Wave..!

Wow, I'm writing this , because....lol  Simple, it pisses me off when I raise my hand to another riders heading in the opposite direction, and they blow me off...

Is it a law that every rider MUST raise their left hand?  Lower it, palm open?  Wiggle their fingers?  Nod their head, or at least look in the general direction?  Nope, but it still PISSES me off when I waive, and don't get some sort of token reply.

After returning home from a recent weekend ride, I sat down and gave this subject some thought.  I REALLY focused during the commercials during my football games...  In my junk food induced coma, here's what I came up with.

1. First, maybe they simply didn't see my raised hand?  If this was the case, acknowledgment wouldn't have been an option.  If they "had" seen my raised hand, they would have willingly replied.  But lets not forget, they could have initiated upon seeing my bike approach...
2. My second thought?  These riders were simply too "good" to acknowledge another riders gesture. In that case, I got caught wasting my effort on an Ass$#@&*...
3. Raising their left hand off the handlebars is a hazard.  I'll buy this, but if this was truly the case, I'm a bit scared for everyone else in their path...
4. Simply anti-social.  Not an Ass%$#@*& like those in #2, but just not willing to engaged in a brief ceremony of interaction.  I feel compeled to cut this group some slack.  It's not their fault  We all know people who fit this category.
5. Bike selectivity.  In other words, if I was on a Harley, BMW, or another bike that they deemed "wave worthy" I would have received the lowered arm, open hand acknowledgment.  I pride myself in raising my hand, to ALL bikes, even scooters...lol

I understand that I can't allow the few to influence my own actions.  Wow, that sounds so "adult".  I need to focus on the 90% who do make the effort to acknowledge, or raise the hand as I pass.  

What #2, #4 and #5 don't understand is that it's not "just" a wave.  It's about displaying mutual respect.  An acknowledgment that we're "both" members of a small club, and that we "share" a passion.

I can't bring myself to "not" raise my hand in salute, even if you're a #2.  Oh, and numbering this group as #2 wasn't by mistake...  Just keep rumbling down the road, doing what you do.  Those like me will continue to give you a wave as we pass.  Maybe someday you'll understand.

Why "COOL GEAR" sits in the closet...

New gear comes on the market everyday.  Often it looks SUPER COOL, and we buy it, only to find it spends more time in the closet, then on our bike.  What seemed to be practical @ the time, now looks like massive pain in the butt and waste of money.

I've found that it's not always the products fault.  I've brought stuff in, played with it, only to toss it in the junk drawer.  Only months later do I discover that if I had purchased an accessory, or taken the time to install it correctly, my complaints would have been rectified.

Where were THOSE people when I plopped down the money...?

Here's some free advise, and a couple of examples.

GoPro Video Camera

Here's a product that sounds SUPER COOL.  You slap this little guy on your bike, helmet, heck, anywhere, and you're taking video.  And not just any video, but full HD video.  Want some "slow-mo", you got it.  Looking for something waterproof?  Covered.  Have a need to take 10 photos in under a second?  Yep.!

This little video camera takes awesome video, but to save it from the closet, there are a few things you need to buy...

First, GoPro makes a wifi remote that plugs into the back of the camera.  Why?  Say you have the camera mounted on your helmet.  Cool place right?  What you see, the camera will record.

You start the camera, but after about 20 minutes you decide to turn it off.  Why use all your memory on stop signs and traffic jams?  You reach up, while riding, and hunt for the "Off" button.  You feel something that you think is the off button, and you press; all the while wondering if you pressed it hard enough.

10 minutes later it's driving you nuts, so you stop, take off the helmet, turn off the camera, put the helmet back on, and head back out.  20 minutes later you enter some amazing country, something you want to record...  It starts all over again.

While the extra remote costs about $100, it takes your GoPro from a novelty item, and makes it into something handy and easy to use.  Without it, it's a pain in the butt...  With it, useful...

Cardo ScalaRider G9 Bluetooth Communication System

90% of the time your bikes engine is soothing.  You have zero need for music, a phone call, or any other type of interruption.  You're at peace with yourself, soaking in the freedom that your two wheeled buddy is providing.

But then, there is that 10%...

I've NEVER been one for communication systems, and I've used them ALL.  Most were hard to setup, harder to use on the bike, and they never worked like I'd hoped.  After only a few rides they would end up in a drawer, never to see the light of day.

Now lets fast forward to today.  The G9 is one of the easiest Bluetooth systems I've ever used.  Pairing to my iPhone (or anything else) is super easy, the buttons are easy to work on the bike, 8 other people can connect and talk, and the range is amazing.

Here's where riders make the mistake...

The G9 allows you to take off the big boom microphone and replace it with a wired version.  Important if your wearing an enclosed helmet (full-face).  Nothing can discourage you more than stuffing a boom mic inside your helmet EVERY time you put on your helmet.  Oh, and don't forget taking it off...

