yo dudes

i finally have all the parts i need to get my bike back on the road. i lucked out and was payed for all of the damages to my ride including medical bills too. all i have to do now is find the time to work on the poor thing... sunday is the only day i can. anyway, its been a shitty past 3 months for me not being able to ride, and i look forward to getting back out there with you guys.

Speaking of Down...

I found myself laying on my back on Union Ave this morning after a guy opened his car door without looking. I'm glad I wasn't moving fast. My ankle hurts, bent shift lever and my mirror is pretty much toasted. Sweeeeeeeet ;(

Who's down?

Who's ready for round 2?

According to googlemaps, Robbinsville NC is only 13 hrs away. Add and subtract as necessary as we won't be traveling speed limit but will need to stop for gas more often. The prospect of riding even our furthest local roads is depressing me and I wanna go back even if it's only for a couple of days.

There are so many road we didn't hit because of time constraints so I wanna go hit them now. A 13 hour day on the bike is nothing for us, we can shoot down there in one shot. Ride a couple of days and shoot back home. I'm think a friday to monday thing for sometime in October. We stay in a cheap motel near the Dragon and that will be that.

Who's down?

GC - You f'ed up the NYMMC board

E- Your ride report totally screwed up the formatting of my browser configurations. DAMN You!!

Now I have to retaliate once I get my 4 dozen pictures uploaded and my "behind the scenes" video compiled.

A day and a half to go

Just finished packing... it's 1am. Had to pack tonight since I'll be at work all day tomorrow and I won't have time to do it before the fellas come by and scoop up my bag.

Oh my lord, I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Hey Diz,

I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. If there's anything i can do dont hesitate to call me. The Usual Suspects are my brothers outside my family. Good luck on your apartment hunting and hope to see you on our next ride.

A rant on Ducati owners...

I know most of us grew up riding [or still ride] Ducatis but recently I've found Ducati owners in general to be totally annoying. Is it just me? I find them to be really close-minded about bikes/groups/forums that don't involve v-twins. Who the f cares? To top it off, it seems like only 10% of people who have Ducatis actually put miles on their bikes and know how to ride. - Ride the damn thing, it's what it's made for. They're f*ckin dorks who's bikes are like precious little projects that they dump all their money into and barely ride them - like a "big" 3 hour trip to bear mountain and another hour just to clean it. Ugh. OK.. I'm done. Am I a jerk?

I guess it this argument could apply to any bike scene... people do the same with Harleys.. it's just annoying.

[rant courtesy of riding with a group from the DMF Northwest]

Oh Snap!

So I finally went to Fossil yesterday. I went with 2 people from PNWRiders.com. It was just 3 of us. Diana led, Steve and I followed, then took turns leading on the way back. Who knew girls could ride? - just kidding... this girl ripped. It was a 450 mile suspect style trip. I was amazed with the high desert in Oregon. Once we got past the Mt. Hood area everything levels off into dry plains [long flats to open it up], then it turns into a desert with canyons and rolling hills. There's nothing out there except small towns 30 miles apart. The road that was my jam was RT218 from Antelope to Fossil. Very similar in feel to our beloved 519 except 30 miles long with no trees, houses, cars or cops. You guys would have loved it.

Not leading this Sunday

Wow. It's just hitting me how much stuff is happening right now in my life.

Some of you know some of this already, but it's been on my mind a lot and it seems as good a time as any to tell you all. First, and most important, my dad is not doing well. In fact, he's dying. Not quickly, not painfully, but gradually and definitely dying. He's been getting gradually sicker for about three years now. Specifically, he has pulmonary fibrosis--nobody knows where it comes from for sure, and there's no cure or even treatment. He's just getting weaker and smaller. Needless to say, it's the hardest thing I've ever gone through.

I'm mostly telling you all this because riding with you every week is one of the things that's making this more bearable. It's almost as good as therapy (which I'm doing also). Thank you all for being my support group, even if you didn't know you were. Sundays have been the only time when I can completely let go of the rest of my life, ride motorcycles, talk shit and eat terrible things. Just don't let me bum any cigarettes. That's the last thing I need.

The second thing is that Kim and I decided we have to move this month. So, I need to spend all my spare time apartment hunting. We're pretty picky about what we're looking for, so it doesn't leave much time for anything else this month. Thus, I won't be leading a ride this Sunday, and except for the Big Ride to NC, I probably won't get much riding in at all for a bit. Sorry to all, but I'll make it up to you soon.

Fuck.

I needed that. Thanks for reading.

Diz

Suspect Track Day

Peter found this.. and it's on a weekend!

Thunderbolt 10/3-10/5
Absolutecycle.com $75 annual membership.
$530 for 3 days or 190/day

Final Experiments with video making!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x2O0Evkbkg

For the Dragon trip - who has a "tripod" mount where we can mount my little videocam?

Tony's Track Days Sept 29/30

Thinking about this... 1 or 2 track days.... or ARC plus 1 track day in NH Sept 29/30
http://www.tonystrackdays.com/category/3281/register-for-an-event.htm

Money is tight, especially after my trek across country but I've been working a lot out here so I may be able to manage this. [Also credit cards are an amazing thing as well]

Anyone else interested?

Dragon Trip Logistics

GC - I know you're doing all the trip planning and route planning, etc...

On the boring tip... I got the AlimonyMobile(tm) all tuned up, new brakes, new oil, etc. (gotta love stupid service people). I am bringing a laptop and a bunch of computer and camera goodies. I will have chargers for blackberry and iPhone, iPod gadgets, AND I have a 3 ton car jack I've been carrying around in the trunk for the past 3 months. Kinda forgot about it. May not need the rear stand. Will also be packing a hefty first aid kit. No GPS, though - sorry. Cru - talk to me about your tool kit.

I will ask people to pack judiciously. I think there are now 5 riders and me. The AlimonyMobile (tm) is a family sedan, not a FedEx Truck! What I'm saying is - pack for the week and pack well, just don't go nuts!!

I'm probably going to have my car in the city from next weekend onward (street at night, garage during day) to facilitate loading and provisioning. Let me know how you want to work things, and work directly with me to coordinate. I think you all have my cell and work numbers?

I'm at the beach through Monday morning, back in the city Monday night. Call me or email me with questions and requests. For example - I need to snag a gas can at some point. Will prolly get that this week.

Video FINALLY Works

I'm not too happy with the compression, but I have the technology - I can improve,

Remember the email I sent a few of you about time-lapse photography being made into a movie?

I present my own humble first effort!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1tp3Irp3XQ

This version seems to have appeased the YouTube servers.

Just imagine the road trip possibilities!!!!

Now, if I can just figure out a way to do this on a motorcycle I'd be SET!!!

This is what I'm talking about...

Hey dudes.. took little ride yesterday to snap some pics for you. Come out and ride with me! It's not so fun without the mom jokes. Pictures are from an area in Washington near/around the Klickatat River. I was gone about 5 hours and 160 miles [+ 2 gas ups and a tacobell stop].

I'm 90% in for the Dragon. Word up.

New Background Pic

Well, it's been updated. I tried to do the US logo, but do to the amount of contrast I was unable to find a text color that was readable. So, I put up this pic of the Cherohala Skyway. If you have any pics that you think would work for a good background just let me know. Word.

Trip

All - with the latest round of drama happening around here I've decided that for ME, going to the GP race in Indy wouldn't be the best thing for me to do as far as the fun factor goes. While I must admit that this "drama" has definitely played a part in my decision, it's not my only reason for not wanting to go. Mainly, this trip to Indy was all about the riding for me, the race was always secondary. That being the case, I figured why not ride the reputed "best" roads in the country rather than riding "good" roads with a mix of slab...

I stated my case to the guys at the diner last night, and to my surprise and delight, Alan, Diz, and Tommy all want to come along. What does this mean? It means that we're going to sell our tickets to the race, hopefully we'll be able to. It also means that Jake will be going to Indy solo. I'm hoping that his journey will be a positive experience for him and that upon completion of his trip, he will have learned something about himself. I'm also hoping that when we ALL return from our trips that we will once again be able to ride together not only as a group, but as a tight bunch of friends.

Once again for the cheap seats - Tommy, Alan, Cassidy, and myself are going to the Dragon instead of Indy. We'll be leaving town Wednesday evening (9/10) and returning Wednesday (9/17). If anybody else would like to come, or meet us there, please let me know ASAP. We'll be staying in different places throughout trip but once we reach "The Smokies", we'll be setting up a base for a few days, hopefully in a luxury type cabin as seen here (OH SNAP!!!). Once we're settled into a cabin, we'll be doing day rides from there. For Tommy, there'll be plenty of different types of activities for you to do if you're so inclined, like this for instance. Also, at some point along the journey (probably on the way out), we'll be stopping here as I'm a fan and always wanted to go. I'm planning the trip as I type, but will nail everything down as the weeks pass. Rooms will have to be booked, cabins rented, but that all hinges on the route which I will be creating soon enough. Smiles everyone smiles, welcome to the Usual Suspects.



ps - Tommy, I'm really happy that you caught my Airplane reference last night... I knew I was right about you... LOL

Check it out!

I think the el cheapo video cam is a keeper!!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u7xu3RAwh2c

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JSNE7R3uGzU&feature=user

What a nice dinner

GC, Dizz, Cru, Tommy and Pak all sat down tonight, had some food (everyone except Pak) and had a gooooood, loooooong chat.

Kumbaya bitches!

Thinking about a paint job...

The stock graphics on my bike are pretty wack.
I'm thinking of a paint job... thoughts?

Some final thoughts

Guys, I'm really disappointed with all this.

I really thought that you two could come to an amicable settlement. I had a hunch that the whole idea of "The Usual Suspects" would suffer because of a monstrous clash of personalities, but I really didn't think it would resolve (devolve) like this.

Eric and Jake, your public sparring and sniping went too far, and the pettiness of the last few comments of the "Jake" post truly bear this out.

The sharp comments I have for you are this:

Eric - you need to be far more open about how you feel and why. Please! To the untrained observer this all looks like you are just harboring a grudge. Your silence on things is a bit too enigmatic. Chicks may dig it, but being a leader... no.

Jake - you need to have more presence of mind and sensitivity to others. That's a general, overall observation. While your snarkiness and (occasionally) abrasive wit aren't going to change - you should learn to modulate it for the circumstance. Please!

There. None of that should be news to either of you.

..........

There have been a lot of emails, text messages and blog posts these last few days.

Let's all just chill for a while.

Right now, 11pm on Tuesday - I'm on the fence about Indy. I'm a little too upset by all this.

I will - however - be at the diner on Cadman Plaza on Thursday regardless if anyone wants to talk.


PS - I'm not above criticism by any stretch.

Thursday - August 21st - 8:00pm

Ignore what I originally posted.

Here's a replacement.

Carry on!

Jake

First and foremost - you're my friend, and you always will be. Don't lose sight of that fact.

I'm posting this here as opposed to a personal email because this involves everybody. I'm the one typing this out but unfortunately for you, I'm not the only one that feels this way about some of your behavior and riding habitats, it's NOT just me. What am I talking about? In short -

The asinine way you ride. You're not safe, your unpredictable and I don't trust you. As far as I know, nobody else does either but I can't speak for everyone. YOU were the real reason for the "safety meeting". While it's true there were other things I wanted to talk about, you were/are the main problem and playing sweeper does not make anything better. The time of sugar coating things is over. Riding is supposed to be FUN. When we're out riding we're free from "reality" and all of life's commitments. Riding should not be stressful, your riding partners should not piss you off, otherwise, what's the point?

Your constant lateness and your constant issues. You may think it's funny but everyone is or has already started to recent you for it. YOU ARE WASTING OUR TIME.

The fact that something ALWAYS happens to you or your bike. Always. It holds us up, it ruins our days. I can see the odd mechanical or event to make you late, but EVERY SINGLE TIME?

The idiotic jokes that you make when things are going bad. Your jokes and comments are not appreciated and they only make things worse. I thought I already made that clear. You need to grow the fuck up already.

The fact of the matter is, you're my friend. I do enjoy riding with you but you are making push come to shove and if my other friends lives/driving records are stake, then I figure it's time to say something.

You fail to see the bigger picture of what's going on. I don't know if you just don't "get it", or are just too immature or ignorant to recognize it.

You've shown no remorse for anything - the Adirondacks trip, and all the times you make us wait. Nothing other than another stupid joke. Saying sorry does not make it better. You need to start acting like an adult and stand by your actions. To throw "Well you didn't have to wait for me" in my face after the fact is absolutely no help. You don't get that we're waiting for you because we CHOOSE to, not because we have to. That's what friendship is about but instead of you raising it a level, you somehow manage to bring it down a level.

I didn't want to write this as I think we need to "talk" but to be honest, I just don't have the energy anymore and I'm caring less and less everyday. It's time for you step up.

The Indy trip... I'm up in the air. I feel like all the time and energy I've already spent on it for research and such is already wasted. I may not go even though I would truly love to. If anything, feel free to mail me ticket that I bartered you for and perhaps I'll see you there. Or not, I may just decide to do a trip to the dragon instead.

So what's it gonna be, are we gonna sit down and go over your behavior and what you can do to change it, as well as come up with strict rules for you to abide by, or are we going to dissolve this? Are you going to able to listen to all of our criticisms and change them like an adult AND like a friend? Again, this is not only me talking, whether you know it or not, you've pissed off most if not all of us. I'm no saint, but I'm not the problem either. What's it gonna be?

520 Conversion Kit

Hey guys.. it's about time to replace my sprockets/chain. Should I go 520 or stay with the 530?

The Suspects...

I'm not sure why, but I've been told that we're "the cool kids" around our local interwebs... I find that to be very funny as we just started out as a buncha doods that liked to ride for long periods of time. Now we've evolved into some sort of celebrity - even if it's only in a miniscule part of the world. We've also formed a tight riding crew that can and will tackle anything throw at us. And to top it all off, I've managed to make some great friends.

You guys are tits. I mean it. The kind of tits that if I were a lady for a day, I wouldn't leave the house cause I'd be playing with them all day. You know the kind, firm yet forgiving, perky without being too "in your face", areola sized just right - not too big as to look like a flapjake, not so small that they remind you of your dad's nipples...

But I digress... you guys are tops. Just wanted to say it.

Portland Report

Hey guys... so I finally made it in about 4 days and about $600 in gas plus tolls and hotels. - I kind of underestimated how thirsty my car would be while towing the bike. I left Brooklyn around 2 PM on Monday and arrived at 2 PM on Thursday But when all is said and done I made it just fine with very little incident. At one point one of my fenders decided to try to leave my trailer somewhere in Wyoming but I got and and will be reattached soon. I really didn't see much on the way, just blazed 80 straight across and then headed northeast from Salt Lake City. I would drive for about 14 hours and get a hotel when I felt like crashing -Holiday Inn Express is the jam and Super 8 sucked ass. For me, the most scenic parts of the drive were western Nebraska and Wyoming. It's pretty awesome to see the landscape change as you cross the country. Though I've seen it before, I'm still amazed with the scale of the mountains out here.


So yesterday [Sunday].. I went on my first ride with some peeps from pnwriders.com. We left at 12pm and got back at 6. It was just my first day riding out here but I have to say THESE ROADS ARE SIIIICK. The best part is that they are so close - like 20min away. As far as skill level I would compare it to Ohao and PA. We must have hit at least 10 switch backs. We didn't hit any high speed sweepers, it was more turn after turn after turn after turn. I was psyched but also a little intimidated as there was a definite lack of road signs. I definitely had it on mellow mode and wasn't pushing it. - That also might have had something to do with a guy going down into a 15 foot ditch on a double switchback/s-turn. He throttled out of the first one and the second one caught him by surprise. He's lucky he was ok with the exception of a broken ankle and probably a totalled bike. That being said... everyone I rode with was pretty ok and responsible. Next ride is on Tuesday to this area called Fossil. It's about 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere, with super hot, sticky pavement and amazing roads with no cops. I was warned that I will need new tires when I get home. woo hoo!

Stay good. Wish the US were out here with me.
-P

Suspects!

Dino BBQ - Syracuse

I went out riding with Klink, Chipazzo, Aris and jack and met up with a bunch of Desmoites up in syracuse. A Lil over 500 miles 14 hours and I need new tires. We did our usual catskill routes and more going north. We hit a few rainshowers but most of the ride is dry. The BBQ is delicious we should schedule a meet up on the in the city. Btw, when are we going to have the US meeting/ distribution of US shirts? Let's do it this week before the pj meet on Sunday.

Sunday the 10th????

Full leathers - or more casual protective apparel? ie GCR...

Just asking because from all appearances, that ride is gonna be large! 10+

BTW - did any of you ride this weekend?

Report?

Pics?

Shirts

THANKS PAT!!!

Stopped by Pat's crib on the way home from work today and picked up the US tee's. Since Pat will be out of town starting tomorrow, I took them all home with me.

Jake - Alan has yours.
Cassidy - I'll bring yours with me on Saturday
Everybody else... I suppose we'll have to work the exchange.

I'd like to get them in everyone's hands before the NYMMC breakfast meet, you know, so we'll look all ganglike and shit, it'll be too funny.

I haven't kicked any $$$ towards Pat yet but the shirts were only $9 each, long sleeves a touch more... Pat - you mentioned something about a paypal account or a check... I can do either but I need to know you're paypal address, or I can give you cash the nest time I see you, whatever you wants...

Next up - patches and stickers!! Anybody have a clue where we can get these done?

This NYMMC Diner ride on the 10th...

Two years ago I hadn't even taken my MSF class. Today this crew has achieved some sort of celebrity status over on the DMF.

Personally I think it's hysterical.

Regardless - I noticed GC is planning a post-diner run... are we meeting at Gorilla ie. a regular US ride, and throwing in the Diner as a scheduled stop?

I will have to bail at some point mid-afternoon, depending where we are. I am renting a GSX-R 600 from a joint in Stamford, CT, and need to have the bike back and gassed up by 7pm. In Stamford. Just sayin'

What I discovered about myself as a rider this past weekend...

It may seem obvious to you all but not to me since I'm always at the front and have no visuals to compare myself to others... but... I like to go fast. Too fast most of the time.
I've been on a safety kick lately - hence the meeting I want to have. I've also been wanting to chance my riding style. Up until this past Sunday this is how I've taken corners - whether I know them or not -

A)Set up as far outside as I can, usually no more than 1ft from the shoulder.
B)Roll off the throttle just enough to judge the corner and find the apex. Downshift as needed.
C)Trail brake (with the front brake) all the way to the apex cause I usually enter the corner too hot, but at the same time, maintain a steady throttle.
D)Stand the bike back up and get on the throttle.

While that's worked for me all this time, I'm starting to realize that trail braking isn't the safest thing to do on the street so on Sunday I was trying to do this instead.

A)Set up as far outside as I can, usually no more than 1ft from the shoulder.
B)Roll off the throttle and at the same time apply ever increasing pressure on the front brake. Downshift as needed.
C)Maintain a steady throttle.
D)Stand the bike up and apply throttle earlier a la Alan.

Let me tell you... trying to change your riding style isn't easy. In fact, it's damn hard.

All of that went out the window as soon as we got onto 154 for the first time. I was too busy riding to look down at my speedo or tach but Alan and Pat tell me we were riding between 95 and 100+ the whole time.
Alan and I came so close to crashing on a downhill righthander due to gravel that I still can't believe I saved it. It really must be all those years of riding/racing bicycles...

Anyhow, What did I learn about myself? While I may have good ride leader skills (or so I'm told), I'm not the safest rider and my judgement about certain roads and corner speed should not be followed and that everyone needs to ride at their own pace and not over their head and or skill level. AGAIN - I'm not the best person to follow as I'm still sorting my riding out. As I said above, since I'm always at the front I have nothing to judge the way I'm riding (technique, body position), and I certainly don't know my limits as a rider and I don't know the limits of the bike/tires. Suffice it to say, when we're riding fast, the most I've probably ever pushed myself was about 70%. On a typical ride I'm right around 50%. There have been 2 occasions where I've pushed myself higher than 70% - once on the magic loop where Alan almost crashed, and this Sunday on 154. Both of those times I was probably hovering around 90% but still comfortably within my comfort zone but probably at the tire's limits.
Maybe it would help if you guys critiqued me more, maybe not. Regardless, don't be like me. Ride smarter :)

Funny and Sad

I had this picture taken about 30 minutes before the truck showed up to take the bike to its new owner. I think the sadness of the event is evident on my face.

However...

You know that phrase - Monkey Fucking a Football?

Yeah, I have to laugh, too.

"Gonna need a bigger bike!"

A Bit of Comedy for You

http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=80308

this was just too ridiculous not to post

That sucks about the shirts...

You can have them shipped to either my or Eric's attention at the bike shop. That way one of us will probably be there when they come.

Cassidy Vare/Eric Aujero
Bicycle Habitat
244 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10012

Have fun out there!

Suspect Shirts

Hey guys.. I'm really sorry for the delay. I don't know why Jim is taking so long to do this. He finally got the shirts in yesterday and was going to print today BUT...

He sent me a sample [digital] of what it would look like... and it's not cool.
- It obviously was not the same file I sent. He recreated it using a different font. I have no idea [yet] why he didn't use my file. So the long and short is that it looks amateur... and unacceptable to me. I'm waiting to hear back from him and he'll probably have to make a new screen which equals more time. This sucks.

Since I am out of town, when and if he finishes the job... I'll need to have him ship them to one of you guys. Any volunteers?

Let me know... thanks

The next chapter

I know you guys are gonna want to know about what's up with me and my bike-less state. Here's some particulars about the sale.

Young Matthew in Philadelphia is going to be getting a delivery of a 2007 Ducati Monster 695, nicely modified with love, and ridden to within maybe 8/10ths of its potential by its first owner - moi! Matt's paying me $6,000 (exactly what I wanted), he's getting a bunch of other stuff I don't want, and get this - this is Matt's first bike! In fact, mofo is schedule for the MSF class the last weekend in August.

I guess he's just gonna stare at it for a month?

I volunteered to ride down to Philly in September to show him the bike, walk him through a few things, and ride with him for a little bit to push him up the learning curve.

I did a last-minute oil change at Victor's Garage this afternoon - and am still playing a bit of hooky right now!! 7am tomorrow morning, I say good-bye.

Jake, Thanks again, and I hope you got tickets!! I was going to say "I hope you enjoyed Batman - Imax" but since you didn't even have tickets yet... LOL!!!

Lastly, I've been chronicling some of the crap in my life on a secret blog I created this week, so no more Tommy BS here!!

the new gear...

This heat must be driving me crazy. I just sold an old keyboard I never used and bought a teddy bear suit, tire plug kit [from aerostitch] and a mini air pump. woo-hoo!

http://www.ptownbears.org/ - who's going?

Alpinestars Sigma Drystar Textile Jacket

Alpinestars Edge Drystar Textile Pant

Introducing: The Semi-Usual Suspect!

I have a buyer for the Monster. The check should be here in a day or so, the bike will be gone by next week.

Yes, I am quite sad. Yes, I regret it already. No, I don't know when I'll own another bike.

I will be renting a Gixxer 600 for the weekend of the 9th and 10th though!

Sorry guys, my personal shit just came to a head and is really pulling me down. I hate feeling like this. Consider me a semi-usual suspect for a while.

Hey all--
I just (finally) got back on the internet after an extended hiatus. But I'm back from my travels and down for whatever. I'm probably going to be out of town for this weekend and next, but I'm around aside from that.

125, my dudes!

p.s. It's been too hot to go outside, so I just got a Playstation 2 (I know there's a 3, but video games aren't worth spending that much money on for me...) and MotoGP '07 and GTA: San Andreas. What's that? Have I slept recently? No, no, not much...

--dizzle

S'up

So my weekend in Poughkeepsie was fairly decadent... if I wasn't cooling off in the pool or gorging on whatever tastey treat/foodstuff that was within reach, I was riding within Joe (Bro in-law).

Apart from this brutal fucking heat that won't be going away anytime soon... who all wants to hit up 125 asap? 4 rides in a row in the 'skills - as dope as the roads are - is getting old.

Who's in?

Also... Casey Stoner... I knew he was a little bitch. I knew it. But after Laguna? Shit, at least everyone else finally realizes it. "A few of the passes were too much for me"... again, what a bitch. He's the one that threw the first aggressive move, almost touching Rossi whilst passing on the outside. We finally get an exciting race and since it wasn't the boring hohum runaways that he's used to he feels the need to whine about it. What a cunt.

The meeting...

I wanted to have a meeting with alla youze so that we can all continue riding together safely and happily for the rest of our days. As you all know, finding someone to ride with that you like as a person and whom you trust is a very hard thing... we've got a great thing going with our little group and I wouldn't change a thing about "us", I just think we have some room for improvement as far as group safety and group dynamics go.

We need to have this happen sooner rather than later. I mainly want to talk about -
- Group safety and how we can improve on it - Each individual contributes something to the ride whether you realize it or not and each person's actions affect the group as a whole, we need to talk about this.
- Group dynamics and how that effects all of our safety - Feeling tired/hungry after a long day? Itchy to get home? Why not up the pace on the slab a bit... I want to talk about why this isn't the best of ideas especially since we are not all on the same page... yet. I want to work on us all being on the same page.
- Go over hand signals - a few new, most not
- Situational awareness. Again, this effects all of us. At a quick glance, can you identify all the cars around you and their positions relating to you and the group? Do you know where the hotspots are for popo to hide? How far ahead of yourself do you ride? Did you know your lane position effects how I make decisions out on the road? All of that is the awareness I want all of us to have. Since I lead 99.9% of the time, it's a habit/skill that I've developed over time. I don't think all of you have that since it's easy to just relax and watch my tail light. That's not cool. For your safety, and for the group. I'm not saying you all are zombies, not at all, but I am saying there;s room for improvement.
- Alan, Jake and I also want to talk about our personal pace and the pace of everyone in the US. Do the guys up front need to tone it down? Does anyone ever find themselves riding over your head in order to catch up?
- Group responsibility. We all watch out for each other, that's a given. But who carries tools besides me, Jake, and Pete? Who knows how to use those tools? In the case of the Adirondacks trip... where does "looking out for the group" end and "looking out for #1" begin, if at all? We're all responsible for each other out there. That being the case, we ALL need to exchange emergency contact info with each other in case things should go south, or worse.
- These are just some things I wanted to talk about, I'm sure there'll be more. I'm also sure that you all will have a lot to contribute. Clearing the air and being on the same page would a great thing and not at all that hard to do... Let's make it happen.

Lastly, your daily funbags -

Great pic... the famous PA ride

Sunday 7/20 ride

Gonna work on my bike and Cru's bike in the morn, then probably a little run around. Not sure where yet but I have some ideas. I don't want to get home too late, so that will also dictate where we go.

Meeting Cru at the garage at 8 and prob won't leave there till 9. We will most likely be stopping at the PIP station on the way. You are all of course welcome, let me know if you want in.

Summary:
Holy crap it was hot as hell today. We saw a bunch of crappy roads, got stuck in mountains of traffic, sweat buckets, and got home at a sensible time. Guess it wasn't all bad :)

Boobies, the heat, riding.

Ok, so you all know I hate the heat. So much so that I cancelled the ride and chose not to ride today (Saturday) up to the 'Skills. Since I do have to attend a family thing, I'll be riding up there later tonight after the sun goes down.

Dizzle's back and he'll be ready to roll once again with soon enough.

Pat - what up with those t-shirts?

Oh, the boobies... just to make you all feel like the dirty old men that you are I present to you college freshman (fresh meat?) Allison Stokke, national champ in the pole vault -

God Damn...



Look at those thighs man!

THIS is why...

Guys. The picture I have attached here is an example of the kind of shots I want to capture on our rides. I was always wondering how I was gonna share this - this answers it.

I took this over Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore. I've got some cooler shots of cars, but this blog has the word "moto" in it, and some of you guys are also avid cyclists... so I share this shot!

Not going so well

I have had 1 person from the DMF express interest, and 6 from CraigsList. None of them has contacted me to set up a chance to see my bike.

I believe it's my fault.

You see, the night after tire changing, I gave my bike a quick scrub down. Oh, it gone clean alright, but I started taking pictures.

Gloss black paint... night photography... not good. I believe the picture I attached speaks for itself.

Guess what I do tomorrow afternoon? Take new pictures!!!!

There has to be a reason for the hell I went through this week... I can't even get into my credit reports, or the hassle of trying to sell my Jeep, or the crap I went through with my dog. I may be an atheist, but I believe there's a reason for all this. I just hope it all becomes clear soon.

I have no prob wit da boobage

So, boobage?

I'm just saying... if we want boobies, do we bring the boobage?

Or is humor more for the US Blog?

To ride or not to ride....

Ok guys... you might think I'm crazy [or not] but I'm thinking of riding the bike across the country. I'm supposed to leave for Portland next Friday but with these crazy gas prices, I was thinking of riding. Why not make a whole experience out of it.. You know? I'm just afraid of getting half way there and getting bummed that this country is so damn big. I've driven across about six times with the band and it's not so bad. So I'm opening this up to conversation... give me your feedback - and any famous roads I might wanna hit. Thinking a lot of slab and hitting some great destination twisties to break it up. Also.. feel free to let me know if this is a bad idea.

Since I'm supposed to be back in NYC by the 19th... maybe just maybe I can meet you guys at Indy.

-P

All Dressed Up, Ready to go

Thanks to Pak and Cru, my little Monster now has new tires, a new chain, new sprockets (including a bling-bling STEALTH rear sprocket) and some other odds and ends. I (at least) just got home and I'm sitting here posting up exhausted. Pak's sister (finally) has a new front tire, and hopefully she's home, too... and safe!

Big UPS on the new tire changing contraption!!

Now, the hard part... arranging the visitations for potential buyers. I have 3 from Craigslist and 1 from the DMF - interested parties, that is.

I'm starting to wish I had made a few different decisions when I left the house for my divorce...

Oh well, I'll post up when I have a buyer, and then the next game starts... "Tom's Search for a New Bike!"

Don't hold your breath.

Video From 07.13.08

Not sure how well this is going to work, but here goes nothing...

Que como?

Hey fellas.

Whats with the "plain jane" look of this place? Maybe some more color and/ or a photo in the title?

So here it is. Use this blog at your own peril.

boobies. i'm sayin