Commies everywhere, The Amercan way of life getting flushed..

With Commandant Noboma taking the lead his minions are crawling out of the slime to follow the leader. Never thought it would happen in back fucking woods California..Much to my surprise it was taped to my door upon returning from some morning freedom. Nothing like firing up the shovel before the sunrise and riding until it's to hot to handle..maybe take a nap and do it again when the sunsets..Hell I'm free, white and over 21..Bad combination these days..

So taped to my door are 10 pages of rules and regs posted by the new homeowners association..we will shorten the assholes for future reference..First eye catcher was no loud noises after 8pm or before 8am,,including cars, trucks and motorcycles..No parties or gatherings outside of your home after 9pm..No loud dogs,,fucking cat's are fine..I see gato taco's on the grill..LOL..No fences or landscaping without approval..No signs in public view without approval..No scratching your nuts in the backyard..well you get the point..

So after intently reading this conglomerated afterbirth of a liberal cluster fuck piece of shit and seeing one of the commie assholes was my new neighbor I decide it was time to visit..We have meet during his whining about most of the above..Pedro "My Friends call me Pete" is a school teacher..go figure..and just happened to be playing kickball with his kids..I know they call it soccer but how unAmerican can you get..So being calm, cool and collect I yell over "Hey you commie fucking moron what the fuck is this shit" Oh..Pedro..Well he picks up his gay ball like it's a gun or a bomb and slinks over..Oh That, it's for the good of the community..

So it ends up Pedro and two more of the local up skirt nosebleed libs decided nobody in our neighborhood knew what was good for them and they decided to take steps to make this a better place to live..and went on the inform me this is all legal and they have the right to sue for compliance..and I need to get that bike I'm working on out of sight..Fuck you as I turned to walk away in disgust..I think I am going to buy a paintball gun..

So there it is we have been overtaken by commies..but the war has just begun..I have only began to fight..who said that anyway..So anyone in the area we are having a ride out from my place at 7pm Friday night returning at 10pm for a BBQ, free drinks and a 4am ride to country waffles for breakfast Saturday morning..Same thing Saturday night with a sunrise ride to Santos's for barbacoa and corona Sunday morning..7 to 10 pm rides everynight with sunrise rides whenever you like..If you need a place to work on your bike come on by, leave it as long as you like..old cars welcome too..Fucking Commies..go figure..Now I got to go finish airbrushing my 4'x8' go fuck yourself lawn sign..flames and all..

Rat..:)

The three little piggy's, philosphy of a biker..

Had a couple of the boys and the much better half's over last night to feast on a chunk of wild boar ass..I got him while shooting squirrels with the 300mag..Nother story..so I tossed about 22 pounds on the grill and smothered it in my own concoction sauce..Just a whiff for you, honey, habanero's, mango and orange juice...over mesquite wood for about 12 hours..good stuff.A short ride for a cool off, BR mint chip shake then sitting around on the patio after it dropped below 110, around 9pm we started talking biker and lifestyle..

I have known the dirty one for most of my riding life..we have got in some shit, legal, not so legal and damn good thing we never got caught..Most of it happened in our younger days but we still have a tendency to talk the talk..still laugh about past jaunt's to the darkside..I have known his better half about as long..She still can't believe what we have done and only knows half of it I would venture to guess..I have known to tall for a short time but he has been there whenever he was needed..and I can say I have done the same..

What makes bikers a breed apart..is it we are a brotherhood "including sisters" of risk takers..We all ride different..some real safe and some hammer down..We all know the risk every single time we pull out of the garage..It makes us different and bonds us..Could it be the shared quest for freedom??? I'm free when I ride..long or short I feel it..

The dirty one claims nothingness..The seat is the only place he finds total relaxation and comfort..He also shares the same line of thinking as the Rat and to tall..brotherhood and bonding between bikers makes us a breed apart..

