12.03.2010

Cheer Up!

The holidays are here, no matter which ones you celebrate hopefully you have plenty of holiday cheer.  If you don’t or you aren’t quite sure, here are some ways to boost your cheer and the cheer of those around you.  (P.S. These work any time of the year!)

11.28.2010

Who Says You Can't Get What you Want for Your Birthday?

Today was beautiful, cold, but beautiful.  There were no big patches of ice on the streets.  There was no snow or rain to contend with.  It was perfectly sunny with blue skies that contrasted against the lack of color caused by the loss of greenery and leaves.  A quick jaunt around the lake for us and at least six others who were out to enjoy the weather break we'd been thrown.  I always enjoy looking at the lake (a little too much sometimes) and the water that looked warm, blue and inviting only a few months ago was suddenly a drab, murky gray.  You know, that shade of gray you get when you're doing water colors or acrylics in your rinse cup?  Yeah, it was like that only with angry little, crisp, white caps.  Like even Lake St. Clair was not entirely happy about the approaching winter freeze.

All I had to do was pull the cover off of my bike and start her up.  Some days, you just get to grin and everything works out just perfect.  Today was one of those days.  I can't believe my luck.  It's my birthday today and I got to go for a pre-winter birthday ride with my dad.  I felt the frost nip at my fingers & nose, and I warmed my hands by my engine warm glow.  What a way to begin a new year!   The only thing that would have made it better would have been to go from 40 degrees [we have a sort of rule about not riding unless it's at least forty degrees Fahrenheit, we stick by it most of the time ;-)  ] to 60.  Oh, and while I'm dreaming maybe a week or two on the road to truly enjoy it, however sometimes life just throws you a perfect curve ball and all you have to do is reach out and catch it.

Today was just such a day.    Happy Birthday to me!

11.27.2010

So Sad, the Motorcycle Stands Alone

Happier Day- coming down out of Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado '07
It's been a sad month or more.  The daylight has fled for winter, leaving much shorter day time available.  The temperatures have been erratic, but dropping constantly, and the wet, wind, and other weather has been a complete bother.  I do believe that we are skipping most of fall this year and going directly into winter.  I must say, winter is my least favorite time of the year.  Holidays aside, it basically blows, because here in Michigan our riding season can seem quite unfairly short.

10.09.2010

Fall in Michigan

My Misty girl.
Ok, so I'm interrupting our previously scheduled set of vacation articles to put in a Michigan, fall, weekend, special edition:  Fall in Michigan.

I love fall, it is my favorite season of the year.  I especially love it in Michigan, because it is apple cider season... YUM... It doesn't get much better than this.  Today was a perfect fall day, sunny, gorgeous, and about 64 degrees Fahrenheit.  The trees are changing colors and the further north you go in Michigan right now, the more colors you'll see.  You'll also see a lot more motorcycles.

10.06.2010

September was a Blast! Here is a sampler:

Note from the editor, Penny:
Chaco Canyon,NM: Pueblo Bonito


First off, let me apologize for not posting much over the last few weeks, but as I mentioned previously I was going to be out of town.  It was fantastic!   Here are a couple of pictures to prove it.

Barrier Canyon style petroglyph on the Rochester "rainbow" panel in UT

Penny at Monument Valley, UT
Now, this is just a sampler.  We were out for three weeks, I've taken over 1000 photos (which need to be gone through, organized, and marked).  I kept a fairly regular set of posts on Twitter and Facebook as time and connection allowed.  Boy do I have some great things to show and tell you.  I'll be taking them an area at a time.  You can look forward to seeing Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, and a few other things.... I drove a lot, hiked a bit (I have the scars to prove it), rafted, and generally tried to soak in all that we could everywhere.  It was really nice and relaxing to be out and about.  It is hard to believe I'm back in reality now.




9.01.2010

Yeah, a logo for WWFR


Just in time for vacation; I finally have a logo for WWFR.  I have noticed that it is partially covered, shows up multiple times, and just plays hide and seek depending upon your computer settings.  I will try to refine things as we go.  Until then, here is the new design, so you can see it in all of its quirky glory.  It is very me, so I guess I did alright with it.  It's my rock art, motorcycle dude, with some Freemont influence and a lot of Penny's Chaco Kid influence.  I was actually going to try to put a kolopelli guy on the back of the jacket, but sometimes accidents are happy.  It came out more like a koko-rat-pelli, which was a better jacket icon and works with my whole "desert rat" motif.  I see a shirt and maybe a jacket in my future.  What do you think?

