple I've seen over the last few years. The one with the "shark" painted tank is okay. Notice that the guy has a flip cell phone jammed in the cheek of the helmet. Odd.
The silver Suzy on the other hand is just dead sexy. I love almost everything about that bike, the radiator, the coolant tank on the right side, the water pump on the left side, the wrist band wrapped around the brake fluid reservoir, the orange wheels, the shark fin tail section...even the hideous stock light.
Does anyone know what kind of bike that is?

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

2010-03-14T11:49:00.003-05:00

Looking to get back into multiplayer online gaming, I've purchased Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at the suggestion of one of the draftsmen in the office. I have never really played war-sims so it has been a struggle getting up to speed. It is so unlike the FEAR2 clips I posted previously as you truly have to be concerned with taking fire from the enemy which really slows down the pace of the game. In any case, I have been having fun with it and am getting close to being familiar enough with the game to jump into online play. To me, The graphics are just stunning and I can't imagine where we will be in 5 more years with almost cinematic quality gameplay.

Randomness for Douglas

2010-03-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

Reminds me of your "eye-picture" in Mountain View.

Yummy!

2010-03-14T10:58:00.004-05:00

Between omelettes, barbecue and fresh-made salsa, I might have the goods to open up a restaurant, LOL!

TRON: Legacy

2010-03-14T10:41:00.002-05:00

Be sure to watch in Hi-Def!

Mad Max

2010-03-05T21:46:00.002-06:00

In my new temp job, I work around a lot of interesting and creative people, one of which is Randy. Randy is a serious car nut and handy with a wrench. I went into his office today looking for colored pencils and we wound up talking about his Corvette and his Torino. He has turned the Torino into a Mad Max Pursuit Car. Then I remembered I had seen a Mad Max "Interceptor" car on the highway and had even taken a picture because I thought it looked so cool. Turns out Randy built that very car himself. It's in the video. Check it out. First a pic of the Interceptor. Then the video.

FEAR 2: Project Origins

2010-03-01T06:11:00.002-06:00

Just messing around after installing FRAPS, a custom screen capture program, on my PC. This is the 2nd game in the series and is a horror-based, first person shooter. The supernatural stuff I encounter at the end of the clip is pretty creepy, especially late at night!

Hell yeah!

2010-02-28T13:51:00.002-06:00

Powered Armor level in FEAR2: Project Origins. I am a god!

Missing my baby today...

2010-02-27T17:49:00.002-06:00

Dick forwarded me a picture of my late Boxer Maggie and it got me thinking about her so I dug out my favorite picture of her and thought I would share.

Bling is in the air - part2...

2010-02-27T17:38:00.002-06:00

I hope you don't mind Joe but these need to be shared with all as the bike looks fantastic. Looks like we are going to make quite a splash in ES come the Spring Rally with yours and Dick's new additions.

Bling is in the air...

2010-02-27T17:26:00.005-06:00

Had a visitor today and he was riding something green and shiny. Dick's "new" ZRX is definitely getting the "Frierson touch" and is really looking sweet!

When free wifi goes bad!

2010-02-25T23:25:00.002-06:00

Ran across this clip today from a tech podcast I listen to regularly and it made me think of one of you more than the others! Enjoy.

Another Bad Boy...

2010-02-24T23:32:00.004-06:00

I knew these pics would be relevant at some point.

Bad boys, bad boys...

2010-02-24T22:02:00.001-06:00

Proud or shameful? You tell me!

Post Your Desktop

2010-02-23T22:53:00.003-06:00

Here's mine! Been running Vista for a few years now with no issues and although I bought 3 licenses of Win7 when they had the sale on them upon initial release, I just can't warrant the upgrade right now consideing how great my machine runs. As a bonus, I posted another screencap of my basic computer specs.

Past Rides; A Call to Action

2010-02-14T17:37:00.009-06:00

I really liked Chuck’s post about documenting our past rides. I took it as a call to action. I consider myself frugal, but looking back, I think that – like most Americans – I’ve always had a things for cars.
My first car choice was pure lust. I spotted this 1951 Dodge Coronet out near the lake one day and I knew it had to be mine. I paid maybe $1500 for it – in running condition – from a dirty old man who didn’t mind selling a heap to a starry-eyed kid. Bitter and sweet. I loved the car but it was a turd. Problems from the get go. It had three on the tree, but it was Fluid Drive, so you didn’t have to push the clutch when you came to a stop light. Wound up selling it to a guy who came and towed it away for me. Lost a little money on that one.

Next came the 1969 VW Bug. I was fresh on the rebound from the Coronet and wanted something I could actually drive, as opposed to something that just looked nice in the driveway. I paid around $1200 for the Bug. It had been gone through and was essentially a restored car, although not in show-car condition. I bought the Bug about a year before finishing high school and it got me through the better part of my Bachelors degree. It lived up to the VW name and served me quite well. When I bought my next car, my dad suggested I park the Bug in his barn, which I did. It sat there for probably the better part of a decade until it was sold in 2005 to partially pay for my 2003 Kawasaki ZRX1200.

Third in line was the 1989 Chrysler Conquest TSI. A dead-sexy, turbo-charged thrill ride. I loved this car. Adjustable suspension, stereo controls in the steering wheel, disc brakes all the way around. This car was the shit. I got it out of shape once on a back road and wound up turned wrong the wrong way, but luckily didn’t do any damage. A hell of a fun car and I’m glad I never wrapped it around a tree. Just look at that! I wound up selling it after having being in Kansas for a few years.

