Saturday, January 24, 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Riding in Your Own Back Yard

Roads near Home
Road Runner is inviting the readership to submit stories about motorcycle rides in their own back yard for possible publication in future issues of Road Runner.
Hollis NH Roads
This has great appeal to me, primarily because I have a goal this year to get published 4 times, and secondarily I'd like to pick up where I left off last year, explore my own neck of the woods.
Back Roads
They are looking for “motorcycle stories covering a ride that is close to your home, and can be taken within a day or over a weekend trip".
Here is a link to the submission guidelines.
Photographer Shadow
If you enjoy writing and photography, why not get your submission in before the deadline of October 31?
Hope to read about your backyard (and mine) soon!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Motorcycles Are For Girls, Too!

Following our October AMA cover story, there have been many supportive letters to the editor about the cross country trip my daughter and I wrote about. But they were all topped yesterday when I read this entry in February's letters.
Real Women Ride
Talk about timing! I was asked to read a story to my granddaughter’s kindergarten class in Manchester, NH and I had picked out the kids’ book “Patrick Want to Ride”. Then I got my American Motorcyclist and saw the stories by Gail and Lisa Hatch. I decided to bring the magazine to class and see what the kids thought about the Hatch’s adventure.
Just about all the questions about the “Patrick Want to Ride” came from the boys, so I asked the kids, “Who thinks motorcycle riding should only be for boys?” I was surprised that eight little boys raised their hands.
I then told them I have proof that girls are just as good at riding motorcycles. I then read them the Hatch’s story and showed them the pictures. It was great to see all the girls standing up to look at Gail and Lisa’s pictures. It was also great to see a lot of the girls raise their hands when I asked who would like to go on a trip like that with their mother or father.
Thanks to Gail and Lisa for opening the eyes of some great little kids to motorcycling touring with their parents
Dan Leonard
Quincy, MA

I don't know Dan, but want to shake his hand and say thank you, it means so much to me to learn about this use of our story. Inspiring others, be they girls, women, boys or men; this is why I continue to write!

(Manchester, NH is the largest town in NH, it's just up the road, 20 miles from where I live.)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Essence of Summer

Coffee Break

I have been working on a video of Best of 2008 pictures.
This picture, in its simplicty, is the essence of a summer ride. Looking at it, I can remember the heat of the day, sitting on the sidewalk outside the DD's in Brattleboro, VT. I'd just finished another pass of Hogback Mt, a favorite passage from East to West. An iced coffee, my K75 and a sunny day. Life is good.

Relax
In the non bike category, this picture also encapsulates summer. My friend Rick relaxing on his hammock, the ski boat waiting, the sun glinting off the water. That my friend is summer. I think I'll sit back and enjoy the memory for just a minute.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Ski New Hampshire



It's been 3 years since I've skied with Lisa. She's been taking lessons, skiing with others, but due to my bad knees, we'd not been skiing together. The past few years I've been skiing cross country. But the knees have been feeling ok, and the days at the gym have been good, so on New Year's Eve we all headed out to Pat's Peak, despite the cold, that test run went well.
Beautiful Scenery
So this weekend, Lisa and I headed to Mt. Sunapee, in Sunapee, NH. Sunapee is a nice family oriented ski area, I like the lodge at the top, good food and drink for the weary.
Tired out skier
No signs of a bad economy here, business was booming, but lift lines where not to bad, maybe 5 minutes for the quad chair.
Lisa on the lift
The weather was beautiful when we arrived at noon for our half day ski; the clouds started coming in around 2:00 making the snow look flat; less favorable for skiing and picture taking.
Beautiful Day for Skiing
Many motorcyclist hate the snow, not me, I live in New Hampshire, I love the snow. In fact Kevin and I are talking about trying snow shoeing next. Lemons...lemonade you know?
Ski Chair
Hope you are finding fun things to do while your bikes wait out winter in the snow belt.
Kiddo

Friday, January 9, 2009

Google's New 411 service

Check out this new offering from Google. I can imagine this being quite useful when I am out on the road. I would imagine the information provided would be more up to date than Garmin's. And it's free (for now she said sceptically)

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Riding with children product pointer

I ran across this reference on Bikes in the Fast Lane.
I have never used this the BackRider and am not endorsing it, just providing information. I'm not a fan of strapping the kid to me, but I can see that some parents might want to try this. I think it would be useful on a snowmobile.
2005 Mother & Daughter
For the first couple of years riding with Lisa, I wore a belt that contained two sets of handles for her to hang on too, one set right in front of her, and another set out to the side. I see that the BackRider offers a set of 'cosmetic' handles this is unfortunate, a child should get used to hanging on in a functional manner. A child needs to get accustomed to the the acceleration and deceleration, a passenger should actively prepare for both, not sit passively waiting to crash into the driver. Perhaps different riding positions warrant less activity.

