8 Ball In The Wind

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Baytown Outlaws



I watched a DVD yesterday called "Baytown Outlaws".  I suppose you could say it was along the lines of a "B movie" action flick.  But it had good actors, a truly enjoyable over the top action script, and plenty of humor.  About the only thing I didn't like about it was the fact there wasn't enough scenes with Zoe Bell and these other fine ladies in them.  If you get the chance to see this flick, go for it.  It's not a great "chopper opera", but it has plenty of "B's" in it...Bikes, Babes, Booze, Blood, Bruises, Big Badass trucks, and...well, I don't want to spoil it for ya.  It ain't a great piece of literature, but I enjoyed the fuck out of it.  If I see it in the store sometime, I'll be throwing it in the cart.  That's for sure...definitely a good party movie.  Check it out for yourself, and tell Me what you think.

Catch ya on the road sometime...



Thursday, May 23, 2013

In Memoriam To Those Who Gave It All


Here is a little video I created about two and a half years ago.  I dedicate it to the memory of all those who lost their lives serving our great nation.


All gave some.  Some gave all.  To those I offer my heartfelt thanks.

Catch you on the road sometime...


Monday, May 20, 2013

Benefit Ride For Jeff


On April 27, 2013, Jeff Worley was in a severe accident & was life flighted to OHSU.  He was immediately admitted to ICU with multiple severe injuries.  Such as; a fractured and splintered shoulder in a place that cannot bear weight for 4-8 weeks.  He also has a severe pelvic fracture, and as with his shoulder, cannot put any weight on it for 4-8 weeks.  He has multiple dislocated and broken ribs, an d nearly a dozen fractured vertebrae.

This is an image of Jeff and his lovely wife Teri that I took while on a run up to My St Helens a few years ago.

Now Jeff is in real need of help.  They are trying to raise $50,000 to try to help Jeff and the family.  I don't usually put links here on my blog, but this is truly a worthy effort.  

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/bjb2/jeffworley?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fb_share_stream.share&utm_campaign=hug_T1&og_action=hug&t=3&fb_ref=1023913

Check out the site, and if you feel you can help, do so.  Jeffs daughter Karli is planning a benefit ride for Jeff.  I am giving her some small tips on route and advertising it.  I am going to be unemployed myself in a couple of days, so I wont be able to help out financially.  That's why I am doing what little I can to help out.  
After reading the story on the link, you can either ignore it, or maybe, just maybe, find some way of doing something to help out.  I am doing what I can.  Will YOU?

Catch you on the road someitme...

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Another Wet Ride...But A Good One








Today was the 7th Annual Mt St Helens Memorial Ride.  The weather was better than the last two years, but it was still on the "wetter than I'd like" side of things.  On the 50 miles from Castle Rock up to Johnston Ridge, we went from having 29 bikes at the start, to 18 when we finally reached the end.  When we reached our 2nd stop, 9 bikes decided their riders were too cold and wet, so they fired up and headed back down the hill.  Who'd have thought a bike club of firemen could be such wimps? 😜 











Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Dice Run


When I arrived at the Bucksnort pub just before 10:00AM to get things ready for registration for the Dice Run, I had a really wierd feeling about the run.  The first reason was because the Bucksnort wasn't open yet, and the second was mine was the only bike on the street.  It really seemed like this could turn out to be a big flop.  Especially when the manager of the Moose Lodge stopped and asked if we were ready for the big Spaghetti Feed they were putting on for us after the run.


But within a few minutes, the owner of the Bucksnort came out and opened up the pub.  It turns out his bartender was just running late due to a sick kid.  By the time she arrived, the other bikes had begun to show up.  There were even two riders, Scott and Eric, that made the 230 mile round trip all the way up from Astoria, Oregon just to help make the run a success with us.




Scott & Eric



After everyone was registered, and we hit the road at 11:00 AM, and headed out towards our first stop.



Some of us had been doing runs together for so long that without thinking about posting 'Road Guards' at intersections, so that the entire group can make it through stop signs without getting all stretched out.  When we pulled out, Dave and T without thinking twice took their normal spots and blocked the highway as we turned north from the Bucksnort, and again as we turned left after crossing the bridge in Elbe.  Dave just got hired on for at least a two year job in Utah, and this is probably going to be one of the last rides we  get to go on together for a while.  I will miss riding with you Brother, but we will ride again, I am sure.  We all made it to the Pour House Grub & Pub in Eatonville without a hitch.  Enjoyed their beer garden as all the riders had their shot iwht the dice before moving on to Uncle Sam's American Grill in Spanaway.



