I haven't abandoned this blog, I've just been busy with other things, like riding the Nun around motorcycle paradise. Also, around the time I turned 57 back in August, I got the synthesizer bug and started making electronic music again. You can listen to the results at aejotz.com
When the snow flies and I can't ride I will be back here blogging wistfully about motorcycling.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Stupid Picture
This looked impressive in person but didn't work as a photo. The camera reduced the dramatic contrast between the shadowed foreground and the glowing hillside. And that hill is dotted with horses. See the horses? No. You need a microscope. Duh.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!
I've been too busy to blog lately. The wife and I moved to a house in the woods near High Ridge, Missouri shortly after I started my new job in Fenton, Missouri. We are barely moved in and hardly unpacked. And my job is seasonally busy. Guess which season. Yep. Springtime is pandemonium at the new job. So I have been too busy most of the time and too tired when I'm not busy.
But I have, of course, made time to ride the Nun. These roads out here are the greatest. Even the ride to work is amazing. It's like the western half of Wildhorse Creek Rd. in Chesterfield, Missouri. And some of gthe other roads around here are as twisty and hilly and full of surprises as I could ever ask for. This is truly backroad paradise.
I'll try to take some photos soon but there are few places that I can safely pull over and stop. I see some amazing scenery but I can't stop to shoot. I'll try to take my camera with me this weekend and at least get a couple of shots for the blog and the Triumph Rat forum.
I had a Margarita with dinner, at Olive Garden! It tasted about the way you'd expect a Margarita to taste at an Italian chain restaurant. It made me long for Ruiz's. For those of you who aren't St. Louisans, Ruiz's is the best Mexican restaurant in the Midwest. It's in north St. Louis County on Lindbergh Blvd. It's a magnitude better than Casa Gallardo, Chevy's, Hacienda, you name it. Ruiz's rules!
But I have, of course, made time to ride the Nun. These roads out here are the greatest. Even the ride to work is amazing. It's like the western half of Wildhorse Creek Rd. in Chesterfield, Missouri. And some of gthe other roads around here are as twisty and hilly and full of surprises as I could ever ask for. This is truly backroad paradise.
I'll try to take some photos soon but there are few places that I can safely pull over and stop. I see some amazing scenery but I can't stop to shoot. I'll try to take my camera with me this weekend and at least get a couple of shots for the blog and the Triumph Rat forum.
I had a Margarita with dinner, at Olive Garden! It tasted about the way you'd expect a Margarita to taste at an Italian chain restaurant. It made me long for Ruiz's. For those of you who aren't St. Louisans, Ruiz's is the best Mexican restaurant in the Midwest. It's in north St. Louis County on Lindbergh Blvd. It's a magnitude better than Casa Gallardo, Chevy's, Hacienda, you name it. Ruiz's rules!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Too Busy
I've been too busy to post lately. My new job takes a lot of time and energy and the move to our new "cabin in the woods" is still taking place.
But I manage to grab an hour or two now and then to ride these great roads out here.
Today's ride was terrific. The dogwoods are in bloom and the woods are beautiful. There was a bad storm last night and there was a lot of gravel and organic debris on the roads. Still, the most slippery thing on the road was painted the center lines. When those things are dirty and wet they are dangerously slick.
It's too hilly and rocky around here for row crops so most of the "farms" have horses and one has llamas. I keep scaring owls into flight during dalight hours. Owls won't let me get close to them when I'm on the Bonneville. If I approach a (presumably) sleeping owl, it takes flight to flee from me. The good part is that I get to see owls up close as I pass them.
What's with the birds? First it was the dive-bombing goose and now it's cowardly owls.
Things will settle down in a month or so and I'll start posting photos again.
But I manage to grab an hour or two now and then to ride these great roads out here.
Today's ride was terrific. The dogwoods are in bloom and the woods are beautiful. There was a bad storm last night and there was a lot of gravel and organic debris on the roads. Still, the most slippery thing on the road was painted the center lines. When those things are dirty and wet they are dangerously slick.
