Black and blue

I’m not really a sport bike guy, but while doing some Google searches the above image came up. A Honda CBR600RR. Apparently some sort of limited edition paint job available only in the UK. And it’s the paint job that I like. Mostly black, splash of white, then the ice-electric blue… especially in the wheels.

Just looks awesome.

God, I needed that.

OK. The sun is up. Time to get going.

Shit. It’s 40º out. Damn weatherman said it’d be in the 50’s. Oh well. Doesn’t matter. I’m going anyway.

Don my coat, get the keys, and into the garage. A small feeling of guilt comes over me because I haven’t taken her out in months. Will she fire up? That Battery Tender, Jr. was a good investment. Open the petcock. Put in the key and turn her on. There goes the fuel pump, hungrily pumping gas into the carburetor bowls. Choke on full. Press the starter. Starts right up. Drop the choke to half and let her idle for a bit to warm up. While she warms up let’s check on things. Lights working. Brakes and brake lights working. Signals are fine. Shocks good. Visual once-over. Looking and sounding good. Kill the engine. Hrm…. tires need some air… pull the pump out of the saddlebags and let it run. Bike seems in good shape. I vow to never again let this much time pass between rides.

Go back in the house to suit up. Full leathers and some extra insulation. 40º air temps and 65 MPH winds make it feel like 20º or less. Where’s my helmet’s air damn? Ah… left it in the saddlebags. Go fetch. Install. That will keep the chill out of the helmet. Take off my XD. Slip the snub in the jacket pocket. Rearrange the wallet and iPhone for easier access. Kiss Wife and Kids good-bye.

“Where are you going?”

“Lockhart run.”

Wife smiles back. She knows “Lockhart run” means bringing home the best damn BBQ in Texas.

Back to the garage. Climb on. Out of the garage and fire her up. Man, those Roadhouse Classic pipes sound great; I’m so happy I bought them and installed them myself. Make a gut check… it’s been too long since I’ve been on. Pull out of the driveway and it feels good to be on 2-wheels again. Damn cold air. Sure the Pinlocks are great for the helmet visor not fogging, but my damn glasses still fog up. *sigh* Crack the visor open until things even out.

Getting my legs back under me. On the way out of the subdivision practice a few emergency braking techniques. Remind myself it’s Super Bowl Sunday and there’s likely to be more people on the road on a Sunday morning due to the need to prep for parties. That also means they’re going to be distracted and not paying attention. Keep your guard up.

Get gas. Man, I’m so glad I use Seafoam as I’m sure that’s what kept the fuel in the tank happy.

OK, let’s head out to the highway.

Man, this feels good.

Hrm. Lots of scenery has changed since I last did this run. All that SH-130 construction I guess. Man, can’t wait until they finish that.

Wow, things really have changed. I wonder what this will look like once the highway is in. Yeah sure there’s still some fields and farms and cows and such to see, but all this construction and stripping of the earth will just be concrete eventually. Certainly not as pretty. But well… todays’ run is all business. It’s too cold to stay out for hours and take the backroads.

Sure enough, even with all my layers, the cold is creeping in. Dang. I should have put that balaclava on my neck. Fingers getting the worst of it as usual. Need to ask Larry about those deflectors again.

Ah, Lockhart. Black’s BBQ. They always treat me right. Let’s see… I’ll get the family pack, brisket of course but throw in a couple sausage links for Oldest. Mac & cheese (for Daughter), pinto beans (Wife), and potato salad. Oh heck… get a pint of banana pudding too.

“Can you guys wrap it all up in foil and plastic bags so it doesn’t get all in my saddle bags?”

“Yes sir, not a problem.”

Oh yeah… don’t forget to grab plasticware. It’s nice to just have the meal with zero cleanup.

BBQ into the saddlebags. Helmet and gloves back on. Let’s head back out. No more leisure riding, gotta get home before the meat gets cold.

Man… why is seeing all of this construction bothering me so? Loss of the pretty scenery I guess. Oh well, need to crank it home.

OK, onto the FM road to get over to I-35. This guy’s going too slow, dashed yellow line, open that throttle and pass. Man, I love opening the throttle. Getting pressed back into the backrest from all that torque is wonderful.

