Cut Lumber for Small Display Case.

I cut some Sapele to rough length and thickness today for a small display box. It needs to sit for a couple of days to get its stupid wood tricks done and finished. I've had it in the shop for most of a year so a couple of days should be enough.

I noticed my push sticks needed replacement so I laid out a couple on some wide poplar.

 

Rough cut 'em and drilled some holes for the jig saw.

Used the jig saw to rough in the tote and then filed and sanded.

A rub with "Tried & True" and they are ready for use.

New Bench

I've been working on the new SYP workbench for awhile now, making small mods as needed but the basic bench is near perfect.

New Work Bench

Mid March I drove to Austin to pick up 400 board feet of SYP to use in a new work bench.  Here it is mid-July and I'm not finished, getting close but still need a couple three days or so to tie up the loose ends.  It will be good one with a wagon vise on the right end and a leg vise on the left front leg.  It will have a split top about 24" wide and will be almost 9' long.  I've needed a bigger bench for awhile but there has always been more pressing things to fix and do.  Photos to follow.

Krenov Plane

I've needed a good shooting board plane for a while, like every time I use the shooting board, my metal planes are a literal pain to use on the shooting board and I really do not want to spend $500 USD on a shooting plane from LN.

I've been thinking about a Krenov style wood plane and have ordered David Finck's book and have watched Hock's video along with reading some blog posts about making one. Yesterday I had nothing to do, a sharp Hock iron and chipbreaker on the shelf, and a Ash cutoff, so what the hell might as well, with nothing to loose but a day in the shop and maybe a giggle or two at the result I made my first wood plane.

Once Finck's book arrives it will be interesting to see what, if anything I did wrong or could have done better. But whatever, it came out pretty good, shaves like a champ, is light and works well on my shooting board. My metal ones may start gathering dust.

BTW, I need to remember to document the build as well as the finish.

Finished

Finished the kitchen, now I haven't a clue what to do with my free time. I'm happy with the outcome, there are always things that could have been done better, design flaws, and a few mistakes but not too many on this project. The corner of the sink cabinet and the Lazy Susan cabinet was set a little too tight and the door pulls do not work well together....fixed by setting the hinges on the Lazy Susan door on the opposite side. The trim over the sink and the stove could have been better planned, not as clunky and the dish washer opening is about 3mm or 4mm too big on the sides. There are some workmanship flaws and a few dings but again nothing major and most just add a little character.

The good things: The "pull down" shelf is great, the open cutting board storage works even better than I thought it would, the new sink is perfect, I love the look of the granite, and the extra 25mm of depth in the wall cabinets adds just enough extra room.

Saw Sharpening

I've always sent my saws out for sharpening, problem is I can not find a local sharpening service for back saws. Damn, what an excuse to buy some more tools. After weeks of looking and reading all I could find on the techniques and tools for sharpening hand saws I decided "what the hell, might as well". A saw vice was needed and there are just a few chooses, new (Gramercy tools), used, or make your own out of wood scraps. The good used ones are too expensive, make your own looked like a PIA to use, so that left new. Ordered one from Tools for Working Wood http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com//Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=GT-SAWV&Category_Code=TS plus the files and a saw set.

I finally got it all set up and sharpened the first saw last night.....not bad, did a rip cut 14 tpi on an old Frued back saw and it cut fast and almost true first cut out off the vice. After dressing the high side a couple of swipes, it made beautiful straight saw dust, saws better than any saw I've got back from a sharpening service.

Now I'm wondering why I didn't do this years ago.

The photo is of my sharpening area, plane irons, chisels, saws....now it makes no never mind.

Looking at some of the older posts, I realized that the photo of the bike's farkle shelf is out of date and things have been added and moved. Anyway this is the latest version.

Almost There

I hung the north wall doors yesterday, just the east wall upper and lower doors and the lazy susan door to go. All but two of the remaining doors are ready for paint, one of the unfinished doors had a brain fart cutting mistake and I had to glue-up a new panel, the other was also a brain fart but on one of the rails. I'll paint the finished doors tomorrow and deal with the brain fart ones once the others are hung.

