Friday, June 30, 2006

Bummer...Shadow Not Ready

Well, after taking in the Shadow for some maintenance it turns out it is going to be more of a challenge to the machanics than they thought. I guess they are not use to working on older model Honda motorcycles. They apparently got started working on it at 10:00 this morning. I called at 3:00 pm to find out how it was coming along. The head machanic in the shop said it would probably be more like mid day on Saturday before they could get it ready because they have to practically take it apart to get to what they need to work on.

So I guess Slick and I will not be riding to Mt. Airy on Saturday. But we still plan to go in the truck. We can always go back on the bike in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow will be my first day of riding Big Red. Hopefully I don't drop it. I am pretty nervous about taking off out of my very steep driveway. If I get it out of the driveway I plan to take it to the same parking lot I used to practice on the Shadow. I am more worried about getting it out and in to the carport than anything else. When and if I do make it to the parking lot, I plan to work on stopping and turning. I have the gears down okay.

Unitl next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Mom on the Gold Wing

Part of cycling is sharing your experiences and joy of riding with others. One of the people I look forward to taking on a short trip or two is my mom. Once I get more experience on the Gold Wing I plan on giving her a little ride. She lives at the foothills of Boone, NC. It is a great place to ride. For now, she will have to settle with just sitting on Big Red.


Love ya Mom
Roger

Thursday, June 29, 2006

MS Drive...Would You Like to Help?

A good Air Force buddy of mine named Sam Gibson is going to complete his annual MS drive and I thought if you would like to help, here is your chance. Actually, he and his son will be doing the drive together. The drive is the annual MS 150 Bike Ride for the Cure. It is a pretty tough drive and Sam does it every year. He is a very caring person and I admire him for that.


So if you would like to help, just take a look at the flyer and do what you can. I will be pledging $50.00.

MS 150 Drive for the Cure

Good luck Sam and Josh. You guys are awesome!

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

High Gas Prices...No Problem!

I started out the day riding the Shadow to work. I wore my new Gold Wing jacket and it felt great. I could tell it was made for hot days because I could feel the air through the jacket. I also like the feel of protection from the jacket too. It was well work the money. Now I need to get Slick one.

On the way to work I stopped and got gas for the first time for the Shadow. I figured I should since the red indicator light came on saying, “okay dummy, you need to get some gas or you will need to call Slick”. (Did I mention the Shadow is a 1987 model and does not have a fuel gauge?) Anyway, I filled up for a whopping $7.20. Gas prices, no problem. Since I compare that to filling up my Toyota Tundra for over $55.00. I will take the motorcycle any day.

On today’s agenda, I will be dropping of the Shadow for some maintenance. The plan is to go get it tomorrow afternoon and test it out to see if it performs any better. I figure it will since it probably hasn’t been worked on in a while. The last thing I want to do is get stranded on the way to Mt Airy Saturday. Besides, I don’t want to miss the world famous pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

High Point Wing Possie

Earlier I mentioned the great people from High Point Goldwing group Slick and I met last night. Here is a great photo of the gang. Fun was had by all.


Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

The Shadow Back on the Road

I took the Shadow out today and rode it to work. It was nice to ride it again. We had a lot of rain over the last few days and so I was looking forward to riding again. I imagine a lot of riders were. Tomorrow, I plan to ride to work again. After work I will be taking the Shadow in for some maintenance. There is no telling how long it has been since the last good maintenance was done on the bike. I also plan for the mechanics to look at the steering wheel and brake light issue I have with the bike. For some reason the brake light stays on when I lock the front wheel. What that does is drains my battery. I have a new battery right now that I ordered and put in. I plan to talk to Triad Motorsports about that issue tomorrow when I drop it off. If all goes well, I will pick up the bike on Friday. Hopefully, it will be in great shape for the ride to Mt. Airy NC on Saturday. That should be a fun trip.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Great GWRRA Group Meeting

Slick and I attended a nice meeting last night. It was a regional GWRRA group meeting with other Goldwing riders and members. We met some great people. One couple was Andrew and Vickie. They were our host and they were great. Both welcomed us with open arms and made us feel very welcomed.

Slick and I do plan to join the group. There are some great people in the groups with a lot of knowledge and experience with Goldwings and riding. Hearing about their past rides and to see the excitement about their future rides was great.

As for future rides and gathering, they have a lot to choose from. One of rides we plan on attending is the "Wings Over the Smokeys" in September. I should be able to ride well enough to ride with them then if I practice all I can.

I do know I will need some more gear. One thing I will need is headsets for Slick and I. Since we will be riding in groups in the future I will also invest in a CB. No, my handle will not be "Bald Dude". I will stick with Pappy. They also had some very nice bikes. My bike is what they called a "Naked Goldwing". Of course, my bikes appearance will change over the years. I am sure the GWRRA group members will see to that.

All in all the meetings, the people and the activities should be great. Of course I will keep everyone posted on some of the cool stuff Slick and I get to do on some of the trips. Right now we are looking forward to going to Mt. Airy NC this weekend to get a world famous pork chop sandwich.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Happy Birthday Slick!

Well today is my best friends birthday. Slick is a year older but better than ever. I dare not tell anyne her age. She would kill me if I told you her age, so I will stop right there. Any who, I would like to wish my best friend, best mother to my son and wife a very special happy birthday. She is only getting better.

I can think of no one else I would rather share a birthday with.

Love ya Slick!

Pappy

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

CamoGreg's Blog

I was searching through some other motorcycle blogs today and came across and pretty cool blog. CamoGreg was recording his adventures out west. It is a nice read and really got me pumped up for Slick and my trip out west next year. We plan to take a 10 day trip out west. We plan to start in NC. We will venture to TN, AR, TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO, KS, MO and WV.

