Geek who loves 2 bike

Google FastFlip and the iPad

2010-04-06T08:03:00.001-05:00

One of the great things about the iPad is how beautiful it displays magazine/newspaper type screens. This is best illustrated by the USA Today app and the NY Times app. People are very impressed when the see these images on the IPad. As a diehard iPhone user and now iPad user I have to admit it is much nicer on the iPad.

Unfortunately these two apps are a couple of the limited offerings at this time. Worse yet is that other iPad magazines want to charge you a subscription fee. Most of this content is available free on normal web pages. These web pages display well and are even more usable on the iPad versus a normal computer web browser.

Enter Fastflip from Google Labs With this web app you can easy view all the web pages of several online web sites. As an example you can see all the pages of Macworld online magazine. The fast flip view really illustrates how the iPad shines. This makes it very easy to browse many pages to find articles of interest to you. Then you can red them straight out of a Fastflip or click into the normal web page.

Congratulations to google labs for this innovation.

Customize you iPad wallpaper.

2010-04-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

1. Find a web page with the image you want on it.
2. Take a snapshot of the web page. (Hold down the home key and then press the on/off button. This will save an image of your web page to you photos on the iPad.) Remember that you can size the web view in safari to try to get the image the size you want. See the next step to clean up.
3. Use the free Photoshop app (iPhone version, but it works on the iPad) to crop your picture. Don't forget to save it.
4. Go into the Settings app. Set your wallpaper. You can set the lock screen, home screen, or both.

Enjoy your new image!

IPad

2010-04-04T12:07:00.001-05:00

Got my new iPad. So far I like it a lot!

Automating alarm to play iTunes Music

2008-01-22T14:26:00.001-06:00

I was talking to my buddy Justin yesterday. During the conversation a Mac application that allows you to set an alarm and play music from iTunes came up. I was sort of amazed that there is "for purchase" application out to do such a simple task. My thought was that this could be easily done for free on the Mac. My guess was that it would take less than 5 minutes to create something to do this function (either with Automator or Applescript). Well, it is just that easy to do with Automator and iCal. Here are the steps.

1. Start up Automator. Choose "Custom" workflow.

2. Select "Music" in the left hand pane.

3. Set "Get Specified iTunes Items" as you first workflow item.
a. Drag "Get Specified iTunes Items" into the right pane.
b. Click the "add" button and select your desired playlist.

4. Set "Play iTunes Playlist" as your next workflow item.
a. Drag "Play iTunes Playlist" to the right pane.

5. Save you automator workflow as a plug-in.
a. Select menu File->Save as Plug-in.
b. Give you plug in a name. Example "Play xxx Playlist"
c. Select "iCal Alarm" in the "Plug-in for" dropdown.
d. Select the "Save" button.

6. This will automatically start up iCal and make an event in the current day. Simply set the "from" time to your desire alarm time.

For future music alarms you can either change the date/time of the event you use or create a new event.

If you create a new event:
1. Create a new iCal event as normal.

2. Set the "Alarm" type to "open file"

3. In the field right under open file set your file to "Play xxx Playlist.app" (or whatever you named it).
a. Your automator app will be stored in your user folder under Library/Workflows/Applications/iCal/ .

Try it. While the instructions sound like more, this is a very easy to do automator script.

MacBook Air and Leopard Upgrade

2008-01-22T14:04:00.000-06:00

I was sort of disappointed with the announcement of the new Apple MacBook Air. As I have commented on I have been waiting for a new Mac laptop. My hope was that it would be a smaller, cooler, but still powerful MacBook Pro type machine. Something like the power and features of a MacBook Pro but the size of a MacBook and with an aluminum case (instead of plastic).

Well, the MacBook Air is a very cool machine. But some of the specs may leave something to be desired in a "pro" level machine. For me this includes: Non-removable battery, small hard drive, and the need for an external DVD drive.

I have waited and not upgrades my Titanium PowerBook (TiBook) because I expected to upgrade my Mac OS with the purchase of a new machine While my TiBook has performed admirably it became a problem because I used Panther and had not even upgraded to Leopard. Finally tired of waiting, I upgraded my TiBook to Leopard late last week. So far my TiBook has continued to run great and perform well. The upgrade takes a little while to run, but is very smooth. The biggest problem I had was the need to set up my printers again.

So in the end, I am happy that I have upgraded my TiBook to Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard)

iTouch: iMiss!

2007-09-26T14:59:00.001-05:00

I stopped by the local Apple store to check out the new iTouch. Probably everyone knows that the iTouch is one of the recently released iPod units from Apple. Initially the iTouch was thought to be basically a iPhone without the phone capabilities.

A lot of reviews have highlighted some of the major differences between the iPhone and the iTouch. These included not including cellular capability (obviously), no bluetooth in iTouch, and lack of some applications on the iTouch, and possibly screen differences.

The iTouch has a very nice form factor in being slightly smaller than the iPhone as well as thinner. The look and feel is very similar to the iPhone with the same touch screen and finger gestures.

One significant comment I have read on the internet is how the iPhone (as well as iTouch) is really closing in on being the ideal personal digital assistant (PDA). This is the world the Palm handhelds held superiority for many years. Palm lead diminished drastically with the convergence of cell phones and handhelds. More importantly I believe that Palm severely mismanaged their market lead over the past many years. But that is a subject for another post.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that the the calendar application on the new iTouch is read-only. Entries can only be made on your Mac or PC and later synchronized. To me this alone invalidates the iTouch as a PDA. By the way, the calendar application on the iPhone allows entry of new items. One can only imagine why Apple chose to have this limitation on the iTouch.

A reason for my visiting the Apple store was to validate whether the iTouch would be one of my purchases when I upgrade PowerBooks when the newest Mac operating system version, Leopard, is eventually released. I am lukewarm on the iPhone because of the requirement of cellular service with ATT. With my findings I am sure that an iTouch will not be on my shopping list. Too bad.

Still Running: 20 Years Later

2007-09-06T22:14:00.000-05:00

After my afternoon with my daughter Sophie, I decided to do a running workout by running on the local (to Lawrence, KS) high school running track. This brought back memories of when I used to workout with my good friend, Wade M., in San Antonio, TX. At the time, 20 years ago, we were both in our early 20’s and regularly did running workouts on a local high school track and football fields.

As many may know, I am currently a big fan of multi-sport training. By this I mean workouts in a variety of sports or fitness activities. These can vary as far as swimming, running, climbing, weight-lifting, kayaking, yoga, of course biking, etc. I contrast this to “cross-training” which I define as regularly training in more than one sport.

Back in the day working out with Wade, our running workouts included many different variations. Wade had played some college football and was an ex-high school football star. Who from Texas didn’t play football? Accordingly our workouts included sprints, intervals, running backwards, running sideways, bleacher climbs, as well as some others. Thank god back then they didn’t have those little parachute things you see sports stars running with today!

Why I probably have a been on a track a few times since then, I really can’t recall them. Today’s run was good. Besides the less-jarring impact of the composite track, it is much more fun to run some of these variations on the track. I did intervals, backwards, and sideways running, on my 4.5 mile workout. I may include this track run more often.

If you haven’t visited the running track at your local high-school lately, I recommend you do. This is a great way to add an new twist to your runs.

IPod Paradigm Shift Revisited - 80GB and 160GB iPods

2007-09-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a friend yesterday who initially could not understand why anyone would want one of the 80GB or 160GB iPods announced by Apple yesterday. After a brief discussion I convinced him that these would be great and loved by many people.

I have commented previously about the “iPod paradigm shift” which is based on carrying all of your music with you versus just part of your collection. I currently have a 20GB iPod which is full and my music collection is much larger. (I don’t have a new iPod because I am waiting to purchase at least one new larger one when I get a new MacBook to replace my much-loved PowerBook which does not have USB 2.0).

An example of this paradigm shift in action can be illustrated by my experience today. In my wonderful afternoon with my young daughter, Sophie, we were listening to my 20GB iPod while we were driving. At the time we were listening to an “on-the-go” playlist created with Sophie’s three current favorite songs: “Last Dollar (Fly Away)” by Tim McGraw, “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani, and “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles. By the way, Sophie asked about Yellow Submarine out of the blue last week. Of course, being a classic Beatles song, I had it on my iPod. Well the specific experience during the drive was when I asked Sophie if she would like to listen to some other Beatles songs since she liked Yellow Submarine so much. And of course this was easily accomplished because I have a large selection of Beatles songs on my iPod (as well as hundreds of other artists). To top it off, Sophie, 6-years old, was easily able to navigate the iPod with some simple directions from me to set it all up.

As a final note, I admit that I have really not grown up and still love to listen to loud music. Later in the evening when I was driving home after my day with Sophie, I was jamming to The Tragically Hip in my car. This band, far different than the Beatles, was also on my beloved iPod.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 4

2007-09-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

The final day (Tuesday) of this trip began when I woke up shortly before 6:00 am (MST). I had gotten to bed very early and wanted to get a relatively early start on my 700 mile trip home.

As it happens, I awoke to a beautiful mountain morning that appeared that it would be much better (no/less rain) than the previous day. I was briefly tempted to stay an additional day. But, I had a commitment for Wednesday evening and generally give myself one day in case of travel problems before my all-important Thursdays with my daughter. So I packed my tent and was off just before 6:30 am. I could have left slightly earlier but I packed up camp slowly in deference to the other campers in the campground.

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day in the mountains.

My first plan was to ride down the mountain and stop for breakfast at the Egg and I. I really enjoy this place and knew it would be a good start to my day’s ride. The breakfast and service did not disappoint me. I then stopped at the Estes Park visitor center to use the restroom facilities (mainly to change from my warmer mountain clothes to cooler gear for the ride back to Kansas). I ended up leaving Estes Park around 8:00 am (9:00 am CST).

The morning ride eastward on 34 was nice and relaxing. Left of my Day 3 report was that I never really felt in the “groove” riding the previous day. The roads were no more technical or curvy than I have done many times in the past. Proof that wisdom is coming with my age is that I did not overdo it. For example, midway in that ride I saw two other sportsbike riders who turned onto the canyon road in front of me. Normally I could easily keep up with them and might have just to “fly the Ducati flag”. But on that day, I just chose to ride at a slightly more moderate pace. Back to the current day (4). After navigating some freshly laid gravel leading out of Estes Park, I continued on Hwy 34. There was relatively little traffic. But there was still highway patrol on the highway. Fortunately I did not make any of their acquaintances! This in conjunction with my previous days experience lead me to believe that Colorado generally patrols and enforces the speed limit rather strictly. I notice more police patrolling the back roads and canyon roads then other areas I have visited.

My route was to follow Hwy 34 all the way across Colorado to the Kansas Border. A little over 100 miles from my start I experienced some problems with my Garmin GPS unit. Based on the symptoms, I was pretty sure that I had a loose connection in the 12v wiring to the motorcycle. This was not an immediate problem as the unit just goes into battery mode (it has a rechargeable battery). But, as much as I just like my GPS, I really did not want to rely on battery power. I have never learned how long it can run in battery mode. Since I had many hours to travel I decided to stop at a gas station and fix my wiring. I rely on my GPS for my actual speed (the motorcycle speedometer is highly inaccurate), trip information as average speed and time moving, directions, and of course maps. Yes, I could have done without it, but I did not want to. I figured that the fix would take me around 15 minutes. I originally wired all the accessories and am intimately familiar with the wiring. Unfortunately, a motorcycle is a hostile environment, especially with all the vibrations so it is impossible to make completely error free wiring. The fix involved removing some of inner dash plastic to reattach the GPS wire to my added fuse block. This involved me removing the bag I had strapped to the seat to get under the seat for my tools. The fix went smoothly and probably took me around 20 minutes. Unfortunately, as I put everything I realized that I could not find my newly purchase (birthday) knife. Both because I did want a misplace knife floating around and sentiment, I removed all the luggage and spent some time finding the knife. I eventually did, but now had spent around 30 minutes on this stop. More on why this was important later. I chose to gas up before I left.

The roads along the plains are mostly straight.

I rode on along the mostly straight and lightly trafficked highway. As I approached Akron, CO I realized that this was the county seat of the area where I got a speeding ticket on my first day of the trip. As there was not much along this highway I was pretty sure I would pass the courthouse. I decide if I saw it I would stop and see if I adjudicate the ticket with the county clerk. As I pulled up to it, I should have known that I was not going to be in luck. The large court center is very modern and stands out in the area. And, unlike many jurisdictions, the county clerk indicated that they make no adjustments to tickets. Bummer. A wasted stop. I got back on my bike and continued on.

Now another item that I may have neglected to mention in earlier posts is that I rely on listening to music on my motorcycle rides. Since my satellite radio unit had been stolen out my car the previous week this meant I was relying on my two iPods (Shuffle and and regular iPod). For long trips my regular, albeit old, iPod is better because it has 20GB of music on it. Unfortunately the battery only lasts about two hours. But, I have a 12v cigarette-lighter type wiring in my tank bag and a 12v AC adapter for my iPod. Frustratingly, my 20GB iPod acts weird when trying to play it and charge it with the adapter the same time. I found a workaround by just charging the iPod and then unplugging the AC adapter when listening to me. This is where the iPod Shuffle came in handy. Every two hours or so, I would switch to the iPod shuffle and recharge my 20GB iPod. I will be happy when I upgrade to a newer iPod and hope this problem goes away. The lesson for me is to take multiple sources of music on long motorcycle trips.

My route back home was not the same as my trip out as I was leaving from farther north in Colorado. From Hwy 34 I cut over to Hwy 35 on Hwy 27. By now I was starting to sweat gas. Just another step in my adventure.

Now, motorcycling is different than traveling a car with respect to fuel range. While motorcycles generally get much better mileage (I was averaging almost 42 mpg), they have very small tanks. Despite, Ducati’s claim that my model has a 5.5 gallon tank, I generally only get around 4.8 gallons in when the tank seems mostly dry. Given that I have run out of gas on the highway (once) I am not eager to repeat the experience. But, this poses a quandary. First, in some instances my gas mileage can fall to as low as 32 mpg. This is probably related to high average speed and/or racing the engine. But you never know, and 32 times 4.8 (153) is much different than 42 times 4.8 (201). Ideally I don’t want to stop too often, like every 100 miles. To my benefit my bike has a very accurate low-fuel light. It comes on when I have almost exactly one gallon left (based on a 4.8 gallon fill). I can generally count on getting at least 35 miles from that point no matter what my total mileage up to that point is.

On this trip, that meant around 150 miles in, I would start looking for gas stations. But on these back roads they don’t necessarily come as often as on the interstate. Fortunate for me I found one in time at St. Francis, KS. By now I was hungry but I did not see any suitable place to eat so I continued on after the quick gas stop. I continue past a couple of dinky towns and ended up stoppin at the same restaurant, Suzy Q’s, that I did on the first day of my trip. This time, I chose a hamburger which was at least better than the previous visit. My lunch stop lasted about 20 minutes.

By now it was threatening rain and I was pretty sure that I was going to get rained on. I rode Hwy 34 to Phillipsburg then cut south on Hwy 183 to Plainville. Now, here I made a mistake (some people never learn). I needed gas again, but did not see any gas stations on my route. So I choose to ride on. In Plainville I turned onto Hwy 18. The GPS showed a few towns along the way. But unfortunately these were very small towns and generally off the highway on county roads. No gas stations on the road. By now it was very, very, windy and raining hard. I took a chance and got off the road at Paradise. No gas stations, so I continued on. I now came on the turn to Russell, KS. This was about 18 miles off my intended route, but I knew the town would have gas and was on I-70. I made it into town as the rain stopped and got gas.

Now, I was basically right next to I-70 so it did not make sense for me to ride back north (18 miles) to continue along my original route on Hwy 18. This was a real bummer as this was probably the best part of the ride across Kansas. But, by now, I was getting a little worried about my arrival time at home. My GPS, which is generally very accurate in this regard, told me it would be around 9:30 pm (CST) when I got home. While I don’t mind riding at night, in the dark, I generally don’t want to be on the freeway or off my known roads when I do this. I surely did not want to be on Interstate 70. So I took off eastward on I-70. This was just as bad as I imagined it would be. There was tons of traffic, much of it trucks. I spotted, as well as my radar-detector did, many, many police radar cars. And to top it off there was a tremendous wind pushing from the south against my bike.

And here is a little rant. Why is it that interstate truckers drive so aggressively and horrible. Many drove nose-to-tail with the tractor trailer in front of them. This made passing even with the extra lane a longer affair. Then, many would just drive side-by-side with another truck blocking the entire highway. But the worst was the ones that would speed up just to tailgate me after I passed them and assumed a speed higher than they were originally traveling at. I try to be considerate of other motorist, but this was inexplicable.

At any rate, I continued on. I am guessing it was around 7:30pm when I entered I-70 at Russell, KS. By 8:10 pm the sun had pretty much gone all the way down. Around halfway to Topeka (from Russell) at least the traffic has subsides somewhat. As I neared Topeka, KS I needed to stop for gas again. Based on the low-light indicator that came on earlier, I was comfortable that I would make the eastern edge of Topeka but did not think I would make it past. I stopped for gas at 176 miles. I made it a very quick stop because I was ready to get off the highway. The rest of the trip along the Kansas Turnpike (still I-70) and the roads in Kansas City was a little better as I am pretty familiar with all these road. The busy turnpike traffic offered no relaxation though.

Safely arrived at my favorite Chipotle restaurant.

I pulled into my favorite Chipotle restaurant at 9:30 pm after riding 707 miles that day. After a short respite I continued the five miles to my house and arrived safely after and adventurous but fun day of riding.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 3

2007-09-03T22:37:00.000-05:00

Day 3 (Monday) began with me retrieving my bike from the Bell's accommodating neighbor, Marty. I then thanked the extremely gracious Bell family for providing me a very enjoyable stay.

I left the Bell's home in Boulder around 9:00 am after once again loaded up my bike with all my gear. The previous evening I had googled a few possible motorcycle routes but did not set a specific route. My general plan was ride from Boulder to Estes Park, CO then up the mountains to Grand Lake. I would then return to camp in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). I also hoped to get in a mountain hike.

I pretty much thought that I would have no problems following the couple of highways along the route. Which brings up my first comment no my Garmin Quest GPS. I really love my GPS unit and have a different mindset because of it. Specifically, I rely on it to find my way to different locations. Second, I generally enjoy that letting the GPS calculate a route will sometimes take me on roads I might not have picked in the first place.

Well my planned route was to follow Hwy 287 north through Longmont and then turn onto Hwy 34 east into Estes Park. My initial goal was to get to Estes Park and eat breakfast at The Egg and I restaurant. I found this breakfast place with my daughter Sophia on our last visit to RMNP. The Egg and I is a notable breakfast joint in that the food is good and the service is excellent. Driving through Longmont I passed another Egg and I restaurant (which I assumed was related) but chose to continue on to Estes Park. This could have been a mistake as I missed Hwy 34 and continued past on Hwy 287. The reason this happened related to my previous comments on my GPS. Because I rely on the GPS, I generally just wait to see major highways on the GPS unit. This frees me up to enjoy riding and avoid detailed looking at highway signs. In this case it was couple with only a brief look a the planned route and no printed route map.

My missed turn, turned out to be fortuitiuos as I continued on to CR-14 and was able to ride though part Poudre Canyon. Estes Park, Grand Lake, and Poudre Canyon form a big loop that was mentioned in a few of the recommended motorcycle routes I had googled the previous evening. I had decided not to do this long loop as I really wanted some off the bike mountain time to go along with my riding and also because I had a very long planned ride the following day. Once on CR-14 I let the GPS unit calculate my route to the Estes Park. This routed me along the curvy, motorcycle appropriate CR-27. CR-14 and CR-27 were great motorcycle roads.

Road in Poudre Canyon

I arrived in Estes Park after 11:00 am with over 100 miles ridden. With the curves on the canyon roads I felt like I got a decent motorcycle road in. As I stopped at the Egg and I, it began to drizzle. The restaurant once again rewarded my good memories with good food and exceptional service. After breakfast, the rain had pretty much stopped. I rode across the street and visited the Estes Park vistor center. The visitor center is exceptional in that it is large, well staffed with friendly employees, and host inviting and clean restrooms.

After leaving the Estes Park visitor center, I rode up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and secured a camp site at Glacier Basin campsite. This was fortunate as the skies were very cloudy now and threatening rain. In fact it began to rain pretty hard just as I finished setting up my tent and camp. By now it was 2:00 pm and I hoped the rain would pass, it would dry up, and I could then take my desired hike. I enjoyed reading a book in my tent for a period. Unfortunately, the rain continued for over two hours.

Clouds in the mountains of RMNP

As it closed up to 5:00pm I realized while the rain had died down, it was not going to stop and definitely not dry up for a mountain hike. I choose to saddle up and ride down to Estes Park for dinner. As an aside, on my motorcycle camping adventures I generally eat in town rather than carry and prepare food at the campsite. The ride down the mountain on the very wet roads just added to my adventure.

In Estes Park I choose to eat at at Penelope's World Famous Burgers. I had found Penelope's in a printed restaurant guide I had picked up earlier. It sounded good as it homemade food. Unfortunately, the food was only good not great. I enjoyed a nice stroll around town after dinner. This was not hectic as the summer crowds were gone on this Monday evening. I believe the fact that school had started make up for a good time for a visit.

Estes Park was uncrowded.

I returned to my camp site in the park on somewhat drier roads. On reaching my campsite I found that a young couple setting up camp as one of my neighbors. While I choose not to bother them by interrupting them, I experienced a pleasant sense of nostalgia as I imagined a newlywed couple starting on new adventures. It reminded me of my first marriage shortly after college. I surmise that the couple was just after college age as the college sessions had just started and the couple was obviously young.

Some of the beautiful scenery in RMNP.

Wet mountain roads only added to the adventure!

As it was getting later, yet not dark, but still pretty wet out, i had to forego my mountain hike. After enjoying the mountain setting, I retired to the tent for some more reading and early bedtime.

Total riding: 150 miles.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 2

2007-08-31T09:50:00.001-05:00

Day 2 (Sunday) of my trip was completely off the bike and spent with the Bell family. To protect privacy I will use the initials for the Bell family (BB, AB, LB, SB)

The morning started with a run with BB and neighbor, Marty. It was nice that they invited me on there regular run. Even nicer is that they didn't take me downhill and leave me. Just kidding, the run while cut a little short (for them) due to time constraints but was perfect for me.

Later, we ran some shopping errands and had lunch at Pei Wei. Pei Wei was LB's choice and did not disappoint. I have eaten at this chain in three different cities and have had the same good food and experience at each one. It was nice that SB chose to sit by me and allowed me to help him with his chop sticks.

BB is looking into starting cycling for fitness. We went to several bike shops just to price some bikes and get information. As a very avid cyclist, I have travelled to Boulder several times in the past. One of my favorite mail-order catalog bike stores, Excel Sports, is headquartered there. Unfortunately, Excel only sells high-end, "pro", level bikes. These are really not right for BB at this time. I was very disappointed in all the other bike shops we visited. Being my thing, I have visited many bike shops in different cities of the years. Being that Boulder might be considered the "mecca" of cycling I was surprised at the low-level of service in the bike shops we visited. I admit I am spoiled by my local shop, Sunflower Outdoor and Bike in Lawrence, KS, which may be the best bike retailer in the U.S.

My specific problem with the Boulder bike shops were two. First, bike fit is very important. They seemed to give short shift to this (with the exception of Excel Sports). Second, is that none of the bike shops seemed to carry a good selection of road bikes to compare and choose from.

The rest of the day was easy and enjoyably spent playing with kids and generally just chilling out.

In hindsight, an off-motorcycle day or at least a light motorcycle day, in the middle of the short vacation trips (3-4 days) that I like to take may be ideal. One dynamic of motorcycle trips is that naturally a big part of the trip is motorcycle riding. Because of the severe limit in luggage, I am not able to do some of the activities that I enjoy such as biking, kayaking, etc. I note that my other vehicles are SUVs that allow me to take some of my many "toys' for active vacations. While motorcycling is very fun, a break after long travel days can be relaxing.

I finished an enjoyable second day with 0 motorcycle miles.

Colorado Road Trip - Day 1

2007-08-30T21:55:00.001-05:00

This past weekend (Saturday) I rode my Ducati to Colorado to visit my good friends the Bells. The initial part of the trip was to a suburb near Boulder, CO and later continued on to Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park) before returning home.

I would be remiss not to start by saying that I had a wonderful visit and stay with the Bell family. The entire family were welcoming and gracious hosts during my stay.

My trip began with my leaving my home shortly after 8:00am. I am getting superstitious of loading my bike the night before. The last couple of times I have, weather has forced me to cancel my rides. Therefore after waking some time earlier, eating my regular breakfast of oatmeal and grapefruit, I finished packing the bike before leaving.

Earlier I had planned a route that allowed me to avoid as much of Interstate 70 as possible while still affording a relatively straight route to Boulder. This route had me travel on I-70 to just past Junction City, KS. On this Saturday morning the interstate travel was reasonable and not that hectic.

Just past Junction City, KS, I headed over to Hwy 18 to head west. Hwy 18 proved to be the most enjoyable part of my long ride across Kansas. This two-lane highway is sparsely trafficked, well paved and provides some nice views of the western plains.

I should mention that motorcycle travel is much different than automobile travel. First, a sportsbike motorcycle accelerates and stops much quicker than automobiles. Because of this it feels much safer traveling at a higher rate of speed than in an automobile. For me this is a blessing and curse. Personally, I enjoy riding at a speed higher than the posted limit. But, I dislike speeding tickets.

The reason for mentioning the motorcycle speed difference relates to my choice of route. Beside avoiding the huge amount of traffic on I-70, I believe I am going to exceed the speed limit sometimes on my motorcycle. The difference in the posted speed on my alternative back highways would make my route much longer than the interstate if one was going to only go the speed limit. Using good judgment and only speeding where safe makes the back roads not as much a penalty with regards to overall time.

At a couple of points along Hwy 18 I hit 133 mph (GPS verified). This is not the top speed of my motorcycle, but the fear of getting caught speeding this high had me resist attempting any higher "speed tests". For my non-motorcyclist friends, you should note that all motorcycle speedometers are optimistic and read higher than you are traveling. It is a bit of a trip to see the speedometer reading 140 mph! This is my arbitrary cut-off of any high speed runs.

High speed tests non-withstanding, I generally rode at around 80-90 mph. It would be easy to cruise along at 100 mph if I did not have the worry of speeding tickets.

From Hwy 18 I headed north on Hwy 283 to Norton, KS to reach Hwy 36 heading west. So far the majority of my trip had been on the back byways and enjoyable. The weather was warm but not too bad with very high overhead clouds. These clouds lasted the entire ride across Kansas but did not threaten rain and there was still plenty of sunlight.

Along Hwy 36, I finally stopped to eat in Atwood, KS. I had stopped briefly for my second gas stop shortly before. Atwood did not appear to have much to offer so I chose to eat at Suzy Q's restaurant which is right at the main intersection of Hwy 36 and Hwy 25. The restaurant boasted of home-cooked food. Upon recommendation, I chose the chicken-fried steak sandwich. The food and service was only fair, but I was happy to have my short break (20 minutes) from riding and opportunity to use the restroom. By now I had travelled approximately 425 miles.

Continuing onward, I crossed the rest of Kansas on Hwy 36. This part of the ride was mostly straight and well maintained. I eventually hit the Colorado state line still on Hwy 36. To my pleasure I had not really encounted any highway patrol cars so far along the way. The posted speed limit was 65 along most of the route. I stopped for gas a third time in Idalia, CO. Near Anton, CO I had the unfortunate luck to be pulled over by a Colorado state police officer.

The police car was headed toward me behind another car. At this point of the ride I was pretty much in a groove and just crusing along as seemed prudent. I had reduced my speed somewhat due to worry of increased police patrol and was probably not going much faster than 80 at any time. Unfortunately for me, while I slowed down for the oncoming traffic, I did not slow down completely because my radar detector was silent. THe police office was not using his radar until right as he passed me when my radar detector went off. I was cooked. I pulled over to the shoulder after the state officer turned around. To my dismay I was written up for 75 in a 65 mph zone. I had hoped for a warning. After signing the citation, I continued on my journey.

By this time, I was getting low on gas again and looking for a place to stop. The limited mileage range of my bike is something I will discuss in one of the future day's entries. I found gas just before turning onto I-70 for the short ride towards Denver. By now I was probably 60 miles form my destination.

Outside of Denver my GPS directed me to take the tollway which loops Northwest by the airport. This seemed like the shortest way and by now I was ready to reach my destination. Unfortunately, this is one of the newer tollways where they stop you and charge you periodically along the way. I had to stop for three tollbooths along the way and pay $2.00 at each. In the end it cost me $6.00 to travel what was less than 15 miles! Bummer.

