Our Last Ride for 2006

Slick and I completed our last ride for 2006. We headed off to VA for about a 4 hour trip. The weather was pretty nice. It was about 60 degrees and cloudy. Being cloudy was pretty nice since we didn’t have to battle with the sun in our eyes the whole day. We started off the trip heading on highway 68 which runs into highway 220 toward Martinsville VA. Once we got to Martinsville we had lunch at local Wendy’s. That was a good thing because Slick was a little chilly and we decided to stop so she could thaw out.

After the meal we headed north and further up 220. We started looking for highway 57. After taking a left on highway 57 we soon realized that we were heading off into the past. The short stretch of town looked so old and dead. We felt like we were taken back in town 25 years. After heading west on highway 57 we hit the old town of Bassett VA. That is place where they produce Bassett furniture. That town was also very old. Soon we hit the country scenery of highway 57. It was nice and had some nice curvy roads I could enjoy. Slick and I both felt that part of the ride would be nice in the fall because of the open landscapes, hills and trees.

Not too long into the highway 57 trip, we realized that we were getting a little low of fuel and gas stations were few and far between. We did finalize run into a small and old gas station on “Jeb” Stewart Highway. As you can imagine with a highway named “Jeb” we had to be in the sticks. So we stopped for gas and get this, the gas station was full service station. Some old dude came out to turn on the pumps so I could get gas. I think the only reason he came out was to see the bike. He talked about how he thought the bike was really nice.

Next we headed south on highway 8. We finally hit highway 58 east and rode it for about 25 miles until we were back on highway 220. After hitting highway 220 we headed back home. We finally arrived home just before dark. The total trip took about 5.5 hours.

That trip ended our adventures for 2006. In the end, we looked back on what we had accomplished for the year. We bought Big Red and took our bike course in May and bought the Honda Shadow and sold it after I practiced with it for 2 months. I took some mini trips alone and Slick tagged along starting in later July. Slick and I traveled in many parts of NC and VA. We joined the GWRRA and Chapter-G. We went to Wings over the Smokies. All of these things and more in just 6 months of motorcycle riding! Heck, in this month alone we put on over 1000 miles in the month of December.

All-in-all, we had had a great time in 2006 and are looking forward to 2007. I plan to ride Big Red to the beach in June and to Marysville, Ohio for the Honda Homecoming in July.

It has been a fun year and 2007 looks like a great one too.

Until next and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

How Slick and I Got Started

Here is an article that I wrote for our Goldwing chapter newsletter. It will be placed in the spotlight section of the January issue. I thought you might find it interesting. Enjoy!

Our motorcycle adventures started with something called “middle age”. You see, Angie and I were talking one day about her sister and her husband who just happened to be motorcycle riders (not Goldwing riders, but we forgave them for that). They would occasionally take what sounded like some fun motorcycle rides on the weekends. Angie I started thinking how much fun that would be if we could do that too. There was a small problem, neither one of us had ever ridden a motorcycle before.

Now let me clarify that first, we have both been on a motorcycle before (many moons ago), but we had never driven one. So, one day my brother-in-law stopped over and asked if Angie wanted to take a ride with him on his bike. Of course, she wasn’t too thrilled about it at first and after some minor begging by everyone there that day, she got on the bike and they took a short ride down the road. Once she got a taste of a motorcycle ride, she was hooked. So we thought, let’s go look at some bikes. Not really thinking we would ever get one. Of course, we were wrong!

First, I started looking on the Internet at all types of bikes. The problem was I had no idea what I wanted or what was the best bike for us. All Angie said was if we got one I had to get something comfortable and she was looking really hard at the back seats of the Goldwings. So she had a good idea of what she wanted from the start. After looking at all types of bikes we started looking at the prices of bikes and we were shocked. Many of the touring bikes were the prices of a good car and that is without the chrome goodies.

Next, came the day to go out and look at some bikes at the local bike shops. We wanted to get up close and personal with the bikes rather than sit at the computer all day dream about the bikes. We really enjoyed looking at all types of bikes. We just didn’t know what was right for us. Then one day I actually sat on a Goldwing at a Honda shop in Greensboro and I was hooked. I loved the way it felt. Angie did too. So the next step was to find a good one for the right price.

After looking for a couple of weeks, we decided to visit the Honda shop in Statesville NC. There we saw Big Red. At first we didn’t care for the color but after our first visit we decided to go back and look at the bikes again. One our second visit, Big Red was still there. That day, we decided to go for it and buy Big Red. But like many parts of this story, there was a problem. I didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle and of course I had no license. So I had to ask the Honda dealer to tow the bike to my home and park it. There the bike sat for 2 months until I had a chance to take the motorcycle course, get my license and practice. That was kind of embarrassing, but hey, what could I do, right?

Soon May 2006 came and Angie and I signed up for our first steps of riding a motorcycle. We signed up for the motorcycle course for dummies at GTCC. As you can imagine, we were a little nervous. We took the course and we did fairly well. At least we didn’t die or kill anyone. After the course, I got the bright idea to have my brother-in-law come over the house so I could take Big Red out for a test ride. He rode the bike to a local parking lot so I could practice on Big Red. I didn’t have my license then, so I wanted to practice after I completed the motorcycle course. Trying to practice on Big Red with 2 days on a motorcycle was not a really a good idea. I almost dropped the bike 3 times and almost wrecked on one occasion. After displaying my amazing lack of motorcycle skills for my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and Angie, I needed a plan “B”.

Plan “B” came from Angie. She noticed how much trouble I was having with controlling Big Red, so she suggested we buy a smaller bike for me to practice with. It was a great suggestion since I definitely did not have the skills or courage to ride Big Red after the motorcycle course. What we decided to do was buy a small Honda Shadow 700. It was the best thing I could have done. It gave me a great chance to practice for 2 months in the GTCC parking lots and venture out on the local roads in town and on the highways.

Soon the day came when I decided to take Big Red out for the second time in almost 2 months. The day was July 1st. After taking Big Red out and with a little practice with the Honda Shadow, I felt much more comfortable handling the bigger bike. I practiced riding alone with Big Red for about 6 weeks in parking lots and gradually took it on some smaller trips. Not too long after that Angie wanted to try to ride with me. She rode with me for a couple of weeks in the parking lots. The great thing was I really couldn’t tell she was on the bike except on stops. She was great co-rider, and still is.

Since May, it has been an interesting time for us on our motorcycles. We have taken some small trips alone and with our great friends from our GWRRA Chapter-G group. We have covered a lot of miles in the central part of the state, some parts of western NC and been on several visits to VA. We have really enjoyed our motorcycle adventures and look forward to sharing the rest of our middle age years (and old age years) together on our Goldwing. It should be a great time and fun ride.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Roger and Angie (AKA Pappy and Slick)

Searcy Arkansas Bike Shop Visit

Well, we had a good Christmas visit with Jordan and Delta. We went to Arkansas to visit them (not on the bike). While I was there I bought some nice chrome shark gills for Big Red. It really made a nice change to the plain appearance of the bike. My next few purchases over the next couple of months will be the chrome lower front crowl, chrome rotor cover for the front tire and some fog lights. After that, I should be almost done with the bike except for the lights lights for the luggage and trunk. That will come in time because those assessories aren't cheap.

Jordan and I did get a chance to visit the bike shop in Searcy Arkansas. They do have a nice bike shop there. There were a wide variety of bikes there. It seemed that there wasn't as many bikes there as the last time I was there. I imagine there will be more there when the weather gets better around spring time. I was a little disappointed in the clothing selection there. It seems that you can't find a nice bike shop that has some Goldwing clothing. I guess I will have to order clothing off the web. I can do that around spring time when the weather gets better.

There were some nice trikes in Searcy. I counted 6 nice trikes. They also had a couple of new 2007 wings there too. Those looked nice. I really liked the new look of the tail lights on the 2007. They actually look like car tail lights.