Settle into a groove, speed limit dropping as we come through this one area…. bank to the left… and holy shit this asshole is passing me on the curve! Double yellow lines, cars coming at him, and he’s passing me like this? Holy fucking shit you asshole! I don’t care if you Darwin yourself, but damnit don’t put my life in danger like that. But let it go. Don’t flip him off… does no good. Yeah he’s a asshole, but don’t let it ruin the ride. Just let it go.

Back to the highway… damn I hate being around 18-wheelers when I don’t have the protective cage around me. No matter. Just ride on.

Stop light. Damn. Didn’t realize how cold my toes had gotten. Fingers certainly stiff and cold now too. Light’s going to change soon so no chance to warm them by the heat of the engine. Almost home. Home… warm home.

Into the garage. Kill the engine. Sit there a moment and savor it.

God, I needed that.

Riding is my therapy. I need lots of therapy right now. V-twin therapy.

Time to eat some brisket.

Park Road 1C

The weather was too nice this morning to not go for a motorcycle ride. A little chilly at daybreak, but no big deal there. Just wear the right gear and off you go.

I took a bunch of back roads to go from Austin to Smithville, Texas. It was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful scenery. I was in no hurry. When I got to Smithville originally I was going to head up FM 2104, cut over US-290 to TX-21 back into Bastrop as I love driving through the Lost Pines area that TX-21 cuts through. As I came upon Buescher State Park I remembered how it connected to Bastrop State Park by way of Park Road 1C. Click for Google Map goodness.

If you are a motorcyclist within riding distance to this road, you need to take it at least once. I have always wanted to take it and today marked my first day to take it.

You will need to pay $2 “drive through” fee to the park, but that’s fine as I am a supporter of our State Parks. The road is about an 11 mile run and is just wonderful. It’s quiet (only encountered a few other cars), the scenery is awesome — I love riding through all those tall pine trees, and areas where the trees are so dense and grow over the road like a canopy. The posted speed limit is 30 MPH but I found myself just staying in second gear and going 15-25 MPH most of the time. Why? Again, no hurry and enjoying the ride.

That said, it really is a road you should take slowly. There are many twists and turns, many blind corners and a few blind hills. Signage is almost non-existent (no signs to say slow down, blind curve ahead, etc.). While the road is technically wide enough for two cars, there are many places where there is no shoulder. Furthermore, build up of leaves and pine needles may have built up on the side of the road effectively narrowing it by 6-12″ on a side, which doesn’t seem like a big deal until you’ve got a truck coming the other direction and they’re not on their side of the road. The road surface isn’t always the best, plus I encountered areas of water, wet leaves, sticks and branches (had to even pull over once to dislodge a small stick that had caught under my bike’s frame). I almost hit a squirrel, but was surprised to encounter no deer (what with the rut starting and all). So while I certainly could see in an ideal world this road being awesome to fly down in a sport bike, I personally wouldn’t recommend it give the nature of the road. But then, I’m more of an old biker than a bold biker (lots of old bikers, lots of bold bikers, but not many old bold bikers).

Besides… the ride is so beautiful, why would you want to go fast and miss all of it? As soon as I came in the back entrance of Bastrop State Park, majestic is the best word to describe it. Big trees, as far as the eye can see. Words cannot do it justice; you just need to experience it yourself.

After coming out in Bastrop, stopped into John’s Guns. They are quite friendly folk so we talked for a while. I picked up a couple .50 cal ammo cans for storage (they’ve got some of the best supply in the area), some .38 Special practice ammo, and headed home.

Life is good.

Harley Davidson kills Buell

Wow. Harley-Davidson kills the Buell line.

From Erik Buell (if the YouTube video is pulled, you should be able to also view it on the Buell website).

Watching that hurts. You can hear the sadness in the man’s voice.

Hopefully there will be a way for things to carry on. Maybe in a different form, maybe under a different name, but the same people and passion driving the development.

Ride on, brother.

New laws in effect

Being September 1, a bunch of new laws go into effect here in Texas.

