Now What's Going To Happen?

On Friday, after I get off work, we'll be heading over White Pass on the way to Ellensburg.  That is if the pass is still open.  If not, then we'll have to ride up through Sumner to Auburn, and over Snoqualmie Pass.  Not nearly as nice of a ride, so I am hoping White Pass will be open.

We'll be heading over with Mo and his wife Charlene.  If the weather is even halfway decent, we're taking the bikes to Ellensburg.  I would really hate to have to go in the car, and the forecast is for scattered showers on Friday.  So I am really pulling for it to be good enough to ride in.  I would feel kind of odd to go to a motorcycle gathering in a car.

We're heading to the A.B.A.T.E. of Washington state Board of Directors meeting.  The whole idea is to get our chapter to be chartered as an official Chapter of the state organization.  So the four of us are riding over together, and maybe a couple more of us will meet up there, or ride over too.  Still getting a line on how that will go.

I figure it's roughly a tank of gas to Ellensburg, but we'll probably top off in Naches just to be on the safe side.  We'll be riding up through the Yakima River Canyon between Selah and Ellensburg.  The motel where the meeting is sits right on the side of the road coming out of the canyon.

Since we'll be in that neck of the woods, I'll be swinging up to Cle Elum to see a good friend of mine named Gabe.  Or maybe getting him to swing down and visit us in E-burg.  However that plays out, I'm definitely going to see Gabe, one way or another.  If we get a chance, it would be great to ride with Gabe and his '78 Lowrider.  I havent gotten to ride with him in a couple of years, so it is one of the things I want to do while I am over there.

There are a couple of places I want to check out, if there is time.  The Flying Horse cafe, for one.  If there is time, I would like to ride up towards Roslyn, and get a bite at the Brick.  It's been a few years, and I miss that cool little town.  It is where they filmed the TV show Northern Exposure.  A lot of the buildings have cool murals on the sides of them.  One even has a Marlon Brando mural from The Wild One on it.  Others are pretty cool too.  So if you ever get up in the Greater Ellensburg area, go check out the little town of Roslyn.

I'll be posting any pics I take, there ought to be some good ones while crossing the pass.  There is already plenty of snow up there, so ought to have some good ones.  Especially if Dog Lake hasnt frozen yet, and the snow is covering the slops down to the lake.  Either way, I'll post the best of what I take.  Until then, I'll be getting things ready to go.  One way or another.

Catch you on the road sometime...

A Sunday Ride

Mo called about nine in the morning.  Asking if I wanted to go for a ride.  He said we'd leave from either the house he was buying in Morton, or the Bucksnort around 'noonish'.  I said I would give Patrick a call around ten, and see if he wanted to go.  This was the start of a few miscommunications that put a slight taint on the day.  I got the feeling it was just going to be a couple of bikes, and just the guys.  When I spoke to Patrick, I didn't have enough info about what was going on except a very vague idea of the route, and Patrick didn't have time to ride that far.  So I told him to call Mo, and see if they could work something out.

When I arrived, I found several bikes, and several wives or Ol' Ladies along.  So I realized this wasn't quite the quickly thrown together ride I had thought.  Robin wasn't happy being told she was staying home anyway, and when I saw the other women there, I knew she was really going to be upset she didn't get ot go.  After a few minutes, I realized we weren't heading off at noon, so I tried calling Robin to tell her I'd come pick her up.  No answer on her cell or the house phone.  So I fired up the bike, and rode to the house to pick her up.  When I rode up in front of the house, the car was gone.  So I ran into the house and grabbed my camera.  I told Ed what the deal was, and headed out.

Mo said when he and Patrick had talked, Patrick had said he we would meet us at the Bucksnort, or on the road.  Which I found out later, was NOT what he had said.  Patrick had his bike out, warmed up and wiating when he heard us all ride past on the highway.  Needless to say, that made for two pissed off people that could have gone on the ride.

As we rode down Highway 508 past Dodge Rd, my heart sank a bit when I saw Patrick wasn't waiting there for us as Mo has said.  Mo wasn't leading, Rick & Melissa were, I considered just pulling off and heading up to Patricks house, but I was on the right side of the group, and would have had to cut a couple of other bikes off to make the turn.  

We rode down Highway 508 and up through Bear Canyon to the Centralia-Alpha Rd. Then at the end of Centralia-Alpha Rd, we headed back to the right, and up into the framland and past the coal fired steam plant on the back way into Bucoda.