Rode the bike to a RTE on the 31st, beautiful day to ride. It was good to air out the Dirty Fat Girl, for the last six months about all I've done is work on the kitchen redo except for a couple or three RTEs. Of course the three RTEs were good ones, the first was a run to Jackson Hole to meet a couple of friends for a hamburger. The next one was a Bum Burner Gold (1500 miles in less than 24 hours) for some Texas BBQ and the last was a run up to Cedar City, Utah for dinner with some riding buddies.

Union Hardware Chisels

Several months ago I bought some Union Hardware Chisels from EBay. I didn't think much about them, in fact I didn't even sharpen them for several weeks after they came. I used the 1" one several times to clean glue lines and other chores, not quite for paint can opening but close. I kept picking it up for odd jobs because it fit my hand so well and was really comfortable to use. It was looking pretty bad with dried glue stuck to it so one day I did a quick lap of the back and a bevel grind ending with a short polish on the hard Arkansas. No real effort but it was sharp for the first time. I was still using it as before but also doing a little clean up and pairing just because it was close and handy, and now sharp. It has taken awhile for me to realize it but damn it is a nice chisel, takes a really sharp edge with little effort, holds the edge well and fits easily in my hand. One of the really nice features is how thin the blade is, it's hard to find newer chisels with thin blades, most seem to be 750 knock-offs.

BTW, picked up a couple Union Hardware Chisels yesterday and I'm on the look out for more.

180 Shop

As posted, my hand tool shop with a band saw and maybe a jointer and planer did a complete 180. It is now a full power tool shop. Now that the kitchen is almost finished, the hand tools will take over for the most part but except for the room required it is nice to have a full complement of power tools when needed.

Forgive the mess, ah hell, who am I kidding it will always be a mess.

Almost Finished Kitchen Redo

Last T-Day MsOK and I made a Texas run to see the kids and pick up my tools. Ken M had kept 'em in his barn for the last 15 years, they were in reasonable shape, it's good to have friends. The machinery was long gone and my plan was to set up a hand tool shop with a good band saw and maybe a jointer and planner for dimensioning rough stock. All I really wanted to do was turn large pieces of wood into smaller ones and have an excuse to buy old chisels and planes. It didn't quite work out that way.

On the way home MsOK decided our next project was to redo the kitchen (we had just finished painting the outside of the house), that was OK with me, at least it wasn't painting and someone else would be doing most of the work. Time to cut to the chase.

After several weeks of looking at what was available at the Orange Store and the Blue Store and the cost of installing it, in a moment of shear stupidity, I said "fuck it, I'll build it myself". Almost one year later, at the cost of a Pentagon weapons system and a total 180 on my shop, I'm almost finished. All that is left are 14 doors and a little finish trim work. Most of the doors are cut, just need to finish glueing up few more panels and get 'em painted and hung.

Here is a photo of the almost finished kitchen:

RAT

I Just signed up for the MTF's RAT (Ride Around Texas) http://www.mctourer.com/rides/2010/FoundersFeast/RAT.html. Been down all the roads but not in this short a time, should be a hoot.

Farkle Shelf

I finally got enough of the 50CC acquired bugs off so you can see the shelf. It worked great for the MTF's 50CC as is, the only two things I wish I had had time to add before leaving (and will add before the Utah 1088 ) were a reading light and some kind of writing table/shelf with clips. I'm not sure how I will do it but I'm looking around for something that will work. It has plenty of room for another GPS and a Spot, I expect they will be coming soon as well.

It was great as a dinning table and/or junk holder when stopped, because of that it made the gas turns easier and the ride a little faster. Of course I'm pretty slow, I can't pass a Iron Butt Motel with out stopping for a quick nap, guess I'm getting old .

On the just finished a 50CC across the southern US, I rode for two day with LDComfort riding tights and turtle neck shirt under my mesh riding suit. The temps were from very cool (needing electrics) to 95F with 80% humidity. I was comfortable at all times, no monkey butt, no pressure points, not too hot when it was hot and not too cold when it was cool. Really comfortable riding gear but what convinced me was after riding in the same gear for two days they were pretty ripe and I didn't have time to wash 'em out before heading home. So I went back to my old riding gear for the first leg of the return home. Now I had covered almost 3000 miles the previous couple of days in the LDComfort riding gear in a very comfortable fashion, in the jeans and UnderArmor after 200 miles my butt was screaming "No Mas, No Mas". I shut it down in Pensacola, washed the LDComfort gear in the sink, wring it dry as directed, hung it up and it was ready to wear the next morning. Wore it the rest of the way home, no pressure points, no monkey butt, comfortable when it was hot, comfortable when it was cold.....great stuff, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