Speaking of 2007, it should be a pretty busy time for riding. Not counting the mini rides that Slick and I plan to do, we have the upcoming trip to the beach in June. Most of the people going will be driving down there. Boring!! I plan to ride Big Red. Also, in July, our Goldwing chapter is planning on a ride to Ohio, for the Honda Homecoming. I am really looking forward to that. Right now, we are just waiting on the dates for that trip.

Until next time and enjoy the ride.

Pappy

Durham NC Ride

Saturday Slick and I decided to head to Durham NC for a bite to eat. That idea wasn't such a good one. The idea for the ride was to Durham and then get back on I-40 and and hit 86 north to Yancyville NC. Well the Durham part wasn't too great due to all the heavy traffic. The place we were going to eat at was pretty close to the mall in Durham and traffic heading south off of I-40 was pretty heavy. There was a lot of stop and go traffic. Oh yeah, the winter jackets we have worked great too but the they do get pretty hot when you are stuck in traffic and not moving and the temp is around 65.

Anyway, after we headed north the traffic was a lot lighter. We had a great meal (of course, we ate too much) and then we mounted up and started our route back to the house. By this time it was around 3 pm. We hit highway 86 to Yanceyville. Once we got through Yanceyville we headed west on highway 158. The highway 86 and 158 was really nice. It was pretty much all country roads. We could really tell we were in the country by the great smell of county manure. After we got off 158 we hit highway 29 and headed south toward home.

We left home around 11:30 am and got back home around 5:00 pm. The trip was pretty nice except for the traffic in Durham. I recommend you not ride a bike at Christmas time near a mall. That was a dumb idea on my part. The weather was great. We had a great time and look forward to our next trip. Except then next time we will skip the city driving and head toward the country.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Great Day to Ride

Man, did I have a great chance to ride today. Today is December 15th and the weather was great! It was almost 70 degrees. That is great riding weather. I did see a few other riders out today. I figured there would have been more if it wasn't Friday and most people are working.

I had to go the Cycle Center in Asheboro for an oil change. That only took about 3o minutes of my time. I began my ride from home and heading toward Lexington. No, not in Kentucky! We actually have one of those in NC too. Once I got off of business 85 I headed east on 64 to Asheboro. After my oil change I continued east on 64 until I got to 421. From there I headed north toward home.

The whole ride took about 3 hours, including the short stop for the oil change. Tomorrow, Slick and I are heading toward Concord NC. Slick found out there was a Mayflower diner there. We were going to go to the one in Durham, but I think the Concord ride will be nicer. After we eat, who knows where we might take off too.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Rubber Gloves Work Wonders

If you are like me and ride your motorcycle in the winter, you may have noticed that you hands can get pretty cold when you are riding in temperatures drop like a rock. So what can you do? Well, you could buy some expensive battery heated gloves, get some heated grips or wear some bulky winter gloves. Or you can do like I did this past weekend. You can wear some rubber gloves under your regular gloves. The rubber gloves work wonders. I actually tested this little trick this past weekend. The tip came from my old motorcycle buddy Craig. Thanks Craig! So the next time you are out riding your bike and your hands start to get numb from the winter frost and wind, put on some rubber gloves. It really helps.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Chapel Hill NC Trip

Today Slick and I took a short ride to Chapel Hill NC. I decided to take the trip to see the route for next Saturday. There is a nice seafood joint there called "Mayflower Seafood". I have eaten there before and I thought Slick might like it. The route we took was on 421 to 64 east. Once we got to 15/501 we headed north. We actually cruised through a portion of Chapel Hill. It was a nice trip. There was little traffic even though we did decide to head back taking 40. The weather was pretty nice. It was around 55 and not too much wind. The total time on the trip was around 3 hours. Not a bad way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon ride.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Chapter Meeting for December

Well last night I attended our GWRRA chapter meeting. Slick had to attend her Christmas party. We had a lot to cover and look back on from the past year. Some of the events that we have planned for in 2007 is the open house at the Cycle Center in Asheboro. We will be having it again in May. That should be a great time of the year for the event. We are expecting more people in 2007, so that will be cool.

Last night at the meeting we also picked up 2 new members to our chapter. It will be nice to have some new faces and new ideas. On December 17th we will be gathering at Vickie and Andrews home to discuss a variety of topics like the riding schedule for next quarter. We will also be discussing some other charities that we may participate in. One other topic is selecting our 2007 Couple of the Year for our chapter. Normally, chapters have a hard time filling the position of Couple of the Year. It is a big commitment that Slick and I definately don't have time to do. However, we are lucky this year because we have 3 couples that have thrown their names into the hat. So at the meeting will be voting on our new couple. Whoever it turns out to be I am sure they will do a great job.

I need to work on an article for our newsletter. In January, they asked if I could put something together to let others know about us. I plan to post the article in the blog too. I will probably work on that today.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Love My Ski Pants!

This morning I rode Big Red to work and it was kind of crisp (actually 27 degrees). There was a slight wind and there was a little bite in the air. Luckily, Angie reminded me that we had some ski pants, so I wore them. It made a big difference on the old legs. Actually, it was a nice warm ride. It is amazing how warm you can be if you have the right riding gear. I know that many people that see me in the mornings think, “What an idiot!”. Maybe so, be I know I am warm and enjoying the ride. I also have to remind myself that those same people probably have never even ridden a motorcycle. They have no idea what they are missing.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Murdock Center Ride to Butner NC

Yesterday was a fun day for Slick and I. We traveled with our GWRRA chapter group to Butner, NC and visited the Murdock Center. We started the day riding to Burlington NC to meet our group for breakfast. Most of the group met in Archdale and rode in ahead of us. Since Slick and I saw no need to back track we decided to meet them in Burlington. Once we got to Burlington and dismounted Big Red, Slick made the decision we needed to show some holiday spirit and so she slapped a Santa hat on my big bald head. Slick had a hat too and of course she looked cute. Of course, those that know me, know how much I love Christmas. I felt kind of goofy until I saw my OLD buddy Craig looking as goofy as me (actually, I think he looked worse). However, once we arrive at the Murdock center, no one looked goofier than Kenny in this cool elfing magic elf suit. If I was told I had to wear that, I would have put up a fight about that one.

As we head east to Butner NC, were enjoyed the nice crisp morning air. Actually, it was pretty cool. Everyone seemed to have been prepared for the trip and the crisp air (COLD). Once we arrived at Butner, we pulled in to the Murdock community and there we saw dozens of other bikers. Actually, the unofficial count was 61 bikes rode in for the event. Speaking of the event, the GWRRA chapters were all there to drop off presents for the residents of the community and provide a nice Goldwing parade for the residents. Slick and I participated in the parade and the residents seemed to have enjoyed it as much as we did.

After the parade, some of the residents put on a show for us in the school gym. Some sang Christmas songs. It was amazing to see how talented the residents were and how much they enjoyed performing for us. We were also serviced lunch too; which was nice.

After some of the standard ticket drawings were completed, everyone headed out. Slick and I headed back alone. The ride back was pretty nice since the crispness had worn off (it got warmer). All in all we put on a total of 164 miles. We had a great time.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Foggy Ride this Morning

Well, this morning was an interesting ride. It was dark and really foggy. So as you can imagine that since motorcycles don't have a windshield defroster they will fog up pretty good. Well, Big Red did. So I had to ride a little slower this morning and try to see over the windshield. It was about 55 degrees so the ride was pretty nice if you like to be warm and ride blindly. Actually, it was good practice. I never know when I will run into a bad whiteout.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Ride on 62

It was a another nice day to ride. The high was about 68. So after work I took off on a nice little 73 mile ride down Highway 421 to highway 62. It was a nice ride and very little traffic to worry about. It did take me a little longer than I thought it would. I rode for about 1.5 hours. A lot of the trip was through some small towns like Trinity and Thomsville. I decided to head back on business 85 to end the route. Slick was gone and she was not able to ride with me, but I can see me taking her on the 62 route to Burlington from home. That would be a nice ride for a short day trip.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

After Work Ride

Man it was a nice day to ride but I had to work. I got off work (if you want to call it that) at 3 pm and decided to take a little ride to clear the head. Believe me, I don't work hard enough to have to clear my head. It is just an excuse to ride. The weather when I got off work was in the low 70's. Perfect weather for riding. I took a trip down highway 311 and through Archdale and back home on highway 220 north. It was about a 50 mile ride. So far in the last 5 days I have put 647 miles on Big Red. Actually Big Red needs an oil change.

