Monday, November 22, 2010

Bye Gus...

Didn't know him as well as I should have..Heard Friday there had been a wreck, bike versus car and the rider died just down the road from me..Down a road I travel every chance I get..One of the guy's from the shop had driven by and told me it was that dude with the cherry red bike that was with your buddy Ernie a few weeks back..Damn it..

I had rode with Gus and Ernie a few times..we meet way back and shared the bikes and cars stuff..I'm thinking what to say once I knew it was Gus and need to make the call to my Bro..The Dirty one was on his way..We talked about Gus a bit..he was riding at 100mph plus..Good stretch of road I have done it, most of us who ride this area have at one time or another..Car pulled off a side road, misjudged his speed..He never knew what happened, it was over before it started..

Family and friends had a get together last night to remember Gus..I got dragged along, not something I would attend normally..I am glad I did, it makes you think of what you leave behind and happy to have what you have..if that's just another day..Got to meet the wife and kids,,here stories and see tears shed..Made me for a second wonder what he was thinking..Then I realized I know what he was thinking..all who ride to some extent do..

It's a sad way to really get to know someone..It makes you see what you missed by not taking the time..Gus ride free my brother, maybe someday we can do it again... 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

When Shovelheads attack....






In 1966 the gods of Harley Davidson introduced the Shovelhead..




Now Shovelheads were mean little mothers..loved the taste of Honda's..Triumphs... and other hot machines of the day..Had a couple of years of munching everything and anything in sight then as the hostility built along came AMF..You know what that stands for boy's and girls..Class and integrity go out the window,,




So AMF who were well know for there bowling ball but no balls set out to change the image of the name..and they did just not quite the way they had planned..The dirty greasy bike image that most of us enjoy was to be gone..They planned to bring Harley to the mainstream scumbags..away from the brand loving true scumbags..Well with their lacking skills at anything other than building golf clubs and penis rackets...I meant tennis silly people..

Everything imploded..Quality went even farther down the tubes..The oil never started to seep...it just ran..the first few years were a disaster..but those who had the addiction stayed true..We wade through the oil puddles to remain true..


So I have had Panheads, Evo's..Sporty's..never had a Knucklehead but dated a couple and worked with many...and in 1981 Willy G..made the move, kick the brand back to life then did away with the Kicker..He stayed true to the brand and still managed to bring in the crowd AMF craved...and did away with the oil leaks..vibrations and funky seats..well in some cases..The bottom line to the history of the Shovel..I can related..We can argue what the best motor is, or the best design..All I know is the best days of my life were the times I was attacked by a Shovelhead...

Monday, November 15, 2010

Dealing with it..



Ever have a headache..One that goes on for a month or more..Ever hand your doctor cash and he just keep putting his hand out wanting more..Now I got to be feeling like pounded shit to go to the Doctor but have been a few times in the last month, gave them all kinds of fluids..some needed and some not so important..Been radiated..loaded with drugs..un loaded with drugs, told I was taking the wrong drugs stop..It's just a fucking headache right..

So if my damn mechanic had blown it 4 or 5 times I would turn the wreck in on the lemon law..found out I can't do it with human or almost human body parts..Who needs a damn head anyway..Oh and I'm sitting in the chair in the picture..I'm hanging around but not like that..So I'm thinking I need a new mechanic..Without my fair share of NoBama care I got to fund all this shit out of pocket..That does limit the total amount of care you get..by tons..

Riding works,,,it seems to cure most ill's but got to work..Got my special K doing her damn-est..but she is learning you can lead a jack ass to water and all he wants is whine..I got the cure..all I need is work, life and the rest of the happy horse shit we all endure to back off..a never ending tank of fuel and some sleazy motels and greasy burgers...Pack it up K..let's go..

Thursday, November 11, 2010






April 23rd 1980..siting in plane on a tarmac in Germany, locked and loaded ready for war..Mission would have been Iran..It's as close as I would come to war as I look around the plane and think of the people who I would trust with my life, those of taught me...those who matter in a time of unknowing..

Staff Sargent Wayne Johnson.. My drill..could not sing cadence but knew how to make boy's into men..

Staff Sargent James Davis..Sat me down and talked to me one day at lengthen..Never understood you until we boarded the plane..

Specialist Terry Allen..my friend still today..Hogwaller Ky..clown and radio man deluxe..

PFC Lafayette Gross..Being in the field was a kick..you proved the disbelievers wrong didn't you..a man of his word..