More 50CC

I started the 50CC with a big sleep deficit. That is not too unusual for me I have a hard time sleeping most days. My usual sleep pattern is 4 or 5 hours a night with an occasional 6 hour night, I can go forever with that pattern. Needless to say it didn't happen on this ride. Part of the reason I missed sleep Monday night was beating up on myself for being a dumb ass and playing the "what if" game in my head. I know counter productive but what the hey...that's me.

I'll cut to the chase....Monday night was a little less that 3 hours from the last time I looked at the clock till the alarm went off and I had to go to work. After work Tuesday, I had to take care of a couple of last minute things I had missed Monday, finish packing the bike and go by AZDMV to get a new plate sticker. I didn't make it to San Diego until about 2200 and I still had to eat, turned out I made it to bed a little after midnight and I had to be up no later than 0330 to meet the witness at 0400 so I could start the ride at 0430. It didn't get any better.

I rode all day Wednesday, with stops to check into the Iron Butt Motel, making it to San Antonio 0215 Thursday morning and leaving the hotel at 0645. Can you see a dumb shit pattern here? From Monday night to Friday morning I had at best 10.5 hours total sleep, throw in a max of 1.5 hours of power naps at the IBH and I was in major sleep deprivation.

It gets worse . I arrive in Jacksonville Beach a little after 0200 Friday morning go to check into the hotel and find the reservation is for the wrong day, there is a major golf thingy going on and there are no rooms. I beg and plead, threaten to us his check-in desk as a IBH and promise that I will be out of there by noon. I finally get a room, go out to the bike and have another dumb ass moment....I can't find the sheet with the name and address of the ending fuel station. I go back in, ask the desk clerk if he knew which station was being used and he said "I believe it is a Gate station". Back out to the bike, look for nearest Gate fuel station and it is just around the corner. Someway manage to keep the bike upright, get the ending fuel receipt at 0252 my time (0552 EDT) go back to the hotel and fall into bed. I can't go to sleep, I stink so much from the heat and humidity I'm keeping myself awake, not only that my riding clothes smell even worse. I get up put my riding clothes in a plastic laundry bag, seal it and hop in the shower. Finally I go to sleep. My phone rings about 2 hours later, "where are you, I'm waiting at the Gate station to sign your witness form". We finally figured out I had gone to the "wrong" Gate station and he asked me to meet him in the lobby so he could witness the end of my ride and take photos of my time line and receipts. By this time it was almost 1000, I had to be out of the hotel by noon and Doug was still several hours out. I loaded up, someway managed with several stops at the IBH to make it to Pensacola, saw a LaQunita and bailed out.

After a good night's rest, food, and water the ride the next day from Pensacola to Junction was one of the best ever.

50CC in May

I Left SD at 0430 local to start my 50CC, rode to San Antonio the first day. I hit Van Horn just as the sun set, can you say worst timing you could have, except for hitting Pascagoula,MS just as the sun sets . Two nights of riding some of the most deer infested roads in the States will kick your butt. BTW, I don't know if the 4G's are a good deal or not. One thing for sure You can see the deer, I thought about turning them off because while I would know the deer were there, I wouldn't "know" the deer were there. Both stretches are close to 500 miles and I couldn't force myself to run over 65 mph on either. Makes a real long night.

Traxxion Mod

I decided to do the full Monty Traxxion Mod to my 'Wing. I called around and JBK Cycles in Santa Ana, CA seemed to be the best place to have it done.

I was pretty skeptical going in that it would make a big difference but I figured it couldn't hurt and worse case I would end up with a $3000 head bearing change, which the bike needed anyway. As a good friend likes to point out I'm not overly fond of my money anyway so what the heck....sounded like a good deal to me.

The ride home from L.A. after the Mod was installed was all on the Slab and a little anticlimactic, the bike rode a little "plusher", tracked a little better, but all in all not a $3000 improvement, oh well, I've thrown more money than that away before.

