Total Pageviews

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Ok then....

So after some kinda spicy conversations on a couple forums I belong to I realized I was becoming more interested in being right than being happy...Ooooops

So my solution: back off right now and have a more reality based, centered life, only pursue the things on the internet that pertain to my immediate day and that will further my one bucket list item I am working toward at the moment...

Instead of talking with people about concepts and ideas, I need to take a wrench in my hand and do what I do best.

It is so easy for me to take something I did for a while and choke it to death by trying to recreate it....so today I went to Second Hand Rose, my favorite store in town, bought my wife a card, walked down to the ice cream store cum art gallery (which every thing in town is) and listen to the ice cream dipper guy tell me about flat tracking motorcycles...I had no idea he raced and I sat with my mouth shut and listened to some cool stories...

I so love that I have been blessed with the clarity to know what I need to do when I get growly or off center.

I am still chuckling about what my artist friend said about my sidecar rig and what it reminded her of so I ordered a "Main Force Patrol" decal for the bike...every devout Road Warrior devotee will know that Max was a patrolman for Main Force when the SHTF  down under......

Happy petrol finding and watch out for Toecutter....
ManyWheels

Sunday, August 21, 2011

I love it..

An artist friend said, " I love your bike! It is kind of Goth meets Mad Max!"
ManyWheels....

Monday, August 15, 2011

I love my sidecar!

I had a nice 300+ mile day on the combination today and was able to get a handle on a few things that need to be adjusted, changed and added. The main thing is that I did not have enough lean-out on the bike and keeping it tracking straight on a cambered road is hard on my arms...mostly the problem is keeping my left arm and hand from going numb...a chronic condition I have that needs a lot of attention and care to keep it from happening and becoming a problem....

As I was riding through the gorgeous desert with beautiful weather, I had a chance to think about what it is about sidecaring that I love so much....actually the many things about it that I love.

I have ridden two wheeled motorbikes for quite a few years but have only been riding  a sidecar combination for about 10. I consider myself still on the learning curve but am comfortable enough on the combi to feel that I can have an opinion.

I like the security of a three-wheeled rig in respect to the road surface, the tripod effect which eliminates the worries of balance, where to park, where I can ride, what I can carry and that I can take my little buddy, Dina Dog, along.

The community is awesome. If you imagine that only a very, very small subset of motorcyclists ride sidecar rigs...the true 1%ers.... :^) and that that small percent are willing to take a perfectly good, ridable motorbike and hang a wheel off to one side and try to make it work right against all of the rules of physics that govern two wheeled motorbikes. Yep...kinda crazy and a bit absurd but for the most part a group of damn good engineers and mechanics. And very friendly....

One needs to be, friendly, outgoing, somewhat gregarious, since sidecar bikes are so odd and non-threatening, we have people coming up at every gas stop, whenever we park at a store, etc. wanting to know about the rig, wanting to tell their stories about their Dad or Grandfather who rode a 1926 Harley with a sidecar and in some cases, to ask if we would give their kid or someone they love, a ride.....

I had that happen at a store just the other day when a man asked me if he could pay me to give his very sick wife a ride. A ride in a sidecar was on her bucket list and she is a 7 year cancer patient still under treatment. Of course I gave her a good ride and my pay was the joy on her face and the tears of happiness as we rode. As they left I heard her telling her husband about the ride and that now she could cross the second thing off her bucket list. I have to tell you it filled my heart to the brim to give her a ride. This one of many opportunities that have come my way while riding my magic carpet....

That is what I think of when I am riding...gratitude for my magic carpet that takes me to places I have only dreamed of.

Last but not least it has extended my riding career as my body ages and I find I don't feel as comfy on two wheels as I used to.....

Thanks for sharing this with me.....

ManyWheels Brian

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

New bed...

I have been working out the kinks with my new collapsible tent-cot from Kamp-Rite.

I found that the locking struts for holding the cot part open and stretched tight, bent the first time I set it up...after several emails with the company, I was sent several replacement locking struts but apparently I could not get them to look at the weak spot.

Aside from that I am quite happy with it and it is high quality. I can use the cot alone, the tent alone or together with the cot....perfect for me with the sidecar rig. I now have it set up in my bedroom in the house and am getting use to sleeping in it. The very nice thing for me is that unlike their other tent cots it collapses to a package 8"x8"x40".....nice for the hack.

More later,
ManyWheelsBri

Baja mellow

Baja Bri

Me and my buddy

Me and my buddy
Bri and "Dina Whitesocks the Dancing Dervish Dog"

B.O.B. and Dina

B.O.B. and Dina

Followers

About Me

My photo
well, I am a 70 year old married man with a couple of sons and 4 grand kids and am currently wending my way around the planet in any way that I find interests me. I am a retired mechanic, certified motorcycle nut, ride a sidecar rig and practice living in the moment. I am a 31 year friend of Bill and Bob and have lived a life beyond my wildest dreams.