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I want to preface this with a disclaimer... I'm not anti-helmet, I am pro-freedom. The government really should stay out of our private lives... nearly every state in the US has an ABATE. Please consider joining them. From ABATE of Arizona's Masterlink newsletter: ====================== Editor’s Note: Well folks, you had to know that it was gonna happen. The safety nanny bureaucrats are once again leaning toward a national helmet mandate and this is just the beginning. First they tried to do it through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), but we pointed out that they were basing their findings on studies on a mere SIX motorcycle accidents. They are, without a doubt, the experts when it comes to most air and ground transportation - but their ignorance was showing when it came to motorcycles. Since that end-around run failed, the CDC picked up the ball and has been running full speed toward the end zone. But, like nearly government agency that you could name, they stepped on their shoestrings while performing an early celebration before crossing the line. GW Peterson with ABATE of Virginia was searching for a breakdown of which part of the body was injured during motorcycle fatalities (percentage of head trauma vs. chest trauma vs. abdomen etc.) He could not find anything so he contacted our friends at the CDC. Below is the response from the Director of the Office of Statistics and Programming. I do not have to point out to this esteemed body the obvious question for which the response calls. Please read the response below: Hi Mr. Peterson, Thanks for your inquiry. We do not have Motorcyclist injury deaths tabulated by body region/part. With deaths, there are usually multiple injuries and the primary body part affected is often difficult to determine. You might search the literature to see if anything is published by body region for motorcyclist deaths. I did a search using http://www.safetylit.org/ but did not see any articles surface on motorcyclist deaths by body part affected. There are public use multiple-cause-of-death files that are available upon request if you wanted to analyze those data. If you are interested in requesting those files, let me know and I will put you in contact with one of my colleagues at the National Center for Health Statistics. I am also checking one other resource to see if she knows of any published articles on this topic. I will let you know what I find out. Sorry that I couldn't be of more help. J. Lee Annest, Ph.D., M.S. Director, Office of Statistics and Programming National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS - F64 Atlanta, GA 30341 Editor’s Note: So, while the CDC is now the federal government’s self-appointed expert, they can not answer the simplest of questions, on which their studies should have been based. We have seen this before and will continue to see it in the future. They are banking on an old adage that - if you tell a lie enough times, the public will soon begin to believe it as truth. As you well know, the CDC is not the first government agency to pull such a dirty trick. We have seen that from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for years. The quote from the NHTSA statistician, Umesh Shankar, was "yes, the numbers are inaccurate, but they are consistently inaccurate", or something very close to that. They admit that their data is flawed but they continue to preach it as gospel. Believe it folks, there is a big push for a federal helmet mandate coming our way as sure as the monsoon rains in Arizona. Membership in ABATE of Arizona is soon going to be a necessity if we are to have half of a chance in defeating such a mandate in Arizona. I urge all of our members to make the effort to recruit as many new members as possible in the coming months - like your freedom depended on it - BECAUSE IT DOES.

in Alabama in national sweep http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/07/alabama_devils_diciple_motorcy.html#incart_river_default