Last Sunday I had time to run US 191 from Morenci to Alpine (did the Tucson-Alpine-Show Low-Tucson loop...a little over 500 miles of mostly good motorcycle road). I didn't time the Morenci to Alpine portion but the whole ride took just under 10 hours. All I can say is the Traxxion mod was worth every penny. For the first time running US 191 I did not drag any of the hard parts, not on the 1st gear hairpins or the medium and/or high speed sweepers and I was riding as fast as is prudent on a public road, well maybe just a little faster than prudent. Once the chassis was stable the bike was rock solid and road imperfections had little effect, I was able to roll on power earlier because I could trust the bike to hold what ever line I set. There were no bar shakes or wobbles, the bike felt wonderful, it is still a 900 lb. bike but damn it will eat the road. I don't think the Harley guy at work believed me when he asked how the ride was and I told him I did the loop in under 10 hours.

I had one interesting situation, coming around one of the blind high speed sweepers, just as I was rolling power in for the exit, I found a car in my lane backing up. I haven't a clue why, he just did it. I grabbed a hand full of brake and put the ABS to test, BTW ABS is worth every penny as well.

The IBA rally is going on as I type. It is held every two years, I plan on doing the next one, 11,000 miles in 11 days, it should be a hoot.

Road Trip

I love to hear those words. Long story short.....a buddy of mine (lives in Granbury, TX) called last Thursday and said "I can get away for a few days, would you like to meet up some place and ride around"? I scrambled around at work changing schedules and was able to put 5 days off together, Friday, the weekend and Monday-Tuesday. Next was deciding where to meet and where to ride. Well I had heard stories that Sturgis, SD was going to have a big T-shirt sale over the time I had off....sounded like a good place to go, so done deal. We picked Ruton, NM as a good meet-up point, from there it was a easy stroll up I-25 and then east to Sturgis.

We pulled into Sturgis late afternoon Saturday. We bought a couple of T-shirts, BTW while the selection was good they lied about 'em being on sale , and had a good hamburger in the "Knuckle" before calling it a day.

Sunday, we did the tourist thing and rode around the Black Hills with a few thousand of our best riding buddies and then late afternoon headed south to Lusk, WY for a RON. Today we will ride to Las Vegas, NM for another RON, my Texas buddies will split off from there and I will ride to Tucson Tuesday.

My buddy and I traded bikes a couple of times, his is one of HD's with batwing fairings, all I can say is my hat is off to him, 2600 miles on that shaking POS and I wouldn't be able to walk.

BTW, someone once said 'there are no bad roads out of Sturgis", I believe him.

We made it to Paso Robles for the night, the next day Blythe, CA for a RON and then home to Tucson.

I'm not sure how many miles we did but I did the 4000 mile oil change just before leaving home and the odometer had 11,200 miles showing when we pulled into the driveway.

One last photo....just because:

The next day we rode down US101to Leggett, CA where we joined CA1 to Gualala, CA. What a great motorcycle road from Leggett to where CA1 joins the coast, it's pretty good once on the coast as well . The hotel in Gualala was the nicest we stayed in. I can't remember its name but it is on the south end of town and next to the Road House Cafe.

The next morning we continued south pass San Fransisco and Monterrey, once we were south of Monterrey the horse to the barn syndrome kicked in and we headed east for home.

Our first day's ride south took us as far as the Oregon/California border. We RONed at the Harris Beach State Park outside of Brookings, OR. Harris Beach became a favorite of Ms.OK, beautiful setting and a very nice camping area.

"Short Beach

We had to visit "Short Beach" once more, by this time I was ready to throw a leg over the bike and ride .

More Vacation 09

We had made it to the Oregon Coast and spent a week camping and visiting old haunts, it was time to start moving toward home but first we needed a night in a hotel to do laundry and recharge all the batteries. We stayed in the SurfRider just outside of Depoe Bay, OR. Nice place but the dryer quit working before the laundry was dry.

What can you say about the Oregon Coast other than it is magical, what a special place. When we lived in McMinnville, OR I believe Ms.OK walked almost every inch of the coast. I missed most of it because I was always gone on a trip to BFE, The Sudan or some other place half way around the world.

Low Tides

The tides were the lowest of the year and people were out in droves to walk the beaches and to harvest shellfish.