Number four was a 1987 Honda Civic Wagovan. Honest to god, that was the name of the car. Anywho, I wanted something different when I got rid of the Conquest. I was tired of chasing down 16-inch Z-rated 245/45 tires at used tire shops. What I got was the Wagovan. Some stoner had drawn dragons and snakes on the inside roof of the car with colored Sharpies. You could lay down the back seat and it was a perfect sleeping area. I had a canoe on the top of that car more times that I can count. It was great for car camping.

And then came the 1993 Toyota Corobra. I bought it in September of 2001 with 50k on the clock and it has 155k on it now. You all know this story. She’s been a great car. I’ve hauled motorcycles (PLURAL), couches, canoes, enumeratous furnitures. Fabulous gas mileage that can barely be matched by today’s hybrids.

Sapa Tatanka

2010-02-13T18:34:00.005-06:00

Over the years I failed to document several cool vehicles I have owned, most notably a cherry 1974 Z-28 with a 4-speed Muncie and a 1986 Mustang SVO so I thought I would post a couple of pics of my 2000 Dodge Ram. Nothing extraordinary about her at all other than it represents the body style that "changed everything" in the world of trucks in America. I bought the truck from my brother in 2002 with less than 10K on the odo and she now has about 55K on the clock. The truck has been very reliable with the exception of the tranny which I had to have rebuilt because of issues that are well documented on the internet. I just got some Kumho Road Venture all-terrains mounted which I like very much and enjoy the "old school" look of tall, skinny, high profile tires. Like my ZRX, the truck is a great "15 foot" truck but any closer and you can see she's been kept outside the better part of a decade. I don't really put too much time and effort into keeping her spotless but I do use "Chuck's Tire-Foam" trick on the motor about twice a year and keep her cleaned up when the weather is nice. She has hauled a lot of rock and dirt, pulled her fair share of trailers and the 4-wheel drive has been invaluable here in the winters through ice and snow.

If only...

2010-02-13T12:48:00.004-06:00

...I had an extra 10K! Having grown up in Europe from 1967-1972, I have always had a place in my heart for the early 70s euroboxes and hope to be able to have one at some point. This one looks to be a perfect start to something like the below!

NADA - Not Cars

2010-02-09T19:24:00.003-06:00

I'm sure most of you are aware that my brother raises cattle in Arkansas but not that he has been very active in the North American Devon Association as they work to bring the Devon breed back to prominence. See below for a short blog he did for the NADA on "cattle as a commodity". Also, I have linked to his ranch's website if you care to read more.

NADA - Guest Blog

Fourche River Farm & Cattle Co.

I am so proud of what he and his wife are doing and the determination with which they are doing it. He was able to find financial success early in life and has used that to jump-start their dream and they are loving every minute of it! You go bro!

Time to Make Another Car Payment on the Corobra

2010-02-06T20:10:00.009-06:00

Well, I bought a radiator from NAPA for $112 after tax. Top and bottom hoses for $25 total. I was a little under the weather this week and it snowed here yesterday, but I woke up this morning with a strong desire to tackle the job. A trip to the library to check out the Haynes. I started the work at around 11am. Temps in the low 30's today. Cold but not horrible. Step one, shovel snow off the driveway. Below you'll see a pic of the nice new radiator. Delicious.

Below you'll see my extravagant tool "chest". Basically a socket and wrench set I picked up a few years ago off the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart and a tool box of some other odds and ends.

Vice grips? We don't need no stinking vice grips. Seriously, I don't own a pair of vice grips.

You can only imagine my surprise when I removed the radiator only to find ANOTHER radiator behind it! Holy shit! What did I get myself into? A quick phone call to John and I learn that's an A/C Condenser. ....A/C Condenser.... in case you're taking notes.

And here's a look down into the top of the radiator. Can you even imagine the strain it put on it when I added that Bars Leak about two years ago? I can't believe it worked for a couple of years.

And now some pics of the radiator. There's whole sections of fins missing. She was clearly on her last leg. 17-year-old radiator.

I call this picture "Urban Potpourri".
I am entering it into a photo contest.

In this pic below, I'm doing my part to "class up" the neighborhood. Notice the REX is out. That's because the stock radiator cap didn't fit the new rad. So, I rode the ZRX to get a new one. I come back - frozen - only to run into a second road block: the bottom rad hose is too short. A second bone-chilling ride to yet another auto parts store to get new hoses. But luckily the new hoses worked. Thank goodness because I was running out of patience and daylight.

I finished up right around dark. Frozen but happy. All in all, the work itself was simple as pie. It would have gone smooth as silk if I had just had the right parts to begin with. I saved a few bucks and learned a little. Definitely worth it, even if I did freeze my nuts off.

UFC 109

2010-02-06T10:31:00.002-06:00

Looking forward to it tonight!

More Football Humor

2010-02-06T00:36:00.003-06:00

Each year as the Superbowl approaches, I like to take the opportunity to share this gem with others who might appreciate it. Okay, it might not be as funny to you guys as it is to me but it is Sandler at his finest!

Adam Sandler - New Music - More Music Videos

My Hero - Peyton Manning

2010-02-06T00:31:00.003-06:00

I suppose not everyone may appreciate the humor in this clip as you would have to be an NFL fan and familiar with Peyton Manning's personality, but if you where, it's good stuff!

Climb Dance

2010-02-06T00:08:00.005-06:00

I swear I had posted this previously but looking back through the blog and in talking to Douglas I couldn't find that I had so if it is a repost, I apologize. This is Ari Vatenen's well documented climb up Pikes Peak in a Peugeot 405 T16 Group B rally car in 1989. There are no words to describe...