Hey guys! Just got back from a 7,200+ mile, 21 state road trip including 6 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, Route 66 and all the awesome scenery you could possible pack into 18 days. I rode with two friends, both of them on trikes (a HondaVTX and a Spyder) and of course I was on my trusty '06 Midnight Venture. This Venture is fairly new to me, I bought it in October of 2011 with just 4000 miles on it. I sold my last Venture, an '03 I also bought used, after putting about 40,000 miles on it in myself in 2 1/2 years. It had about 27,000 on it when I got it. Why would I sell a Venture with less than 70,000 miles on the clock? All I can say is I like the black one better. Anyway, thought you guys might want to hear about the trip. This may get a little long winded, so I'll try to make the less interesting areas as brief as possible. We left from just north of Orlando, Fl on June 20th and made it through stifling heat to Mobile, Al the first day. The next day we continued west down I-10 through Mississippi and Louisiana, across bayou country, and up I-49 to Texarkana, Arkansas. We then rode on secondary roads to Arkansas' legendary "Pig Trail", SR 23, sort of the "Tail of the Dragon" of this neck of the woods. After an awesome ride through the twisties of this famed motorcycle road we bought the obligatory patches, picked up I-40 and were off again for El Reno City, OK. The next few days we would be in Route 66 country, as I-40 parallels the old Rte 66, and you can see the old road often from the Interstate. It was about this time that the heat really heated up for this Florida Boy! I thought I knew what heat was, but for the next 5 days or so we suffered through daytime highs of at least 106, with many days up to 110! Also about the time we were leaving El Reno I had the first of my mechanical issues which haunted me for the next few days, starting with a screw I found in my brand new Avon Venom @@@??!!!""??!## Tire! And another separate issue that found me limping into the Yamaha dealer in Amarillo with only 2nd gear! I'll be happy to get into that later if anyone has questions, but suffice it to say that after a few stressful episodes, the "Midnight Rider" did just fine, and we stayed right on schedule. Although by the time we rolled into Albequerque, NM that night it was 11 pm! We left from El Reno that morning at 5 am. Thank God for patient friends! (and answered prayers!) Speaking of Amarillo, and western Oklahome, and New Mexico, and Arizona, the heat was ungodly and the WIND!!! Let me just say this was my third time across the great plains on a bike and it was windier than I have ever experienced. At times a gust would hit and literally push us all 2 feet sideways! So hot and windy that only truly hardcore (and 1/2 crazed bikers) would have put up with it! We got a leisurely start out of Albequerque the next morning and started the day with somewhat cooler temperatures, at least until about 10 am. This was classic Route 66 country, with just about every little town between central Oklahoma and Flagstaff advertising it's own restored section of the Mother Road. We also apparently barely survived an encounter with a pack of gigantic Indians in Gallup, NM just off Rte 66. Although we never saw them, when we came out of the truck stop it was obvious we had just missed great bodily harm and near lethal bike damage! [ATTACH]69408[/ATTACH] So after counting our lucky stars and saying our prayers it was back on I-40 west. By this time the cooler temperatures abandoned us and we rode for hours through shimmering heat that made me feel like Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter". It was at this time that we came to our first National Park of the trip, Painted Desert/Petrified Forest. It was a very interesting place, but after a couple hours of brain smelting 110 degree heat, riding around on the loop road and taking a few pics, (I had one here but I went over my quota, I think) we were off to ride through more heat. Honestly by now it was so hot that at each stop we would literally douse ourselves with water until we were soaking wet, then hop on the bikes and ride for a few minutes, and actually cool off to just below the boiling point of lead, then within minutes we would be bone dry again, feeling hotter than the surface of the sun, the whole time sitting on 1300 cc of throbbing V-4 power all the while churning out more heat. Oh well, that's part of it as we all like to say! A few hours more heat to the west and we came to Flagstaff where we headed north on US 89 towards our destination for the night, Cameron, Az, gateway to Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon. We stayed at Cameron Lodge, a really cool historic trading post on the Little Colorado River Gorge. The gorge is still there, the river dried up months ago. Kinda goes with the territory I guess. There's also a very nice reasonable restaurant at Cameron Lodge, which is good, because it looks like everything else in the area closed up long ago. Next morning we were up early and on the bikes at 5:30 am for a 2 hour run up to Page and Glen Canyon Dam, where we would be taking a 1/2 day raft trip on the Colorado River. Glen Canyon is actually the beginning of the Grand Canyon, but the shortest raft trip you can take in the Grand Canyon itself is 1 full week. That's because the canyon is so deep and remote that there is no access point to get in or out before that! Our trip down the Colorado River was very cool and refreshing as the river temperature is about 46 degress and of course, we were floating on it. The scenery was beautiful, and we saw bighorn sheep and several wild horses. Once the raft trip was over it was back on the bikes for the ride back to Cameron Lodge and a good night's sleep. Next morning we were up early again and off at 5:30 am for the ride to Grand Canyon National Park. We got to the park gates at about 6:30 and had the park virtually to ourselves as we rode along the East Rim Road, stopping at the overlooks, gawking at the incredible scenery, and of course taking some awesome pics. [ATTACH]69409[/ATTACH] If you go, get there early. Not only is the best light for photography then but by the time we got to the park Visitor Center at 9:30 it was like Disney World on July 4th and it was also starting to get too hazy for good photos. As much fun as the Grand Canyon was, we still had a lot of miles to make and another National Park to see that day, Zion National Park! So it was back down the East Rim Road to US 89 north, into Utah, past