Twitter’s not just for Congressmen anymore

Much like Rep. Anthony Weiner, I find Twitter a lot harder to manage than Facebook. I’m very selective about who I follow, because I’ve found that some folks can really clog up the ol’ newsfeed with useless spammy crap and/or general impropriety.

But, I still want to be able to catch the occasional comment from someone outside my normal universe if they’re talking about a subject that interests me, and it’s here where Twitter has the advantage. With Twitter, I can simply subscribe to a custom feed made up of tweets that include the words “woman” and “motorcycle,” without having to actually follow every Tom, Dick or Congressman out there.

This is a double-edged sword – primarily, the feed is made up of tragic headlines (i.e., “Woman killed in motorcycle wreck…” “Woman thrown from motorcycle…” etc etc). But there are also enough amusing gems out there that make it worthwhile.

So here, I’ve decided to round up a few bits of “wisdom” about women on motorcycles, as posted on Twitter – a snapshot-in-time, if you will, of what folks really think about women who ride.

Some people immediately see the sex appeal of a woman riding a motorcycle:

Some are flat-out inspired:

And some just don’t get it yet:

Sometimes they take note when we do stupid things:

Apparently, some are in total denial about the new reality:

And, some see it but are really uncomfortable with it:

And some (and this is my favorite), know when it’s time to just accept their fate for what it is:

So how about you – are you one of the Twitterati? Find me, and let’s tweet!

A penny for your (riding) thoughts

Somewhere around the Internets the other day, the question popped up as to what one thinks about while riding. I think that for beginning riders, this is a tricky question – you are most likely thinking about the safe and proper operation of your bike, as well as simply trying not to panic. (Maybe that was just me…)

For me, now that I have almost ten years of riding under my belt (!), I can honestly say that I primarily think about three things: hazards, scenery, and my own cool factor.

I’m totally serious. The thing I think about most often is still identifying potential obstacles or hazards and how to compensate for them. When riding in traffic I’m dodging potholes, looking for that guy backing out or turning left, and watching that green light that I KNOW is gonna turn yellow just when I reach the point of having to make a snap decision on whether to stop or go.  When riding on the highway I’m looking for upcoming curves, road damage, and animals both alive and (as a TV reporter here once actually said) “others not so alive.”

Second most-commonly, I try to grab appreciative glimpses of the scenery around me. This is tough to do given how aware I try to be of the road and potential hazards, but every once in awhile I find myself going, “Wow, that’s pretty!” as I come around a curve or crest a hill. There’s also a point in South Dakota, just outside of Rapid City, where you can suddenly smell the pine very distinctively. And in Iowa, at this time of year, you can easily catch whiffs of lilacs and other flowering plants out on the two-lane highways. I try to have as many of these “awareness moments” as I can every time I ride.

The third most-common thing I think about is just how hotsy-totsy I really am. I definitely think it’s cool that I ride a bike… that I ride this bike… that I faced some riding challenges and overcame them… that I have friends who are happy to accompany me on my little adventures, or to invite me along for theirs. It’s a great feeling to have conquered the new-rider jitters, and to realize that at that moment I’m very lucky to be doing something I absolutely love to do.

So how about you – what do you think about most often while riding?

Go, Dog, Go! Cool biker dogs hit the road!

I can’t help but notice that more and more of my friends are taking their dogs along for motorcycle rides. Now I don’t pretend to know a THING about this from a how-to standpoint (and I can say with certainty that my hundred-pound Rottweiler-mix Bugs would need a full-fledged sidecar to enjoy a bike trip)… but I do know from riding with some of these folks that the pups are as safe and secure as the rider – and everyone takes good care of the pooch while on the road by providing water and rest-stop exercise.

I thought it was time to share some fun pictures with you, of friends riding with their awesome biker dogs! If you’ve got a dog that rides, send me a photo via email and I’ll do another post soon!

First up, here’s Cuddles, riding with Cassie in a specially-made back pack AND wearing a bad-ass Harley hat!

Next, Susan (Dakota) rides with her little buddy, Road E. Coyote (Roadee) on an HD Street  Bob. That’s the Freedom Rock near Greenfield, Iowa they’re visiting with Susan’s husband Paul.

