Musings from “Life Is a Road” author–Daniel Meyer
Archive for July, 2009
Now *THAT’S* a commute…
Jul 30th
Points at yesterday’s post…
That’s not a commute.
THIS is a commute! (points at pics below)
80mph+ on The Dragon…paralleling the storm…barely beating it to work.
Big, fat drops. Some spatterings of hail. Lightning snapping down from horizon to horizon, heartbeat keeping time. That feeling in the pit of your gut… Yeah, okay…not quite beating it to work.
Refreshing…that’s the word. Yeah.
I DO know I’m alive today though!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Dingbats without a clue…
Jul 29th
The most dangerous thing…
My wife worries about me when I’m out on a road trip. My Dad does too. Both have told me so. Mom just sprouts more white hair.
But it’s not the road trips that will get me…it’s the commute.
This morning I had four (!) oncoming cars turn left in front of me. In pairs no less…2 of them at one intersection, 2 at another.
An oncoming car turning left in front of a motorcyclist is the #1 cause of fatal motorcycle wrecks.
At both intersections, had I not been alert to what was going on, I’d have t-boned the 1st car of each pair with lethal force.
Again, at both intersections, had I not been alert to the second car of each pair, it would have run me down during/after my evasion of the 1st car.
I’m not convinced any of the 4 paid any attention to what they had just done, despite my evasions and quite loud Rivco horns.
I just don’t get it. Traffic was very light. My lights are on and working (3 of ‘em, totalling ~120 watts!). Visibility was excellent. I was not shielded from view by other vehicles or terrain. I was not speeding.
What were they doing if not actually piloting the cars they were behind the wheel of?
Will they care when another one of us dies?
As far as danger…a cross country road trip pales in comparison. Even Alaska. Even this doesn’t even come close. Even the high speed jaunts up/down Pikes Peak I take at nearly every opportunity don’t require half the skills and alertness one single commute does.
This commute…is arguably the most dangerous thing I do…or have ever done.
I wonder how long I can keep it up?
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Riding the storms…
Jul 27th
It was a wonderful week of great food, great people, and exceptional riding in the mountains.
But the destination…is the excuse.
On the way up I took two days…and spent one entire day just riding around in the mountains.
For the journey home? Some high-speed solo running was in order.
7 gas and goes.
1/2 bottle of sun-screen
1 breakfast burrito
1/2 Subway sandwich.
4 diet cokes.
5 liters water.
1 small dipped cone.
880 miles.
13 hours, 14 minutes.
All day long, spectacular storms formed up immediately to the south of me and blasted south and east, treating me to amazing dark cloud vistas and intense lightning displays.
The heat and crosswinds made themselves known as usual on this run, but due to the storms the heat was somewhat moderated. Clarendon to Wichita Falls the worst for that. It was downright chilly in the high desert…wonderful shirt-sleeve weather most of the way.
Southeast of Wichita Falls and after dark…finally started punching into the rear of these fast moving thunderstorms…rode into the metro mess on the coat-tails of some very intense storms…laughing my ass off at the lightning keeping time with the music on my mp3 player.
Laughing? Well, yep. Perhaps a little madness had set in (I love riding in thunderstorms), but mostly it was the tune…at one point the lightning was keeping time with “The Hampster Dance“.
Why that’s on my mp3 player is subject for an entire different post.
A GREAT ride! (nobody died AND I can use the bike again!)
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
The Dragon’s Headed Home
Jul 25th
New piece of chrome on my machine.
Couldn’t help it, yah know? It’s the name…
The attack squirrel sign was for the event…and courtesy of my friends LynDel and Wizard. If you don’t know why you haven’t been keeping up with your reading!
Oh…and talk about a full-service hotel…y’all recognize this plant?
It’s growing quite happily all throughout the hotel’s flower beds.
Leaving Frisco tomorrow AM…probably shooting for a straight run to Dallas tomorrow…something like 900 miles.
Why a straight run? Well…the timing of it will put me through the worst of the Texas stretch after dark…which will let me avoid the intense heat and the “frying my brains out” part of that run.
Then there’s the male brain…
12 hours? 16? We’ll see.