Made it to the Oregon Coast

From Hood River we rode through Portland, OR then OR6 to the Coast. We set up base camp in Cape Lookout State Park. From there we took day trips up and down the coast and each evening returned to camp for dinner, a campfire, wine, beer, and martinis. I took one day off to have the OEM Dunlops replaced with Metzeler Marathon 880's. The Dunlops still had a lot of miles left but the Metzelers made all the difference in the world when riding in the rain. I wish I had done it earlier.

Photo of Oceanside, just north of Cape Lookout.

Lolo Pass

We left Butte on I-90 for Lolo and US12 to cross over Northern Idaho. Lolo pass was a highlight of the trip. The only negative, the OEM Dunlops do not handle rain well and a couple of times the bike got a little squirrelly going through Lolo pass. We made it to Hood River, OR where we shut it down for the night.

Lake Jackson

After Grand Junction we cut across Western Colorado on CO139 to Vernal, UT to spend the night. I've ridden or drove most of the roads in the western US but this was my first time on CO139. It was a pleasant surprise, I wouldn't say it was a great motorcycle road but it was much better than expected. The next morning the plan was to ride to Jackson, WY to spend the night and the next day do Yellowstone NP. We had a couple of ways to get to Jackson and I picked the eastern route over the western one because of WX. It turned out to have been a good chose. We watched rain to the west almost all the way into Jackson and only had to put our rain gear on about 50 miles south of Jackson.

Yellowstone was pretty much a bust, too damn many people, RV's, cars and road construction to enjoy the park. I almost lost the bike and trailer going over several of the road work areas. The mud was really slick. We exited out West Yellowstone and rode to Butte, MT for the night. The ride up US287 to connect with I-90 was one of the prettiest of the trip. After the crowds of Yellowstone it was most enjoyable. BTW, this part of the the trip, from Jackson, WY to Lewiston, ID was mostly in the rain. All I can say is thank you Frogg Toggs and Shoei, they kept us dry and comfortable.

On the Road to Silverton

After Red River we rode to Durango, CO to position ourselves to do the Durango-Silverton-Ouray (US550) ride the next morning.

One of the advantages of traveling on a bike is people will stop and talk to you, other bikers as well folks in cars, trucks, and RV's. We met a woman just out side of Durango who had been riding solo for 6 weeks. She was from the Seattle area and had lost her job. She decided what better time to see the USA on her Harley Soft Tail. We rode together for a good part of US550. She is on the left and Ms.OKGuy is on the right.

Last for now

I have not a clue what they were doing

Four bikers

Rambling on ROT

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More Vacation 09

After ROT we spent another day in Austin visiting with our girl child and her SO and short visit to Hippie Hollow. We left Austin early Tuesday AM and rode to Amarillo, TX before we shut it down for the night. The next morning we did the short ride on to Red River, NM and camped by the river.

Red River is still beautiful and not too overrun with people. It had been over 30 years since my last time there and there were a few changes but even with the new development it was one of the best places we stayed on the trip.

09 Vacation

I left Tucson June 11th for Austin, TX so as to meet friends at ROT. Ms.Bubba was in Scotland visiting family and would meet me in Austin for the final day of ROT, after that we planned to ride to Oregon, with many stops on the way, to spend a week camping on the Oregon coast. we needed to be back in Tucson no latter than July 4th.

That's the back story, as always, when I get on or in a traveling machine I tend to do lots of miles with few stops for pictures or much of anything else. Ms.Bubba is more of a smell the roses kind of person so most of the photos are hers .

The first image is of ROT, let me tell you it was great tacky and tasteless fun

Good Weekend

Ms. OK and I loaded up the trailer with camping gear (new tent, never put up....big mistake) and headed for the White Mountains for a Saturday camp out. We had a great ride up US 191 and found an empty camp site a little over a mile off the main highway. Long story short...one of the main tent pole attachments was defective and after several attempts at a "work around" we gave up, packed the camping gear back into the trailer and rode to Show Low for a good meal and a night in a hotel. Oh darn . The next morning we were up early and headed home through the Salt River Canyon where we stopped for a river side picnic.

