ramblings2006a - Page: 1 of 1

...and a Happy (belated) New Year to everyone! I avoided the scoot on New Year's Eve due to the horrendous fog, and I was glad I did. If you weren't out there, the fog was so thick that my truck's headlights would only penetrate around 50 feet...when I was lucky. I went to Pat's Pond, as that was the closest to home and, hence, the least exposure to traffic hazards. A good time was had by all, as far as I could tell, which was about ten feet, combining the fog with the smoke from fireworks. As it turned out, I got home just in time to watch the ball drop in Times Square and go to bed.

Since then, it's just been a lot of good riding, with no particular destination. Well, I need to amend that: the Ol' Coyote had another Acme moment today... a slight inter-vehicular altercation with only minor damage to the new scoot and none to hisself beyond an elevated adrenaline level. No more shall be discussed herein since the local constabulatory (and hence, insurance company) was not informed. If I see you around, I'll tell you about it. Oh yeah, I got a compliment (I think) out of it: as best I remember, the witness said, "Sheet, mon, you must be one helluva biker to keep that motorsickle up!"

Ride safe and obey ALL traffic regulations. Seeya around.

1/24/06

Okay, so he's back to his old tricks again. You do know that one of Coyote's names according to some Indian tribes is The Trickster. So be it! In this case, however, I have to admit one of my ex-wives' may have been somewhat accurate: I tend to analyze things too much. However, I do have some good new...I just saved a...oops, no, that's not it...there was a good turnout at the annual planning meeting, and the event schedule for the year is posted on the Happenings page.

Dang! I was all set to go off on a rant about something or another, but now I'm in a good mood and can't remember what it was. That's sort of thing can can ruin a good mood...but it didn't. Must be another sign of old age. It was something about ex's and careers but then I thought about riding in the breeze and it all kinda drifted away. Oh, well, maybe it'll come to me again and I won't wait two weeks to rant.

For now, ride safe and enjoy this unseasonable weather. It ain't gonna last!

2/4/06

I think I've tried to explain this to you guys before, but there's a good reason I don't try to write for a living: it just ain't there on demand! At least, I haven't been in any kind of a relationship for quite a while, so you've been spared that sappy crap, anyway...not that there's anything wrong with that. On reflection, I think a lot of the current dearth of drivel is simply due to a combination of having a bike I really like, being retired from work, and having no problems to complain about.. It works for me but, apparently, leaves a certain hole in your lives. Suck it up!

Now that that's off my chest, here's something for your miserable little lives: You missed a great time at Fat Boys last night! To set the scene, you might remember the horrendous fog so, since I can't see worth shit at night on a clear night, I decided to take the S-10. Consequently, I relieved myself of my self-imposed 2-wheel, 2-beer limit. This was fortunate since upon purchasing my first adult carbonated beverage I was presented with a ticket good for the next one free.

Okay, so far so good. The band starts up, they are in extraordinary form, and the tapping of the foot goes on autopilot. Enter nameless friend (who co-owns independant bike repair shop) who then proceeds to buy me another such beverage. Meantime, my errant foot-tapping attracts the attention of lady who also grooves to the tunes, but whose husband either doesn't dance or would much rather shoot pool. Aha, safety! When we're done dancing I can just return her safely to said husband (whom I both know and respect)with no complications.

Alas, it isn't quite that easy. It now seem that I have now attracted SEVERAL other ladies of questionable sobriety who now want to dance. Being the gentleman that I am I, of course oblige them, serially and collectively. Sometime during this interlude, someone buys me yet another cooling, carbonated, adult beverage. Now, bear in mind folks, I don't remember the last time I had 4 beers in a setting (well, I DO, but I'm ashamed of how long ago it was(and/or what I did)), and I was feeling verrry good.

To make a short story long, that and the windy, sandy, ride to the Bass Pro Shop bike show in Destin and back, with another stop at the Paradise on P'cola Beach with yet more thirst-quenchers is why I wasn't at the ABATE birthday party tonight. I hope you made it.