And as usual I strongly urge you and your passenger to always wear a full face helmet. Look for junior helmets when the kids are still small. And make sure they can reach the pegs on the bike for stability.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Baking and Editing

Pecan Topped Pumpkin Bread

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to spend less time at the key board. I thought I made some good progress by trying out this new recipe for Pumpkin Bread. But it was all for not when I decided to take pictures of my master piece. I liked one of the pics of the bread, and one of the recipe. I spent over an hour in photoshop putting the two together. LOL Oh well, both activities made for a pleasant afternoon.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Motorcycle Shows for the Snowbound

I'm seeing this press release on a lot of motorcycle forums & blogs
New Discovery TV Series Looks At Motorcycle Brands Worldwide
Dec 12, 2008, ©Copyright 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
From a press release issued by Discovery Communications

HD THEATER TAKES TO THE ROAD WITH TWIST THE THROTTLE,
AN EIGHT-PART SERIES EXPLORING SOME OF
THE GREATEST MOTORCYCLE BRANDS IN THE WORLD

– Original Turbo.com Broadband Series Makes Its Television Debut
with New Footage on HD Theater Starting Monday, January 5

(Silver Spring, MD) – Millions of people ride motorcycles and millions more fantasize about what it would be like to ride these cultural icons of speed, freedom, craftsmanship and personal rebellion. HD Theater’s new series, TWIST THE THROTTLE, takes audiences on a remarkable 36,000 mile journey across the globe to explore eight of the most famous sport motorcycling brands. Each episode focuses on a single brand, showcasing the remarkable history; the behind-closed-door factory, design facilities and R&D departments; and ultimately, what it is like to ride these magnificent machines on some of the most picturesque roads and spectacular racetracks in the world. The brands covered in TWIST THE THROTTLE include Bimota, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and Yamaha. TWIST THE THROTTLE premieres on HD Theater starting Monday, January 5 and stories will continue to be featured on HD Theater’s online home for motorized content, Turbo.com. TWIST THE THROTTLE is narrated by actor Ed Quinn (Eureka, CSI:NY), who is an avid sport bike rider.

Using spectacular 1080i high-definition and 5.1 digital surround sound, TWIST THE THROTTLE takes viewers directly to challenging racetracks like Kawasaki’s Autopolis on the island of Kyushu and Honda’s top-secret proving grounds in California’s Mojave Desert. For the first time ever, outside cameras were permitted on Yamaha’s private test track, Fukoroi, in Hamamatsu where TWIST THE THROTTLE put two of Yamaha’s newest sports bikes to the test. In addition to exclusive access to these private test facilities, the series travels on the open road through picturesque locales like northern Italy’s Futa Pass. Originally an ancient Roman road linking Florence to Bologna, the Futa Pass has over 200 curves carved into the mountainside in just a 20 mile stretch.

In addition, TWIST THE THROTTLE journeys through the history of each brand through interviews with the people behind their unique design philosophies. The series features an exclusive interview with Massimo Tamburini, considered to be the “Michelangelo of Italian motorcycle design,” who created some of the most iconic motorcycles including the Ducati 916 and the MV Agusta F4. Normally a recluse, Tamburini unlocks the doors of his design studio to reveal how he creates “mechanical art” and why he believes machines have souls. Additional interviews feature some of the most important names in the motorcycle world telling each brand’s remarkable story including:

• Honda’s Masanori Aoki, BMW’s David Robb and Yamaha’s Atsushi Ishiyama
• Former racing World Champions Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz
• Current and Former American road racing stars Mat Mladin, Neil Hodgson, Miguel Duhamel, Ben Bostrom, Jamie Hacking and Reg Pridmore
• Renowned motorcycle journalists Nick Ienatsch, Mark Hoyer, Mitch Boehm, Clement Salvadori and Mark Tuttle

NETWORK: DISCOVERY HD THEATER
AIR DATES & TIMES (NOTE: ALL TIMES ARE 'LOCAL TIMES')
MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH 10PM HONDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH 10PM DUCATI
MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH 10PM BMW
MONDAY, JANUARY 26TH 10PM KAWASAKI
FEBRUARY 2ND 10PM SUZUKI
FEBRUARY 9TH 10PM MV AGUSTA
FEBRUARY 16TH 10PM BIMOTA/ALPINESTARS
FEBRUARY 23RD 10PM YAMAHA

Not sure how that differs from videos on the web site. Here is the link to the BMW one.

Steve Farson has a nice 4 minute video summary of his 2008 ride season

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year

Nothing but white stuff around here today.
So I took a little spin in Photoshop
New Years Ride

It's always a relief for me when the holidays are over. If you don't have a close family and are not religious, it seems like a whole lot of forced excess.
Santa was very thoughtful in supporting my photography interests this year.
Christmas Gifts

I'm happy to start the year with a job; but finding some meaningful work is on my list of things to do. For 5 years I've been languishing in the land of the well paid but completely unchallenged...my brain is atrophying.

I recorded a record low amount of riding miles this year, under 6,000. Lowest since I started tracking such things 5 years ago. Hmmm, there is that 5 years again. I don't think I'm going to register for the "contest" this year...change in priorities.
Stop the snow

Hope you made it through the holidays in tact, and that winter is kind to you!
Cheers!
Coffee & Pie