I arrived to warm greetings at the Bells home. Almost immediately I met a fellow rider (2 Harleys) and Bell neighbor, Marty. Marty graciously offered to allow me to store my motorcycle in his garage. While generally I wouldn't worry about my bike staying outside, earlier in the week both my cars had been broken into outside my home. On quick reflection, I decided in the unlikely event my motorcycle or parts off it were stolen, it would only add insult to the injury of the thefts earlier in the week. I took Marty up on his offer.

I enjoyed dinner and good conversation at the Bells home that evening and eventually went to bed. Contrary to the Bells thought that I would be exhausted after such a long ride, 670 miles, I find motorcycle riding not that fatiguing, other than mental exhaustion and a sore butt. Motorcycle travel is not like working out, such as running or bicycling. It is generally more mentally taxing than exercise.

I ended a good day after the aforementioned 670 miles in approximately 10 hours and a nice reunion with my good friends.

Accelerade update.

2007-08-12T21:18:00.001-05:00

Well, I have furthered my personal testing of Accelerade and am still happy with it. I would be remiss to note that my test are mostly subjective, unscientific, and may relate to my personal physiology.

I have recounted my first two trial days, Monday and Tuesday in a previous posting. I have followed these up with the following training:
Wednesday: road ride (20 miles), followed by weightlifting
Thursday: road ride (40 miles)
Friday: weightlifting
Saturday: road ride (40 miles)
Sunday:weightlifting, followed by run (5 miles)

I used the Accelerade each day. Todays comments are an example, about taste, bottle only, power.

My earlier posting tried to describe the difference I noted when cycling with Accelerade. On another ride I came up with a good way to illustrate the difference. This example uses cycling and you should try it yourself. Find some rolling hills. These are a series of hills that you basically climb then descend, then climb the next rolling hill. These are not mountains are large hills where you have sustained climbing but a short hill that takes less than a minute to climb. You know these hills. They are the ones that either require you to reduce your pedaling cadence and/or downshift gears to get over. You also reduce your average speed versus a flat area. Now the example. Ride down the hill at an accelerated pace. When you hit the bottom try to keep the pace up as you power up the next hill. At some point you should feel the lack of energy (lactate acid threshold) and your legs will be too tired to keep up this accelerated pace. Now with me, at some point in my rides I will have this feeling in my legs in all situations. Early on, my legs recover at some point. But later, the ability to recover or hit peak power is significantly diminished. When drinking the Accelerade, my legs do not feel this fatigue or it is greatly diminished when I am riding generally the same training pace. Significantly my legs feel much fresher at the end of the ride. So far in my short test, I feel better recovered for the next days training.

Regarding the taste of Accelerade. One thing I really like is how the Accelerade tastes. Here I am not talking about the flavor, but the physical taste. While the Accelerade is in no way gooey or thick it does seem to have a consistency that is different than pure liquid like water. For me it is really satisfying and somewhere between eating and drinking while workout. Eat really satisfies me much like eating. Normally, when riding hard I can't wait till the end when I can eat. But, I find my cycling suffers if I eat food while training. I may have not mentioned that I like the Accelerade much better at room temperature (or slightly warmed when warmed up during a long ride) than chilled.

I should note that my experiments have been with the premixed Accelerade (grapefruit citrus flavor). Accelerade mix has been around for awhile. A search of the internet will provide mixed reviews of the powered mix version. I think it is significant that many people end up mixing the powered Accelerade to non-standard proportions. If there is any truth to the scientific claims of the producer, this variation on the mixed strength may work less well.

Finally my comment on power. Accelerade seems to help with "muscle energy" or endurance and recovery. This is opposed to power (fast twitch muscles?). As in my example above, I am noting a remarkable increase in endurance and less muscle soreness. This does not mean that I am noting a noted increase in pure strength (power). Nor would I really expect it to. In weightlifting, I notice much less of an effect (other than slightly reduced muscle soreness). I do like the Accelerade for running and cycling. While not directly affecting power, I believe the training effects may help facilitate more power training (such as intervals) that eventually increase power.

Bottom line. I still like the Accelerade a week later and will continue trying it.

Accelerade...Magic Elixir?

2007-08-08T11:40:00.001-05:00

Wanted to post about a new sports drink I am trying that appears to work, very, very well. Accelerade is a liquid sports drink (somewhat like Gatorade) that claims it's 4:1 (Carb:Protein) formula is ideal for endurance and fitness training and performance. So far, this product really seems to live up to its billing.

I have only used this product for two days so far, but the results have been amazing.

I initially purchased my first bottle (20 oz., regular price $1.99 before discounts) at Target. I thought to give an "energy" drink another try after listening to a friend rave about another product, Perpetuam by Hammer Nutrition, and his cycling efforts. According to the friend, he could do very long rides without running out of energy when using the Perptuem mix. It helped my decision that Accelerade comes in grapefruit flavor (as well as several others). I like the taste of grapefruit a lot.

On Monday, I did my first ride while using the Accelerade sports drink. This was a 40 mile ride where the temperature was around 100 degrees and the heat index was well into the hundreds. I immediately noticed that my muscles did not seem to lose energy as they normally would (and did on the ride the day before). It is really hard to describe the feeling. It is not like I had more strength (and consequently speed), just that my legs felt fresh the entire ride. Very notably, I had no soreness after the ride, nor later that evening. This may have been the hottest day so far this year.

The next day, Tuesday, I decided to continue my trial. I chose to do a brick (combination cycling/running effort). I first rode 20 hilly miles. Then I immediately followed this up with a 3.5 mile run. Once again, drinking the Accelerade along the way I felt much fresher the entire time. In addition, once again I experience little to no soreness. This is much different than the same training not using Accelerade.

I little about my personal physiology. I seem to carry a lot of water and generally do not have a problem in very hot weather. I can regularly exercise (such as a bike or run) in 100 degree weather for at least an hour with no additional water and not feel ill-effects. On reading the many articles on the importance of hydrating while exercising, I have tried to up my water intake on rides and runs. This does not seem to help all that much. In fact, too much water seems more or a problem than too little water.

I have also tried (and generally use) Gatorade on very long exercise periods. This seem to quench my thirst. I generally tolerate Gatorade (even warm) very well. Only a large dose will leave me feeling bloated. In addition to Gatorade, I have tried many gels (such as GU) and power bars. I generally like Apple-Cinnamon Powerbars the best. Importantly, none of these aids seem to make a noticeable difference in my performance. At best they delayed complete exhaustion.

The other training nutrition foods/drinks differ from my experience with Accelerade, in that the Accelerade made a noticeable difference in my performance during and after training. I look forward to continued use and trial.

I have searched the net for suggestions or examples of how others are using Accelerade. Other than some general testimonials I have not seen any specific training recipes. For reference, I have been drinking the Accelrade every 15 minutes during exercise with each drink consisting of a couple of swallows of the drink. I have been using the pre-mixed ("ready to use") bottled version of grapefruit-citrus Accelerade. My drinking rate is around 20oz per hour and a quarter when cycling. I have no problem drinking the Accelerade unchilled.

To recap. Drinking Accelerade I have experiences fresher muscles and longer endurance. I have experience a noticeable reduction in during and after workout muscle soreness. The only (slightly) negative item with Accelerade is a sightly "cotton-mouth" taste in my mouth after drinking it. In my case this is very mild feeling and not a problem. In contrast, when drinking straight water durning heavy exercise, my mouth always feels unquenched, so I probably prefer the slightly "cotton-mouth" feeling of Accelerade.

Some general thoughts:

1. Anti-drug. I have been around other who have used performance stimulating drugs such as anabolic steroids and stimulants. I do not advocate or condone their use in a any way. I have seen the users exhibit the negative effects. Accelerade does not list any questionable chemicals in it's ingredient list.

2. Supplements. I generally do not believe in vitamin supplements. My unscientific belief is that these are generally more harmful then helpful. If your body naturally creates a chemical, unless there is medical deficiency, I believe the addition of a lab-made supplement will just encourage the body to shut down it's natural production. It also seems that users tend to have to use more and more of the supplements to get the same benefits.

3. No Pain, No Gain. Anybody who has suffered a torn ACL or MCL can tell you that this thought process is wrong. No way can you work through this injury nor does it make you a better athlete. Keeping this in mind if a sports drink allows you do do strong effort with less pain, I believe my training is more effective.

2. Milk vs. Soy protein. Accelerade uses milk-based whey as it's protein source. While I have read articles advocating the superiority of soy-based whey, I am not sure I believe they are actually superior. Based on my limited trial of Accelerade it still appears to work.

Dallas Ramble - Day 4

2007-08-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

Day four of this little trip was basically riding back home to Kansas City.

Late the previous evening I decided that I would return to Kansas City. This was due to three basic reasons. First, the weather had only been so-so with periods of light showers. It looked like the weather at home was much better. Second, I had hatched up a plan with a friend to maybe go bicycling in the Colorado mountains. Depending on his schedule, we would be going in a couple of weeks. Since I have been neglecting my cycling I wanted to get back and do some minimal cycling training. Finally, it really is pleasant to keep these short trips cheap. Camping helps. Another day in Dallas (especially when the weather isn't great) would just up the cost of the trip.

After waking up and getting dressed, I rode the short distance to my favorite Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. It was pleasant that several of the employees remember me despite the fact that it has been a long time between visits. I note there was a light shower as I arrived and left the restaurant. I then rode back to hotel and packed for my trip.

It has stopped raining by the time I was packed and checked out of the hotel. Since it was Saturday morning, the traffic getting out of Dallas was busy but not too bad. I had decided that I would take a more direct route back to Kansas City rather than alternates that add a lot of extra mileage and time. This is basically US-75 to US-69. Rather than the recommended (via mapping software) I chose to ride US-69 through Kansas rather than heading into Missouri and heading north on US-71 (which is a longer distance but maybe slightly faster due to speed limits).

US-75 is basically uninteresting with a fair amount of traffic. The same is true of US-69 in Oklahoma. There is one area where the road cuts through some lakes where the speeds can gat up. Fortunately for me I was listening to XM radio the entire trip to keep me from getting bored out of my mind. Near where US-69 meets I-44 in Oklahoma I got slightly off-track as I tried to avoid the toll of the I-44 turnpike. This was okay as I was trying to find a place to eat, gas up, and it ended up allowing me to ride part of the old route 66. One interesting thing I saw was a group (5-6) of late-model Corvettes driving down the road. They were heading the other way so I did not find out what they were up to. Probably a car club. It was somewhere near here where I met my first rain storm of the trip. As I go off on a county road (beautifully paved) it really began to pour. As there was nowhere good to stop I just rode on. The storm lasted about 15 miles. This was one of those showers where some cars pull over to the shoulder and wait it out. My Ducati wearing it's Avon Storm tires performed very well and I felt comfortable driving on.

I still had not found a place to eat as I continued North. By this time I was just looking for a McDonalds or other generally reliable restaurant to get something to eat at. By now I was within two-hours of Kansas City. It is at these times you ponder just continuing on until the destination. After deep thought I decided it was better to make a short stop for food as the skies ahead looked very threatening. Unfortunately as I rode I felt a flapping on top of my helmet, much like a bird flapping against the top of my helmet. I reached up and found that a plastic part (air duct) on my Arai helmet had come almost completely unglued. As I was traveling at highway speeds I just pulled the piece off and stuck it into my tankbag. You can read my thoughts about the terrible Arai company and the poor quality of there products by searching my blog.

I finally stopped in Pittsburg, KS at a McDonalds. My riding gear (waterproof) had held the rain out well. An inspection of my helmet showed that the failed plastic air cover (which is taped on with double-sided glue strips) just covers three round holes in the helmet. I decided I would have to fix this when I got home. The crash-worthiness of the helmet appeared to be intact. I chose to spend about 20 minutes at the McDonalds getting a quick bite and reading a book (as I often do to relax). I then got on the bike for the final leg home. Just as I was leaving the McDonalds I got hit by the second hard rain of the ride. This lasted for about 20 miles. Once again the riding was no problem.

The final miles of the ride were no problem with the weather turning mostly sunny and very muggy as I got near KC. Riding in from the south I am once-again amazed at how much the city has grown even in the past couple of years. It is a different and comforting feeling to ride on the roads that are your regulars (after spending even a short time away). Interestingly, even after my short trip, arriving back into Kansas City reminded me what a cool town it is for a mid-large city. I am still glad to live here.

Dallas Ramble - Day 3

2007-08-06T10:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long delay. Day 3 was spend entirely in Dallas. The only motorcycle riding was in-city commuting.

I woke and dressed for breakfast with a my friend Kevin. We planned to meet at a local breakfast place. I arrived first and secured a table. We enjoyed an okay breakfast and good conversation. After of breakfast Kevin headed off for work and errands I went in search of an auto parts store for a replacement taillight bulb.

The first auto parts store I visited (on the way back to the hotel) did not have the needed bulb. When I asked about an alternate, nearby auto parts store, the employee suggested two other parts stores (same chain), both of which were not very convenient. I decided I probably find something closer and continued my ride back to the hotel. Probably two blocks (versus several miles for the suggested alternates) I found another parts store. This parts store had the needed bulb which I replaced quickly after removing the two screws that hold on the brake light lsns.

I continued on to the hotel. I only had a short time before heading off for my scheduled lunch meeting. This was at one of my favorite restaurants, Corner Bakery, this location on Coit Rd. I enjoyed the a good lunch and conversation with my lunch partner.

After lunch, I rode up the street and decided to have my haircut at a regular hair styling salon when in Dallas. This is one of the chains but has generally done a reasonable job for a reasonable price. Haircut accomplished I rode back to the hotel. The weather so far had been mostly cloudy.

On my way I stopped and spend some time in a Borders Bookstore (I had a discount coupon) and purchased a new book. I also visited Nordstrom Rack. I have found some great shoe deals here in the past. Upon return to the hotel, I decided to go for a run. I have a regular 2.5-3 mile loop I generally run from the hotel. This run a one large square that runs from my hotel along Preston Rd (mostly commercial but with good sidewalk and few street or entrance crossings) and then along a major residential artery. I was feeling good and wanted a longer run so I ran two loops (5-6 miles).

After returning from my run, i showered and then noodled on computer for awhile and did some reading. For some reason (possibly because it is one of my favorite restaurants) I still felt like Corner Bakery for dinner. I visited a different Corner Bakery (on Preston Rd) for dinner. Here, my thing is to get a iced tea from the Starbucks (next door) and then walk over to the Corner Bakery> I just like the tea at Starbucks better than the Corner Bakery. This is no negative on Corner as the tea there is okay and the food is excellent. While at Starbucks I saw and spoke to old friend (motorcycling acquaintance) for a short while. My dinner at Corner Bakery was great as usual. After eating my dinner I walked over to the REI (outdoor sporting goods) which is across Preston Rd from the Corner Bakery and Starbucks. REI is a neat store which is a little different because the entire company is a Co-op. The employees are generally very nice and friendly. I didn't find anything I just had to have. It was now around 9:00pm. I walked back across the street and hung out in the Starbucks for a little while reading a book and people watching. Soon I headed towards the hotel, gassed up, and arrived back to go to sleep.

Corner Bakery (Preston Rd)

Starbucks (Barnes & Noble) from Corner Bakery parking lot

A couple of random thoughts:
1. The suburbs of Dallas are somewhat like a big city. You can tend to hang out in a small area. My longtime stomping grounds is around Plano Pkwy and Preston Road. There are many restuarants and stores within a mile of here.
2. The traffic in the area is pretty heavy no matter what time of day. During rush hours it can be almost overwhelming.
3. The Corner Bakery area (near Preston and Park Avenue) is super convenient and and comfortable place to hang out. This little strip mall has a great combination Barnes and Noble/Starbucks, the aforementioned Corner Bakery, and a Whole Foods market almost next door.
4. Another good (at least from a money-savings perspective) thing about motorcycle vacationing is that you have limited room to carry things. This factors into any discretionary purchasing and has me foregoing some of those shopping purchases of things I might like but don't really need.
5. The burned out taillight bulb reminded me that besides being a little self-sufficient, a motorcycle you travel on should be serviceable. Specifically, I note that a lot of motorcyclist modify their directional and regular lights. It was really convenient that I could replace the burned out taillight bulb with a commonly available part.

Dallas Ramble - Day 2

2007-07-31T09:49:00.000-05:00

I woke up early (6:00 am) for my day which resulted in me traveling the 360 miles from Mt. Magazine State Park to Dallas, TX. I awoke to a a beautiful morning after a good nights sleep in the tent. In no particular hurry I leisurely packed my stuff for the days trip.

Leaving the park, I followed AR-309 south to Havana, AR. This curving, mountain road is not as nice as the northern side. Havana is a very small town with no restaurants or services to speak of. I continued on AR-10 to Booneville, AR where I stopped for breakfast at McDonnell's. I had forgotten to bring my favored grapefruit to eat at the picnic, so I had to make do with unhealthy breakfast. I left Booneville and continued south on AR-23 until it reached Hwy 71. 23 south of Booneville is once again a nice winding, rolling road that is nice to motorcycle on. This time I encountered more traffic as I rode Hwy 71 towards Mena, AR. The road is good but I encountered enough traffic to slow my progress.

Rather then head all the way into Mena, AR I chose to turn onto Hwy 270 and then take AR-272(?) to the Talimena Scenic Byway (TSB) or Hwy 88. This avoids the traffic of Mena but cuts off 14 miles of the TSB. On the plus side the narrow and steep mountain road (AR-272) that cuts from 270 to 88 is a trip. At the bottom I passed a minivan whose brakes were so overheated you could clearly smell the burning.This road is so narrow it does not appear that two cars can pass in opposite directions (despite being two way). It is also densely lined with trees on both side. The road connects to the TSB right at the Queen Wilamena State Park. I made a short stop to use the restroom facilities in the camp bathhouse then continued my ride along the TSB.

The Talimena Scenic Byway once again proved be a very rewarding motorcycle road. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures but the pictures do not really illustrate what a great road this is.

After finishing the TSB in Talihina, OK I continued south on Hwy 272. This road was again a series of enjoyable fast sweepers and my progress was smooth. I continued through Antlers, OK to Paris, TX. From Paris I rode to Dallas, TX (Plano).

From north of Dallas, the traffic is very heavy. Fortunately I a used to it so I am not bothered by riding here. I arrived at my favorite La Quinta Hotel at 2:30. Atypically, I had some problem getting my (free night) reservation made while in the lobby of the hotel. I had a reservation made for the next two days but just needed to get a room for that day (Thursday). Thirty minutes later all was well. As mentioned my hassle was notable and I spoke to the manager (not his or his staffs fault) and later La Quinta corporate management (Returns Club). I very much hope this is one time glitch and not a sign of things to come.

I had plans for dinner with a friend, so after unpacking I went for run. Later I enjoyed dinner at the Grand Luxe (a concept from the owners of the Cheesecake Factory). This restaurant is located in the Dallas Galleria. While I had not been rained on during my trip into town the skies were overcast and threatening of rain. I almost made it the Galieria when it began to rain. Fortunately I was near the covered parking garage and only got slightly wet. While we eat a long dinner at the restaurant, it rained pretty hard. Fortunately by the time I left (after 10:00 pm) it had pretty much dried up.

On my ride back to the hotel I was advised by the driver of a passing car that my taillight was out. I pulled over in a parking lot to find while my brake light worked the running light (red) was broken. Now in some places this may not be as big a deal as Dallas. But I still had 3-5 miles to ride on a very busy road. There was really nothing to do but ride with my emergeny flashers on until I got to the hotel. I made it safe.

It had been a pretty long day so I pretty much hit the sack after I arrived at the hotel.

Dallas Ramble - Day 1

2007-07-30T10:03:00.000-05:00

Wednesday I took off on another motorcycle ramble for a couple of days. The main initiative for this ride was to meet with some business contacts in Dallas Texas on Friday as well as try to catch up with some friends. Day 1's itinerary was riding from home (KC) to Mt. Magazine State Park in Arkansas.

Initially I debated whether to start my ride on Wednesday or Thursday. Leaving on Thursday would have me riding the entire way to Dallas on the same day to get there in time for meetings set up on Friday. I would then continue the trip for longer during the weekend. The forecast showed a slight chance of rain on Thursday, so I chose my Wednesday departure instead.

As seems to be becoming the norm, my initial packing and getting started dragged on later than it should have. After doing some necessary work prior to my start and finishing packing it was nearly 11:00 am. By now, I decided I might as well have lunch at my favorite lunch place. Chipotle. This plan was coupled with my basic timing of not hitting the state park until evening.

After dropping off my mail and lunch I finally hit the highway. The route out of KC on Hwy 71 was pretty straight and fast. As in the past I was able to find a fast moving car to follow. In this case it was a contruction company pickup that was traveling 95 to 100 miles an hour the entire way to Joplin, MO. I was able to lay back and follow this truck the entire way with no police encounters. Passing through Bentonville and Rodgers was a little bit of a drag because of the traffic.

At Fayetteville, AR I cut through town in accordance with my plan to take AR-16 to connect to AR-23. I had not been on AR-16 before and wanted to see if this was a good route. This route took me through the main part of Fayetteville. While an interesting diversion (as I have not been to Fayetteville before) I really don't recommended it as a must see. It was between 4:30 and 5:00 pm now so I experiences a little traffic. I followed AR-16 to AR-23 finding that the AR-16 is just an okay road and I would not highly rate it for motorcycling. Once I connected to AR-23 (the "Pigs Trail") the riding got much better.

I had based my timing to arrive in Ozark, AR in time for dinner. I had read about Model Cafe on an internet motorcycle forum posting and thought it might be a good place to get something to eat prior to camping at Mt. Magazine. To my disappointment I found that the cafe was closed. I am not sure if it was just for the night or permanently. I rode around this very small town but did not find any other places to eat that looked interesting. Thus, I continued on south to Paris, AR. Paris is the last town north of the Mt. Magazine state park. I was confident that I could find someplace to eat there. Upon arriving in Paris, I decided that I wanted a relatively short dinner as I wanted to get to the state park before it was dark. I chose to eat at Subway. The food was uninspired, but it was pleasant to see a group of high school aged kids (friends of the employees working there) hanging out in the restaurant. Overhearing part of their conversations I was reminded that kids are kids no matter where you are.

I left the Subway and rode on AR-309 up the mountain to Mt. Magazine state park. While their is construction on 309 part of the way I was not bothered as the construction crews had already quit for the day and there was very little traffic. This stretch of AR-309 (Paris to Mt. Magazine State Park) is a very nice motorcycling road with curves, relatively good pavement, and scenery.

Upon reaching the state park, I made a quick pass through the campground to verify that it was full before heading to the Brown Springs picnic area. As I have posted before the picnic area is the designated spot for overflow camping. On arriving, I found one other set of visitors. This couple and their young son where finishing a late picnic and indicated they were not planning on camping. I set up my camping gear and then headed back to the campground bathhouse for a shower. Once again, the bathhouse was very clean and amenable. I spent a few minutes talking with other campers before heading back to my campsite.

When I returned to my campsite, the other visitors had left and I had the place to myself. This peace was only interrupted twice when a park ranger vehicle drove through (8:00 pm and 9:00 pm). The ranger did not stop or otherwise bother me. As my previous visit this campsite is very peaceful and relaxing. On this visit the cricket sounds where much louder. Also the sky was a little overcast. My only worry was whether it was going to rain. I chose not to put the rain fly over my tent and leave the "moon roof" unzipped. The "moon roof" of my Mountain Hardwear Hamerhead 3 tent allows for almost 2/3 of the tent to be unzipped (leaving a mosquito net) which allows you to look out. I enjoyed the outdoors setting for a long time before going to sleep. Throughout the night I heard varying shift of the wind rustling through the trees as well as a few different animal sounds.

More on Day 2 in my next posting.

Arkansas Motorcycle Trip - Day 4

2007-07-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

Day 3 itinerary was Mt. Magazine State Park, AR to Kansas City (home)

I woke up from an awesome sleep at dawn (6:00am). The evening weather had been great and the morning I awoke to was temperate and nice. There really was not much to do. I was not properly equipped for hiking. But, the park appears to be a good candidate for a future trip to do some mountain hiking. After leisurely packing I head off north.

My plan was to head north on Hwy 309 and then connect up to Hwy 23 (part of which is known as the "pigs trail"). Hwy 309 north from the state park is a pretty nice ride. Unfortunately I hit one spot with a highway flag man only allowing traffic one way. Because they were just getting equipment to the work this stoppage lasted over 10 minutes. This was kind of drag as it had already warmed up. When I was allowed to continue I continued along 309 through the town of Paris, AR. This was somewhat ironic as I passed through Paris, TX the previous day and it the time of the Tour de France (of which I am a fan). Paris, AR is not really a remarkable town. From Paris, I connected up to Hwy 23.

Hwy 23, the Pigs Trail, is pretty well touted as an excellent motorcycle road. As I have ridden this road a couple of times before I am somewhat familiar with it. While a very curry road, it does have the drawback that there is some traffic on it. This includes logging trucks which can be a real drag. Fortunately with a fast bike there are some opportunities to pass. Besides the thought that the extra traffic is a drag, my second thought is that after a few days of mountain curves they get to be somewhat uninteresting. The analogy I will give is like a roller coaster. For several times it is very exciting and fun. Too much and it becomes a little monotonous. THen some time away and it can be new and exciting again. For me probably no more than two or three days at a time is plent.

My plan was to head up to Eureka Springs (a little over 100 miles away) and stop for breakfast. I arrived in Eureka Springs right around 10:00 am. Once again I have been to Eureka Springs a couple of times before. This highly touted town confuses me. There are many, many hotels and the town is a popular tourist destination. Bur every time I have been here, I really have not found that much interesting to see, do, or eat. Upon arrival, I cruised through the downtown shopping district. Not much appeared to be open of going on. I had eaten at an okay restaurant on a previous visit but it was closed. Eventually I just headed back to the main highway passing that passes through the town and stopped at a Subway for an early lunch. After a quick lunch, I stopped across the street to gas up my motorcycle. I chose to pass on this gas station when I realized that they charge 12 cents extra if you paid via credit card. This and there regular (cash) price was no lower than other gas stations. I chose to gas up at another station up the street.

Leaving Eureka springs and heading northwest was less pleasing as there was significantly more traffic. With the curves it is hard not to pass or end up being stuck by the much slower progress of cars and RVs on the curves. Shortly after passing into Missouri I has my one "pucker" moment. I had just passed a couple of slow moving cars and a RV when my radar detector lit up from a state police car. And yes I was going over the posted limit (for the pass :) ). On top of that I had to make the pass over a double yellow after following the caravan for some time. Very fortunately the state trouper either chose not to turn around or was impeded by the other traffic. I continued on at a normal clip. As an aside, I really hate to pass over a double-yellow line. In fact I very rarely do it. Generally it is easier to wait for a passing zone and then use the much superior speed of the motorcycle to make and easy and safe pass. The problem with being behind a an RV is double, first their progress on back roads can be extremely slow and also it can be very nervous to follow behind something where you have no chance to see what is ahead.

I followed Hwy 37 to I-44 (for a short length) to Hwy 71 North. As I had previously mentioned Hwy 71 is actually a pretty good divided highway. Passing and flow is not a problem. On this occaision (as generally the case on this road) I was able to follow a car that was traveling very fast. In this case it was a "soccer-mom" driving a small SUV. This women was traveling between around 95 miles an hour (70 mph limit) almost the entire way. I followed at a safe distance. Along the way I only noticed one police officer. Somehow the SUV women didn't get tagged as she had come up on some slower moving traffic.

Nearing Kansas City my bike was running on fumes as the low-fuel light had come on several miles back. Gas mileage on my bike can wildly vary and seems to be significantly affected by high speed cruising. Since I was close to home and my normal gas station I decided to chance going the whole way. To put this in perspective I have run out of gas once (while traveling). I have run my tank down very low on several occasion but still do not know the exact capacity of the tank. Because of wide variance in gas milage it may not matter that much anyway. At any rate, I made it to my "home" station and filled up. Peering into the tank it appeared that I was truely on "fumes" and would have not gotten much, if even, 10 more miles before running out of gas. After gas I made it home ending a very enjoyable trip.

Arkansas Motorcycle Trip - Day 3

2007-07-23T16:10:00.001-05:00

Day 3 itinerary ended up being the Dallas to Mt. Magazine State Park, AR via the Talimena Scenic

The next morning, day 3 of my trip, I decided to leave Dallas and head back to Arkansas for some additional camping. By morning it appeared that my business contacts and friends was not going to pan out. This is my own fault for my last minute plans. Additionally, my brief stay in Dallas sort of made me think that I either needed to stay longer than a couple of days or plan better.