We have a few friends we want to see along the way too. We plan to see our son and Delta, Paul Anderson, and Joe Brown and his family.

It will be a challenging and great trip. We plan to record our experiences along the way too.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

New Stuff is Coming!

Well, it's almost time for my supplies that I ordered. Actually, it feels like Christmas when I get packages. I ordered a few things to help Slick and I out for our trips and our bikes. I ordered 2 motorcycle covers. One for Big Red and one for the Shadow. I also ordered a new rear speaker kit, bags for the side luggage compartments and trunk, a new kick stand, rain suits and a AirTek Goldwing jacket.

Chrome World had to order a copy of things that were on back order and I should have them around the middle of next week. They had to order my rainsuit and gloves for me and Slick.

My next order is to get Slick's AirTek Goldwing jacket. After that we should be set for a while. At least until I find some other cool stuff to buy.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Monday, June 26, 2006

The Mayonnaise Jar and the 2 Cups of Coffee. . .

This is not motorcycle adventure related unless you consider the people you care about. I got this from a motorcycle buddy of mine and I felt I had to share it.

The Mayonnaise Jar and the 2 Cups of Coffee. . .

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Great Motorcycle Sites

Below are a few websites that I have found pretty interesting for Goldwing riders or any motorcycle rider. Hey, I like all motorcycle riders because we all love to ride. Checkout these cool sites:

-
Goldwing Road Rider Association (GWRRA)
-
Wing Ding
-
Chromworld
-
Blue Ridge Parkway

* The Blue Ridge Parkway is very special for Slick and I. It was where we had our first date and we ran out of gas. Boy was that fun?

If you have any nice motorcycle related websites or locations that others might find useful, send them to me. Slick and I would love to hear about them.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Need a Kick Stand?

Part of motorcycling is ordering, buying, sharing and trading parts. It just so happens that the chrome kick stand that came with my 2004 Goldwing is actually not the one I want. So I am looking to sell it for $30.00. The original price for one is around $60.00. So if you know of anyone needing one, let me know. If I don't hear anything I guess I will resort to good old Ebay.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Future Trips

A couple of people have asked me where Slick and I plan on venturing in the near future. Here are some of our trips we plan to take:

- Mount Airy, NC
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- Goldwing Wing Ding 2007 in Nashville
- 10 Day Trip our West in 2007
- East coast beach trips
- Arkansas to see our son Jordan and new daughter-in-law, Delta

Of course there will be more trips. These are only a few to get us started. Hey, we are just getting started.

Until next time, happy riding!

Pappy

Heading to Mayberry

Have you ever heard of Mayberry and the Andy Griffith Show? If you are from the south, I know you have. Did you know the show was based off of a little town in Mt. Airy NC? Well it was. So in the spirit of Barney, Slick and I plan to head to Mount Airy this weekend to check it out. They actually have a time of the year there that you can get the full feel of good old Mayberry. That happens in September during Mayberry Days.

The trip is about 45 miles from my home. So it will make an excellent short day trip on the bike. Of course I plan to take a few pictures and I may post a couple of them.

To find out more about Mt. Airy and what is has to offer, check out
http://www.visitmayberry.com/

It should be fun and of course they have BBQ there at Aunt Bee's place.

Until then, happy riding!

Pappy

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Lexington NC Trip

Today Slick and I decided to take a little trip to Lexington NC. We hit I-85 and started toward Asheboro NC. It was a nice ride and mostly interstate. We were a little concerned about the weather at the start of the journey. It was looking a little cloudy and they were calling for rain. That didn't keep us from going. We just had to ride.

So we put on our gear and hit the road. We headed to Asheboro and then highway 311. Highway 311 was nice and took us back toward High Point and home. As we headed home I decided that the trip wasn't long enough. So we headed to Lexington. There was no reason to go to Lexington except to say we had been there. The trip to Lexington took us an extra 30 minutes.

After visiting the big town of Lexington we headed back. The sky wasn't looking too good. About halfway home we hit rain. Actually it was our first time being caught in the rain. It was actually pretty nice. It smelled great! Slick wanted me to pull over under a bridge but I thought, "hey we can't get any wetter". So we pressed on. We got home a few minutes later and the rest of the afternoon it never rained. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Later, I decided to do something I should have done before our trip; bought a rain suit. Our 2 rain suits are on their way. Just in time for our next trip.

Until then, happy riding!

Pappy

Welcome!

Hi there. This is Roger (aka Pappy) and I would like to welcome you to Pappy and Slick's motorcycle adventures. Angie (aka Slick) is part of this little venture. You see, we started our mid life crisis and with that came motorcycle riding. The weird thing is neither one of us had ever ridden a motorcycle. Not even a scooter. So one day we decided to get one. We went all out. We also took a motorcycle safety course. We got a 2004 Goldwing. And as you can imagine, I almost killed myself on it.

So what did we do? We did what any other smart middle age couple would do, we bought another motorcycle. We found a 1987 Honda Shadow thanks to my brother-in-law Scott. It was something for me to practice on and it helped a lot. I practiced for a few weeks and then I started riding Slick on the back of it. She was a little nervous at first, but like a real trooper she hung in there. Now she loves it. Then next step is getting on the $17,000 Goldwing.

In the future we plan to post some of our small and big adventures. We hope you do the same if you are a motorcycle rider too. Soon we will be taking trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the east coast beaches and other surrounding areas. It should be fun.

Until later, happy riding!

Pappy