Labor day weekend 2014 - Rob's lost.

Practice makes perfect, perfect is a fault and in fault lies change. - REM

I could not let a three day weekend pass without a bit of a ride.

August 2014 was a long month for me, one full of change and surprise and fear and yea, more than my fair share of wonder.  

Without going into to much detail this path month has seen a lot of changes.  Those changes are still happening, still occurring.  Generally speaking I think I don't handle change well.  You can blame that on my father and his "stuck in my ways" approach to life.  But I also thrive on and need change, to do something the same way day in and out bores me to tears.

It's been a month of phone calls and talking to lawyers.  It's been a month of uncertainty and balance.  It's been an odd time of year for me.  Concerning the lawsuits I will say this.  One lawsuit is coming to an end, another may or may not go forward.  I'm told I have a case but it's going to be balancing on a fine line.  I am not a litigious person, but having been even semi self-employed for as long as I have, you learn to keep a lawyer on retention.  

Another job awaits (with better pay and daylight hours), but only if I manage to test well on the Florida licensing exam.  Sadly this is a one shot deal.  I feel confident that I will pass it.  

Still though sometimes you just need to put down the books, the phones, and step away from the computer.  There are times when you need to go for a ride just to clear your head.  So I did.

I forgot to bring my camera.  I forgot to bring my phone (all photo's have been on this blog before then).   I just rode, taking whatever road seemed best.  If I made a left or right hand turn didn't matter.  I wanted to be lost, I wanted to just ride somewhere, anywhere for a bit.  

Florida is largely flat, but we do have some hills.  Quite by accident I found myself on Leheup Hill, and it's sister hill - Nursery hill.  

A left turn because I've never been down that road leads me off onto a single lane road with some pretty neat twisties, and then up over a bend with a view over a lake that made me long for my camera.  Their was a school or college or some educational looking building that was was reflected in the calm water sitting on a knoll above the lake.  I had to stop and drink in the view for a moment.  

A moment or two later some sandhill cranes walk out into the path requiring some quick, but not difficult braking on my part.  These are large birds and even though they only weigh about 10 pounds (4.57 Kg), I've no desire to hit a bird that is 3 or 4 foot tall ( or roughly 91 cm).  They squawk at me, taking their time to cross the road only about a meter from me, annoyed that I am making them move.  

I move on, passing a twin to the Muffler man in Zephyrhills and cursing the fact that I was unable to find him during my adventures with the Equinox to Equinox rally.  I start down another road that I don't ride very often, heading Southwest and debating if I want to head towards the coast.  Past lazy cows and horses that look at me with a smirk.  "We have the real horsepower" they seem to say.

It occurs to me that I've not been on horseback in years, and how I enjoyed that so much as a younger man.

I wave absentmindedly to other riders, I pass an old church and think about stopping just to take a look inside but I keep moving.  Leaning right, left, right, left....I'm lost and joyful and the miles tick off the odometer.  I stop for water at a convenience store and strike up a short but funny conversation with the elderly clerk.  Then I'm off again.  It's hot and my ass is uncomfortable on the seat but I keep riding.  50 miles tick off...60...70.  I stop now and again for water, it's to hot not to.  I thank God for investing in a mesh jacket.

It's afternoon now and I am really lost.  I stop, cursing myself for leaving the phone at home.  In taking the path not traveled I've somehow managed to turn myself around one to many times.  I see a sign for Brooksville, it's a town I know can lead me home but I have no clue how the hell I got here.  I'm north one county and heading away from home...I thought I was heading towards it.  I am turned around.

Brooksville actually one of those towns I've been wanting to explore.  There is history here, not all of it good as the "City of Tangerines" was once known for it's lynchings and racism.  I'm about 45 miles from home.  I turn the bike in that direction.  Susan, I know, would worry about me.  It's not like me to forget my phone.  I vow to return and soon, camera in hand.

The "Muffler man" in Z-hills

The ride home is straight, boring and at a higher speed than I like.  The scenery is mostly southern pine and knobby trees.  I know there must be a shorter way home (and there was, I looked after I got home) but I know this route.

I finally make it home, tired, hot and sweat drenched.   Kimmie and I did the longest ride we ever have, something like 130 miles and 3 to 5 hours.  I had filled the tank and reset the odometer but never bothered to look at my leave time.

My ass aches and so does my back.  Susan is chewing me out.  I'm smiling.  I'm happy to have gotten lost.  I stand in the shower and let the hot water relax my back and just think about doing that again sometime.

I've fallen in love again.

Scooter Cannonball Run 2014

I'm a few days late.

It's that time of year again, for the biannual Scooter Cannonball Run.  Long story short for those that may stumble on this miserable attempt at writing...the cannonball is an open event for scooters under 250cc.  It normally is a ten day event that crosses the country and this years event is, to the best of my knowledge, the first to enter another country (Canada) and is being run from Hyder, Alaska to New Orleans, Louisiana.  A distance of some 3500 miles.  The "race" this year concludes with the opening of Amerivespa 2014.

It is not a race.