Here’s the press release straight from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Some highlights:

HB 55 makes it illegal to use a wireless communication device in a school zone unless the vehicle is stopped or a hands-free device is used. Cities or counties wanting to enforce this law must post a sign at the beginning of each school zone to inform drivers that using a wireless communications device is prohibited and the operator is subject to a fine. It is a defense to prosecution if the operator was making an emergency call.

Why? Because talking (or texting) on the phone can be very distracting and render you a more dangerous driver, less aware of your surroundings? distracted from your primary task at hand? If it’s bad enough to avoid doing this in school zones, why isn’t it bad enough to avoid doing this everywhere?

SB 129 goes into effect. I never heard of “neighborhood electric vehicle” before.

Relating to concealed handguns:

HB 2730 amends numerous provisions regarding concealed handgun licenses (CHLs), including eliminating student loan defaults as a disqualifier, to clarify that DPS must suspend or revoke a license when the licensee becomes ineligible and mandating that a magistrate suspend a CHL held by the subject of an emergency protective order.

There’s actually a lot of stuff in HB 2730.

HB 2664 provides a defense to prosecution if a concealed handgun license holder carries a concealed handgun into an establishment that gets 51 percent or more of its income from the sale of alcoholic beverages, but has failed to post the statutorily required notice that it derives 51 percent or more of its income from the sale of alcoholic beverages. (Under current law, a concealed handgun licensee can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for doing this.)

This is welcome. I’ve been in a few places where I was surprised to discover a 51% sign was posted, but because it was posted improperly I didn’t learn about it until I was technically in violation of the law.

HB 2730 removes DPS authority to suspend a concealed handgun license (CHL) for the holder’s failure to display the CHL to a peace officer on demand. It removes associated penalties and suspensions for the failure to display.

I still think it’s generally sound advice that, if you’re carrying and a DPS officer requests identification (e.g. drivers license) that you include your CHL too. But the law is improved.

SB 1188 went into effect, bringing Texas out of the dark ages.

Drivers license related laws went into effect. HB 339 increases the number of hours a teenage student must have behind the wheel. I’m not so thrilled about state requirements, but to drive is a privilege. Frankly, I think the more the hours the better anyway… driving is something you need a lot of practical experience with.

SB 1967 changes things for motorcyclists. Now to obtain a “class M” certification on your drivers license you must show successful completion of a motorcycle rider safety course. I think those courses are very good things to have and data has demonstrated that riders that have taken those courses, as opposed to learning to ride by themselves or via family/friends, are safer riders. To arive alive and in one piece is a good thing. Again, driving is a privilege. The helmet law was improved; if I am reading this right, you don’t need to prove the extra health insurance and have the proof sticker any more to ride without a helmet. I think that’s reasonable, just don’t expect anyone else to pay to put your brains back in your skull if you choose to ride without a helmet.

My new motorcycle

What do you think of my bitchin’ new motorcyclebike?

see more Fail Blog

Another class – post mortem

Helped out with another Basic Pistol 1 class today.

There were 10 people in the class, 6 were female. Wide range of ages of folks too.

The class was good. People got to learn a lot, set a solid foundation, and try out a bunch of handguns to figure out what worked best for them. One of the best things about this course is the smorgasbord of handguns you get to shoot, because it helps you figure out what works right for you. The biggest issue is gun fit and being able to find a gun that fits you, thus you’ll be able to shoot well. You walk out of that class with the knowledge of how to be able to shop for a gun, how to buy ammo for it, and the basics of how to shoot it with good technique.

In today’s class, I happened to have my Springfield XD-9 Subcompact with me. I let people shoot it next to a full-sized XD-9 so they could compare and contrast. My point? I wanted them to see that you will shoot a large gun better than a small gun (all other things being equal, but for size). Larger guns have more frame to grip so you can get more  hand on them and better control them. Larger guns have a longer sight radius, so you can be more accurate. Larger guns are a little heavier, so they will absorb recoil better. This isn’t to say you can’t shoot a small gun well (more in a moment), but as a beginner you’ll find more success if you start out with a larger gun. Smaller guns are more concealable, but with the right strategy you can conceal a full sized gun without much problem.