During my stay on day 1 I picked up a nice brochure on the Arkansas state parks. There are many and a few appeared interesting. The price of camping was right too. My plan was to basically reverse my trip for the second day (Talimena Scenci Byway to Dallas) and then continue on further to Mt. Magazine (The highest peak in Arkansas).

I started my day be waking up then eating off the continental breakfast at the La Quinta. I have commented in earlier posts about how disappointing continental breakfast at most hotels are. Well, the LQ was disappointing even by the normal standards. Nevertheless, I had a breakfast of some plain oatmeal and yogurt. After breakfast I leisurely packed, in case of call-backs from my contacts, and eventually headed off.

The ride along 121 up to Paris, TX was uneventful and a little more crowded on this Monday morning. I arrived in Paris, TX around 12:00 p.m. and decided to have lunch at a Subway. Unlike a lot of Subway restaurants I encounter, this was a standalone building the size of your normal McDonald. In my mind my turkey sub beat McDonald food anyway. I had finished my meal in less than 15 minutes and generally lounged around for 10 more minutes just to take a break. I have found that I generally go about two stops (150 miles between each) with a minimal stop for gas. These gas stop don't even have me getting off my bike.

After passing Antlers, OK Hwy 271 became an enjoyable ride without too much traffic. I then headed past Taiihina, OK onto the Talimena Scenic Byway (TSB). My second ride of this fabulous ride was just as enjoyable as the first. On this Monday afternoon (around 3:00 p.m.) I think I saw maybe 3 cars. One was a park employee vehicle which pulled over into the first outlook after I came upon him. This did not impede my progress. A second car I had to pass, which was no problem. The final car I saw was already pulled over in an outlook. I saw no police enforcement vehicles along the byway. Unlike my first visit where I got to to the Queen Wilhelmena State park via 271 to hwy 272 to the byway (bypassing Mena, Ar and approximately 14 miles of the byway) I continued to the east end of the byway at Mena, AR. Once again the TSB has different characteristics. For the most part is is mountainous with relatively fast corners (many!) with a few places of steep, tight corners. The eastern end was more of the tight corners. From Mena, AR I headed north up on Hwy 71. The 50+ miles of TSB took me a little less than one hour long.

Once again Hwy 71 in this part of Arkansas is a pretty nice, sweeping ride. On Monday evening I encountered some traffic, but not overbearing. I also encountered a very brief period of light rain. Apparently, it had rained a little harder earlier as several miles were wet. No problem as my normal riding gear is waterproof. I continued from Hwy 71 to Hwy 23 to Boonville, AR.

I stopped to eat at a McDonalds in Boonville. I had read that there was no place to eat at the southern of the Mt. Magazine byway in Havana, AR (which is true). I had not passed many restaurants and the towns along the way are pretty small. As Boonville is pretty close to Havana, I choose not to chance it. By now, I think it was around 4:30 p.m. After a short stop (20 minutes) I continued on. To my chargrin, I saw a Subway a half-mile down the road, but not any other restaurants. Oh well.

From Havana, I continued on Hwy 309 to Mt. Magazine State Park. The south end of 309 is steep, narrow, curving road. This was very similar to many mountain roads and was enjoyable and mild speed.

I arrived at the the Mt. Magazine state park a little after the visitor center and registration closed. In a phone call to the park that morning, an employee told me that if the park center was closed I shoudl just head to the camping area. Any sites not marked reserved were available. If no camping sties were available, the park allows overflow campers to camp in the separate picnic area.

I first visited the camping area. A quick drive around showed me that all the camping spots were already taken. After using the restroom facilities in the very clean bathhouse located in the camping area. I proceeded on. A little further up the road (less than a 1/4 mile) was another road which lead to several outlooks over the mountain. This road basically circled the campground but was far enough away that you could not see the actual campground.

After a quick look at the outlook road, I continued on along the park road. Maybe another 1/4 mile down the road (1/2 mile from the camping ground) I came upon the Brown Springs picnic area. This wooded area was pretty large but there were no other visitors.

From one of the overlooks:

I headed back out the main park road up to the park lodge just to see what it was like. I was very surprised here to find what appears to be a large first class lodge. I stopped and took some pictures of the entrance foyer, lobby, and from the back of the lodge which looks out from the top the mountain top. I then headed back to the picnic area to set up camp.

The Lodge entranceway:

The Lodge entry foyer:

Looking out from the mountain in the back of the lodge:

When I returned to the picnic area, I started to set up my camp. There was a single other vehicle which was just leaving when I pulled into the picnic area. Otherwise, I had the entire area to pick where I wanted to set up my tent. I choose to set up my tent right at the edge of the area next to a clearing in the trees that overlooked the side of the mountain.

Just on the other side of my tent, is the side of the mountain. My bike is about 30 feet from the tent:

You can barely make out my bike and tent in the very back of this next picture. This was from about 3/4 the width of the picnic area. I had the place to my self:

After setting up I rode back to the bath house for a nice shower. I then returned to camp to settle in for the night. Now, one thing about moto-camping is that you generally do not get too far from other campers. I have found that I am generally in campgrounds with other campers, vehicles, and noise. Contributing to this is that I am reluctant to park my bike somewhere as I hike to an out of the way campsite. On this particular instance, I got an awesome experience. The area where I camped is pretty forested and you can not see the main park road from the picnic area. I also had the entire area to myself. That evening until the time I left in the morning I did not hear a single other car or person.

After writing on my computer and some reading, I got into my tent for sleep. By now it was past dusk and I enjoyed the peace of just listening to the sounds and viewing thing though the "moonroof" of my tent. Later, after it got dark, I realized that while I expected the best view of the night sky was going to be out the "moonroof" side of the tent which faced toward the mountain side, the best view was the other direction (towards the picnic area). Fortunately my tent has a separate "window" on that side of the tent that I was able to open. As the night sky got darker, I was treated to one of those great views of the the thousands of stars that you can only get outside of the city lights. It was wonderful. At the same time, I listened to the many animal sounds that come with being out in the wilderness. This includes crickets, birds, and some other unknown animals. I did not get visited nor hear any bears which also inhabit the area. At first, being out alone, in this uninhabited area was sort of spooky. I was pretty confident that nothing bad was going to happen, but early on I was unable to sleep as I was in a semi-conscious state of alert. Later I fell asleep to easily my best sleep in a very, very long time.

Arkansas Motorcycle Trip - Day 2

2007-07-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

Day 2 itinerary ended up being the Talimena Scenic Byway (Queen Wilhelmina State Park) to Dallas, Tx.

The previous evening I had pretty much decided to ride down to Dallas the next day, approsimately 300 miles away. The QWSP was a nice place to stay but did not offer any enticements that made me want to camp there a second day. Note, I would visit again but only as an overnight stop to the Talimena Scenic Byway. More about this in my day 3 trip report.

I woke up early, before 6:00am, but did not want to pack and leave as I figured that my motorcycle could wake other campers. Being Sunday, the campground was pretty quiet. As a personal aside. I am generally a morning person and do not mind waking up early. I actually like waking up early if I can start my day this early or earlier.

For breakfast I had an oatmeal-raisin bar and a can of cut grapefruit which I had brought from home. After using the restroom (once again noted as very clean and presentable), I broke camp. This did not take long and I was on my way around 7:20 am.

Very unfortunately, I choose to stop at the the QWSP lodge to get a flyer on the Talimena Scenic Byway I had seen the previous evening. The lodge is at the top of the hill a little higher than the campground. Initially I was rewarded with the site of the clouds below me on the mountain type. I decided to get a picture Unfortunately my camera was in my side pannier and my bike parked on it side stand on a little grade. Well, with the weight of my duffle with my camping gear (I guess) the bike started to fall over as I was opening the pannier cover. This is the awful moment that many motorcycle riders remember when the bike is falling over is slow motion but there is nothing you can do to save it because of the weight. I righted the bike and viewed the damage. To my dismay the right fairing and pannier cover were scratched very similar to the way there were after a slight accident on a previous trip. I had just got these same panel painted only a couple of months ago. Oh well, at least I know my painter can fix them, at a cost. My only problems is my impatience in waiting for the paint to be done and the cost.

The Talimena Scenic Byway is around 50 miles of curving and hilly road. The road is just two lane with very little shoulder but very well maintained. There are many scenic outlooks (paved area designed for vehicles to turn off and well marked) along the byway. I was able to blast along the road as I only saw a single other car (on a outlook turnoff) along the entire route on this Sunday morning.

The ride along the Talimena is very good and possibly the best motorcycle road I have ever been on. For any other riders reading this I will caution to use your good judgment and ride at your own abilities. There are some fast sections but at least one area has some pretty tight turns along with steep grades. The road leave no room for misjudgment. I make no claims to my riding ability, but I was able to enjoy the road at a very good pace and felt no need to really hang it out at a race pace.

After finishing the Talimena Scenic Byway in Talihina, OK, I turned onto Hwy 271 heading south towards Texas. Hwy 271 proved to be a road of the type that I probably enjoy the most. This two-laned highway was well paved (sometimes immaculately) with high-speed sweeping curves. Once again there was very little traffic along the highway on Sunday morning. Initially the road has some nice views of the mountains in the distance and then turns to some sweeping ranchland. Very appealing. 271 runs down to Antlers, OK. this stretch is very nice, enjoyable riding. From Antlers I road along the same road to Paris, Texas. There are a few kinks in the road at Antlers and Paris and I was glad to have my GPS unit to guide me. From Paris to Dallas I road on Hwy 82 then turned on Hwy 121. Both highways were fine if somewhat uninspiring riding. These roads had a little more traffic.

Along the way I stopped for a brief call to a friend who lives north of Dallas. I was very pleased to hear she was doing well, but unfortunately the timing was not great for me to stop for a short visit. I proceeded onto Plano, Tx (a suburb of Dallas) after leaving messages with a couple of friends about my impromptu visit to Dallas.

On arriving in Dallas I rode to my normal residence of La Quinta in Plano. I was somewhat surprised to find the hotel near the end of a large remodel. The clerks at the front desk were unknown to me but very nice. i was able to reserve a room but needed to wait until around 2:00 pm for a clean room to be available. Since I had to wait I requested the same room that I used to regularly get. For a couple of years this was basically mine and I probably stayed in it over 500 nights.

I left the hotel and had a leisurely lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, the Corner Bakery on Preston Rd. The food was the same (very good) and I was pleased to find unlike many restaurants lately they had not raised their prices. Still recommended. After lunch I visited the REI store which is across the street. While I did not buy anything I just like this store. The employees are friendly and it is a good place for outdoor equipment. I have been a member for a few years.

I returned to the La Quinta to check in. My room, now ready, was completely redone. I have to admit, while nicely done, the new style really does not appeal to me. I can only describe the room design and furnishings as slightly oriental. Interestingly the room (including the bathroom) has a bare wood floor.

After getting settled in I choose to do some exercises and then go for a run. This was along my noraml running route when I used to regularly stay in Dallas. My route had not changed at all. In fact the immediate area did not appear to be much changed from over a year ago. This is contrasted with the large amount of change I saw as I rode in (especially north of Plano).

This brings me to my somewhat philosophical aside. Part of my reason for my visit was that I had not returned to Dallas in probably over a year after it being almost my second residence for over five years. During my "sabbatical", I have been somewhat introspective in viewing my future plans. Occasionally with this has come some thought or beliefs (while not really important or earth-shaking) have some meaning to me. I may write about a couple here.

First, i have often been asked how I can (or least could) travel so much for work as I have done for at least the past 15 years. I have replied that I generally replied that I enjoyed the travel. Not only has it allowed me to experience many places all over the world, buy I have been able to live in somewhat separate lifestyles. An example of this has been enjoying the bigger city life of Dallas while still living and enjoying the more family friendly lifestyle of my hometown of Kansas City. My thoughts are though that you really do one or the other. If I stay in my home city all the time, I become more comfortable just staying in my home city with a few trips or vacations. When I travel regularly, I am more comfortable traveling almost constantly. One or the other becomes normal and I can not see someone trading off one or the other regularly. For better or worse I have chosen the travel-constantly over the past many years. An obvious connection many people make is that this inhibits making the the deep network of friends that staying in one place allows. The many different life experiences has been enjoyable and nobody can tell whether it has been worth the tradeoffs.

My second thought is how very populated Dallas is. While one of my favorite cities, this population, while contributing to the very best of the city, is now pretty overwhelming. On the positive side it is easy to meet people who have similar interests. The town never really slows down. From a living perspective, I am amazed how many subdivisions have been built. The "suburban palaces" while apparently normal homes have really separated the city. Nowhere I visited or viewed was not busy at any time. I really like the idea of the great job and career opportunities a city like Dallas provides. But at this point I would hard pressed to say I would like living here (Dallas).

Unfortunately my fiends I called were busy or unavailable. So I made plans to go eat at a restaurant I liked and then visit my regular bookstore hangout. Unfortunately, when I rode the restaurant I found that it had closed. So, I choose to go to another favorite and popular mexican restaurant, the Blue Goose. As usual the food was good and the place hopping. After dinner, I went the the local Barnes and Nobel and browsed for books. This illustrates my view on Dallas. The bookstore was very busy until close.

Now a politically-incorrect observation. In Dallas (at least Plano) the very-good looking, in general, women really put it out there. This is opposed to Kansas City which is very conservative in comparison. It is amazing how much the women flaunt their bodies. Note, I am not complaining!

After the bookstore, I visited the Whole Foods grocery store next door for some Peligrino water. I then returned to the hotel to view e-mails (short), plan the next day, and get ready for bed. Earlier I had left a couple of message for friends and business acquaintance (who are very much also friends). By now, I had planned to only stay in Dallas for the next morning unless I had gotten some definite plans. I had originally thought I might want to stay a couple of days. In afterthought, I decided it would have been better to have previously defined some meetings and plans. I had gotten enthused with the idea of visiting another Arkansas park (for camping) and also do a second round of the Talimena Scenic Byway (on my route to the next destination). More in the day 3 report.

Arkansas Motorcycle Trip - Day 1

2007-07-15T21:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend I decided to do some traveling on my my Ducati ST3 motorcycle. I was debating among three trips: 1. Drive down to camp on and ride the Talimena Scenic Drive in western Arkansas. 2. a semi-regular ride through Arkansas to Memphis, TN. 3. Another ride to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. This is one my top-rated places to visit in the U.S.

After a little thought, I choose the Talimena Scenic Drive trip. This is my day one report.\

I left on Saturday morning at 10:00am. The late start was because I did not get home on Friday night in time to pack. I figured my riding would not take me all day and I had plenty of time for the late start.

After packing (and finishing listening to my favortie radio program "Car Talk" on NPR), I headed off. My route had me heading south on Hwy 71 all the way to Mena, AR. There was a section on interstate 540 which basically parallels hwy 71 in Arkansas. The ride on 71 was uneventful and mildly pleasant. While the best distance motorcycling is on empty highways, I second this with divided, four lane highway with little traffic. I have found that I am growing to dislike heavily trafficked, back road, two-lane highways when there is too much traffic. It it too dangerous and mind-numbing to be continually passing vehicles on these two-lanes. Give me a more interstate divided-highway when these are the only choices.

My route took me past Bentonville, AR (home of WalMart) and the related Rogers, AR. The roads and development reflect the Wal-Mart presence. There was lots of traffic. Shortly after Rogers, I choose to head off IH-540 and back onto the mostly parallel hwy 71. Hwy 71 here is much more curving and goes into some mountains. This part of the ride was the most enjoyable. Part of this was probably due to the fact that since the Interstate was near there was very little traffic on hwy 71 here.

I finally stopped for a quick lunch around 2:00pm at my now well-liked McDonalds. This was one of my few options where I stopped (for gas too) unless I wanted to eat at the Subway which was part of the gas station. No thanks. While the food was the normal fare, I was at least pleasantly surprised that this McD was very clean. It reminded me of when I was a kid and you could count on McDonalds to be the cleanest restaurant when traveling. I compare this to the Kansas City area McDonalds which are generally pretty dirty and not well-kept.

At some point later I arrived (approximate 360 mile of riding) at Queen Wilhelmina State Park (which I will abbreviate QWSP) near the start of the Talimena Scenic drive. QWSP is high up on Rich Mountain in the Ouachitas National Forest. I checked in with at the visitors desk in the Lodge (as required) to get my assigned camping spot. After setting up my tent and unloading the motorcycle, I ventured off for some hiking. I basically hiked all the trails off the the state park area (probably 1.5 miles). This excluded the Ouachitas Forrest Trail which appears to run for hundreds of miles but is a more primitive back country trail. While hiking I did not see a single other person despite there being quite a few people at the lodge and in the camping area.

After finishing my hikes, I went to dinner at the lodge. The only real choice was the buffet which was acceptable but uninspiring. After dinner I went for another short hike, following a good habit developed with my daughter of going on some sort of walk after dinner.

After returning from my hike, I used the excellent camp bath house to take a shower. Unlike most peoples thoughts on camping I have found many camp sites to have excellent faciliities for cleaning up. After my shower I returned to my tent for some reading and bed. Since the weather was so good I was able to forego the rain fly and even leave the "moon-roof" on my new Mountain Hardear tent. Sophie and I chose this tent and so far it has rewarded us well.

Unfortunately, the problem with public campsites is that there is generally some human-made noise. I had met two motorcycle riding couples (from Texas) earliers. They described to me that they wanted to get faw away from the city. But, unfortunately, that evening it seemed like they made much of the noise (allbeit not too bad). Around 10:00pm it did quiet down pretty much.

Fortunately, I had no bear experiences. Several signs and people reported seeing bears in the area. The park employees did mention that nobody had actually seen a bear in the park (this year?). Probably because of the human noise.

I had a good sleep, with the ocaisonal, wake to slight rustleing (wondering bear). Somewhat eerie is the light reflections from other peoples campsites. Somethime these very much looked like someone or something was walking right outside my tent.

Unfortunately, my campsite was pretty well covered by trees. In a few places I could see the great starscape offered in the mountains.

While riding I had the thought that the Arkansas is a really untapped outdoor vacation delight. In many ways (excepting sking) it has some of the same attractions as Colorado with far fewer people and crowds. Another persona thought is after a while all mountains seem pretty much alike. In around the last year I have been fortunate to travel thought the Smokie Mountains, Rocky Mountains, various mountains in the southwest, and Arkansas. They are all enjoyable but in many ways similar.

Grand Canyon Trip - June 2007

2007-07-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

Last month, my daughter Sophie and I travelled to the Grand Canyon. After visiting and camping at the GC, we ventured to Santa Fe, New Mexico, so I could show her some of the local flavor, restaurants, and art galleries. We both had a wonderful time. I had thought about posting the details (which there were many), but for privacy reasons (hers) I decided not to. Sorry to my friends who would have found our adventures interesting.

Concert for Diana - Rememberance

2007-07-01T20:56:00.000-05:00

Today's Concert for Diana, made me remember what a sad loss to the entire world, Princess Diana's untimely death was.

Princess Diana was the definition of grace and class. The world would be much better with more people like her. She is fondly remembered and rightfully celebrated,

Concert for Diana - Coverage Review

2007-07-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to watch the Concert for Diana show on VH1 today. Well done. The show was musical acts separated by short video stories on Diana, Priiness of Wales. The show's TV announcers did a great job and avoided the often made error of trying to out do the concerts justifiably famous stars. VH1 shoudl be especially commended for presenting the concert commerical free.

In contrast, NBC, highlight presentation of the Concert for Diana tonight is an incredible embarassment to the network and presenters. Leading up to the concert, Princess Diana's son Prince William and Prince Harry have repeatedly discussed their disappointment in parties trying to cash in on Princess Diana's fame. This included many interviews on NBC. So it is inexpicable that tonight's much-hyped showing of highlights of the concert was overwhelming commercials. It felt like every minute of the show was interspersed wiht three minutes of commericals.

Near Miss

2007-06-29T19:31:00.000-05:00

This evening, while in the grocery store, I noticed a girl walk in carrying her motorcycle helmet. I thought to myself, cool, as the weather has been raining all day. This occurance was remarkable as I ride to the grocery store (near my home) and almost never see a fellow rider (much less a woman rider). Even I had not ridden today.

Well as I left the store, I glanced around to see if I could see her and maybe strike up a conversation. Well, sure enough I did see her, sitting on her motorcycle...finishing a cigarette. Bummer!

Maintaining a "perfect" motorcycle

2007-05-02T16:25:00.001-05:00

I had this thought a while ago, but am just getting around to writing about it. This falls as an item under my outline of "Zen of motorcycle ownership". Basically there are generally seems to be two types of motorcycle owners: Those who attempt to keep there bikes perfect and those who live with a little wear.

The first type, owners who try to maintain a perfect motorcycle, generally seem to be the poseurs. These people generally have like new motorcycles that have no scratches and are very clean. This is admirable if you ignore the fact that they don't ride they motorcycle much. Maybe to the coffee shop or local bike meeting. Motorcycles on the road lead a relatively hard life. Unfortunately, I have not seen a bike that is ridden regularly and/or very far that has this perfect state.

The second type of of owners have motorcycles that show some wear or use. This category can be split into two groups: Those who generally mistreat their bikes and those who lovingly care for their bikes but whose bikes are not "perfect". I have no respect for the first type, those who do not wash or take care of their motorcycles. As I have mentioned before, it is the rare motorcyclist who does not care about the looks of their bike. To leave it dirty and unmaintained just does not coincide with this thought. The second type, which I count myself, care deeply about their motorcycles and maintain them well. But in riding them they will receive some wear, be it small scratches, dirt is very hard to access place, and general wear. These owners, like myself, will attempt to keep there bike looking great and maintained very well. Generally the bike will look very good but on closer inspection will show that IT HAS BEEN RIDDEN.

As an avid motorcyclist and owner, I have pondered whether I could be the first type of owner (perfect bike) if I just had more motorcycles. The idea would be that if a bike need repair (say for scratches) I would ride another unmolested bike. I have concluded that this would be an exercise in frustration for a couple of reasons. First, with unfortunate luck, I would probably end up with multiple bikes in "less than perfect' shape at the same time. This would be frustrating and costly. Second, without a unlimited supply of money, it would be most likely that my separate bikes would be different type, such as a sports bike and a cruiser. Thus, the less than perfect bike being repaired might be they type of bike I desired at a certain instance.

Far easier and better is to come to grips with the fact that a well-used motorcycle will show some signs of use. In fact, my current thinking is to take pride in owning a motorcycle that looks as good as it does while knowing that I use it a lot, including long trips, riding in rain, etc.

As a motorcyclist, I can appreciate a motorcycle that is aesthetically beautiful and in perfect condition. But i respect the owner of a bike that is clean and well-maintained but shows some wear.

Blogger taken over by Google

2007-04-17T23:29:00.002-05:00

Thumbs down. I have used MacJournal seemless to post to my blogger blog for a long time. No problems. Google takes over blogger and it stops working!

Stanley Cup Playoff Time

2007-04-17T23:29:00.001-05:00

Smiles!

Lessons from the little one.

2007-03-22T23:38:00.000-05:00

I got a call from my daughter today telling me that she just got a new bicycle at her mother's house. The important part was that she was so pleased (as her mother has been promising her bike for almost two years). She is on her third bicycle at my home.

Well, this news got me in a bicycle-thought mood. I have been on a regular workout plan that is weight exercises followed by a cardiovascular component. Thoughout the winter the cardio part has consisted of indoor exercises (including riding rollers on a bike) with the occasional outside run in milder weather. As I finished the weights tonight, I chose to ride intervals on my single-speed bike outside. The kicker is that I was riding at 9:00pm, in the dark, and in a light rain. Plus, uncharacteristically, I just rode in my neighborhood. I am fortunate to live in a quiet neighbor hood with streets in a square with a good climb on one side of the square. What great fun!

Part of my encouragement was the memory of a couple of nights ago. My daughter (6 years old) and I were going to the grocery store to get a nighttime snack (cookies for an imaginary birthday party for one of her stuffed animals). The grocery store is about a half-mile from our home. Instead of driving I suggested we walk. She heartily agreed. Somewhat like tonight the weather was drizzling, foggy, but not too cold. We had a great time.

What have you learned from your 6-year old today?

No one wants a grubby baby.

2007-03-17T11:52:00.000-05:00

Read some great ad copy (for customer floor mats by Milliken www.yesmats.com) today.

"Because your car is your baby."
"And no one wants a grubby baby."

Awesome, this could apply to most guy stuff, including motorcycles, bicycles, etc.

The Ducati "brand"

2007-03-06T21:39:00.000-06:00

I was interested to read this article quoting Ducati North America president Michael Lock. Two quotes caught my attention. "Everyone assumed that we were the two-wheel version of Ferrari." And, ""We went from being the two-wheel Ferrari to the two-wheel Porsche. A Porsche is attainable."

Here's my little riff on the Ducati brand. A couple of points first. Many people know that I believe the Ducati brand is very strong and a huge asset. My thoughts have been that even though Ducati has moved towards extending the brand they have not done well in maximizing the value the brand can bring. Secondly and interestingly, I frequently have described Ducati motorcycles as "like a Ferrari but something that many people can afford".

This leads me to the concern about Mr. Lock's comments. Ducati's are quirky, stylish, recognizable and a little bit of a challenge to own. I acknowledge that several of my Ducati owning acquaintances seem to primarily own Ducati motorcycles for the snob appeal. But many Ducati owners own Ducatis because they are beautiful and have "soul". My own opinion is that the Ducati company trying to move their motorcycles to be more like Porsches could spell disaster for the company.

Ferrari automobiles are unique automobiles that attract because of style and soul. Porsche automobile (while I might love to own one) lack soul but are incredible works of machinery. I can't tell you how many people come up to me gushing about my Ducati but who apparently know very little about motorcycles. I don't believe the same will be true if Ducatis where more like the Porsche of motorcycles.

It is a mistake to confuse motorcycles with automobiles. While there may be a significant differentiation between high-performance automobiles and regular automobiles there is far less in motorcycle manufacturers. In fact almost every motorcycle manufacturer (especially the big Japanese three) make some incredible, high-quality, and high-performance motorcycles. Each of these manufacturers could easily equate one of their models to be "like the Porsche of motorcycles". It is possible that a few manufacturer, such as Ducati, can stand apart from the others by attributes other than pure performance and technical excellence.

Finally, while possibly a minority opinion, Mr. Lock's comments about being like Porsche correspond with my opinion of Ducati's newest sensation the 1098. The 1098, while an impressive motorcycle, does not light my fire like other Ducatis. Like a Porsche, it has some technical excellence but does not have the same soul as some previous models. Only time will tell if the this new model will stay in the hearts and minds of owners and the general public.

Completed Ducati valve check/adjustment

2007-02-28T23:23:00.000-06:00

I completed a valve check and adjustment on my 2004 Ducati ST3 today. In the near future I will post some details and thoughts on the process. For now, I will just mention that this service is for someone comfortable in wrenching on a motorcycle or automobile. While it is very much in the realm of a capable mechanic it may be towards the hard end of your normal do-it-yourself person. My thoughts only. Second it is is very useful to have access to someone who has done the valve adjustment before. I can not say enough thanks to my good friends at Cafe Racer. Greg Williams and his crew at Cafe Racer really remind me of what a joy owning a motorcycle (including servicing) can be. In addition that high praise, Greg just runs his shop in an honest and inviting manner that I can only wish other businesses emulated.

As mentioned at the start I will post details later. Like most garage mechanics I had a floor full of tools to pick up at the end. I've decide to post a list of the tools I used in this service. It may give you some idea of the effort involved. As a note, others could get by with a few less tool.

Tools used:
        T-handle allen wrenches        4mm, 5mm 6mm
        Allen screwdrivers                        3mm, 4mm, 5mm
        5mm allen key (short)
        Large screwdriver
        Regular screwdriver
        Phillips head screwdriver
        Needle-nose vice grips
        Regular vice grips
        Diagonal cutter
        Small pliers
        Regular pliers
        Safety wire pliers
        Hemostat
        Magnetic pickup tool
        3/8 in torque wrench
        3/8 angle-head ratchet wrench
        3/8 ratchet wrench
        3/8 sockets
                4mm allen
                5mm allen
                6mm allen
                4mm long shaft allen
                5mm long shaft allen
                5/8 spark plug socket
        3/8 6-inch extension
        1/4 in ratchet
        1/4 sockets
                8mm
        1/4 6-inch extension
        Nutdrivers        5mm, 10mm
        Digital caliper
        Feeler gauges
        Micrometer (in mm)
        Micrometer stand
        Shim measuring tool
        Small pick
        Bicycle tire lever (plastic)
        Sharpie - sliver
        Safety wire
        Misc zip ties
        Flashlight
        Air compressor
        Straws
        Narrow funnel
        Oil drain pan
        Shop light
        Extension cord
        Contact cleaner
        WD-40
        Shop rags

I enjoyed doing the service and found it rewarding.