8.31.2010

Weekends are Made for What?

Neighbors on Bikes

Well last Saturday was a rather depressing day.  It was sunny and nice outside, the temps soared to almost a hundred degrees Fahrenheit by early afternoon, and we had a company picnic scheduled for work.  Bearing all of that in mind, add to it that this was the last weekend before we take off for parts of the country south and west and I have had a nagging "check" engine light showing up on the dash of my truck.

Now, I'm no newbie to the southwest or the desert and I believe in being properly prepared rather than stupid, so I want everything to be working at it's peak of performance, and after visiting the AutoZone, I figured that Saturday would still be a banner day for me.  A fifteen minute fuel filter change, maybe a quick motorcycle ride to the picnic for a "hi", and then off for some more fun and food, and trip laundry.  I have noticed that 15 minute jobs average an hour and had planned appropriately, but what I didn't plan on was a half-day, a complete failure on being able to release a snap-fit, and a trip to the mechanic, so he could show off and do it in 10 minutes ( I still think we loosened it up for him).

So, after a depressing, costly, loser-feeling day (although I did get to work with and spend the time with my dad, so that was cool); I ended up with a stiff neck, abs that should have been steel, no ride, no pocket change, and during a hot, late afternoon walk with my dog, I saw the above pictured neighbors taking off for a ride.  My weekend was a real bummer, but seeing my neighbors ride off into the late afternoon sun, reminded me of what all of that work and time is about... It's about time spent in work or fun with those you want to be with (my dad, my dog, even building good abs, or learning a new mechanical "trick").  However, none of that detracts from the fact, that everything is a lot more interesting and fun if there is a motorcycle involved!

8.30.2010

August has burnt out, what next?

Dad at Coney, Aug 2010

Well, this month has flown past in a hurry.  Trying to get work in, schedule a vacation, and then get everything going at once.

Valyk at Coney's Aug 2010



A Coney Dog at National Coney Island

So, what do these things all have in common?  Well, everything and nothing.  When you can't take a long trip, you take a short trip.  When you have to eat and work, but can't take a "real" trip, you settle for a lunch trip.  When none of that is working for you.  You decide to blow off everything and go on vacation.

7.25.2010

Of Dust and Death


My motorcycle has been a bit lonely and dusty for the last week or so... :-(

7.06.2010

A Quickie Ride by the Lake

Ok, so in Michigan it's not so difficult to catch a quick ride by any of many lakes (we are the "Great Lakes" state after all), but the question is how often do you take the opportunity to enjoy it?

7.02.2010

Orange You Glad?!

Orange is cool!

Well, for a couple of years now, I have looked at getting one of those bright, orange or yellow-ish green vests that outdoor workers wear, so that that can easily be seen.  Now these colors aren't just bright, they tend to be on the brightness scale of a nuclear explosion and seem to have their own self-perpetuating glow.  I know what you're thinking, totally not stylish and completely unattractive.  Yes, I would agree that this is the case. I love my stylish, warm, leather coat and my nicely rain, wind, and cold resistant Joe Rocket Honda jacket with the body armor, but is there a place for neon-anything in our ever-so-cool motorcycle world? 

6.22.2010

World of Wheels and World Cup

Ok, I admit, I've been a bit pre-occupied with both work and well, WORLD CUP (there are so many great teams I'm rooting for, but I would have to say yep, home country USA and my second home country Portugal, and yes, I'm still a Benfica fan from when I lived there).  And I absolutely love being able to get instant Google updates, online highlights, and even full games live.  The internet does really make the world a smaller place.  Mostly in a good way.

6.04.2010

A Motorcycle Buffet


Honda v4 concept bike

Ok, I was accused of being a slacker because I hadn't posted a new article in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd better get on it right away.  So, I'm offering a smorgasbord of moto-treats and eye candy this week while I get my act together (and get the bike waxed).  

5.20.2010

In the Pit of My Stomach

After an almost solid month of rain and colder temperatures again, this week has finally shaped up to be not only warmer, but sunny and very green to behold.  I am working to get my bike waxed right now and have had some errands that required my truck, so I hadn't ridden to work this week, even with the nicer weather.  I was starting to pay the price for it yesterday on my way home from work when everything was so warm and beautiful and I was thinking, "today would have been a great day to ride, if it wasn't for the ice cream in the back".