9:14

2010-02-05T23:57:00.005-06:00

...is all I ask you devote to watching this video. Over the years I have enjoyed many types of racing but rally cars have always seemed to play a part in my life. I remember going to the department stores at Christmas as a kid and always gravitating to the "rally car" models although I had no real idea of what they were. A squatty Fiat with a tire strapped to its roof just seemed cool! X-Games gave World Rally cars a rebirth a few years ago and my access to media through the internet allowed me a conduit to footage that is not readily available in the states and I took advantage. This clip is Ari Vatanen in the Isle of Mann Manx Rally in 1983 and although it doesn't show the "Dear God" moment this rally is known for, it's the highest quality clip I could find. Enjoy...

Tulsa Snow

2010-01-30T20:52:00.005-06:00

Well, we had quite a snowstorm over the past couple of days. About 8" here in midtown with most of it falling between noon and eight o'clock last night. We did have about a quarter of an inch of freezing rain overnight Thursday but were spared any significant damage here in Tulsa. We are at 14.1" of total snow accumulation for the season with 8.6" being average. Also, we typically get most of our snow in March so it could get interesting. Fortunately I got new tires on SapaTatanka(Black Buffalo) the day before the storm hit. I had four Kumho Road Venture ATs mounted, 315/75R16 for $850, and they have performed great in the snow.

Extreme Home Makeover - Tulsa

2010-01-28T19:15:00.004-06:00

As luck would have it, I was made aware last night that Extreme Home Makeover was possibly going to be in my neighborhood this morning. Although there were no stirrings in the neighborhood as I made my way to work, I was notified mid-morning that the rumor was true and a family around the corner had been chosen for a home makeover. Story below and pics following.

The Story

Map with location relative to the HicklHaus. Guard dogs indicate checkpoints for access to street the house is on...

A shot from the front of my garage showing the miserable conditions they are working in...

Another Hobby of Mine

2010-01-28T18:47:00.004-06:00

I'm sure you guys have figured out by now that computers, and tech gadgets in general, are a hobby of mine and I enjoy working on them as much as motorcycles. To me, there is very little difference between putting in a jet kit and assembling a computer from scratch. That being said, I recently "gained possession" of an older laptop that had been hardware locked. Now this is different than the typical Username/Password protection when logging into a computer, different than a BIOS lock at the post screen, this is actually an EEPROM chip on the motherboard that must be "activated" with a password to even get the computer to begin the boot process. This is typically done with computers belonging to institutions/corporations and loaned to employees which I assume this one had at one time. Once I discovered it was hardware locked, I decided to see if I could "crack" it. A quick search on the internet determined it was hopeless without calling the manufacturer, proving ownership and receiving a "master unlock code". As that was not possible, I dug in further and found there was a "paperclip" method for shorting out the EEPROM chip and not to bore you with the details, it was successful! EUREKA! Method did require complete disassembly of the laptop which was fairly interesting as there were dozens of tiny screws of various sizes and lengths to keep track of and I had to short the chip out while powering up the computer. Interesting.

The Fix

So Much I Don't Understand

2010-01-24T17:09:00.003-06:00

There are times when I like to think I am a fairly well-rounded individual and know a little bit about most everything but then I run across something like the below and realize there is an entire world of crap out there I know nothing about and have never given a second though to.

NFL Playoffs

2010-01-24T13:44:00.003-06:00

If there is another passion I have in life that rivals my love for motorcycles, it would have to be football. I still remember the excitement of getting my first Dallas Cowboys jersey in 1973 and have been a fan of the game, at any level, ever since. I have watched more football in my life than any other sport and feel I have an extreme understanding of the game which makes it that much more enjoyable to watch. I have really enjoyed watching Brett Favre make a comeback this season and would love to see him get another Superbowl ring before retiring. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to an awesome afternoon of football and finding out who will be playing for the Ring! My predictions, Baltimore 20 - Jets 10; Vikings 35 - Saints 28. That would leave us with 2 wily veterans in the Superbowl which would be something to see!

For Your Enjoyment

2010-01-24T00:20:00.006-06:00

I was down in Lake Jackson visitng my parents over Christmas and took a picture of the last official "Hickl Family Portrait" which Mom has prominently displayed in her entry foyer. It had to have been taken somewhere between 1983 and 1985 and I thought you guys would get a kick out of it. Notice that Greg is sporting a real mullet and I the infamous "permullet". Nice!

A New Year and Things to Come...

2010-01-19T22:31:00.006-06:00

First off, a HUGE "thank you" to Douglas for putting together the "2009 Hooliecrew Year in Review" video. It's so very nice to have a quick 10 minute clip to bring back all the memories and to whet the appetite for all the rides to come. I know how much work went into putting the video together and it makes it that much more special to me. I must have watched it a dozen times already and my ass-crack gets bigger every time! If only we had something similar for every year we have been riding together.

On another note, I suppose it is official, the Hooliecrew will be visiting the great state of Tennessee the 2nd full week of May and I for one can't wait! It will be nice to trailer up and to have access to some fun toys to play with so everyone better brush up on their xBox360 MotoGP 2009 as I am going to give you all an ass-whoopin'! Plenty of good roads and all the time in the world to explore them. Now if I could only find a vehicle that got more than 10mpg, I'd be all set.