2/9/06

Y'know, Time can be such a slippery beast: sometimes he goes fast, sometimes he goes slow, and sometimes, somehow, he manages to do both at the same time. What does that mean, you ask? Damned if I know, I say. Just the ramblings of an old Coyote but, of course, YOU'RE the one wasting time reading it.

Excluding Mom, I can count the women I have truly loved on the fingers of one hand...probably the left, since I married two of them. Let's see, going back to 1960 means it's something like 46 years. Should 46 years really seem like such a short time ago? I dunno! I guess when you're turning 63, you're entitled to ponder that sorta stuff. Either that, or change your medication...if I had any.

All my boys...er...men are doing well. Sean's building more expensive, multi-story houses, and he hates heights. Kevin's adjusting well to his "C" leg and tells me he's getting a another foot for it so he can run, as well as fly. Brian is happier than I've heard him in years since he quit teaching and started dispatching cement trucks. I guess we all illustrate that old line, "life is what happens while you're making other plans".

I guess I should throw the word "motorcycle" in here to keep on-topic, but you wouldn't care anyway. Oh yeah, stay off Pensacola Blvd if you can avoid it. I've had three cages try to run me off the road in the last week. Stay safe!

2/19/06

What can I say? I've been out riding a lot and don't want to hurt your feeling by reminding you that I don't have to work for a living, and you do! Okay, I don't really care; I've done my time. What I have done, though, is hear rumors from some of you, and here's what I've found out (which you could have done if you'd asked them instead of me).

First, Doc Fish has no intention of closing Doc's Southern Cycle in Pace, now or any time in the foreseeable future No, he doesn't know where the rumor started, either. Second, Fat Boy's is also not planning on closing. If anything, there are expansion an/or remodelling plans. Now that might be the source of the rumor, since some of the work may require closing for a few days...ONLY...and someone doesn't listen to the whole story.

Finally, although I am in fact a member in good standing of the Old Farts' Society, I am by no means the oldest member in the area (Bill, Warren, AB, are you reading this?) but I wil celebrate the third occurance of my 21st birthday on April 2, the date of the next ABATE Bears for Bears Run. If you want to harrass me about it, you can do it then. Until then, ppppbbbbttt!!!!!!

2/23/06

Yes, dear friends, it's finally that time! I realize now that I've been stalling for some time, but it is time for the CB750(now 825) to go to someone who will ride her and love her as I have. She's been a faithful beast these many miles, but it isn't fair not to ride her regularly.

I have over 2 grand in the engine rebuild, which included Weisco domed pistons in the over-bore kit, and there's only about 13K on it. As part of the package deal, there's about $550 in parts and supplies (at my cost) including 2+ cases of Torco T-4 oil, 4 oil filters, a set of 2 coils, an ignition switch, box of D8EA plugs, caliper and master cylinder rebuild kits, cam cover gaskets and assorted other stuff I've collected to keep her running forever...and which is getting harder and harder to find for this faithful old classic.

I think a good deal of my reticence is that I want her to go to someone who'll love her as much as I have (if that's possible) and I don't know that such a person exists. She sits in my son's garage on a battery tender and I try to go run her every week but now my new motorcycle is jealous.

Many of you know her but, for those that don't, she's black (of course) with fairing and hard bags, AM-FM stereo (the tape deck doesn't work anymore), 3-point engine guards, and Kuryakyn pegs. I want $1500 for the whole deal. Sooner or later, I'm gonna get around to making up some flyers but if you'll keep your ears open for someone looking for a classic like this, hook us up. Damn, I'm gonna miss her!

3/10/06

It's a rainy day in Paradise, or I probably wouldn't even be on the computer today. I was trying to get a handle on what triggered these little ramblings by going back and reading some old ones and...guess what? I complained a lot! Maybe THAT'S why these have been a little less frequent lately: I really don't have much to complain about. Such a problem!

