Thursday, June 15, 2006

Montgomery Zoo Trip (Video Clip)




On Saturday, June 10th, 8 bikes and 9 riders linked up at McDonalds in Ozark for a ride to the Montgomery Zoo. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We were amazed that a few bikers wimped out due to the heat. It was warm but certainly not too hot to ride! We left at 9:00 AM and returned around 3:00 PM. Of course, no ride is complete without a stop at the local Dairy Queen. For those who opted out of the ride, you missed a terrific day! To see the video of our trip, click on the title (Montgomery Zoo Trip) above the pictures.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Thunder Beach




Another year and another Thunder Beach. The only difference is that this year I actually attended. I wanted to go last year but I wimped out when the thunderstorms popped up. This year the weather was perfect. I was too lazy to get up early and ride down with a group. So I ended up riding down alone on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful ride down and back. Although rain was forecast for late afternoon, it never came to pass. Although I really enjoyed all of the vendors, I spent most of my time riding along the beach taking in the sites of both gulf shores and bikers. The main strip was stop and go bikers in the mid-afternoon. It was a constant parade of bikers enjoying the weather and their ride. I met quite a few people while I was there which is always half the fun. I included a picture of another goldwinger I met. His name was Ian and he swears he wears that when he rides :)

I didn't stay the night but might next year. It made a great day ride coming back in the late hours on a warm summer night. If you haven't been, it is worth the trip.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Bandit Getaway


On the 22nd of October seven bikes and their riders converged on Mom's restaurant in Hartsford. Everyone lined up and departed at 9:30 on the dot. The ride to the rally took a little over an hour. The weather was beautiful and the ride was comfortable and relaxing. Upon arrival, Chapter U saw some familiar faces from Chapter G and others who had attended last year's rally. After visiting and spending a little hard earned money with the vendors, we headed out for lunch at Ryan's. We had a wonderful time at lunch. There was plenty of conversation and food to go around.

After lunch, we returned to the rally to commune with our neighbors for a while. There was a band and several vendors to enjoy. Personally, I spent my time installing my newly purchased chrome trim :) When the group was ready to head home we opted for a "beach ride." We departed Crestview and came home via Destin and Panama City Beach. I absolutely love riding along the coast and across the waterways. The weather stayed beautiful for the entire ride. On the way north, each rider peeled off for home. I was the last rider left since I lived the furthest north. I pulled into Enterprise around 6PM.

What a wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Educational Conference Boring? Not at Disney!


This week I was scheduled to attend an educational conference in Orlando, Florida. I was tasked with the ever exciting prospect of presenting a poster session at the conference. Yes, it is just about as exciting as it sounds. But, be that as it may, I decided to make my own fun by riding my GL 1500 Goldwing to the conference. I took two days vacation and began my ride the day before the conference. From my house, it is about 6 hours and 30 minutes to Orlando. I really had no idea exactly where the hotel was and didn't really care. My plan was to make a day's ride out of the trip by stopping as many times and anywhere that I had an itch to stop along the way.

The weather turned out to be absolutely perfect. The morning start at 5 AM was a little chilly at 55 degrees but by mid-morning it was in the 70s. The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. I couldn't have asked for a better day to ride. I made my first stop in Tallahassee for breakfast. I made several stops along the way to include a stop at the "Chrome" place. They claim to have anything you want in chrome. It was interesting anyway. About mid-way through the day I stopped for lunch and met several people who were jealous of my trip on the bike in the middle of a work week. I finally arrived in Orlando around 4PM. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the hotel was right in the middle of Disney World! Now this education conference was beginning to look a little more fun!

I spent that night touring Disney and paying the outrageous prices that they charge to have a good time. The next day I had the pleasure of presenting my poster session at the conference which turned out to be a good time also. Hey, I can't help it if I like to run my mouth :) At the end of the day I decided to head back on my bike and make a night ride out of the trip. Okay, the threat of rain from Wilma was a factor in my planning I must admit. So I thought I would get a head start on the rain and head out about 5PM. That thought lasted for about half of the ride until I hit a downpour. Not to worry though, like any good Goldwinger I had my rain gear handy. Of course, it did take me longer to put it on than the rain actually lasted :) After the rain stopped the night turned to severe fog. The remainder of the ride was slow and tedious since I couldn't see more than about 15 feet in front of the bike. I wasn't as concerned about myself as I was the transfer trucks behind me. I'm convinced they had the freeway memorized or were driving on blind luck at those speeds. The rest of us poor drivers were slogging along at around 55-60 MPH. I decided that multiple stops were in order due to the fog and didn't get home until 5AM! I was one tired puppy.

Overall, the ride was absolutely fabulous. Who would have thought I could have had such a good time at an educational conference?! It is amazing what throwing in your Goldwing can do to the situation. I would also like to add that I had expected a significantly sore butt on my original 1500 seat which is a 1994. I am pleased to say that my bike performed to perfection and much to my surprise, none of my stops were due to a sore butt! I often hear others talk about how comfortable their 1800 is to ride. Well, I must say my 1994 1500 performed quite well. She has never let me down and always provides a great ride. She may be old but she is aging more gracefully than I am!