On the small gun note, I actually did some shooting with my subcompact today and was quite pleased with the results. I don’t shoot that gun a lot, but because I’ve been improving my skills on the larger guns, all that came back down here. The only thing that wasn’t fun about shooting the subcompact was it has the factory sights: big fat front sight that fills up most of the rear notch (little light on the sides, harder to get things lined up), 3 white dots although I did black out the back 2 dots. I just like my Dawson Precision sights. Nevertheless, I was shooting some timed drills and did quite well because while I knew I had to shoot fast to make time I didn’t sacrifice good form for time… I didn’t rush just to get the shots off in time. I even recall a few times distinctly withholding the shot until I had the proper sight picture, my eyes focused on the front sight.

Speed is important, but I’d say accuracy is more important. No one cares about the first person to get the wrong answer, to miss, to screw up. Use good technique. Watch that front sight.

And I got to ride my motorcycle to and from the range. Gosh it’s hot out.  I’ve been having thoughts about selling my bike, but I enjoyed the ride too much today. I may not ride as much as I used to, but I think I’d be unhappy if I sold her.

Guns and fear

This morning while doing my rounds to the blogs I read, I was struck by two stories and posted about them here and here. While reading Midnight Rider’s recounting of his story, this part struck me:

Be prepared to pull that trigger. Strangely I felt no fear during the incident and knew I was ready, had I seen someone within my home, to counter that threat.

It’s then interesting that yet another blog posting from Rebecca also made this morning was also dwelling on fear. Her fear was different:

To keep a handgun in one’s house insinuates, in my opinion, a certain amount of fear, which is why guns are so scary.

A few hours after reading her article it was still rolling around in my head and it hit me. She’s afraid of guns. She’s afraid of bad people and that they use guns to obtain power and control over her and her family. She’s afraid of her child becoming a bad person. She’s afraid of her child being hurt or killed, due to guns. She’s afraid that mere presense of a gun in a household means death for her child. She implies that those who own guns are afraid — and likely some are — but maybe here we’ve got the old “spec in their eye, log in your own” situation.

If someone does own a gun out of fear? Is that bad? A woman that’s been raped and fears repercussions or another attack because the rapist got away. Is her fear an unjustified reason for owning a gun? The woman with the abusive husband or boyfriend, has the restraining order but pieces of paper only do so much good, and fears for the lives of herself and her children. Is her fear an unjustified reason for owning a gun? Or even big strong me. If fear is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat” then I guess I may well have some fear that motivates me…  knowledge there are evil people out there that have no qualms about bringing injury to myself or my family, and my fear of losing them to something so senseless, especially when I have the power to do something about it.

In me, I know where my fear comes from: it comes from how I was raised. My mother was very protective. What underlies protectiveness? Fear. Fear of harm, mostly. Could be simple things like fear of falling out of the tree and breaking your arm. Or it could be worse things. But I know that given how I was raised, fear can be a strong ingrained reaction in me. Now I’m not blaming my childhood as some horrible thing that has scarred me for life boo-hoo me. Nope. I’m just accepting how things are, and trying to better my situation. I’m not letting my fear control me, I’m controlling my fear.

Martial arts study? It gets you over the fear of being hit. Sure you still don’t want to get hit, but you accept you will, you learn how to defend (block, avoid, etc.), and when you do get hit it’s no big deal.

Motorcycles? Well, I don’t ride a crotch rocket, but there’s still a level of fear you have to overcome because there’s no question you’re more vulnerable out there. But you can take riding classes, wear proper gear, and expect the cagers to be stupid and thus ride defensively.

Guns? I hope I go my entire life and my use of guns is nothing but training and recreation. I hope I go my whole life and never have to defend myself in such a way. Was I afraid of guns? Sure. I remember the first time I handled a handgun and how I felt. My friend that introduced me told me at first to just load one round at a time: one in the magazine, seat the magazine, rack the slide, fire. Many reasons for doing that for a first-timer, but my friend expected me to do that a few rounds then load up the magazine and go. Nope. I went through a box or two of ammo one round at a time. My friend didn’t believe it, but I admit I was afraid and wanted to take it slow. All those years of conditioning to be afraid of guns took a little time to get over.