It's too hilly and rocky around here for row crops so most of the "farms" have horses and one has llamas. I keep scaring owls into flight during dalight hours. Owls won't let me get close to them when I'm on the Bonneville. If I approach a (presumably) sleeping owl, it takes flight to flee from me. The good part is that I get to see owls up close as I pass them.
What's with the birds? First it was the dive-bombing goose and now it's cowardly owls.
Things will settle down in a month or so and I'll start posting photos again.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Goosed!
I took a ride on the Nun today, to the Harbor Freight in Dellwood, Missouri, in search of a 24mm combination wrench. When I pulled into the parking lot there was a jumble of cars in my way so I headed out to the far end of the parking lot to go around all the cagers. As I headed back toward the main drive in front of the stores I saw a large goose take off from there and head in my direction. Flying nearly the length of a football field this goose bee-lined toward me. I figured he'd veer or climb but he didn't, so I began to swerve to one side. He matched my move!
So I began to slow down and then ducked at the last instant as he struck me on the right shoulder. It was quite a blow. It was like being hit with a frozen turkey. I stopped and checked out the goose. He was a big sonovagun. He had his bill open and his tongue hanging out and he was making menacing faces at me. Bizarre.
I continued on my way and was stopped by a security woman in a patrol car who checked to see if I was OK. We were laughing and talking about the incident when she said "here come two more!" I turned and sure enough, two different enraged geese were threatening and approaching me from the other side. I said "I'd better go" and continued to Harbor Freight.
When I left the store I drove back to the first goose to see if he was alright. He had been holding one wing down after colliding with me. He began threatening me again so I decided to leave him alone. But when I started off he took to the air again and hit me in the left shoulder from behind, repeatedly thumping me with something (wings, feet, bill?). One point stung pretty good, despite my wearing a windbreaker, two sweatshirts and a T-shirt. I wish I'd been wearing my leather jacket.
I never saw geese act so crazy and I did an experiment on the way home. I drove through an office park that is full of geese and approached several groups and pairs of them. None of them wanted to mess with me. I'm sure the mated ganders would have threatened me if I was on foot, but on the bike I looked too big to mess with. Also, none of the dozens of geese in the office park were half the size of the one that attacked me.
Theories: 1. The big guy was a different and more aggressive subpecies (there are seven subspecies of Canada Goose and several related variants). 2. The big guy had a bad history with some motorcyclist. 3. The big guy mistook my black and white T100 for a huge rival goose. 4. You tell me.
I suggested to my wife that we go back and have her videotape another encounter, but she's chicken. Too bad. It would be interesting to see the mode of attack. I was too busy ducking to see it at the time.
I'm a big guy, the T100 is nearly 500 lbs and I'm a veteran rider who isn't easily spooked by animals. Plus, I was wearing a full-coverage helmet, leather gauntlets, high top boots and thermal overalls in addition to the above-mentioned clothes; so I was pretty well armored. I feel sorry for any skinny teenager on a sport bike wearing a T-shirt and sneakers who drives through that parking lot. He might get flattened by a giant goose.
So I began to slow down and then ducked at the last instant as he struck me on the right shoulder. It was quite a blow. It was like being hit with a frozen turkey. I stopped and checked out the goose. He was a big sonovagun. He had his bill open and his tongue hanging out and he was making menacing faces at me. Bizarre.
I continued on my way and was stopped by a security woman in a patrol car who checked to see if I was OK. We were laughing and talking about the incident when she said "here come two more!" I turned and sure enough, two different enraged geese were threatening and approaching me from the other side. I said "I'd better go" and continued to Harbor Freight.
When I left the store I drove back to the first goose to see if he was alright. He had been holding one wing down after colliding with me. He began threatening me again so I decided to leave him alone. But when I started off he took to the air again and hit me in the left shoulder from behind, repeatedly thumping me with something (wings, feet, bill?). One point stung pretty good, despite my wearing a windbreaker, two sweatshirts and a T-shirt. I wish I'd been wearing my leather jacket.