Lake Powell and across southern Utah. As usual in the west, the scenery was awesome and of course it was hot and we had vicious crosswinds. A few hours later we were turning onto Utah SR 9, the road through Zion National Park. Zion is the ultimate drive-through National Park, combining unbelievable scenery and awesome twisties, all going through an incredibly scenic, compact canyon. As beautiful as it was, I don't think we got off the bikes once. (Except to take this picture.) [ATTACH]69410[/ATTACH] We had the feeling we were seeing everything from the road. Of course this isn't true. There are awesome backcountry hikes. But if all you can do is ride through, you won't feel at all cheated. Shortly after we were through Zion Canyon the road led us to I-15 North, and an hour later, our destination for the night, Cedar City, Utah. After a couple of adult beverages it was off to bed. We went to sleep exhausted but exhilarated after a day of unbelievable scenery and riding. After a good night's rest it was back on I-15 North in cooler temperatures! I-15 was awesome. Smooth road, light traffic, 80 mph speed limit...Yes, I said 80 mph! We rolled up Utah in no time flat, before we knew it we were in Salt Lake City. We spent a couple interesting hours at Antelope Island State Park on Great Salt Lake. Then back on I-15 North flying through potato country up to our destination in Idaho Falls. The cooler temperatures continued. For once we didn't care if the hotel had a pool! We were really getting excited...Yellowstone was right around the corner. Next morning we had a hearty breakfast at a local cafe, our first in a long time. Then we were off down US 26, following the Snake River through tight canyons, beautiful forests, and with an occasional glimpse of snow covered mountains in the distance. Within a couple hours we were catching our first glimpse of the Tetons while making our way through touristy Jackson, Wyoming. Then before you knew it, there they were, in all their glory, the Grand Tetons. The Tetons are in my opinion, the most beautiful mountain range in the lower 48 and I've seen them all. (I'll let you know about Alaska when we ride up there in a couple of years). Until then, you can't beat the Tetons. After a few hours snapping pictures like this one [ATTACH]69413[/ATTACH] and riding through the most beautiful country this side of heaven, we were through the Tetons and into the big grandaddy of them all-Yellowstone National Park. To me Yellowstone is subtle. The scenery doesn't hit you over the head like most of the other parks. Although it is beautiful everywhere you look. And jaw-dropping gorgeous in plenty of places. But to me the beauty of Yellowstone is in the details. The thousands of thermal features. Beautiful waterfalls everywhere. More big game in one place than you can imagine. Bison, bears, elk (including bucks with the most enormous racks you have ever seen) coyotes. You name it. We actually followed a coyote trotting down the road for a 1/4 mile before shooting up the side of the mountain and grabbing a marmot right in front of us! Then they both tumbled down the hill and shot across the road. The marmot jumped off the other side. He knew there was nothing there any worse than that coyote's jaws! The coyote just sat there looking with his fur standing up, [ATTACH]69406[/ATTACH] until we had to keep on going because of the cars behind us. Bison in fields everywhere you go. Some of them sizing up Ventures. No kidding! [ATTACH]69407[/ATTACH] We spent 4 nights in a little cottage in Gardiner, Montana so we had 3 1/2 days in Yellowstone. we saw Old Faithful, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs, all of the "major attractions", did a little hiking, saw more game than you can shake a stick at, and still only scratched the surface. The next morning it was time to start turning our bikes towards home. We left Yellowstone and went north through Billings, Montana where we picked up I-90. We continued through Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument-Custer's Last Stand. Spent a coupleof hours there and it wasn't nearly enough. Definitely hallowed ground, for all concerned. Plenty of good men died there, on both sides. We continued on down I-90 into Wyoming where we picked up I-25 South and followed it all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming. About 250 miles from Cheyenne we ran into smoke from the Colorado wildfires. By 4 pm it looked like twilight, but sunset was for 4 1/2 hours. By the time we got to Cheyenne we'd done almost 700 miles. Next morning I changed my oil and filter in an Advance Discount Auto Parts parking lot. They took my old oil. I ran a little over that time. Not too many opportunities to change it where we had been. My friends got their oil changed at a dealer and by the time they were done it was almost 1 pm. So we hit the road. We had one more National Park to see. Rocky Mountain National Park in Northern Co has always been one of my favorite parks. Went over Trail Ridge Road, 12,183 feet, for the first time in 1978 as a kid on a bicycle. I have better sense now. My wife would probably contest that. My friends wanted to go over the pass, down to the bottm and then come back on the same day to make the trip home a little easier. Having been there twice before I knew better. I suggested we make reservations on the other side at Grand Lake. Once we got into the park they couldn't believe it. They couldn't get over how beautiful it all was. It took us almost 4 hours to get to the top of the pass. Taking pictures, me with John Denver playing the whole time. You can laugh all you want. I like John Denver. [ATTACH]69411[/ATTACH] We started back the next day. We knew we'd be into the heat again soon and almost dreaded it. At the top of Fall River Pass it was about 40 degrees. 3 hours later in eastern Colorado it had hit 108 degrees. I won't bore you with all the details of the trip back to Florida. 3 1/2 days later we were home. It was a great ride too, as they almost all are. It was stinking hot, only with humidity thrown in to make it interesting. At least my nose didn't bleed inside from the dry air. It was one of my best motorcycle trips ever. Most would call it the trip of a lifetime. I know better. I've got plenty more of 'em planned. I only have one regret about this trip. My wife has disc trouble in her neck and back. She had a bad flare up a few days before the trip and so I had to leave my favorite riding partner behind. The Venture sure felt empty without her. Ride Safe, 1/2 crazed

