MC Clubs and Things

I'm a member of quite a few forums these days. I frequent Bandit Alley, RiderForums, and browse around some on ADVRider, but not much. I was informed that the defunct Suzuki Owners Club of the USA was pretty much dumped in favor of Suzuki Owners Club of North America (Link Here). I remember early on finding the European version which seems to have thousands of members, and thought it would be cool if there is one in the US. The Site I originally found was defunct, and not one of the contact email addresses I found were valid at all.

I'm still contemplating the value of 18 dollars a year as a full membership fee. I keep thinking that it would be helpful to be a member of a large organization since riders aren't that much in the majority.

I'm not really into the AMA because they want to repeal helmet laws, but I don't believe it should be an option. I think we should be on a par with autos, and since Seat belts are not even wise, helmets should be our equivalent. I know many riders disagree, saying it should be our choice, but that's the same argument that folks used for seat belt laws, and it didn't help stop that law. I've been in car wrecks and I'm firmly convinced that Seat belts were the difference between me being a relatively healthy man, and being handicapped at best, dead at worse! Not only that but the whole "choice" argument is getting over worked. It is the lame godless argument used for Abortion, Drug use, etc. etc. I believe people in this country need to learn responsibility first, just like children. I constantly teach two things to my kids:

1. A little bit of pay attention goes a long way.
2. If you don't do what you are supposed to, you can't do what you want to.

Its that simple folks. When it comes to helmet laws, if the riders who give Motorcycles a bad name would show more reponsibility in how they ride (do what you are supposed to) then we would never have had to worry about a helmet law in the first place (do what you want to). So, to protect society from having to pay for the upkeep of another vegatable head injury, the government decided to make us protect our heads.

The other kind of group I thought of joining was a Christian Motorcycle club. The problem is I can't find one close to home that has a statement of faith I can live with. There is one, but they are pretty much (as it appears anyway) trying to create a church of their own. The CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) looks like a great group, but they don't have a chapter that's anywhere close to Dickson, TN.

So, I'm stuck. Another problem is that finding very many riders, with the time and commitment to do that kind of thing is hard to do. I joined up with Patriot Guard Riders, but haven't been free for a ride yet, and there have been opportunities. The problem is that life just seems to find a way to get in the way. Well, I can do what I can.

What I'd really like to see is for the gas prices to come down to the point that I could ride my bike recreationally. As it stands right now, its my mine ride to work. 45 MPG is 11 MPG better than TWICE what I average in my truck. And, even buying premium I spend less than 30 dollars a week on Gas, versus the 80+ I spent on the truck.

New Fun in Riding and Cardo Rider Teamset

Well, I've decided to just ride the bike until the wheels fell off. Since I've been unsuccessful in my attempt to keep the thing looking brand new (thanks to fall overs) I might as well just forget about the looks and just ride it. Well, I've discovered there's freedom in them there hills. Last night I rode the kids to and from Church just for the fun of it, and they LOVED it. The back roads between our house and the Church are quite twisty, so it was fun. Of course I rode a little different just to put a little sizzle into it, but it was fun.

Sometime back I bought a set of Bluetooth Helmet devices for my phone that included an intercom feature. That's one of the reasons the kids love riding now, even more than before. The Bluetooth phone connection works great, but the intercom could use some help. I can understand dropping the connection when no one is talking to save batteries, but this stupid thing will drop the connection WITH us talking at times. Occasionallyit will come right back on, but sometimes either myself and/or the passenger will have to yell to get the connection opened back up. The good thing is that they are voice activated and I don't have to reach up and push a button every time that happens. Other than that I think for what you pay for them (around 200+ bucks depending on where you buy it, got mine from Revzilla).

Back on subject, the ride in this morning was invigorating, and enjoyable. The weather was nice, although I would have liked it a little cooler. It's supposed to rain tonight around 7 PM, which means it may be raining in Dickson around 5, which is when I get in. So, I've been threatening to try out my riding pants without any jeans under them, that may be a good excuse to do just that.

I have to say, I'm really liking this motorcycle riding. I guess you can tell that from the posts. Another interesting thing I've discovered is that you better have decent self discipline if you ride. There are a lot of idiots both on four and on two wheels jerking in and out of traffic. I can understand why bikers ride the way they do, now. On that bike you can fit, physically, into smaller spaces, you can accelerate much faster than the cars around you, and you can maneuver with greater agility than they can. By the time they decide to do something you've already done it, and gone off and left them! However, its also possible to reach great speeds without even realizing it. I was upwards of 100 MPH, a couple of times in the past very quickly. My bike isn't even a "Crotch Rocket". So, if you get a bike, remember, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. Be careful, and try not to irritate the cagers any more than necessary. And for those in cars (cagers), remember, there are vehicles on the road of all types that are larger and smaller than yours. Look for the small ones, which would include bicycles, and the large ones, semis, and be careful.