And here is Miss Sadie, sporting her bright pink Doggles and hanging out with Papa Stu. Sadie, Stu and mama Donna are enjoying retirement by full-timing in an R.V., traveling all around the U.S. Sadie blogs about all her biker dog adventures at http://sadiechats.blogspot.com.

Finally, here’s my original biker-dog pal Einstein, who rides in custom eyewear and an awesome bomber jacket with his friend Howard. Einy loves being in the wind… and I think he looks downright authoritative perched there at the Freedom Rock!

Kansas House passes “dead red” stoplight bill for motorcyclists, bicyclists

Have you ever been on the bike, sitting at a red light and anticipating the green, only to sit there… and sit there… and sit there… for minutes on end, realizing that the light is on a sensor and hasn’t detected you? And worse yet, it’s obvious no one’s coming in either opposing direction… but you’re stuck because the only option seems to be to run the light?

Have you ever gone ahead and run the light?

In today’s culture and political climate, you’re more likely to see a personal liberty taken away than restored. That’s why I’m astounded that the Kansas House of Representatives actually approved a measure recently allowing motorcyclists, at their personal discretion, to run “dead red” stoplights.

That’s right, the government decided that motorcyclists were capable of making a decision affecting their own safety.

Here’s a link to the story as run at KMBC, the local ABC news affiliate in Kansas City.

Even more surprising to me is that the state of Missouri has had this provision in place since 2009. Perhaps other states already do as well.

Of course, with such a provision comes the responsibility to use it the way it’s intended. It would not, in my opinion, give bikers the right to treat the light as a stop sign (“stop, look, and go if it’s safe”). It would, however, allow you proceed through an intersection where you’ve been waiting and it has become obvious that the light’s sensor doesn’t detect you.

I would certainly support such a measure were it proposed in the legislative bodies here in my home state, and I’ll be watching with interest to see what happens to the measure in Kansas going forward.

 

Stoplight photo above is from the Flickr stream of Kris_who.

Dream

I have posted this video just about everyplace I can think of and wanted to be sure to share it here. Enjoy… and dream!

Farewell to the pink Fulmer helmet

Last spring I said farewell to my beloved partner-in-crime, the Picky Bitch. Well, this riding season I will be bidding adieu to another longtime riding companion – my pink Fulmer helmet, which I acquired in… hm, I think early 2006.

So why’d I replace such a great piece of equipment? Well, for one thing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation suggests that a helmet’s protective qualities may deteriorate over time. They also recommend replacing your helmet every few years (or immediately if it has been dropped or damaged) because new materials are always in development that improve the weight and functionality. I also happened to receive a beautiful new pearl-white helmet as a Christmas gift.

I’ll introduce you to the new lid in a future post, but right this second I wanted to just acknowledge that the pink helmet has served me well: It protected my noggin when I dumped the bike in the mud over in Guthrie County one day… it served as a homing beacon for friends riding behind me through the chrome clot of Hulett, Wyoming on No Panties Wednesday… and on at least one occasion, it was the way someone at a rally recognized me (“You ride with a pink helmet, right?”).

With the arrival of the new helmet, the question arises of what to do with the pink one. I’m sentimental enough that I hate to throw it away, but it really wouldn’t be any good to someone else given its age. Maybe I’ll hang it on the wall in our basement bar as a memento. Or maybe hang it upside down on the porch with a philodendron in it. Anyway, suffice to say it’s seen more than a few great adventures.

How to properly fit a pair of chaps

I love chaps. Actually I should amend that to say, I love chaps on other people. On normal people, chaps contribute to that long and lean, bad-ass biker look that kinda turns me on. Plus, of course, they have wonderful protective qualities that will quite literally save your skin if you go down. On me, however, because I am so short and round, they generally look like someone has put chaps on the Michelin Man. (I sure love them on me for warmth – and those protective qualities – regardless of how silly they look!)

A few years ago I did a short piece on the blog about the history of chaps. Then recently I connected via email with a biker leather shop in western Iowa called Leather & Hawgs, and thought that perhaps they would be good folks to offer up some tips on how to properly fit a pair of chaps.