I recently saw a link to search Craigs List on one of these threads but can not find it. I thought I bookmarked it but obviously didn't do that either. Could someone please post the link for that national search ? Thanks.

I'm beginning to plan this summers big trip and we are considering a ride from Central Ky to Banff National Park and Lake Louise. I think I wold like to go north to MN and then NW through ND and cross into Canada at Portal. From there follow hwy 39 to the Trans Canada Highway and then go west to Calgary. From the maps some of that are looks to be sparsley populated. Can anyone give me info on the route. Are there adequate fuel stops and lodging along the route? Are the highways in good shape? After visiting the Banff area we would probably drop back south and go through Glacier National park again and then on south to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole before turning back east. Just starting to think about the trip and direction. Thanks, Dennis

Do you cringe when you hear some artist sing their rendition of the National Anthem, they try to give it their personal touch, but to me they mutilate our treasured Anthem. I wish everyone could just come close to singing it with pride and dignity like these young men do..........Thanks to Ken Derrett for sending this to me. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7_wV3Mmsf4&feature=player_embedded]SNC Webisode 5 :Recording The National Anthem - YouTube[/ame]

‎14,000 acres burning in/around Austin, zero percent contained. Lost 300 homes with 100 more in imminent damger. All fire personell within 200 miles to report. National guard has been activated. I can smell smoke in the air and see the glow in the sky from my front yard. Worried - hell yes!

Yes today is National Ice Cream Day and with this group it's a major holiday. Check your local ice cream places most will have some sort of special today. I think Carvel is giving out a ice cream cup for kids free with an adult purchase, cold stone creamery also has something can't remember what. But get out and celebrate folks!!!! It's your VR.org duty to eat some ice cream today. Margaret

than sorry. Just in case anyone going to Cody in a couple of weeks but has been trapped under a rock for the past few days or does not listen to the national news. http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?ps=1011&rip_id=%3CD9OAG2D00%40news.ap.org%3E&news_id=17094067&src=most_popular_viewed Just stay alert while in Yellowstone.....

Cant' believe there were no posts about the National Anthem last night. That chick left out a whole verse. Sad state when we are so tuned out we don't even hear it.

I Haven't seen any other comments on this, but the late night talk shows wore out Christina and her version of the National Anthem. Jay's take and modified version was hilarious. I also checked some other shows and they also went off on her. RandyA

This little girl should be singing the National Anthem at every ball game in the country! She is amazing! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3o2mpKF7M]YouTube - Star.wmv[/ame]