From there, we rode along more backroads to Mckenna where we stopped at Walt's Place to get some refreshment. At Walt's I learned the state had opened Highway 7 through the canyon at La Grande again, and that was the way we were going home.  It is a cliff edge twisting road, high above the Nisqually River that borders Pierce and Lewis Counties.

We stopped at the Elbe Bar & Grill.  From there the ride more or less broke  up.  From Elbe, everyone was going to take different roads home.  So after a few already left, I fired up Gypsy just in time to watch the local steam excursion train block the road I needed to take.  Oh well, it made for a nice quick pic.  Then it was across the bridge, and down the road back to Morton.

It was when I got home that I got home that I found out about the mix-up wiht Patrick.  So I called him.  Even five hours or so after the ride started, he was still pissed about it.  And I have to admit, rightfully so.  Shit doesn't happen, it 's caused.  I just hope this gets worked out before it festers and turns into something nasty.  It has to be something the two of them work out.  I am sure Patrick feels disrespected, and to him especially, that means something more than to most.

It was all in all, a good ride, and I have to say, I wish I had the camera on when we crossed the section of road that was flooded by a creek over its banks.  That was REAL fun on all the bikes that run no front fender (mine) let me tell ya.  lol  Well it is time to post this, and get on to some of the other shit I have to do today.  I have been sick since last Wednesday, and Saturday was the first day I felt decent again, so when Mo asked if I wanted to go for a ride on sunday I just flat needed it.

Catch ya on the road sometime...

10,000 Views

Who'd have thunk it!?!  When I first started this blog, I had no real intention of it ever reaching this point.  But as time passed; and it became more than a place to vent and rant, something to take a bit more seriously, I felt it might last a while.  But I am still blown away by reaching this many views.  Still small time, I know...but it still impresses me.

Went on a nice spur of the moment ride with friends today.  I'll post more about that tomorrow, 

Catch ya on the road sometime...

Choppers...They're For Riding

I was on the phone last night with Patrick, and the conversation rolled around, as it usually does, to chopping Sportsters.  He asked me if what I wanted was a '70s looking shop.  I told him that was pretty much what I had in mind.  But it was going to be a long bike...early '70s style, but built with what I wanted on it.  My view on the way I am putting mine together is; "building a roller for an Ironhead Sporty should be okay, since most of what I have planned won't interfere wihit the motor bolting up.  If it does, I'll modify it later."

We talked about radiusing the rear fender, and maybe welding 1/4" round stock along the new edge of the fender for reinforcement.  Mounting the tail light/brake light on top of the fender so it will be visible from both sides and far enough back that saddlebags won't be an issue.  I prefer throw over bags to permanently mounted bags.  It makes it easier to swap between bikes.

When the subject of what type of oil tank I wanted, I told Patrick I wanted a round one, not a horseshoe one.  He came up with a couple of cool sounding ideas that ought to look real sweet on the Frankenbike.  When we get closer to having them finished, I'll post some pics.

Then we got to discussing what I wanted to do about goosenecking the frame.  We shouldn't have too big of a problem with it, and when it's done, she'll be a sweet looking chopper with a sweet looking long and sexy front end.  I'm figuring about a 40° rake and up to a 10" over front end.  The length will get figured out once the rake is set and the trees are in place.  With a narrowed set of 6 bend pullbacks it ought to have a nice comfortable riding position.  

Patrick figured it will end up being a quick little bitch of a bike, and i said that's why I am leaving the dual disc front end on it.  The wheels are vintage AMF mags with dual discs already, so why not go with it.  It may not look like the choppers in the '70s with laced wheels on a spool hub, but I want this girl to be able to be ridden.  After all, to me, that's what a chopper is for...to be ridden...not parked in a garage until the weather turns nice, then taken bar hopping.

If things don't work out as I have planned, and I end up needing to get the bike inspected to get a title for it, then I'll just add the turn signals and horn as a temporary extension of the wiring harness.  Then as soon as I get home from getting it inspected, they'll come right back off again.

Now that I'll be getting a regular paycheck rolling in again, I figure I'll be able to get things rolling along quicker on Frankenbike.  With a little help from Patrick and a couple of other fabricators I know; a few parts from one or two friends stashes, some new stuff from Lowbrow and Paughco it ought to come together nicely.  