Owner Greg “Leatherman” Crook was kind enough to provide me with the following tips for fitting and buying the “shotgun style” most commonly worn by bikers:

• When you purchase your chaps the most important thing is to get a chap which fits very snug on your thighs, because over time they will stretch. Once you have the chaps on, you can put your hand between your jeans and the chaps; this is about how much the chaps will stretch once they are broken in.
• If you have a larger waist, it’s tempting to get bigger chaps; unfortunately, if you do this you may find that the legs are much too big even before they stretch out. Buy the chaps that fit snug around your thighs; expand the waist if need be by using an extender, and overlap the grommets on the back of the chaps if you are small-waisted and need to bring the waist in.
• When measuring the length you should have on the boots you wear on your bike. To get the proper length, stand up straight and look ahead, and have someone measure the length to the bottom of your heel, plus half an inch to allow for the chaps to pull up when you are sitting on the bike.

Oh, and just in case it’s not clear, the above represent POORLY-fitted chaps. They’re mine, and I bought them, before I learned these tips, to fit my waist rather than my thighs. They’re also too short, even for me.

In other news…

In other news…

A few other miscellaneous things going on recently –

We took a nice ride up around Saylorville and Jester Park this past weekend after spending some time at the Big Barn HD Open House. (The photo at left shows Jester Park’s resident bison, bathing in their watering hole.) We noted that, while speed bumps in Jester make it a VERY unfriendly place to ride, at least the repair crews are working on all those horrible seams in the road along 415 on the north side of the lake.

Are you familiar with Examiner.com? It’s a website where writers from your local area file reports about every topic imaginable, with a local slant. Well, I’ve just become the “motorcycle Examiner” for the Des Moines area! So, in addition to all the goodies you normally find here, I will be posting some things there occasionally as well, mostly of a more “local news” nature.

Also, I’m excited to report that I’ll soon have a couple of articles coming up in regional motorcycle magazines. I will keep you posted so you can catch them when they come out, and will plan to do profiles here on the blog of each publication so you can learn more about them!

Finally, met (by phone) a great guy name Greg Crook from Hornick, Iowa who owns Leather and Hawgs. This is a leather shop with not only the store in Hornick, but also a seasonal store over in Soldier, IA, near the Loess Hills region. You’ll be reading more about them here on the blog, too – they not only sell all kinds of biker leather, but have some great events coming up as well!

Bits and pieces, June 16

There’s still plenty of time to be eligible to win a copy of the Sonny Barger book, “Let’s Ride.“ Just comment on the book review post by Friday, June 25, when I’ll randomly pick two winners!

We’ve been having a lot of rain here lately, but thankfully we no longer have to worry about flooding – after 2008’s disaster we relocated to higher ground (that’s right, we’re no longer the idiots you see on television who refuse to move!) so these days our biggest rain worry is the tiny bit that’s seeping in through the basement walls. I think some strategically-splotched tar or blackjack out on the patio will take care of it.

We did manage to eek out a trip in between rain showers down to Hartford, Iowa last Friday night for their monthly Bike Night event – this is a small one, usually a hundred bikes or so, but we had a very nice (if humid) evening – friendly folks (as are most in Iowa) in a tiny town, ever second Friday on West Elm Street.

Finally, Here are a few recent gems from around the Web related to bikes, bikers and riding – enjoy!

Motorcycle Cruiser magazine has a web-only feature of the Top 10 Scenic Cruises in the Rockies. (Just remember, I think you need a passport these days to travel into Canada. Sure would be worth getting one!)

With the 70th Sturgis Rally coming up quick, one of BCN’s Facebook Fans, Aleta Gerard, shared a link to the write-up of her 2008 ride to the Rally – no shortage of travel adventures for her group, that’s for sure, and the tale is well worth a read!

Liz Frazier, aka “Rippin Kitten,” had a unique opportunity recently to travel to California to test-ride the new Honda VFR1200F, outfitted with dual clutch transmission. This hot little sport bike can be switched from the standard shifting transmission to an automatic mode. Liz notes that the most interesting part of the test ride was observing the difference between where the bike would shift itself, vs. where she would have shifted it manually. (Also on Liz’s blog, if you’re a “Sons of Anarchy” fan, be sure to read about her visit with Kurt Sutter, who gave her a personal tour of the series’ sets!)