Below is my wife's description of our ride to AZ and back last month. ARIZONA IN JUNE? It was June 14th, early afternoon, when we left for our big motorcycle trip south to Phoenix. We had planned this trip for weeks; even a few months. The forecast was for a few sprinkles, the temperature was in the mid 60’s and Mike took the dog to the neighbors for her stay. He had mapped the routes going and coming, reviewed them, re-routed them, changed them and finally I printed ‘em! I had made the remark that he couldn’t get us down there and back without a map…(There are few destinations where he needs a map). Then I regretted it, and printed out the maps, anyway. The trunk on the bike was full, side bags were stuffed and I had tied an additional nylon bag above the right side saddle bag. I had rain gear on, since it was in the low 60’s and had drizzled. On top of that, I strapped on my fannie bag and another bag went over my head across my chest holding maps, binoculars, mp3 player and a camera. Behind the windshield, my tour guide and husband wore his NRA leather jacket. Off we went to Arizona! In no time at all we were in Wheatland, where we bunked for the night with dear friends Connie and Clyde. We always have a great visit with them and talked until late-thirty. After coffee the next morning, we made our way to Laramie and then into Colorado. The Black Canyon was an unbelievable sight, looking down thousands of feet from the edge of the highway! It is in the Curecanti National Recreational Area in SW Colorado. The rocky slopes are really black and give this canyon an eerie look. Fortunately there was little traffic and we were almost alone looking over the edge at the viewing area. We stayed in Montrose, CO. in a nice hotel for under $100. The lady at the desk gave Mike directions to a great Mexican restaurant and we called it a night! On Wednesday morning, we headed south on #550 toward Ouray, CO. Some sign said to beware of bicyclists… As we drove through Ouray, we didn’t seem to be drawn to anything resembling a breakfast place, so continued on over Red Mountain Pass. Above Ouray looking down, this little town resembled a European village tucked into a mountain crevasse. And then there were bicycles….! For over seventy miles, on very steep, twisty black-top, there were literally thousands of Kool-Aid drinkin’ bicyclists!! They wanted the whole highway, too! There were cops on motorcycles trying to ride herd on ‘em; trying to keep ‘em in single file to the right of the traffic. It wasn’t workin’!!! It was bicycle day for thousands of these plastic headgear-wearin’, bike shop fashion-wearin;, one track minds sitting on a little bit of a butt seat; paying no attention to the string of campers, pickups pullin’ trailers, and mad tourists behind them on a 10% grade downhill!!! They’ve got to be some brave cuss’s because they’d be a tangled up mess of plastic and shiny spokes, if one of them brake-burnin’ motor homes would have lost their grip comin’ off the mountain!! We were wishin’ we had a cattle prod… We’d have given ‘em a thrill they weren’t expecting on bike day over Red Mt. Pass! After playin’ Mario Brothers with bicyclers, we finally made it to Silverton, CO. and they had breakfast, too! This little town is rich in mining history and old architecture on Main Street still reflects the old west Spanish influence. A little café with a sign that said “home-style cooking” caught our eye and we had a really good late breakfast, while we relaxed the nerves a bit, as well as our butts! When we finished breakfast and visiting with folks from Iowa sitting near our table, we suited up and rode through the San Juan National Forest toward Durango. We got off the highway before Cortez and into Mesa Verde. Cliff dwellers lived in the sides of these sandstone cliffs less than a hundred years A.D. and their homes were still intact for a glimpse into the lives of these natives who lived in a cruel, hot desert. From there, we drove through Cortez and south into the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. Then, as we drove into the Navajo Indian Reservation, a sand storm blew in with 40-50 mph. winds blowing sand across the highway. The sand accumulated on the side of the highway like a snow drift! At times it was hard to see the vehicles ahead of us. Gallup, New Mexico was a welcome sight and we found a really nice hotel with a Cracker Barrel restaurant within walking distance! With the temperatures rising every day, we made our way south to Phoenix on Thursday. We entered Arizona and took a detour into the Petrified Forest National Park. It was just that; a detour. We both agreed it was a bit overrated, since we saw nothing but petrified logs lying here and there as we drove through the park. We’ve got petrified wood laying in our yard in WY! If we were rock-lickers (geologists), I’m sure the experience would have been worth the boring, hot drive. From Holbrook to Payson, AZ., the temps were still tolerable in the low 90’s, but after we stopped for gas in Payson, we kissed our 90’s goodbye! As we expected, it heated up and by the time we made the winding road, going down in elevation, it got hot! By the time we saw the Phoenix city limits about 2 and a half hours later, our thermometer said 104 and 107! As we hurried through busy four lane traffic, I made it a point to look around and noticed no other motorcycle riders were riding. We hadn’t seen any for a couple of hours! Guess it IS hot, if the locals aren’t riding! Bet there were a few comments about this bike with Wyoming plates driving in Phoenix traffic at 107 degrees! With a phone call, we found Mike’s son’s house. Pat and Jen were a welcome sight and their air conditioner felt good, too! It was moving time the last we saw them; we had helped them move from Colorado to their home in Phoenix. They were getting ready for a graduation supper that night and we hopped on once more for Mike’s cousin’s house. Julia and Randy were waiting for us and they made us feel at home in their large, comfortable