So I thought I do a little public service and include all the web links I could for the individual riders.  They are on a hell of an adventure - and I will admit I feel a little envious and then I think..."oh hell no!"  After all your going to ride for 350 miles a day roughly on a bike that may only top out at 50 MPH.  Their are a few riders who may not even be capable of that speed.

You have to admire the craziness of it, the dedication to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to do something like this.  To be on a bike for 8 or 9 hours a day, work on it at night for a few hours and then right back to it again.

It is not a race.  It is a challenge.  An experience.  An insanity.

Last year, two years of ago I would have loved to have done it.  Now....while now is a different story.

So here is to the insane ones, the crazy ones.  The ones that are pushing themselves, their bikes and perhaps even their luck.  Here is to you crazy fools.

Show some love and leave comments on their blogs and Facebook pages.  They would appreciate it.  Here they are in no order what so ever.

Phil's 2014 Cannonball Run  - Blog and photo's

Skwirly's - Sadly his run is already over as I type this due to a bad piston.  But your welcome to peruse.

Scooterfile - Providing coverage via a dedicated page.

Rocket and Me - Pictures and Blog

Dave's Cannonball Run - Blog with photo's and VIDEO.

2014 Cannonball - Blog but no updates since Dec 2013?  Perhaps later?

Rides and Random Thoughts - Blog with Photo's.  She is also one of the few female riders that I know are participating this year.

Scooter Cannonball - Very nice unofficial blog for the whole thing?

Kick Start Karen - some interviews with the riders and other interesting tidbits from a former Cannonballer.

A lot of the riders are offering real time tracking of their progress as well so you can follow along on the journey.  If I missed anyone or anything just let me know and I'll be happy to add it!

Good luck!

The Buddha and me (and updates make 3)

**NOTE** At the end of my day the bike tire went BOOM!  You can read about that here.

When you’re traveling, it’s easier to let go of a beautiful moment because you know the adventure continues. No matter what rolls by outside your window, there will inevitably be more to appreciate when you get off the [bike]. - Ehren Prudhel from Tiny Buddha

When a friend of mine posted her photo's of a recent trip to a Buddhist Temple in nearby Palm River, Florida I knew I had to take the bike down.  I don't consider myself a religious person to any extent, but I've always had a affinity for Eastern Religious practices.  If anything I consider myself to be a lapsed philosophical Taoist.  Perhaps a Pastafarian Deist?

The chance to walk along the gardens and mediate, even for a few moments appealed to me.  I also enjoy Thai food which is a rarity for me, and they offered this for sale on Sunday mornings (sadly nothing offered peaked my interest).  

What attracts me to the Eastern Religions is the idea of wholeness.  At the risk of getting to philosophical, there is no separation between the mind and the body.  Diet and exercise (such as Yoga and Tai Chi)  are considered part of the everyday religious practice.  Sex is not viewed as a negative.  In fact, there seems to be very few negatives in the Eastern World view in my opinion.  Life may be full of pain and suffering, but it is just an illusion.  A wonderful, crazy, mind blowing illusion.

As I sit here and write this I can not help but think that is one of the reasons I enjoy riding so much.  The bike is not something I climb into and surround by, but rather something that I am part of.  A flick, a lean, a push or a pull and Kimmie obeys.  My scientific mind understands the control is just a illusion, physics will always win - I have faith that a cager will not cross the double yellow line or pull out in front of me.  There is a wholeness to riding.

I decided not to enter the temple proper due to the fact that I was in full riding gear, and I overhead a young man stating he wanted to say a few prayers for his deceased mother.  He did not need to have me walking about snapping pictures like a fool.

The grounds were rather small but there was a variety of exotic flowers and the riverfront was peaceful, I found myself wanting to come back during the weekday's and just sit and be quiet.  I also considered asking several monks to bless my bike.  Perhaps I should have.

The ride itself only took about 30 min and cover about as many miles on roads that I more or less understood and knew well.  I had been wanting to stretch Kimmie legs on roads I did not know, lately I've been feeling like all I ever do is ride to work.  While being a "scooter commuter" is all well and good it really does not challenge me as a rider.  Muscle memory tends to take over riding the same paths day in and day out.  While repetition may be good for Tai Chi, it is (in my humble opinion) not good for a motorcyclist.  While our attention will naturally fade on the back of a bike from time to time (just as it does in a car), I feel that our attention is sharpened on roads we don't know or ride often.  It's good to keep the mind active and awake when riding.  I'm glad my mind was active.  If you don't know what happened read here.

From Kymcoforums.com

The ride would also give me a chance to try out the new "My Tracks" app for the smart phone.  I have been wanting a way to track and then review my ride to parts unknown.  You never know when your going to find that special road or roads that need to be explored further.  Or in my case a neat little winery or milk shake place via pinpoints!  This ride can be imported to Google Earth and then shared, which hopefully I did correctly at the end of this entry.

While I've not adopted the idea shown in the photo, I think that is going to be the next project.  Lately I've been meaning to go further and I could use my GPS and speedometer applications on my phone with ease in this set up.  Part of me likes the idea of seeing where I've been, the other part does not want to look back.  The camera on my phone could also take video if I mounted it correctly.  While not a fan of ride videos (which I find boring) I could see it use in some cases.