To Tall's riding is the rush, invigoration of the soul..riding lift's him above daily problems..worries and helps give him perspectives and solutions..He fucking thinks to much me think..but what ever works for him..

For me biking has evolved through the years..I still have most of the few close friends I rode with years ago,,those who have been lost still ride with me today..The want I had and suffered with to be a biker at 16 has bobbed and weaved through my expectations during the many years in the saddle..Riding hard, riding slow, finding love and losing it, friends and foes have made life's early choices something I cherish..I never wish to turn back time but I daily hope to find that turn I missed or the road I have never traveled..I think it becomes if you have to ask you will never understand..

I got a slab of sourdough and some greasy ass pig waiting..things I have missed please share with all..see ya..

Rat

Wrenching. riding and a farewell...

The flying Tangerine officially left home yesterday for New York..I have no idea how it did it but it somehow left a 120 foot burnout mark in front of my house..damn it was fun..Goodbye old buddy..You can almost see the bike in front of it..Arlen Ness signed Victory..funny looking thing that had saddle bags about the same size as the cup I wore playing high school football..

Spent the weekend washing, clearing, wrenching and changing stuff..I have always found wrenching to be almost as relaxing as riding. To me half the biker experience has come from the building, repairing and changing..Got a new toy in the driveway that needed a make over..parts from the shop, storage and friends made it happen..no pictures till it is 100% then we can do a before and after..

The shovel has been going through 30 year old Harley menopause..Shakes and vibrates at times, hot and cold flashes, oil pressure is up then down..starts on first kick or won't start unless I talk nice to it, mood swings..runs good then backfires for 15 minutes..So I decided to try and get it through this stage by giving it some new plugs and points, a little airbrushing where the battery acid had ate up her paint..cleaned her carb and polished her pipes..She seems to have shaken her bad shit attitude for now..Might even take her to Big Bubba's bike night and see if we can win a rat trophy..

So riding was limited, the transporter took three days to get here from Frisco..I was elbow deep in three bikes hoping the parts didn't start breeding..it was smoking hot but I was cool with it..wrenching is part of what makes me do what I do..that's riding..ride on friends..

Rat..

summit to cheer me up

The Handlbars at last waited ages for this there only 16" and have been cut and bent to 34" wide , otherwise i can't park the fucking thing indoors

UPDATE-Gearbox 

found a secondhand Mainshaft and a local shop to strip the Gearbox and inspect it the post mortem will hopefully done by a week friday after that it'll be a question of how much its gonna cost and how many people i have to kill to get the money 

in the meantime here's a pic with me Bars 

I fucking Love em 

The first ride home....

Been a long trip and what a trip it was..just out of the army for seven weeks. Six weeks on the road,The bay, LA, Tuscon, Lubbock and Wichita..Weather turned bad on the way onto Kansas and Jimbo got home sick and I wasn't through yet..He headed home and I shot into Tulsa and partied with a friend for a couple of days.

Laying back in a strange place, strange bed at 2am I decide to go home..been gone for 2 1/2 years doing my Army time in Germany. Craved this ride the whole time, it was something I had to do. Selfish, ya maybe there were people who waited for me and I gave then none of my time..Packed the bike and left and I was about to do the same again. I knew if I waited till morning I would get talked into one more day so I packed the bedroll and bags and walked out the door..

It was rats ass cold on the mid October morning at 3am so headed for that big truck stop just outside town. It's still so clear today sitting in the booth staring out the window at the Shovel, thinking about the ride, the past and the future. After 27 years I still find myself doing it..Oh life has changed..I'm older, I know the things I thought I knew when I was 21 and have to laugh at the perceptions of life..I still to this day find my only true solitude and times of clear though come from being in the saddle or staring out the window of the old shovelhead..

The trip home was a long one by choice..I was smarter in those days in one important way..I enjoyed the road and all it had to offer. I still enjoy the road but have got into the fast paced, gotta get there way of life..I have forgotten what it like to get sidetracked..turn off the cell phone and soak up the surroundings..pulling off the road to watch hawks riding thermals, sunsets and people..are those extra minutes or hours really going to change my life..only in good ways..enjoy yourselves friends..