Mac disk maintenance

2007-02-20T10:22:00.000-06:00

I recently helped a friend of mine who was experiencing a small problem on his Mac Powerbook. Basically, the online Apple software updates where failing due to some unknown disk error.

I recommended that he clean permissions on his hard drive. This is a simple procedure that some Mac technicians recommend be run periodically.

1. We first tried the simplest method. Start the Disk Utility application (found in you Applications/Utilities folder). Select you internal hard dive. Then select the "repair disk permissions" button. Unfortunately this did not correct the problem in his case.

2. We then tried a second solution. Restart your Mac in single user mode by selecting restart under the Apple menu. Hold down the command (Apple) key and 's' key until the black screen and text is displayed. Release the keys. This puts in command line mode (no graphic user interface). Type in "fsck -f" without the quotes and press the <return> key. After the program finishes (text will be displayed as it is working) enter "exit" and press the <return> key. This solution worked for my friend.

There are two things I want to comment on about this experience. First, this is another illustration of how good the Mac and Mac OS X are. All the tools you need to keep the system hard drives maintained are built in.

The second comment is my recommendation that you do not run any third-party disk utility (de-fragmentation) tools. The standard, automatic, OS X maintenance jobs keep the hard disk performing well. These jobs are run seamlessly at night. Occasionally you may want to repair the disk permissions. But, unlike a PC, no extra cost or third-party tools are required.

Carrying stuff on a Ducati 1098

2007-02-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

Kinda smiled when I read this post on the 1098 forum.

This guy has sort of been bragging on te ST forum that he was the first to get a new 1098. Now on the 1098 he is starting to wonder how he is going to carry any stuff. Ha...Ha...

I did notice several things about the 1098 while I was googling over it. No rear hugger, underseat exahust, minimal framework in the rear. With the undertail exhaust and brakelight in the tailwork I wonder how well a Ventura type system would work (if they end up making it)? Additionally, the tank has a different look/design than the traditional Ducati tanks of late. The new tank is plastic. With the tight confines of the windshield and dash it looked like any tankbag would completely cover the dashboard.

Sort of leads me to my belief that the 1098 is very impractical for the street. Of course friends remind me that purchasers/owners are probably rich and not really concerned about practicalities.

Overpriced Ducati-wear?

2007-02-11T19:52:00.000-06:00

I was talking to my friend K.W. today, and our discussion turned to the high prices of clothing with the Ducati logo from Ducati. Just this week in a visit to one of his local shops he noted $50.00 t-shirts and even a $150.00 sweatshirt! I, too, have noted these excessively high prices on all clothing from Ducati. Both of us noted that as Ducati enthusiast and owners we would likely have some Ducati branded clothing but not at these inflated prices. Also discussed is how the high prices transfer to the perception that Ducati purchasers are probably being held-up for other non-clothing purchases from Ducati.

As a business-person, I frequently think about the strength and potential of the Ducati brand. I have a firm belief that if the prices were lowered to reasonable prices there would be a huge sales to Ducati owners and non-owners. As it is, even most avid Ducati owners I know do not purchase Ducati's clothing.

I admit that Ducati clothing is very nicely styled. But, I also note that in looking at the clothing the manufacturing is of the same quality and probably from some of the same plants suppling lower-priced clothing in the far-east. I doubt anyone will stand up to say the clothing is actually of high-quality.

To contrast, we recently had a chain, Steve & Barrys, open a store near me. Here I find clothes manufactured in the far east. But, in high contrast to the Ducati, most of the Steve & Barry clothing is prices at $10.98 or even $5.98. These prices are for decent clothes including dress shirt, chinos, and jeans, not just cheap t-shirts. I find it hard to believe that Steve and Barry's can sell for their prices but Ducati needs to charge well over five times that amount.

As a final note, while I have found clothing prices high at several Ducati dealers, a quick check of two high profile dealers showed a $10.00 difference in the price of a $50 t-shirt. $50.00 is already high, but a twenty percent markup on that inflated prices is exorbitant.

Harley Workers Vote to Strike in the Toyota Arena

2007-01-31T18:40:00.000-06:00

I could not resist commenting on this report in the York Daily Record about Harley workers in New York voting to strike while meeting at the Toyota Arena. How ironic.

Stupid Phone Tricks

2007-01-29T10:01:00.000-06:00

As usual, I am pleased with my Mac and how easily it allows me to do numerous tasks. Yesterday, for no particular reason, I decided that I wanted to customize my ring tone on my Motorola V600 phone. The key factor is that I wanted to do this without paying anything. I can not understand why anyone would willing pay up to $3.00 for a new ringtone. With a few simple steps I was able to accomplish this. Following are the steps I took:

1. I established a bluetooth connection between my phone and Powerbook. This is easily accomplished with the Bluetooth preference in the System Preference application.

2. I then went about creating a short MP3 ringtone using iTunes. I did this by first selecting a suitable song. I then made a copy of the file. Double-clicking it added the second copy to iTunes. Using iTunes and the info window ("Get Info") of the song, I set the song to only play the first ten seconds of the song. Note, you can sample any section of the song using a start time and stop time. Finally, I converted the song (Convert to MP3) to make the song file only the length of the sample.

3. The next step was loading the song file to the phone. I used the bluetooth connection between the phone and the Powerbook to copy the ringtone song file to the audio directory on my phone.

4. The final step is to use the phone setup function to set the new song to my ringtone.

This works great and was very easy to do. Significantly, I needed no software other that the stock software on the computer. And most importantly it did not cost a cent.

Arai Helmets - Piece of C*(P company

2007-01-13T15:48:00.000-06:00

I am so flaming mad, I can hardly begin. Bottom line: I believe anybody would be an idiot to purchase an Arai helmet.

Here's the story. I purchased an Arai RX-7 Corsair helmet some time ago. This is almost at $600 helmet. Although the helmet fits well and functions acceptably, after some normal use I question the quality. First, the interior padding is flimsy. The foam in one cheek pad broke. Note I am careful with my helmets as I believe they are a vitally important piece of safety gear. Contacting Arai via an e-mail on their site (as they consciously provide no phone number), proved unsatisfactory. They offered no replacement, no solution to the fact that their dealer network in the area does not stock the cheek pads, and basically said I could fix it myself. Eventually, I just used some duct tape. This seems ridiculous on a $600 helmet.

Later, in mid-November of 2006, the chin strap ripped clear across on my helmet. Once again, this helmet has not misused, mistreated, or involved in any accident. I found this very disconcerting as the chinstrap is integral to the safety of the helmet. On November 17, 2006 I sent Arai an e-mail via their website reporting this failure. Arai did not respond to this e-mail until today, January 13, 2007. This is almost 2 months later. I believe this is enough to discourage anybody from purchasing an Arai helmet.

But, there is more to my story. After not recieving a reply from Arai one week after my November 17 e-mail, I visited a local motorcycle dealer who sells Arai. During my visit the dealer called Arai while I waited. Nobody at Arai answered (this is on the dealer contact number) and I heard him leave a message. One week later when checking in with the dealer, I was told that Arai had not returned the dealers call. I had purchased an Suomy helmet rather than risk wearing the defective Arai helmet. The dealer and I agreed that the dealer would return my helmet for warranty. In December, a month later, I was informed by the dealer that Arai had just given him a return authorization to send the helmet in. Once again, I can not agree to any justification for Arai failing to respond quickly to defects in their helmets.

A broken chinstrap is a serious failure. Arai's delay in response is inexcusable. While I know that many have used Arai helmets with no failure I urge you to consider whether you would want to do business with a company with the poorest level of customer support I have ever experienced.

Griffin RadioShark - update

2007-01-10T13:24:00.000-06:00

I have been using the Griffin RadioShark for two years. For those who do not know, the Radio Shark is a hardware device that you hook to your computer (Mac in my case) via USB. This allows you to listen and record radio directly on you computer. The RadioShark includes an associated software application. Basically, the RadioShark (and software) allows you to do three things: listen to over-the-air radio on your computer, record (time-shift) any radio program you are currently playing, schedule recordings.

The RadioShark has worked well for me since I began using it. Particularly useful, is having weekly scheduled recordings of programs I like.

Today I tried recording a program I was currently listening to. The software indicated an error. None of the workarounds I tried seemed to work. Note: my weekly scheduled recording have been working flawlessly. I went to Griffins site and found a newer version of the software (v.2.0.1). After downloading the software my problem (recording the time-shifted buffer) works without error.

Unfortunately and significantly the new version of the RadioShark software has a much different user interface. This is unfortunate in that that the new user interface is very ugly and not as user friendly as the old interface. There is no option to go to the old user interface. From a business management perspective, I can not believe that Griffin did any user testing.

In the end, I am pleased to have my Griffin RadioShark function again. My grading: function - A-, form - D

Top Gun: Coolest Movie of All Time?

2007-01-01T21:15:00.000-06:00

Just watched Top Gun (1986) again. This is one of my favorite movies. The movie plays well even 21 years later. If you haven't watched it in awhile, do yourself a favor and rent it.

Workout Partner

2006-12-31T21:52:00.000-06:00

I just finished Christmas week with my 6 year old daughter. As always she regularly, pleasantly surprises me. On of my current observations is her enthusiasm and interest in fitness workouts. As I work out daily, it is great that she is the first to suggest getting in a workout and even shows more enthusiasm then me. Of course, her workouts (which are actually quite good) are self-directed and not pushed by an over-zealous father. She has even created some new and useful exercises for me to add to my exercise plan.

It helps that my current workout strategy is to do workouts in the basement of my house. The only downside is that we have had to have her new Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princess DVD playing in the background all week.

Old Guys vs. Young Guys

2006-12-18T20:47:00.000-06:00

I was at a party last night where I was struck by the contrast of a good acquaintance and myself. This friend of mine is a very good guy and has positive things to say about everyone. But, I noticed that he really "busts the chops" of younger friends. While generally good natured, it strikes a little of putting the young person in their place.

The contrast is that I believe we (older people) have a lot to learn from our younger friends. While wisdom has it benefits, many older people lose their enthusiasm, wonderment, and open-mindedness. Say a good word to your younger friend and don't forget to watch and learn.

Monday Night Football

2006-12-18T20:40:00.000-06:00

As I suffer through Monday Night Football again tonight I am reminded how pitiful ESPN has made the MNF franchise. I have not talked to a single person who likes the announcing crew. Tony Kornheiser is singularly poor. It is really a shame as MNF used to be the "jewel" of the weekend football programming. At least Sunday Night Football with the excellent John Madden is good.

Night Motorcycle Ride

2006-11-29T21:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a motorcycle ride. The weather was a very unseasonable (but great) 70 degrees out. I took the opportunity to ride to Lawrence in the afternoon to visit my daughter at school. It was not one of my days to have her or I would have taken her to do some outdoor activity.

Well, I visited in the late afternoon, had dinner, and then rode home. A minority of my highway riding is at night. It is clear that night motorcycling is less safe than daylight riding. When traveling I try to be off the road before it gets dark. I do ride a fair amount of in-city at night as I generally bike first before taking a car.

But, I have found that night riding is one of easiest ways to get into the motorcycling zone. There is nothing quite like cruising down the highway on a warm night. Yesterday was one of those days. Perfect.

Suomy Motorcycle Helmet

2006-11-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

I recently purchased a Suomy Vandal motorcycle helmet to replace my Arai RX7-Corsair. While I will post up details of my Arai experience after the situation plays out (helmet has been returned for warranty). Until then, let me warn you that Arai's (lack of) customer service is inexcusable. I have no problem warning off others from purchasing any Arai product.

Just Exercise - From Babies

2006-11-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

During a stray conversation with my daughter today I mentioned that I had been eating too much (some due to Thanksgiving) and needed to watch out for gaining weight. Her immediate response; You just need to exercise more and every day. Now, I already exercise almost every day and generally only take off days when I have my daughter. But she is right, "Just Do It".

Vision

2006-11-20T23:07:00.000-06:00

A chance conversation today reminded me of one of my strong beliefs: You have to be able to envision a thing to achieve it.

Many people self-limit themselves with a shortness of vision.

In-ear earphones - Bose vs. Etymotic

2006-11-18T22:21:00.000-06:00

I have raved in the past about my Etymotic ER6i earphones. These are awesome in-ear earphones. They really work great on my motorcycle. In addition (or maybe most importantly) they have very good sound. Far better than stock iPod earbuds or the many other earphones I have tried.

Etymotic ER6i

Well, from previous postings you may know that I am a big fan of Bose Corporation. I have had very good experience with several of their products and have had my some of the very best retail customer service experience at the Bose store. So you may imagine, I was excited to learn that they have finally come out with an in-ear earphone. For background, note that I am a raving fan of my Bose QuietComfort 3 regular headphones. The QC3 just don't work for the motorcycle. In addition I acknowledge that some people would prefer in-ear earphones and the earphones are generally much less expensive than the QC 3s.

Bose in-ear headphones

After trying the new Bose "in-ear headphones" ($99.00) I have to state, in my opinion, the Bose have nowhere near the fidelity of the Etymotic ER6i earphones ($79.00 online). Both sets of earphones must be placed in the ear comfortably to get good sound. The Bose have a edge in bass (subjective), but are muddy in the mid and upper frequencies. The Etymotic have good bass and very good sound in all frequencies. Really these give great sound from an iPod. You will notice a world of difference from the cheaper (and some not cheaper brands).

By the way, the ER6i used to cost more than $100, including when I purchased them.

Cold weather riding - Motorcycle heated gear (updated 11/17/06)

2006-11-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

I rode my motorcycle on a 60+ mile (one way) commute this morning when the temperature started at 38 degrees. It was foggy and parts of the ride had a light mist. Fortunately, due to my good gear, I stayed dry and warm. If you ride in the cold you owe it to yourself to purchase good gear.

For the record, I wore:

Dianese D-Dry Boots
        Awesome. Keep my feet dry and warm enough with just regular socks. A reall plus is that they are simply black and do not have that over-the-top motorcycle look.

Jeans
        Only because this was what I wore during the day.

Gerbing Heated Pants.
        Work really well over the jeans. I regularly wear these alone when riding. Great all year round.

Long sleeve cotton shirt
        First layer.

Gerbing heated jacket/liner
        Works well as a jacket alone or as a liner under a regular motorcycle jacket. Really plain looking and I never wear it alone.

Belstaff Mercury Jacket (added 11/17)
        This is my regular textile riding jacket. I really like it. It is waterproof, has excellent reflective stripes, pretty ajustable, and comfortable. The Jacket has a zip out, quilted, liner. I don't use the liner and just use the Gerbing jacket as a liner. The two jacket (Gerbing/Belstaff) is generally warm enough without the electrics on in cool weather.

Gerbing heated gloves
        Despite the fact I have heated grips, these are a must in cold weather. These keep your hands plenty warm.

Gerbing heated clothing controller
        While others use separate "heatrollers" (controller installed on the motorcycle) or one Gerbings dual controllers (allowing separate control of different clothing items), I find the single controller works fine for me. This controller connects to the jacket. The jacket has wires for the pants and each glove.

Pearl Izumi balaclava
        This head covering eliminated air gaps under the helmet and on the neck. I originally purchased this item for bicycling but find it works great for motorcycling as well. This works better than motorcycling specific head covers (balaclavas) that I have purchase (including a Gore-tex one).

Arai RX-7 Corsair helmet
        This is my main cycling helmet. Unfortunately every helmet I have tried flow lots of air. This is good in the summer but not so great in the winter. The balaclava under the helmet eliminates any issues here.

Hope you enjoy your winter rides as I am!

Palm Graffiti 2 - Horrible

2006-11-14T12:37:00.000-06:00

One of the great features of the the original (and many iterations) of Palm handhelds was the easy handwriting gestures called "Graffiti". This feature was one that made the Palm very useable. Due to some very poorly thought design decisions (apparently based on a pending lawsuit) Palm a couple of years ago changed to a new version of handwriting gestures called "Graffiti". Put plainly, the new Graffiti 2 is horrible. Where I could easily write notes on my older handheld, on my Palm T3 even simple address entries were painful.

Steps:
1. Backup Palm T3 with normal sync.
2. Copy user files from PC to backup directory (just for safety).
3. Download old Graffiti files from internet.
4. Install old Graffiti files on Palm T3 with sync.

Full instruction here: http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=5830&curpage=4

Thanks Justin for the tip

Ducati 1098

2006-11-13T20:32:00.000-06:00

Ducati is coming out with a new superbike called the 1098. This is the talk of internet motorcycle forums. Interesting to me is that the marketing, information, and release of this bike was very Apple-like. By that I mean, very little information, lots of rumors, heightened excitement and rumors on the internet, leaked spy shots, and final release. Ducati did a great job (very Apple-like) in keeping the wraps on prior to release.

Now, there are lots of great pictures available. For example, see Ducati.com.

One of the very talked about items is color. Ducatis are traditionally associated with red. For many, this is the only color to have. For the most part with some special exceptions, Ducatis have been limited to red, yellow, silver, and black. (To the Ducati appassionato, I acknowledge, blue (earlier models), green (matrix), and others). For my own reasons, I prefer sliver. Color is almost a religious passion for some Ducatista. Unfortunately (not for my wallet though) the 1098 initially will only be available in red.

While I have seen other (photoshopped) versions of the 1098 in different colors, here is my quickly rendered iteration in silver.

NFL Football

2006-10-23T19:39:00.000-05:00

It is the middle of the NFL football season. Need I say more?

Truth As Strange as Fiction

2006-10-18T20:06:00.000-05:00

I happened on this fascinating article in Wired Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up that proves that real life can be as unbelievable as fiction. While the story is titled and purported as being about the company that made the Gizmondo gaming device it really is more about Stefan Eriksson. Some of you may have heard about Eriksson as the driver who totaled his Ferrari Enzo ($1 million dollar car) on California's Pacific Coast highway.

This article was interesting to me for at least two separate reason. As a automotive and motorcycle buff, it is interesting to read how a person can wreck a exotic automobile (at an estimated 198 miles per hour!) on a public street. From a business perspective it illustrated my often brought up point that just because a company gets investment money, doesn't mean there is any real business there. It is fascinating how these known crooks so easily flimflammed the stock and investment community.

The cost of "Italian Duc"

2006-10-03T23:47:00.000-05:00

One of the most discussed and controversial topics among Ducati fans and other motorcyclists is the cost of operating and maintaining (service cost) Ducati motorcycles. This is closely followed by reliability (both perceived and real). Where here is my two cents and comments on service costs.

Note: I am posting here for two reasons. First, anyone truly interested may find this in an internet search. Second, I can refer people to this entry. This topic always starts a full on flame war on Ducati forums.

A short preface. Probably the most turned off on Ducati motorcycles was when I first started thinking about buying one. I asked a Ducati rider on a local charity ride (I was riding a Honda at the time) about the local dealer and service costs. His (paraphrased) response was "if you have to ask you can not afford it". What a jerk. I can and do afford it but believe a "wise person spends their money thoughtfully and not foolishly". While I have found many jerks riding different brands such as Harley Davidson, BMW, etc., Ducati owners are no different. Please take my comments as an open discussion and in no way a brag on how much it cost to run a Ducati.

Significant cost in maintaining a Ducati are the short recommended service intervals (6000 miles for major service), possible high cost of dealer mechanical work (possibly due to lack of competition in each major market), and relatively high cost of Ducati parts.

So, lets get to the nitty gritty. What is an example of yearly service cost for me? Note that I rode over 12,000 miles in the past year.

major service (6000 mile interval)                 $ 550
second major service (next 6000 miles)        $ 550
2 sets of tires                                                        $ 600        (tires last 6000 miles)
2 oil changes                                                        $ 120         (does not include change with major service, if done by dealer)
1 chain                                                                $ 130
        total                                                                 $1950
(note costs are approximate. Savings can be had by doing the mechanical work oneself (if capable)).

Wow, that is expensive! Now some will say that other motorcycles have similar maintenance cost. Yes they do and they are expensive too. Note that I have not included other costs such as accessories (and installation if you can not add them yourself), repairs, such as scratches, tipovers, etc. (which you will most likely need if you ride this much), and insurance. Another huge motorcycle operating cost (true of all motorcycles) is motorcycle clothing and gear. A good helmet can cost around $500. You will probably want other gear such as: jacket, gloves, boots, etc. All good quality stuff but generallt cost a lot.

My maintenance costs are pretty much offset by fuel savings on my SUV (a noted gas hog). But bottom line, I can only justify the Ducati because I am a motorcycle enthusiast and riding it is FUN. My Honda's maintenance cost are miniscule compared to the Ducati.

Wow, that gas mileage s*(&ks! or economics of puchasing a new car.

2006-09-27T00:13:00.000-05:00

I really like my 2002 Yukon XL. Unfortunately it averages a whopping 14.5 miles per gallon. This, with my interest in automobiles, gets me thinking about purchasing a new vehicle every once in awhile. Lately I have been brain-teasing the economics of buying a new car (more likely to replace my Ford Explorer, but that is a different story). Unfortunately, in searching the net, I have not really found the logical information that I want to determine the economics of purchasing a replacement car (based on gas mileage).

Background. I drive my Yukon around 14,500 miles a year. Recently, gas here has gone down to $2.00/gallon from $3.00/gallon where it has been all summer. This is excellent news for me as it will save me $1000 a year in fuel cost! So, after suffering through many $75+ fill-ups, i tried (in my mind) to justify a new car with better gas mileage. Just for full disclosure, I ride my Ducati motorcycle a lot, otherwise I would have much, much more mileage on my trucks. My Explorer gets around the same mileage as the Yukon and I do not drive them both at the same time, so the yearly mileage stays the same.

Fuel Costs
I spend $2000-$3000 in gas a year depending on the price. What would I save if I got better gas mileage?

                                14.5 mpg        21 mpg        30 mpg
fuel cost ($2)                $2000                $1380        $966
fuel cost ($3)                $3000                $2071        $1450

Wow, in the worst case gas price ($3/gallon) and change to great economy (30 mpg) I would save $1550 a year! But to be realistic, most of the cars I would want to drive are more likely to get 21 mpg than 30 mpg.

Depreciation
So, excited about the possible fuel savings, I started studying the most important offsetting cost, which is new car depreciation. The best information I could find indicates that the very best value holding cars depreciate to about 60% of their new car value in 3 years. Note that this depreciation is not linear and the highest depreciation is in the earliest years. Thus

New car value        3 year depreciation
$30,000                        $12,000                or $4000 per year
$40,000                        $16,000                or $5333 per year

So, the depreciation on a new car would far offset the savings in gas if the new car got better mileage then my Yukon. Darn. Now I acknowledge that I am simplifying a lot. Especially as my current vehicle is also depreciating (but at a much lesser rate as it is three years old).

This, depreciation, is the number that is not advertised or talked about very much. I got my figure by looking at estimates of the very highest resale value cars. There are very few cars at the top that reportedly hold their value at 60%. So I feel I am safe using this number in my calculation as most cars would be worse. May be eye opening next time you are shopping cars to figure that the car is losing at least 13% of it's value a year. It would be great if someone more industrious than me calculated the first, second, and third year depreciation. My gut feel is that the first year depreciation is more likely at least 20%.

Other cost
There are many more costs to a vehicle including: maintenance, taxes, registration. Unfortunately, Kansas also has significant property tax on cars as well as sales tax. All of these cost favor my current vehicle rather than a new car. The one exception is maintenance. But the GMC Yukon XL has proven very reliable and my maintenance costs are very low.

Another very significant cost is if you borrow money to purchase the new vehicle. For example to borrow $10,000 for a year at 5% would cost approximate $270. I preach the mantra of not borrowing money to purchase a car at all.

Conclusion
So my justification (better gas mileage) will just not pan out. In fact purchase of a new vehicle at all (even for desire) just does not make economic sense for me since I do like my Yukon.

Savings        -$1550
Depr         $4000         ($30,000 car)
Tax                 $1800
cost                 $4250 for the first year.

In addition to suggesting not borrowing to purchase a new car, I find that people think differently when they look at the monthly cost of a car. Thus, my potential new car would cost $354 additional per month.

Note for parents of students
This whole exercise illustrates the practical use of some basic math. I know for some students using practical examples of using math illustrates its value well. For younger student try this:

Your friends is excited that he will be saving $1000 per year when gas price dropped from $3 per gallon to $2 per gallon. His gas guzzling GMC Yukon gets 14.5 miles per gallon. How many gallons of gas does he use per year? How many miles does he drive per year?

Motorcyclist are idiots!

2006-09-02T18:59:00.000-05:00

Now, my friends know that I am an avid motorcyclist. But after reading my umpteenth rant on a a motorcycle bulletin board from a motorcyclist complaining about someone else in a car, I just have to admit that many of my motorcycling compatriots are selfish, f**(ing, idiots.

The typical rant from the motorcyclist goes like this. I (motorcyclist) was doing something in their own opinion is not wrong (speeding, cutting to the front of the line in traffic, passing emergency vehicles, etc.) when another motorist or traffic cop took offense. How dare they?

I do agree that your average motorcycle has some amazing capabilities in terms of acceleration, stopping, and turning. But does this give the motorcyclist the right to ignore all traffic laws and courtesy at the expense of other. My GMC Yukon (4wd) also has some great capabilities too. Does this give me the right to run right over anyone in my way or bulldoze my way to the front when driving it?

It is interesting that the motorcyclist (and many of his buddies) feel that the people driving "cages" are always wrong and should always bow to the motorcyclist. Maybe the motorcyclist should learn from bicyclist and try to "share the road". There are plenty of opportunities to exercise your wonderful motorcycle while not pissing off other motorist.

iTunes music library is locked

2006-08-31T21:34:00.000-05:00

Just another example of how Macs and Mac OS X rocks!

I have been using my Mac successfully for over 5 years. I use and love iTunes and have never had any problems with it. This included linking to my 20gb iPod and iPod shuffle. But, the other day, I tried to start up iTunes only to be shown the dialog "itunes music library is locked". Several tries resulted in the same problem. But consistent with my experience of the Mac this was easy enough to fix (unlike my experience of file problems on a PC).

Problem
Can not start iTunes because of "iTunes music library is locked"

Correction
1. Copy iTunes database file "iTunes Library.xml" to a different location. I copied to a different drive.
2. Delete the original iTunes database file.
3. Start iTunes up. This creates a new empty iTunes database file.
4. Close iTunes.
5. Copy the original iTunes database file over the new blank iTunes database file.
6. Open iTunes. You data is restores as before.

Previously I searched the internet for a solution. The closest I found recommended "importing" the original iTunes database file after creating the new one. This did not work for me.

Cause
While I am not 100% sure of the event that precipitated this problem, I think it was a result of incorrectly removing my iPod shuffle. The shuffle is more sensitive to incorrect removals compared to a regular iPod. While I have removed the iPod shuffle without ejecting it before without this error, I believe some combination of incorrect removals and insertions caused this problem.

What could have been a traumatic or at least time consuming problem was easily corrected. While errors on the Mac seem to be few, this is an example of the ease of correction most of these errors have.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 6 "Nashville to Kansas City"

2006-08-17T00:17:00.000-05:00

Well I began my final day awakening to, surprise, rain. When I began my motorcycle "wander" of the south I was unsure how many days I would travel or exactly where I would travel. But, I have found six days to be a good length for a vacation and was beginning to think about returning home. A major factor was that I had encountered rain for part of the day on every day of my trip.

The weather radar showed a storm front between me in Nashville and home in Kansas City. I was pretty sure I could not wait it out as I had no idea how long it would take for the storm front to pass through. I just packed up and headed out in the rain. I hoped I would find a Chick-Fil-A to stop and have breakfast at. No luck, so I just continued riding. My ride today would be entirely along the interstate highways. This is for two reasons. Given the length of the ride I wanted to make good time. Secondly, there really is no great alternate highways between the cities.

The first 100 miles of the ride were in rain. Fortunately after the rain the weather turned nicer and the temperature was not terribly hot. Later around 12:00pm I chose to stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for lunch and gas. I mainly hoped that I would avoid some of the lunch hour traffic as I rode though St. Louis later. Lunch was at Fazolis where I took about a 30 minute total break. After the stop I continued along the highway to St. Louis. I have to admit that there was plenty of traffic along the entire route. Fortunately I mostly kept at 80 mph. Right outside of St. Louis I got caught in a big traffic jam outside of downtown due to highway construction. I probably spent 40 minutes in 2 mph traffic. It was not fun but at least my Ducati behaved and had no overheating problems. I have a pretty high tolerance for heat otherwise I would have overheated. You know you are going slow when you can have a conversation with the person sitting in the truck next to you on the highway! If you have not seen it (I have many times) the sight of the St. Louis Arch is inspiring. I was going so slow I was able to snap several digital photos of it. I finally got moving and travelled as fast as I could to try to get out of St. Louis proper.