Work is going well, meaning we have plenty of it, and for that I am grateful. We are picking smaller remodel projets across all client groups which is messier and less profitable work, but it is enough to keep everyone busy and to stave off any lay-offs for the immediate future. The 10th of January was my 10 year anniversary at Scott&Goble and it is so hard to believe it has been that long... until I look in the mirror that is! LOL. 011000 - 011010 (SGA's Digital Man)

Finally, Cindy bought be a ContourHD sportcam for Christmas and the weather cleared up enough for me to get it mounted and take some video today at lunch. See link to video below and let me know what you think. I have it mounted to the right radiator guard and the angle looks about right. Kind of neat to see the suspension working and will be cool to see how much the forks compress in some of the downhill hairpins. The video was still uploading to YouTube at the time I posted this blog so quality will not be maximized for a few hours as Google does its magic. I am also posting the 2009 Hoolicrew video for any visitors to the blog to enjoy. Look forward to seeing you guys and would love to get some e-mail banter started about the trip. Where to stay, what to see, etc.

Happy New Year Hoolies!

2010-01-01T01:59:00.003-06:00

Friends just left and wanted to wish all of you a Happy New Year! Looking forward to spending more time with you guys this year, especially our trip to Tennessee. Hope you enjoyed your night and spent it with those important to you. UFC 108 Saturday night, woohoo!

Chuck

Welcome to Hell. Enjoy your stay.

2009-12-30T16:58:00.003-06:00

There's a number of good riding days coming up in the next week.
Zero is the first number that comes to mind.

Santa's New Ride

2009-12-17T22:46:00.002-06:00

That's my boy !!

Sweet Potato to White: "What now, bitch?"

2009-12-17T21:42:00.003-06:00

I had a hankerin' for fried eggs and hash browns today. I was out of regular potatoes but had some sweet potatoes I had bought just before Thanksgiving for 25 cents a pound. They were going to go bad, so I made do. They tasted decent with some Cholula hot sauce on them. I ate them all!

Other clever captions welcome. Bring them on.

Happy Birthday, Ride Leader!!!

2009-12-09T14:42:00.001-06:00

Homeless Man Gets a Second Lease on Life

2009-12-01T17:07:00.006-06:00

When we found met with Douglas, who prefers to go by his street name - Stinky Squid, he was living in the sewers of downtown Kansas City, MO. Sewer dwelling by night and pan handling in front of local sex shops by day, he was often barely able to scrape up enough food to make it to the next day. On the rare occasions when one of the sex shop owners would pay him $5 to "mop up" the back rooms, he would use that money to buy some cheap mexican food and a hot McDonalds coffee.

But Stinky's luck changed this week when a local charity found him pan handling and saw potential in a heap of flesh that most would consider no more valuable than a cosmetics lab test chimp. The charity workers first treated Stinky to a delicious mexican feast, complete with horchata and sopapillas. Stinky ate until he nearly puked. Then they deloused Stinky, gave him a haircut and a shave, and provided him with some nice clean clothes from the local thrift store.

When asked about these miracle workers who pulled him from the gutter and restored his long forgotten sense of dignity, Stinky replied, "I can't thank them enough. They're angels....every last one of them. I can't count the number of times a stranger has kicked me in the balls just to see me vomit or gotten on my back and tried to ride me like a horse. People do that for some reason....mount me like a horse that is. I'm not sure what that's from. It started about three years ago. All of the sudden like three times a week someone would hop on my back and try to ride me, slapping my ass with a 'Kiddy Up!!!'. There for a while back in 2008, it was almost daily. Maybe there were some videos floating around on Youtube....maybe that's why it got so popular....I can't really say. My point is, it sucks getting ridden like a horse and none of these people tried any of that monkey business. They're angels I tell you."
Well said, Stinky. Well said.

2006 BMW 330xi

2009-11-29T22:40:00.006-06:00

Couple of pics of the new car I snapped while at the cabin. Car is a 2006 BMW 330xi, the "x" designator indicating all-wheel drive. 3L I6 pushing 255hp through a 6-speed automatic transmission. Car has less than 30K on the odo, a year left on factory warranty and 2 additional years through BMW once that expires as it a certified pre-owned vehicle. The car is an absolute hoot to drive and would love to really run it through its paces out in the hills of Arkansas, something I couldn't do with the precious cargo I had onboard over the weekend.

Tilt Shift Photography

2009-11-29T22:25:00.005-06:00

Been playing with a post production process emulating tilt shift photography today as it is all the rage in iPhone apps at the moment. Although tilt shift is typically achieved with a special camera lens, it can be "faked" with image editing software. Below are several examples of some images I produced today. I don't find any of them exceptional and did it just as an experiment as tilt shift photography is typically used to make wide angle shots from above look "miniaturized", a category into which none of these photos fall.

The boat still floats

2009-11-28T16:21:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since the boat has seen the water. Made a quick trip out to the local spot to see if it still floats, threw the fishing poles in the boat just in case. The boat motor is still has a few issues. The alarm triggers after about 3 minutes after its up to speed. Not a cooling issue, I've check all that out...(and no it doesn't have a radiator on it!) The oiling system is also hooked up to the buzzer. Once the buzzer sounds, kill the engine, wait for about 3 or 4 minutes, and off we go. As long as we keep it under about 2K rpm, no issue. The book says that 'old' oil or a clogged filter can cause this. I have no idea where this filter is, not yet anyway.

