I am a leaf on the wind!

Message
Author
User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#61 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 135 : Sunday September 21, 2014 : Miles 11337

On Saturday, I drove Mrs. Hanson around town but one stop was at the Craft and Growler in the Fair park area of Dallas. http://www.craftandgrowler.com/ The Craft and Growler has over 40 craft beers on tap including a number of bears from Peticolas, which is a craft brewery in the Dallas area. I filled four one liter growlers with Penticolas Velvet Hammer which is a somewhat hoppy imperial red ail (IRA) with a 9% alcohol content. http://peticolasbrewing.com/beers.php

I sit watching the Cowboys v. Rams, not that the Cowboys have been worth watching for years, and I have enjoyed a liter of Velvet Hammer. I am a bit tips which demonstrates quite clearly just how much of a wimp I am. I keep a number of mugs in the freezer, and a liter will give me about three good mugs of beer.

If any connoisseur of craft been are ever in Dallas, I would recommend trying a glass or two of Velvet Hammer.

Just remember to maintain 12 hours bottle to throttle.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

User avatar
jstark47
Site Supporter - Silver
Site Supporter - Silver
Posts: 3538
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:58 pm
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 16
My Motorcycle: '12 Tiger 800, '03 Trophy 1200
Location: Lumberton, NJ

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#62 Unread post by jstark47 »

If I drank a litre of 9%, I'd be SO hammered...... :shock:

Enjoying an Oktoberfest Marzen at the moment (Hacker-Pschorr), and savoring the Iggles messy, ugly, and see-saw win over the Skins. (Messy & ugly are normal for Philly....it's what we do here. :mrgreen: )


Hanson wrote:I was out for a bit of a ride this morning and on the way home I had a small SUV change lanes on top of me from the right. I was in his blind spot, but I simply moved to the left a bit, taped the horn, and he truncated his lane change and went back to his own lane. This is the first time this has happened to me in traffic, and I am sure it will not be the last. I knew that I had space to my left and I used it. I think it important to always think about where you can go, and I don't like it at all when I am in those situations where there are few good options is someone is not paying attention and just changes lanes without looking to see if there is space to do so.
Unfortunately, a pretty normal occurrence in my commutes to work on I-295 in central NJ. With experience, one starts to learn that many drivers "telegraph" these lane changes. It's very subtle, but something in the way they're positioning and operating their vehicle tips me off that they're about to change lanes. By the way, (apologies if you already know this), the area alongside another car on a freeway is called the "kill zone" for motorcycles. Minimize the amount of time you spend there. If you're going to pass another vehicle, do it quickly. If another vehicle positions themselves alongside you, speed up or slow down to take yourself out of that zone.
2003 Triumph Trophy 1200
2009 BMW F650GS (wife's)
2012 Triumph Tiger 800
2018 Yamaha XT250 (wife's)
2013 Kawasaki KLX250S

User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#63 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 140 : Friday September 26, 2014 : Miles 11337

Not one mile in 5 days. I have been home sick with bronchitis and I have been coughing up such a volume of gunk that my ribs hurt. I miss bike even if only for riding back and forth to work.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

User avatar
sv-wolf
Site Supporter - Platinum
Site Supporter - Platinum
Posts: 2278
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:06 am
Real Name: Richard
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 12
My Motorcycle: Honda Fireblade, 2004: Suzuki DR650, 201
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#64 Unread post by sv-wolf »

Hanson wrote:Day 140 : Friday September 26, 2014 : Miles 11337

Not one mile in 5 days. I have been home sick with bronchitis and I have been coughing up such a volume of gunk that my ribs hurt. I miss bike even if only for riding back and forth to work.

