Daveand Barbie

So, with all the snow and such today, I started planning my "Epic Trip" for next summer. Even though I officially retired in 2002, I was mostly unable to achieve success in that, so as of June 1 I am going to attempt again. To celebrate, I am planning to leave on the bike and see what I have always wanted to see in the span of a month. Now, I have flown to many places in our fair country, but have never been west of the Indiana/Illinois border on land. I plan to leave Cincy and head west to see as many of the important things that I have missed like The Badlands, Mt Rushmore, the Pacific Coast Highway, Grand Canyon.......you get the idea. My dilemma arrive in how best to accomplish my plan and be semi thrifty. I could load the bike in the trailer, hook it to das bus and head out, but that would be, in essence, self defeating. Much of the allure to me is getting there. So that leaves two other options: 1 - buy a used motorcycle camper, hook it to the Venture, and use it for lodging for the trip. One might say "Don't be a wimp! Pack a tent and be off". If I were 40, I might be giving that serious consideration, but the senior citizen in me says "not at this advanced age! Especially not for a month. 2 - roll out the FJR and be off, making the most of budget motels along the way. Both bikes are endearing in their own right, I have had both of them out on 2000 mile week long trips, and they both are more than capable. Looking at the numbers, I think the cost would be a wash, but I am interested in hearing the thoughts of those who have more experience than I when it comes to extended trips. Go!

Thanks all! We will back in business in a few short days.

So, since it was not going to rain today, I decided to ride my trusty, never a problem VR to the school. My trip to the school is 26 miles each way and goes through a lengthy construction zone on one of the most heavily travelled and worst maintained interstate highways in the country. As I was riding along, minding my own business, a car came up on my right and began waving frantically. As I looked in my left mirror, I saw the lid to my side case launch itself and land in the next lane in front of an oncoming huge truck. You guessed it......crunch.....my heart sank. Now I am left to try to locate a replacement. Anyone have ideas as to where I might find one? 1990 blue would be perfect, but it is my best guess that I shouldn't be picky. I know how to paint. It is indeed, a sad day.

Grand Jury returns in less that an hour to render a decision. They found no abberation in the driving of Tony Stewart which absolves him of culpability. Also, the grand jury had access to all the information, including the autopsy report, which revealed THC. With that information now released, I would rather doubt any civil litigation. This is just very sad in all respects.

I have avoided commenting on most of these threads about this incident, but will "venture" into this one with some facts based in the rules. To qualify myself, I raced for 20 years at Watkins Glen, Road America, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Mid Ohio, Road Atlanta, Virginia International, and Daytona. I also worked on a crash crew for 12 of those 20 years. In that time, I responded to a number of serious incidents, including Joey Hand at Mid Ohio. You can Google that to see what it was about. Point 1 - the General Competition Rules states that " it is the overtaking drivers responsibility to complete the pass in a safe manner". From looking at the video on multiple occasions, there is no way to determine whether the overtaking driver made contact with the other car or just came in contact with the wall of his own accord. Point 2 - in every drivers meeting I have ever attended, we were always to to NEVER GET OUT OF THE CAR UNTIL SAFETY PERSONNEL ARRIVE OR YOU ARE DIRECTED BY COURSE MARSHALLS. Course Marshalls are charges with assessing the situation as to whether the driver is in imminent danger if he remains with the vehicle and then direct the driver. In the case of fire, that doesn't apply. Point 3 - sprint cars have locked differentials and are direct drive. They react in a far different manner than a car with an open diff. I have one car with a locked diff and in any turn I have to slide "rotate" the car, meaning the rear of the car has to slide somewhat to get around the turn. This is on an asphalt surface by the way, not dirt. Point 4 - the Stewart car was following another car which quickly swerved to miss the individual on the track. What is the reaction time necessary to pick up the individual wearing a black fire suit and black helmet on a somewhat dimly lighted track and take evasive action? Was there adequate time to avoid a collision? I am not trained as an Official Observer or a Safety Steward, so I have no basis to assign responsibility or fault. Anything I would offer would only be opinion, so I will choose not to offer any opinion. If pressed to offer any opinion I would see this incident as a "perfect storm" scenerio that indeed in the tragi c death of a young driver. May he rest in peace.

Ding Ding Ding........we have a winner I have been using the Ubuntu OS for a number of years and have yet to have an issue with either problem.