As expected fishing was pretty slow. Several boats were out passing the time of day and we didn't see a fish caught. We drifted up to a shell reef that's about 2 foot deep and dropped the anchor. Just on the other side the water drops to 28 feet. I was throwing plastic in the shallows when the fish hit. Quickly hoisted the anchor, cranked up the boat and took after the fish as it headed for the deep water. After about 10 minutes or so, we landed the fish....a black drum...kin to the redfish. The fish is in the 30 lbs class. My fishing reel is spooled with 12 lb test! After the photo opportunity, we released the drum to fight another day.

The Traveling Roadeo

2009-11-23T14:32:00.026-06:00

The Traveling Roadeo, or "7 states and 2300 miles in 4 days".

I needed another motorcycle like I needed a hole in my head, but heck, what does "need" got to do with it!!!

Jody and I left my place at 0500 on a Thursday morning with the intention of making a marathon road trip to Tennessee to pick up a new 2008 CBR1000RR and get a couple days of riding in the Tennessee mountains.

Along the way we hooked up with a few OA members - zrxrob, Luke, Thunderbolt, smart3900, and eatmoretwinkies.

Along the way we made a couple of "night time strafing runs" in the dark back to the hotel in Chattanooga after a day of riding braving the 40 degree temps and indiginous wildlife along the way.

All in all it was a good trip, albeit on a very tight schedule.

Tennessee and Georgia roads rock and so does the new CBR.

I am nowhere near articulate enough to put into words how good the new bike is to do it justice.....so I won't even try.

Unfortunately, being on such a tight schedule did not allow much time to stop and take pictures.....and believe me there were a lot of scenic opportunities worthy of stopping........but we just did not have the time.

So, here are the few we did take.

Jody and Joe on the Cherohala Skyway

ZRX group ride

luke, zrxrob, thunderbolt, and jm1

Radiator repair at Signal Mountain

Radiator repair in Cleveland

Thunderbolt on the Cherohala

ZRX group

At the hotel in Chattanooga

Fresh from the dealership at the hotel

Am I High?

2009-11-22T18:28:00.004-06:00

I bit the bullet today and bought another ZRX1200 for no other reason than I just wanted it, damn it !! Is that so wrong? Not if you are a member of the Hoolie Crew !! Now we all have at least two bikes draining our meager resources. I keep asking -What Just Happened? Did I really just commit my son's college money for a motorcycle? No-I tell myself-just the next 20 Christmas presents from my wife !!

But don't we all deserve to indulge ourselves once in this crazy mixed up world? I feel better now-the oxycodone is starting to kick in.

Enjoy the pics !

Outsourcing for tires...

2009-11-16T12:56:00.002-06:00

I've decided to try Chicom rubber for my next rear tire. Yes, Mr Union Vice President is going global ! The price is too good to pass up-$127.00 delivered for a 190/17 Shinko R005 Advance. Good looking tread pattern too. I'll post a review if I ever get my bike back together-waiting on paintwork and delivery on the tank.

Flight 1549 Recreation

2009-11-12T23:02:00.004-06:00

Ran across this reading my WIRED magazine online. ExoSphere3D has gathered all available data and recreated the entire flight of Flight 1549 from takeoff to Sully's spectacular ditch in the Hudson. See embedded video below. I am sure you guys realize that if you hold down the CNTRL and the ALT keys and then click the video, it will throw you straight into YouTube where the video is easier to watch.

It's that time again...

2009-11-11T23:26:00.002-06:00

Well, as Daylight Savings Time comes to an end and I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, it's officially PC gaming season! Below are a couple of videos of a game I have started the season with. Incredible stylized graphics, interesting storyline and spectacular soundtrack. First video is an official trailer and is a little "glammed" up for marketing reasons but the second one is very close to actual game-play footage, being a vignette of the armor class I am playing. We have come so far from the Beyond Castle Wolfenstein I started on in 1984! See gameplay footage in last video.

2009-11-11T22:55:00.002-06:00

I recently acquired some new photo editing and management software and I came across this pic while it was scanning using a face detection program. Anywho, that's not really the point. Point is I came across this pic and thought: "Where the bloody hell were we in this pic?" Since I found it out of context, not knowing any of the pics that came before it in the folder, I just couldn't place it. And by looking at the people in the background, it looked like we were in an old folks home. Hence the caption. I mean no offense, Dick. Just thought it was a funny pic. I apologize in advance.

Facebook Follies

2009-11-11T22:54:00.004-06:00

Oh, the agony of Facebook and hometown heroes living "back in the day"! Don't get me wrong, I had a great time in High School but it wasn't the high point in my life like it seems to have been for so many on Facebook. "The Hustlers"? Seriously? Makes me think some of the coaches had some things they were hiding or just didn't get the irony.

The Lonely Roadeo

2009-11-08T21:13:00.013-06:00

Instead of a complete and total ride report from start to finish, I'll jump around a little a let the pics do most of the talking. This last trip of the year I have dubbed....The Lonely Roadeo. I left KC on Monday before 7:30am, headed for Mountain View. But first a quick stop off at the bank to take out a little cash. Tightwad Bank. Priceless.

The next two pics are of Noblett Lake and Dam in Missouri. Joe, Jody and I passed this little lake back in the spring but didn't actually stop. I stopped this time and took a few pics. The dam was built back in 1938 to 1940 - part of the Public Works program. The sign talked about how long it took them with THREE whole mixers working full time. It's a nice, quiet spot WELL off the beaten path.

This next pic was taken along HWY341 - Push Mountain Road. I was almost to Mt.View, making good time, when I spotted this little gem sitting off on the side of the road. Not sure if you guys are familiar with this bike, but it's a full-time two-wheel drive. The wheels are hollow for storing fuel or water. Very cool. The Rokon Trail Breaker.