Hell, she may even be up in time for the next Bastard Bash in 2014.  It would be nice to rollinto the campground with my tent and bag strapped to Frankenbikes sissy bar and forks.  Ready to spend some good time with everyone there (and not ride down on an Evo Softail like I did this year).

Catch you on the road sometime...

Busy...Busy...Busy

What a wild weekend this has been.  Pissing down rain, High winds, and still we had a great turn out at the A.B.A.T.E. meeting on sunday.  I really was getting a bit worried about the turn-out due to the weather.  We needed ten paid members at the meeting before the State would vote in our chapter.  We needed two more paid members, and the guys said they'd be there with the cash.  But then the storms began to roll in Friday night, and by Sunday it was a mess.  High winds and several inches of rain, had me nervous that people wouldn't want to come out in this horrible weather.

I was more than pleasantly surprised when not only did we get our ten members, but we actually got three more come all the way from Randle, and Packwood.  So we shouldn't have any problems at the State level.  The Board of Directors meeting is in ellensburg on the 12th & 13th of October.  It's a good almost three hour ride over White Pass to get there.  And if we leave here Saturday morning, we'll have to hit the road about 6 AM.  Going to be mighty cold on the bikes riding over 4,500 foot White Pass in mid October that early in the morning, and if the weather is bas, it will be a miserable ride.  We may just end up taking the car.  So, I am hoping for nice weather, and trying to convince Robin and someothers to ride over Friday night.

With the way this wind and rain has been coming down, I think I am going to go down to the river in a couple hours and get some shots of the river...it probably has risen a few feet by now.  If the pics come out good, I'll post them here.  

I just realized that the blog has almost reached the 10,000 views mark...I'll have to come up with something suitable to mark that landmark event.  Until then...

I'll catch you on the road sometime...

Never Alone

Here's the video I put together last night.  After working on it for nearly 3 hours, I realized the audio suddenly stopped about twenty seconds before the song was suppose to.  So I had to buy the mp3 from Amazon so I culd finish it.  Oh well, all is good now.  I'll be working on an actual 'video' of the bke going down the road somewhere in the very near future after I figure out the angles and hots I want in it.  Catch you on the road sometime...

Man At Work

I started back to work this week.  But I'm doing more than just driving the bus.  I am also the cook at the Head Start center in Randle.  The old cook left for a job with the local school district for more money, and more hours.  We got cut-backs due to the government sequestration, so now I have to run the kitchen.  Whats really wierd, is all the food I have to make is supposed to be HEALTHY.  I mean whole grain, whole wheat, and all that good healthy, low fat shit.

But since this is a federally funded program, there is paperwork up the ass.  I have to keep a log of the temperature inside the refridgerator and freezer everyday, and how much chlorine is in my water for sanitizing the dishes after I wash and rinse them.  I think I spend as much time doing paperwork as I do actually cooking and cleaning.

Which still boggles my mind that I have made it through two days already.  I have had to make Gingerbread Pancakes, Turkey Chili, bake Cornbread, Bran & Blueberry Muffins, and all from scratch.  Thank God I can read the instructions in the recipe book.  'Cause when I usually cook something, it either involves a barbecue grill, or I'm opening a can of something and heating it up.  This baking and cooking from scratch shit is way out of my comfort zone!!

So, if I don't post quite as much for a couple of weeks while I try to get the hang of this, that's probably why.  This is a whole new deal, and I haven't gone this far out on a limb in a long time.  Of course, I have other irons in the fire too; like organizing a chapter of A.B.A.T.E. here locally so the members dont have to ride an hour or more each way for a 40 minute meeting,  trying to get the rally moving forward, and also the combined effort of keeping the Ironhead project going, while being one of the FNG's on the Quad Cam Bastards Forum and all that entails.  Can you see why I feel like a one legged man in an ass kicking contest?  As long as even half of the shit I got going comes together (including looking for a full time job with decent pay), I'll call it good to go.

All this, and I am still planning on making a run to Chicago and back (the LOOOONG way) next summer.  So, as long as nothing breaks totally loose and brings my world to a sudden and violent end, I'll be around.  Probably still trying to figure out how the Hell I keep getting myself into the shit I do...and even more importantly, how I keep getting myself landing on my feet when I do get into the shit.  When I can get something together, I'll let you all know.  So, until then...

I'll catch ya on the road sometime...