My goal next month is to ride over 1000 miles for the first time.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Saturday's Ride to VA

Slick and I had a really nice ride yesterday. The weather was great. The high got up to around 70 and so we headed off to VA again. This time we decide to head up 29 toward Reidville and then take a easterly direction toward Oxford on highway 158. That part of the trip was nice. There were a lot of great little towns and farm land on that part of the trip. There was also very little traffic once we got through the busy part of highway 29 in Greensboro. Actually, the traffic was pretty lite considering we left home around 1030. After we arrived in Oxford we headed up highway 501. That was a nice area too. It actually had more farm land than the highway 158 route. From Oxford we headed toward VA to a nice small town called "South Boston". It was a pretty little town. It was so nice we decided to ride through main street to see the small and old buildings in town. The town was very clean too.

After a quick lunch at Mickey D's, we headed west on highway 58 toward highway 29 and back home. By this time we had been gone about 3.5 hours. That part of the trip was mainly all 4 lane highway but it was nice and had very little traffic. We actually saw a yard were someone built a UFO out of tin and placed it in their front yard near the highway. Some people are really out there and have way too much time on their hands.

Once we hit highway 29, we headed back home. We put a total of 225 miles on Big Red that day. It was a nice ride and I actually had very little trouble on Big Red. It is amazing how much you enjoy the trip when you actually improve your riding skills.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Trip to Troy NC

Slick and I took a little 2.5 hour trip down south to a little town called "Troy". Troy is a very small town about 85 miles from our home. It was a nice little trip down some really nice country roads. The only thing missing from the country roads and farms we saw were the bango music from the movie "Deliverance". The weather was great too! It was much better than the last trip we took where Slick was frozen on most of the trip. Today she loved the trip. The weather was great and temperature was near 70. It was a perfect day for riding. The only thing better is a another day of riding, which we plan on tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to head out for a longer trip to Roanoke VA and then down through some of the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA and NC. It should be great. Of course, I will post the notes from that trip later.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Rockingham NC Trip...A Nippy One

Slick and I just got back from a nice 225 mile trip down through Sanford NC and Rockingham. We had never been to Rockingham before and we actually rode right up to the Rockingham Speedway. After going through the nice little town of Rockingham we hit Highway 220 and headedback home. Our original plan was to ride down to Salisbury NC and back home via B85. We were running a little late and we hadto head back home earlier than we expected. We were gone about 4 hours. It was a nice trip but a little too cold for Slick. I was the lucky one becauseI have a tall windshield to protect me. Slick got hit with all the wind. She was a real tough woman and battled the chilly wind. I don't know of too many women that could have put up with a ride like the one we did. She is a good woman and only stopped once so we could thaw out. Overall the ride was a nice one; just a little nippy.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Saturday's NC and VA Ride

Slick and I had a great ride Saturday. The day started out as a planned 2 hour trip just to get out of the house and relax. We originally planned to ride down to Staley NC and through Asheboro NC and back on business 85. Then we planned to head back toward the house. Well we did that and we both realized we wanted to ride more. So we headed toward VA. The VA trip was really nice and we had never taken that route before. It was so nice we are planning to take the same route and go up a little further north into VA in the future. I have a good old AF buddy up around that area that we may plan on stopping into to see. All-in-all the trip was a nice get away and a great stress reliever. We took off on a 2 hour trip and ended up being out for 5 hours and putting on almost 300 miles on Big Red. We are looking forward to our next trip, which might be toward the beach. So many choices and so little time.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Eller Family Fundraiser Update

Saturday was our chapter fundraiser for the Eller family. It was a great success. Our chapter was able to raise almost $2800.00 for the family through the ticket sales for the TV we were raffling off. The bad news is I didn’t win. The good news is that the money will go toward helping the family over the next several months. It will also help them provide a nice Christmas for their 2 young children too.

Our chapter also had a nice yard sell too to raise money for the family too. Many of the chapter members brought a lot of their own goods into sell. All the money went for the Weller family. What amazed me is what people will buy but most of all how cheap they can be. Several of our members had to remind some people the money was for a needy family and it was a fundraiser. Of course, some people wanted stuff for practically free. Sad, just sad… Below is a picture from our yard sale and Slick attempting to sale a couple dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on the highway in front of our yard sale location. By the way, I had 4 and I was told Lennie had about a half dozen. So I don’t feel too guilty.

Later in the day our chapter and some of Craig’s friends had a surprise birthday party for Craig at Captain Tom’s in Staley. The old goat turns 50 on 9 November. We all had a good time and he had a great turn out. You could tell he was loved. Actually, I think most of the people that attended just wanted to make fun of the old goat. Anyway, he deserved a nice party in his honor. He has given a lot to a lot of people, including Slick and I. We are truly grateful for is friendship. Below are a couple of photos from Craig’s birthday party. Make a quick note of Craig’s hat. At first I thought he was the Skipper from Gillian’s Island.

As for riding my bike, I haven’t gotten to ride it in a while. Man, did a lot of us in the chapter want to when we noticed about 20 Harley’s riding by during our yard sale. Half of the day would have been great for a ride. The first half, we would have frozen our butts off.

Slick and I plan to take a trip to VA next Saturday. Most of our trips have been south of home. So we thought a nice ride up highway 29 would be great. I need to get a ride in next week because I have to fly to Detroit the following Monday. As a matter of fact, I am actually writing this blog entry at the airport on my way to West Palm Beach Florida. Going to Florida sounds like a nice trip for the winter, but I would actually rather be home with Slick and riding my bike next week. Oh well, there will be more opportunities to ride in the weeks to come. I am just glad Slick so understanding of the trips I have to take with my job. Most women couldn’t handle all of my travel. She is a strong lady and I am proud to have her for my wife.

I hear them boarding the plane. It’s off to West Palm Beach Florida. I know it is hard, but someone has to do it.

Until next time and enjoy the ride.

Pappy

Shadow was Sold Today

Well, my Honda Shadow was sold yesterday. I sold it to a nice young couple in Liberty NC. They wanted a bike that they could practice with because they are new to riding street bikes. They actually reminded me of Slick and I. Like us in the beginning, they too plan to take the riders course in a couple of weeks and then start practicing on the Shadow. It is an excellent bike for that. It really came in handy when I needed to practice my basic riding skills. Heck, I am still practicing. I guess I always will be. I will miss the little Shadow. It was a good bike. But, of course, it can’t compete with Big Red.

I also got to take Big Red out for a couple of hours on Sunday. It was an excellent day to ride. I took it about 120 (round trip) miles on highway 220. I rode down to Seagrove, NC. It was a nice little ride and a good way to spend a couple of hours. I look forward to riding more in the up coming months, if I can stay home long enough.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Riding When I Can

I rode Big Red this morning. It was a bit nippy but fun. It does pay to have the right gear for riding in 40 degree weather. Yesterday’s ride was a wash. Slick and I were going to ride down to Rockingham and then back up highway 52 to Salisbury and back on Interstate 85 to home. The problem was Slick was sick and it rained most of the morning. Saturday was okay. I did get a chance to ride a little and wash Big Red. It needed it. This week should be a good riding week. The weekend should be nice too. If it is our chapter will be heading to Holden Beach NC for a weekend beach trip. That will be nice and hopefully the weather will hold up so we can ride there. That should be fun.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Ro-Ho Stikes Again!