Rat

Bad News i'm Afraid

Whilst putting oil in the gearbox yesterday a major leak was found from the mainshaft , further investigation found other faults with the Gearbox so i'm now waiting on the box to be delivered to my local specalist mechanic so it can be tore down and the price of all the replacement parts costed up 

At this current time however as i hadn't thought this problem would occour i havn't got the required funds so for the time being at least things will have to go on a backburner whilst i get the funds to have the Box rebuilt 

all being well i'm hoping now that the bloody bike will now be on the road sometime towards the end of September as this is the earliest i feel i will have the money to pay for everything required to finish it off 

kinda learnt a hard lesson here when buying secondhand parts on ebay don't trust anyone 

yer i'm pissed off and feeling a bit down but i'll bounce back up and the fucking bike will be done this year its just gonna cost a bit more and take a bit longer 

Rat-a-tics..I tried to not go there..

After months of tossing my cookies everytime I see King Noboma say..as todays headlines I have had it..I can handle being lied to, getting screwed by the Feds for eternity..I can handle those big ass clueless ears pretending to have a clue..Shit I can being a half assed commie state..but I can't handle the jerk in charge changing classic movies..see for yourself..damn it..



Is that sick or what..it's a sad day America..

See ya..

Under Presure me ?

oh not at all i've jut been informed that my Bike has Been Accepted as a Entry for Europes Biggest Bike show the 09 Bulldog Bash.......... and just like the last time i had a entry my bike was in pieces all over a workshop floor De-ja-vu or wot !!!!

A week in Review or did you really say that..

Got a couple of this weeks Rat tails to tell..Hope you enjoy..

I bought a truck load of home appliances that help keep your house cool a few weeks back..Just something I wanted to try. Now I have a bunch of these things and so far it has been a learning experience..it is working out pretty well up till the time a client who we will call Numbnuts calls..

Rat: Hello
Numbnuts:Hey this is Numbnuts the boy from Oklahoma that bought those things from you..
Rat: Oh Ya, I remember the accent..What's up???
Numbnuts: Well them things ain't working that good..
Rat: What do you mean?
Numbnuts: One will only cool to 77 and the other one to 80 and it's hot..
Rat: Shit man sounds like you got a couple of good one's..
Numbnuts:They worked better last week, it wasn't so hot..
Rat: Well maybe you didn't ride the short bus after all..it was 95 last week and it's 109 today..You figured it out now what I can I do for you??..
Numbnuts: I think I want my money back..
Rat: Well I missed the short bus didn't I..Now you used them for three weeks and was a happy camper and now you want your money back..welfare check gone??
Numbnuts: What the hell does a short bus and my welfare check have to do with it, I'm getting pissed..
Rat: Nothing Numbnuts just thinking out loud..So the units work but you want your money back..does this look like Macy's..do you have your receipt???
Numbnuts:I ain't got no receipt, you never made me one..
Rat: Sorry man no receipt no return,,now have a nice day..stay cool..
Numbnuts: Man it's hot what am I suppose to do??..
Rat: Try not getting so working up and diet would help..See ya..click..

The same afternoon me and the dirt one decide with the shovel shaking less we would ride up the hill and make sure our Indian brethren were still eating well and leave a donation..We stopped at Starbucks to have a frap, a smoke and cool down..After we got out heavenly iced wonders we headed out to the smoking area in the 109 degree sun..There was a truck club sitting in the lot..the first truck was about a 1978 bagged, primed pink Silvardo with the chick driving chewing ass on I guess her Husband or boyfriends..She was tough..we pulled up a table next to a couple of older school marm looking ladies and light up..Every time the chick would resume her rant they would sorta flinch. Then it happened..