5.07.2010

125 Years of Motorcycling and the Possible Beginnings of World Peace

Great River Road, East side of the Mississippi River, Illinois

Wow, we're legacy babies now... Motorcycles, since 1885, has it really been so long?  The state of Michigan actually put out a press release on their website this week about 125 years of motorcycling and I thought I was getting to be mature.  I hadn't really thought about it before, because I've been around them since before I was born.  We have slides that show my mom, pregnant with me on the back of a Honda, with my dad smiling.  Motorcycles have always been a constant in my life, even before I officially started riding them.  Now even the State of Michigan article says motorcycling may be older... 1885 for Gottlieb Daimler's gas-engine powered wooden motorcycle, but 20 years older than that if you can accept a steam powered motorcycle by Sylvester Roper (1869). 

4.22.2010

Happy Earth Day! I love you Earth!

 Range Creek Canyon, Utah

I love the Earth.  Even today, when you would think that things are too overcrowded, overdeveloped, over-explored, etc. That there wouldn't be much to say... Well, talking is for wusses, riding is for those that appreciate the Earth in all of her multi-faceted, colorful, varied, and sometimes completely off-the-wall glory.

That's one thing that I really love about riding motorcycles, especially traveling across country.  There really is so much to see, feel and experience.  There are really never two days that are the same.  And every time I'm on a new road for me, I am an explorer and I like it!

If you love the Earth, get out there and show some more appreciation!


4.19.2010

Virginia isn't just for lovers, it's for riders too!

I'm not just talking about motorcycle riders either, I also feel inspired to share the light with our fellow two-wheeled, without motor, brethern... the bicyclists.  My flat-six pistons have nothing on the bikers I saw with their killer calves, thighs, and everything else.  I saw some true iron-everythingers.  Cheers two wheeled brothers and sisters all!

4.09.2010

A Comedy of Errors, or This IS Supposed to be an Adventure

There is this older movie that I like called "The Mountain Men".  Charlton Heston and Brian Keith are mountain men and they run into each other in the middle of the west somewhere and they have a conversation about traveling.   One says to the other "Have you ever been lost?"

The other one tilts his head and thinks things over a bit and responds, "Nope, I've never been lost.  Fearsome confused for a month or two, but never lost."

3.26.2010

You Can Never Be Too Careful or Too Visible

I just read an article this morning about a horrific motorcycle accident in Phoenix, Arizona (http://my.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20100326/b7a7627b-f469-4a43-9073-a3a2c4d966d4).

I'm sure most of you are like me, very careful when we're out there on the roads.  Heck, I know from driving in a truck that people don't see my in my big, honkin', 4-wheel drive truck at least 30% of the time, so I'm sure they're going to ignore me on my motorcycle 65-70% of the time.

3.23.2010

Public Service Announcement: Get Out There and Ride to Work!

You know how good it makes you feel to get out there and ride.  Every day you can ride is just a little more adventurous and joyful because of the opportunity.  Did you know that it can make your co-workers happy also?

3.17.2010

Who Doesn't Love Mystery Meat?!

Ok, so this won't exactly be your regular motorcycle article, but it may garner a laugh or two.  I participated in a fun writing exercise this year, a contest sponsored by the public library in Centerville, Ohio, which hosts the Erma Bombeck Writing Contest.  Well, I didn't win exactly, and alas mine wasn't the only one left out in the cold, but I found a term for my condition:  "Adjacent Winning" or "Leftovers: Failed Entries from the Erma Bombeck Writing Contest" as coined over at the "Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder" blog (where you can go for some additional chuckles at others expense).

I figured that my entry would be most appropriately labeled as "mystery meat", so here goes:

3.09.2010

Spring Erupts

I love the smell of motorcycle exhaust fumes in the morning! 

I wrote a haiku last spring and it suits today perfectly:

spring erupts
chrome pipes boom
motorcycles gleam brightly

3.04.2010

Hard-Core Buns of Iced Steel

This morning was sunny, a really beautiful day, the kind of day that would lead one to bad thoughts of turning the truck around and calling in sick, if it was say 60 degrees or so.  Just as that thought was filling my head and I was beginning to think spring-like thoughts I looked ahead of me, at the intersection and there was a fella on his Harley, making a right.  My butt warmer was finally starting to warm my butt, my hands were still cramping in my fuzzy little gloves, and I glanced up at my temperature gauge 27degrees.  A chill ran down my spine.