Just outside of St. Louis I made my third stop for gas. The traffic between St. Louis and Kansas City along I70 is always bad. Today proved to be no exception. As I pulled near KC, I was pleasantly surprised my low-fuel light did not come on until 190 miles. This is in contrast to the usual 145 miles till low-fuel light. I generally figure that I have no more than one gallon of gas (33-43 miles) left. I was able to get to my local gas station (206 miles) before I stopped for gas.

Ironically, the weather as I reached home at 6:00 pm was the nicest of my entire trip. It was mid-70 degrees with a clear sky. One of my observations of traveling is that you always appreciate you home location a lot when you return. If you do not, maybe you should think of moving. I had a great and very enjoyable trip. Even with the rain, the riding and special places I visited made it more than worthwhile. My total riding mileage for the was around 560 miles. The entire trip mileage was 2247 miles.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 5 "Asheville (Biltmore) to Nashville"

2006-08-15T22:28:00.000-05:00

Today, I woke up prepared to visit the Biltmore Estate for a second day. I started my day with another mediocre breakfast at McDonalds. The advantage is the McDonalds was near my hotel and right outside the Biltmore Estate entrance. After breakfast I made a quick trip to a local drug store for some "personal lubricant" (more on that later).

I arrived at the Biltmore right before the 9:00 am stated opening. There were people ahead of me so I believe that actually allow people onto the property earlier. This morning I was given special motorcycle parking (yeah!). I spent the next two hours doing a more thoughtful tour of the Biltmore house. Yesterday I made a quick, but full pass of the house. This allowed me to focus more on the details today as well as gauge how much time to spend on each room. The Biltmore offers self-guided audio tours ($7) that accompany a printed room by room tour guide. The guide is very helpful but lean on information with one short paragraph describing the room. I chose to forego the audio tour and purchase a detailed guide book ($15) of the house. Beside containing much more information, the book is organized following the same rooms as the tour. I prefer reading to audio, and the book allowed me to go at my own pace rather than the narrators. I also found all the inside staff knowledgeable and asked them several questions. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Biltmore. There are several things I would have like to do if I chose to spend more time at the estate (and will revisit in the future). It would be great to read a book or just meditate in one of the many splendid gardens. I would also like to spend an afternoon reading a book in courtyard outside the stables. Both of these activities would really give me a better feel of how it might have been in the early 1900's when the Vanderbilts where enjoying their estates. Finally, you could easily spend a day roaming the grounds (other than the gardens) like the deerpark and lagoon.

I left the Biltmore in time to make my 12:00 pm hotel checkout. By the time I had my motorcycle packed it was mostly cloudy. I rode to Robbinsville, NC in order to ride the Cherohala Skyway. The Skyway is another famed motorcycle road. The ride from Asheville to Robbinsville is a great ride in itself. I took Hwy 74, which has many high speed curves to Hwy 129, which has many curves, good pavement, runs along a river, and is just plain beautiful. As I pulled into Robbinsville for gas and a bite to eat it began to rain lightly. Fortunately, the rain stopped while I was having a quick lunch at Wendy's.

The Cherohala Skyway road is pretty much everything it is famed for. The road is a curving, climbing, and descending wonder perfect for motorcycles. Additionally on this weekday (Monday) there were few automobiles. I might have been more impressed with the mountain top views had I not visited many awe-inspiring mountains in the Colorado mountains earlier this summer. Since the sky was mostly overcast, I choose not to stop for pictures.

After leaving the Cherohala Skyway I headed to the interstate to ride to Nashville. After the earlier 160 miles (100 miles to Robinsville and 60 miles of skyway) I found the change of pace of the interstate satisfying. The advantage of the interstate is that you can go at a relatively high speed with less worry about speeding tickets. About 30 miles from my Nashville destination it began raining very hard. I stopped for gas and to confirm my hotel reservation. Then there was nothing to do but ride in the rain to my hotel. Of course about 5 miles from the hotel it was dry and not raining.

The La Quinta (near the airport) that I stayed at was a disappointment. Rather than a traditional La Quinta, this hotel was a converted Baymont hotel (the chain La Quinta purchased earlier). The hotel was run down and not located in that great a spot. Interestingly when I asked for recommendation for a good place to eat I did not really get a good answer. I then asked for the location of the bookstore. The only one they could tell me was the "Borders" in the Opry Mill mall and gave me directions. According to the hotel staff the mall was about three miles from the hotel.

After cleaning up I headed for the mall (to pick up a book to read and dinner). After taking a detour because of the poor directions given, I found the mall as I figured it would be near Opryland. The mall was more like 10 miles away. Had I known it was that far I might have chosen to drive to the main entertainment center (downtown) of Nashville. This mall is huge with many restaurants. The bookstore ended up being a very large Barnes and Noble (equally favored by me with Borders). After being unable to find a book I wanted I picked up the latest copy of Motorcyclist magazine to read at dinner. I then chose to eat dinner at Tony Romas. I have had pretty good meals at Tony Romas in the past although somewhat overpriced. But on this day I was disappointed to find the menu has changed (for the worse). In addition the service mediocre to poor. After dinner I rode home just in time to avoid another torrential downpour.

With the visit to Biltmore and the excellent motorcycling offsetting the rain riding I finished a very satisfying day with a little more than 400 miles of riding.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 4 "Chattanooga to Asheville (Biltmore)"

2006-08-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

I awoke to after a full night of rain. Fortunately it was not raining when I woke up. My first plan was to find breakfast. I found that the continental breakfast at the hotel was nonexistent. Additionally I wanted to visit a bookstore to get a new book to read. I has located a Barnes and Noble nearby the previous night. So I left on my bike to find breakfast. Although there were many restaurants in the area I did not see any breakfast places. Imagine my surprise when after a little while I spotted a Chick-Fil-A (one of my favorites). Hmmm...no cars in the parking lot. Oh yeah, it's Sunday and all Chick-Fil-A are closed on Sundays. Bummer. I settled on McDonalds. After breakfast I drove to the Barnes and Noble. Bummer 2. They open at 12:00pm. Nothing left to do but go back to the hotel, finish packing and leave.

One of the reasons for staying in Chattanooga was so that I could ride a famed road (Hwy 129) in Tennessee nicknamed the "Tail of the Dragon". After driving about 90 miles (I think) I came on the road. While a fantastic motorcycle road, my enthusiasm was tempered by the fact that the road was very crowed. Imagine the crowds in the "Fast and Furious" and you will get an idea. There were hundreds of motorcycles with crowds at every pull off and many on the road (all going fast). The few cars and trucks on the road slowed things up until people made passes (crossing the double yellow line). Although I was pretty fast on the 12 mile sections there were several (that I saw) experienced riders who were way faster and smoother. One enlightening experience is when I let a group of 8 bikers past. The first six were very fast and I would have been past or at the edge of my abilities to keep up. But the two trail riders were slower than I would normally be. I was riding to my own abilities. Fortunately they all made some aggressive passes of a slower moving car. I waited a little for a better spot to pass. By the time I made the pass I was able to ride at a good clip before catching up to them again. Overall I am glad I can say I have ridden the "dragon". But I would not recommend doing it on a weekend.

I much preferred the roads after the "tail of the dragon". The continuation of Hwy 129 is a great road. For me, equally good was Hwy 78 (both near Nanatala) and later toward Asheville. The first part near Robbinsville is winding and well paved. The latter part is high speed sweeping turns on four lane divided highway.

I made it to Asheville around 3:00pm. After checking in and cleaning up I headed to a restaurant that I remembered from a previous visit, Barleys Taproom and Brewery. Here I had a very good calzone. I also did a quick drive around downtown. Asheville is a very "granola" type a town. I saw a fair amount of people dressed like (and several who smelled like) transients.

My next event was to visit the Biltmore Estate. I had learned that tickets purchased after 3:00 pm were good for the next day. This was great for me as I wanted to visit both days but am too cheap to pay the $42 daily entrance fee (even though it is worth it). The main house closes at 5:30. I was able to arrive by 4:00 pm.

The Biltmore is an amazing experience. I spent the first hour and half going through the house. This was more of quick pass as I knew I was returning the next day. I then spent the next hour and half walking the gardens and all the garden trails. There are at least a couple of miles of landscaped gardens. Incredible. One great plus of visiting late on Sunday is that by the time I left (the estate closes as dusk) I almost had the place to myself. When I got to the entry end of esplanade (which is probably 200 yards deep) I was the only person in sight in the entry. This was a wonderful feeling. The only disappointment is that my camera battery was done (after taking hundreds of pictures). Another disappointment is that you are not allowed to take photographs in the house. It would take me too many words to try to explain all the details of this place. I will note that the drive on the estate "approach road" is a couple of miles long (as well as the exit via a separate road). These roads are entirely contained by the property. Visit Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore should be a must visit place for many people. I would recommend at least a couple of hours for the interior and another couple of hours for the gardens at a minimum.

After leaving the estate I stopped by a Starbucks just outside the entrance for a drink and snack. Now after a partly cloudy but dry afternoon the skies became dark and threatening. I headed back to the hotel to end my day.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 3 "Birmingham to Chattanooga"

2006-08-13T21:52:00.000-05:00

The day started with more rain. I awoke after a night of thunderstorms to additional rain. Since it was raining and I did not know of a breakfast place worth getting wet for I stayed in. I have been neglecting exercise for the past week so I took the opportunity to do a short yoga/stretch routine. This was good as it helped get the kinks out. Afterwards I enjoyed (sarcastic) a breakfast of yogurt and tea from the sparse continental breakfast.

My plan was to visit the Barber Motorcycle museum again. The museum opens at 10:00 am. By the time I got packed and the rain had let up, it was 11:00 am when I got to Barber. There was more motorcycles in the parking lot today but mine was the only sportsbike. Lots of Harleys. I finished seeing the exhibits in the museum two hours later. One disappointment is that I did not get to go to the first floor where several sports cars and classics are exhibited and the workshops are. Apparently this floor (which can be viewed from above) is generally closed to the public. I had noticed people down there the day before. Apparently, the staff opened up the floor because of the threat of rain (on Friday). I wish I had taken the opportunity on that day but I just figured I would cover it when I returned on Saturday. I can only repeat that the Barber motorcycle museum is incredible. I think a interested party needs about four hours to go through the museum. In hindsight one full day would have been good (versus my two half-days). I would recommend getting there in the morning, viewing the motorcycles, leave for lunch, and then finish the day. There is no way to recreate the astonishment of the first day. There is so much that it is hard to take it in.

After leaving Barber my plan was to ride the interstate to Chattanooga, TN. This approximately 180 mile trip would set me up for riding the famed "tail of the dragon" motorcycle route on my way to Asheville, NC the next day. Given all the rain I did not want to commit to a longer ride. This proved fortuitous, as I had a couple of sections of rain along the ride. At least the temperature stayed bearable.

I hit my low fuel light as I pulled into Chattanooga. My GPS implied that I only had 12 miles to go to my destination. I kept going. I then found that I had a little farther to go. By this time I was not seeing any gas stations. Lesson to self: Just stop for gas early. Well after sweating it, I got to my exit and found the first gas station. After fueling up, I went to my hotel, checked in, and got cleaned up. By now I was very hungry so I headed to dinner. Dinner ended up being pretty good at a restaurant called Logan's Roadhouse. After dinner I went to Target for some quick shopping. As I left Target, it began to rain. I got back to the hotel right before it really started hammering down.

Nothing to do but read and go to bed.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 2 "Memphis to Birmingham"

2006-08-12T20:18:00.000-05:00

Today's itinerary was to ride from Memphis, TN to Birmingham, AL to visit the Barber Antique Motorcycle museum.

I woke up after a night of rain to find that it was raining moderately hard. What to do but to suit up and ride the Blue Plate Cafe for breakfast. Breakfast was wonderful as it has been every time I have visited this restaurant. The food is good and the service is polite and pleasant. For me, the Blue Plate Cafe is the perfect breakfast experience.

I returned to my hotel and packed up for the trip. Because of the rain and no effort to be speedy, I left the hotel around 9:30 am. Within a mile of the hotel, it stopped raining (but the streets were still wet). I decided I wanted to attach my Valentine V1 radar detector (V1) so I could make some time while it continued to be dry. Well as soon as I attached it, the V1 flashed some light (like a normal startup) but then the screen went blank. Not good. I called Valentine's technical support line. They could not give me much information but to say they doubted the V1 was broken and that it was probably a bad wire. I decided to do some troubleshooting. Since the V1 was getting power, I doubted it was a power problem. The V1 uses an unusual arrangement with a telephone wire (4 pin) going from the power block (12v) to the radar detector. Fortunately, I had a spare cable (for my computer modem). I tried this and the V1 worked fine. It was relatively simple to wire the telephone cord from under the seat where I have mounted the V1 power block to the radar detector on the screen. This was great news as I am reliant on the Valentine V1 now and did not want to do the rest of my miles without it.

While I was working in the parking lot of a convenience/gas store, Phil came up to talk to me about my Ducati. Apparently, he has a Ducati 900 Supersport and a Triumph Sprint ST both of which he wants to sell for a Ducati sports tourer like mine. He was very interested in my experience with the bike. We had a nice talk. While the fix would have been about 20 minutes (including waiting on Valentine) with the conversation I left about 45 minutes later.

My route was to take Hwy 78 the entire way with the exception of a section where the highway ends prior to restarting. Earlier at the Blue Plate, the host asked me if I was planning on riding 78 or taking the alternate route of Hwy 75 to Hwy 65. The alternate route is like taking two sides of a square versus cutting across the diagonal. I planned on taking 78 as on a motorcycle you do not always take the Interstate and did not think much of it. After many miles of speed cruising along hwy 78, my GPS indicated that I should exit and take a back highway. I had recalled from perusing the map the section where you exited Hwy 78 and dutifully followed the GPS. Sometime this wandering has pleasant surprises. After gassing up (with a 36 mpg average), I continued along some beautifully paved two-lane road. In one of those moments, my iPod Shuffle randomly played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" as I was happily riding these road. That was the good. Probably 40 miles later, I reconnected with Hwy 78. Here I came to recall the cliche of crooked politicians and "pork-barrels". Hwy 78 (a four lane divided road) proceeded to be 30 miles of stoplights. Both side of the street were crowded with miles and miles of gas stations and fast-food restaurants. I have always said riding a motorcycle is better than a car because driving is always fun rather than "just getting there". This 30+ mile stretch of road may have been the first time I did not enjoy riding my motorcycle. It was almost bumper to bumper and just miserable. I vowed, no matter what, that I would not ride this road again even if means many mile in the wrong direction to avoid it.

I finally got to Birmingham and my hotel around 3:00 pm. After checking in and a quick clean up i headed for the Barber Museum. The museum is around 16 miles from my hotel in south Birmingham. I got to the hotel around 4:00 pm. The museum is unbelievable. I had read magazine articles about the Barber Motorcycle museum, but they do not do it justice. There a hundreds and hundred of incredible motorcycles. Everything from antiques to modern classics. In addition there are many significant race cars and sports cars. The museum building is a five story architectural delight. I spent the two hours to closing enjoying the exhibits and learning quite a bit of motorcycling history. I was unaware that Ignaz Schwinn (of bicycle fame) also owned the storied motorcycle mark, Excelsior. Almost every motorcycle brand is covered from Ducati to Harley and the Japanese marks. If I had to guess the largest collection are Ducati or MV Agusta. But with hundreds of bikes no make is left out. At closing I had made up my mind I would be visiting again the next day. If you visit, plan to spend an entire day. I would estimate that four hours would be good.

After leaving the museum I was very hungry so my priority was to find a good place to eat. There is big galleria mall a few miles from my hotel with many restaurants nearby. I chose to dine at a J. Alexanders. The J. Alexanders in KC is one of my favorite places for an upscale dinner with excellent service. While the Birmingham restaurant's food was equally good, the service was not memorable.

After leaving dinner I rode around looking for a coin-operated car wash where I could wash my bike. While I never wash my bike with a pressure washer, my bike was getting filthy. I had asked at the hotel and restaurant but nobody knew of a car wash. I am not sure how people wash their cars in the South (as I had the same problem finding a place in Memphis). Finally many miles down the main drag (Hwy 31) I found a single coin-operated car wash. I performed a quick wash down of my bike (at the exorbitant price of $2.00). But at least I had piece of mind.

I then road home, taking Riverchase Pkwy which my hotel is located on. Riverchase Pkwy is a divided four lane, winding road with many corporate office located on either side. There is very little traffic on it. If not for the several stoplights this would be the Muholland Drive of Birmingham as the curves are quite fun. By the time I got back to my hotel the skies were threatening again.

Motorcycle Trip - Day 1 "Rain or shine"

2006-08-10T21:38:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of my current motorcycle trip. I am on my way to the Barber Motorcycle museum (Birmingham, AL) and decided to repeat my ride from two weekends ago "Ride and Eat" to Memphis, TN.

Thus, the first day's plan was to travel from KC to Memphis. I got an early start (because I was already mostly packed) and left for my trip. Part of the plan was to ride some of the great motorcycle roads in southern Missouri and Arkansas on my way to Memphis.

Well the first "event" occurred approximately 50 miles outside of Kansas City when I realized that it appeared that I was heading directly into bad weather. Ominously, it also appeared that there was bad weather in the southeast where I was heading.

Just outside of Springfield, Mo, my low-fuel warning light came on (at 146 miles). Some readers will recall that I ran out of gas on my last trip in this almost exact same situation. I was not taking chances this time and stopped at the next gas station. I figured out my gas mileage average for that tank was 36.4 mpg. I pretty regularly average 42 mpg (highway). This is a fifteen percent difference in mileage and may account why it is sometimes hard to figure out how far I can ride on a tank. To make things worse (to calculate), on one leg of this trip I average 49.6 mpg!

Right before I stopped for gas it started pouring rain. I got drenched. Although the rain let up a little after my pit stop, fellow traveller indicated that another thunderstorm was heading in. I elected to take off and hope that I would ride out of the storms. Heading into Springfield, I almost decided to "slab" it (take the larger interstate highways) to Memphis rather than my previous plan of twisty, back-roads. But, the sun came out and I continued on my original route.

The curves along Hwy 160, AR Hwy 5, and AR 62 among other were wonderful. There were a couple of rain showers along the way but nothing too bad. Because of the likelihood of rain I made more stops then normal. I did not want to be hunting for gas in a hard rain. My second stop was in Mountain Home for gas and a bite to eat (Wendys). It sucks that I pretty much avoid fast food but end up eating it on my trips. Eighty seven miles later I decided to stop in Batesville, AR to change helmet shields and gas up. I had been swapping between a clear and tinted shield all day. It looked like it was going to rain again so I was switching back to clear. I also am trying to stick with name brand gas stations.

Just as I pulled up to the fuel pump in Batesville, it began to rain VERY hard. I gassed up under the canopy and then walked into the convenience store to get a Gatorade (and wait out the storm a little). A few minutes later I walked out to get my helmet which I had left on the fuel pump. The rain was blowing so hard that my motorcycle was getting drenched by the driving rain which was being blown under the roof. Just as I reached the fuel pump I caught my helmet which was actually being blown off the top of fuel pump by the wind. Back inside the store I met a nice, older couple from Iowa who said they had motorcycled in all 50 states (including Hawaii). A little while later the rain slowed down enough that I took off. I ended up riding in a good rain for at least 50 of the next 100 miles.

Eventually I arrived at my destination in Memphis. By now it was partly overcast but with temperatures of over 100 degrees. After checking in and cleaning up I headed to Corky's BBQ for dinner.

Well my great dinner (Dry Ribs and later Apple Cobbler) proved that my last visit was no fluke. The meal was very good.

I then headed back to the hotel after a short reconnoiter for a place to wash my bike (filthy from the days rains). By now the skies where threatening and the wind was very gusty. My moving average speed today was 59 mph versus 69 for the similar route last time. Additionally, even though I left much earlier than last time, I arrived later. Good thing that I am on vacation and taking things in stride. Despite the rain, an enjoyable day.

Equipment report:
My gear (Belstaff jacket, Gerbings pants, Dainese boots) kept me dry even in the hard rain. I am really enamored of my Dainese D-Dry boots. They really work for keeping my feet dry.

The Garmin Quest 2 GPS was no worry in the rain as it is waterproof.

Unfortunately, my Valentine V1 radar detector is not waterproof. While my mounting location (on the windshield) allows me to keep using it in monderate rains, I take it down for hard rain. As other have noted, this is not a big hardship as I really am not speeding in hard rains. But I have really become reliant on it and put it up as soon as it starts to dry up.

My Avon Azaro tires (new) continued to perform admirably in the wet. There is also nothing like having new, sticky, rubber for carving corners in the dry.

Observation: Washing your motorcycle before a trip

2006-08-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

Question: Why do people wash their bikes right before they go on a motorcycle trip? Seems like the bike will get dirty anyway with rain and long miles. But wash my Ducati is what I did. Actually, I am pretty anal about keeping my bike clean anyway. Really wasn't dirty but never hurts to put on a extra shine.

Powerbook Woes

2006-08-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

Well it finally happened, my Apple Powerbook G4 Titanium (TiBook) failed. Several days ago, I found that my Powerbook would not boot correctly after being powered off. After some troubleshooting I found that if I unplugged it, took at the battery, and then reset the PMU (power management unit), and most importantly waited 20 minutes, the Powerbook would start normally. No other combination worked. Once started the Powerbook would operate normally either on battery power or on AC.

Those of you who know me know that I rely on my trusty Powerbook. This situation was irritating but does illustrate that the Powerbook did not leave me cold. It does work with the cumbersome sequence described above. Additionally, I rarely turn my Powerbook off, relying on the excellent "sleep mode" which performs very well. After some additional research I believe that I will need to replace the motherboard. This is an expensive proposition. So on to option 2.

Option 2 is to begin to use my backup TiBook. For business reasons I have a duplicate of the my main Powerbook (1Ghz, 1GB ram G4 Titanium). I have been very reluctant to use this machine as it is pristine with no scratches or wear. One big different from my main TiBook is that the backup only has at 60GB hard drive (as I had upgraded the main one to 100 GB). The hard drive upgrade was necessitated because I have way more than 60GB of data. Well the answer is simple, I switched out the hard drives in the Powerbooks.

I am now happily using the second Powerbook G4 without missing a beat. All my data and settings work perfect.

Breakfast in Memphis

2006-08-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite ways to describe and ideal motorcycle adventure is “like breakfast in Memphis”. This only begins to make sense when you know that I live in Kansas City and Memphis, Tennessee is 500 miles away. Well this Sunday I decided to put my illustration to truth. I decided to literally ride from Kansas City to Memphis for breakfast. Now, given that Memphis from Kansas City would take at least seven hours my plan was to ride out, spend the night, eat breakfast then next morning, and then return.

The Ride Down

I started my trip on Sunday morning after confirming that the weather was going to be acceptable. I don’t mind some rain but did not want to get caught in hours of thunderstorms. Fortunately, the weather looked good but hot. I finally got off around 7:50am. Despite good intentions, I generally cannot seem to get started early despite being up much earlier.

The first event in my adventure occurred about 10 miles outside of Springfield, MO, when ran out of gas! What a dumbsh**! Here is what happened. At 136 miles on the trip odometer, my Ducati ST3’s low fuel light came on. In the past I have counted on having a little over 1 gallon of fuel when the light comes on. I generally get around 40 mpg from my motorcycle. Lately I have been following a internet thread discussion of the mileage and warnings on the Ducati ST models. This may have factored into my going a little long after the low fuel light. Generally on my bike, the low fuel light comes a little later (more mileage). Well I pushed my luck and ran out of gas with 176 miles on the trip odometer. The bike sputtered about twice and then just quit running. Traditionally on motorcycles a little gas remains in the tank. By swooshing the gas around you can eek out a few more miles. No go on the ST3. The gas tank was bone dry. I stopped in the median on the side of the highway and called AAA. After a wait to talk to a customer service person and a switch to AAA Missouri, they indicated that someone would be out within 45 minutes. In the meantime, a fellow motorcycles (Ray riding a Honda ST1300 and pulling a trailer) stopped to help. Ray said he did not have any extra gas in his trailer but that he would ride up to the next gas station and try to get a can. Approximately 10 minutes later Ray returned with a 2-gallon can and some gas. It really is great how the motorcycling community takes care of one and another. After calling AAA to cancel my emergency call I rode to the next (and same) gas station and filled up.

At this point, I rode on. My hastily planned route took state highways and avoided interstates. The ride mileage was around 470 miles. Approximately 160 miles later my low fuel light came on again. This time I choose to stop at the next gas station. Unfortunately this was a small local station (that even had the old, non-digital gas pumps!). Here I got held up for $3.39 a gallon. I filled up and continued on. A short while I felt a bite by a wasp or bee on my left hand. This was in the small area between my jacket and glove. Unfortunately while riding I couldn’t swat the insect away before being bitten a couple of times. Damn, I then realized I had forgotten to bring any Benadryl. While generally I do not have any problems, I have had a couple of experience (down South) when I have had an allergic reaction to bug bites. One time my hand swelled to approximately the size of a softball. This would be a real problem when riding. I then decided to stop at the next drug store or grocery store to purchase some Benadryl. Unfortunately, none came for awhile. Fortunately, my wrist did nothing more than itch and sting some. I ended up not stopping.

The last third of the ride to Memphis was curving roads. This was the most enjoyable part of the ride down. Sunday traffic was light so I only needed to do a little passing to stay away from cars and trucks.

Once in Memphis, my Garmin Quest 2 GPS routed me to my hotel with only a couple of recalculations base on my making wrong turns. Total mileage down was 480 miles with a moving average of 69 mile per hour.

Dinner

Well a significant part of the trip is to enjoy some good and different meals. After determining that the world-famous Rendezvous Restaurant (BBQ) is closed on Sundays and Monday, I decided to visit Corky’s (another well known Memphis BBQ place). An added benefit is that Corky;s is about a quarter mile from my hotel.

After cleaning up and changing clothes at the hotel, I rode over to Corky’s. Getting close to the restaurant, I found the streetlights were not working. I pulled into the almost empty parking lot. Several Corky’s employees were in the front of the restaurant. I pulled up to find that they had no electricity. But the manager indicated that there were two more Corky’s restaurants around 11 miles away and offered to write the addresses down. He went in to get a card to write the addresses down. As he was writing the power came back on. This ended up being fortunate for me. I was one of the first to be seated. Before I finished my meal, the place was packed. I had the dry ribs dinner. These were an excellent example of Memphis-style BBQ (dry) versus Kansas City-style (wet) barbeque. A great meal.

On the way back, I filled my motorcycle with gas and explored the immediate area. Besides many restaurants, I found a cool Borders bookstore.. While all Borders carry the same books, this one was differentiated by a two story high atrium and skylight in the middle of the store.

Returning to the hotel I parked my motorcycle in the front drive right in front of the front desk window. The manager at check in indicated that they would keep an eye on it. This was unsolicited by me and an example of the generally excellent service I receive at the La Quinta hotel chain. I got to bed early and slept well after a good days ride.

Breakfast

I awoke at 6:15am the next morning and soon rode to the Blue Plate Café. This restaurant was the focal point of riding to Memphis. Like Corky’s the night before this restaurant is about a quarter mile from the hotel. I have visited this restaurant before and had excellent breakfasts. On weekends the restaurant is very busy. This Monday morning I had no problem getting in even thought the parking lot was mostly full. For breakfast I had a omelet (ham and cheese), biscuits and gravy, and pancakes, and of course iced tea (unsweetened for me please!). The biscuits are wonderful, the service is very good, and everything tastes like an excellent home-cooked meal. The entire (albeit short) stay in Memphis I had enjoyed fine down-south hospitality. The Blue Plate was no exception and I highly recommend it.

The Ride home

After breakfast I returned to hotel, packed my stuff, and checked out. Once again in ended getting on the road around 8:00am. The evening before I had loosely plotted a return route. This route would take me on some smaller backroads in Arkansas and hopefully allow me to ride some the great motorcycling roadsmaintained in Arkansas.

Getting out of Memphis was no problem despite being late rush-hour on a Monday. After some time on interstate 55, I turned onto Arkansas highway 14. This turned out to be a fine motorcycling road that was immaculately paved and contains some good sweeping turns. The road had very little traffic and I enjoyed it well.

From hwy 14, I got onto hwy 69. This road (also immaculately paved) is wider and contained many great high-speed sweeping turns. So far I was in motorcycling heaven.