Safe Travels,
Richard
Bad luck, mate. I hate the soreness that goes with bronchitis. One of the downsides to getting addicted to bikes, I've found, is the withdrawal symptoms, which can strike even when you're feeling rough. :-)

Take care, and get well soon.
Hud

“Man has no right to kill his brother. It is no excuse that he does so in uniform: he only adds the infamy of servitude to the crime of murder.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley

SV-Wolf's Bike Blog

User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#65 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 140 : Friday September 26, 2014 : Miles 11337

Thanks Hud,

I am actually feeling quite a bit better this evening. I did, however, spend a chunk of money on motorcycle equipment which is strong medicine.

I ordered a Pro Motion bead breaker which also serves as an additional pair of tire irons, some more rim protectors, winter gloves from Klim, and electric gear from Warm and Safe including an electric heated jacket, electric glove liners, and a heat controller that allows me to adjust the heat of the jacket and glove liners independently. Hopefully everything will fit well and I will be able to take long rides this winter.

I love camping when the night temperatures get down into the fifties and cooler and want to be able to take long rides at sustained super slap speeds in temperatures down to freezing. Once it gets below 20 or so... I am not as big a fan. An ideal night is spent with a clear sky with a nice fresh breeze at about 40. It is just cool enough so that I can snuggle up in my down quilt tucked inside my bivy with nothing else between me and the stars. Down the road I am going to get some panniers. I am so looking forward to having enough storage on my bike to do some moto camping and, in Texas, three season camping starts in the Fall and extend into the Spring.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#66 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 149 : Sunday October 5, 2014 : Miles 12906

I am rider #250 in this years Tour of Honor. The ToH runs from April 1, to October 31 each year and it was time to get out and visit some ToH memorial sites before I ran out of time. I viewed this as an opportunity to work on rally skills so I planned a long, hard, complicated ride that was to cover about 1350 miles in 22 hours.

The weather was going to be cool so I bought some winter gloves from Klim and electrically heated gear from Warm and Safe. On Friday, after work, I prepped the bike for the ride and installed the pig tail for my new electric jacket and glove lines. After this, I packed my bike with supplies, tools, emergency fuel and such.

I woke Saturday morning at 3:18, just 2 minutes before my alarm was set to wake me. This happens a lot and I just turn off the alarm so that it does not wake Susi. It only took a few minutes to take care of a bio break and to get dressed as everything was ready to go. I was out the door and on the way. Once I got out of the Dallas area, the temperature dropped to a low of 48. This is not terrible cold, but it is the coldest temperature I have experienced on my motorcycle to date. I had ridden a bit in snow back in the early eighties, but I was a kid and it was not for an extended period of time at highway speeds. I was using the new gloves and the electric jacket, but not the electric glove liners. I was quite comfortable. The Klim gloves are quite worm, but I do not like how bulked they are and they are still stiff as they are new. The jacket was very effective and adjustable over a wide range of temperatures. Later in the day the temperature reach 93 and the warm gear went into my tail bag and out came the gloves I have been using since I bought the bike, but after the sun went down Saturday evening the temperature fell back into the sixties and I was glad to switch back.

My ride involved a large circular rout which I rode clockwise around Texas and I visited all 7 of the ToH memorial sights in Texas.

Image
>>>> SpotWalla map of 2014 ToH ride
Link to interactive SpotWalla map https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... ed758eaedd

The rules require you to take a picture of the sight with your bike, rally flag, and the memorial to demonstrate that you visited each site. In some locations, it is not possible to get your bike in the picture so you are then required to take two pictures, one with your flag at the memorial, and then another sowing your bike, flag, and the location in the background. My first stop was the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial in Canton Texas and it was still pitch dark. The task for this site requires a picture a concrete object in the center of the site, and then a second picture of your motorcycle with the location in the background The memorial site has a lot of large objects such as aircraft and even a Coast Guard boat, but they where not well lit and I could not get anything recognizable to show up in the background. Finally, in desperation, I pointed the headlights of my bike at an ugly sign for the memorials gift shop, turned on the brights, and grabbed a picture that I pray will be acceptable.