Arizona house. Friday was graduation for Mike’s daughter-in-law. She graduated from Midwestern University’s Pharmacy school and the ceremony for these 150 doctors was impressive with the ceremony of robes and colors. After the ceremony, we joined Pat and Jen at their home for a reception with two other friends of Jennifer’s, who also graduated with her class. Saturday morning, Julia and I met Jen and her family at a “Farmers Market” in the park. Now, I’ve been to a “Farmers Market” before, but this one was top shelf! There wasn’t a vegetable there that wasn’t raised organic! Free range chicken and duck eggs, grass fed beef, organic fruit and vegetables galore and even some goat cheese! THIS goat cheese was really good and as my mind remembered how much room we DIDN’T have on the bike, I had to pass on buying goat cheese and other yummy temptations to take home, but I did get some to eat at Julia and Randy’s. Sunday morning Pat and Jen joined us for breakfast and Julia fixed up a great breakfast, including duck eggs from the Farmers Market, for all before we had to pack up the black beast on two wheels. It was over a hundred degrees, again, and we hurried the bike north after a great visit with family. Through Congress, Prescott and Jerome, AZ we rode and our plans were to avoid traffic and not go through the Grand Canyon. We were fueling in Flagstaff and as we watched the forest fire burn east of town, we asked various other travelers if they knew whether our highway north was closed. We sipped on bottled water and watched a couple of boys. They were working as a team at this gas station taking turns approaching customers. They showed those who cooperated the contents of their box of bargains. We saw potential buyers shake their heads, “No”… The boys didn’t get anything sold while we were there… One of them looked a lot like the Karate Kid in the movie. Nobody seemed to know about the closure of the highway, but as we left Flagstaff going east, we were stopped. The highway northeast was closed due to the forest fire and the fighters trying to get it under control. We had to backtrack and drove right through the Grand Canyon National Park! Mike had been there in the early 80’s, but I had never seen it. It’s depth and immensity is amazing!! We were there for the last few hours before sunset and the views were gorgeous! We ran out of daylight and had to drive through the Navajo Reservation to get to Page, AZ, where we found a room. It is near Glen Canyon National Recreational Area and a beautiful contrast of blue water and red rock cliffs make for an awesome view the next morning. On we went to Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument and the “Hoodoos” in Bryce Canyon National Park. Hoodoos are tall needles of rock formations. From Boulder to Torrey, Utah in the Dixie National Forest the scene was out of an elk hunting magazine!! I took pictures trying to capture the white bark on aspen trees in the foreground while catching the pines and canyons in the background. The temperature dropped to the low 60’s and the elevation rose to over 9000 feet for one of the most scenic highways we’ve ever seen!! There were barely any vehicles on this stretch of road and the twisty curves had “Mike” written all over them! Breathless views of aspen valleys and timbered peaks were sure to be home of big bull elk! More than once during our trip I thought of how difficult it would be for anyone to find us, if we went off one of the many curves on those mountain tops. Mike also made mention of it many times and I told him, “You watch the road and I’ll take the pictures!!”. I remembered the copy of our route I intentionally left on my computer desk at home… We pulled in at a Days Inn in Torrey right behind two other groups of bikes. Friendly riders exchanged conversation with us and invited us to join them for supper at the only eatin’ place open after 9:00 pm in town. We enjoyed visiting with these three couples from South Carolina. One was a retired banker, another; a retired HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) business and the other; current operator of the HVAC business. Since we ate outside, a game of horseshoes provided entertainment over and above the southern drawl of our new friends. Then it was of Glen Canyon, Natural Bridges and to Blanding, Canyonlands National Park and Moab, Utah. Since we had spent a little more time than planned being a tourist, we had to make Rifle, Colorado by bed time, and we did! Another nice, reasonably priced hotel; this time with a rib place within walking distance and we, with our tired butts, were happy! We stopped in Craig, CO the next day after a grueling, rough ride north of Rifle, although the scenery was gorgeous. It seems the rear shock on the bike was failing and with each bump, we had little or no shock absorbing function. I returned a couple of calls to find out a storm had gone through our area that left trees uprooted, roofs blown off and dumped 2-3” of rain. I called a neighbor to hear nothing extreme was noticed where we live. Mike made some phone calls to find out we had no other options, but to keep riding (he wanted to send me home in a car and was worried about my back). I folded my air cushion in half and thanking God, I had a much more comfortable ride as we pointed north. Before we cleared the Colorado border on highway 13 going into Wyoming, we met three semi trucks. The third one in line tried to pass the two trucks ahead of him and we were almost stopped and were driving slowly on the white line, before he cleared to get back in his lane… That was too close! Granted; motorcycles are hard to see, but he nearly made the mistake of his life; and ours… From Rawlins, we headed north through Muddy Gap, Casper and arrived at home in Wyoming by 7 PM! The storm had done little damage to our buildings, rain had been gone long enough for us to get the bike home on our gravel-less gravel road and we thanked God and were grateful for our very awesome and safe trip on the bike.