I stopped for gas a little early but mainly to get a Gatorade to keep hydrated. I also learned from the previous day. This stop was at a name brand gas station where gas was $3.00 a gallon.

A little later I rode on hwy 5. This is a road I remember from previous visits. While the road would be a good motorcycle road I have found it contains too much car traffic to be really enjoyable. This trip I found no difference. The traffic was not heavy, just enough to dampen my enthusiasm some.

Later yet I got on hwy 160 (in Missouri). This illustrates the great difference between Arkansas and Missouri roads. Although Missouri has some great curving, roads, they are generally poorly paved. In contrast, almost all the roads I have found in Arkansas are perfectly maintained and paved. Hwy 160 has some good sections and some not so good sections. In general, the riding on 160 is very good and takes you through some curving mountain roads.

From there it was onto interstate 55 into Springfield, MO. Just outside Springfield, my low-fuel, light came on. Not wanting to make the same mistake as the previous day, I stopped at the next gas stations. The temperature was over 100 degrees, so I choose to re-hydrate by finishing my Gatorade. After a quick gas-up, I took off for the final leg off.

Throughout the trip I had seen few police cars. The exception was the last part of Arkansas on the way down where I saw several people pulled over. Apparently, Arkansas highway patrol focuses on the main travel routes and patrol heavily. Just north of the Springfield (Bolivar, MO.) I came screaming up the highway to see a cop car parked in the weeks. Fortunately, my Valentine 1 radar detector lit up and I got on the brakes to slow down. I wasn’t sure if I got slowed down enough, but the police car did not come after me. (woo, good break, or is that “good brakes”). A little later I came up on my first accident of the trip There were several police cars and fire engines. Traffic was slowed but not stopped so I quickly got past it.

My GPS calculated that I would arrive at home around 4:44pm. The last part of the trip is major highway and not all that interesting. Just outside of Kansas City I was starting to get thirsty. As explanation, I must carry a lot of water in my body and do not seem to need to drink as much as others. Even on hard bicycling rides or runs I do not need near the amount of fluid as generally recommended. But, because of exercise (especially biking) I realize when I need to drink. Around 30 minutes outside of KC and I am thinking I need to drink some more. While wishing that I could just make it and stop for dinner on my return (I hadn’t eaten since breakfast), smarts overruled me. I stopped a quick shop and got another Gatorade. Once finished, I felt better hydrated. The rest of ride was uneventful with me just beating the evening rush-hour traffic.

A couple miles from my beloved Chipotle, the low fuel came on at 180 miles. What a contrast to coming on at 136 miles. Back in KC I was comfortable that I would not run out of gas. I had an enjoyable dinner at Chipotle and filled up right before returning home.

Conclusion

The ride home was almost exactly 500 miles (500.6 when I stopped at Chipotle). My “micro-vacation” was excellent with good riding, good eating, and some relaxation. While not willing to stop for many pictures, I learned that I should be more careful about carrying my camera at all times. I would have liked to have some more documentary pictures (like of the restaurants). I had my camera but had left it at the hotel each time. The trip was an excellent example of the enjoyment of motorcycle travel. In a car, events at the destination are almost the exclusive point of the trip. On a motorcycle, the riding becomes and important event in the trip.

Equipment Report
 Garmin GPS (Quest 2)
Basically a must have for motorcycle travel. The GPS allows you to focus more on riding than watching the map and highway signs. It also makes it easy to explore alternate roads since you know that you can easily find your way back on course.

Added benefits are accurate measurements including speed, trip statistics (top mph, average time, distance), etc.

iPod shuffle
Another mandatory item for my motorcycle travel. Long, boring stretches would be overwhelming without music. The iPod shuffle has excellent battery life and can be operated while traveling (even with my gloves on).

Etyomic ER6i earphones
Attached to my iPod these have dual purpose. First the earplugs significantly reduce the noise while riding. Importantly they provide excellent fidelity for the music. So far the best earphones I have found Someday I would like to try them with custom molded earpieces. The optional small foam plugs have been working quite well so far.

Valentine 1 radar detector
My apologies to K.W, who originally recommended this to me. Originally I suggested a radar detector was not necessary. I was wrong. Motorcyling goes hand-in-hand with higher speeds. The V1 has worked exceptionally good and saved me many times. Another item I would not leave home without.

Belstaff Jacket
My Belstaff motorcycle jacket continues to perform admirably. While no jacket is going to be comfortable (temperature wise) in 100+ degree weather, the Belstaff is pretty comfortable. I saw many riders without jackets (most Harley riders) but just felt safer wearing a jacket.

Gerbing motorcycle pants
Like my Belstaff jacket these heated pant are my all-weather riding pants. Even though wired for heat they are comfortable enough for summer riding (where you are going to be hot with gear on anyway). It is nice to have one pair of riding pants that are waterproof, okay for hot weather, and will save your bacon in the cold.

Reebook hot-weather compression underwear
Another clothing accessory worth the money for hot weather riding. So far the best solution for hot weather riding I have found so far.

Arai helmet and shield
My Arai Corsair RX-7 helmet continues to perform well when riding. While still noisy (as all motorcycle helmets are, the helmet is comfortable no matter how long the ride. All functions (including the visor and vents) work well when riding.

For daylight riding I use an Arai dark-tinted shield. This shield protects my face from sunburn (versus wearing glasses under a clear screen). The shield is supposed to be UV protecting but Arai’s web site offers little information. Regardless the shield offers great optics while keeping the many bugs from hitting you in the face.

Lee Parks deerskin gloves
These gloves are my exclusive motorcycling gloves. They continue to hold up and wear well over thousands of miles.

San Diego "the parks" Trip - Day 5

2006-07-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

Todays, our last full day, plan was to visit Legoland - California. Fortunately, Legoland is 5 minutes from the hotel and opens at 10:00am. This allowed us a leisurely start to the morning.

Legoland is a Lego themed park located in Carlsbad, California. There are other Legolands around the world, but Legoland - California is the only one in the United States. This large theme park is directed toward younger children, aged 3 to 12. After visiting, I would say that this park is best-suited for children 3 to 6 and parents of these children.

We arrive right at the 10:00am opening. Tickets, like all theme parks, are pricey at approximately $50 per person and $10 parking. We enjoyed the park for a good part of the day. One nice attraction to younger children is that the park has several rides that the child can ride and operate alone. One ride Sophie particularly liked was a helicopter rider where the driver (Sophie) could make the helicopter go up and down as well as turn. The helicopter are on post that rise 15 to 20 feet in the air.
We both also enjoyed the Technic racer roller coaster. This roller coaster is pretty much a adult roller coaster with one large drop. Like all rides in Legoland the ride time is short but fortunately the waiting lines are relatively short. Finally another exceptional attraction was the 4-D movies. We saw the "Racers" movie. This animated 4-D (3-D viewing with additional effects) included wind and snow as well as the a great 3-D viewing experience.

Legoland, although good, is second-tier to the three gems of San Diego, the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo. Given the time it is worthwhile to visit, but only after the other parks. Additionally, Legoland really illustrates how Walt Disney is world class. Legoland is well run and a friendly park, but our previous visit to Disney World (in Orlando) shows how Disney works to make the entire experience memorable. I do not see anyone planning a vacation specifically to visit Legoland (contrary to other internet reviews I read). Regardless, we did enjoy our visit to Legoland.

After spending most of the day, we left the park to have a very late lunch/early dinner at the Karl Strauss Brewery restaurant. The restaurant is a couple of minutes for the park. Rather than eating the overpriced and poor park food we could eat good food for the same price. I had an exceptionally good Buffalo turkey burger.

We then returned to the hotel to freshen up. We quickly left to drive to Sea World so that we could enjoy some evening attractions. The approximately 22 mile drive took over an hour. At Sea World we were able to see the dolphin show (a repeat but worth viewing a second time), different sea lion show, and different Shamu killer whale show. We also attended a 4-D movie of R.L. Stines mystery. In addition we rode two rides we missed the previous day, the Sky Tower and the Travel to Atlantis ride The Travel to Atlantis ride is a good water roller coaster. But beware that you, as we did, will get soaking wet. We left Sea World at the start of the short end-of-night fireworks show.

Finally our drive back to the hotel later in the night was uneventful. Although there was lots of traffic we did not encounter any stop and go traffic as we have earlier in day.

San Diego Trip - Day 4

2006-07-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

Today's plan was the San Diego Zoo. We awoke and had our usual continental breakfast at the hotel. Then after a short while, we drove to the Zoo. My Garmin GPS directions were a little different today. I am not sure how it came up with its suggested route. At any rate, we did make it to the zoo after a couple of wrong turns (my fault) and recalculations by the GPS. As we got near it was easier to follow the street signs than the GPS.

The San Diego Zoo is billed as world-class and does not disappoint. The zoo is very large and requires a significant amount of walking. In addition, the zoo is very hilly so there is a lot of up and down walking. Sophie, as usual, did wonderful and walked the entire way.

While many of the animals were sleeping, we were still able to view many. We saw lions, tapirs, koala bears, elephants, rhinoceros, monkeys, birds, jaguars, wart pigs, lions, etc. Easily our favorite was the Pandas. These, a mother and her 1 year old cub, are shown in a special, narrated exhibit. There are now windows between you and the pandas and you can easily view them. Unfortunately, the polar bears (one of my favorites) were not on exhibit. I think they were being fed. Additionally, the zoo has many species I have never heard of. There are a great number of animals in the San Diego Zoo and it is probably the best I have ever visited.

Sophie chose to eat lunch at the zoo. The food was way overpriced and not good. I would suggest you pack your own picnic lunch if you visit. A nice plus is that zoo parking is free.

After spending most of the day at the zoo, we left to drive back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped and toured the Mission Beach area. Mission Beach is what many envision when they think of a California beach town. The beaches are large and crowded as are the streets around the beach.

After some naps and exercise we went to dinner. For some reason, Sophie was impressed with the Karl Strauss Brewery restaurant that we ate at two days earlier. She insisted that we return. Dinner once again was good.

It was still relatively early so we headed back to the hotel. While there, a false fire alarm went off. It took a while for them to shut of the room alarms. It was good to see that the guest were safety conscious and left their rooms, as we did. Just before eight o'clock we drove to the beach to see the sunset. The skies were pretty cloudy, but the sunset was nice. We then walked along the coastal area (we were on a bluff above the beach) before returning to the hotel.

I should note that everyone we have met or dealt with in California has been friendly and pleasant. This has been very nice. I wish everyone in other regions would be the same.

San Diego Trip - Day 3

2006-07-20T10:47:00.000-05:00

we started the day a little more leisurely than earlier in the week. After a light breakfast, we headed to Sea World - San Diego.

Once again, we printed tickets out after ordering online. Consistently we have found lower prices this way. Unfortunately, Sea World, like most attractions is relatively expensive. It was over $100 for tickets for both of us. This does not include the $10 fee they charge for automobile parking.

The drive from Carlsbad confirmed that San Diego traffic is plain bad. A 25 mile trip took an hour. As a motorcyclist, I noted a number of motorcycles "lane splitting". This tactic (I believe legal in California) has motorcyclist going between two lanes of cars on the highway. This is just crazy. I wonder if they think about the fact that many of the travelers are tourist and may not be used to this. I know the first motorcycle that passed me caught my attention. It would be very easy to get sideswiped. This is not a practice I will take up soon on my bike.

We arrived at Sea World safely. After the aforementioned $10 parking we entered the park. Sea World is a very good attraction. We viewed four shows: Dolphin, Shamu, Cirque de mer, and the Sea Lion show. All are good. We also saw several animals in other attractions. This included: sharks, manatees, polar bears, Beluga whales, and walruses.

At lunchtime we visited the "Anheuser Busch Hospitality Deli" near the A-B beer tasting kiosk. A-B owns Sea World. Since I don't drink alcohol, the beer tasting was of no use. But I figured that the food at the hospitality deli would be the best in the park. I was not disappointed. While somewhat expensive, as all park food is, Sophie and I shared a excellent lunch of hand-carved turkey sandwich and potato salad. Even the iced tea was excellent.

We enjoyed the park for most of the afternoon before leaving. From Sea World we drove south and across the bay to Coronado to check out the area and the beaches. Shortly after getting there, Sophie said she was hungry and wanted dinner. The area is pretty crowded and we could not find a suitable place to eat. Unfortunately, besides our beloved Chipotle, Sophie does not care for Mexican restaurants. I popped up the GPS and got directions to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Years ago this was an okay restaurant chain I would visit when traveling to California. The location was in the Gas-lamp entertainment district in San Diego.

When we arrived, I realized that a baseball game had ended recently and the start of a large convention (ComicCon) was taking place. The area was crowded. We finally found a place to park ($8 for 2 hours). We then walked to the restaurant address to find out it was gone. We then walked to a Rock Bottom Brewery we had spied when looking for parking. At Rock Bottom we had a memorable dinner.

After dinner we drove back to the hotel. Traffic was still bad and it took a little while to get there. After cleaning up and changing for bed, Sophie (as is our norm) read a book. I am very proud of Sophie's advanced reading and we read every night (rather than just watching TV). Currently Sophie is reading The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo.

San Diego Trip - Day 2

2006-07-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

Day 2 started early as we both awoke early. The two hour time difference (CST to PST) has our bodies accustomed to rising earlier. Sophie woke up very early (to go to the bathroom) with a yelp of
"daddy". From across the room she was not sure where I was. It feels good to be "daddy" even when it's just to be reassuring.

The continental breakfast at the hotel was just okay. I figure that these breakfast make up in quantity over quality. Basically I have small portions of lots of foods. Sophie, who is a natural and light eater, does better. Breakfast for her generally consists of some fruits and juices.

Our big plan for the day was to visit the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. After some gyrations to print out online ticket we left for the park. Note: it is cheaper to buy tickets online than to purchase them at the park. The drive to the park while short on mileage took 45 minutes to one hour. The traffic her in San Diego/Carlsbad is heavy and bad. We arrived at the park exactly at the 9:00am opening time.

The Wild Animal Park is really a gem of a zoo. The park is laid out with the animals in large, natural spaces rather than pens or cages like traditional zoos. The best part is taking the park train. This guided trip through all the areas of the park lets you view the animals in the natural settings. The trip is approximately 45 minutes long. After the train, Sophie and I walked the park for a short time. Unfortunately, Sophie's tolerance for the walking today was rather short. We cut the park time short accordingly. The park is probably better for someone a little older. To really enjoy this park you need to do quite a bit of walking. While the viewing is awesome, it can be a little distance from point to point. Regardless we did get to see Rhinoceros, Giraffes, Wild Horses, many birds, pelicans, ducks, wild deer, and a lion. An area we missed was the tigers.

Sophie slept on the drive home. My Garmin GPS has worked wonderfully in California making driving directions very easy. As noted previously, the GPS sometimes gives you slightly different driving directions when returning from a location than going. In this case it allowed me the opportunity to see more of the area. Driving directions given by the GPS were fine in both directions.

We had a safe lunch at Chilis. Then we drove back to the hotel. Sophie was still tired, so we each enjoyed naps. Sophie's last much longer than mine, so I took the opportunity for a light workout. Upon waking up from a very long sleep, Sophie wanted to go swimming in the hotel pool. Thus, we went for a swim.

After cleaning up, we went to Karl Strauss Brewing Company (a local chain) for dinner. We shared a good dinner. After dinner we drove to the beach and watched the surf for a short time. Upon getting to the hotel, Sophie is working on her math book after getting ready for bed while I write this. That ends our enjoyable day.

San Diego Trip - Day 1

2006-07-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of Sophie and my trip to San Diego. We arrived for our flight with plenty of time this morning. As usual, since we had plenty of time, the check in/security check process went without a hitch. It seems that the delays in the process are proportionate with how little time you have to catch your flight. Of course, it may just be that I have a beautiful, young, girl traveling with me. Everyone just bends over backwards when they meet Sophie.

Our flight was on Midwest Airlines. What a pleasant surprise. It has been a long time since I have experienced friendly airline employees. I wish that American Airlines could be like this. The only drag was that our seats were in the back of the plane right next to the engine. Overall the flight was uneventful and fine.

On arriving in San Diego, we picked up our rental car. Then we drove to the Seaport Village to look at boats and have lunch. Lunch was at a typical tourist trap, Busters. Overpriced and mediocre food. We walked on the boardwalk for a short time.

Our hotel is actually in Carlsbad, California. Carlsbad is 25 miles north of San Diego. Basically I was able to use some of my many hotel points for this. Since we plan to visit several area attractions that will require driving, the location is not that important.

After checking into the hotel and getting a short yoga workout in, we went exploring along the main road along the coast. We stopped and walked on the beach. This was Sophie's first experience with beach. The beach is medium-nice around here. White sand but not pristine. The waves are up and there were plenty of surfers. As we walked along the beach and surf we both got wet (twice) as unexpectantly high waves came in. Sophie also experienced how the tide and pull you towards the sea. I was holding on, so Sophie did not actually fall in. We were wearing street clothes and our shorts got soaked though.

After returning to the hotel to clean up, we went to a nearby mall for dinner. Sophie and I have found that we enjoy sharing Subway sandwiches and Starbucks tea. It is great to have such a cheap, agreeable date. I couldn't ask for a better travel companion.

Tomorrow is a big day. Way different than the Colorado trip. Including the trip to the airport (100 miles total including picking Sophia up) plus travel in California, total driving was 145 miles.

Colorado "Shared Apple" Mountain Adventure - Final Thoughts

2006-07-02T22:13:00.001-05:00

Sorry the delay in posting. I have been busy since returning from Sophie and my wonderful vacation. The trip was a memorable trip that will be great memory for both us.

General Observations and Thoughts

Learning from our children: Since becoming a father I have tried and benefited from watching and learning from Sophie as she grows and learns. Two big items learned are that children are not inhibited and will try many things as well as look at things in different ways. We would do well to emulate them. Thus my favorite word "wonderful". Children are full of wonder. The second thing is that children are continually learning and growing. I do not know why we lose this insatiable curiosity as we grow older. I continually try to rekindle it.

Loosening the schedule: I am, by nature, schedule oriented. As always, in learning from my 5 year old companion, sometimes it is good to let go of the schedule and let things come as they may.

Traveling with my daughter: While there are several downsides to divorce, I try to look at the positive side. One of these is the opportunity to travel solo with Sophie. This allow me to focus on Sophie. We have had many great times.

Shared apple: As reported earlier, one of the great things during the trip was sharing apples as snacks with Sophie during our road trip. There are many other simple, small pleasure that it is worthwhile to stop and enjoy.

Traveling with a 5 year old: Reasonably, a child prefers many smaller attractions rather than one attraction repeated. Thus, while a week long rafting trip may be great adventure for adults, it is probably too much for a child. It worked out great that we had many, smaller, adventures. This included, mountain driving, rafting, the train, hiking, and camping.

The hotel key and hotel pool: I found it interesting that to Sophie some of the small pleasures included operating the hotel room door with the key. Another item was the desire to swim in the hotel/motel pool despite the fact we have a pool at our home!

Equipment Report

GMC Yukon XL: The behemoth, while being an absolute gas hog, is a great traveling vehicle. Tons of space, plenty of power, quiet, and capable of all request. Sometime I get fed up with American car bashers, when I think of my experience with this vehicle. While acknowledging the quality of some Japanese vehicles, I doubt they make a SUV any better than this (besides not even making large SUVs like this). At least in my experience the tag "professional grade" used by GMC is upheld by this car. I have never been let down by my truck in over four and half years. I note that at the end of the trip (last day), I noticed that the battery was a little slow to start the car. It never let me down and I replaced it as soon as we returned home. This is very reasonable after four and half years.

Valentine 1 radar detector: While not a necessity, this was a very nice to have. I generally try to avoid driving more than 10 mph faster than the speed limit (although I generally do take this cushion). The radar detector many times alerted me to radar from police vehicles.

Garmin Quest 2 GPS: This is a great to have item that makes a difference on long road trips such as ours. Previously I have had very little trouble with my Quest in the six months I have owned it. On this trip I had many "lost satellite" timed, especially while driving through Kansas. IT generally worked fine in Colorado with some expected drop outs in the mountain. The GPS was great in some instances. One of which is finding specific places (such as Starbucks) while traveling. As an aside, Starbucks has become the new McDonalds as a reliable place for a clean bathroom. IMPORTANT NOTE: Upon returning to Kansas City, I took my unit to Garmin (a KC company) to have their product support team try to resolve my GPS issues. They determined that there was a hardware problem. I received a new, warranty replacement unit two days later. Garmin has commendable customer service.

iPod: Sophia and I made great use of our iPod and a cassette adapter. We had a blast listening to many songs along the way. This was especially nice to have during the long drive from Kansas to Colorado.

I am sure I am leaving many things out. The bottom line is that I had a wonderful trip with my daughter. It really brought back the joys of the "family road trip" that many of us remember from our youth. I was very fortunate that all equipment, luggage, camping items, worked well. Most importantly, I am blessed to have such as wonderful travelling companion in my daughter.

Colorado "Shared Apple" Mountain Adventure - Final Thoughts

2006-07-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

Colorado "Shared Apple" Mountain Adventure - Day 6

2006-06-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

First a note on the new trip name. I really enjoy the way my wonderful daughter has of looking at the world. This has been really enlightening. A very enjoyable part of the trip has been sharing eating apples as we travel. Sophia started picking up a couple of apples at our morning breakfast for snacks as we did our driving during the day. Sophie and I share lots of food, most notably my favored Chipotle burrito. For a father, sharing an apple with his daughter is a simple, satisfying pleasure. We shared many apples during our trip.

Our final day of the trip (day 6) started with us waking up in the tent. We packed up the tent and camping supplies. Then we used the camp bathrooms to finish our morning clean up. Finally we sat down to work on the "Junior Ranger log book"

Upon checking into the camp site the previous day, the park ranger gave Sophie the Rocky Mountain National Park Junior Ranger log book. This 16 page (I think) workbook contained many exercises for prospective "Junior Rangers" to work on. Some exercises were reading and writing, while others were nature and environmental activities. The idea is to complete the exercises then review them with a RMNP Park Ranger.. Upon completion of the work, the Ranger will award the young person with a Junior Ranger badge. I am very proud that Sophie takes academic exercises seriously. In addition I, like the RMNP, want Sophie to be and grow into a good steward of the environment. While we did not get any written work on the log book done the previous day, Sophie was insistent that we complete the book before we left the park. Our first task was to pick up 10 pieces of trash from the park. It was somewhat a challenge, as the park is very litter free, but we accomplished this task. I then helped Sophie with the other exercises. As everyone I meet knows, Sophie is a phenomenal reader, so the reading pars where easily done. Sophie then completed the writing parts with some help. Finally we were able to review our previous day hikes for the observations exercises. The only item we were not able to complete was the "attend a park presentation" exercise (due to our limited time). We presented the log book to a Park Ranger. The park ranger made Sophie repeat the Junior Ranger pledge, asked a few questions, then awarded Sophie her RMNP Junior Ranger badger. Sophie was very proud (as was her dad!).

After getting the Park Ranger badge, we left for Estes Park to get breakfast. We ate a good meal at the Egg and I restaurant. This restaurant was previously recommended by a Este Park shopkeeper the day before.

Then started the drive home. We drove on highway 36 from the park to Boulder. Along this route I counted cyclist (both directions). I had just counted 97 mostly independent cyclist when a group of approximately 25 riders passed by. This just reconfirmed my belief that Boulder is the cycling mecca of the US. Note this was just a Sunday and no special ride.

Boulder and Denver traffic was relatively heavy. We headed west on 70 for the long trip home. Sophie was generally bored, but continued to behave in an exemplary behavior. We stopped approximately 250 miles later for gas and lunch at McDonalds. About two hours away from KC, Sophie told me she was hungry. I gave her choice of where to stop to eat. She chose the Chipotle in Lawrence (one hour away from Kansas City). We enjoyed our expected good Chipotle dinner and then headed the one additional hour for home.

We completed our 620 mile, 10 hour drive tired but happy to be home. We were fortunate to have no mishaps the entire trip. Driving around Colorado, while very enjoyable, really put a light on how wonderful a city Kansas City is (more later).

Colorado Mountain Adventure - Day 5

2006-06-26T22:27:00.000-05:00

Per Sophie's instructions, day 5 was to start more relaxed. The previous two days we had an early schedule to keep to make appointments for the train and rafting. Initially she also specified a laid back day of shopping and using the hotel swimming pool. When I contrasted this with plans to visit and camp in Rocky Mountain National Park, she changed her mind.

We woke up leisurely (compared to previous days) and enjoyed the continental breakfast at the hotel. We than gassed up the car and headed north from Colorado Springs through Denver, Boulder, and Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park.

As we drove through Denver I asked Sophia if she wanted to stop at the original Chipotle on Evans street. While initially she declined, she quickly changed her mind. While I am a huge Chipotle fan (aka "chipo-head"), Sophia is not far behind. Evans street is off the Hwy 36 which we were traveling on. A quick lookup in my Garmin Quest GPS and we had voice-routing to the restaurant. (P.S. When the Garmin is working, it works great. More later). We arrived at Chipotle just before the 11:00 am opening. We took many pictures in front. After the store opened, we ordered a cheese quesadilla. We had a large breakfast and initially thought we would just have a snack for sentimental sake. The manager, Dave, noticed us and came over to talk. When he found out what regulars and huge fans we were, he insisted we eat lunch at his treat. He even brought out and gave us two "I been to Evans Street" Chipotle shirts. This great experience is something I have found at all Chipotles. Chipotle just hires the best, most friendly people. It is great to be part of the Chipotle community. I have to mention that the whole interaction was spontaneously initiated by Dave (the manager) and took no communication or request from us. This was another highlight of the trip. (P.S. Later my sister-in-law, jokingly asked if I had a religious experience in visiting the original Chipotle. Not quite, but it was wonderful to visit the mecca!).

After leaving, we drove through the traffic of Denver and Boulder and arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) between 1:30-2:00 pm. We inquired about camping at the visitors center only to be told all the campsites were taken. I knew this was a possibility but had a hard time communicating earlier to Sophie so that she could understand. She was disappointed (and dare I say mad at dad). What is a father to do? We did drive to the Moraine camp grounds to see if their was any last minute cancellations. Poor luck, the one and only cancellation was taken just as we drove up by a young couple. We were instructed to try another camp ground, Aspenglen. We drove to Aspenglen and were lucky to get the very last campsite. FYI, I also found that Aspenglen is first-come, first-served versus allowing reservations like the other RMNP camp grounds. Good to know for next time.

After setting up our tent to reserve the spot we drove up the mountain. I really wanted Sophie to experience being at the top of the mountain. The drive and views up are phenomenal. We passed many stop-offs with my quiet encouragement that the visitor center at the very top was worth it. Lo and behold, we finally arrived only to find the visitors center closed. We turned back and stopped at the first parking location (still at the top of the mountain). We got out and took a few pictures of the splendid alpine view. We met an unfortunate group of college aged kids whose car had run out of gas at the top of the mountain. Fortunately a couple driving towards the visitor center (closed but manned by traffic-directing park rangers) said they would notify the rangers.

We got back in the car and headed to the next stop off which has a small hike to a high point on the mountain. At this stop, both of us decided that warmer clothes were called for. I was already in a t-shirt, fleece jacket, and jeans. I added a Gore-tex jacket on top. Sophie who had been wearing a shorts like skirt, sleeveless shirt, and fleece jacket quickly agreed to change into jeans and add her parka on top of her fleece jacket. Good thing. Shortly up the hike, Sophie insisted her "legs were tired" and requested I carry her. Now a good thing is that I generally take these travel moments to remember that I am not getting my regular workout in. So I dutifully lifted Sophie up and carried the majority of the way up the hike. This is not as easy as Sophie is getting older and taller. By this time some dark clouds that I estimated were at least 30 minutes of way closed in fast. It became very windy and everyone was heading back down the hill. We took a couple of quick photos and headed down ourselves. Near the bottom of the hike it began to sprinkle. By the time we started our car, the precipitation was full on snow. Quite a sight on June 24 for Kansas residents. The drive down the mountain was careful but uneventful. The slight rain was no problem for the Yukon. The temperature at the top of the mountain was in low 40's while at the bottom it was in the high 50's.

By agreement we drove into Estes Park to purchase dinner (Starbuck tea and Subway sandwiches). We brought these back to our campsite for more of a picnic than camp meal. After enjoying the meal we headed out for a short hike in the woods. We hiked into the woods and then back to a small mountain river that the road to camp passes through. We peacefully enjoyed the river for a short time and then headed back to camp. After a quick wash up, we dressed, and got in our sleeping bags for bed. Sophie and I had previously discussed bears and human predators, so I was not surprised that she showed no fear and easily went to sleep. It is great being "Dad" when your children still look up to you as almost a super-hero. Sophie slept great through the night and even woke up pretty late for camping.