Sargent Greg Kanhi..been here before,,grabbed the bull by the horns and took the lead..many were great full to you that day..

And the of the 2nd and 4th infantry..Drive on..

Thanks to all who serve our great country and there family's who support them..Freedom lives on today from the sacrifices all who have served make..God Bless America.. 

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fiddy.....






Damn, would have never thought I would be sitting here staring at my first chance to join AARP..good discounts but man just the thought brought on wrinkles...and gas..Funny how the package arrived yesterday..LOL,,,,Some some thoughts of a half a century...

John F. Kennedy was elected president on the day I was born..I didn't vote for him and kept Mom and Dad from doing the same..I took my time..one of the few times in life I didn't rush in..

Went to my first Giants game when I was four..don't remember it but congratulations to the Giants long time coming...

The 1960's were a blur..remember watching the news with dad..the war both here and abroad..our country was in turmoil..riots and such..I do remember driving through Watts after the riots there..my first trip to Disney land..

The 1970's..ya..the teen years..did good in school, played sports then one day I stumbled into the first sweetheart..the first motorcycle..the first sip of beer...the first joint and life was never the same..Let the wild ride begin...First Harley..1964 Panhead..never looked back..US Army..best thing I ever did..

The 80's..Pretty much started with my first ride..I mean 3 months on the road,,Cali, Arizona, Texas..ending in the land of oz..snow and cold..brief history between parting and stopping parting I made it to Florida a few times..rode the shrimp boats..Rode from Ft.Meyer Beach to Vancouver BC..for the worlds fair..just because..Got maried, got unmarried..Got drunk and got sober...made choices..most worked out..

The 90's..never figured on getting this far..so I put some effort into them..good jobs, stability, picket fences.. Credit card debit..boredom..didn't ride much...grew up or tried..found out success and happiness don't always go hand in hand..spent more time riding..moved away from corporate America..

The 2000's..who would have figured the computers didn't crash..started on a roll..turned into a roller coaster..have enjoyed the last ten years for all the good and bad..rode lot's more..been on top and near the bottom..got older and acted younger..Other than the hair and diet not much has changed..some little known facts..

I know far less today than when I was 18...and it's a good thing..

Road bugs still taste the same..just easier to digest..

Have learned it is sometimes better to shut up..have not learned how to use my new found skill..

No matter what the doctors say's..greasy burgers come before healthy salads..

The best things in life tend to get away..that's life..

Getting old is all a state of mind..and I lost that years ago..see ya in 2060...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Roller Coasters, Stress and the Wind....


Sort of a blurry picture seems to fit..Been on a roller coaster...been at the limits of stress and frustration..self inflicted to an extent,,added to by outside forces..All work and no play tends to make the Rat edgy..A common simple goal has become a quest..the closer it get the bigger the road blocks seems to be..I need a cure..

Now assholes and dumb fucks are a fact of daily life..For the most part you learn how to avoid them, play them or work them to your advantage..But there are times when you can be overwhelmed by them and it causes stress..The kind of stress you need to work through..find relief..I have a few cures that work well, like blasting watermelons with a shotgun...Double tapping Bin Laden pictures with a .45..ya there might be other pictures that work but we don't need to go there..we need Ride..

Laying in bed, head humming..can't relax and know sleep will never come..simple goal..became so complex..I roared all day at the wrong people because of it..Now laying here it's all soaking in..I need relief..Shotguns, hand guns and long guns are out of the question..I get up..pull on my riding boots..No certain plan..just search for the cure..find peace in the wind...

The old Shovel roars to life..all these years together it seems to know when to behave..we roll..dark and warm for November..as we roll through town a direction I never go..a ride I never make..a road I never take..as the lights fade in my mirrors I crank back the throttle..damn if they could only put this feeling in a bottle..

Now some day's the cure means you have to go fast...riding like hell, escaping your past..Sometimes it means riding mellow and slow..releasing your mind just letting it go..each ride is different..meaning the same..all to escape life and  its' little screwed up game..

Got no where to go, no place to be..just me and my Harley riding to be free..the wind washes through me with it's crisp autumn breeze...me and the wind, road and the shadows of tree's..The roar of the pipes fills the air....leaving me smiling and without a care..time passes without effort..life becomes right as I crank back my throttle and wonder into the night..soaked in the light of the moon and the stars..I grab me a gear and pass me some cars..

The amazing feel of freedom...The cure from the road...I drop down the throttle, kick down a gear..The pipes at an idle is all that I hear..

See ya next time....