Last night Slick, Lenny, Johnny, Andrew, Anthony and I headed up to Eden to another chapters meeting and to hopefully regain the plaque. We went didn’t get it. Oh well, there is always next time. We had a good time and Ro-Ho stuck again. The Eden chapter had 3 50/50 drawings and Ro-Ho won 2 of them. The 6 of us that went didn’t win much but Ro-Ho did come through for us. People are starting to hear about Ro-Ho and want to touch the rubber chicken. We don’t mind that because we know that Ro-Ho only works for our chapter.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Upcoming Fundraiser for a Needy Family

Everyone is getting ready for the huge yard sale that will be going on November 4th, at the Pioneer Restaurant in Archdale. It should be a pretty successful event. We have a nice 24” TV that we will be raffling off for only $5.00 each.

I sold 5 tickets today and 2 more tickets for the Victory Junction Fundraiser. Speaking of selling tickets I would like to thank those that have purchased tickets so far. They are:


Gary Engnell
Jo Ann Smith
Tammy Nifong

Without their support, we could not help the family in need. Again thanks.

I will be posting a flyer of the yard sale shortly. I just need to finalize some information from our chapter leaders. I also need to get the flyer finished so we can distribute the flyer to other chapters. We are a heading to Eden to a chapter meeting tonight. Hopefully, we will have a great turn out at the yard sale. The family really needs our help.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Brisk Morning Ride Today

Today was my first morning ride to work in the cold. It wasn’t too bad. My new cold weather jacket did its job and I was pretty warm. I could tell if I had to ride for a long period of time, my hands would have gotten cold. But that is not a problem because I have already bought cold weather gloves for Slick and I. We already have our new thermals ready for the cold weather too. I just don’t know how many times Slick will want to venture out in the cold. I am the nut of the team. My legs got a little cold but it was not that bad. I have the vents that blow warm out of the vents to help with the legs.

It was nice to get to ride Big Red today. I have been gone for a while and haven’t got to ride too much. I was looking forward to riding to work today. It is too bad that I will have to put Big Red back up for a couple of days due to rain coming back into the forecast. Oh well, what can you do, right.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Wings Over the Smokies Group Photo

Here is a nice photo of our GWARRA Chapter NC-G group taken at the Wings Over the Smokies event. We all had a great time. Another great thing was that out of the 19 members that attended, 14 members were new. Now that was great. We are looking forward to next years event. I just hope I don't spend too much money on motorcycle stuff like I did this year.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Victory Junction Gang Fundraiser

Well, as most people that know Slick and I belong to the Goldwing Road Riders Association. But you may not realize that one thing that our club and the organization does is help the community with fundraisers. One organization we help each year is the Victory Junction Gang. Below is the website the Victory Junction Gang.

http://www.victoryjunction.org/aa_home/index.html

With at said, we are offering tickets to raise money for children and in return you could win some cash too. There will be 2 drawings. One drawing is for $250.00 and 2 drawing for $25.00. Each ticket is only $5.00 for a chance at winning the cash. But most of all, you are helping a child.

I do have ticket available. You don't have to be present to win and the drawing will be held December 7th. If you would like to buy and ticket and can't see me, just send me your money and I will mail you your ticket(s). So if you want a chance to win some cash and help a child, let me know. I expect the tickets to go fast.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Still Practicing Stopping

Well, I am still practicing with Big Red. I have noticed one big thing I really need to work on; stopping. As you can imagine knowing how to stop an 800+ lbs bike would be a good thing ot work on. So lately I have been working on making smooth stops. I would say about 60% of the time I do pretty good. The other 40, not so good. I have a bad tendency to look down and lean the bike to the left on my stops. Oh yeah, I take my foot off the the break to early too. It is funny, because when I was taking the motorcycle class a few months ago, my instructor kept telling me to keep my head up and look straight ahead when I go to stop. I was so bad at keeping my head up he asked if I had a neck injury. Now that is bad.

Each morning that do ride Big Red I try to get in a few extra minutes of practice on stopping. I am getting better, but it is taking me some time to break some bad habits. Of course I will need to break those habits because I could drop the bike, hit another vehicle or even worse, throw Slick off the bike. Now that would be bad.

I am sure everything will come around in time. Hey, I have only been on Big Red 3 months. Practice, practice, practice.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Taking the Shadow for a Little Spin!

Today I took my Honda Shadow for a little spin. It is a really fun bike to ride and I can't believe no one has taken me up on the offer for the bike. I really enjoy riding it and I will miss it when it is sold.

Until next time and enjoy the ride!

Pappy

Items for Sale

Here are a few items that I have for sale. I expect them to go fast.

1987 Honda Shadow 700cc
Great running first bike for someone. The bike has less than 17,000 miles, new tune up, new oil and filter change, new battery, new owners/repair manual and new bike cover. Only $2100.00.

New Bell Helmet
Size XL. Never worn. Originally sells for $159.95. Now only $90.00.

Kuryakyn Foot Boards
With heel and toe shifter for GL1800 Goldwing. Like new for only $295.00.

GL1800 Windshield
Windshield has hole for vent. Used, $50.00.

Buyer must pick up or be willing to pay for shipping costs for each item. Photos are available upon request. Call 336-454-5936 or 336-686-4514 for more information.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Watch Those Slick Spots in the Dark

I had an interesting ride into work this morning. The first part of the ride was great. It was a nice cool clear morning ride. However, as I got closer to where I work I had to stop at a red light and it was still dark. I put my left foot down before stopping the bike to help stabilize the bike. That went well. Then I put my right foot down. My right foot almost slipped out from underneath me. Apparently, there was some oil on the road and luckily I didn’t hit the spot before I stopped the bike or I am pretty sure I would have dropped it After I noticed that the oily stop I decided to move up off the spot. The problem was I had a car in front of me. So I moved up as much as I could. I decided to take off slowly just in case I was on the oil spot. Apparently I was. Even though I was going slowly the rear end of the bike fish tailed a little, but not so much to cause me to lose control. The whole experience reminds me of how my brother in law, Scott, hit something slick on his way to work one morning. Unfortunately for him, he had some damage to his bike, helmet and broke his collar bone. Now that would have been bad.

For all your motorcycle riders (new and veterans) be careful out there. Motorcycles don’t care too much for gravel, sand and oil.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

2006 Wings over the Smokies Trip

Well Slick and I just got back from our “Wings over the Smokies” rally in Fletcher NC. We started out last Friday around 7 am and headed off on our trip. Slick and I had breakfast with her parents in Hickory NC. That part of the trip was pretty interesting, since it was a bit nippy at 7 am. We dressed in layers and we were still pretty chilly. Let me tell you, nothing will wake you faster than traveling down the highway at 70 mph when it is around 60 degrees. If you are not too familiar with that temperature, just deduct about 20 degrees and you can imagine how we felt. Anyway, we got to Hickory and met her parents for breakfast. We were pretty chilly at that point and were glad to stop and thaw out. We had breakfast and right before we left it started to drizzle rain. We didn’t freak out or anything. We just grabbed our rain gear and suited up. Actually we should have done that at the beginning of our ride because the rain gear was really good at keeping us warmer. We learned a good lesson there.

So we got suited up, wiped down the bike and headed toward Fletcher. Not long after we started the rain started to end and it actually got a little warmer. We got to Fletcher around noon and looked for our hotel. We checked in and then headed toward the rally to register and find our other Goldwing chapter members.