We went inside Uncle Sam's and hit their 'Backyard Amphitheater'.  Listening to some jamming guitar players in one of the big tents while rolling dice, or outside enjoying the sunshine before hitting the road and heading for Walt's Place in McKenna.  Which for some reason I didn't take a pic of the building, but I did of the bikes in the parking lot.  Go figure...Walt's is one of those OLD local bars.  The building has to be at least 100 years old, and welcomes bikers with open arms.




At Walt's the heat and the cold beverages began to spread the group out into several little groups.  Nobody was having any problems, it was just that some folks wanted to hit the road before everyone else.  No big deal to me, because I had the dice and nobody could roll without them.  So we took off in our own little group of four bikes for the half hour ride to the Elbe Bar & Grill.  Since I knew Scott & Eric had never ridden up through the canyon between LaGrande and Alder, I had Dave take a right onto Mountain Highway when we reached it.  That stretch through the canyon is great on a bike.  The road snakes back and forth along the canyon wall a thousand feet or more above the bottom.  Nice tight twists and turns before reaching Alder and the highway getting straightened back out as it rolls along the shore of Alder Lake.  The old highway lays at the bottom of the lake.  The town of Alder, and all that old style road design that hugged the terrain instead of plowing straight through it was drown during WWII when they built the Alder and LaGrande hydro-electric dams.

We made it to Elbe without a hitch, and did a quick dice roll, had a drink of two, and some even grabbed a quick burger before finishing back at the Bucksnort in Morton.  



When we left Elbe it was only a 20 minute run over 'The Divide' and back into the valley where Morton is nestled.  Back at the Bucksnort we had our last dice roll, tallied up the scores, and even raffled off some donated swag.  The winner of the Dice Run was Ray with a score of 106.  He won $40, and Mike won $15 for low score with 78.  The 50/50 raffle was worth $85 to the winner.  When Lorianne won, she took the money, held it in her hands for an excited few seconds, and then announced she was donating the entire amount back to the fund for the Rally At Morton.  Way to go Lorianne!!

After the drawings were all done, folks began to mosey down the block to the Moose Lodge for the Spaghetti Feed.  They had a saldad bar for us.  Then served a heaping plate of spaghetti with garlic bread.  A very good filling meal for the end of the days ride.  Dave's wife Kayla met us at the Moose with their week old daughter Aleighsha Jo, and everyone enjoyed getting to see the newest member of our little riding family.





Godfather T & Goddaughter Aleighsha Jo


It was a blast riding with everyone.  What's even better is that virtually everyone wants to go on another soon. So I'll be figuring out the details on at least a couple of more dice runs covering different roads and stopping at different places this summer.  At least one a month if I can work it out.  This one run raise over $400 towards making the premium payment for the $1,000,000 liability insurance the City wants before we can have the Rally At Morton.  After that, they want a 'small percentage' of the gate money from the bike rodeo and band.  Which isnt bad, since it is the city's arena we'll be using.  I'll keep everyone posted as I work things out.

Catch ya on the road sometime...

















Friday, May 10, 2013

Pre Run Run

Tonight, before tomorrows run up to Eatonville and beyond.  My Brother T and I made a quick run through the portion of the Dice Run course I hadnt followed already last weekend.  We stopped at the Pour House in Eatonville, then headed out to Highway 7, and up through the La Grande Canyon back to Elbe.  We stopped at the Elbe Bar & Grill, and walked out back to the beer garden.  There, we ran into someone from both of our pasts.  The son of a major player in ABATE of Washington State up until his untimely death in the late 80's.

It is so strange, to see someone you knew 30 plus years ago, and your last memory is of someone with dark hair.  To see them with grey, almost white hair and moustache is something of a shock.

We had a nice visit, and then Tony and his Ol Lady rode with us up to Mineral to T's house.  Which turned into a blessing in disguise.  Tony's bike lost his oil drain plug along the way, and we had to try to figure out a fix for that on a late Saturday evening in the boondocks.  Then T didn't make it home...and I had to go look for him along the 3 block path home.

