Friday, June 27, 2008

Akuma helmets now at Costco!

Man, I love Costco! Not only is it THE place for memory cards, taquitos and 48-roll packs of toilet paper, but now one can buy motorcycle helmets there as well. Akuma makes only a very few models, but they're very interesting -- unique, military-inspired graphics, LED "taillights" and forward-facing map-lights. webBikeWorld likes them a whole lot, so much so it was named wBW's 2006 Helmet of the Year. Costco is selling Akuma helmets for $299, which is about $100 less than I've seen them selling for elsewhere. Remember to pull the Remove Before Flight streamer prior to riding off!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

RoadRUNNER Magazine News for June 2008


I clipped these bits from RoadRunner Magazine's June 2008 newsletter.

Dr. Gregory Frazier Joins RoadRUNNER Team

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier, writer, photojournalist and motorcycle adventurer extraordinaire, has joined the RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel magazine team as Adventuring Editor-at-Large. Having spent nearly 40 years traveling over one million miles circling the planet, Frazier is generally considered the ultimate authority on global motorcycling.

Frazier has authored some 12 books on motorcycling and brings a rare sense of humor to his tales of adventure touring and travel. His latest book, MOTORCYCLE TOURING: Everything You Need to Know, has been described as possibly the best–selling motorcycle-touring book ever published. Although he’s no stranger to danger, Frazier admits that he hates any “… adventure that has anything to do with snakes or sharks.” Yeah, me too!

Look for Dr. Frazier’s first article in the October ’08 issue of RoadRUNNER magazine. In the meantime you can read about some of his adventures at www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier under “What’s New.”

It’s Not Too Late!

If you’re even thinking about attending RoadRUNNER’s first ever Touring Weekend (combined with the annual Christian Neuhauser Memorial Ride) on July 10-12, 2008, make your reservations today—go to the home page of our website (www.roadrunner.travel) or call us (336-765-7780) for the full details.

The RoadRUNNER staff has ridden both of the two major tour routes and report that they have an abundance of the two things that riders love most: curves and scenery. We hope to see you there.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Lawn, PA "Third Sunday" Ride-In


I attended the Lawn EMS "Third Sunday" breakfast ride-in yesterday in Lawn, PA near Hershey. Not only has the paved parking lot doubled since I was last there, the size of the crowd has increased by at least 100% as well. It wasn't unexpected by the organizers, as evidenced by the large tent erected next to the pavilion to accommodate the large throng of hungry riders. You can see in the photos (click 'em to enlarge!) that bikes overflowed into the grassy field adjacent to the fire hall. Kudos to Lawn EMS for providing plywood squares for kickstands! Cruisers were the majority, but there were also some nice sport-tourers, adventure-tourers and plain ol' tourer-tourers, too. I arrived at about 0830 and the food line was already about 20 minutes long; a wait made bearable by good company. I don't know how many attended, but a steady stream of motorcycles were still rolling in at 0930 and when I left at about 1100 there were just beginning to be a few empty spots in the front parking lot. It appears this event is taking off big time! It's in a nice location reached via back roads, it's very well organized and benefits a worthwhile cause, and has very good chow...what's not to like? Make plans to attend if you haven't yet!

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

New Record High Temp Ride!

2008 is only half over and it's already been a year of record-breaking rides for me. In January I lowered by a degree my previous low-temperature ride with a 62 mile commute of 9F, and yesterday I raised my previous high-temp record 2 degrees when I rode about 25 miles home from work with the thermometer hovering mostly around 105F. It dipped to a low of 99F on a couple of mile stretch down a shady, tree-lined lane (that felt great!). The weatherman said is was "officially" 98F, but with the reflected heat from the roadway it was actually quite a bit hotter on the bike. I was in my mesh gear for the first time this year (normally I don't break that less-protective stuff out until August), and the relatively-short ride home was made quite tolerable by wetting my wicking-fabric t-shirt just prior to departure for a little evaporative cooling effect. I also carried a small squirt bottle of water in my tankbag for a little spritzin' at long stoplights. Today's ride home may not be much cooler as it was already about 81F on the way in at 0700. Hard-core? Stupid? Fun? You betcha!