Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Motel, Motor-Tel, wait...what?

This seems so wrong on so many levels, not the least of which are physics and common sense, but hey, may great ideas were spurned in their day.  I wouldn't sleep in it, but perhaps it would come in handy as a sail in the event of an empty fuel tank.  For more info, check out http://www.mobed.eu/.

No joke; they're actually trying to sell this product.

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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Dealer Enthusiasm

About 150 miles into yesterday's ride, I was looking for a suitable rest and hydration stop when I passed a large Harley dealer with a lot full of motorcycles and people, and a BBQ vendor going full blast.  A quick 180 and I parked up.  I've passed Chesapeake Harley-Davidson  in Maryland dozens of time previously, and these weekend gatherings always seem to be happening. There were picnic tables under a tent, rocking chairs on the shaded front porch, food and drink (non-alcoholic I'm happy to report), and a mobile stage for the band that I imagine followed later.  The dealership is impeccably clean and the employees were friendly without feeling the need to put on the sales pitch. Large flat parking lot that even had a roundabout to keep traffic flowing in and out. Quite the oasis for riders. I was there for about 45 minutes and watched 40-50 bikes come and go.  And I know this isn't all that unusual for H-D dealers. Which had me wondering why none of the Big Four Japanese or Euro dealers near me do anything similar.  Sure, most dealers have an open house or a special event or two each year, but nothing consistent, nothing I know I can count on during any given ride for a little break. All it would take are clean restrooms and drinking water. I'm not a "lifestyle" rider, and I know that's a little part of it, but c'mon man, show a little enthusiasm for motorcycling and motorcyclists! And as I'm sure the H-D shops well know, having more riders hanging out, walking by those shiny new machines on the sales floor, leads to a few more sales.  Know ye of such shops?

"One of these things is not like the others..."

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Friday, May 15, 2015

Scottish Games tomorrow!

While not a motorcycle event per se, the 55th annual Scottish Games and Gathering of the Clans being held at the Fair Hill, Maryland Natural Resources Management Area tomorrow. It's a huge, unique one-day event that would be an excellent excuse (as if you needed one) to take a ride. Motorcycles usually are afforded a nice parking area, too. As 18th Century Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie is my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side, I claim this tenuous Scottish heritage this one day each year. Among the attractions are the caber-toss, sheaf-toss, sheep dog demonstrations, marching band competitions, bagpipes galore, and of course more red-haired folks in one place than you're likely to see anywhere outside of Scotland itself. There will also be food and Scottish-product vendors, plus plenty of McEwan's Strong Ale, so take it easy if you're arriving on two wheels OK?  See ya there!



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Mid-Week Ride Report

Wednesday seemed as good a day as any to ditch work in favor of a long day-ride through the Amish countryside.  It was also the first day of my motorcycle club's annual rally HQ'd in Bird-In-Hand, PA, so I checked in there as well.

My famous map/nav skills took me down a gravelly road for a couple of miles.

Obligatory Pennsylvania covered bridge shot.

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Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Well, that's 100,000 done.



OK, it's 62,000 miles, but that's 100,000 km to the rest of the civilized world.  Pulling off to document the event on the way home from work yesterday was mandatory, even though it was in a somewhat precarious location.  Disclosure: only 61,999 of those miles are mine; it had 1 mile on the odometer when I headed out from the dealer on my test ride 11 years ago.

Friday, May 01, 2015

1st Ever Triple-Backflip Completed

Not by me. :^)  By Aussie Josh Sheehan on April 28th at Travis Pastrana's facility. Love this quote from the video: "There's only two outcome: roll away on two wheels, or roll away on four wheels..." The helmet cam view is pretty awesome, too.  There's not much dirt bike content on Tilted Horizons, much less freestyle stuff, but I think this is a worthy exception.

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