After we registered we hooked up with Craig, Melinda, Bryan, Donna, Johnny and Anthony. I was told when I first got with our chapter to watch out for my buddy Craig. I was told he would have me buying all kinds of stuff at the rally. And he did. We got there and he took us out shopping for goodies. To be honest, I had planned to buy only some shark fins and a name plate at the rally. But that didn’t happen. Before I knew it, I had a new chrome luggage rack (with bag), new pegs and break peg, shirts, pins and other things I had not planned to buy. But I have to admit, thanks to Craig, I did get some great deals. The man knew so many people at the rally, it was scary. Below is a photo of Craig, Bryan and me. My son calls us the 3 Stooges!

Friday night was really interesting and real adventure. Most of the members of our group did not want to ride our bikes back to the rally from our hotel. So we all decided to take Bryan and Donna’s van back to the rally site from the hotel. We all wanted to go back and listen to the live entertainment (The Embers). The memorable part of the van ride was that we crammed 10 people inside the mini-van. Now that was tricky and painful. We had so many people in the van that it looked like we were a bunch of illegal’s trying to cross the border and we were afraid the border patrol would spot us. I was just thankful we didn’t have a crash because some of us would not have survived the crash. At least if we did have a crash, I would probably have not felt any pain because I was numb from the waist down. Did I mention we had to ride back to the hotel too?

As for the Embers, if you get a chance to see them, I recommend you do. They were great and from Raleigh NC. We all had a great time Friday. Below are some pictures of the bikes we saw:

Saturday morning came and Slick and I headed out for breakfast at our favorite breakfast joint, Denny’s. We love those waffles! We filled up Big Red and headed back to the rally to do some more shopping. We bought more stuff. At 9 am, we worked (if that is what you want to call it) at the games table until 10 am. After a hard hour at work, Slick and I went for a walk and started looking at the bikes that would be entering the bike show. There were some really nice bikes there. Then after we left the bike contest parking lot we started walking around and looked at the other displays. It was amazing to us to see what people can do with motorcycles. There was everything you could imagine there at the rally for motorcycles and the deals were pretty nice too.

Around 2:30 pm, Slick and I headed back to the hotel so we could get ready for the night events and the closing ceremony. Saturday was also the day there was going to be some large drawings for money given away. Two of the drawings, Slick and I entered. One of the drawings was at 3 pm. Of course we didn’t win anything for that drawing, but we did at the later big drawing. What happened was that 11 members of our chapter put in $10.00 a piece to win the large 50/50 drawing. Well, we won it. They actually drew Slicks number and we won $1068.00. That was close to $100.00 a piece. We contributed the win to that goofy chicken Ro Ho. It wins all the time. Now all the members of our group are scrambling to get Ro Ho back so they can win. Now that is pretty funny. After the drawing and closing ceremony we headed back to the hotel for a pizza party and some fellowship. It was fun.

On Sunday we all prepared for our trip back. We were a little concerned about rain due to some powerful storms that were coming through the area. It rained like crazy Saturday night and all the bikes got wet. Luckily, I took the time to cover my bike up and my bike was not soaked. After getting packed we all discussed the routes back we were going to take back home. Our 4 person group just took and a straight shot back on interstate 40 and highway 64. Get this, we had no rain. Now that was luck and the ride was a great one.

All in the entire trip was great. We had a great time and a lot of laughs. We are looking forward to next year.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Great Trip Today!

Slick and I just got back from a nice 200+ mile trip on Big Red. We headed toward Mt. Airy and then decided to take a really nice country road (601). We headed south toward Mocksville and then decided it was time to discuss food. So we made a bee line toward one of our favorite pizza drives in Archdale. We really enjoy Bill's Pizza and Pub. They have some great food there. You could not tell it by the outside of the old building but their food is excellent. Slick said it was her favorite places to have pizza and a nice salad for under 20 bucks. After chow we called our old buddy Craig to see what he was up to. He ask us to come over to his place after we ate and he would put on a used brake peg. We had to take the old one off so we could sell it with the footboards I am trying to sell. I could really tell the difference in how well I handled Big Red since we removed the footboards and put on the standard gear pegs. All in all we had a great time and it was a great day to ride.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Kurayakn Footboards for Sale

If anyone is needing or every wanted to own some great footboards with a heel and toe shifter here is a great deal on one. I am selling my Küryakyn footboards. The footboards normally sell for $350.00. I will take $300.00 for them. Just let me know if you or anyone is interested. I expect them to go fast.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Ro Ho Photo

I figured that everyone would like to see good old Ro Ho. It is the luckiest rubber chicken you can have. Ro Ho was responsible for us winning $51.00 during the 50/50 ticket drawing at our monthly chapter meeting. That is one ugly but one really lucky bird. The above picture is good old Ro Ho with Slick (it's proud new owner).

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Cripple Creek Mystery Ride

Friday night was an interesting night for Slick and I. Craig and his wife, Melinda came up with the idea of going on a mystery ride for dinner. Craig and Andrew came over to install my new windshield and handlebar risers. After installing the new goodies, Slick and I and 9 others went on the mystery ride. Boy, was the ride an adventure. We all meet off of Business 85 in High Point and headed south. We rode for over an hour and ended up in a little restaurant called Cripple Creek. The food and company was great. We left for the dinner around 7:15 pm and got home around 10:45 pm.

It was my first ride at night on a long trip. I was not too thrilled about traveling at night. To me there are way too many distractions to really enjoy the ride. I would much rather ride during the day. Of course, I will have to travel at night, but I plan to keep that to a minimum.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

NC Chapter G Group Photo

I have a lot of people ask me about our chapter group. Well, here is a picture of our group during the recent open house that we sponsored in Asheboro NC. It was a great time.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Slick Got Ro-Ho!

Last night Slick and I attended our monthly chapter meeting in Archdale and we got lucky. Well, kind of. Slick got Ro-Ho. It is a little silly chicken that is given out to people that do something embarrassing and of course, everyone likes to remind them of it. Anyway, Slick was invited to tell her story and of course, and she got to receive Ro-Ho. Now the good news is that Ro-Ho brings a lot of lucky to the person that gets it. For example, Ro-Ho is responsible for winner various drawings and we were no exception. Last night there were 2, 50/50 tickets drawings and guess who got one? That’s right, Slick. We stuffed our tickets into Ro-Ho’s mouth and we won the first drawing of $51.00. Not a bad deal if all you have to do is carry around a lucky and goofy looking chicken for a month. Wouldn’t you say?

Tonight Craig and I are going to put on my new windshield, chrome light trimmings and handle bar risers. Then we are going to have a mystery dinner ride with Craig and his wife and meet others for the ride in High Point. Right now, we have no idea how many people will show up for the ride or where we will be going. It should be fun though.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Shadow, Trips and Future Goodies

I took the Shadow out of a little ride yesterday for old times sake. It ran like a charm. However, it is not like Big Red, but it is fun to ride. The Shadow is a great little bike for anyone looking for a great little starter bike. In a way, I will miss the Shadow when I do sell it. But that is life, I guess.

Tonight Slick and I plan on going to our monthly Goldwing chapter meeting in Archdale NC. It should be fun. We will be discussing the upcoming Wings over the Smokies trip. Also, Craig and I are going to get together Friday night to put on my saddle bags and trunk lighting chrome trimmings on Big Red. We will also be replacing the windshield too. It will be nice to have a larger windshield. We are also planning on putting together an adjustment piece for the handle bars. Craig said it would reposition the bars so they would be 1.5” higher and 1.5” back. I got on his bike and it seemed like the adjustment would be more comfortable. So, of course I have to get the stuff.