Image
>>>> Sign at the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial in Canton Texas


Image
>>>> Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial in Canton Texas


Image
>>>> Texas Ranger Hall of Fame - Waco Texas


Image
>>>> Houston Police Officer's Memorial - Houston Texas

When I arrived at the Houston Police Officer's Memorial, the parking area was complexly blocked off for an ongoing construction projects with heavy equipment and police cars. I rode past and looked for another way to get to the site, but in the end I rode back to the same area, drove boldly past some construction cones, and took a photo as fast as I could. Note how part of my flag is not visible. I hope this will be accepted by the ToH verification teem, but if not then I have learned a valuable lesson the hard way. So far, I have had significant problems with two of the memorial sights.


Image
>>>> Kerr County War Memorial - Kerrville Texas


Image
>>>> Military Murals of San Angelo


Image
>>>> Big Spring Texas Vietnam Memorial


Image
>>>> Lubbock Area Veterans War Memorial

This photo of the of the Lubbock Area Veterans War Memorial was taken just after sundown and is my personal favorite. Even then, the image is not sharp, likely because of camera movement. I would like to get a better camera, a small tripod, and I need to learn how to take better pictures.

After this, I only had about 350 miles to ride home.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

blues2cruise
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10182
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 4:28 pm
Sex: Female
Years Riding: 16
My Motorcycle: 2000 Yamaha V-Star 1100
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#67 Unread post by blues2cruise »

You ride a great deal of miles in a short amount of time....Have you heard of Iron Butt? Look them up....you sure would be able to do one.
Image

User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#68 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 151 : Tuesday October 7, 2014 : Miles 12948

Ohhhh Blues,

I am IBA member #58276, but I don't like to advertise my significant character defects.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

blues2cruise
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10182
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 4:28 pm
Sex: Female
Years Riding: 16
My Motorcycle: 2000 Yamaha V-Star 1100
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#69 Unread post by blues2cruise »

:D
Image

User avatar
Hanson
Legendary 300
Legendary 300
Posts: 482
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:28 am
Real Name: Richard Hanson
Sex: Male
Years Riding: 3
My Motorcycle: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Location: Garland, Texas

Re: I am a leaf on the wind!

#70 Unread post by Hanson »

Day 166 : Wednesday October 22, 2014 : Miles 13108

I have not ridden much in the last two weeks, just back and forth to work, and last weekend I was backpacking with the Scouts. I truly enjoy backpacking, and I like kids, but I must admit that I also like peace and quite which is not exactly the experience one would rational expect when backpacking with a group of Scouts. I am always amazed at just how inconsiderate they can be while camping, but then it is part of my job to make them aware of their impact on other people who are trying to enjoy a few nights under the stars.

John, my oldest son at 16, was on this trip, and he spent a lot of his time just shaking his head in disbelief at how oblivious the other Scouts where to their own lack of basic skills.

It has also become obvious that John is going to need a new pack as he has outgrown the Osprey that he has been using for years and he will need a larger volume pack for an upcoming trip to Philmont next summer. John is now 6'3" tall and weighs only 130lb and when we wrap a measuring tape around his hips we end up with the impressively small number of 26". We are going to REI to try and find a pack that will fit, but it is likely that we will only find that nothing will fit. In the end, I think we will end up having a custom pack built from him by Dan McHale, if he has not retired as of yet, and if he want's to undertake the challenge of building a pack for John's rather extreme body type.

On Sunday I am going for a ride to attempt to get some good photographs of my bug spattered motorcycle. The plan is to ride down to Big Bend National Park and then make my way west to Presidio. I have promised myself that I will stop for at least 10 minutes to take photographs instead of just riding the entire time. I am going to put a note reminding me to do so in the map window of my tank bag, "Stop You Fool", as most of the time I just get wrapped up in the ride and forget to stop.

After a weekend with a swarm of Scouts, I need some time in the wind to reflect and restore.

Safe Travels,
Richard
ImageImage

Post Reply