Mileage for the day was 210 miles.

Colorado Mountain Adventure - Day 4

2006-06-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

We woke up early to get ready for our planned river rafting trip on this day. The trip we chose was a two hour trip with the Mild to Wild outfitters. The trip was scheduled to leave at 8:30.

This was going to be Sophie's first white-water raft trip. Given her age and inexperience I felt that a two hour trip would be a good initiation. The Animas river is flowing somewhat slow because of the low snowfall in Colorado this year. Our trip ended up being much more a float trip than river rafting. But fortunately there was enough rapids to make it enjoyable. We were also fortunate to have an friendly guide. For those who do not know, on the river trips two hours means about an hour an fifteen minutes on the river. The rest is logistics. It ended up being the perfect length to keep Sophie's interest. Sophia was pretty quiet on the first part of trip. By the middle she was paddling and enthusiastically keeping count of paddle strokes. Chris, our guide, besides doing the majority of the work was helpful in keeping Sophie excited (as the 6 others in the raft were adults).

After rafting, we returned to the hotel to clean up and check out. I took the opportunity to query the hotel clerk on a better place to eat lunch. By discussing the restaurants in Durango we had already eaten at and my thoughts, the clerk was able to point us to a more local place good for breakfast and lunch.

Oscar's lived up to it's billing as a good place for lunch. This diner (cash only) very close to the main street served up a tasty lunch.

After lunch we took off for our drive away from Durango. The plan was to drive north on the "million dollar highway" through Silverton and end up somewhere east. We drove through Silverton, Montrose, Gunneson, and several more towns. Eventually we ended up back in Colorado Springs. The first part of the drive was very scenic on high mountain passes. This eventually became monotonous. But, the scenery driving east from Gunneson is different and the mountain driving is less taxing. By the time we ended up in Colorado Springs, both of us were tired of the drive.

We ended up the day with dinner at Black-Eyed Pea (a chain). We drove aproximately 320 miles in 7 hours. Along the way we came upon one accident. This slowed us somewhat as the mountain road was one way for awhile.

Colorado Mountain Adventure - Day 3

2006-06-23T23:55:00.000-05:00

Day 3 was spent in Durango, Colorado.

First, some extra comments about yesterday (day 2). Sophie was a trouper on the ride up and around the mountains. I remember when I was young and traveling by automobile in the Colorado mountains. I recall it being a little bit scary. Not so for my daughter. Mountain driving, of which I did a large amount, tends to get a little tiresome after awhile. The Yukon XL is a e-ticket ride in terms of comfort and quiet, but does not when any awards for being nimble of particularly fun to drive. It does provide first-class seating for passengers though.

Second, after checking out Durango, I was a little disappointed. I had hoped it would be like Boulder, Colorado from over 20 years ago. This was when Boulder was a small, funky, college town. Now, Boulder is a sprawling, almost suburb of Denver. Well, I felt that Durango is mostly a tourist trap. Additionally with the multitude of recreational activities the "townies" don't seem that thrilled to have the tourist. So in other words, the town would not really exist without the tourist, but the locals are sort of snobbish about it rather than embracing out of towners. This was just a feeling I got. Everyone was nice. They just seemed to be nice in a tolerant way rather than an inviting one.

Okay, so now the day report. The day was devoted to the re-known Durango-Silverton train trip. There are many travel options, but mainly it comes down to train up (Durango to Silverton) and train back or train up with bus back. The train trip is approximately 3.5 hours long. We chose train both ways. We woke up early, had breakfast, and made it to the train depot (downtown Durango) in the correct time to board. The train experience is the real deal. The steam engine is coal fired and all the rail employees perform much the same duties as hundred years ago. This was a neat experience to have real conductors, brakemen, and engineers. Really puts a different light on Thomas the train and the Polar Express.

The train ride to Silverton was enjoyable and very scenic. You have mountain view. The rail mostly follows the Animas River. The trip is peaceful and takes you back to a different era before cell phones, TV, and other electronic gadgets. As usual, Sophie was very well behaved. I wish I could say the same of other children (and their parents). Sophie enjoyed the trip and took a small nap along the way.

Silverton was nothing to write home (or blog) about. Basically, this small town, appears to exist to be the rail destination. Main street is several shops and eateries catering to the rail passengers. We did have a good lunch at the the Bellvue Smokehouse.

The return train trip was unexciting but peaceful. You pass the same scenery. The ride is a little bumpier going downhill. On returning to the train depot we visited the adjoining rail museum. Here we got to get on some engines and different cars. While not particularly a railway enthusiast, the train and museum is interesting to anyone with any interest in trains and our former method of transportation.

I will note that a coal-fired train is a very dirty affair. Ash and soot is spit out copiously. Having been forewarned, we booked an enclosed car (with windows). Another option is the observation car which has no windows. Those people in the observation car and those in the enclosed cars who kept their windows open were pretty grimy afterwards. So, I get though the whole trip relatively clean. Being the good samaritan, I helped another persons child up to ring the bell in a train when visiting the rail museum. Low and behold on existing the museum, I noticed I too had grimy prints where the child had brushed up by me.

Dinner was at Old Tymer. Okay, but unexciting fare.

Total mileage for the day approximately 10 miles. A good break from driving.

Colorado Mountain Adventure - Day 2

2006-06-22T22:46:00.000-05:00

Day 2. First, it is only an adventure if you do not have set plans. Accordingly, our vacation does not have a set schedule/destination/etc. On our second day, we woke up and had the continental breakfast as the hotel. This was another illustration of the wonderful view that children bring. While I usually do not eat the continental breakfast at the hotel, this was especially exciting to Sophia. As usual she made a delight. I am also proud that Sophie is a healthy eater (better than her dad). She had various fruits and insisted we take a couple of apples for a snack later.

From Colorado Springs we drove to Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge bridge is one of those must see attractions. And we were not disappointed. As many tourist things, the attraction took financial advantage of us. But the one price admission at least allows you to partake of all attractions except soaring. First we walked across the bridge. Or at least halfway. At this point, Sophie got scared and made us turn back. Next we took the "incline train" down the mountain to the river. This is very cool and both of us enjoyed the round trip. At this point, Sophie was hungry. At the Royal Gorge you are a captive audience. The food was not good and expensive. Ce la vie. We then rode the arial tram (cable) across the gorge. This was also a good time. On the other side we walked down the trail, visiting the the very small wildlife zoo and the petting zoo. We then walked (fully) across the bridge. While Sophie was okay with this, the wind picked up towards the end. She then decided that she did not want to take our planned drive in the Yukon across the bridge.

From the Royal Gorge, we drove to Durango, Colorado. This follows the necessary, not straight route. The drive, while long, took us through various mountain passed. We got to experience much of the different Colorado scenery. Sophie did get her opportunity to drive on mountains, over mountains, and even around mountains.

Upon arriving in Durango just after five o'clock, we first visited the visitor center. We gathered a little information. Most notably was addtional information about the Durango - Silverton train. This was a major reason for visiting Durango. A second reason was Durango's reputation as a cycling mecca. As an avid cyclist, i have long wanted to visit. Because of the location (and distance from KC) I have not previously made the trip.

We first went downtown and made reservations for the train trip. More on this in a day 3 report. We then found a hotel. The hotels here as many tourist traps are overpriced. We ended up choosing a Ramada Limited on one end of the main drag. The town is not that big. After getting unloaded and cleaned up we headed back downtown for dinner. Downtown is maybe two miles away.

There are many restaurants and we had a restaurant guide. But like many small, tourist trap, towns, nothing looked that exceptional. The hotel staff had recommended one bar/restaurant, Olde Tymer. But Sophie decided she wanted pizza.

So now we hit the first (second) not great thing. The first was probably food at the Royal Gorge. Farquarts was the second. Sophie immediately decided she wanted chicken fingers (not pizza). I, on reviewing the menu, choose a pizza. The menu promoted that the pizza was listed as the best in Colorado by a publication titled "Colorado's Best". I am not sure what the author was thinking. But the pizza was not good and even Sophie panned the chicken fingers.

Durango's downtown was very crowded. I was surprised as it was Wednesday evening. After walking up and down the main strip, window shopping, we returned to the hotel for the evening.

Total mileage was approximately 320 miles.

Colorado Mountain Adventure - Day 1

2006-06-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

This is a recap of my daughter, Sophia, and my first day of our summer vacation. This trip is tentatively dubbed the "Colorado Mountain Adventure".

The genesis of this trip was discussion we have had about camping and mountains. Sophie has never seen real mountains. Additionally, when discussing camping she was very excited.

Day 1 consisted of driving across Kansas to Colorado Springs. This is approximately 600 miles. Those who know me or have talked to me know that I am blessed with a wonderful 5 year old daughter. Instead of whining and "when will we get there", I was fortunate to travel with a world-class traveller. No complaints or whining. It was interesting that Sophia did comment "when are we going to turn". True to the Kansas to Colorado drive, turns where few and came late in the trip. Another gem was Sophia pointing at "hills" in Kansas and asking if those where mountains. No, the real thing was to come.

Kansas did nothing to dissuade it's reputation as a tourist unfriendly state. I saw at least twenty highway patrol cars on the trip across. Interestingly enough, I saw no Colorado Highway patrol cars. My Valentine ! radar detector helped detect patrol units. Also while the speed limit in Kansas is 70 mph, it is 75 mph on the interstate in Colorado.

After making the trip across Kansas we stopped at the Colorado visitor center for additional information. I noted one plaque outside that described how the early settlers got depressed crossing the "sea of plains" from Kansas City to Denver (600 miles) which could take as long as six weeks. It now takes less than a day, but the unrelenting plains can be monotonous.

Upon reaching Colorado Springs (approximately 10 hours later) we first checked into our hotel. This was my regular chain of La Quinta and did not disappoint us. While one of their motel properties, the staff was very friendly and the room was clean.

After checking in we travelled the short distance to the the Garden of the Gods park. This park was Sophie's first opportunity to get near real mountains. We where not disappointed as we saw mountain climbers and got in a short hike along paved trails.

After a simple, delightful dinner which with my excellent company, we returned to the hotel.

We ended the day after traveling 612 miles.

Product Review - S100 Engine Brightener

2006-05-31T09:43:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to post a review of this stuff, S100 Engine Brightner. I happened on this fantastic product accidently and have successfully used it on my motorcycles and cars.

The product is marketed as a chemical to refresh the look of black engines. But I have found that is does a wonderful job of renewing the look of black plastic parts (like you find on motorcycles). I am especially pleased how it makes dull, grayed out, plastic and rubber items gleam like new. It worked extremely well on my Ducati's saddlebags, rear fender, hand controls, as well as various plastic covering on my GMC SUV.

This product is unlike Armor All in that it does not leave the item you spray it on with the artificial glossy look nor extreme slickness. Generally you spray it on, let it sit for a minute, then wipe it off. In some cases, I spray on and wipe with a cloth to get a even covering. On engines and engine hoses you can just spray it on. The spray is not colored (it is not a paint) and does not to appear to harm other surfaces or painted parts. The results last a long time and do not show any ill-effect even after being in the sun.

If you have ever wondered how car dealers and car show enthusiast get automobiles looking showroom new, this product (or something very similar) may be the secret. For my motorcycle owning friends, try it. You will not be disappointed.

Purchasing Note
I purchased my first can of S100 Engine Brightener at my local Ducati shop (approximately $11). Later after finding I really like it I have searched for and found other retailers. Interesting enough I found that a local Harley Davidson dealer has the best supply and lowest price (approximately $8).

I am trying other S100 products with varying results and plan to post reports in the future.

Wednesday Moto Ride - Lunch In Des Moines

2006-05-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about motorcycling is the freedom it gives you for "spur of the moment trips". Motorcycles also inspire traveling in a way that most people just don't consider in cars. Take traveling from Kansas City to Des Moines, IA for lunch (230 miles each way). Well, that's what I did on Wednesday.

My schedule this week allowed some day trips but not enough time to go somewhere and stay. Inspired by an article in the New York Times about a Des Moines restaurant I concocted a plan to ride up for lunch, then turn around and return.

Ride out
As usual, I did not get an early start and left Kansas City at 10:00 am. The weather was perfect and I routed myself using the GPS on some back highways. For the most part none of these highways ended up being inspiring. I did confirm a detail about GPS route planning (See GPS section below)

I reached Des Moines around 2:30 pm and easily found my desired stopping point (programmed into the GPS). The area is called East Village and is a redeveloped arts and eating district. My meal destination was Centro (pronounced Chen tro). I saw several pretty women in the area, but the time of day and day where not the greatest for some fun people watching.

Centro - Lunch
Centro looked inviting and had a New York restaurant feeling to it. Unfortunately, when I arrived I found that the main dining room had been closed for lunch. I did not plan to hang around in Des Moines for dinner, but the host indicated that I could eat in the bar area from a limited menu of Pizzas or salads. I agreed.

Without going into a detailed review of Centro (search the internet for this), I will say that one of Centro's calling cards is a coal-fired oven.

The limited menu actually ended up being a blessing. While I might not have chosen a pizza from the full menu, I selected a Calzone. Man, was it ever fabulous. Easily the best Calzone I have ever eaten. If ever in Des Moines, try this place out. And yes it was worth the ride out from KC.

Ride home
Shortly after lunch and a few pictures, I left for the ride home. Since the roads out where not particularly interesting, the fact I had gotten a little rain towards Des Moines, and the weather getting somewhat cloudy, I decided to ride the interstate home.

The directions the GPS gave me out of downtown to the highway loop (225) took me to a closed on-ramp to the highway. THis ended up being another one of the unexpected traveling blessing. The logistics of highway on-ramps and general wandering had me travel city streets in some of the urban area around downtown Des Moines. I rode past Drake University. Finally, I entered the highway system.

Iowa has always confused me with their very low speed limits and the populations general disregard for them. Unlike other places where the speed limit is 70 and people drive 80, Iowan's drive 80 when the speed limit is 60 or 65. Good for me as I made good pace while following some other cars.

Traveling on the interstate on my Duc is good as the bike easily cruises as 80 mph. On a downside, anything less seems to be going very slow. Also it is somewhat hard to regulate speed as a little twist of the throttle can get you going over 90 mph. Good thing that the digital speedometer numbers are very large as you can easily find yourself exceeding 100 mph.

I saw several police cruisers on the ride home (see Radar Detector section below), but fortunately avoided any tickets or stops.

Midway on the ride home it rained. Not the heavy, driving downpour, but a steady rain. This was no problem. I reached home around 6:30 pm comfortable after a nice, diversionary, 460 mile, lunch. I averaged 40 mpg for the trip

EQUIPMENT REPORT

        GPS
As usual my Garmin Quest 2 proved invaluable. Using the GPS allowed me to ride with lesser attention on the map. Additionally, detours where available while allowing me to rejoin my itinerary.

One point, noted in an earlier posting, is important regarding planing your route using the GPS unit. Normally, the GPS will route the faster (read interstate) roads. This is usually not what you want on a motorcycle. If you choose intermediate points (called via points) you can force the unit to route you on your desired route. I have noted earlier that if you choose a town the GPS will route you to the center of town. Thus you route to a via point on the highway you desire. Learned on this trip, was that you need to be careful in adding a highway via point. The GPS lets you "zoom" in an out from street level out to larger regions. In routing this trip I zoomed out. But in picking some highway via points, the GPS (in zoomed out state), placed the via point at undesirable points, routing me in a circle around some back roads. The first one of these on this trip, ended up taking me on some interesting, curving backroads (but effectively taking me on an extra 5-10 mile loop). On the second one, I just overrode the directions manually.

Electronics will be electronics. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the Garmin indicated my top speed during the trip was 236 mph!

        Radar Detector - Valentine 1
My radar detector proved its worth on this day. On the ride to Des Moines I did not encounter many police officers. On a single occasion I received plenty of warning of a oncoming highway patrol officer.

On the way home I learned that my mounting position (detailed in an earlier post) has an added bonus. In a fairly good rain the radar detector stayed dry as the windshield diverted airflow and rain up and over the radar detector. The RD remained perfectly dry. This would not work at slow speeds or a stop, but in those situations I would not need a RD anyway.

Another good point is the mounting location is that in a tucked position it is very viewable in my faceshield with no movement of my head. This may be beneficial as I would assume any "top speed" testing would occur in the tucked position.

        Helmet wind screen (homemade)
The value and effectiveness of this windscreen for noise was validated. Right after leaving my first gas stop, I recognized I was hearing more wind noise. I was pretty sure that I had gotten my earplugs seated correctly. Then I found that my windscreen was missing. I jetted back to the gas station where I was sure I had dropped the wind screen when I removed my helmet during the fueling. Fortunately, I found it laying right next to the gas pump. Easily reinstalled and my comfortably quiet riding was resumed. It is a shame that Arai does not design this device in the first place.

        Riding Apparel
Just for completeness I will list the equipment I used: Arai Helmet, Belstaff Jacket, Pearl Izumi bicycling shorts, Gerbing overpants (used as pants over the shorts), Dainese D-Dry boots. All performed wonderfully and kept me dry in the rain. Although the Gerbing's are my heated-wire pants they continue to perform great as general riding pants. They are comfortable, not too hot when worn as pants, and importantly waterproof.

Tuesday Moto Ride - Atchison

2006-05-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning I took my Ducati to get a little warranty work started. A LED light (turn-signal) has gone out in my dashboard. While not a big practical issues as the turn signals still work, this bothers me. The light just recently went out (soon after a had the last service at the dealer). I am sure it is nothing the dealer did wrong and just coincidence. But because the light is not replaceable and you have to replace the entire instrument cluster, I want to get this fixed under warranty. Ducati's warranty is very good at two years and unlimited mileage. Although I purchased my bike used, I still have time left from the original users purchase date.

I wondered if I would have any trouble getting this fix under warranty. No worries needed. The head mechanic looked up my warranty and simply agreed to order the part. This is good as I believe the instrument cluster cost over $1500.

The Ride
To the point. After leaving the the Ducati dealer I decided to go for a day ride. No plans or known destination. Ah, the joy of GPS. Just head a general direction and be comfortable that the GPS will keep track and allow you to find a way home. In the end I headed through Leavenworth (wierd having the nationally know military prison there) and ended up in Atchision, Kansas. And no, I did not stop at the prison nor do I know anybody there! Atchison is a tiny burg with not much to it. There is a nice little riverfront park. Pictures below. My one real observation is how so many towns sort of look the same. I had deja-vu with a couple of other riverfront park areas I drove through a few years ago when I travelled down the Natchez Trace.

It was too late for lunch and I was not really very hungry, so I turned around and headed back to Kansas City. My ride up took me North on the Kansas side of the Missouri river. So on the way back I rode down the Missouri side of the river taking passes through Weston and Parkville.

The actual riding had very little to note. The Duc ran great. The weather was wonderful. The first several miles were some interesting curving rodes on Hwy 5. Unfortunately this part was not all that long. Hwy 7 has some nice prairie sweepers. My total mileage for the day was around 180 miles. I averaged 40 mpg which is about as good as I get with my Duc.

Dinner
Upon arriving back in Kansas City (after the short detour to ride through Parkville) I stopped at our newest "entertainment center" The Legends at Village West. Basically this is a lot of commercial development around the Kansas Speedway (our Nascar track). The nice thing about the Legends shopping area is that It is an enterprise zone and attracting some new restaurants to town.

On this night I chose to dine at Granite City Food and Brewery. My dinner of fried walleye was very good. Although I am not big on fried foods, it was impossible to pass up walleye fish. This is not something that you find in Kansas City very often.

After dinner, I went the gym and got my workout in. Especially important if I am going to be taking up on fried fish.

Photos

Motorcycle Helmet Noise (Homemade Air Dam)

2006-05-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Quite a while back, I switched from from a Nolan N100 flip-front helmet to an Arai RX7-Corsair. While I was pleased with the Nolan (especially the finish) I decided that a full face (non-flip) helmet would be safer in the event of a crash.

Searching for a helmet was prolonged as all helmets fit differently, good ones can be expensive, and I do not know of any place that lets you take a test drive with a new helmet to try it out. After much search I selected the Arai RX-7. In almost every way I am very pleased with it. This helmet is light, comfortable, looks fine (all black), and is pretty functional with many vents.

The one area I was not perfectly pleased with is wind noise. While quieter than my Nolan, the wind noise is considerable. Most riders will tell you that it is a must to ride with earplugs. This ranges from the disposable foam plugs to relatively expensive custom-made earplugs. I have tried various solutions and am currently happy with Etyomic ER-6I earphones (which I will report on later). But these good earphones identified a the fact that my noise problem is more the helmet than the ears or motorcycle.

After some testing and luck I discovered that the majority of the noise problem is from the opening underneath my chin in the helmet. The RX-7 has a small built-in air dam that you pull down (probably one-third of an inch). Unfortunately the built in air dam does does not help much.

My key observation on the noise occurred on a cold morning when I was riding on the highway. On that morning I had my heated vest and motorcycle jacket on. This results in a covered neck as both jackets have collars. With the gap at my neck covered and little air space at the bottom of my helmet I experienced very little wind noise and could very comfortably listen to my ER-6i earphones.

Next, I purchased the Stop Wind helmet skirt from CycleGear.com. This neoprene skirt attaches to the bottom of your helmet and covers the bottom opening, leaving a smaller hole for your head to fit through. This is an effective solution for the noise, but has two drawbacks. First, the neoprene and reduced air space mean the helmet is quite a bit hotter. I do not see this as viable in the summer. Second, the hemet skirt attaches via a friction fit where the skirt wraps over the helmet about an inch all around. While this stays in place fine, it invariably falls off when you remove the helmet or just carry the helmet around.

My next step was to make a homemade custom air dam. This air dam is a little difficult to describe, but I will try. I took a piece of plastic about one inch wide (top to bottom) and several inches long, cut some fabric in semicircle shape (to match the bottom of the helmet), and attached the fabric to the plastic. The plastic press fits in the gap between the built in air dam and helmet. The shape of the new "air dam" is flush with the bottom of the helmet. I used marine vinyl (as I do not know where to purchase neoprene). Finally after an initial trial, I glued some thin foam, cut to shape, on the top (inside) of the air dam to make the material slightly less flexible.

The homemade air dam works well, significantly reducing air noise. The air dam also stays attached, can be easily removed, requires no modification to the helmet, and is virtually unnoticeable on the helmet whether on my head or off. While not eliminating all noise, this very cheap solution is far better than the stock setup.

Motorcycle Windscreen
As an aside. Previously I considered purchasing an aftermarket (taller) windscreen for my Ducati. This was based on the observation that when I tucked down lower when riding the wind noise was significantly reduced. I do not have significant head buffeting when riding normal or tucked. Since using air dam I have found that the wind noise is no different riding in normal upright position or tucked position. So I have saved myself money by not purchasing a new windscreen. An added benefit is that I did not like the aesthetics of the aftermarket windscreens.

Radar Mount

2006-05-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

For the motorcycle crowd. I added a radar detector mount (Legal Speeding Adjustable Windshield Mount or AWM) to hold my radar detector (Valentine 1) to my Ducati ST3 today.

I have been thinking about getting a radar detector to my motorcycle for some time now. Many motorcyclist (including my guru KW) rave about them. On the opposite side I have not used a radar detector since being very involved with them more than a decade ago. Personally, I wonder if I speed more with a radar detector than without. I enjoy the less stress of not worrying about police radar when not speeding over 10 mph over. On the other hand I do occasionally enjoy a high-speed romp. It would be nice to know that I was not "letting it rip" right in front of a police officer. I acknowledge many drivers use the radar detector effectively while not increasing their speed over what they would do without one. I hope I will be part of this crowd. Time will tell.

In the end I decided to try a Valentine 1 radar detector. While there is tons of information available describing the pros and cons of various units, the Valentine is the one KW swears by and this is good enough for me.

Adding a radar detector (RD) on my motorcycle brings in the additional issue of how and where to mount it. Without going into lots of detail, suffice to say that the ST3 has few good places to mount the detector. In general the RD should be mounted high and where you can easily see it. My Garmin GPS is in a prime spot over my speedometer. I am very happy with it there and wanted to avoid diminishing my ability to see it. On many motorcycles, getting a mount that attached to the handlebar is a good possibility. I did not see this as viable on the Duc for two reasons. First, because of the shape and position of the fairing I would need to set the mount towards the center of the motorcycle. This would have been in the way of the GPS and speedometer. Second, because the fairing is pretty close to the rider, the RD may have been too close for me to easily read while looking ahead.

In the end, I choose to try the adjustable windshield mount (AWM) from Legal Speeding. This mount attaches via two small holes you drill into your windshield. The radar detector or other device attaches to the AWM via a velcro strap. The AWM is a well made piece of hardware.

Installation

After determining where to attach the AWM mount, I drilled the holes. This is an easy operation that I ended up being overly careful with. I have done a fair amount of work with plexiglass in the past. But for some reason I became concerned about chipping or cracking the windshield. In the end I cut a pilot hole with a drill bit in a high-speed Dremel tool. I then enlarged this with a slightly larger drill bit in the Dremel tool. Finally to get the desire size I drilled the (now started) hole to size with a drill bit in a regular drill. Maybe more than I needed to do, but I got perfect holes with no chipping or cracks.

Attaching the AWM is easy by following the included instructions. Basically it is screwing two screws from the front into the stanchions on the mount.

To wire the radar detector, I choose to route the power wire (normal phone cable for the V1) from the front fairing to the back, underneath the seat. I choose to do this to facilitate adding the remote speaker/headphone unit underneath the seat. The V1 does not have a headphone jack on the unit so you need the extra module. Since I already had a power block underneath the seat for my heated clothes socket, attaching the wired power module (included with the V1) was very easy.

All told, a easy installation. After installing everything I tested it and found no problems.

Initial evaluation

While I would have rather not needed the AWM, I could think of no other effective way to mount the radar detector in an effective spot. I am not enamored with the position on the bike but if I eventually decide to remove the mount, the small holes are not obtrusive. Because the power wire crosses the clear windshild there is very little I can do to hide it.

On the positive side, the RD is as high as I could mount it and easy to view. Also the RD is easy to attach and detach for theft protection. On the negative side, the mounting position slightly obscures my view of my Garmin Quest 2. I used to be able to see the entire GPS from any riding position. Now I will have to dip my head to see the very top part of the GPS. I will have to try it for awhile to determine if it bothers me.

Pictures are included below

My Duc Flys Home

2006-05-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

I got my Ducati ST3 back home today from it 6,000 kilometer service (done at 7000 miles). So far I am very pleased with the results. As some Ducati owners and prospective owners know, the fear or out of the control maintenance on Ducati's can be very scary. Indeed, this unknown cost delayed my initial purchase of a Ducati. To cut to the chase, my service cost a reasonable $555. While this seems a lot, this is much better than the estimate ($700-$900 in labor alone) given to me by another, supposedly reputable dealer.

Here is what was done:
1. Inspect cylinder compression
2. Check oil PSI
3. Change oil, filter, crush washers
4. Inspect and adjust valve lash. (This is the biggie. Only needed slight adjustment of one exhaust valve)
5. Replace two timing belts
6. Check air filter
7. Clean air box
8. Clean vapor recovery circuit
9. Check charging output
10. Check lights
11. Reset service indicator
12. Replace hydraulic fluids.
13. Top off coolant
14 Adjust and lube chain
15. Lube throttle cable, fast idle cable, and key locks
Note listed on the service but suposedly done where a couple of minor recall fixes and checking the headstock bearings.

Parts:
1. Oil filter and washers         $14.34
2. (2) belts                                $129.80
3. Valve cover seal                        $1.97
5. Oil                                        $26.85
6. Brake fluid                                $5.95

I did not get that many miles (approx. 30) in two short trips, but the bike is running as-good and slightly better. This maybe psychological. But, at any rate, it is a good felling that the important mechanicals have been tended to.

My day in Lawrence

2006-04-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

As noted in my previous blog, my day revolved around attending kindergarten roundup wiht my daughter Sophia. it was one highlight of a great day.

My day started early with a 7:30 meeting. As the weather was cool, I dressed accordingly when I rode my Duc to my appointment about 5 miles away. The meeting was a little over an hour and I returned home for a short while.

While at home I watched the rest of the Dallas-Colorado NHL hockey game that I recorded the night before. i stopped watching the game at the end the 2nd period the night before. At that point Dallas was leading 3 to 2. In my morning viewing, I found that the Avalanche (Colorado) tied the game in the late in the third period. Colorado went on to win early in the OT period. Great game although I wanted Dallas to win.