The dirty one: Hey what do you think amigo she wears the pants in the family??
Rat: Not only do I think she wears the pants I would bet she has a pair of big hairy ones..
Then I heard a cough, a gag and something bounce across the next table..my first thought were I hope old blue isn't vapor locking..so I turn to look and see old blue with double white mocha, iced caramel latte gushing from her nose..She must have grabbed the bottom denture before the second bounce..Now this might be the first time any single person has completely caused to stop our banter in mid stride..wondering what the next step is..Blue was wiping her face off, she turns and say's that was some funny shit..LOL..the mad chick was starting to eyeball us so we headed up the hill..

Now we tried for two days to give the Indians our donations..They kept handing us money,,wtf is going on here..So when we roll home Friday night we decide the guilt is weighing on us heavily and we need to return this to the rightful owners..Early morning ride up the hill and back before lunch, broke but feeling like we did the right thing..

Well didn't change a thing we hit the tables around 8am and by 7pm we were still going and enjoying the company of a handful of riders from Reno..we ran dealers off at and alarming rate and around 10pm the dirty one says,,let's roll..

Well I have wrote about the canyon many time and the sound of the pipes as you twist the throttle back and roll..If there is a heaven it has to sound the same..we were wound out,,a pan and shovel in an evo world..as we come around the last bend there he sits..Mr.CHP and I swear the light were on before we passed his cruiser..we know the routine and were on the binders and off the road at the first good wide spot..

Mr.CHP: Evening guy's, know how fast you were going??
Rat:No sir my speedo lights broke..(Has been since 1988)
Dirty:'59 didn't have one when it came out..
He had got up close and sniffed us out, knew we hadn't been drinking..
Mr.CHP:Got your paper work??
Rat: I do but I don't know about that guy..pointing at dirty
Dirty: Oh man don't start picking on the Mexican OK..
Rat:Hey just starting facts..
Mr.CHP just looked over the paper work and handed it back,,good sign..
Mr.CHP: you know I heard you guy's from about 5 miles away..Straight pipes..
Dirty: You know what they say, straight pipes save lives..
Mr.CHP: They might I just put a set of shotguns on my Dyna..but not riding 85mph will help and those helmets don't look legal..
Rat: Define Legal by the vehicle code..
MR.CHP: I guess you have played this game before..
Rat: a few times..hey if it's good enough for the govenator it is good enough for me..
Dirty: Ya and I got a note from my Doctor the big helmets give me a headache..(He does too)
Mr.CHP: Alright guys ride safe and the speed limit..lot of drunks on this road tonight..

Thanks Mr.CHP..renewed faith in you guys..enjoy..

Rat..

19 days to go.....arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

its getting there got loads of pics 

at some point i'll set up a public photobucket account and upload all the pics to that

