Motorcycles

Wow, the blogger.com interface sure has changed since the last time I posted! Well, to catch-up a few things: My job title is now ‘Software Architect’. This is avowed to be one of the most despised roles in all Software, since Developers resent architects’ unrealistic, out-of-date ideas, and managers resent anyone besides them directing their teams. Yay, me. I had a motorcycle residing at my house for ~1 week in late June. This was one of the worst episodes in my life, and rocked me to my very core. In a true case of ‘be careful what you wish for’, I lied and manipulated my way to take advantage of a tragic situation (my uncle’s motorcycle accident) to come by a bike that I didn’t really want. My inner King Baby came to the fore in many ways. I hurt everybody. The bike left a week later, and relations with my parents haven’t been the same since. Joey is now a Webelos II, the last stage of Cub Scouts before becoming a Boy Scout. We attended the district camp-out at the R.J.Corman property this past weekend and had a blast. Gracie is now walking, taking 27 steps unassisted yesterday. Maria is now in pre-school at the First Methodist Church in Georgetown 3 days a week. She’s loving it, and seems to be flourishing amid the social interaction and learning environment. Whitney and I are making the first halting steps toward selling our house and buying another. This is possibly the worst time to sell a house since WWII, but hey, when you get The Call, one needs to answer it. We already absorbed several huge maintenance issues with our disaster of a house by ignoring this leading. Whitney currently has car fever, and if you read this blog you know I *always* have car fever. Current target de lust is a Toyota Prius 5. Fifty one miles per gallon sounds pretty ideal for the day-to-day operations of Whitney and the kids, plus it would make my bi-weekly trips to Louisville cost 1/2 as much versus the Camry of Doom. Whitney believes the Camry of Doom has a terminal mold problem. I can’t smell any mold, which she says is part of the problem. Andy Rooney is retiring from 60 Minutes as of this weekend. This man has been doing weekly essay commentary my entire life (1978-present). Wow. My current daily car fix comes from www.thetruthaboutcars.com The site is everything I always wanted www.autoextremist.com to be, and has one awesome refugee from VWVortex, Jack Baruth. I ramble sometimes. My current work notebook is a 13" Macbook Air, with a 128GB SSD. This thing is pure sex, and I love it. I hit an all-time adult weight low of 190 lbs a few weeks ago, at which time people started asking me if I had cancer or something. I don’t–the tests came back negative. Basically, the meds I’m on increase your metabolism, particularly of protein. In short, my body’s been eating my muscles since March. Since my last doctor’s visit, I’ve been eating Cliff Bars and mainlining protein like an Atkins Addict, and my weight, muscles, and energy level seem stable. I’m involved in an addiction accountability group that strengthens me every week, and if this were an anonymous blog, I’d love to tell you all about it. If you’re interested in details, please email me. We got a new dishwasher at home. It’s the little things that make you smile. I think Google+ is a great idea, but it’s like a bar with no women–not that interesting. I’m a twitter fiend. Love it and the immediate access to some of the best minds in the world, particularly in tech. I no longer sleepwalk or wake up exhausted. Yay, modern chemistry! I no longer feel the need to disrupt, destroy, or be defensive all the time. Ibid. I still love my Motorola Atrix 4G, and think Android fits my mind better than iOS. My wife loves iOS. God has a sense of humor, what can I say?

Trying to journal a few things from the past weekend: My wife likes Ducatis and Triumphs. She thinks that a Nighthawk 250 and the Honda Rebel are ridiculously too small for me. In other news, I actually got Whitney to go to a motorcycle shop with me :-) I’m considering selling some of my Voigtlander R1 Rangefinder kit, particularly the 15mm Heliar f/4.5 and the 90mm f/3.5. I haven’t snapped any pictures with this camera in 2 years, and the 35mm and cannon 50mm f/1.2 are good enough. I keep waiting for the day when my kids go, “What’s that stuff you’re putting into that camera? ‘Film’…is that like a coating for light sensor? Where’s the 32GB memory card go in that thing? What do you mean it doesn’t use BATTERIES!?” I had chills and low-grade fever Saturday evening through Sunday morning, and still don’t feel 100% Currently reading Peter Egan’s excellent compillation Side Glances. It’s much the same old stuff–Peter buying old cars, stories of his childhood with his friend Pat Donnelly, long road trips hither and yon. It gets a bit repetitive, but so what? Part of me wants to be this guy when I grow-up, minus the Hepatitis C. Helped Whitney out with the 4 + 5-year old Sunday School class this week. Seven girls and one irrepressible boy, Noah. Saw an excellent free concert from the Central Kentucky Brass Trio at Christ the King Cathedral Sunday afternoon. Many thanks to Betsey Keating for watching Maria so Whitney and I could have some time together.

So, as anyone who’s followed my blog for a year or more knows, I got motorcycle fever last spring and summer. It all started innocently enough. I got a ride on my father in law’s scooter (hey, I had the helmet already thanks to autocross, right?) It was something of a disaster–maneuvering the 600cc scooter at low speed wasn’t *quite* as easy as I thought. Long boring story later, I had full-blown fever. I took the MSF course and REALLY learned how to ride, FINE-C, the whole deal. ...

Q: How do you know you’re nuts? A: When your insurance broker drags his feet getting a quote for you on motorcycle insurance, hoping you’ll come to your senses.