Do I fear guns? No. Do I respect guns? Yes. They are powerful tools. In the wrong hands they can be used for great evil. In the right hands, they can be used to fight that evil.

Fear is a natural human emotion. Fear in and of itself isn’t good nor bad, it just is. Like everything in life, it’s what  you do with things that determine if that thing winds up being put in the “good” column or “bad” column of your life. I have chosen to take my fears and not let them control me. I work to control my fears, to overcome them, to channel them into positives that will work towards my success in anything and everything in life. I admit I will have fear, but I cannot let fear have me.

Slow speed skills

I love riding my motorcycle on early Sunday mornings. Sun starts to rise, fire up the bike and head for the hills. The weather is cool, the roads are mostly empty and quiet. It’s a wonderful time to ride.

This morning I hit a lot of back roads on the foothills of the Texas Hill Country, going around Dripping Springs and Wimberly. On my way back home I ended up in Buda so I opted to stop into Cabela’s. Why not? Look for a S&W 640 (nope) and for .22 LR ammo (nope). Ah well. I did get to fondle a Ruger LCR. Comparing to a S&W 642 they had, the LCR was noticeably lighter than the 642. Specs say the LCR is 13.5 oz and the 642 is 15 oz, and you could certainly feel that difference. Of course, the LCR is .38 +P only (642 could do .357 Magnum). Size wise, they’re ultimately the same in terms of outer dimensions, but the LCR does “bulge” a bit more than the 642, e.g. the LCR’s trigger guard is a bit more rounded out than the 642. Nothing that should really affect carry or concealability, IMHO. I’d be curious to shoot an LCR side-by-side with a 642 and a 640 (all shooting the same loads) to see how they all felt. I wasn’t able to get a pinky on the LCR (I honestly can’t remember if I tried with the 642). Anyway, nice little diversion.

I arrived at Cabela’s before they opened. Instead of sitting around, I used it as an opportunity to practice. Cabela’s has a huge parking lot, including an area in the back for large RV’s, people hauling trailers, and the like. Just wide open space. So I took the opportunity to practice some motorcycle riding skills, especially slow speed skills. Things like turning tight circles left and right, figure 8’s, weaving, starting into a turn from a stop , and even some emergency braking. I actually need to pull out my Jerry “Motorman” Palladino “Ride Like a Pro” DVD again and review a bunch of those techniques and practice drills. I think I could make it a regular thing: if I visit Cabela’s, take 15 minutes in the back parking lot and do some drills.

I was doing fairly well, but for some reason I was having a tough time with counter-clockwise circles (turning to the left). I couldn’t get those circles as tight as clockwise/right circles. I’m not sure what it was, need to work at it more to try to figure it out. I can say that I love Palladino’s approach for slow speed, which is to keep the clutch in the friction zone, keep power to the rear wheel, and feather the rear brake. I recall from my Rider Safety Class that they only taught the friction zone, no rear brake technique. But it’s really the feathering of the rear brake that makes it all happen. You have so much more stability and control with the rear brake use.

Everyone likes to focus on high-speed riding skills, and certainly those are important. But slow speed skills are important too. If you haven’t checked out “Ride Like a Pro” you should. The skills he teaches are valuable and will make you a better rider at any speed. Ugh… this just sounded like a commercial… it wasn’t supposed to. I’m just a satisfied customer.

Morning randomness

Went out this morning for a bit. A bunch of little things came up that aren’t worth a whole blog post, but I wanted to put down somewhere. Make one big post.

More from the snub-nose files

I opted to do a little snubby shopping this morning. I think I’ve settled on something like a Smith & Wesson 640: J-frame (or the like), all steel, chambered in .357 Magnum, fully enclosed hammer. Note that while I would like it to be chambered in .357, I don’t think I’d ever really want to shoot .357 out of it; probably just shoot .38 Special +P. I just think it’d be ideal to have it chambered in .357 so I could shoot it if that was needed; for instance, I needed that extra oomph, maybe that’s the only ammo I could find and would be better than nothing, etc..  The versatility and options from the chambering would be nice, but not required; I would be happy with just .38 +P.

