ABioBikers

Here's Zoe sporting her fashionable Deal's Gap t-shirt that I got her on our last trip. At that time we did the Dragon in the Miata twice and she was riding in utero . In a couple of years we'll get her her very own litte tykes motorcycle to get her started on the right path. Zoom! Zoom!

So I went riding with Matthew Powell yesterday; me on the RT and him on the Triumph Triple. There was a long line, probably a mile, of traffic stopped on a two lane road with a dashed yellow line. The oncoming lane was clear. I said to Matthew that we should , since we have a broken yellow, 'pass' the traffic. With a little goading, he was into it and off we went. Once we got to the end, we saw an accident and a policman was directing traffic in the one open lane. We quickly ducked back in line, me in front of a truck and he behind the truck. Once we got close, I saw the cop looking at me and I gave him a wave and got a wave back. I then pulled over in a parking lot once we were past the scene. Matthew comes up to me and says, "Did that cop yell at you for passing all the traffic"? "No", I said, he waved at me! What we figure happened was that the big faring and headlight of the RT blocked the cop's view of the naked Triumph and he only saw one bike pass...

Here is Tuni and his new baby, at least until Zoe comes in August.

Fueling up for the day's ride. Hey guys (and gal)--what a great trip! The weather couldn't have been better up in Townsend and the surrounding area. Here we are starting off the first morning getting fueled up and ready to go. Primary destination--Deal's Gap and the infamous Dragon's Tail. Heading Out Post-Dragon Gang John P., Doug, John C., Cathy, Chris W., Kevin R., Lisa D. (and Zoe), Rob C., John O., Bob N., Bear, William S. and Matt S. http://www.tailofthedragon.com/ Lisa and John chillin' in the mountains. I'd like to say "thank you" to Rob for organizing this trip; Bob, William and John P. for doing the grocery shopping; Chris, Bear and Bob for cooking yummy meals; and Doug for his outstanding advice and guidance along the way. Thanks to everyone for such great rides, discussions and more material for making fun of Rob and Kevin. (Ahh-the dangers of getting everyone together in the same place!!) Special thanks to William for making sure th...

We only have a few weeks left until the Tennesee/NC ride. My bike is washed, waxed, new tires, and ready to go. The weather is nice again. Looking forward to the gathering. Robo

This one deserves a beating: http://zappinternet.com/index.php?video=LoMpHufQal Hope you guys will upgrade your account so you can continue to post. Really no big deal, only takes a couple of minutes. Rob

Hello All, I hope you'll oblige me on this non-motorcycle post. But I couldn't help but share this info with you as I am extremely proud of my dad and the Sky Soldiers Demo team he has been a part of since it's inception in 1997. The mission of the Sky Soldiers, (or Army Aviation Heritage Foundation) is to improve the public’s awareness of Army Aviation and it’s Veterans. Utilizing flyable historic Army Aviation aircraft, the AAHF tells the story of Army Aviation to the public through country-wide education presentations and airshows. So if you're a fan of airshows, more than likely you will have already seen them or will see them in an upcoming airshow in your area soon. You can even take a ride on a real, Vietnam-era Huey helicopter. VERY cool. I've done it myself several times. Further, the Cobra team has been rented this year to represent the US Army. Anyway, below is a home video of the Cobra demo team at an airshow and another link to the Sky Sol...

Mine is Panhead of the Sons of Santa. http://www.ratbike.org/motorcycho/outlawname.php Lisa, I can tell you already what yours is!

http://tinyurl.com/yf39ln The video is long. If you are bored, watch the beginning to get the idea, then skip to about 2/3 through. The cop rams the Harley several times before the dramatic ending. Rob

At the Sales Meeting a few weeks ago, Liz Casanova, Michelle Lockey, Madera Bibb and I went for a drive through the Joshua Tree National Forest. We had a rental car, of course, but I couldn't help wishing I was on my bike as we rode through the windy roads. What a spectacular ecosystem! We saw a bobcat, numerous ravens and raptors, a couple of mountain goats and a pretty fiercesome stinkbug. Here is am image of the Joshua trees. Unfortunately, I had not thought enough in advance to bring my U2 CD along as was recommended by Matthew Powell. It was a great way to spend half a day off at the Sales Meeting. Perhaps one day I'll get to take a ride through this area or through the American southwest on my VTX1300. Of course I'll have to stop every so often to give John a break as his SV1000 isn't nearly as comfy for the long haul. (HeeHee)