The only thing I really have left to buy for Big Red is my chrome crawl, chrome wheel cover, chrome trunk rack, saddle bag and trunk lights (chrome, of course), and chrome air vents. Oh yeah, I need a new travel bag for our extended trips since Slick and I will probably not get a trailer anytime soon. I figure I can get all that stuff by this time next year.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Shadow and Big Red Updates

Well, I got the Honda Shadow back out of maintenance thanks to my buddy Craig. He is a life saver and good friend to have. He has helped me so much with the Shadow and Big Red. I got the Shadow back last night around 8 pm. I had to ride it home. It was dark but that wasn't the kicker. It was raining a little and I did not take my full face helmet or glasses. So of course, I got the crap beat out of me from the rain. I learned a good lesson there. Either remember my helmet and glasses or take Craig up on borrowing his glasses when he offers them.

The Shadow is now ready for sale. I have already placed some ads in the local classifieds and I will be positioning it in various locations to see if anyone is intested. I figure it will go fast because it is an excellent first bike for anyone. I know it helped me to learn to ride.

Speaking of riding, I got to ride Big Red to work today. It was the first time I have ridden it in about a week due to all the rain in the area. Tomorrow Slick and I plan to ride Big Red to our chapter meeting in Archdale. We are going to ride this weekend since I have to head out of town for a week. I hate that!

Friday, I plan to go to Asheboro to pick up my windshield (it finally came in) and my chrome for my saddle bag and trunk lights. Those will be cool to have to put on before our ride to Ashville in 2 weeks for the "Wings Over the Smokies" event. Craig said it will be a huge event and Slick and I are looking forward to that. We are also looking forward the our chapter's beach trip in October.

Life is good!

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Honda Shadow for Sale!

Well, it’s time to sell my first bike. My 1987 Honda Shadow 700cc is a great bike and Slick and I will miss it. So if anyone knows of anyone looking for a great first bike let me know. Here is some information on the bike.

- 1987 Honda Shadow 700cc
- Recently tuned up, oil and filter change
- Under 17,000 miles
- New battery
- Free Shadow manual (new)
- Free Shadow bike cover (new)
- Only deficit are torn seats

Asking price: $2300.00

This bike is a great bike. It is not too big or too small. Most of all, it is great to ride. We will miss it.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

This Weekend Rides

Saturday I took off on Big Red toward Rockingham NC. I was about 30 North of Rockingham before I headed back. It was a pretty cool ride. I hit highway 311 into Archdale, down toward Rockingham and then came back on highway 220 North. It was about a 160 mile trip. It was the first time got a chance to ride this week due to our annual users conference this week. It was nice to hit the road again. I also got the chance to try our the new headsets with the radio and my new CB. It was pretty cool and will be great if I ever get stranded on the road.

Today Slick and I did our Denny's breakfast tour and then headed off to Eden NC. It is up highway 220 North. She had been there about a week earlier and said it was a nice ride. It was. We went through Eden and then continued on up to VA and then back down highway 220 South. It was about a 130 mile trip. We wanted to get some riding in before it got hot. So we rode until 1130. We also got an opportunity to try our our new intercom system and headsets for the first time. They worked great! They made talking to one another a lot nicer and safer.

All in all, it was some nice riding. Soon we will be heading to the Smokies in September for the "Wings Over the Smokies" rally. We are really looking forward to that weekend trip and the October weekend beach trip with our Goldwing Chapter.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Great Ride and Productive Day

Yesterday was a interesting and productive day. It all started out to originally be a short ride to somewhere for a couple of hours and be home before it got too hot. Slick and I were going to go to Denny's for breakfast and then ride for a few hours. Well, it didn't quite turn out that way. Craig called and wanted to know if we wanted to ride. I said yes, but I wanted to ride on some country roads and then be home before it got too hot. He said he would call Andrew and his wife, Vickie, to see if they wanted to come along. They did. So we all meet at the Pizza Pub in Archdale and instead of going to Denny's we decided to head to Burlington for breakfast.

We did take some country roads and it was great. The only problem was that this was the first time Slick and I rode with a group and we saw the need for a CB and headsets. We were in the middle position and had no idea what Craig and Andrew were talking about or planning to do. So I had to really concentrate on what the leader, Craig was doing. That was kind of a pain.

We had breafast and headed back home. Craig is not one to take the same roads back (which was fine for me) and so we had no idea where he was taking us. We stopped shortly after getting started and he asked if we would like to ride down to a relative of Melinda's in Stanford. We thought, hey, why not. After visiting, we headed back to the house. Craig decided to stop for food, so we stopped at a nice seafood place and had a great meal. While eating, Craig asked me when I would like to get my CB and headsets installed. I said anytime. He said, let's do it today when we get back. I thought, why not.

We head back to the house and I took Slick home. I got all my goodies that I wanted installed and headed back to Craig's house. Now it is around 4 pm. Craig installed my CB, headsets, rear speakers and I put all the chrome on. I finally got home around 8 pm. All of us that rode yesterday were gave out. It was a really hot, busy, productive and fun day.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Our Chapter Open House

Today was our chapters open house at the Honda Cycle Center in Asheboro. We had a great time. Slick and I worked the quarter drop game. Slick also made out really well. She won the $100.00 drawing. I got a lot of my motorcycle supplies. I actually came home after the open house and put most of my chrome on the bike. It made a big difference. I have a few more items that I plan to buy for Big Red. Then I will have all the stuff I want for the bike.

There were some great bikes at the open house. I took a few photos of just some of the nice bikes. There was also some great trikes there too. Slick actually took a ride on a trike and loved it. I could tell she liked them. She couldn't take her eyes off the trikes. She rode with one of our chapter members, Johnny. He is also called "Cool Hand Luke". He is a great guy and treated her like a true guest. Like I said, she loved the trike. Maybe when I get too old I will convert Big Red into a trike. But I am not at that point yet.

Below are some of the photos from the open house. We will be having another one next year. It will be bigger than this year. It should be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow we will be riding with 2 couples from our chapter group to breakfast in Burlington NC. We plan to take some nice country roads to eat. It should be fun time.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Asheboro NC Trip and Hitting 1K on Big Red

Slick and I just got back from a little ride down to Asheboro NC. We wanted to find out exactly where the open house was going to take place at the Honda Cycle Shop on Saturday. It was a nice ride and the first ride we have had together in about 2 weeks. We took highway 220 South to Asheboro and then headed back via highway 311. Then we took highway 85 North back to the house.

Sunday, Slick and I plan to go to Hanging Rock State Park. It should be a good ride if we don't get rained on. We plan to get up early before the rain comes and do our little routine to going to Denny's for breakfast and then try to get the ride in before the rain comes. There is a 60% chance of rain that day. We should be able to get the ride in.

By the way, today I hit over 1000 miles on Big Red. That is a big deal for me.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Open House Prep

Today I will be traveling to a meeting with our chapter to go over plans for the upcoming Open House at the Cycle Center on Saturday. It should be fun. I was going to take Big Red to the meeting tonight but it would be kind of hard to strap a large cooler for the open house on Big Red. So guess I will take my truck. The open house should be fun. Slick and I are going to work some detail for a few hours. We don't know what type of job we will have. That will be all up to Craig. He is putting the thing together. I should be getting my goodies too on Saturday. Hopefully, I will get my windshield, headsets, CB and antenna. Craig said I he should be able to get me my fog lights in the next couple of days. All-in-all, Saturday should be a fun day. Sunday will be even better because Slick and I plan to hit the road and do some touring. We haven't gotten to do that in over 2 weeks.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Funny Stuff

I know this isn't motorcycle related but it is still funny. Besides, it my blog right?

WAL-MART APPLICATION

This is an actual job application that a 75 year old senior citizen submitted to Wal-Mart in Arkansas. They hired him because he was so funny.

NAME: George Martin

SEX: Not lately, but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one that will cooperate)

DESIRED POSITION: Company's President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever's available. If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying here in the first place.

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS? Yes, but they're better suited to a more intimate environment.

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER? If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 lbs.? Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR? I think the more appropriate question here would be "Do you have a car that runs?"