I rode this summer with a friend who has the Amplirider on his Suzuki SV. On a Venture, it could very well be adapted to the existing system to allow for additional devices. As I understand it, each of the 3 inputs has a volume adjust with a remote master volume control. http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplirider.html Someone smarter than me could probably figure a way to make it work.

I used Full Bore fork oil in the Bultacos ibn the 70's. It was a cool blue color and I still have about 1/2 quart of 5 wt in the basement. Barbie and I both wore Full Bore riding boots. They were very well made and, unlike MX boots, had cleated soles. I wonder if the is the same company?

B.O.A.T. Break Out Another Thousand......

That could be fun if it weren't so heavily concentrated in the Cleveland area.

Knights in White Satin - Moody Blues Eldorado/Can't get You Out of my Head - ELO Anything recorded by Chase

Kicks - Paul Revere and the Raiders You Really Got Me - Kinks Opened for them on the Dick Clark Cavalcade of Stars

Most outstanding, I would say.....

MESS WITH HIM!!!! Act like you are going to buy it and ask all kinds of questions that he will not be able to answer. String him along for a couple of weeks, get him all excited, set up a bogus free email account to communicate with him, and then delete the account when you are satisfied with the entertainment you have had. This could be a whole group project you know.......

Add this one to the bunch. Recording fun in the family room. Typical college music majors having fun while the greeks and jocks are out partying. http://www.wimp.com/trombonequartet/

I had the opportunity to work on a couple of TV pilots with Steve Tracy, a wonderful harmonica picker. You might enjoy reading his bio and seeing a video. http://www.umass.edu/afroam/faculty/tracy.html

Clean is an understatement. '07 Black Cherry, 7000 miles, Russel DayLong saddle, Rifle windshield and stock windshield, original owner, cases only been mounted one time for a weekend trip last summer. PO changed the oil and filter, diff lube, and mounted a new front tire before I picked it up. Color really doesn't matter much to me, I have many colors. It isn't a Venture, it is an FJR, which fits perfectly in the slot between my 1st Gen and the Bandit. Always wanted one, now my Venture has a little brother(guess that is what I should have said in the first place).

One of the advantages of being old is not caring if you need it but rather you want it.

Thanks for taking on this project again Jeff. Please put me on the list for one.

Interesting that Hennessey was driving for himself, and one handed to boot. I wonder what the push button in his left hand was controlling. Could it have been the switch for nitrous oxide? I was about half expecting HeinRocket to be driving.

Andy........Barbie and I will be moving in that direction in the near future. We bought a nice plot on the mountain between Kingsport and Rogersville and will be building a small house on the mountain and a large barn on the river for the toys.

First and foremost, shoot what makes you comfortable both in the hand and in the wallet. Other than .22 for fun, I have limited myself to one calibre just to keep things easy. The local PD uses 9MM, so I figure it is good enough for me, and I have found it to be the most readily available and the least expensive of the centerfire rounds. 20 to 25 cents a round for factory ammo is really hard to beat. I am not a brand loyalist and have a Ruger LC9 for CC, a Taurus PT111 MilPro, S&W M&P, and Ruger SR9. The LC9 goes with me on the bike whenever I am riding and the best fitting in my hand, The Ruger SR9 is on the night stand. Considering the size of your hands, I would imagine you would be looking for a double stack that holds at least 15 in the magazine. I agree that the best test is to go to the range, try them out, buy what feels best, and practice, practice, practice.

Some or all of the Bourbon Trail would be a must do if you are coming to the area. If you enjoy history, the White Hall Shrine just south of Lexington is a very interesting tour for a couple of hours. Then you could stop over at Fort Boonesboro and the Henry Clay home in Lexington. As said before, the Red River Gorge is fabulous and Natural Bridge is right there too. Berea is a must stop for dinner at the Boone Tavern and then a visit to Church Hill Weavers for the lady on the trip. If you are a countyu music fan, you could stop at the Renfro Valley Music Center on your way from Berea to Somerset.

I wish Robin Thicke didn't get in the way of Chicago. He was so full of himself, out of place, and outclassed in that performance.

A number of years ago, I looked high and low for a microphone to use under my helmet in the race car with an IC4AT that I used to communicate with my crew chief, KB8TY. I found a Comet ear microphone that is a speaker/mic that fits in the ear. It worked great for quite a number of years until I retired from racing. I know that that particular device is no longer manufactured and Comet has concentrated on manufacturing antennas these days. I may cruise Ebay to keep an eye for another in the event.