In Wine, Truth

It is Saturday and I've got stuff to do. The weather is improving and it seems warm with temperatures in the high 60's. That's not exactly hot but it has been colder for so long it seems like spring can't be far away. There are a lot of motorcycles on the road and why not? It's a beautiful day. By afternoon I'm done with all my chores so I decide to take a little ride. I think a short jaunt through the Sonoma Valley will fit the day.



As I cruise down Hwy 12 toward the town of Sonoma, I see vinyard after vinyard. But one particular section of road starts me thinking, I do a lot of thinking while riding, it's one of the things I like best about being on the road. In this vinyard are old vines. These vines have thick, knarled trunks. Right across the highway are young vines, these have stems more than trunks.



I'm sure nobody is missing the point here. I'm thinking that I've seen more vintages that I have yet to see. So what's a person to do? Live every minute to the fullest. Enjoy every second. No, this just isn't the way life works. Someone who laughs a little too hard just sounds like an idiot (can you hear me Hilary). Someone who sucks in too much experience is just a glutton. Enjoy every second it just dosen't work like that.



Well what is the secret to happiness, you ask? Just get a motorcycle and ride through the Sonoma Valley on a warm late winter day and you'll be heading in the right direction.

The Razor or the Couch

The weather has finally gotten better. It's not raining and quite a bit warmer. So I'm thinking it’s time for a ride. But where? I've got it; I'll pick my daughter, Lee, up from school. She will love it; her very cool Dad on his very cool Harley will ride up looking like a cross between James Dean and Steve McQueen. All the other kids will be green with envy.
I decide to leave the LaPera seat on because it's much cooler and it’s only a short way home. Clearly a good trade off, coolness for comfort. I know she will agree.
So as I arrive I notice that things are not quite the same as my mental image. Lee is not looking excited, whoa, she's not even looking enthusiastic. More whoa, she does not look happy. What's up?
"Dad, I hate that seat, it is so uncomfortable." She gets on. "Dad, I hate it when you pick me up on the motorcycle." There is a sound of tires skidding on dry pavement inside my head. "It is so embarrassing," she says.
"I thought your friends would think it would be so cool to have your Dad pull up on a bike to pick you up."
"None of my friends think motorcycles are cool," she says.
I'm thinking that maybe dinosaurs are not extinct and that I may be one, we pull away, then she says, "can we take the long way home?"

Ernie's Tin Bar

When my friend called saying he was on his way home from Vallejo and did I want to meet at Ernie's for a beer, I immediately said...."let me check with the wife." After recieving the propper clearance and not a bit of grief (I love that woman) I fired up the bike and headed for Lakeville Rd, the location of Ernie's Tin Bar.
It has been raining and cold for the last, I dunno, month or so. I have really been antsy to go somewhere, anywhere. But Ernie's was a really good call. Ernie's is a small very old gas station now festooned with neon beer signs. The beer is cold and cheap. I have never seen or heard anyone in this bar who was ill manered or bad tempered.

The ride is not far, the weather was cold but good. I could see rain coming from some clouds around the horizon but thankfully not near. The bike loves cold air, you can feel that little bit of extra compression and hear it in a crisper exhaust note. I pulled into Ernie's, had a couple of beers that were the exact right termperature and the exact right price. Left Ernies and rode home with the temperature in the high 30's. Perfect day, perfect night, perfect ride.

Tour Pack Vibration

I have an Electra Glide Standard so I had to add a tour pack. I had been using a nylon bag that hung on the removable back rest. My wife liked the removable back rest, I got the tallest one Harley offers. But when I bought a tour pack and removable mount, she complained that it vibrated so badly that she couldn't keep her back against it.

I tried several ways to stop the vibration, but the only one that worked was to remount the tour pack back four inches. I used a piece of aluminum square tubing and drilled it to add a set of holes allowing me to remount the tour pack back four inches. The square tubing supports the tour pack as it now has to hang over the back or the detachable chrome mounting bracket.

The change has worked well because we now can remove the tour pack when we get to our destination, leave it in the hotel and cruise around town using just the detachable back rest.

Here is a photo of the installation. Also check two photos below to see how the install looks on the bike. That photo was taken on Hwy 395 near Lone Pine. You can click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Laughlin 2007 Trip

What Happens In Vegas

This photo speaks for itself

Scott and Blair on Carson Pass

Here We Go

Well here we go, my first blog. I intend this blog to be a diary of my motorcycle rides. I'm inspired by Peter and Kay Forwood's, Trip Around Around the World on A Harley-Davidson. I intend to tell a tale of each time I ride my motorcycle and show some pictures. It is the middle of winter now so not an idea time to start, but, on the other hand, I will probably figure out how to do a proper blog by the time the riding season gets into gear.I think I'll post a few older photos just to get the hang of it and maybe someone out there will enjoy them.

Below Sea Level