The CW Motorcycle Shows start this weekend and may be coming to a city near you. Great place to see all the new bikes in one spot and see tons of gear. Vendors of all kinds and beer too! Here is the link for the site and the schedule. Enjoy! Phoenix - Nov. 3-5, 2006 Houston - Nov. 10-12, 2006 Ft. Worth - Nov. 17-19, 2006 Seattle - Dec. 1-3, 2006 Long Beach - Dec. 8-10, 2006 San Mateo - Dec. 15-17, 2006 Novi - Jan. 5-7, 2007 Washington DC - Jan. 12-14, 2007 New York - Jan. 19-21, 2007 Cleveland - Jan. 26-28, 2007 Minneapolis - Feb. 2-4, 2007 Chicago - Feb. 9-11, 2007 Atlanta - Feb. 23-25, 2007

Just came back from the Barber Race Track and Museum in Birmingham. Great day for racing. The museum is worth a visit by itself. My favorites are the REALLY old, essentially motorized bicycles from the early 1900s (1910--1930). A Sears brand is pictured below. It had regular bike pedals and chain to get up to speed, then a manual clutch to engage the engine which used a sewn leather belt! Very cool. Cost about $170. For those of you who are waiting to take a pot shot at BMW, I'll let you know my heated BMW vest burnt out on the way home forcing me to stop early and get a hotel. Now, it has a 3 year warranty and the dealer is refunding my money and giving me a different brand. Also, my darn gortex liner in my RevIt Pants delaminated and the 'gang of three' was quite wet in the rain. RevIT is taking care of that also. Finally, my darn IPOD crapped out. Still, it was a good trip and listening to your engine while screaming through the mountain roads is all the music you need. ...

Too hot to wear a jacket or riding pants? Your state does not require a helmet? Read this...... http://www.speedfreakinc.com/content/articles/riding/roadrashqueen.html

Here's a great video of some awesome riding. Check out my recent MSF course exam. Rob http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6178043709180164205&q=motorcycle

Well I sprung for the pictures from Deal's Gap, Tail of the Dragon, only $5 for a digital picture. Deal's was a fun ride with John and Lisa. Even I can look cool--it just costs a lot of money to cover me up with gear and a nice bike!--And finally I don't look gay!

For my birthday John surprised me with two great new bike additions--Honda leather saddle bags and some Vance and Hines pipes!!!!!!!!! I was grinning ear to ear upon starting up my VTX for the first time this afternoon and hearing the throaty glub, glub sound emminating from those babies. What a great ride we had. I couldn't keep from laughing as I listened to the new rumble of my bike, thinking at times it sounded much like the engine of one of the pod racers in Star Wars. It's a beautiful noise--not too loud, but deep and gurgling, with a nice vibration as I accelerate. Thanks honey!! You really know how to treat a lady!

...for the motorcycle safety course! Darwin was right. Enjoy www-scf.usc.edu/~itsara/learntoride.wmv

This is a Harley promotional video. It's interesting. Look for the transvestite biker. http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-7061079025585485911&hl=en Rob

It was good to see so many bloggers at the meeting in Orlando last week. As our riding season comes to a close in the soon to be great white north, my thoughts start to turn to rides for next season. I looked at a Map to try to decide what would be doable with lots of ABioBikers as possible and looks like Knoxville, TN may hold the most promise. Quite a few of us can make it to the area in one day. My thought would be to select a central location and ride out from there. Can't set anything in stone just yet, but wanted to plant the seed for the future. Weigh in if you have a comment and we can start to set this up soon. Chris

Sunday we rode the Tail of the Dragon ( http://www.tailofthedragon.com/ ) down to Deals Gap. 318 curves in 11 miles!! Admittedly, I had to take it a bit slow on my VTX1300 compared to Rob on his 1200RT and John on his SV1000. But I made it to Deals Gap and enjoyed watching the mix of Harley riders, sportbikers and touring biker riders coming in and out. The photo board in the general store showcasing pics of Dragon's Tail mishaps--broken ankles, scraped flesh, etc. was an interesting study. Three cheers for real riding gear, which clearly, many people fail to utilize. Lastly, let me add one more blogsite: www.killboy.com (not very inspirational for a motorcycle site, I admit) which posts pics of riders as they navigate the Dragon. All in all, even with some rain on the way home Monday, it was a great ride. And nothing exploded in Rob's cycle bag this time.