[Life] is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. (Macbeth V:5) I’m not buying a motorcycle. Those of you who had “He Comes to His Senses” and “Aug 4th” in the pool, congratulations.

Dude! Jeff Roberts - Aug 1, 2008 Dude!

This is not a rant. This is simply a question: Aside from Jeff, and my Mom & Dad, people hate the idea of me getting a motorcycle: “Do you know how stupid you’d look on a motorcycle. Poooooo-ser!” “You don’t strike me as the motorcycle type.” “You really ought to let this motorcycle thing slide.” “What does your WIFE think of all this?” “Harold, I really think a man should do what he wants, but I really hope you don’t get a motorcycle. We like you an awful lot.” ...

I was up at 7 at Dad’s house with one mission for the day–Bike shopping. So, Joey, Dad, and I piled into his 2008 GMC truck and headed for Gateway Cycles in Mt. Sterling. As I’d learned earlier in the week, Dealers just don’t give Test rides. Well, pish-tosh–Gateway DOES. Worked with Robert and he set me up with three very interesting cycles that I tooled around the parking lot for the better part of an hour. ...

Finally cowboy’d-up and headed to a dealership to sit on some bikes. Went with Joey to Bell’s Honda here in Georgetown, and it was a pretty decent experience. I didn’t have salesmen climbing all over me or pressuring me. I did find out that they do NOT give test-rides until they’re sure you’re capable of buying the bike, and in fact that if you wreck the bike on the test-ride, you’ve bought it automatically. ...

I don’t know of a really good used bike place in t… Jeff Roberts - Jul 4, 2008 I don’t know of a really good used bike place in town, either. Huntsville, AL was better for that - there were several good sources. Yeah, Jeff Kees pointed me at Recycles LLC in Danville. They seem to have a pretty good selection of old and new stuff. ...

Kawasaki Versys: Suzuki SV650: Like both of these because they’re ‘Naked’ and seem like capable all-around bikes–more comfortable than a sport bike, more sporty than a cruiser, can carry a passenger if desired. They’re both pricey (relative to what I’d like to spend) and they’re > 600cc’s so that probably means higher insurance rates. Yay.

Whitney - Jul 3, 2008 This comment has been removed by a blog administrator. We’re one sold car away from Disn… HarryC - Jul 3, 2008 Meh ;-) We’re one sold car away from Disneyworld AND a used motorcycle for daddy. It’s just a matter of manning-up and doing that rather painful (E30) or rather stupid (Camry) step. ...

Somewhere among the repetition, self-deprecation, and muscle-memory, I “got” slow speed handling yesterday. We started the day doing the dreaded “U-turn” excercise, where you have to take the bike into a box that’s 10 feet x 20 feet (roughly) and do a U-turn left AND a U turn right, exiting at the opposite corner. Maintaining momentum and engine RPM while remaining in the clutch friction zone was the key. Of course, on the bike, that cold academic paragraph requires a coordination of head, body, hands and feet that requires every part of your neuro-muscular system. In other words, “IT’S HARD” ...

Home, home on the range… Where the Viragos and Nighthawks play. Where seldom is heard A discouraging word. And you practice FINE-C all day. Well, not all day, just before and after EACH of the 9 exercises we went through in the 6 hours of July heat. I got a Honda Nighthawk 250cc, pretty much like this: Black-on-black, with 5000 miles showing on the odo, and a darling sweetheart of a clutch. So, fact #1–I look like a clown on a Nighthawk. I know because Whitney and Maria arrived at 6pm to spectate, and confirmed it. ...

You’re bringing back memories. Sadly those 2nd ge… Jeff Roberts - Jul 0, 2008 You’re bringing back memories. Sadly those 2nd gear skills are necessary for the last few moments of the ride when you’re working your way through the parking lot, and that’s when you have to have some concentration left for people who are backing into you :-)

Well, this is the week. I’m taking my MSF training course this Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’m excited and a little scared–my total experience on motorcycle is < 1 hour, and I’ve never operated a hand clutch or anything like that. I’ve read over the manual and tried to absorb what I can, learning many interesting things: Seventy percent of the braking on a motorcycle is done by the front wheel, but you should use both front and rear brakes all the time so you’re ready for a “maximum braking” situation. ...

Woohoo! I’m in driving-around-in-a-loaner limbo wh… Jeff Roberts - Jul 1, 2008 Woohoo! I’m in driving-around-in-a-loaner limbo while my car’s being serviced, but I guess that’s a good excuse not to ride on a hot day. Looks like the latter part of the week will be a bit cooler.

:-) Well, we’ll see if like my foray into autocross (lifelong passion) or my obsession with SCUBA diving when I was 12 (yikes…bad memories…) I’ve signed up for the July 23rd, 26th, and 27th Motorcycle Safety Foundation course through Balance Dynamics. If I pass everything, I can go get my motorcycle license using their endorsement w/o taking the state test. :-) At least this way, if I ride Stu’s scooter, I won’t get arrested. Should be fun, and maybe a nice new hobby.

Nothing like some hard numbers to support one’s anecdotal observations. More motorcycle licenses, yup. :-)

Honey, you’re not a monogamous shiny gadget guy; you’re a promiscuous shiny gadget guy. You’d buy it. You’d use it. And then you’d be done. Segue: I got to ride Stu’s Silverwing for a good half-hour. I LOVED IT. Wow, the wind, the smells, the feeling of oneness with the road. I enjoyed it much more than the last time–felt much more comfortable maneuvering the bike.