Monday Ms. OK had to work so I left the house about the same time she did for a ride. As I went out the door I thought about a comment that US 191 South from Alpine to Clifton is different experience compared to running the road north. Doesn't take much to get me to ride US 191. Normally I ride it north bound but this time I turned off US 191 at AZ 75 so as to join US 180 near Pleasanton NM and then north to Alpine so I could ride 191 south to Clifton. It started raining just before reaching Alpine and by the time I was a couple of miles south of Alpine it was a heavy downpour with pea hail. Thank you Frogg Toggs and Shoei Multitec. After running the fastest part of US 191 in the rain I passed a passel of HD riders in their usual riding outfits headed north into the rain, must say that image brought a smile.

I made it from Alpine to Clifton in a little under 2 hours, including a stop to take off the rain gear. Not too bad considering the fast part was in a heavy rain. Door to door, about an 11 hour day. What a great weekend, I got to run US 191 twice, once two up pulling a trailer and the second time solo. Each had its charm.

Camping in the White Mountains

Ms. OK and I did a trial run with the bike and all the camping gear that we need to take with us on vacation. We finally made it out of Tucson around 1330 Saturday afternoon and headed east on I-10 to join up with US 191 and on to our planned stop at Hannagan Meadow. After riding through rain and just missing snow (still on the roadside), we made it as the sun was setting and had to set up camp in the mud and dark. The sleeping pads and bags worked, the tent for a small backpacking model had enough room and was easy to erect. We warmed a can of Pazole on the auto gas camping stove and got a good night's rest. The next morning, after coffee, we broke camp and rode through the cold for several hours and then decended into the Arizona heat for the last leg before home.

Once home, martinis and the pool to end a perfect weekend.

On the Road

Ms. OK was having her morning tea and said the magic words...."I would really like to go on a long bike ride this morning". Damn I love that woman.

Before she could change her mind I was dressed and had the saddlebags packed . We went north with little plan other than to ride by Lake Roosevelt. We ended up continuing north through Payson and Show Low before turning south for home. The photo is at the last stop before home, we had been on the road for 9 hours with 1 more to go. This was the longest Ms Bubba had ridden in one day, before on the VTX an hour to two hours was the max she could set on the back. Not only do I love that woman, I love my V2K. What a road machine.

New iMac

All the computers died last week. I got the POS HP laptop up and running but the Mac is still in the shop so there was nothing else to do but buy a new 24" iMac. I'd thought about it for awhile as I'm no longer traveling so there is no need for a laptop or even a "lugable".

I've geeked for the last couple of days getting everything set up, still not finished but about 90% there. Damn, it is nice to have a full sized keyboard and big screen to work with....I'd forgotten how nice it is.

Once the Mac laptop returns I will post some bike photos.

The Righr Side of the Dial

The big Kawi likes to run. It is so smooth and stable if you don't pay attention she will be over 100 mph before you know it. I was watching the world go by with the BrakeAway Cruise control on when I looked down to see we were going around 110 mph. I had to make a photo before slowing down.

Sunday's Ride

I rode north out of Tucson through Globe to north of Payson. I made a few photos of the the route, this is one made in Globe.

Motorcycle Photos

I have not photographed, worked on making "ART" for several years. The reasons are many but mostly because of changes in location and work the time and interest were not there. Over the years my photographic work revolved around my neighborhood. I was connected to my neighbors and felt a bond with them that I wanted to share. When I left Ogden Street I lost that connection to my daily life and also lost the need to document my surroundings.

During the last year I've joined a new community, Motorcycle riding, and I'm feeling the need to share the joys of that life. I'm working to find a voice and I'm feeling I've started to do things that are interesting. Not all the images "work" but more and more satisfy me and I will be posting those images as I make them.

I guess mostly what I want to say is: This Blog is moving in a new direction and you can expect to see more frequent posts and most of the posts will be about riding and or photographs of bikes and riding.

Last Thursday was the first day in several weeks that I had off and nothing pressing. After sending Ms. OK off to work I headed out with no real plan, I just knew I wanted to ride.