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION? I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job - no! On my breaks - yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS? Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

NEAREST RELATIVE.... 7 miles

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes, absolutely.

SIGN HERE: Sagittarius

Old people rock!

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Goldwing Shopper!

Those of you that know me, know I hate to shop. But I have to admit, I am becoming one. I am becoming a shopper of parts for Big Red. You see, Craig (my Goldwing mentor) gave me some magazines to look for parts for Big Red. Bad mistake. I found all types of stuff that I wanted to dress up and improve Big Red. I was really hooked when Craig showed me his awesome bike. It gave me some ideas for what I wanted and made me realize just how plain Big Red is. So I order a new windshield, CB with antenna (not cheap), fog lights, and head sets.

That is just a start of what I want to get. Of course, it is a good start. So in a away, you can say I am a shopper. But like I told Slick, I will keep my shopping to the Internet. It is like Christmas when the packages arrive that way. Oh yeah, I still hate malls.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

New Blogger and Friend

I have a friend of mine whose name is Paul "Pablo" Anderson that has a new blog that he just started. He is an animal when it comes to riding (even though he is a Harley guy). Anyway, I thought you might want to stop by occasionally at his blog to read about his great rides. Maybe it will give you some ideas for some future trips. And if you don't have a motorcycle yet, you can go get one. Slick and I suggest you get a Goldwing, of course. Pablo's new blog is Live to Ride.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Big Red and Shadow Updates

This past weekend I got a little information on the status of my 1987 Honda Shadow. It seems that the shop in Greensboro ripped me off on my tune up. From what Craig (my Goldwing mentor) found out was there is a bad spark plug and it appears that the shop made no attempt to get it out and replace it. Actually, they didn't replace either spark plug. So Craig suggested I buy a couple of new spark plugs and a battery charger for the bikes. The problem was he did not have a socket to remove the one spark plugs. I didn't have one either. So it will be about another week before I can get the spark plugs on and replace them. Then I can sell the Shadow.

As for Big Red. I had a little problem with it Friday. My saddle bag got stuck before I left for home Friday after work. Take a guess which saddle bag had my helmet in it. Well, Slick bought me another helmet. Luckily I have 3. I called Craig and he explained to me how to get into the saddle bag by releasing a plug in the trunk. It worked like a charm. Then Craig dropped by the same day and fixed the saddle bag release arm that came loose. Craig is my hero and really knows his stuff. Luckily he like teaching others about the Goldwings. He will have his work cut out when it comes to helping me. He said call him if I had a problem. I have already taken him up on that offer 3 times.

Also this weekend, I talked to Craig about the items I wanted to buy for Big Red. I will be buying a new tall windshield, driving lights, headsets for Slick and I, rear speakers and a CB. I hope to have that stuff in a couple of weeks and have everything installed by the end of the month.

Well, that is about it for now.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Second GWRRA Chapter Meeting

Last night Slick and I attended our second GWRRA High Point Chapter-G meeting. I was pretty fun. We met for dinner with the group and about 3 other chapters in Archdale. Several member rode their Goldwings to the event. It is always nice to see other Goldwing riders and their bikes. That is why we are looking forward to the open house event in a couple of weeks in Asheboro at the Cycle Center.

As I said, the meeting was fun. There are a lot of nice friendly people at the chapter meetings. Craig (our chapter educator) loaned me a couple of videos to watch on motorcycle riding. One was on Co-riding. It was a good tape. However, the other tape was all jacked up. It was supposed to be on touring and braking. Well, it turned out to be a very old tape on motorcycle trailors and hutches. Of course, I will have to let Craig know about that tape. Luckily it was not a tape of something a little more sensitive, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, back to the meeting. We ate dinner and Vickie and Andrew (chapter leaders) made some announcements on upcoming events. They also talked about Andrew's fail about 4 weeks ago. He broke his collarbone during a freaky accident. His bike was damaged and the group that was with him kind of ran into situation of what to do with the bike and Andrew. They called a new couple in our group for help. This great couple got the call around 10 pm from Craig for assistance. They went to Craigs home to get his trailor and drove about 6 hours (arriving at 5 am) to pick up Andrew and the bike. Then they headed back a couple hours later. Now is that awesome or what? That is an example of the great members we have in our chapter and why Slick and I are excited about being part of High Point Chapter-G.

Also during the chapter meeting a lady from another chapter talked about some great motorcycle glove designed for motorcycle riders. The gloves were developed by a orthopedic surgeon and displayed during the Wing Ding in Nashville. I bought a pair and they are awesome. To find out more about the "Qwi" gloves just go to the Qwi website.

Well there was more stuff that happened during the chapter meeting, but I need to stop this entry. I feel like I am writing a novel.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

GWRRA Chapter Events

One of the things that Slick and I did when we decided to start riding motorcycles was to join a Goldwing Road Riders Assocation chapter. We had heard a lot of good things about them. The GWRRA is a great organization. Not only do the members like to ride, they are really helpful in providing a lot of great guidance and instruction for new riders like Slick and I. The GWRRA also likes to contribute to worthy causes too. We like that idea also.

Below is a list of events coming up for our GWRRA chapter. Slick and I are really looking forward to the Wings Over the Smokies event and several of the other trips if our schedules work out.

Aug 12th Mountain Ride
Aug 15th Bill's pizza
Aug 19th Open House (Cycle Shop)
Aug 26th NCB2 Care Bear Ride (Fundraiser)
Sept 9th Tour de Tanglewood (Fundraiser)
Sept 21st Wings Over Smokies
Oct 7th Victory Junction ride/fun raiser (Charity Event)
Oct 15th Meadows of Dan (pancakes)
Oct 28th /29th Holden Beach

It should be fun.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Too Hot to Ride Today

My plan was to ride Big Red some more today since I am off work today. Then I realized it was going to be around 95 degrees. That is too hot to ride. So, to keep cool and to do something productive I have decided to give Big Red and bath and polish her up. It is a good day for that. It is not a good day to ride. The good thing is all this week I can ride Big Red to work. That will be fun and save me a lot of gas. I like the idea I can fill up Big Red for $18.00 and get 40-45 miles per gallon. Depending on the roads I take, I can get from 270-300 miles per tank. That is not too bad if you ask me.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Great Ride to Lenoir Today

Well, Slick and I just got back from our 270 mile round trip ride to Lenoir NC to visit families. It was a nice ride. Well, at least most of it. We are not too excited about having to put up with the stretch of road on I-40. There are too many idiots on that highway. That is one reason we decided to take 64 to Lenoir. It is a nice ride on that roadway. It is all country roads and most of the people that travel that road must like it too. We saw a lot of motorcycles on it. Actually, we must have seen over a 100 motorcyles on the highway today. I even saw a couple on a red Goldwing like Big Red. That is the first bike that I have seen like Big Red so that was a little strange.

The weather wasn't too bad today. But when we headed back home around 4 pm it was a little humid. Slick and I are really looking forward to riding in Septemeber and October. Now that will be good riding weather. All in all, the day was nice and are great way to spend the day.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Yesterday's Trip

Yesterday was a great day on Big Red. Slick and I took a 4 hour, 200 mile trip. First we headed down toward Lexington and then to Salisbury. After we left Salisbury we had only been on the road for about an hour. That was too short of a trip so we headed to Martinville VA. Slick and I enjoy that road. It really gets us away from the highway and all the heavy traffic.

