Well I know famous people now....sort of

Recently two friends of mine have been published.

Alan Seeger has written two books and both are rich with imagery  imagination and general weirdness.  Pinball is a fun little jaunt into what may have been and what should have never been.

Lucid Dreaming is a series of essay's, stories and odds and ends about the unimportant stuff of Life, Death and Rock and Roll told in a fun and entertaining way.

My good friend Brook Harwood has also just finished his first novel and is in the process of putting the finishing touches on it before publication later this year.  I've been asked not to say to much since this is getting the full publishers push.  I've read it parts of it, and frankly it's not my cup of tea.

For fans of epic other worldly adventure with a firm understanding of mythos and horror then Brook's soon to be published epic is sure to please.  More to follow on that I promise.

So congrats to two good friends and their works.
It also now is confirmed that there will be a whole series of works by Brooke.  I wonder who plays me in the movie?

Update on the E2E and other randomness

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous and leading to the most amazing view.  - Edward Abbey

The first of the month is always hectic, always insane as I try to maintain the various magazines and publications at all the stores and other locations I supply.  So I've not really had much of a chance to go and ride.  I did get away for a bit though, which is why that photo of the post office is to the right.  There is a story behind it too!

As part of the Equinox to Equinox Rally, you get a few points for getting a photo of your bike, your rally card and a certain object, in this case the post office.  Seems easy enough...till a police car pulls up and wants to know why your taking pictures of the post office.  I showed them the card and explained the rally point system to them.   Then asked them to take me to the nearest police station was - after all it's on the list.  The officer was not amused.  I still don't have that picture.

I take it as a matter of personal pride to do my best and finish in the top 25. That's my goal anyway, and I don't expect my name in lights or songs to be sung of my riding prowess...a tee shirt might be nice however.  For me, its part of a bigger plan...I had set myself the goal of riding everyday in April, even if it was just around the block. I don't get to do that much "recreational" riding and am afraid that I'll become blase' about my daily commute.  Becoming to familiar with the road might mean I don't pay the attention to it I should.  Riding an unknown road, or at least a different road, is good for my soul as well as my skills.

There are snags however.  The state of Florida only has two national parks, neither of which are close to me.  Then there is the fact that much of Florida is under 100 years old, which makes finding historic markers and cemeteries (again on the rally "bonus" list) that much more difficult and challenging.  Much of Florida's history was only written in the last 100 - to 150 years and most of that was written in the panhandle.  The interior of Florida was not opened up until the 1900's and that was due to trains.  

The more I seek out the historical Florida, the more I find.  I've always had a deep and resounding respect for history, so coming across a lone sign or finding some forgotten spot appeals to me.  

Because motorcycles are cool.

At work we have converted another one.  That brings the total number of riders five.  Three of us are riding in pretty much every day.  

So I sit here and ask myself...why am I not out riding?  Time to go!

Equinox to Equinox rally

Historical marker - Check!

I have a problem.  When ever I get on the internet I have this strange desire to learn.  So a link on a buddy's page takes me somewhere interesting.  That strange word takes me over to another page.  That odd picture leads me somewhere else.

It was this "aimless but interesting" meandering that brought me to Fuzzygalore.com.  A "Girlie Motorcycle blog" without a pink unicorn or pair of house slippers in sight.  So I start to read a little and I'm taken with the idea of a virtual rally,   A virtual rally is basically a treasure hunt.  Your supposed to take pictures of your bike in front of various landmarks and other places and things.   The contest runs between March 20 (the Spring equinox) and Sept. 22, 2013 (the Autumnal equinox).

This rally is being sponsored by the Pace Podcast, which I have to be honest I've never heard of until this rally, but they seem like a fun bunch and have earned a new listener.  

I am number 096 and stole how to place my rally card from Ms. Fuzzygalore.  My initial enthusiasm for the rally has waned a bit however as I think about when I how I will be able to do this.  I work 40 hours a week at one job, own my own business on the side that takes up an additional 16 - 20 hours a week.  Well many of the "treasures" are easy for me to find and take photo's of (you think it was designed that way), there are a few that aren't (you think it was designed that way).  You can see the list here. 

City Hall in Zephyrhills - points obtained!

The whole idea however is to get out and ride.  Win, lose, it really doesn't matter.  I just need to get out when I can (I feel that I can rack up a lot of points in one day if I can actually just spend it riding).  Somehow I managed to get a few points just by riding around town for a bit.  More points to follow I'm sure...and while I sure in hell I won't win, I would like to get a top 25 finish.

Static train car - points obtained!

I've a few more photo's, a few more places to go and some more places to go.  Some major points to obtain.  On those trips I might see some things and that is the whole point of the rally isn't it.

A review of the EMGO travel trunk

Sitting on my stoop this morning was my brand new EMGO travel trunk.  I picked it off of Amazon for under seventy dollars and have been wanting some sort of top case for a while.  One of the major issues, and I really do think the Kymco corporation missed the boat on this, with my bike is a lack of storage.  The Kymco, or "Kimmie", is a nice bike and frankly she's surprised me on how quickly she's stolen my heart.  She is still not at the level of my beloved and much missed Burgman...but she's growing on me more and more.

