BMW Motorcycles 90 Years in 90 Seconds

Product Review: Resoled Riding Boots

My riding boots are the unsung hero of my riding gear. For 7 plus years, probably 75,000 miles, they've protected my ankles when I've had oopsie drops of the bike, they've keep my feet warm when it's 30 degrees out, dry in miles and miles of downpour, and my toes ride in comfort even as temps hover near 100. My Oxtar boots have served me well.



For a about a year I've been noticing that it's increasingly difficult to get them to stay on the pegs, they are slipping instead of gripping. I briefly considered replacing them, few GS riders wear these Euro style touring boots. But they have never let me down, and aside from the slipping, I had no issue, they could still hold back the rains for 10 hours; really, I just needed them resoled.



I considered some local cobblers and looked at online vendors. I decided to go with Resole America, I was impressed with existing reviews, liked that I could send a picture of my boots ahead of time and that they recognized Euro style boots as a classification of boot. I didn't price shop locally. I felt that Resole's price of $60 (plus $8 each way for shipping) was a fair value for $200 boots. They make the process very easy, giving you a return label to send in your boots.





I had them back in my hand in 2 weeks. They were resoled as well as polished up. That was a pleasant addition, like getting your car washed with an oil change.



As you can see in this close up, the entire sole was not replaced, this part was unexpected. In the arch, you can see the original sole. The heel and toe sections from a Vibram (type) sole have been glued(?) onto the original sole. Only time will tell if this adhesion will endure the abuse and the elements.

Based on ease of use, cost and timely delivery, at this point, I can recommend Resole America for your riding boot needs.

College Essay Time

In 2007, my then 12 year old daughter and I set out for 5 weeks to tour the country via motorcycle. I knew of one other parent who had done this, and he was a father who rode with his son.  I had no single mother role model, but I didn't let that stop me.

I thought the trip was about motorcycling. Looking back now, I see that it was about parenting. I learned a lot about my daughter on that trip, and we learned a lot about each other.  As a parent, I was giving her the most important gift of all, my time. I shared with her something that was important to me, I was sharing my love of travel, travel on a motorcycle.

Many people, when learning about that trip, commented that it would be something she'd always remember. The trip of a lifetime.  I hope it's not the trip of her lifetime; instead I hope it triggered in her a love of travel, and maybe a love of the road.

I know for sure it made an impact, as she chose to use the trip as the topic for her college essay.  She was eager for me to share it with you.  I hope that it influences just one of you to make plans with your child, to plan a trip of a lifetime.

Seeing Is Believing

 Staring up the sides of the Rocky Mountains in awe, I realized this is what we had come for; this was the reason for our journey. The mountains seemed to consume us as we rode on, becoming closer and closer until we were right alongside them, riding the curves of the Rockies themselves. Moby’s “Feeling So Real” was playing in my ears and I couldn’t have chosen a better song to describe the moment. I opened my helmet and shouted over the wind to my mom “You were right; you have to see it to believe it!”

In 2007 my mom and I traveled across the country on her motorcycle. Everywhere we went we received a multitude of different reactions to what we were doing, everything from stares, interest, amazement, to pure confusion. The idea of a woman on a motorcycle was crazy to some people, but being a motorcycle-riding single mother, my mom didn’t let stereotypes hinder our journey. I however, was not as used to the stares as she might have been. I was self conscious about my bulky, unflattering riding gear: riding pants that were too big for me and a helmet that made me look like an alien. But after awhile I became proud rather than embarrassed. I realized I was doing something few people ever got the chance to do, seeing the country with my mom. As long as it was important to us, we didn’t need approval from everyone else.
My mom likes to say “You’ll learn more from traveling than you ever will from a geography text book. ”

I knew the Redwood trees were big before, but I never knew how immense they really were until I stood next to one. I knew Montana was known as “Big Sky Country” but I never could’ve understood the vastness until I was beneath it. Going on this trip opened my eyes to how different everything can be from your initial perspective. One day while stopped at a gas station in Oregon, the cashier inside inquired about our adventure. When we told her we were from New Hampshire she mentioned she had always wanted to go to the east coast. I had never realized how lucky I was to have seen so much of the country, that some people had never been so far away, and there I was at 12 years old, 3,000 miles from home.