Why wouldn't everyone install it this way?  It appeared more complex, and permanent.  What if they wanted to remove it from there helmet?  Also, I scary high number of us fail to read the direction...  Many simply didn't know it was an option.

Advise; USE THE WIRED OPTION from the start.  Odds are, once installed, it not going anywhere.  If you use the wired microphone option, you'll discover that the G9 is amazing.  If you use the Boom, it'll turn into a HUGE PAIN in only a few rides.  The items in your JUNK drawer will have a new EXPENSIVE friend.

I use both of the above

I like taking video.  I enjoy putting together the clips into a movie.  I LOVE the idea of documenting my journeys.  I USE the REMOTE.  Mounting the camera on my helmet is my favorite location.  Without the remote, this would not be possible.

I own, and use the ScalaRider G9.  I don't make many calls (I can ever use Siri with the G9, which I have done to find something quickly), but I have received them.  I occasionally enjoy listening to the radio, or the music on my iPhone.  I've also chatted it up with riding buddies, but not as often as I'd thought.  The same goes for my wife when we take trips.  I installed the boom-less microphone on my helmet, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So in closing...

Spending the extra cash, or taking the extra time can mean the difference between something that get used, or sits in your closet.  Play it smart and go the extra step.

Riding really in our blood?

"Hey, work the gas..."

I have a photo, taken by my dad, of me sitting on his bike, in a diaper, with the biggest smile.  If it had an engine, two wheels and a throttle, I LOVED it from day one.

I was also a rebel, sneaking out our little Honda Trail 90, only to flat both tires before bring it home...

I've always loved riding.

My Dads stories go all the way back to the early 1940's.  Adventures born from the seat of an old Harley...  Sleeping on the side of the road, dirt roads, no Interstates.  The "Old School" approach to riding; something he insists has disappeared today.

If the love of motorcycles was genetic, I would be a good candidate for the first test.

While my "love" of riding has never wavered, my "inner need" to ride has diminished; DRASTICALLY.  I even remember past rides differently.  Gone is the energy.  They've lost their magical properties.  Stories of my 1600 mile marathon's aren't as exciting to tell.  Now I simply remember the pain, no longer the triumph over pain.

Late I've felt detached.  Have I lost my inspiration for motorcycle riding?

About 2 years ago I sold ALL my motorcycles.  While I know every rider goes through dry spells, I've owned @ least one bike (at one point 7) for as long as I could remember.  I was never without one.  As I watched my BMW LT1200 ride off, I wasn't overcome by any emotion.  I simply turned and went inside.  Deep down inside, glad it was gone.

Leading up to the Olympics I watched a story on Michael Phelps.  First, I'm aware of the differences...lol.  The part of the story that caught my attention was his change of attitude toward swimming after winning his 8 Gold Metals in Beging.  The last thing he wanted to do, was swim.  When it was time to hit the weight room, he escaped out the back door.  Often he would simply leave with friends, for weeks on end.

He'd had enough.

Not that he didn't LOVE swimming, he simply didn't "want" to swim.  Don't tell me that Phelps doesn't have the DNA of a great swimmer, but he wanted to walk away.

He'd had enough.

Of course he came back for London, trained and won some more medals.  Now, he's officially finished.  He says he'll swim again, but from now on, in the ocean...

In my case, I was simply tired of riding from point A, to point B.  Riding, for the lone purpose of simply riding, had lost it's luster.  Spending 200 miles in the saddle, just to eat a burger, now seemed NUTS.  Cooking in the summer desert, so I could ride in the pines, now looked like a complete waste of a day.

A HUGE peice of ME, was missing, and I could careless.  I told myself it was time to turn the page.  It was time to focus my energy, elsewhere.

Sitting outside one morning, in the 90 degree heat, I started day dreaming about camping.  A cool river/creek, in the cool pines.  Each summer, I have the same overwhelming thought.  The strange twist was this time my plans included a motorcycle....

My mind raced, "I could get a dual sport bike (I've never owned one before), load it with gear, and a few days a month, explore Arizona backcountry.  How cool would that be?!  I'll head up North in the summer, and escape the heat.  I'll head South in the winter...  On a bike, but without limitations, like pavement!"

The following week I bought a Suzuki V-Strom (Wee-Strom), and the rest is history.

Why the change?  I have a theory, and a conclusion...

First, the conclusion.  Motorcycling IS in your DNA.  While we all might take breaks, turn away, we can't stay away.  Oh, and there's NOTHING wrong with that.

My theory is that all to often we get into a rut with our riding.  Every now and them we need to shake things up a bit, and explore the unknown.  Combine our LOVE of riding, with our other interests.  If we can just master this endeavor, motorcycle riding will forever be a part of our lives.

Isn't that what ridings all about...