It seems since he was only 3 blocks from home, he didnt cinch down his helmet and it blew off his head.  As he tried to catch it, he lost his grip on the handlebars, and his bike turned off the road and into the brush.  Which is where I found him.  Sitting next to his bike trying to figure out what happened.  His helmet about 100 feet behind him in the road.

Alls well that ends well.  We scrounged up a bolt to plug Tony's drain hose.  T's bike was unhurt, and he rode it home after it took three people to pull her out of the ditch.  But hey, shit happens, and we all have to deal with it when it does.

I got a phone call from Tony a few minutes ago, saying they made it home safe after buying some more oil in Eatonville.  T was all set and ready to ride in the
Dice Run tomorrow.  So all in all, it was a good night. Strange to run into someone from our distant past, and take up right where things left off, but I have a feeling most of you have experienced that before.


I'll take it as a good omen.

Catch you on the road sometime...


Important Little Shit


So, tomorrow is the first of the fund raising runs to make osme cash to pay for the insurance for next years rally.  The route is laid out, the stops are all confirmed, and things are looking good.

Then I get home from work last night, and what do I realize.  I dont have the score sheets, or route maps & stops printed up yet.
   















Once I got them all printed up and cut to size, I sat back and relaxed.  Then I realized I needed to have an envelope for the 50/50 dough, the entry fee, and all the other money we may be handling.

I am hoping this is a success...well Hell, I'll be satisfied if it isnt a total disaster.  This is more to just get the word out about what we are trying to do, and generate some cash so we can proceed.  I think once we have a ride under our belts, and not as quickly put together as this one was, we'll do a bit better.

Anyway, I'm going to go over the bike one more time before I head out tomorrow.  So I'm gonna get off my ass and get things done.  I am sure I am forgetting some important little shit item, but I wont find out until I need it.  I printed up 40 score sheets, and 24 maps for the sites.  If it turns out I don't have enough, I will be more than grateful...you know what I mean?

Catch ya on the road sometime...



Monday, May 6, 2013

Getting A Rise Out Of Me



My buddy Pat gave me these risers the other day.  I was going to use them  on the Ironhead with some Paughco 6 bend pullbacks that I want to use.  But I was dinking around with Gypsy (sometimes a very bad thing to do) and got to wondering how they would look on her.  I figured the cables would be too short, but I had plenty of slack in them.  It was the wiring for the switches and shit that kept me about an inch too short.

Soooo, after I lead the Mt St Helens Memorial Run on the 18th, I am going to pull the tanks and reroute the wiring so it doesnt pass through the triple tree top.  Then I can mount the risers and bars, and lean them back just a hair.  That should give me enough pullback on the bars so I don't have to lean forward at all.  

That'll save my lower back on those 200-500 mile days riding Gypsy.  Ought to make those long rides much more enjoyable for this old man.  (It is a helluva lot more enjoyable to be able to get off the bike and not be half bent over with a tweaked back for the first hour (or day) or so...after a good long ride.

I'll post pics of how Gypsy looks with the new risers once I have everything all together again.

Catch ya on the road sometime...



Friday, May 3, 2013

Angels On Overtime


I think either I have a really fast Angel, or maybe a couple of them watching over me.  Over the last 300 miles or so, the clutch on the bike had gotten way out of adjustment.  I wanted to get it adjusted before the wife and I headed up into the Tacoma area to post fliers for a couple runs I have coming up.  When I pulled the derby cover on Gypsy, I had to take a couple seconds to register what I was looking at.  The locknut for the clutch adjusting screw had gone AWOL.

There was only one place it could have gone.  Down into the primary.  After pulling the cover off, I found it.  All beat to rat shit.  Even the threads inside the nut were hosed.  Don't ask me how, but they were.  I am just thankful that it didn't get bounced up and lock up one of the sprockets.  That would have made things REALLY interesting, REALLY fast.

Luckily NAPA here in town had a couple of the nuts I needed, so I was able to replace it and get the clutch adjusted without too much problem.  But without a new gasket, I used RTV which seems to leak a bit.  That or the drain plug is leaking.  Which is going to be a pain in the ass since it has been hosed since I bought the bike in 2009.  But either way I'll have it fixed in plenty of time for both runs I have coming in the next couple weeks.

At least life isn't dull.  If it ain't one thing, it's something else entirely.

Catch ya on the road sometime...