I have signed up with the Indiana Patriot Guide Riders. My questions are, how many of you belong to both the National and a State orginization? How many to just one of them, State or National? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to belonging to both or just one? If you belong to both do you fly/display the National Patriot Guide flag, decals, etc. or the State items? Or maybe some of both? Thanks in advance for your response(s).

Emailed National Cycle this morning to find out about the Vstream as I have a buddy that just brags his up all the time. Was bummed to find out that currently they are not working on a V Stream for the Venture. Earliest they said would be 4-6 months; here is hoping that it happens.

Well, National Ice Cream day is here and almost gone...Now I have to wait another year to celebrate....:bawling:I HAD MY SHARE, DID YOU? :fnd_(16):

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETrr-XHBjE]YouTube- US National Anthem by the Academy Choirs[/ame]

Going to the Sun Highway, Glacier National Park . You have to do this in late June through August or it might be closed. Incredible Mountain views with flowered valleys and pristine lakes and rivers. I have traveled all over the US and this is without a doubt the most beautiful road we have been on. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would put it at a 3 for challenge. It takes about a day of riding through it but I would spend at least two in the area to truly enjoy the scenery and roads.

As some or most of you know i proudly serve our country as a ohio national guardsman. im in my 16th year of service both active and national guard before i made mention of this i've known for a few months now but wanted to be sure I got my orders for the sandbox (again) this will be my last tour of duty before i can retire. thats the good news the bad news is my new relationship with the lady of my life will be tested beyond any test that should ever be asked of anyone she has never had any involvment with the military other than me and the weekend drill. im going to get her involved on this site and i hope you guys can help look after her as you have me for the short time i have been involved with this family. i wish i could share more with you on what my mission is but since there are security issues involved i cant . thanks for your time and ears to listen to me. Ron:325:

Anyone seen hand guards for the RSV 2nd Gen other than Hippo or National Cycle? I can't even imagine riding with Hippo for a safety factor to start with.. National Cycle don't seem to have a RSV option.. however I'd seen a 2nd Gen with guard but couldn't find the owner to ask where he got them.. they weren't curved like the NC but angular.. Looking for something to keep the hands a tad warmer..

Lewis I was real upset that you didn't make it to Skid's because we sure had a lot to talk about!!! LSU WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN BASEBALL!!!! No one there seemed interested. I'n not sure if they dont like baseball or if they don't like Tigers.

Next Wednesday, June 15, is national Ride to Work Day. This marks the 18th national Ride to Work Day. Ride to Work Day is a Minnesota-based non-profit organization whose mission statement is "advocating and supporting the use of motorcycles and scooters for transportation, and providing information about everyday utility riding to the public." We at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) support this group and encourage everyone to participate, at the same time wondering, shouldn't every day be ride to work day? Learn more at http://www.ridetowork.org/ OOOOPPS, I thought it was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that,etc... Later, Scooter Bob

In a week and a half, The wife (BOSS) and I are leaving Illinois......Stopping in Plattsburgh ,NY to visit some old Military friends. Then on to Maine to visit a buddy I havent seen since high school(20 + years)!!!after that.......north east coast...then a stop in D.C....then back home. Hopefully the weather will be good to us, and we will hopefully have NO problems on the road!!!pray for a safe journey for us!!!!! Thanks all. and hopefully we'll get some good pics up of the trip. Arcadia national park should be awesome!!!!

Drove by one of the Ng Units the other day and noticed a name change. It is now named the NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE!!! Has anyone else noticed in their city? tew47

This is my favorite national park I have been here twice before and I will be back again. If I could only go to one national park this would be it. This park is special to me because of the animals I like to see wildlife and there is no other place I have ever been that has the wildlife like yellowstone. There is something very exciting about riding a scooter through a heard of buffalo that I can't explain. we were going to stay for 3 days and wound up staying for 7 days wolfie still did not want to leave.