I'm not sure if I like the slow but steady move I'm making to an all Google platform.  I enabled Google + comments once before and it seemed that although my blog reached a wider audience, I received little to no feedback.  I would rather have the feedback, so if your unable to leave a comment PLEASE contact me via my email.  It's important for me to hear from you to determine what path I take.

Here is the URL to the ride.

Going further

One very big ant.

This is the last time I'll be mentioning the E2E rally for a bit. Where I have yet to exhaust all the "local"  bonus points that I can gather (I recently found several historical markers and graveyards).  It's time for me to go out and explore other areas.  To go 50, 100, 150 miles down the road in search of something as simple as police stations and post offices (worth 2 points)...or as something as unusual as a giant strawberry painted on top of a water tower (worth 7 points).

http://www.northcountrypublicradio.net

I am looking forward to this adventure.  As much as I loved riding the Burgman, a maxi-scooter built for comfort and touring, my current Kmyco seems to want to go further.  It seems that it wants that adventure.  I feel more confident now as a rider, more able to handle the road and the challenges it represents.  My goal for the rally is a top 25 finish (I am # 096  in the rally and you can see where I've been here although the site is slow to update).

My game plan is a simple one.  Gather up points every single day I can.  Submit.  Then repeat.  Of course now that I have to leave my comfort zone and range out further than I have in the past that plan will have to be modified somewhat.  For example, I have my route all planned out for spending a day in Tampa and gathering over 200 points.  Up until now I was able to run around before work.  Now I have to take a day trip.  To be gone for 3 or more hours in some cases...all because my pride demands I finish in the top 25.  I better get a tee-shirt out of this at least!  I better change out my heavy jacket for a lighter one as well.

It does exist!!!

I was in St. Augustine recently (the past two days) but did not ride my bike over since I was with my parents, which prevented me from riding every day.  Now I desire to ride to St. Augustine even more (some wonderful back roads and things to see).  Florida's somewhat tragic past - war, slavery, racism, the 2000 election -  and recent E2E planning has brought up some interesting sites, some things that I would have never of considered going to see.  For example, I can go and visit the World's largest Confederate flag and associated military monument.  Question is...should I?


You can't miss this from the highway.  It brings up mixed feelings in me.  My family lost sons in both sides of the conflict, and we actually have letters from long dead nephews and uncles that fought on different sides in the same battles.  As a human being that has friends of all colors, creeds, sexual preferences and political beliefs the flag also represents some of the worst in we humans. I am also smart enough to know that racism has deep roots and I've done or said things that are racist.  I'm human despite my best efforts.

 Points are points however...and I am not that desperate to finish in the top 25.

This is Florida after all, and sometimes I do see racism.  I also see hope in that, for the most part, Florida is a melting pot of Latino's, Whites and Blacks and every color in between and somehow we all manage to get along.   That's something to be celebrated.  That's something to be encouraged.  That's worth a day trip for.

St Augustine Lighthouse

Tires and some other randomness

Just like that I'm at 15,000 miles.  

The rear wheel, showing some wear.

I need to replace at least one of my tires.   The rear is looking worn and well used while the front still has some tread on it.
Normally I don't think about tires, it's just part of the normal maintenance of owning a vehicle.  I put air in them, I change them out when the tread is gone or I start to slip.   Of course, in my car or Jeep the tread is a different story, the performance will be affected if one tire is an issue but not as much.  A little spin on a bald tire in the rain is not really an issue as long as the other three catch.
On a bike, it's another story.  A spin can kill you.  Not gripping the road surface correctly can cause an accident.  Riding has made me very aware of what can and does go wrong.  I've asked around and everyone points to the Pirelli Diablo as the tires to get.
When your riding any sort of 2 wheel motorized monster I suppose you realize just how close the road is beneath your feet.  

I used to very interested in hiking and Orienteering.  It was a wonderful feeling to get out into the woods for a few hours, sometime with just a map and compass and my own wits and knowledge.  Well I was not a serious orienteer I did enjoy getting out into nature and walking about.  Being out in the woods brought me a peace I rarely find in everyday life.  Nature recharged my batteries and cleared my head, no matter how bad the day or depressed I was; spending time out in the woods was the best thing I could do.


Running around on my bike does the same, but their are differences.   I commute, I've used my bike for a route I run...only rarely have I've been able to get out and enjoy a ride where I can get lost for a bit.  To see what is down that road, or to the left where I usually make a right.  Working the way I do the chance to get out and do something different for a few hours is wonderful.

When I learned about a group in nearby Clearwater, Florida that is doing Geocaching by scooter I could not help but get a little excited.  I am not a fan of Geocaching as such, preferring the older methods of compass of maps - a acoustic GPS if you will.  It would allow me to explore the city of Clearwater and St Petersburg a little more.  It allow me to get out a little more and meet some fellow scooter riders, which is a goal for 2012.

As spring approaches the GF and I are already planning and starting to work on our garden.  A few tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots.  Peppers, basil and of course some wonderful flowers, including some mammoth sunflowers to hold up the fence.
I've been reading some books on Homesteading.   I've been interested in making my life simpler.   The bike is part of that equation.  Growing my own food another.