Ended up running east on I-10 about 90 miles to 191 North so I could ride my favorite Arizona day ride. The route runs North on 191 to Eagar then West to Show Low and from Show Low South back to Tucson. Highway 191 is a great motorcycle road, between I-10 and Eagar, AZ, it has everything a rider could ask for: first gear hairpins, slow sweepers, to fast ones. The road passes through beautiful high desert, mountain pine forest and meadows, and even about 10 miles of Moonscape as you ride through a open pit copper mine. The road from Eagar to Show Low runs through the White Mountains and then between Show Low Globe you ride through the Salt River Canyon. None of the road is boring, none of the scenery is boring, it is just a great ride and today was special.

The day had everything, I got hot, and even cold for awhile in the White Mountains, and then hot again. I was rained on a half dozen times, met several folks while fueling, one couple was on a V2K pulling a trailer. They were on their way to California to ride the Coast road to Seattle. Another couple were on their way home from two weeks riding around Colorado. I even watched a beautiful Sunset as I rode back into Tucson. Twelve hours, a little over 500 miles, home just as Ms. OK came in the door, a Martini and the Hot Tub, life doesn't get any better.

Ride to Carlsbad, CA

I had a few days off over the 4th. and Ms. OK is in Austin visiting the girl child so I had to find ways to entertain myself. After dropping Ms.OK off at the airport Thursday I thought "Self what would you like to do"? Well I hadn't stuck a toe in the ocean for almost a year and San Diego is only 6 or 7 hours west.....hummmm can you say road trip?

I threw a couple of changes into the T-Bags, hung 'em on the big Kawasaki V2K and headed West. I ended up in Carlsbad, CA, stuck a toe in the Pacific (yes it is still cold), watched a beautiful sunset as I ate fish and chips, and drank a couple of cold ones. After a good night's rest I rode the coast road to L.A., hung a right on I-10 and rode it like I stole it all the way home. Made it in time to see a great Tucson sunset, I'm not sure which sunset was better. They were both pretty spectacular.

The heat On the California trip was a killer both ways through the desert. I stopped about every 100 miles to cool my core and rehydrate. The photo was made just west of Phoenix, one of the last stops on the way home and by then I was pretty beat up, having a ball but beat up.

Then the next day work called and said my "line" for the week had canceled. Damn the fridge was empty so there was nothing else to do but ride up to Globe for lunch. The Globe, Superior, Winkelman ride is a great bike ride, mostly fast sweepers through beautiful red rock, high desert. Sorry no photos of that part, I was having too much fun riding.

Rode a HD Electa Glide Screaming Eagle

Back in May I wrote a post about my new Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT, said it was the best bike I had ever ridden. That statement still holds after riding the HD Electa Glide. The HD was a nice bike but it felt like I was sitting on top of a toy instead of riding in a real road bike. It handled very nicely, quick in the turns and easy to ride slowly but no comparison to the V2K for smoothness and control on the road. We didn't do any "roll on" trials but I don't think that even with the "Screaming Eagle" mod the Electa Glide could stay with me. Lastly while the engine smooths out at speed it still has more vibration than the Big Kawi and there is no way I could ever get use to the engine trying to jump out of the frame at idle

It's a nice bike but it's no Vulcan 2000.

OK Guy at ROT

Here I am; dead man sleeping Saturday afternoon after two days and nights of riding, drinking beer and enjoying the show.

Still more ROT

More from ROT

Ranch-Mobile trolling for beads.

Images From ROT

Biker Bar-B-Que in Leakey, Texas.
Lunch while doing the Three Sisters

Home from ROT

The Republic of Texas Rally may be unique because its venue is set away from the public. All the activities (other than a few rides) take place inside the Austin Fairgrounds away from public streets and normal folks. Austin is a pretty laid back place anyway but for ROT it is hands off, if a bunch of suburban housewives and other assorted freaks wish to act out their wildest fantasies so be it as long as no one gets killed. I've been to most of the big "zoo" events, the infield of the Kentucky Derby, NASCAR, the 500, Mardi Gras, you name it, and none match ROT for shear craziness. It is over a hundred thousand people living Caligula, Dante's Inferno, and a Bible Thumper's vision of Hell all rolled into one alive, pulsating mass of humanity, with rock music blaring, naked women (and men) dancing, squids doing burnouts, HDs with V&H pipes running on their rev-limiters, going around and around the parade route, all day and all night for 4 straight days and all this packed into a few acres.

What can I say: Beer, boobs and motorcycles, does life get any better?