I've put over 4,000 miles on the new scoot and still haven't been over a hundred miles from home...and really haven't had that much desire to be. I've been exploring all the backroads and still keep discovering ones I haven't been on before. Last week, when I was messing around the area of the Seminole brush fire, I discovered a little boat launch area on the Perdido that was the quietest place I'd been in ages. All I could hear was the water lapping on the bank and the sound of wind in the trees. Quiet is kinda at a premium around here.

On another of my jaunts, this time to Lillian to see the same fire, days later and further south, I found a little Baldwin County park overlooking the bay with layers of sandstone and a guy digging fossils. Not as quiet but, still, something I never knew around here before. Yes, life is good.

3/20/06

Yup, I'm still here. More riding and more enjoying myself. I don't know if you've noticed the peg extenders I fabricated for the scoot, but the highway bars I put on her are about 15 degrees off vertical, so I had to put a twist in it. They were polished and cleared but road sand-blast has gone right through that and they're starting to rust. Why didn't I have them chromed or powder-coated, you ask? $80 and $40, respectively, are the reasons.

Anyway, I decided to redo them in stainless steel, which isn't all that easy to find in 1 inch by quarter inch bar stock around this town(at least in less than full stick lengths of 10 feet when I only needed 7 inches). Rat Fab had some laying around, so I brought them home to work on. I've discovered that stainless is a lot harder than cold-rolled steel! Meanwhile, one $19 cobalt half-inch drill bit and a lot of grinding and polishing later, I'm about ready to do the twisting. That's one item I won't be able to do at home, since my propane torch won't generate enough heat to bend these little mothers. I'll track down a torch tomorrow and then finish polishing out the blue all that heats gonna generate.

Beyond that, I talked to Kevin this weekend. The helicopter flying is going pretty well but, for the next two weeks he'll be at the Kentucky Law Enforcement Academy, getting his trainer's certification so he can teach his own classes at the Jefferson County Police Academy. He says the leg gets a little sore when he's running, but he's back up to benching 225. Also, a titanium leg comes in handy in hand-to-hand but he did apologize to his opponent(hehehe).

Later, y'all.

3/25/06

Bits of stuff, here and there... Speaking of "there", Warren, after you sent that e-mail reminding folks of the Nine Mile Sonic last night, you weren't "THERE"! I sat from 6:50 to 7:35, drinking that good Sonic coffee, and then headed over to Fat Boys. Mike wanted to try out a new band, but they were a no-show. Seems there was a lot of that on Friday night.

On the positive side, after over 5 years of checking in, I have my own domain. Somebody had reserved it up until now, but I now own TheCoyotesDen.com. It'll be a while making the transition since I have to redo all the internal links, but I hope to have it done in about a week. The home page is there right now, but all the links go back to Geocities.

As a final note for tonight, if anyone ever hears me in the future remarking that I want to go to the Elberta Sausage Festival, remind me of 2 1/2 mile backups and no parking. My left hand felt like two consecutive trips down Main Street in Daytona. You have one week to get your small stuffed animal for the Bears for Bears run next Sunday. Do it!

3/30/06

Rode a nice 140+ mile loop today, actually taking some roads I'd never been on before. I can say now that I've ridden Baldwin County Rte 12 from end to end, as well as a few others that went nowhere. In the process, I rode by Styx River since I hadn't heard anything lately about the rally next week. I couldn't raise anybody at the campground, but the Oasis truck stop has plenty of banners and posters, so my best guess is that it's still on. Usually, I'd have gotten an e-mail from the folks, but maybe they're busy?

I've broken an old tradion (or failure) of mine and actually gotten my stuffed animals well in advance of the Bears for Bears Run on Sunday. Usually, I rush around at the last minute...sometimes on the way to the ride. Maybe there is something to be said for retirement.

Looking back at earlier entries, I finished the stainless peg extenders and am quite happy with them. They're comfortable at 90 MPH on the interstate...but I did find I got another 5 MPH by putting them back on the floorboards...not that I would speed. Anywho, stay safe and get those yourself ready for the Bears Run.