Musings from “Life Is a Road” author–Daniel Meyer
Archive for June, 2007
Inbound…
Jun 30th
I’m headed home in the morning. Johnson City to Dallas. A thousand miles. Not sure I’ll run it all tomorrow or take two days.
Or maybe I’ll even take the long way.
I wonder if I’ve got a California map on the bike?
I’ll see you on the road.
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Miles to go…
Jun 28th
So, some riding around the mountains, a bunch of wrenching, some really good eating.
The city blocked off downtown last (Wednesday) night and we had a police escort to the area. A couple hundred bikes made the run. Not bad for a Wednesday. Most riders will be in on Saturday. They had hamburgers grilling, some free iced cream, etc. All in all, a nice welcome, even though downtown Johnson City has suffered the same fate as many small and mid-sized downtowns. Lots of empty. Lots of closed.
Today I pulled the complete rear end off “The Dragon” as a tech session. Down to the guts. Shocks, rear tire, rear drive pumpkin, driveshaft, pinion joint. Inspected all and talked about and pointed out the possible pitfalls and how the simple maintenance can keep it all in perfect shape despite the abuse I can dish out. Really good session. May have been as many as 45 people attending. Lots of good questions. Folks learned a lot.
Some showed up to learn, others may have just wanted to see some masochist pull his bike half-in-two with minimal tools and parts, a thousand miles from home.
Yeah, I’ve got some confidence in my skills.
Had a pizza tonight. Sort of. Hole in the wall place. Ricotta cheese based. Fresh tomato, basil, black olives, a bit of feta, and some roasted garlic cloves. All on a cracker thin, crisp crust. Very tasty.
After a long day of wrenching, topping it off with about a gallon of excellent iced tea was just what this Texas boy required.
It’s been a good time.
We may have had two riders go down on the Snake today. Not sure yet. The word is no serious injuries. Damn I hope they’re okay. There’s a bunch of us here though, so info is sketchy at the moment. I’ll know more tomorrow. If we did have a couple down…then that road rears up and bites hard. The folks here early are not your casual bike jockeys. May the folks be fine and the bikes ready for more.
“The Snake” is the run I’m hitting in the morning.
As usual, missing the wife. Parts of the soul demand the ride. Others parts demand other things. All the parts must be satisfied or the health of the whole is at risk. Some is darkly male and completely predictable, but not all. What and how to feed it has been a 30-year quest.
A wanderer’s soul is a pesky thing.
Passion as principle. It’s a defining…and deceptively simple statement. It’s mine. A moment’s thought and some life-experience will give some idea of the pursuit required.
The costs are irrelevant. It’s worth the efforts. A man with no soul is a scary thing to behold. I’ve met a few. That’s a point I will never reach.
Ya’ll be safe. If you can’t be safe, at least be fun.
I’ll see you on the road.
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Expectations…
Jun 25th
Now, somehow, I’ve gone and corrputed the wife….
See, I hit the road…a couple hours later than I really wanted to…see, the wife was involved…and I HAD to say “CUAgain” properly to her, you see…
So, I did not expect to make Johnson City today. I figured I’d ride till I felt like stopping.
So here I am…in BFE Tennessee…somewhere just that side of Nashville…I got me a cheap hotel and a good dinner.
600 miles. Three major storm systems. Road gators. Revenuers. Sleeping truckers. Lightning, HEAVY rain…ya know…the usual stuff.
600 miles. That was enough. No sense pushing too hard. After all, I’ve got all day tomorrow too….
So I call the wife…just to let her know.
She says, “Only 600 miles? You’re just getting warmed up! Sheesh! Some people just quit before they’re done.”
I think she called me a “whimp” in there somewhere. LOL! She was teasing me of course.
Gotta get her something special whilst I’m in Tennessee.
Wonder if I can find a lump of coal somewhere?
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Tennessee…Hide the Wimmen!
Jun 23rd
I’m headed out at O-dark-thirty Monday morning for Inzane 7, the annual Valkyrie Riders‘ gathering in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Sooo…a thousand miles out, another thousand back. Lots of riding in between. Johnson City sits on the edge of some of the best riding roads in the country.
As usual, work has been frantic and I’ve not had time to really prepare. The bike, with over 100,000 miles on her, probably needs attention. I need to find a map or two.
As usual, work has been frantic, so I really don’t care that I may not be completely ready. A quick oil change and a handful of maps will have to do. I’m going even if I have to walk.
Once again, I’ve been asked to coordinate the tech sessions, so if you’re looking for me, either ride at high-speed all over the large number of curvy roads in the area (hey, you might catch a glimpse of me that way!), or check the tech session schedule. Here’s a PDF (Needs Adobe Reader) of the schedule if you’re interested.
I need a break. I need the road. There are stories out there…It’s once again time for me to go find them.
I’ll see you on the road!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
“Volume One” Preorders are SHIPPED!
Jun 16th
Okay folks. ALL the preorders, including the international orders, are on the way. Last batch mailed out today (Saturday 6/16).
Thanks for your support, and I hope y’all (Texas technical term) enjoy your books!
I have about a dozen left from the print run if folks are still interested.
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
They’re coming…
Jun 9th
These are on the way.
The magic UPS tracker thingy says they’ll arrive here on Monday! I’ll have ‘em shipped out to you guys shortly after. There’s still time to snag you one. There are a few left from this print run that aren’t spoken for yet.
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Inzane 7 (June 27-July 1, Johnson City, TN)
Jun 4th
Have I announced this yet?
Guess not.
Anyway, I’ll be the Tech Session coordinator at Inzane 7 again this year!
Inzane 7 is the annual Valkyrie Riders gathering and is the largest Valkyrie gathering in the free world. It’s always a good time, and all bikes are welcome (or no bikes, just come on out!).
It’s being held this year in Johnson City, TN, so there promises to be some good riding, good eating, and good people nearby. What else could you need?
If you’re looking for me, check the tech session schedule, or just watch for the fat guy on the black Valkyrie. I’ll be teaching folks about Valkyries (or arguing with them about Valkyries), signing autographs, and generally mucking about and having a good time.
I’ll see you on the road!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
The order is in!
Jun 2nd
The print order is in to the printer for Life Is a Road, Volume One!
Yaaaayyyy!
The preorders have been going well, and I ordered extra, so I’m leaving the order page up. I won’t be stocking this book generally, so autographed copies of this limited edition will be hard to come by. Now’s your main chance!
To those that have preordered…and indeed to all my readers, thanks for your support. I really appreciate it.
Life is a road…I’ll see you on it!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer