Wednesday, August 30, 2006

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

Sunday, August 27, 2006

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

Monday, August 21, 2006

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

Saturday, August 19, 2006

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

Thursday, August 17, 2006

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

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

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

Monday, August 14, 2006

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

Saturday, August 12, 2006

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

Monday, August 07, 2006

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

Friday, August 04, 2006

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