navydavy

Paddle boarding......it feels like you're walking on water.

He's already talked about bigger, and that is fine with me when the time is right. I plan on keeping the 250 for myself anyhow. That little bike is so much fun.

Thanks for that link Condor. I didn't think of the "k" for Kamp. The length of the box is 81". It "cranks up" with 2 people's arms. I do like the current and original set up for now, but I already have some ideas to modify it. Oh, and I actually love that plaid design. Pretty unique if nothing else. : )

I got myself a tent trailer off Craig's earlier this week. It's a 1977 CycleCamp, and I actually got it from the original owner who has towed it all over the country on various Gold Wings. It's in decent shape and although it could use some work, it is ready to go and I got a great deal on it. I do remember CycleCamp from the early 80's, but I can't find any info on the internet on this trailer. I've already had the hitch installed for some time, I used it for mounting a large flag for Patriot Guard Missions, but I do need to do the wiring still. I'll be using it this coming weekend for an overnight camping ride up the coast to the Big Sur area. If anyone has any info on CycleCamp, I'd appreciate hearing from you. I have trailered before, but it has been a few years.

Had a great day today. Beautiful weather, and took my 17 year-old son on his first ride along with my two brothers. He took the MSF course 2 weekends ago and passed with flying colors, and then got his M endorsement from the DMV on Thursday. We started off with meeting some fellow riders from our church at a Starbucks in Seal Beach, and then the 4 of us headed south on Pacific Coast Highway about 25 miles or so to Laguna Beach. Cut over to the freeway for a stop at an accessories shop before heading home. Matthew did a great job and I am really proud of him. He was on the 1988 Honda NX 250 I picked up about 3 weeks ago. Great little bike for a starter and beyond. We're planning a ride further up the coast next weekend for an overnight camping trip.

I got a new to me bike today, and I am so excited. I've been looking for one of these for the past few years, and finally found and bought a really good looking one today. It's a 1988 Honda NX250, a great little dual purpose ride. I got it from the second owner with all the original paperwork, 2 original keys, Owner's Manual and Service Manual and even a few extra parts. And it seems to be in great shape. I only rode it about 20 miles today, and it was just plain fun. One reason I'm so excited is I actually had 2 of these same bikes back in 1988. I won them on the "Price Is Right" in '88. I kept both of them for quite awhile, and then sold one and kept the other another couple years or so. Thinking back, I don't know why I sold it. More recently I've been looking for a good one for about 4 years now. This one came up on Craig's List a couple days ago, I finally had a chance to go see it earlier today, and now it's mine..... ....and my son's. He's 17 and this will be a great bike for him to start off on. I love my RSV and it's a daily rider for me, but I think I will be doing more puttin around town stuff on the little Honda. Now let's see about sharing some photos.

I don't have the info on my tank bag handy right now, but I do remember that when I got it there was a lot to choose from. Mine was about $50, it has the magnets and it's real handy on the longer rides.

I've been reading and enjoying Rider Magazine since the early 80's. I found Road Runner almost a year ago, and I really enjoy that one too.

First of all, no I haven't had a need for Hippo Hands here in southern California. But I do have some experience with them from years ago when I lived in Michigan. I loved them. Mine were not leather, they were quite thick with the sheepskin lining, and they kept me hands quite cozy down in the twenties I remember. I also wore some thick gloves. The best part of them was keeping the wind off. I don't recall any problems with the brake or clutch levers. Come to think of it, I did do a ride up one of the local mountains just before Christmas a couple years ago, and I could have used them that night.

Thank you to Jason for his service. And thank you also to his family for raising an American Hero. Welcome home!

May be there is a bit more to this than "the loss of your leather" or the root beer. Really sorry to hear about the loss of something that obviously meant a lot to you. There's some real jerks out there. I hope you somehow get it back.

Thanks for posting that. My dad was in Tokyo Bay aboard the Brittish battleship HMS King George V during the signing. Quite a few years later I had the honor and privilege to serve aboard USS Missouri (BB-63). I crossed over the area where the surrender was signed numerous times (there's a plaque there commemerating the event), and each and every time I was in awe of the history that took place there.

Love the Victory Cross Country.

Welcome home and thank you very much for your service.

The snow on the local mountains looks real pretty as I ride home from work every morning.