This next pic was taken at Bayou Bluff campground on the lower leg of HWY27 in Arkansas. A very pretty spot as well.

This pic of the ZRX on a bridge was taken on the upper part of HWY27, just south of Marshall. I was a wee bit hesitant parking the bike on the bridge considering all the missing boards and the rotting wood. The first time I put the kickstand down, the steel dug right through the wood. I pulled up and planted the kickstand on a knot and took some pics. If you go to the Photobucket location where are the other pics are hosted, you'll see a pic of where my kickstand dug into the wood.

These next two pics were at a place called "Sam's Loop Trail - Chicken Head Wall access." Believe it or not, this incredible spot is located on HWY123, just south of the crazy switchbacks coming out of Mount Judea. There isn't even a sign. I just saw a pull-off and drove back on gravel about 200 yards and there is this place that we've all passed at least a dozen times over the years. It's maybe a 5-minute walk and you're treated to some of the most amazing vistas in the area. I think I stumbled upon it because - with no leaves on the trees - I figured there had to be some way to get out onto this rock outcropping. Take a look at the Photobucket pics.

This last pic is in Missouri. I saw all these bikes and saw a guy working on a bike out in the back, so I had to stop. Just another of the many road-side attractions that I encountered.

Other things slightly worthy of note:
- Here's the ALL the pics:
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm288/douglaskivett/Lonely%20Roadeo/
Best if you view the pics in Slideshow Mode.
- 1168 miles covered in three days. Two night spent in Mountain View.
- On Monday, I saw a homeless guy pulling a wagon just north of Mountain Home. On Wednesday, I saw him in Yellville pulling the wagon, so I stopped and chatted with him.
- Saw a load of lumber fall from the bed of a pick-up truck in front of me on Push Mountain Road. Luckily missed all of it.
- One kamikaze pass that scared me, the car I was passing, and the car I almost hit head on.
- On Tuesday, after a long day of riding, a guy approached me as I pulled into Subway there in Mountain View. He was from the OA...wanted to know if I was on the board. Board name is "Tattoo13" and he lives in Melbourne on HWY9. Works there in Mountain View.

The Last Emperor

2009-11-08T10:26:00.002-06:00

Dick and Douglas are well aware of my man-crush on Fedor Emelianenko and my passion for watching Mixed Martial Arts(MMA)matches of all kind whether it be UFC, Affliction, Strikeforce or the now defunct Pride and K1 highlights. MMA has come a long way from its early days of glorified "human cock-fighting" and has transformed itself into the highest form of combat sports available today combining all the combat skills whether it be Greco-Roman wresting, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Karate, Muay Thai, etc. Without going into too much detail, Fedor is a heavyweight fighter out of Russia who is considered by many to be "The Baddest Man on the Planet" having an MMA record of 31-1-1 with the only loss beeing a doctor stoppage early in his career due to a cut. Plenty of info on him available on the internet if you care to learn more so I won't bore you with it here. To me, Fedor epitomizes how I wish all elite athletes would carry themselves but that is a conversation for another time. Enjoy the fight below before it gets taken down from YouTube.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-30T10:35:00.005-05:00

So I work with a friend, his name is Chuck. He's the guy who's Yamaha XS we have diligently been working on and he comes up to me a few weeks ago and asks me if I want to go in on a costume idea with him for the Halloween Costume Contest at work. I said sure, not really having any idea of what he had in mind. Chuck's idea and he even bought the costumes. A couple of "Nun-Chucks"!

Proud Pappa

2009-10-28T19:43:00.004-05:00

I know I don't talk too much about my job with you guys but I do get to do some pretty nifty projects at times, the below building being one of my tops. This is a Lowe's project across the freeway from the San Jose, CA International Airport from which we were required to take design cues. We were given a general elevation approved by San Jose Planning and Zoning and it was up to me to turn that idea into a set of construction documents. Design cues included the corrugated metal paneling, glass feature framing the entry and the rectilinear awnings at the Garden Center and Customer Loading Canopy. Seeing something like this constructed from details that I physically put on paper is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I'm not particularly fond of the colors used but those were dictated to us by the developer.

Finally!

2009-10-28T19:26:00.003-05:00

After much anticipation, my family pack of Windows7 arrived today. My plan is to install the first copy on my Home Theater PC to see how things go. Although I have been running Vista with zero issues for over a year now on two different machines, given all the positive press W7 has been receiving from pundits on both sides of the aisle, I thought I'd give it a shot. Microsoft is offering, while supplies last, a 3-pack of upgrades for $150 which is very hard to beat for people with multiple machines. In-depth report upcoming.

Don't try this at home.

2009-10-24T00:36:00.009-05:00

11:48pm on a Friday night...
36 degress in my neck of the woods...
and I just got back from a 30 mile ride on the interstate.
That's why you shouldn't try this at home...unless you have sweet-ass heated riding gear like John and I have. See below:

I've probably told most of you how John made heated riding gear for himself using an old electric blanket. I doted on it quite a bit and probably dropped more hints than my momma would consider polite. So when I mentioned it to him a couple of weeks ago, he had me a "loom" already made up. Basically, he had everything from the battery all the way through the switch to the resistance wires in the blanket. All I had to do was the monotonous task of sewing the resistance wires into the removable liner of my MotoGP jacket. And so that's what I did this week whilst I was recuperating from surgery. Nothing better than sewing with one eye swollen shut. As for more of the details, there's an 8amp fuse in-line just off the positive wire that comes off the battery. And observe some of the other kick ass features in the pic below. For example, there's the male to female audio jack "quick disconnect" feature. Basically, if you forget you're plugged in and start to walk away from the bike, you just come unplugged instead of ripping the loom out of the jacket. And also notice the craftsmanship on the on / off switch. It's encased in JB Weld. Turns out John knew JB Weld personally. They were best buds growing up. I'm just saying that's a fine job done with the JB Weld.