I never saw geese act so crazy and I did an experiment on the way home. I drove through an office park that is full of geese and approached several groups and pairs of them. None of them wanted to mess with me. I'm sure the mated ganders would have threatened me if I was on foot, but on the bike I looked too big to mess with. Also, none of the dozens of geese in the office park were half the size of the one that attacked me.
Theories: 1. The big guy was a different and more aggressive subpecies (there are seven subspecies of Canada Goose and several related variants). 2. The big guy had a bad history with some motorcyclist. 3. The big guy mistook my black and white T100 for a huge rival goose. 4. You tell me.
I suggested to my wife that we go back and have her videotape another encounter, but she's chicken. Too bad. It would be interesting to see the mode of attack. I was too busy ducking to see it at the time.
I'm a big guy, the T100 is nearly 500 lbs and I'm a veteran rider who isn't easily spooked by animals. Plus, I was wearing a full-coverage helmet, leather gauntlets, high top boots and thermal overalls in addition to the above-mentioned clothes; so I was pretty well armored. I feel sorry for any skinny teenager on a sport bike wearing a T-shirt and sneakers who drives through that parking lot. He might get flattened by a giant goose.
Moving to Motorcycle Paradise
In a couple of weeks the Nun and I are moving to a "cabin in the woods" near High Ridge, Missouri. Actually it's a wood-siding modern house on the edge of a subdivision in the woods, but let's not split hairs.
The roads around there are motorcycle paradise; both for the hilly twisty 2-lane roads and for the beautiful scenery. The terrain is too hilly and rocky for most kinds of agriculture, but not for fruit orchards and horse farms.
My new place of employment is about 15 minutes from my new home, by way of hilly twisties. The ride home will take much longer, and will be by a different route every day. I have many miles of new (to me) roads to explore.
And what timing! Spring will be in full swing soon, and every path will be filled with the scent of blossoms. Plus, I now get to pursue a mini-hobby I've wanted to pursue: charting the northward progress of armadillos into the St. Louis area.
Oh, and I'll have a garage again, so when the weather is too crummy to ride the bike, I can work on the bike instead.
This is going to be the best riding season ever!
The roads around there are motorcycle paradise; both for the hilly twisty 2-lane roads and for the beautiful scenery. The terrain is too hilly and rocky for most kinds of agriculture, but not for fruit orchards and horse farms.
My new place of employment is about 15 minutes from my new home, by way of hilly twisties. The ride home will take much longer, and will be by a different route every day. I have many miles of new (to me) roads to explore.
And what timing! Spring will be in full swing soon, and every path will be filled with the scent of blossoms. Plus, I now get to pursue a mini-hobby I've wanted to pursue: charting the northward progress of armadillos into the St. Louis area.
Oh, and I'll have a garage again, so when the weather is too crummy to ride the bike, I can work on the bike instead.
This is going to be the best riding season ever!
Then Came Bronson
In 1969, a year before I turned 16 and bought my first motorcycle, there was a TV series about a guy wandering around the country on a motorcycle. The show was OK. The best part was his "convertible" motorcycle. When he rode it on the highway it was a 886cc Sportster. But whenever he took it off road it turned into a 350cc Sprint. Nice trick.
Oddly, a guy who lived at the end of my street owned a Sprint, so I knew what one was, unlike most people in the world. The Sprint was a single-cylinder "thumper" built by Aermacchi of Italy and marketed by Harley Davidson as one of their own.
When Bronson's Sportster turned into a Sprint, it still had the red Sportster "peanut" fuel tank with the distinctive "all seeing eye" motif. I don't know if that fooled many people.
Our neighborhood had some very uncool motorcycles. One friend's father rode a small Honda scrambler (150cc?) and looked kind of silly on it. Another friend rode a Cushman, a moped and a Sears Allstate. My first bike was a 250 Honda Dream, so who am I to talk?
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