After watching the rest of the game I went to the gym for my daily weight-lifting workout. I have rejoined Prairie Life Center since being home. This is a great club and it is good to see some friends I have not seen in a year. I really did not appreciate this club as much until reacquainting myself with the less satisfactory clubs in other cities in the past year.

After completing my workout and shower I rode my motorcycle to Lawrence. I was able to ride today rather than take one of my SUVs because today is Sophie's mother's day and Sophie was being brought to school by her mother. Quite a difference in gas expense. Around $7 on the Ducati versus $21 in either of my trucks for the roundtrip. I got to Lawrence in time for a quick lunch at Chipotle. While not my regular Chipotle, I am friends with the employees at both Chiptoles in Lawrence from my previous residence there. Of course, everyone is familiar with Sophie so I got a report that Sophie visited recently.

The Kindergarten roundup went well. I am pleased to no end seeing my daughter excitement at all thing related to school. Her new school has a nice library which I am sure will come to be one of Sophies favorites.

Sophie and her dad at her new school

Later in the afternoon (after we all left the school) I took the opportunity to go running at the great paved trail they have Lawrence. Other than times with my daughter the only thing I really miss in Lawrence is the great recreation opportunities in and around Lawrence. This trail is about 3 mies from my old house.

South Lawrence Trail

This South Lawrence Trail takes you away from residence and commercial building so you really feel like your are out on the prairie.

Upon arriving to the parking lot I use for the trail, my first decision was how to change into my running clothes. I have mastered the art of changing in my car from my many years of bicycling. One of the great things of motorcycling is that you can quickly (and economically) get to new places. A downside is lack of luggage space and a motorcycle does not make a good closet or changing room (as my SUVs do). The parking lot is completely in the open with no good area to change. I finally decided on a small shelter not far from the parking lot. I was able to use my jacket to cover my privates during the change. LOL. In one of those odd thoughts, you always read about flashers in public parks and trails. I wonder if any of these guys are just exercisers trying to change. Oh well, I did not see anybody or get in any trouble.

Another motorcycle anomaly is how to store and secure your stuff when away from the bike. My hard side cases were full of my gear from the gym, my riding pants and jacket liner from the earlier cold weather, and some other accessories (like my Palm, phone, camera) so I needed to secure a small gym bag (removed to make room for my boots), my helmet, and my motorcycle jacket on the outside of the bike. See the previous post "DucInLawrence" for a picture of the pile of stuff on my bike. Fortunately it was all locked with two separate cables. While others would have been comfortable just leaving their stuff lying on their bike, I have not had good experiences in the pat.

My run was very good and quickly put me into a "state of zen" as I suspected it would. One small difference is that I broke my "federally mandated limit of short mileage such as 3 miles or less" and ran more like 6 miles. Oh well. Good preparation for my personal tri tomorrow. More on this in a future blog entry. After my run the reverse changing procedure was required. Unfortunately more people were around by now. I had to wait a few minutes for a safe gap in walkers around the park to make my change. The weather had turned very nice (around 68 degrees) and there was literally only one small cloud in the sky (which you can see in the picture above).

After leaving the park, I rode to a local pizza restaurant for something to eat. This was one of my regular stops when living in Lawrence so it was nice to visit after a long time. Only those who haven't experienced motorcycling, cycling, or running while traveling will understand that I had to do a quick "towel bath" in the restroom to be presentable to eat my meal.

Finally I rode back to Kansas City in time to watch some more NHL hockey.

Kindergarten Roundup

2006-04-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day. Most importantly, today was Sophie's first day related to Kindergarten or "Kindergarten Roundup". For those of you in cities where they do not have this, kindergarten roundup is the day that children entering kindergarten in the fall visit there new school. Sophie loves "school" and can not wait to start Kindergarten.

DucInLawrence

2006-04-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

Trying a new photo sharing service. Picture below.

My Duc in Lawrence

Living Life

2006-04-26T21:56:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I am not great about updating my blog. But last week I had a day that I wanted to blog about (and am just getting around to). The day started with me getting my two workouts in. I am taking advantage of my time off to get my fitness back up. As part of this I am working in two separate workouts in, one aerobic and another weight-lifting one. Man am I happy. My evening plans were to attend a Counting Crows concert. This outdoor concert was put on by the new Village West mall in Kansas City.

The Counting Crows were good (not great). The Crows do not sound the same live as their recording. This is traded off with the excitement of being live (which I really like). Being outdoors the crowd was not too bad. I would like to know how many people attended, but found no reports or reviews of the concert. I would guess more than 5000 but less than 10000.

Village West is about 20 miles from my house. I had planned to jet out there on my Ducati and get a nice summer (late spring?) ride in. The weather was very nice. Motorcycle parking at events like this is also much easier.

After the concert was a celebration fireworks which I was not much interested in. So I headed to one of the new restaurants. I ate dinner at the Yard House where I made some new friends.

As the evening wore on I decided it was about time to leave. As I left the restaurant I found out that it had started pouring rain.

I chose to ride home in the moderately-heavy rain. This was mostly highway and very invigorating (and somewhat unnerving). Just like bicycling where I rarely will choose to start in the rain, when I am force into it I do not mind. The Duc performed flawlessly and I made it home safe.

Just another day "living life"

Lord Stanley's Cup

2006-04-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

While my friends know I am a NFL (go Chiefs!) fanatic, fewer know that I also like NHL hockey. Just as my withdrawal symptoms from football are really getting bad, the Stanley Cup playoffs start. This is really the best time in hockey as the regular season is sort of a bore.

Lots of great hockey on TV, even in Kansas City.

For Martha if you are reading: Not sure I made a good deal giving you Buffalo and keeping Detroit. But no, the Canadians can still not have Detroit.

Hill Country Trip - Day 4 (final day)

2006-04-15T20:18:00.000-05:00

On my final day of my trip I had breakfast at my Dallas regular breakfast restaurant, Chick-Fil-A. Chick-Fil-A has wonderful breakfast chicken biscuits. I am pretty much addicted to these. As I tell all my friends, I am continually impressed by Chick-Fil-A. While having a somewhat limited menu there chicken sandwiches (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are great. Most importantly the stores are always clean and the employees friendly. Unlike any other restaurant in Dallas that I can say I have never had a bad experience in the Plano Chick-Fil-a.

After breakfast, I returned to the hotel for final packing and to check out. As was the norm for my entire trip the morning skies were cloudy. But the weather forecast and radar indicated sun the entire way. This was good. One reason for going to the the Hill Country trip (versus Taos, NM or southwest) is the regular large storms that have been passing through the midwest. Indeed, as I write this the forecast is for storms, possibly tornados, and hail in Kansas City.

I had set my route in my GPS the night before. More on this later. Leaving Plano, I took Hwy 75 north, then Hwy 69, and finally 169. Because of the length of the trip (500 miles) I chose main highways rather than multiple back roads. There really is no great way to get from Dallas to Kansas City other than this or using the interstate.

The ride was relatively uneventful with two quick gas stops and a short stop for lunch (Wendys). The roads were moderately busy with enough traffic that passing rarely got me out of traffic. Heedful of my earlier speeding ticket I once again did not post large speeds.

I arrived back in Kansas City and stopped at my regular Chipotle. Unlike restaurants in other areas, my Chipotle if full of friends and is somewhat like a neighborhood hangout. I spoke with several friends as I unwound from the trip. After dinner, I headed home. Evening included washing my motorcycle and relaxing with a rented movie.

The days ride was just over 500 miles in 8 hours.

Motorcycle diary
Most of the trip north was with the wind or low wind (until Kansas). I averaged 46 mpg on the first leg of the day.

GPS - I really enjoy my Garmin Quest 2. Unfortunately it does not connect to my Mac. Garmin is promising Mac support later in the year. But, one feature of the Quest 2 is that it has the entire street maps for North America preloaded. This means you can route using just the Quest 2 unit. Creating a route is moderately cumbersome. First you put in your start and end locations. This is pretty easy as the unit allows you to store favorite locations. You then add "via points" to force the GPS to calculate a route along your desired roads. This is fairly straightforward as you can enter the via point via various methods. I use the "map" method which lets you use a cursor on the displayed map. The number of via points you add is dependent on the number of roads you choose to include in your route.

A slightly confusing thing is when you add a small town in your route (using the map option). When I do this I mean that I want to drive by the town. The GPS thinks I want to go the center of town and will plot you city streets to get you there and then back out to the highway. A trick is to add a via point just before or after the town.

Another good feature of the GPS is the automatically "calculation". When you stray off course, intentionally or otherwise, the GPS will calculate you back towards your destination. After a time you learn how to use this to your advantage. While riding it is hard to readjust your route by adding or deleting via points. Generally you just drive off the direction you want. Initially the GPS will try to route you back to your previous routes. This includes making you backtrack. At some point, the GPS figures out that you want to skip your last via point and move forward. You can then just follow the GPS direction.

The GPS continually updates to tell you where you are, the distance to the next turn, etc. This is really helpful on a motorcycle as reading a map while riding is dangerous. That said, it is good to have paper maps in addition to the GPS. This allows you to choose alternate routes on the fly and helps give a bigger picture of where you are.

Conclusion
This motorcycle trip met my expectations. It was fun to not really have a plan. The weather cooperated and I did not have to deal with any bad weather. Each day was good for a different reason. The start was a visit to a new town that I had not experienced before. The second day was some very good riding. The third day was enjoyable riding ending with my return to my "second home" and visiting with friends. Finally, the last day was the return to my real home and family. This is especially nice as "there is no place like home".

Hill Country Trip - Day 3

2006-04-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

Because of the necessity to return to KC to complete some tax items, my plan for the third day of my trip was to return to Dallas. Having completed 300 miles of curving road the previous day I was fine with the return trip.

Morning started the same as the previous day. I awoke to a light breakfast at the hotel. Then I finished packing my bike for the days travel. Packing for the motorcycle is a challenge to me. I somewhat pack like a "woman" bringing a lot of stuff. Reasonably this includes computer stuff, exercise clothes, and some normal street wear. Electronics counts for a good amount as i carry: GPS, digital camera, computer, Palm handheld, cell phone, various cords, two iPods, and the associated chargers necessary. One reason I really like my Ducati is the stylish hard saddlebags. This is supplemented on trips with a soft tailbag, medium duffle bag (partially filled), and a tankbag. No worries.

The morning ride started, once again, with very cloudy skies. Fortunately I did not get any precipitation the entire way. Chastised with my newly acquired speeding ticket of the previous day, I vowed to be more careful and limit my speed somewhat. I am genetically disposed to traveling at least 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. But I was good and limited my speed to approximately 10 miles and hour over the speed limit. The exception is when passing. Passing on a motorcycle is much different than a car. Because of it's great power, it is easier to pass. The passes are much quicker and safer. A rule I learned from another motorcycling friend is that it is also safer to be in the lead and not be following vehicles. My observation for the day was that a general pass consisted of a quick blip of the throttle, immediately speeding up to 105 miles an hour, then complete the pass. This may be a shock to auto drivers.

I must have had one high speed run as my top speed was 135 miles an hour. A note on quoted speed. Almost all motorcycles, and especially Ducatis, have inaccurate speedometers which read higher than your actual speed. My ST3 reads 7 miles an hour faster when over 100 mph. But I use my accurate GPS to read my actual speed.

When getting near Dallas/Ft Worth (74 miles out), I realized that was very near a highly touted Ducati dealer, Advanced Motor Sports (AMS). AMS thrives even though it is located 70 miles south of Dallas. I have wanted to visit but never made the time. Here was my chance. After calling my buddy, Kevin W. for directions and a light lunch (McD) i headed to AMS. AMS is cool and somewhat disappointing. The cool part is they have a large number of Ducati motorcycles, including several racing models. The disappointing part is that their prices seem to be unreasonably high. I guess it just a Ducati thing. I visited for a short time before heading off.

One beauty of having a GPS is that you can just wander and still find your way home. Leaving AMS (outside of Mansfield, TX) I header up through Arlington before taking several highways back to my Dallas home of the La Quinta - Plano. I arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon.

I quickly washed my bike (an anal quirk that my friend know I have) and then went for a short run. Of course after all day of clouds, the sun was shining once I arrived in Dallas.

My day ended with dinner with a friend, some repacking for the next days trip to KC, and bed.

Motorcycle Diary
The ST3 continued to run flawlessly. Gas milage during the trip ranged from a low of 32 mpg to 46 mpg. The low gas mileage (my norm) is definitely contributed to by a heavy throttle hand.

I am now looking for mounting locations for a potential radar detector. But I am still on the fence. Will I travel faster if I have a radar detector?

My new Oxford (humpback) tank bag has really proven useful. Especially nice is the ability to lean on it when I crouch down in a tuck to get farther out of the wind. Because of bicycling I am pretty comfortable in the crouched position.

On the other hand (leg?) my left knee (which I had surgery on last fall) gets a little uncomfortable after a period of time in the sportsbike crouch. Nothing I can not deal with with a little stretch (while riding and also off the bike). But I doubt it will ever get better.

Conclusion
A good day of riding. Unlike others who just enjoy motorcycling for its own sake, I think I am happier with destinations and events. I still enjoy the driving very much I just like to to have some endpoints or reason (even if made up) for the exercise. Getting back to my "second home" of Dallas was nice after a medium (300 miles) day of riding.

Day 4 report to follow.

Hill Country Trip - Day 2

2006-04-13T23:29:00.000-05:00

Day 2 adventure was to be some spirited motorcycling on some the fine roads around the hill country.

My morning began with a light breakfast at the La Quinta continental breakfast. While I would have preferred dining at a real breakfast restaurant, I determine that nothing appealing existed in Frederickburg.

I was disappointed to leave in heavy clouds. While the forecast and radar maps indicated no rain, the heavy clouds appeared to tell a different story. In fact the whole morning consisted of a very light mist. Fortunately the temperature was mild and the light precipitation did not hinder my riding.

My route consisted of a little of 300 miles on Hwy 16, 470, 187, 337, 336, 83, and 39. This allowed me to ride many of the scenic and curving roads in the area. Each road had unique characteristics including: sweeping turns, large increases and drops in elevation, tight turns, straight high-speed sections, and even multiple cattle guards on 336. The riding was great. My plan and actual trip consisted of all riding with one very short stop for gas in Camp Wood. The only thing better would have been had the sun appeared.

All the roads were good with the exception of 39. By the time I hit 39 in the late afternoon I ran in to a fair amount of traffic. Additionally while I saw several motorcycle (the majority being Harleys) I was please to note even more bicyclist. Even for an avid cyclist like me, some of the hills in this area would be a significant challenge.

Most unfortunately late in my ride (on the way back to Fredericksburg on Hwy 16), I got a ticket for speeding. I guess I was rolling the dice as I had done a fair amount of speeding earlier. In this case I got passed by a Texas state trooper while passing cars going up a hill. The trooper claimed to have clocked me at 89 in a 70 and said he knew I was going much faster. Such is life. As always I was polite and the trooper was too.

I returned back to Fredericksburg later in the afternoon hungry. Based on the previous days wandering I had pretty much determined the Fredericksburg is dominated with overpriced and underwhelming restaurants. My preference would be to eat a local establishment. But since I was only going to have this one significant meal that day, I chose Chilis. The food was good and consistent with the restaurant chain.

After getting back to my hotel I went for a nice 3 mi run. I believe that you get a much better feel for an area when you bicycle or run in it. In this case, the hotel was not in an ideal location for a run (nor does Fredericksburg appear to have one). Nevertheless, the run was good as the sun finally appeared.

Car-Motorcycle-Bicycle-Run
As alluded in the previous paragraph, my experience is this. Cars are good for covering long distance with the least effort. Unfortunately you really do not experience it. Motorcycles are always thrilling to ride and you can experience an area more than in a car. You can still cover significant distance and motorcycles are economical. Bicycles may be an ideal way to experience an area. Their only limitation is that you are limited in the range you can reasonably cover. Finally walking or running really lets you experience a specific, but relatively short, area.

Overall a good day. Day 3 to follow.

Hill Country Trip - Day 1

2006-04-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

I finally got some time off to take a motorcycle vacation. I have been thinking about this since last fall but was too busy with work.

My trip planning started with me arriving in Dallas (where my Ducati has been located while working there on a project). My original plan was to spend the weekend in Dallas (Sat and Sun) and probably leave on Monday.

Originally I thought I might like to ride to Taos, NM. I have never visited Taos before and the time looked like a good time. Unfortunately, on further reflection I decided the Kansas plains has just had too many, regular, large storms roll through lately. Because of tax needs, I am required to be back in KC before the 17th. (I don't have my daughter until the week after Easter, or this would all be moot). Being in Taos would require me to ride back in KC before the weekend with little chance to reschedule due to weather.

The best part of a motorcycle trip is the ability to reschedule and re-plan at the last minute. Thus on Sunday afternoon I decided that I would travel south to the Texas Hill Country. The weather has been beautiful in Texas. The riding in the hill country was supposed to be awesome. My base camp for my trip is Fredericksburg, TX. More on Fredericksburg later.

Ride Start
On Monday morning my start time was a little in the air. I could not decide if I should leave very early to try to avoid the rush hour traffic or to leave later to miss the morning rush. My decision was made by two factors. First, by leaving late I could have breakfast with my great friend, Martha. Secondly, On Sunday morning I had purchased a charger for my phone because I thought I had left mine (one of two) at home. Late in the evening I found my original charger. A late start would allow me to return the new charger. Therefore my trip started after 9:30am.

Ride down to Fredericksburg, TX from Dallas, Tx
Unfortunately, I do not know a way out of Plano, Tx south that does not take you through a lot of traffic and by downtown Dallas. At least my late start meant I avoided much of the rush. Driving this in rush hour would be miserable. At the time I left, the traffic was moderately busy.

My route was Hwy 67 to Hwy 220, then to 281. From 281 I took a exit to 581. Many of the roads oo n this trip were suggested by my friend Kevin W. 581 is a motorcycle friendly road. 581 hooks to 501 and then Hwy 16. You then follow 16 all the way to Fredericksburg.

The entire trip was right at 300 miles. I arrived around 2:30.

Motorcycle Diary
The first part of the trip was a little bit of a drag with traffic. But once on motorcycle-friendly backroads things opened up. There was very little traffic and therefore lots of opportunity for curves and some higher speeds.

My friend and motorcycle guru, Kevin W, preaches in favor of custom-made ear plugs. While I am find with standard earbuds on shorter trips and commuting, higher speeds for longer periods proved his wisdom. At my first stop I switched to standard foam earplugs. This help cut down the noise (and fatigue) considerably.

Kevin W. is a disciple of long-distance riding, thinking nothing of 600mi and 1000mi days. My longest day (on a cruiser) has been a little over 600 miles. As part of his long distance Kevin comments that he likes very short stops for gas, not even getting off his motorcycle. This is not for me. I found (and confirmed on this trip) that I need to get off the motorcycle at gas stops just to stretch my legs. I don't have to stop for long (maybe 5 minutes) but it really helps. Interesting enough, I find myself more in the "zone" on my second leg after the first stop. This must have something to do with relaxing out of the somewhat cramped riding position of a sportsbike.

Fredericksburg, Tx
Upon arriving in Fredericksburg my first task was to cruise the main street. This was more done in the hope that I would happen on my hotel and secondly to get a lay of the land. I then drove to my hotel which ended up being around two miles from the main downtown area (albeit on the same street). The Fredericksburg La Quinta is new and a nice property.

After checking in and unloading my luggage, my first priority was to find someplace to eat. At this point my only meal was my 7:30 breakfast of a Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit and iced tea. After walking up and down main street I decided on the Fredericksburg Brewing Co. brewpub. Main street has stores (and a few restaurants) on both sides for about three or four city blocks.

The Fredericksburg Brewing Co. restaurant was unmemorable and I don't really recommend it. The food was only average.

After lunch I walked the full length of the main street area (on both sides). The weather was awesome at 75 degrees and sunny with a moderate breeze. Downtown Fredericksburg is the entire attraction of the town. The stores consist of many antique and furniture stores with some clothing emporiums. Unfortunately the median age of the people visiting was much older than me. This is more a place for couple looking for a relaxing getaway or older couples. The town (and the majority of the stores) rolls-up at 5:00pm.

While I stayed at my standard, La Quinta, this town has many bed and breakfasts. Looking at the advertisement in several storefronts I decided that the B&B are "country-nice" and not the upscale B&B you may find in some other areas. Buyer beware.

Equipment Report

Ducati ST3 - MY Duc performed flawlessly and continues to affirm my decision to purchase it. It is very comfortable and has plenty of power. The only thing better (for touring) would be a full touring rig with a full windshield to block out more wind noise. I am pretty sure I would not appreciate the riding experience of a larger touring motorcycle.

Garmin Quest 2 GPS - Another recommendation from motorcycle guru, Kevin W. This GPS is invaluable for motorcycle touring. In fact, touring without it would be much less enjoyable. At higher speeds and trying to take back roads, the GPS allows you to concentrate much more on riding.

Motorcycle clothes - My gear for Day 1 consisted of: Dainese riding boots, Gerbing (heated, but heat not used) riding pants, Belstaff riding jacket, Arai helmet, and Lee Parks motorcycle gloves. While my cruiser persona used to ride with less gear, I have been convinced to wear more protective gear. While I hope not to need it, I have become comfortable to ride in full gear. Day 1 was pretty windy so the jacket and pants were plenty comfortable. Given the number of bugs splattering my faceshield, I am not sure I will ever travel in an open-faced helmet again.

Conclusion
My day ended early. Day 2 trip report to follow.

New Hard Drive

2006-02-25T18:12:00.000-06:00

I upgraded my hard drive on my Powerbook this weekend. The experience once again illustrates the ease of use of the Mac OS X environment.

As background, my trusty Mac Ti Powerbook had a 60GB, 4500 rpm drive. This drive has been very reliable but has been hovering at around 1GB from full for a long time. This necessitated copying files to an external device to keep an acceptable amount of working room.

Recently, I contemplated upgrading my hard drive to a larger unit. While my initial thoughts were to purchase from the internet, I found a good deal on a 100GB, 5400 Samsung unit at MicroCenter. Just for reference I will list the steps here.

Purchase
1. Purchase parts: a. one 100GB hard drive (5400rpm) b. one external firewiire/usb hard drive case ($39.00), one T8 external screwdriver.

Preparation
1. Install new 100GB hard drive into the external case. (5 minutes)
2. Attach external hard drive to Powerbook using firewire
3. Name and format new hard drive using Apple's Disk Utility application (30 seconds). This program is included with Mac OS X
4. Clone current Powerbook hard drive contents to new drive using Carbon Copy Cloner. CCC is an excellent backup/clone shareware tool. (1 minute to setup, 1.5 hours execution.

Confirmation of cloned drive
1. Shut down PowerBook and restart in external boot mode. Booting off the external drive is accomplished by holding down the <option> key when the Mac is starting. Both the internal and external hard drives are displayed. Select the external one and continue with the boot.
2. Once started confirm that settings and applications work. This will look exactly like your normal desktop and applications when started from your internal drive

Installation of new drive
1. Shut down the computer and then follow the excellent instructions available from www.ifixit.com.
2. The installation consist of removing 7 bolts. Remove the bottom case. Remove the old hard drive and replace with the new one.
3. Being careful, the installation took about twenty minutes. This installation is moderately hard and you should be careful. I only recommend it to people who are mechanically adept and comfortable with computer electronics.
4. Finally, install the removed hard drive into the external case. You now have a useful portable external hard drive.

The swap has worked flawlessly with no need to purchase special software. The new drive is noticeably faster. I am very pleased to have the extra breathing room on my hard drive.

$330 pissed

2006-02-02T23:15:00.000-06:00

Today, the latch on my PowerBook stopped working. Shut the lid and it wouldn't latch. This means the computer would not go to sleep. Now for many who know me, this is a major issue. Not only is my Mac my most important tool at work, but I am sort of fond of it. Well, I decided to take it to the Apple Store in Dallas tonight. I doubted but hoped that the "genius" at the store would have a simple fix. The latch on a Ti PowerBook G4 is a elegant (if not robust design). It is hard to describe, but when the computer is open you can not see any of the latch mechanism.

Got to the store and quickly found that it would have to be sent back to Apple for repairs. When I inquired about how much it would cost I was told a minimum of $330. Needless to say, I left with my Mac. Later this evening, I decided that I would have to fix the latch myself. A couple minutes with a penknife (adjusting the clearance on the release button) and the Mac worked just fine.

So if you can't get reasonable service, do it yourself.

New Years Backup

2006-01-02T21:20:00.000-06:00

First, I hope that all readers have a wonderful year 2006 full of charm and health.

Well, I haven't blogged in a long while. This has been because I have been very busy professionally and personally and not to lack of material. But the new year reminded me of the importance of a full backup of your Mac (PC users have their own issues).

As all Mac users know we are blessed with superb reliability. This sometimes lulls us into being less than faithful in regular backups. While I wish everyone continued reliability, I note that the added peace of mind of a good backup is very appealing. Not to mention the reduction of stress and cost if you ever need a backup.

For professional reasons, I back up to both a spare Mac and an external hard disks. Most readers will back up to a HD only as it is hard to justify a complete backup Mac (unless for professional reasons).

I have and continue to successfully use the excellent Carbon Copy Cloner. This shareware program works great. While the instructions are a little cryptic, in use the program works well. There is also a great forum at the site if you need advanced directions.

If there is one thing you can do to start you year well, back up!

Apple earhphones - Kudos

2005-10-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

I had a good experience at the Apple Store today. My well-used pair of Apple earphones (the ones that come with iPods) finally wore out. While not broken, one wire pulled out at the seam where the wires from both ears separates into individual wires. This left the two electrical wires (that are very thin) exposed. I am sure this would have broken in no time. Time for a quick visit to the Apple Store (Dallas, Tx). Although the first salesperson said that they probably would not replace them, he suggested that I ask a "genius" at the back help bar. After a short wait while he was helping another customer, this Apple employee replaced the headphones with no hassle. While the headphones probably cost Apple very little, the goodwill generated is tremendous. This also corresponds with my philosophy of good business.

A little more about the Apple earphones. The sound quality out of these is good not great. As most people know I am a huge fan of the Bose QuietComfort Headphones. The Bose are my favorite headphones. Unfortunately, over the ear headphones are useless under my motorcycle helmet. This is my primary use of the Apple earphones. But, as anyone who has tried them knows, these earphones are extremely uncomfortable. Griffin Technologies EarJams to the rescue. These adapters make the earphones fit better, more comfortable, and marginally sound better. While somewhat overpriced, they do make those Apple earphones you got free with your iPod usable.

Other than the fit, I am a fan of the Apple earphones for what they are: inexpensive, durable earphones. The center parting of the two earphone wires is the best solution. Some other brand earphones have a funky setup where the main wire goes to one earphone and then another wire goes from the one earphone to another. The wire gauge on the Apple earphones is relatively thin but durable. While I hated these at first, some the Apple design decision have come to grow on me.

Finally, I have to comment on the sociological aspect of the Apple earphones. I have found that wearing these earphones is not considered antisocial and in some case invites social interaction. I am sure that wearing the Bose in many normal settings (such as visting Starbucks) would turn people off. I am not sure if it is the technogeek-like white, earring look (the Apples stick out your ears and hang down) or the ubiquitous Apple white coloring, but it seems that everyone I meet is friendly to even when wearing the Apple earphones.

Nokia 3390 - RIP

2005-09-11T17:10:00.000-05:00

Well, it eventually had to happen. My trusty Nokia 3390 cell phone finally gave up the ghost. This was the greatest phone. Over three years ago I got two of these with my T-Mobile system for something like $25 (that's for both, not each). Since then my phone has proven to be indestructible.

In addition to durability, Nokia hit the mark with the user interface. really worked easily and effectively. Sophie was using the phone at three years old. In full disclosure, my good friends would not that the phone had one poor design feature. If you do not keylock the phone was apt to call someone in my phone book while jingling around in my pants pocket.

The 3390 survived many falls. In one, it fell out of my pocket at a Chiefs game. This was directly on the concrete. The phone split apart into three parts. All I did was snap the pieces back together and the phone just started working fine as before.

A couple of weeks ago, the phone stopped ringing on receipt of phone calls. The vibrate mode worked fine, but no amount of reset or settings will make it ring again. As most of you would agree, hearing incoming phone call ring is a very important function for a cell phone. So although all other features of the phone work I needed to replace it.

Well I have switched to a Motorola V600 flip phone. THe main reason for switching brand is to gain bluetooth support. I will write more about this in a future article. So although my heart wants to go onto e-Bay and buy a used Nokia 3390, I will try this new, modern cellphone first. RIP, 3390.