The Trip is something I will never forget. Now, five years later, I am still realizing how it affected my life and me as a person. I’ve learned that perspective is not something that can be taught in school, only through experience. I learned that doing something that may seem impossible is in fact achievable. I learned how to be proud of myself, even if I was doing something different. I had the opportunity to see how diverse and unique this country truly is, and I have been inspired to someday discover the same things around the world. I’ve come to realize that you can see something on TV, read about it, see pictures of it, even listen to stories about it, but you will never completely understand something until you go experience it for yourself.

Lisa Hatch

Tour of the Battenkill Video

The video guy was on the back of an Aprillia.
The race was 4.5 hours, here are 15 minutes of highlights.

Motorcycle Marshal - Carrying the Photographer

Tour of the Battenkill is promoted as America's toughest one day race.

Photo: © marcoquezada.com/nyvelocity/

I rode the 124 miles of pavement and dirt of Battenkill under horsepower, and I can attest that it is a tough route. I taxied two photographers during the elite men's race. How I was assigned two photographers is a mystery to me. They worked out a drop off and pick up schedule around the 62 mile circuit. It sort of worked out.



Pre Race Staging



This race operated with a rolling roadblock. If you are outside the official vehicles, you need to abide by road rules. Inside the enclosure and you can ride the left side of the road, pass police cruisers and blow your horn at the Sheriff's car. Any questions as to why I like to participate?



Moto Marshals and officials have different functions with the race. I was carrying a photographer, so I did not have marshal responsibilities.


Shortcuts outside of the route allowed us to get to a shoot area, park and set up in anticipation of the racers coming through. I had enough time to shoot the shooters.



I love my new Canon SX 230 with GPS. Now I just need to find the software to map the GPS locations for me. The picture quality is nice for a point and shoot.



It was my first time carrying a full sized adult who probably outweighed me. The most difficult aspect was the mounting and dismounting the bike, which was often parked in less than optimal road conditions.

The twisting and turning of a photographer did not prove to be a problem. Communication via shouting worked just fine. I had the race channel cranked up to hear instruction from the director. Frequently he would direct me to move along, away from the pack. Roll along side, get your shots, roll away. If you tried to hog the good position, you would hear the radio squawk.

Photo: © marcoquezada.com/nyvelocity/

Feathering the clutch for miles on end to pace a bicycle is challenging work. One guy liked to lean way out, with him on the back, I would lose visibility in my right mirror. For this I needed to compensate with more full head checks.

Tour de Dust

Photo: © Barry Koblenz/basetwelvephoto.com

These yellow line pictures can only come from being right in there with the riders.

Photo: © Barry Koblenz/basetwelvephoto.com

This picture, probably shot from a stationary position, shows good perspective of the aggressiveness of the course.

Photo: © Barry Koblenz/basetwelvephoto.com

Moto Marshal

Photo: © Barry Koblenz/basetwelvephoto.com

Barry & Marco did succeed in getting their shots. And I succeeded at my first outing as a photo biker.

For information about moto marshals: Motorcycle Marshal Handbook

Soul of an Old Machine

soul/sōl/
Noun:
1. The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
2. A person's moral or emotional nature or sense of identity.

A friend of mine is shopping for a car. He commented that the SUV’s he is considering have no soul. I thought about that comment as I rode the K75 for the first time this year. Do machines have soul? Can a new machine have soul? Isn’t it our relationship with that machine - the time, the adventures & misadventures we share with it, isn’t that what forms the identity, giving the machine soul? I don’t think a new bike, or new car can have soul off the lot. I think it needs to develop soul, and some never will.

First Tag of the Year


The K75 has soul. It’s 25 years old this year. I have owned it for 13 years. I remember the day I picked it up. The gentleman that sold it shared his photo album, packed with pictures from the many trips he and his wife had gone on with “Gretchin”. (I never cared for the name, and within a year of owning it, the K75 was dubbed Spare) I wish I’d paid more attention to that album. As it was my first bike, I only glanced at those pictures, they where someone else’s memories of trip to faraway places, like Maine and Canada, I could not even fathom that the bike would ever travel so far with me. On that first day, I could not even envision getting out of my drive way.

Adventure: a key ingredient of soul


I had the GT for 5 years and it remained soulless.

Good looks...no depth?


Why was that? Perhaps we never bonded right, I knew in my heart it was not the bike for me. With the K75, I can’t part with it, it is an old family album, a family friend…it is family.

Scenic Vistas pictures, an important bonding ritual


If you are swapping out your ride every 2 years, how can you expect to bond with your machine? Why do people do that? Are they in search of some elusive quality in a bike? Or is it only important that they be seen on the latest machine? Perhaps they are missing the point. A new machine will remain soulless until you two have been though something together, and that takes time.