Old Timer's Day Dickson Tennessee

This weekend was Old Timer's Day in Dickson, TN. My daughter is a part of American Heritage Girls (AHG), (an alternative to Girl Scouts. As the GS allow gays to lead troops, and AHG has a strong Christian focus). So, she was on a float, and then at 4 was in a fashion show (My Mom sews and does embroidery). Who ever was responsible for the activities needs a serious education. Here's my laundry list of absolute imbecility that was exposed :
1. No handicap parking on paved areas. Yep, all the handicapped parking was IN THE MUD at the fair grounds. I don't know if you have ever tried to push a wheel chair through the mud, but its not fun. The "people", using that term loosely, responsible for setting that up should be jailed for violating Federal laws regarding that matter. My Dad has no legs, can you imagine trying to get him out of a car while parked in STANDING WATER!?!
2. They stopped the parade to let traffic through at various times, so much so that the parade had very large gaps in it, and at times cars just trying to get to the fairgrounds were in the parade! I can't fathom why they could not have spent a little time figuring out how to route traffic around the event. My wife and I spend about 2 minutes coming up with about three different ways around the whole thing! Those who were walking, or marching (interestingly enough there were no marching bands!) would have suffered.
3. There was a Golden Flake Truck in the parade as an official entry. No, it wasn't decorated, nor did it have any signage whatsoever reflecting the purpose of the event, it was just a truck. What? They need to force people to NOT do that kind of crap. If you put an entry in the parade for Old Timer's Day it should primarily be about Old Timer's Day. Golden Flake could have found an old truck, from 50 or shorter years ago and put that in the parade.
4. Absolutely no organization of other events. The Quilting show in the Rec Building had no sign to tell you that was what was in there (until Saturday at some time). The building where the fashion show was held, had no sign or indication of any event! We had to track down the guy with the keys just to get in!! The only folks who showed up for the show were those who were in the show! Why? Because there was no advertisement, and no sign! Nothing. What the Heck?
5. Pay for Parking? In the MUD?!?!?! You have got to be kidding! After all these years the parking at the fairgrounds is still on grass. Yes, ladies and gents you have to pay 2 dollars to park, and then some odd something to get into the fair, or buy tickets to ride, but you park in the grass. (well it was grass until a day or two of rain fell on it, and large vans and trucks got stuck in it.) I saw one very nice Chevy full size Van trying to free itself from the mud. The good thing for me is that they had an area for Motorcycles to park, on pavement no less. We can't park handicap people on pavement, but we can bikes. I think they realized in their small minds that if a bike fell over they'd be liable so they covered that.

It was a good day despite all that. My brother-in-law came down and looked my bike over, of course he was looking for an excuse to ride his down from Clarksville, because he's finally got it out of the shop. Michael and I rode back and forth, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I gave my daughter a ride Friday. Michael woke up with a fever yesterday, took some Motrin and would NOT hear of staying home. It did appear that the fever had gone, and we were going to drive my truck to the parade, because we thought it might rain. (didn't want the son ridding in the rain). However, it cleared off and we rode back to the parade. Some nice folks across the street from where I parked gave me a board so I could park off the side walk, and my kickstand not sink in the ground.

My Niece and her daughter were in the fashion show, my Mom and my Sister had a booth at the Quilting show. I think this is as much as we have ever been directly involved in the festivities. I marched in the High School Band back in the day, but that was about it. The kids rode some rides, and they enjoyed the Ferris wheel, but not the second one that would allow them to go upside down, and went fast. They were screaming, and begging the guy to stop the ride. :-D

When turning left off of Walnut street onto Hwy 46 going south, with Michael on the back, I think I either leaned too far, or hit some gravel, 'cause the back end slid around. Far from deterring the young lad from ridding again, he hollered, "Wheeee!" What's up with that? The Back wheel just jumped over, but I can't find any scrapes on anything on the bike, and it felt like when you hit a part of the bike that doesn't give. Oh, well, I stuck with it, and we came through just fine. The bike has a lot of get up and go, I can tell you that.