Sport Kawasaki ER-6

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Yesterday's ride...MMMMgoood!

Posted by farras at 7:22 AM

This darn web blog site makes me nuts! I'm not always allowed to choose what size my font is going to be...and today is one of them! Ahhh well.

Let's start today's blog off with what happened yesterday...
I woke up to a very gray and drear day. I knew it was not going to be the best of days out there...but I was really hoping for some sunshine, as it really helps me to get my head on a better level...you know, more aware of what's going on around me kind of thing? What can I say...I so love sunshine! None the less, I got up, showered, picked out some warm clothing for my ride...and wahaaa...I was ready to go out and crank up the old girl.

She needed just a little prodding with the enrichner...a few extra twists of the wick, and she fired up...no coughing...which is always nice when starting a Sportster. They always seem to have that hiccup...that kinda spit from the carb...and sometimes my little girl will even gives a pop through her pipes...she sounds worse than her bite for sure!

She was quite cold blooded running though. The enrichner was required for just about a mile before I could be sure she wasn't gonna cough and sputter before catching the fumes of the fuel and firing off on her plugs...ahhh once she warms up, shes a beautiful thing to feel under ya.

Taking off into a Easterly direction, I headed up Hiway 321, then taking US19W into Roan MT.
Hanging a right onto Hiway 143, which leads directly into the State Park. I love it here, come spring the flowers will start to come out...and ahhh beautiful sights, even better aromas!

The ride was quite unremarkable, except the roads were a tad bit slippery at this altitude. That I knew was only a prelude to what I could expect as I ascended Roan MT. especially on the north face of the mountain, where the sun rarely shone, or where the pines were thick, rather than the hardwoods whose dressings had come and gone for the winter months. I wasn't sure exactly how bad, or good the road would be ahead, but I've seen it covered in ice sheets before...so I wasn't gonna try out ride my line of sight today!

Yes, it got very cold from here on out. I don't ride with a fairing, my bike isn't set up with heated grips, guess one might say I believe riding should be as close to it's natural state as we can make it. I enjoy the wind, even when it's 35 degrees or colder outside. I believe in keeping up with the conditions and preparing yourself for them. Wear or carry everything you might need to make the ride physically safe.

I also don't ride with saddlebags, so everything I take with me is bungeed to the fender or somehow attached to me at the belt...or where ever an attachment will work!

Today, I made sure to bring along an extra scarf to wrap my head into and cover my face. I used two of them, since the wind was so bitingly cold. I stopped at a pull off (scenic) and donned more clothing. All you could see of my face...well you couldn't see my face, I had my face wrapped up like an Arab woman in Jalalib garb. I don't care what people think...when it's that cold outside, and you have limited funds for things such as keeping warm...you use what is available, and you stay warm, dry, and happy!

Just before mounting the pinnacle, on the North face of the mt. I came across this on the road...whew...scary...

Coming back down the south face was quite nice, as I descended the temps got warmer, and off came the layers, although never as warm as the weatherman said it was gonna be...it did get nicer as I headed south west into North Carolina!

I didn't hit any more bad roads with ice and other problems the rest of the way...but I had the best time in a long while today...there is nothing like riding...and I think today isn't any different...I'm going....going...POOF

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - SpyderWoman

Posted by farras at 8:19 AM

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Website. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery. See SpyderWoman with her 2008 Can-Am Spyder Roadster. For details, see Motorcycle Pictures of the Week.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Friday, January 2, 2009

A ride is on!

Posted by farras at 7:31 PM

Hey y'all...I'm excited! Tomorrow the weather prognosticator says it is gonna warm up to around 58 degrees! Now, I really do ride almost in any weather...but I do LOVE when we get weather that is unexpected for this time of year! Now the forecast does call for partly cloudy skies...uhhh duhhh, that's what's gonna make the weather a tad bit warmer tomorrow! So what if I get a bit wet? Lord have mercy....I'm dyin for a full day of wind time! I'm gonna bring my camera...make notes of the roads I will be actually on...and I will be sure to comment fully on the ride for you guys!

You know what? after almost 38 years of riding...I haven't gotten tired of it yet...
I really can't explain what it is. It's not "freedom". It's not "brotherhood"....it's not solitude...but that comes close...It's everything about the motorcycle, about the air, about what I feel coming through the handlebars, the seat...the foot pegs...anywhere my body makes contact with the bike...something is communicated...that I just don't know how to describe. Something is there that belongs to me alone...that you can't have, and I can't share,

OK so it's coming up tomorrow...on the 3rd...look out for what ever my fingers decide is gonna go in here...cuz my brain won't have a thing to do with what gets written after a ride!

Staring Down The New Year

Posted by farras at 7:32 AM

I've heard a whole bunch of people saying they're glad 2008 is over, and what a terrible year it was.

I dunno, I thought 2008 kicked ass. I mean, I can't personally do anything about Wall Street, real estate, fuel prices or Alaskan governors, so I've been pretty focused on making sure that I am awesome. And when I take care of number one, when I don't let things I can't control affect me, I have a damn good time.

Last year's resolution was "live awesome," and that's what I did. I made it out to Los Alamos twice, went up the Oregon coast, actually bought a scooter and fixed it up to sell (we'll get it sold this year), handled some parrots, and wrote another novel. I rock!

If I had a resolution for this year, it would be "outdo last year."

Oh, and "get a sweet custom van."

It's a new year...

Posted by farras at 6:46 AM

I have to admit, I'm glad the "old" year is gone. I really don't believe "luck" changes as the calender moves from day #365 of 2008 to day #1 of 2009, but what does change is our outlook.

We are conditioned to expect a change with the "New Year", and while I totally agree, with the concept of "New Year, New Beginning", what I don't believe in is LUCK! I don't care if you want to call it good luck or bad luck, I simply don't believe in it. What I do believe in...is what some call Karma.

I'm not sure I like to use the word Karma, because it derives from a religious concept that falls beyond my acceptance level. But, I do believe that because of our actions, (past, present, and intended future,) that we attract negative and positive attentions of the universe towards us as individuals.

It's not like magnates, attracting or repelling good and bad. It simply comes down to how like forces will feed off one another, but for some reason, negativity comes easier than positive thought and or action. The negative side of life feeds faster, more voraciously on our self esteem than the light, warm hearted positive side of us.

We can fall into traps of our own making, allowing ourselves to fall in depressions or by allowing our thoughts to become negative, and our actions to become more selfish and destructive towards the goals of the collective unconscious. (Yes, I like Jung's thinking on this.) Thus with each selfish action or thought, we feed the negativity of our lives...making each appearance of the negative loom larger and larger and more important within our lives. We blot out the positive by reinforcing the negitive with thoughts and deeds.

I don't know where this is all leading to. Just some ramblings of a woman who's living life best she can.