So what is the moral of this story? The next time you are tasked with what seems to be a dry and boring trip, spice it up with your Goldwing. The trip could turn out to be a gem!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Brunswick Bike Fest

A couple of weekends ago I joined four other riders on a day ride to Brunswick, Georgia for their annual bike fest. Upon arrival, we discovered that they were charging $30 a head to get into the grounds. We also discovered that they were holding a bike show downtown. Given the choice between touring the grounds for $30 and attending a bike show for free, we opted for the bike show. There were numerous bikes entered in the custom category. As you might imagine, it was a Harley Davidson rider's dream. Although there were some good looking bikes and some interesting custom jobs, my personal favorite was the "mutt" bike. I wish that I had brought my camera to share a picture. The bike had everything but the kitchen sink stuck on it somewhere. The seat was a horse saddle and the saddle bags were two old mess kits. The gear shift was a shotgun handle and there was more oil on the ground than in my reservoirs. Overall, it was definitely my favorite bike in the show. It demonstrated ingenuity and creativity - something most of the other bikes lacked. There are only so many flames and skull designs one can create.

After touring the show, we picked up a bite to eat in town and headed back home. It was a small group but we respresented a variety on the road. Among our ranks were three Harley Davidsons, a BMW, a Kawasaki, and of course my Honda. The sun was shining all day and it made for a great day ride. The only thing missing was a few more Goldwings :)

Monday, October 03, 2005

It's All About the Ride


It recently occurred to me that many of us have daily or weekly experiences on our Goldwings that are only occasionally captured in our newsletter. If you are like me, you think about writing an article for the newsletter about your experience or what made the ride unique but never quite get around to submitting it to Jim and Elaine. It sometimes feels to me like time is slipping away. I ride my bike almost every day. In fact, in the last month, I have only driven my truck twice. During these rides to school or work, I see interesting places, people and things that I would like to share with my fellow Goldwingers. Then, as fortune would have it, I miss the next meeting.

This week, I expanded my horizons to include blogging. Yes, I had heard about it...read about it...and even visited a few blogs, but the honest truth is that I couldn't think of a reason why I needed one. That is until now. I created my first blog this past weekend for my web site that the flight school students use. I often get e-mails from prospective students asking for information or clarification on information on the web site. So this weekend it occurred to me that I could create a blog for the site where students and others could share comments and information about flight school. Then, as I was sitting here tonight it dawned on me that we could do the same thing with the Goldwing site.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone in the chapter could write short descriptions of a ride they went on, places they've been, tips, tricks, techniques, or even safety information? For instance, I just discovered an ad about the new airbag on the 2006 Goldwing. Hey, that could go on the blog! You get the idea.

So jump in and add a post. Share your experiences and ideas. There is no reason that we can't be a community outside of our monthly meetings. Go ahead, take the plunge...make a post!

Ride to Tallahassee


As many of you know, I ride to Tallahassee to attend school. Last week I was exceptionally tired before I began my ride. I had been awake since 3:30 AM since I was on morning shift that week. The sun was shining, it was hot, and I was sleepy. The second time I fell asleep I decided it was time to pull over and take a break. It shouldn't have taken two times to make me pull over.

On the way home that night, a car pulled out right in front of me with about 50 feet to spare. It is the first time I have ever attempted to lock my brakes. The lady saw me at the last second and hit her brakes stopping directly in front of me. I'm sure it was just a gut reaction for her but I was just wondering how much the impact was going to hurt. I managed to stop with only about 5-10 feet to spare. I was thanking God for anti-lock brakes all the way home.

When I reached the outskirts of Brunswick, GA I was greeted by a site that none of us likes to see - a motorcycle wreck. Most of us are diligently looking for people pulling out in front of us or changing lanes cutting us off. What I've honestly never looked for is someone running over me from behind. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to that rider. An SUV had run over them.

So what is the point to my ride? Those of us who have ridden most of our lives often take our riding experience for granted. We push ourselves further than we should sometimes because we have ridden through far worse. As I finished my ride home that night, I reflected on how many messages I had been sent that day that I had ignored. Hindsignt 20/20, I realized that the body on the side of the road might well have been mine. As fatigue sets in our decision making ability decreases dramatically and our risk factor increases proportionally. We don't like admitting instances of poor decision making but sometimes it is a good wake-up call.

Goldwing Airbags?!


I was recently surfing the blogging community and came across several blogs discussing the newest edition to the 2006 Goldwing - an airbag! Evidently, this is Honda's newest safety addition. According to the blogs I read, it is supposed to minimize the impact of a head-on collision. Of course, several of the comments centered around the appearance of the device.... Okay, it does look like someone's behind I must admit :) Check it out!