And so is the proof in the pudding? Indeed. I went out for a 30-mile ride, mostly all interstate, at around 11:30pm tonight. Got back around midnight. It was in the low 40's today and was spitting rain off and on. Roads were dry when I went out tonight, but it was cold as snot. I was wearing thermal long john pants (under my brown pants of course), similar long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt and the MotoGP jacket with the liner in it. Heavy gloves and a neck gator. Honestly, at 36 degrees, it wasn't toasty, but it was warm enough to counteract the bitter ass cold. There was no heat from sunshine either, mind you. So I'll typically never ride in the dark and probably never ride in 36 degree temps, and if I do I would wear my rain gear as additional wind break. That helps, by the way. But in these conditions, sustaining 70 to 80mph indicated, I was able to maintain a decently comfortable core temperature. It kept me warm enough that when the ride was done, I was feeling good enough to clean my chain in my UNHEATED garage. There's a lot to be said for that. I think if the air temps were 10 degrees warmer, say in the mid 40's and if riding in daylight, I would be quite comfortable. This is a victory in my book, and a nice addition to my bag of tricks.

Bike Contest

2009-10-12T20:36:00.007-05:00

Hey guys. As most of you know, I don't go on the OA too very much anymore, but I do frequent the SR500 board. It's quaint there. Six hundred members, but plenty in Europe and tons of Aussies. Not an overwhelming number of daily posters, so it seems like a very small forum. Anywho, someone had the idea to do a bike contest. I wanted to participate just for the sake if having a good turnout, so I entered the ZRX in the "Non SR section" of the contest. There's voting and everything.
Here's a link to the thread with all my pics:
http://www.sr500forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=1737
Here's a link to the sub-forum with all the non-SR bikes, so you can see the competition:
http://www.sr500forum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=51

Ralph Wayne's Backyard Nationals

2009-10-04T00:06:00.003-05:00

Today was the 17th Annual Ralph Wayne's Backyard Nationals. It's a Kansas City event held at a local guy's house each fall. It's literally a bike show in the guy's back yard. Miraculously his neighbors have put up with this for nearly two decades. The really nice bikes get waved on up into the back yard. And then all others line the adjacent streets. It's a really cool event. I spent a few hours there today.

This year was particularly interesting because my friend Dave, who I've told you guys about before, debuted his recently completed board tracker replica bike. Dave has spent the last few years building this bike from the ground up. He literally started with drawings of the frame and then welded it up from there. The power plant is a lawn mower engine. The craftsmanship is top notch. Very cool bike. He chronicled the entire build on his dedicated blog: Board Tracker Blog

Rough and Tumble Tour 2009

2009-10-02T00:00:00.003-05:00

Most of you know that Chuck and I had originally planned this Arkansas romp for Labor Day weekend. We postponed three weekends in a row due to rain in the Mountain View area. But we caught our break last week and made it happen….finally. Our plan was to meet up in West Mineral, KS, the home of Big Brutus, the 16-story decommissioned shovel crane. We planned to make Mountain View by Saturday night, ride the Bixby Ball Buster on Sunday and return home Monday. What follows is how it all unfolded.

I arrived at Big Brutus at 11am….right on time….only to find no Hickl. A phone check revealed the following text message from Chuck:
“Check your voicemail. ZRX is hosed.” Sent at 10:15am.
A follow up text sent 45 minutes later read: “Hang tight at Brutus. I’m continuing on.”
Chuck arrived on the smoke-billowing Rex at around 11:30am. The decision was quickly made that we would “Shit and git” – to quote Chuck. Without spending any time at Brutus, other than in the museum’s toilet, we took off for Tulsa to retrieve Optimus Prime, aka “the Fizzy.”

We arrived in Tulsa close to 2pm. We parked the ailing Rex, ate lunch at Subway, and headed off for Mountain View at 2:45pm. At this point, we both had about 300 miles of super slab underneath our belts. We were both dragging a little bit of ass, especially considering we knew we had almost another 300 miles to Mountain View ahead of us and would probably be arriving in the dark. We slabbed it over to Huntsville, where we picked up the Pig Trail. We stopped at the same Shell station there in Huntsville where we always gas up. Chuck scored some “EXTREME CHICKEN SHOOTERS” for a snack. We took hwy74 through Kingston and Ponca where we saw literally dozens of cars parked along the side of the road watching the Elk that roam that bottom land down there near the Boxley Corner. It was like the circus was in town. Through Jasper and by the time we hit Marshall – fifty miles away from Mountain View – it was already completely dark and a little bit chilly to boot. Jacket liners, neck gators and clear shields came out for that last push to our final destination. As we left Marshall, we passed a kid on a bicycle who greeted us with the middle finger. This got Chuck’s dander up so much that he later lamented that he didn’t stop to to punch the kid in the face for being so rude. And I quote: “While I punched him in the face, I would have said to his friend, ‘Tell his parents why I did this’.” (Just for Deekster, there’s a great line from “The Big Lebowski” here: “Do you see what happens Larry?! This is what happens, Larry, when you fuck a stranger in the ass!”) We arrived in Mountain View just before 9pm. We stopped at the Mexican joint in town before we even checked in at the motel. More than 12 hours on the bikes and 543 miles total for the day, but we made it in one piece and in good spirits.
BELOW: Saturday morning and Chuck is overjoyed by the breakfast menu at the Angler.