2.25.2010

Wide Open, Wondrous Wyoming


Wyoming is a place of stark contrasts and wonderful, spacious treasures.  Anyone who has “cruised” thru Wyoming on I-80 only, has not only done themselves a great disservice, but has passed by as one who has walked right by Aladdin’s cave of wonders.  Wyoming gives, to those who give of themselves.

2.16.2010

So, Are You a Closet Biker Witch?

Ok, some crazy, indoor, bad weather motorcycle fun...

Angie Fox is the author of the Accidental Demon Slayer series.  Book 3 "A Tale of Two Demon Slayers" just came out at the end of January.

I stumbled across Angie's first book in the book store a couple of years ago.  The cover mentioned something about a biker witch grandmother with a "kiss my asphalt" t-shirt and a talking dog named Pirate.  How could I refuse?  I bought the first book and have been a fan ever since. Angie, and her Demon Slayer, have an infectious sense of humor.  (Angie was kind enough to send me my own "kiss my ashphalt" t-shirt too.  So, if you see me on the roads this year, definately say "hi!").

If you have the time, the books are a blast.  If you only have a little time, you might want to swing by her web site and find out what your Biker Witch name is, or if you are part Demon Slayer, or possibly even what your Demon pet preferece might be.

Love ya, Angie!  You are the epitomy of "Will Write for Rides".

P.S. My Biker Witch Name is:  Chesty Drawers No Brakes, what's yours?  Visit Angie's web site and find out.


2.12.2010

Summer Means One Thing: Road Trip!


In my personal book of life, few things are more all-American than mom, apple pie, and road trips! And summer, that sacred season of “summer vacations”, is the prime road trip season. As small children we were piped the dream of endless adventure via road trips. Remember that little ditty “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go”? Notice that you don’t just go to see grandma. You go over the river and through the woods—adventure, via a road. Every kid returning to school in the fall for decades has been asked the eternal question: “How did you spend your summer vacation?” The expectation is always that you went somewhere and did something. Again, I submit to you that going somewhere to do something generally entails a road trip adventure. Whoo hoo, road trip! For me a road trip most often includes my motorcycle, and it is an excuse for me to get out and ride.

2.10.2010

We Can Survive

As I dug out of the snow this morning and hopped into my 4-wheel drive truck (the little black darling with the killer new Goodyear Fortera Triple-tread tires I purchased just before snow season hit). I felt confident and reflected about the time I spent last fall giving my baby a complete set of new brakes and roters. I almost found the ride in refreshing this morning, because as we approach mid-February, I know that time is on my side and that mother-sunless, evil inbred sun of a winter bearing cold streak is on its way out! The days are getting longer. I actually see bits of light now on my way in and out of work.

I might have only felt the pummeling of snow-blown ice and snow on my face this morning, but it again reminded me of sun and sand that will be giving me a facial in a few short months.  And I smiled.

As I parked the snow blower and whispered a few sweet nothings to my Valkyrie, giving her a affectionate pat on the way out of the garage, I wondered how many others had done the very same thing this morning. Fellow 2 (and 3) wheeled brothers and sisters, I salute you!

I challenge you to smile, wax your helmet, and smell the leather. Now is the time for all good riders to prepare to ride.


Welcome to Will Write for Rides

Everyone keeps telling me I should have my own blog. Not just to "write for the man" (of course "the man" pays, free blogging doesn't), but I wondered what I could possibly say. Then I looked up girls, bikes, biking, and found tons of motorless bikes- ewwwh- and then I knew.

I always thought it would be fun to write motorcycle wisdom (you know those deep thoughts that occur to you while you're riding) and travel articles for magazines. I got tired of reading the magazines though as they still had the same men writing for them that they did when I was a kid on the back of my dad's bike (yes, my dad is retired now). The result is this blog: Will Write for Rides.

My goal is to some day have my writing pay for all of my riding. Until then, I hope to have a place that I can call "my happy place" where I can share laughs, pictures, and adventure along the way. Maybe it will become your happy place too. I would be honored.

P.S. I hope that all of my Wiffer buddies over at www.willwriteforwine.com won't mind me being a shameless double wiffer as I just realized Will Write for Rides will make me WWFR here too!