  I commute nearly every day on her, taking my lunch bag at least and maybe a pull over for that cool ride home at 12:30 AM.  With my former bike, I had storage for my riding jacket, full face helmet and pull over...all waiting for me to slip on and head home after a hard day of work.  With the Xciting, I can place my helmet and pull over away...but nothing else.  So I'm lugging in a few things every day.

 My hope is that the EMGO travel trunk would solve some of that.   Lucky for me, it was simple to install.

Kimmie's previous owner had a top case installed before, and the grab bars were solid enough to hold the travel trunk as well.  The entire set up consisted of a hard thick plastic bottom plate which already had several holes pre-drilled into it.  I would just have to affix the bottom plate to the existing luggage rack area with four mounting screws.

Sadly this took some drilling as the previous owner's top case holes did not match up with mine.  

The bottom plate installed.

It only took me about an hour to do.  That simplicity I liked and EMGO gets kudo's from me because of this simplicity.  After all, I'm a monkey with a gun when it comes to anything mechanical.

The travel trunk itself is 12" by 16.5" by 11" (or 30.48 by 41.91 by 27.94 cm) so it's roomy enough to hold a full face helmet at least and various little odds and ends.  I'll probably make it a habit to carry my rain gear, gauntlet gloves and pull over under the seat.  My daily "needs" of lunch and place to store my helmet will go into the trunk.  It looks like my jacket will have to go inside with me for now.

The case is actually a half inch (0.5" or 1.27 cm) in thickness.  It has a dual ridge "locking" system so when it's shut it should be waterproof.  Always a nice thing when your on your bike and since I've used my bike to make the occasional delivery  the size and convenience of the box will work nicely for me. The locking mechanism is hinged, so it locks the top to the bottom.  The entire case can be locked into the bottom holder as well, and with a push of a button, released to take inside.

I was a bit worried about the case either blocking the rear lights completely or hanging over them so much as to create a shadow.  I didn't need to worry at all as the case does not interfere with the lights at all.  I've been considering adding LED brake lights to the license plate or to the top box itself as a safety measure and may have found the perfect solution, that is for another post however.  In the meantime some reflective tape should help make me a little more visible.

 
Overall I'm happy with the box and can't wait to take it out on the road.  I'm assuming that it will affect the way I ride, after all it will catch the wind and effect the over all balance of the bike...but that should be easy enough to overcome.  

To cute not to share.

I could not resist.  Even though I consider Disney to be evil in the end I am a fun of animation.  The broad brush style and cheery colors is a nice contract to the computer animation that is so prevalent today.  Plus its nice to see a cartoon not trying to sell toys today.  Although it being Disney they do briefly show some of their products.



Croissant de Triomphe on Disney Video
Special thanks go to Scooting Old Skool for bringing this to my attention.

Farkle season begins now.

It's been an odd few weeks for me as my business has undergone some changes, not all for the good.  My regular job has undergone some changes, again not all for the good and my riding life has been reduced to riding back and forth to work again.

In this daily grinding commute I have become more and more convinced that I needed a top box.  I have something in mind that I feel would work, but I'm unsure about it.  I tend to over think things, worrying and worrying about something till I actually do it.  Then I wonder why I didn't do this before.  

Pic from a previous post showing Burgman storage.

Kimmie simply has no storage.  In my previous ride - the 07 Suzuki Burgman - I had enough storage for my riding jacket, my helmet and my rain gear (or a sweatshirt) when needed.  Kimmie can hold my helmet, or if I use the hook on the outside of the bike, my jacket fits snugly away.  

I need to take my lunch to work and a place to store my jacket, helmet, rain gear and maybe a pull-over (during those chilly 1 AM rides home from work).  Well I can certainly continue to walk into work with my full gear on, it's just easier to store it on the bike.

Recently I've been looking at a Emgo Travel Trunk.  The one that I'm considering measures 12 in. lengthwise by 16.5 inches wide by 11 inches deep.  That should be enough to hold my gear.  What concerns me is if it fit on my bike, how will it affect my riding and how stable will it be on Kimmie?  I need to take out a tape measure and figure it out.

Assuming it works on my bike, I'll order it later today, install it sometime next week and see what happens.

 It will actually stick out over the brake lights and I'm thinking I will need some sort of reflective stickers or tape on the back of the box.  The biggest disadvantage to this is the lack of a brake light and I'm wondering if it's possible to get some sort of stick on LED brake lights?  I'm paranoid about getting hit from behind. 

I guess we will find out.  I just ordered the damn thing and should have it early next week.  

And the line blurs even more...

When I saw this video for Toyota's new concept car, the I-ROAD, it reminded me of the Piaggio MP3 model only with a roof.  It blurs the line between what is a motorcycle, a scooter and a car.

The biggest difference of course, is that the Toyota's I-ROAD is electric.   It is rear wheel driven and relies on computer chips to counter steer thus keeping the car upright in turns but for all practical purposes it appears to handle like a motorcycle or scooter would.

Now of course this is just a concept.  It may never see the light of day and would have only a limited market in the US but still it's just confirms what I've been arguing all along.  That due to increasing urbanization, fossil fuel scarcity and environmental concerns the future belongs to the maxi-scoot.   The Scooter Revolution continues...