Saturday was the much-anticipated Bixby Ball Buster. I know of nothing to speak of in Bixby. It’s a dot on the map. I’ve just enjoyed the alliteration (Bixby Ball Buster) and the challenge of making it all the way up there and back in one day. It was fun heading up into “uncharted territory”, a sort of modern day Lewis and Clark on sport bikes. But in reality, we didn’t encounter any Lost City of Gold, no El Dorado of the twisties up north of the border. (I am getting lost in my own expeditionary metaphors here.) We did come across one unique, recently-paved, no painted lines, stretch of HIGH speed sweepers up in the Mark Twain National Forest. Route KK it was. We set it at about 100mph and maintained that for about 10 minutes. It was ridiculous. Another really nice road is HWY19, but it’s the stretch up near Eminence, MO. Jody, and Joe B and I have been on the lower leg of HWY19 in the past and only noted the continuous blind hills and complete LACK of corners. But there is some really nice stuff up near Eminence. We logged 412 miles on Saturday, a day that started with HYW9 and ended with HWY58. We scored pizza and a calzone for dinner at a little place there in Mountain View.

Monday morning we left for home via Yellville. Chuck’s rear tire was showing steel cords by the time we parted ways there. I was quite worried he might not make it back. But stupidity prevailed once again and he made it home safe and sound….I’m sure with sparks flying all along the way.
BELOW: I got the wonderful aroma of cedar whilst on the ferry ride.

I made it back at around 6:30pm Monday evening. All told, I racked up 1,360 miles for the three-day weekend. One hell of a bender.

Good News/Bad News

2009-09-30T06:47:00.002-05:00

Although I'll leave the ride report to Douglas, I will fill you guys in on something that happened at the outset of the ride. As you know from a previous blog, I had purchased a set of trackday take-offs from Ocelot on the ZRXOA and had them mounted up on the ZRX with the intent of surprising Douglas by showing up riding "mean-green". Bike has been running superb since I got the coil issue addressed and was excited to be back on the Rex with a chance to get it back in the twisties! Leaving Tulsa Saturday morning it was a little cool so the bike was running even better. I got about 100 miles north of Tulsa when I pulled over to the side of the road to check my map and to my great dismay, I was soon enveloped in a choking cloud of blue (oil) smoke emanating from my tailpipe! What to do now? First instinct was to turn around and head home so as not to get caught out on the road with a disabled bike. I called the wife to let her know I was returning and also called Dick who reinforced my decision not to push the bike any further than I needed to. Called/texted Douglas to let him know my plan and headed back to Tulsa. Once back on the road, I noticed the bike wasn't really burning oil at speed and was still running great. Since I was so close to Douglas, less than 30 miles, I stopped, texted him I was on my way, turned around and continued on to Big Brutus. Met up with Douglas at Big Brutus and was pretty bummed about what was happening. Douglas was very positive about the whole situation and suggested we ride back to Tulsa, get my Fizzy and continue on our trip which is what we ended up doing. Trip turned out wonderful but I knew rear tire on my Fizzy wasn't up to the task but had little choice other than to take it given the pickle we were in.

As for the ZRX, she starts/runs fine with no obvious noises. Bike puffs blue smoke at idle and partial throttle and throttle blips. If I idle it up to 5K, the smoke eventually clears up almost completely and there is very little noticeable smoke at speed. I initially thought it might be a valve guide/seal but when decelerating using engine braking, the smoke doesn't seem to get worse as one would expect given the vacuum this maneuver is creating. I had a valve guide/seal go on my manual transmission Z-28 and whenever I would engine brake, it would pull all the oil down the valve stem and smoke like a sum-bitch. In any case, I don't plan on messing with the ZRX before the rally and will look at it over the winter. At Dick's direction I'll start by pulling plugs to see if it's isolated to one cylinder or affecting them all. Hopefully, it's just a valve job and not a ring issue although I suppose a scored cylinder might mean it's 1224 time! Maybe this is a great thing in disguise! Any thoughts appreciated and ask any questions you might have.

Yikes!

2009-09-28T22:16:00.004-05:00

This is what my rear tire looked like after getting home! Once again, I pushed my rear tire to the limit and almost didn't make it home. Turns out the Diablo is a steel-belted tire which is probably what allowed it to last as long as it did. After getting to the motel Sunday night, it was obvious the tire was done but there were no chords showing. By the time we got to Yellville, Monday morning, things were looking grim and I was dreading every mile home from that point on. More on the trip later.

I Wanna Park Under That!

2009-09-23T00:36:00.003-05:00

So, you take a quick look at these pics and you might crap your pants thinking that perhaps the Corobra has met its untimely demise. Never fear, she runs strong as ever.
I took these pics this morning. I was heading in to see the doctor and low and behold, right up front in an otherwise crowded parking lot, two open spaces right there next to this behemoth truck. Big surprise! My guess is people got one look at this thing and decided they wouldn't be so lucky as to get a door ding on this day, but rather would get a side window busted out instead!
My FIRST thought was: "I wanna park UNDER that." Am I the only one who thinks this way? And I got it under there a pretty good ways. If I'd had a Come-Along in the car, I might have tried to winch it up on the Corobra's back and carried the thing away...just like I carried Chuck up that hill in the back parking lot of the Swiss Holiday. Just like that big barge that sinks and then picks stuff up from underneath.