Sonny Barger book review: Let’s Ride

I’ve got two copies of Sonny Barger’s new book, “Let’s Ride,” to give away! To be eligible to win, read my review below and leave a comment on this post that contains either one good tip for fun, safe and/or smart riding, or a quick take on why you’d like to win the book. Two winners will be randomly selected on Friday, June 25 from among those who comment! Thanks to  Harper Collins for the opportunity to review the book and for providing the give-away copies.

Here’s the thing: many folks will not lend credence to this book because of the lifestyle led unapologetically by its author. That’s the route I almost took when I was invited to read and review the book.

But, ultimately, I believe that having multiple perspectives on any given topic is always a good thing. People coming from different backgrounds, and with different life experiences, can often lend something quite valuable to the discussion.

If you think that Sonny Barger is going to advise you to “not worry” about riding while impaired, or to terrorize groups of upstanding citizens, or to be a scofflaw regarding helmet use, or anything else along those lines, you’ll be just as surprised as I was at how mainstream (“square,” if you will) his advice actually is.

And you may also be surprised at how much useful information is in the book regarding riding techniques, evaluating motorcycles, and valuing/looking out for your own safety.

Whatever else he’s done in his long life, Ralph “Sonny” Barger has been riding motorcycles for something like 60-plus years. And while it’s tempting to think of him in the one most obvious dimension (he’s the founder and long-time President of the most visible chapter of the most visible motorcycle club in the world – the Oakland, California Hell’s Angels), there’s also at least one undeniable truth: the guy knows how to stay alive on a motorcycle.

With several books already under his belt (including an autobiography and a couple of novels), Barger now takes on the task of passing along some of his more practical wisdom about bikes and riding.

His new book, Let’s Ride: Sonny Barger’s Guide to Motorcycling, co-authored with Darwin Holmstrom, covers everything from the types of motorcycles that are out there to the basic controls and how to operate them to how to change your bike’s oil.

The section on how to evaluate a used bike isn’t just useful when you’re shopping, it could also be used as a checklist of things you should review to determine the condition of the bike you already own. And, the chapter on advanced riding strategies is filled with reminders every rider – experienced or beginner – can use to stay safe on the road.

What really struck me about the book, though, was how much the world’s most infamous one-percenter and I seem to have in common.

For example, I’ve often said that motorcycling is relaxing not because it allows you to sit back and take it easy, but because when you are riding it leaves you singularly focused on your safety, the road, and the bike. At the end of the ride even though you’ve been working hard mentally, you’re still relaxed.

Sonny says the same thing:

(Focusing on road hazards) helps me prepare for potential danger, but it does more than that: it focuses my complete attention on that moment in time, so that I’m not thinking about anything other than riding my motorcycle at that place in time. It might not be the same as spending a lifetime in some Buddhist monastery, but the concentration required while riding a motorcycle is a form of focused meditation that makes all the petty distractions of day-to-day life melt away. It might seem morbid to concentrate on potential danger with such intense focus, but it clears my head. When I’m finished riding, I feel relaxed and recharged, so morbid or not, I consider it a beneficial activity.

I’m also fond of saying, “Ride like no one sees you, and those who see you want to kill you.”

Barger says the same thing, in a slightly more colorful way:

…I recommend adopting the attitude that every single person on the road is a sociopathic serial killer who has just escaped from an asylum for the criminally insane. This might seem a little pessimistic, but you’ll live longer if you assume everyone else on the road is a homicidal moron whose sole purpose is to kill you.

A few other things Barger and I have in common:

• We both think a custom chopper isn’t a good bike for a beginner.
• We both think you should buy a smaller bike to start with so you have complete control over the machine while you’re learning to ride.
• We both wear cowboy boots when we ride, and refer to the rubber soles as “grippy.”
• We’re both in the same camp when it comes to sorting out “those who have” and “those who will.”

Bottom line: the book is a good primer, shows occasional flashes of Barger’s salty humor, and offers up a lifetime of bike-riding wisdom you just can’t argue with.

Don’t forget, leave your comment with a riding tip or reason why you’d like to read the book, and you’ll be eligible to win a copy!

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