Replenishing one's soul

Ya know working sucks your soul dry and oft time the drudgery of must do's in life such as keeping a farm going, working, house chores, cooking, etc...makes one feel like a hamster on treadmill. With a wedding and family reunion coming up in North Dakota on my boyfriend Dan's side of the family, we decided a mere 400 miles to Yellowstone was a much needed jaunt to replenish ourselves despite a tight budget and Dan being laid off for the 7 months. We squeezed out the cash to set aside and headed out anyways. Looking at the weather just prior to leaving set our plans askew. Snow, 20 something temps at night and the thought of tenting it there under those conditions didn't seem very vacation like and relaxing. Fleeting thoughts of being trapped in the mountains andthe Donner party came into my mind. So, at the last minute, we decided to pull the mats from the faded, old red 3 horse stock trailer. Dan threw in 2 motorcycle chocks and I pulled the gear from the pull behind motorcycle trailer and restocked the dressing room/ tack area of the trailer, feeling like a bit of a motorcycle riding woosie. It kept going through my head that real bikers would be tenting it and not worrying about getting stuck up in the mountains on bikes with snowy road conditions and bears sniffing thier tents at night. Would we be RUBS or just look like Michigan rednecks in this old rig with all our Coleman camping gear? Bikers tend to judge each other more than horsepeople do and I decided not to care. We would still going and we could ride our hearts out when we got there, with a sound back up plan in case of inclement weather.
The first stop was Bismarck, N.D. Dan's sister put us to work as soon as our feet hit the ground, food, putting up chairs, decorating for the wedding and pulling everything down again. We did get to sneak away with a Dan's niece and his wife the morning of the wedding to ride the rolling hills of the plains which were dressed out in verdant green, bright spring flowers and topped by an azure clear blue sky that I felt I would just take off and soar right into as I rode upward torward on each hill top. No bugs mind you and a melody of spring flower scent carried on wafts of sharp, clean, cool artic air still felt at times in the day's ever warming breeze.
Euphoria. I could have easily blown off the wedding and ridden all day. Warm sun, no helmet, perfect temperature, and lots of new road to be discovered, winding out into the vastness of the plains.
Family obligation called however and we dutifully slipped our bikes around and headed back for the afternoon's wedding ceremony. We camped two day's with Dan's son Josh, heard his music and his dreams for his life,sipping homebrewed beer around blazing campfire. Pulled up stakes and headed for Billings, MT.
We toured Pictograph Caves, the homesite of General Custer where Dan had hand made part of the stairway bannister in the restored replica of his house, but had never seen it up and completed before. On to the Custer Battlefield where Custer and his soldiers fell with the retelling of the story from a young Crow indian who let us know that he was the great , great nephew of Curley, Custer's personal scout. Stories of the event had been passed down in his family. Hearing it all was incredible. Packing up again, we headed to Yellowstone taking the east entrance in at evening. Tunnels through mountain face, long shadows cast by evening sun, a snow runoff engorged river below us rushing through the cannon, bison grazing on hillsides and the site of three lazily ambling grizzly bear at seperate points filled us with awe. We got to Bridge Bay Campground as the lowsetting sun added golden hues to the intense blue of Yellowstone Lake. We unpacked enough to cook some dinner and settled in for the night. A black bear and her cub huffed and softly barked alarm when I peered out the trailer window to see the she bear peering back up at me around 2:00 am. I was glad then for the metal of the trailer around us.
In the morning after cooking a big breakfast, we mounted up and took to the roads of Yellowstone. The park is like of microcosm of the terrain of the United States. Sharp peaked mountains with narrow two lane roads hugging into the mountainside, no guard rails, riding the top of the burned out tree line, in upward billowing mist anda 6 foot wall of snow banking the mountianside partially hanging overtop, looking like it was going to let loose and slip off carrying the bikes and us with it. Turns up there as tight as the Dragon at Deal's Gap and in places, thin patches of black ice that I could feel my back wheel slip on a bit despite the measured slow speed we were proceeding at , at that point. Coming off Mt. Washburn, we came back into sun and a rich green valley filled with hundred's of grazing bison. Mountain rock changes in a mere 50 yards there from rich red to granite grey. From the valleys we rode through rolling hills with hairpin switchbacks that reminded me of pictures I have seen of Ireland. Geyser's, mud pots, bubbly, rotten egg smelling, cream grey sulfur cauldrons and turquiose colored hotsprings make the land unique. I could spend a summer there just riding and hiking and still not see enough. Riding up on a buffalo and having one young bull shake his head playfully, leave the herd and start galloping parralel to my bike was pretty exciting and unerving. As he came closer, I pulled down to full stop and he crossed the road and started coming torward me, snorting. Thank GOD, he took interest in rubbing on a pulled over minivan across from me and got distracted. We had elk, a moose and her calf, coyote, also run out into the road around us. Good thing for the slow speed limit. Whew.
Going in June despite the wide variances in weather and temperature afforded us relatively tourist free riding.26 degrees at night and warming to 60's in the day riding in and out of patches of rain. Biking goes at 35 to 40 mph but allowed us to drink in the incredible scenery.
We stayed 5 days and rode the park each day, then headed out for the Grand Tetons.
Riding in the Grand Tetons was not all that whow. Since they rise up so steeply there are a hikers paradise but bikers see little variance in altitude, having to be confined to the tar roads of the valleys. Sort of boring after the hilly roads of the Yellowstone but much to see. Soft moss colored sage and brilliant deep purple lupine in bloom against honey gold and black rock mountain ridges. We could see a rainstorm building and coming in with plenty of time to don raingear. A group of 15 riders ahead of us on the highway to Jackson Hole weren't prepared for the high winds and torrents of rain streaming down and quickly looked like hapless sodden sewer rats within minutes of the storm's assualt. There was no place to get away and seek shelter on that open road. Lightening cracked in thick wide yellow bolts and the ground beneath us trembled. As more rain was on the way for the next few days, we headed for the Black Hills, SD as we turned for home.
Sun and warmth felt good after 2 weeks in the mountains. The black hills are riding bliss. Long country tar roads, hardly any traffice, stop lights, irritating cars and trucks, just rolling along. We only could stay 4 days, but got in Needles highway, the pigtails, Deadwood,and alot of loops. A big storm building and letting loose kept us from rolling into Sturgis. But there always is a next time. Now I am wishing the West was not so far away distance wise. Idaho calls as does the West Coast Pacific highway...... My soul is replenished and I am decent to be around again. Got the hay in and looking at how many more vacation days I have left for one more summer adventure. My wish for you all is that your summer be as good as this.