I had the honor and pleasure to serve aboard two fine Navy ships; I was Plankowner of the re-commissioned battleships USS Iowa (BB-61) and USS Missouri (BB-63). I'm at work now, I'll have to find some photos to add later on. Obviously a lot of history on both those battlewagons, particularly the Mighty Mo. For me personally, I shared a special connection with my dad. He was aboard the British battleship HMS King George V in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrender was signed aboard the Missouri. My last ship was the USS Ogden (LDP-5) in the amphibious navy. Not nearly the show boat that the battleships were, but not bad duty either. I worked on the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System as a Fire Control Man, working up to FC1. Good times.

Herb, that Snowball Express is a wonderful experience. We had the honor of having it hosted here in Southern California the past two years. I had my son with me both years, and my brother and one of his boys too. It is heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time to see those families, especially the kids, having such a good time. We were actually a bit bummed that it moved to Texas this year, but I guess we do need to share. And it looks like you folks did an outstanding job. The PGR here did do some escorts to airports when they departed and returned. Thanks for being a part of it.

Thank you for your service. You are a true hero. Be safe.

ic23b, I know this thread is not about you, but from your comments. let me just say, Welcome home and thank you for your service.

Congratulations! To you Buddy and also to you C Clark. You each have every reason to be proud of your sons for the commitment they are making. Good job on raising an American Hero!

Not too late for me... but then it's 11:40 pm and I just got to work. I'll be riding in a couple of Southern California Veteran's Day Parades, both of them with the PGR. On Saturday the 8th will be the Long Beach parade, and then on Tuesday the 11th there's one in San Fernando Valley. I get two "personal holidays" a year, and I always take 9/11 and Veteran's Day. I'm looking forward to the parades and honoring our vets.

FYI, I copied and pasted this from another forum I'm on. I have photos, but had difficulty uploading them for this thread. I'll try to add some photos later.

Day 4 This is definetly not a case of saving the best for last. Still a mostly good riding day though. We took our time packing up again and didn't leave the KOA til 10:00. I got to meet a rider from Chicago who is doing a whole southwest thing on his beautiful brand new Kawasaki Concours. He was heading to Santa Monica so we were off in the same direction. Matthew and had some breakfast at a Denny's in Williams and then hit the road. The scenery along the I40 in Arizona was decent enough, but just became more and more desert and hot. I meant to say HOT. We made a stop in Kingman, Arizona to gas up for the last of the reasonably priced gas before returning to California. As we crossed into California the temps were in the triple digits. We crossed over the Colorado River very close to Park Moabi where I used to bring my kids in our RV and boat. I reminded Matthew he had learned to ride a bicycle without his training wheels during one trip there when he was only 4 and a half. My girls were 7 and 9 at the time, and every day we had to go to the "bar". It was a sand bar along the river going towards Lake Havasu that they really enjoyed. Anyhow, those memories passed through my head as we passed through the area. And then I stopped to top off on gas. $5.09 for regular!! The absolute definition of highway robbery! I'm glad I only needed a little less than two gallons to top off. I told Matthew to go inside and get some ice for our water cups. He came back outside and said there was a big sign saying the ice cost whatever the size drink we were buying. I grabbed our cups and went in myself. Now I understand he probably can't go using up all his ice on every single customer passing by, but come on. I told him I had just spent $10.00 on less than two gallons of gas and I needed the ice because we were not in an air conditioned car and needed to stay hydrated in the 110 degree temps. I got a very disgruntled mumble of an okay and filled our cups with ice. Stay away from the Chevron in Needles, CA. That guy was a jerk. We ended up stopping at a rest area only 30 or so miles down the road to fill up with more water. It was hot outside. We met a fellow Patriot Guard Rider at the stop who was riding from North Carolina to Riverside, California. He was on a very basic Harley that caused me to be very impressed with the amount of riding he had already done. We stopped again shortly after that in Ludlow, CA where we again topped of the gas tank and treated ourselves to some Dairy Queen and more ice cold water. We flew right through Barstow and had our last gas stop in Victorville, CA. The temps were much better now, and we knew we were close to home. There's actually some people who commute to the LA area from Victorville. We were back on the LA freeways in no time at all, and the temps in the mid-70's actually gave us some chills. Sure felt good though. We stopped at our original start point, a Chevron a couple blocks from home at 7:00 pm. We had travelled 472 miles in 9 hours, so we had made pretty good time. Our total miles for the whole trip was 2404 miles on the odometer. We certainly did see a lot of beautiful scenery in all those miles. I know there are some that have the opinion you can't enjoy a ride like this, too many miles in too short a time. I kind of understand, and I do like the rides where we take our time in shorter distances. We had planned this ride about 4 months ago, and the SaddleSore and long distance days were all part of the planning. I must say, I do enjoy the challenge and adventure of the long distance riding. I imagine it will be a few more years before I'll have the time and money to take more leisurely rides across country. I've been thinking about doing the 4 Corners (of the USA) ride for the past couple years or so, and I hope I can get that in before I turn 50. So anyhow, we rode a lot of miles in only four days, and yes a lot of it was on superslabs. But those superslabs are ones I've either never been on or very rarely. And this time was on a motorcycle. Everything is better on a motorcycle; the views, the smells, the temps, and in this case close up quality time with my boy. We had said our prayer before departing on our adventure, and I must say, God did keep us safe throughout. With all those miles we did not have a single close call with another vehicle. The closest I came to having a problem was on the gravel/dirt at the Williams KOA. The deer made us nervous, but none of them were close enough to cause serious braking. And our butts, although they are certified "iron" now (or will be when we get the papers), made it with no problems either. Each day I know mine would start feeling it sooner than the day before, but after a little rest it was fine again. Matthew went in the house as soon as we got home to continue texting and calling friends. Yes, he did a lot of texting on the back of the bike. I unloaded the bike and got those arm rests off. The bike was filthy dirty and tons of bugs in front, but it performed great the entire time. I took a shower and made a few phone calls myself. It's summer time, so both my daughters were out with friends and I didn't even see them til the next day. I have a new love interest that I really had wanted to share that porch swing with, so I hopped right back on the bike to go enjoy a little reunion with her before coming back home to enjoy sleeping in my own bed again. I asked Matthew if he wanted to do one again, and he was all for it. Because of the business I'm in, I don't get a lot of time off in the summer, so those four days were probably my summer vacation. It was a great summer vacation!