Went to McBrides to see what they have. They had some stuff, but nothing like I wanted. In fact, on the drive home I also stopped into a pawn shop and a sporting goods store. Basically what seems to be carried has at least some aspect of what I don’t want. First, the predominant models are lightweight models, which I’m not sold on wanting. The all-steel models aren’t much heavier (tho I was amazed at just how lightweight that S&W M&P 340 felt, and I did like that U-ramp rear sight) and will be nicer to shoot. Then if they had a steel model it would have an exposed hammer. Or one third thing might be laser grips, which I don’t want. So, nothing in stock that I’d want, either new or used. But I do think that going used would be a way to go, if I can find it. 

Questionable Fund Raising

At many intersections here in Austin you’ll find people begging for money, food, pot (yes, I’ve seen requests for this on their signs), various other things. Oh yeah, they’re also disabled vets, anything helps, God bless. I’m not insensitive to the plight of the homeless, but the vast majority of the folks I see do this as their chosen way of life. I’ve seen them at various intersections around town over the years. If they’re truly someone in need of help, Austin is loaded with help; instead of walking up and down the intersection for a few hours and spending any money they get on booze, they could walk to the help facilities or buy a bus ticket or any manner of things to help themselves. But they don’t, because they don’t want to; they don’t want help. These folks are just freeloaders and parasites and I refuse to support that with my hard-earned money.

So then I see kids out there with signs saying they’re fund raising for their baseball team’s trip, or to help the basketball team reach the finals. Or some such thing. While that seems a more noble cause — and how can you place kids in the same boat — I have to question the tactics. That some adult leader of that group thought that begging for money would be a good way to raise funds, and that the rest of the adult leaders in the group went along with it and said yeah that’s a good idea. What a wonderful thing to teach the children, eh?

Motorcycle Parking Spaces

Do you know what a motorcycle parking space is? The same spaces that cars park in, unless a specific motorcycle parking space is designated (I’ve seen such things).

What isn’t a motorcycle parking space? Sidewalks, crosswalks, the walkway in front of a business door (that’s under the awning and out of the rain, but certainly isn’t a place for vehicles), handicapped walkways. I’m a motorcycle rider myself, but I just cannot stand when other motorcycle riders think that because they’re on a bike, because they’re afraid of getting their bike tipped over or rained on or merely because they’re small enough to fit in some spot (or maybe they’re just arrogant or lazy riders), that they can park wherever they want to. Sorry, no, you can’t.

At the sporting good store, a Moto Guzzi was parked in the handicapped area. You know how those spaces can be set up in the parking lot, with a wide space then lots of paint bordering things, leading into the middle, then through the median as a “cross-walk” so that people with wheelchairs can safely get around. Well, Mr. Moto Guzzi parked his bike right in the median break; no chance of a wheelchair getting through. Why does this bug me? Because I have a nephew in a wheelchair. I’ve had times when we’ve gone out and his van couldn’t be parked in a handicapped space because of people abusing handicapped parking hang-tags. Or in a case like this, the only way for a wheelchair bound person to get around would be to navigate through the parking lot instead of the designated lane. Not a safe and sound thing.

If you ride a motorcycle, don’t be an asshole. Park your bike in a proper parking spot. If you want special motorcycle-only parking, lobby for it.

Conversation I Overheard When I Returned Home

Wife: (Calls Youngest to come downstairs).

Youngest: (Eventually shows up).

Wife: Where were you?

Youngest: I was in my hamper.

Wife: You mean your clothes hamper? You were inside your hamper?

Youngest: Yes. I was sitting in it, clothes piled on top of me.

Wife:  Why were you doing that?

Youngest: I don’t know. It was comfy.

I’m not even going to try to understand it. I’m just going to chalk it up to some random cuteness. I later found out he decorated his hamper to look like a monster, so when you open the lid to put in your clothes it’s as if the monster is eating your clothing. Fair enough.