Today we are heading on a 250 mile round trip to Lenoir NC to visit our parents for lunch. We plan to take I-40 to Statesville and then hit the back road of 64. That will take us into Lenoir. We will also be heading over to Hudson NC. The trip should be a fun one. The weather is supposed to be great. The high will be around 84. It sounds like a nice day to ride.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

This Weekend Planned Rides

This weekend Slick and I plan to do some more practice riding in the local area and beyond. Saturday we plan to make our daily weekend trip to good old Denny's for breakfast. (We love Denny and those awesome waffles). After breakfast we plan to hit the 85 business route to Salisbury and then venture out to some other areas. The reason for the scoping out Salisbury is that is where we plan to head back to Sunday. On Sunday we plan to take Salisbury to 70 and then 64. We will be following 64 all the way into Lenoir NC. That is where we plan to meet Slick's mom and dad for lunch and then take a little trip to see my mom. The whole trip should be around 250 miles. That will be pretty cool because it will be our first long distance trip together. Of course, I will post how the trip turns out. There is a 40% of rain. Hopefully, we don't get wet (we have rain gear now) or we have to cancel the trip.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Slick Rode with Me Today!

Today I rode Slick on Big Red for the first time. I was a little worried about riding a passenger since I am still a new rider and getting use to riding a motorcycle myself. After practicing on Big Red a few minutes Slick asked me if I was ready to take her for a spin. So I thought, yeah, why not? So she put on her stuff and we took a few trips up and down our favorite parking lot. Then I started practicing the stops and wide turns with her. Then we worked on the tighter turns. I was really amazed of how much I didn’t feel her on the bike. One reason is the bike is big and designed to hold passengers. Another reason was that Slick is a great passenger. She sat up close to me, made no sudden adjustments on the bike and leaned when I leaned. Like I said, she was a great passenger. The plan now is for me to practice a few more hours with her one more day. Then we plan to take a mini trip down to Lexington and back. Soon we will be heading to Lenoir NC to visit family and friends. Our next real trip will be the “Wings over the Smokies” in September. Now, that will be fun!

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

NC and VA Trip

Well, I took my first long distance (long distance for me) trip on Big Red. I stated out in Jamestown and then headed up to Martinville VA. From there headed west to Stuart VA. Once I got to Stuart the ride got interesting. Stuart is a small town and there where I got a taste of some nice curvy roads. Actually, I was about 10 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was very tempted to go to the BRP, but I didn't want to be gone all day. Below is a picture that a cross country bike rider took of me over one of the overlooks. I returned the favor for him.

There was one thing I didn't plan for. Since I was riding solo I knew I needed to call Slick to let her know I was okay. If anyone is heading that way, there is no cellular phone coverage. I wasn't able to call Slick until I was heading back and got to Madison NC off of highway 311.

On the trip I actually saw a small black bear crossing the road. I kind of expect deer, but not black bears. The roads were nice in the country and there was very little traffic. The weather was nice and I wasn't that hot until I had to stop for water. Then I felt the heat. The total ride was a little under 200 miles and it took me about 4 1/2 hours. It was a nice ride. I just wished Slick could have had an opportunity to enjoy it with me. I kind a like her!

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Next Mini Trip

Tomorrow I am off work. I plan to ride up to a little town on the border of NC called Price. I will probably go into VA since I will be so close to the state. Slick has to work so I will be going solo. This weekend I will be practicing with Slick on Big Red in the parking lot. I want to practice with her so I can get use to having a passenger on the bike. I don't see any problems as far as stopping, starting, cruising on the highway or wide turns. The tricky stuff will be the tight turns with a passenger. So I will be practicing that for a week or so. Our plan is to take a few small trips on Big Red starting in August. The Wings Over the Smokies is in September and we plan to do that trip. For now, I will be heading to VA tomorrow morning. It should be a nice relaxing ride.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Our New Logo

I was messing around with the Microsoft Paint program and came up with a new logo for Slick and I. I thought I would share it. Let me know want you think of it. Slick liked it so much she wants us to make some T-shirts. I don't know about that. Here it is:

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Tail of the Dragon

Here is route that I had been hearing about for quite some time. It is the "Tail of the Dragon" and it's on the border of TN and NC. It has over 300 turns. It looks like a great place to ride a bike. Actually, it one of the best roads in the country for motorcycle riders.

Actually I just want to say I rode it. To check it out go to:

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

I may try to go to the Tail of the Dragon in the Fall.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Good Morning Ride to Work

I was kind of nice to ride to work today. It was nice and cool and pretty much no traffic. Another great thing was to be riding down the road and jamming to my ACDC CD. It sounded pretty good for only having front speakers. I will be installing the rear speakers soon and I can really do some jamming on the way to work. Hopefully, I will not wake up too many people.

As for me, nothing wakes a guy up more than riding a Gold Wing and jamming to some good tunes.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy

Lessons Learned...So Far

It has been a little over 2 months since I started riding a motorcylce. It has been about 3 weeks since I started riding Big Red. I have came a long way considering I never rode a motorcycle in my life and now I am riding one of the biggest ones made today. Actually, I am pretty proud of that. So is Slick!

So what have I learn so far? Here are some of what I have learned while riding Big Red.

Speed is My Friend: I started realizing that motorcycles need speed to stay up. Handling a bike weighing over 800 lbs is a bit scary and you need speed to keep it up. I had to realize I needed to learn to adjust me speed on turns more than anything. Going down a road at 60 MPH is easy. Turning a tight turn at 5 MPH is another story. Speed is everything on a motorcycle.

Big Red is Well Balanced: I realize more and more each day that Big Red is a very well balanced bike and it takes little effort to keep it up and steady. For example, I can maintain a speed of 2 MPH and still keep it up at a light. To me that is amazing that it is bike is built that well.

Practing Your Turns: Turning is a skill that needs to practiced more than anything. I can lean the bike pretty well on turns. Actually, it is pretty natural for me to lean the bike. Taking sharp turns at a complete stop is a skill that needs to be practiced all the time. The thing is I get better at turns the more I practice on the highway. I can't afford to mess up there.

Learning to Stop: Big Red is a big bike. One of the first things that was killing me was stopping that bad boy. That took some practice. Now it is getting a lot easier. I still have to be prepared to catch the bike if I stop too quick or I am not concentrating on the stop.

Don't Be Afraid of the Big Bike: Getting on Big Red for the first few times was pretty scary for me. I actually dreaded it. One thing that kept me motivated was that I had a 19K bike sitting in my garage and I was determine to ride it. Plus, Slick and I planned to take some trips this Fall. I was not going to let the bike kick my butt. But I have to admit, it did intimidate me a lot at first. Now I look forward to riding it each day.

Practice with a Smaller Bike: One of the best things I did was get a smaller bike to practice with. The Shadow was perfect for that. I would not be on Big Red now if it wasn't for being able to practice with the Shadow.

Taking the Motorcycle Course: It was one of the best investments I ever made. I learned a lot from the course. It showed me what to practice, safety and gave me a lot of practice. Being a new rider, it was vital to me getting on the bikes as fast as I did. Plus, it saves me about 10% on my insurance.

Take the Parking Lot Practice Slow: I used a timeline to practice riding the Shadow. I didn't venture on the roads for about a month. After that, I decided I was ready for the road, traffic and all the little suprises of riding on the highway. The parking lot practice was great and I will continue to use it to practice and refine my skills and practice new ones.

Learn About Your Bike: I did a lot of research on Big Red. I knew what type of bike I wanted and I wanted something comfortable and dependable. I almost got a Royal Star Venture and after just setting on one, I realized it wasn't for me. After setting on the Gold Wing, I was hooked. It just felt right and I knew it was one of the best bikes ever made.

Know Your Gears: If you want to really get a good suprise, have a Gold Wing in the wrong gear when you take off. You will get a great suprise. I realized that when I took Big Red out of my driveway for the first time. It doesn't like 1st gear. I realized that 1st gear on Big Red is a granny gear. As with most grannies, it was slow and wanted to hold back. I realized that I need to be in the proper gear or I was going to know I wasn't real soon (in some cases, I did). Believe me, if you in the wrong gear on a Gold Wing, you will know it.

Those are just a few things I have learned so far. I am sure there will be more.

Until next time and happy riding!

Pappy