Day 3 This was our shortest travelling day, but with planned stops and one unplanned 2-hour stop, it was still a long day. From Cortez, CO our next destination was Williams, Arizona with stops at Four Corners and the Grand Canyon. Just out of Cortez we stopped at an Indian Trading store that our camp host had recommended for good handmade Indian stuff. I picked up some jewelry for my daughters and girlfriend, and Matthew picked out a leather belt buckle and we got a whistle for my girlfriends young son. I had heard from lots of sources not to buy the stuff at Four Corners, and the advice was sound. A lot of mostly desert riding this day, but it was still enjoyable and not too terribly hot. We were on US-160 for quite a few miles, and I actually flew right past the Four Corners monument. Of course we turned around, paid our admittance fee and got our photos at the actuall spot where the four states meet. We did buy a couple t-shirts too. It was worth the stop. Our unplanned stop occurred in the middle nowhere between Keyenta, AZ and Tuba City, AZ. A long stretch of mostly straight with some rolling hills road where it was easy to clip along at 85 mph and then some. Out of nowhere, we had stopped traffic ahead of us. We were the third vehicle westbound to come across a horrible accident that must have happened about 5 minutes before we got there. A Tahoe towing a 28' toy hauler trailer had been caught in a gust of wind, lost control and completely flipped over. The female driver was ejected out of the Tahoe and was lying in the middle of the two-lane road. Her and her three 8-year old and younger children were all not wearing seatbelts. Amazingly, the mom was the most hurt and it was not life threatening. As I walked by at one time she was in obvious pain, but she was talking coherently. The worst injury of the kids was a huge bump on the head of a young boy. They were lucky. It took 30 minutes for the first emergency vehicle to show up, and then another 10 or so for the paramedics and ambulances. They eventually made the decision to air lift the mom out, so we waited for the helocopter to arrive and transport her. A lot of vehicles were able to get around by driving off road, but some of the sedans were getting stuck in the not so hard sand. There was no way I was taking that 900+ lb bike in that stuff. So we waited .... two hours. Despite obviously being sobered by the accident, I had to really speed to still make the Grand Canyon before dark. I think it was about 5:00pm when we arrived at the gate. The ranger was good to us and ended up charging us only $12.00 for entry which I appreciated. We entered at the south entrance and hit all the scenic areas between there and the Village. At the first stop Matthew was walking slightly behind me, and I heard him say, "Cecilia?". Here we are at the Grand Canyon and he runs into an old friend/neighbor he hadn't seen in three years. What a small world. We also kept coming across people we had met at the accident scene. We were able to see plenty enough of the absolutely amazing Grand Canyon including watching the sunset there. I had been there a few years back when I was 14-years old or so, but this was Matthew's first time. He was awed. We did our tourist shopping in the village and then headed the little more than an hour to the KOA in Williams. I took it slow for awhile because we had a deer cross our path again, but then I got behind some faster moving cars and sped up a bit. Yes, I know the deer can come out behind cars in front also, but I felt better just being able to see more with the cars headlights. We reached the Williams KOA at about 10:00 pm after a 367 mile day and I had fun manuvering the bike over all that gravel and stone. This cabin included a porch swing, and crazy as it sounds, Matthew and I both got a big kick out of that. After getting settled I took a short ride to old town Williams to gas up, and get something to eat and another tall beer to enjoy on my porch swing. Old town was on a part of Route 66, so I can say I did that too. I sat on my porch swing and enjoyed the star-filled sky I don't get to see much of in Southern California before getting to bed. Another great day of motorcycling.....