Roads Less Traveled......

Another lost and alone sunrise..new town with the same jam..Rode through the night till I couldn't ride anymore. Made it to Deming before the sun broke the Red Rock mountains..Got me a room in a dump but in those years there were no choices..Who cares I needed some sleep before I face the Chief today, time to make amends..

Me and the chief had grown up together. Stood side by side a few times and toe to toe others. His family was for a lack of words clannish, tribal..They had a small spread in the hill where generations still live today. In the tradition of their breed they are hard drinking, hard working and hard living souls..

About ’82 the Chief needing change packed his scooter and headed for Alamogordo. He wanted more from life..The same year me and Billy Mac had the little problem. Billy was a wild child and Chiefs half brother..Not close but back to clannish..Billy loved his drugs but hated to pay, found out I was holding that night and made the wrong choice. Bragged about his intent and before he left the bar I knew what was coming and what had to be done..I sat in the chair and waited..I will leave out the details,,I’ll take the 5th please..Billy ended up in Jail where he was jumped and killed three days later..Chief wanted to hear my side and I wanted to tell it..

I pulled into the shop where he worked around noon that day..didn’t know what to expect but knew I needed to do it..The big man walked out and offered his hand..We walked down the street to a little tavern and ordered a beer..I told my side and we finished are beers and headed back down the street..I hung for a few days and continued to Florida. Stopped in every time I made the trip..

My last trip didn’t go the way I planned..when you ride the road to nowhere it’s a risk you take..In someways it was better and in others it was..well leave it at that I was doing road time and that’s what counts..Rode from Tuscon on Friday night..Capt.Rudy came up from Aransas..I broke the belt at about 5am and got to spend the day with two old friends on a hot dirty road changing a belt..Thanks to the Las Cruces Harley shop we did get back on the road..I pulled into Alamogordo around 3pm..with a couple of friends in tow and call the Chief to guide me in..

We pulled into the driveway and there sat my friend or what’s left of him..Bound to the wheelchair, skinny and frail..he had tears in his eyes as we tossed out the jiffy’s..You know my allergies kind of got the better of me for a few minutes there too..Doctors had gave him 6 months to live almost five years ago..Bad heart and other complications..We talked through the night, shared road tales and lies..laughed at old times…I grabbed a couple of hours of shut eye and started for the door..Ride it for me Bro..were the last words I heard..

