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Why wouldn't I?
I don't remember exactly where I found the graphic, but I had to do a bit of work to make it look clean - it started on my iPhone as a fuzzy photograph. My 10-yr old daughter is Chip, a nickname I gave her after she banged her chin on her friend's head, chipping one of her permanent teeth. As a result, she started calling me Crash, an homage to my getting run over by a car in 1999.
Yeah, we have that kind of relationship :)
Our rig is done. At its base it's a 1998 BMW K1200RS with a 2005 or 2006 Hannigan Classic attached to it. It's had a lot of work done to it to get it there, most recently the addition of an auxiliary gas tank (aka "fuel cell") that will hopefully extend our range to 200+ miles - it's about 130 as it stands now. Apparently adding a giant heavy sidecar to a motorcycle will really put a hurtin' on the miles per gallon. I finally got new bulbs for the aux lights & those are back on as well, so we're all set except for the packing. I've got an Ortlieb waterproof (roll top) backpack that my kid will be using; I'll be putting my gear in another Ortlieb waterproof duffel bag. We've both got Camelbaks so for as to stay hydrated. I made up some packing lists for us to work from - now we just have to get down to the work.
May 22nd, 2012
goodApril 2nd, 2012
The way I talk here on my blog, you'd think I only ever ride on the weekends. Nothing could be further from the truth!
I ride almost every day - as a commuter.
Monday - home to office & back, 16.4 miles round trip. Home to school & back, 23.2 miles round trip.
Tuesday - home to office, 8.2 miles. Office to school, 28.9 miles (via HOV, yay!). School to home, 17.9 miles.
Wednesday - home to office, 8.2 miles. Office to school, 10.4 miles. School to home, 4.2 miles.
Thursday - home to office, 8.2 miles. Office to school, 14.8 miles. School to home, 8.9 miles.
Friday - home to office & back, 16.4 miles round trip.
Let's see... digging out my handy calculator here ... that's 165.7 miles. Call it 165, give or take a few tenths of a mile, as I don't always go exactly the same way every time. So in a good week (all bike rides, no car driving), I'm spending the same amount of time on the road (more if I have to drive on Tuesday, since I can't use the HOV) as I would if I drove, but at 40+ mpg on the R1200GS, I'm saving a lot of gas compared to the roughly 20 mpg my Element gets. Plus - you know - all that fresh air... and road rage. LOL
This weekend I rode to my mom's place near Lake Anna to drop off my kid. We took the sidecar, as I want her to start getting used to longer trips ahead of our big expedition in June. The way we went, it ended up being about 200 miles round trip. Not bad for an easy day's ride - and also not much more than I do during the week anyway.
So when I talk about riding on the weekend, it's more for fun & destination rather than just the utilitarian task of getting to & from my job & various classes.
March 12th, 2012
Great weekend of riding!
Friday I headed out around 9 to collect a couple locations for the Big Money Rally. Picked up Manassas Nat'l Battlefield Park and Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania Nat'l Military Park. Then headed to Louisa.
Saw gramps for a couple hours in the rehab place he's in, then had dinner with my folks & a good high school friend that runs a business there in town. Graded papers all night (well, til midnight anyway).
Saturday rose early - thanks, leg cramp! - and then hit the road again (still on the R12GS) for club meetings in Fredericksburg. My brother & 2 of his (Harley-riding) friends met me there & I led them on a semi-spirited romp through the back roads of Fauquier county, eventually stringing together enough of them to connect US 17 to VA 28 near Nokesville. They got pretty cold, but me with my Gerbings' jacket & BMW heated grips, I was just fine.
The Sargent seat I borrowed from Walt sucks, just not as much as the stock one. I decided to have a KonTour seat built for me, sent in my deposit & my build date is 10 April. Expensive - and no idea how I'm going to pay for it - but I can't keep riding on seats that smash my balls & scrape my taint. It's just not pleasant.
Sunday was more riding, this time though just errands & on the sidecar rig. I did a quick photo shoot with another sidecar driver, then up to Crystal City to get my riding pants fixed (crotch hole emergency!) & down to Woodbridge to drop something off & pick up some other things. Then a difficult recording session last night and here it is today.
Wow. Time flies!!
February 15th, 2012
Class went well - the lecture was on the 18th & 19th amendments, the 1920s & the Great Depression/FDR administrations before WW2. Some good questions and a very stimulating/interesting conversation with a student after class - mostly we talked about our kids.
Got the taller/wider/flatter windshield on the GS before heading to work this morning - made me late, but pfft. I was still the 2nd person in the office despite being 30 min late, so who cares. The Sargent seat I borrowed from Nancy/Walt is interesting - it only takes about 30 min to get to work, so my ass didn't hurt... and come to think of it, I didn't suffer any nut-crushy-ness either. The only possible downside I see to the seat is it kind of just plants you - no room to move around. Then again, if it's comfy enough, you don't need to move around. I think I'll know after a couple weeks of riding if it's the type of seat I want. I didn't bother hooking up the heater - it's been such a mild winter!
okayFebruary 14th, 2012
Gah.
February 12th, 2012
Fuck Whitney.
Patty RIP.
grumpyJanuary 27th, 2012
UGH!!!
January 17th, 2012
January 9th, 2012
No riding at all on Saturday. Had to be in Cockeysville MD (NW of Baltimore) at 10, felt like listening to backed-up podcasts of Car Talk & Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, so I drove. It's only the 3rd or 4th time I've had the new Element on the highway - every time I drive it, I like it more.
Sunday was a motorcyclerific day though. My brother came over about 10 and I walked him through changing the oil on his 2005 Yamaha FZ1. I got my kid into her gear - gingerly, as her ears are somewhat freshly pierced - and we all headed out on a little bit of a ride through some Fairfax County back roads. We peeled off and got lunch at the Silver Diner, then I dropped her at her piano lesson. I ran a couple errands, then scooped her up & headed back home, where we spent some time in the garage cleaning the rig up a bit. I had her help me check all the lights & what-not, then took her to her Girl Scout meeting.
Upon reaching home after that, I had a bit of a nap. Well-deserved if you ask me :) Then I played LA Noire til I got promoted out of Homicide. WTF is "Ad Vice" anyway? lol
I'm a bit sore this morning from riding the sidecar Friday & Sunday. Those muscles got loose in the 6 weeks or so the rig was in the shop!
tiredJanuary 6th, 2012
It's glorious!! Woohoo!