Day 2 We had a bit of a late start Tuesday morning and didn't hit the road til almost 11:00 am. Went about 60 miles south on the I25 to Colorado Springs and that was the last of the superslabs for the next two days. About 10 miles out of Colorado Springs we came to a stand still. It was so frustrating being from California where lane sharing is allowed, but not being able to do it then. There was so much room between those lanes, but I stayed where I was supposed to. Just trust me, lane splitting/sharing should be legal in all 50 states, it makes such a difference. We headed west on US-24 out of Colorado Springs and that is when the real riding enjoyment began. We had views of Pikes Peak for quite awhile, including as the backdrop for the nicest WalMart I've ever shopped at in Woodland Park, CO. (I needed some more duct tape.) There were storm clouds all around us for most of the day, but we only had a little actual rain. We took US-24 to US-285 and ended up in Poncha Springs a couple hours later. All day the roads were motorcycle heaven. Even some of the straightaways were amazing just for the views of the snow covered mountains in the distance. We came across a long flat plain where we had deer on the side of the road for about 50 miles. Something I'm not as used to coming from Southern California, but it seemed they were content to stay in the fields. Matthew got a kick out of every one we saw. He was my navigator helper, record keeper and on-road photographer for the trip. We had a nice stop for lunch and gas in Gunnison, CO where we also spent some time talking to other riders from all over. I found Gunnison to be a patriotic town, so that alone won me over. Coming into Poncha Springs the roads became more twisty, and it was interesting to see signs posted specifically for motorcycles to take caution. I can only imagine there have been more than a few incidents that riders have perhaps not fared so well on some of those curves. From Poncha Springs we headed west on US-50 towards Montrose. We went past Black Canyon quicker than I wished we had to, but the views we had of it intrigued me enough to want to come back and spend more time exploring. At Montrose we headed south on US-550 and then southwest on US-62 to Placerville. Nice looking little towns and the scenery continued to keep us enjoying our adventure as you can only do on a motorcycle. Probably the best road of the day was our last stretch, US-160/CO-789 from Placerville to Cortez. I think we may have come across two or three vehicles travelling our direction, and very few coming the other way. Mountain forests and a stream for about 60 miles or so. It was around here we were in the Telluride, CO area, and it was beautiful. The sun set on us a couple hours before we reached the KOA in Cortez, and that made for some interesting riding. We came across deer right next to the roadway quite a few times, and twice had one cross in front of us. Not terribly close, but enough to cause me to keep the speed to no more than 40 mph. I was tense and remember thinking I'll take splitting lanes in the LA area any day over worrying about hitting a deer on a dark mountain road in Colorado. We finally reached our destination, a KOA in Cortez at about 9:00 pm. I stopped just before we got there to get some dinner for us and a tall bottle of beer for myself. We had one of the Kamping Kabins at the KOA, and that little cabin was so cool. Just a bunk bed and a double bed with a couple chairs, and heater and an overhead fan. It was a good days ride of 464 miles, and we really enjoyed our cozy little cabin for the night....