I came away a better man today I hope..I seen the true meaning of strength and honor..I learned my battles are nothing and I still have my life and the ability to do as I please..I have choices about my future and I can turn around and ride into my past..I am still free..Thank Big Guy..

Rat

So it Begins...................

The Final Stage of the Build began Today .

Frame was picked up from the Powdercoaters today 

so now its time to Build a Complete Bike out of a pile of pieces that i started collecting June 2008

not that i'm panicking but we've got 23 days to get it up running...................

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..............................................

The Trip..

It was a good trip, after stripping some of the garbage off the bike last night I think there might be some hope for it..Hell the Vance Hines are a good place to start..just need to get out the sawzall and do a baloney cut on them..Figured out why with the power commander and upgrades it still was a dog..New, well old but new to the ride S&S and some jetting it runs almost good now..

Thanks to the Hoover Dam for still being there..a favorite spot..Lenny for the roof in Tuscon..your still the cutest girl around..Good luck with the heard I will keep my puppies..Capt. Rudy and Mean Gene for coming up and sitting beside the road..Maria's still have the best damn tacos and hot sauce around..Big D,,still the brand apart and a damn good friend..The bags came in handy. I guess I would have had to tie the new timber rattler boots around my neck..

Casa Grande is not the small town it was..sad but that's life..Vegas looks sad and Flagstaff is still beautiful anytime..The desert for sun up and sundown..New Mexico at sunrise..Tuscon at sundown..I wish I had more time, next time..

No such thing as a bad ride, sort of like sex..some are just better than others..Thanks T for the turn around..Self inflicted wounds are not my problem brother..don't drink and ride..Now get your ass on the mend..

The dirty one for the ear, good food and insight into the pig..ya we can make it work..Remember my brother life is what it is..sometimes you don't go back..this is one of them..Charge hard and FTW..

Rat....

A love hate thing with no love..

Well I went out and did the bagger thing..Barley used Heratige Softail Classic..Rode it home and packed it up for a road trip..Didn't take long to figure out we don't get along..First thing that got me was the windshield..I am a lot more dog than I originally thought..I kept trying to stick my head out the window to feel the wind..and taste the bugs..

Beach bars..might be cool at the beach but I need apes. Big ass seat has to much padding,,I got enough built in..Bag's..we don't need no stinking bags..Heel toe shift is way past my ability, shit the 5 speed killed me I must rode 900 miles in 4th..Where's my Shovelhead???? Floorboards added to the fact the pig drove like a pig..damn..The drive belt breaking didn't help with my attitude..The 8 hour wait to get one was OK, got to spend time with some old friends..

Well that covers the minor dislikes anyway, got see some old friends.Rode and rode some miles..even a bad ride is better than no ride at all..No such thing as a bad one I guess.. Can update some of the past stories and add a couple of new ones..There will be some pictures of the bike bike up Sunday..ON EBAY..LOL..Have a good weekend, where is my cutting tourch..

Rat

Remebering the past..happy Independence Day..

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The first two paragraphs of our declaration of independence..

Now if your thinking the Rat's went over the edge and is ready to overthrow the Government your wrong. Two Hundred and Thirty Three years ago our founding father made a choice..it was a choice that gave us all we have today..We whine about how bad we have it but take a few seconds and picture what these Patriots, the men and woman went through to hand us on a silver platter the lives, freedoms and great country we live in today..No don't agree with the direction our country is going today but it is what the majority wished for..I know in four years we can change the direction if needed..we have no ruler, we the people are the voice of our country..

I myself fail to remember the sacrifices of others through out the history of our country have given me the freedoms I take for granted daily. I can say what I wish, write what I feel, pursue my dreams..I have the freedom to believe the long winding blacktop road is my god and I find my heaven at every corner..and that the white lines that guide me are my angels..I have freedom at the expense of others..

I will take time this Independence Day to thanks those who made it possible and those today who continue to do so..Ride hard, ride safe friends..Keep the chrome side up and FTW..Feel The Wind..see ya..

Rat