Zoom zoom!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Summit County
Jul 22nd
Arrived Tuesday afternoon, after spending the entire morning zooming all over the Colorado mountains. 300 or 400 miles worth! What a ride!
I did get the bike together Sunday evening…not a problem…I even washed her!
So of course, the first 200 miles out of Dallas were in the pouring rain. Even saw some sleet. Not fun, but much better than the heat usuall yfound on that west Texas run. Rain was actually a pleasant break.
As soon as the storm broke, THEN I got the famous west Texas heat. All in all a good day.
Hitting Raton, NM, the storm clouds were coming out of Colorado over the pass. What a sight! Looked like they were going to pounce! Made for an interesting trip through the pass. Right into the teeth of it.
I stopped in Trinidad, Colorado for the night…A bit over 600 miles for the day.
Tuesday I took off into the mountains…all backroads to Frisco. Great weather, great riding.
More later. Gotta go take a bike apart soon. Breakfast would be good first!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Ready for launch?
Jul 19th
T-minus 10 hours or so before I leave for a couple thousand miles of hard riding.
Years ago, I’d have been ready for a road trip days before. Perhaps weeks. The bike would have been double or triple checked, the tools packed, the riding gear accounted for and packed. Preparation is the key!
Apparently I’ve come to doubt that philosophy. I’m headed for a solo trip to Colorado…leaving in about 9 hours 55 minutes.
Here’s the bike. Think it’s ready?
Got a new tire on the rim…need to mount it on the bike. Need to replace the grips. New battery (it started mis-behaving last week so I ordered a new one), oil change, and rear end service.
I’m excited for the road trip…really I am! I need some hard miles. It’s been too long. Getting ready? Meh…not an issue.
I’m either hopelessly self-confident, the ultimate procrastinator, intensly masochistic, or maybe it’s all of the above.
Now…I wonder if I’ve got a map around here somewhere?
T-minus 9 hours 50 minutes…
(hollars at the wife)
“Honey!? Have you seen my rain suit?”
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Westbound…
Jul 18th
I’m headed to Colorado for Inzane, the VRCC’s 9th annual get together.
I’ll be headed out sometime Monday morning.
I should be there from Tuesday night to Sunday morning. I’ll have a few books on hand for sale, I’ll be doing tech sessions…and I’ll be genarally banging about the Colorado mountains.
There is outstanding riding up there…Come on out and see!
The 900 miles or so between here or there? Heh…I don’t even have a plan beyond “Point ‘er west, twist throttle.”
I suppose I DO need to put the bike back together first.
I’ll see you on the road!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Mis-aligned Spots!
Jul 15th
Had a critical issue…was afraid I might not make Inzane! With a couple thousand miles of road-trip in front of me…this was important!
Glove blow out
As you can see…my glove blew out. Very serious. Old, worn, stretched out…and two seams let go. Loose gloves…yuck.
Hech, my spots are becoming mis-aligned!
Mis-aligned Spots!
Now, y’all (that’s a Texas technical term) that do the distances know…but a man’s riding gloves are important! I am very picky about mine…I’ve worn the same brand, size, and pattern for over 30 years. Doeskin…skin-tight. Buy ‘em small and suffer for a day or two so they fit exactly. Mine seem to be good for about 20,000 miles of Texas sun, which is fairly impressive.
They are a distance rider’s secret weapon.
Lives have been saved with these gloves…
So, I searched the metro-mess in desperation yesterday…and finally found my brand…and size.
Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!
Oooooo….baby…..Oh
Now my spots will line up again!
New gloves. Almost better than sex!
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
All Who Wander…
Jul 13th
A new short story:
All Who Wander <--linky
(snip)
Tonight wasn’t about me any longer…
(endsnip)
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer
Good Gravy!
Jul 6th
One of the treasures (?) of east Texas. Thanks to my friend Mike for the picture (I think…yep, I did ask for it!)
Y’all familiar with Pilgrim’s Pride Chicken? Big producers in east Texas and west Arkansas and Louisana. Lots of chicken farms…between these guys and Tyson there aren’t many independents left…but that’s another story. Pilgrim’s Pride runs very odd commercials featuring Bo Pilgrim…the owner or such…in a Pilgrim’s hat and touting his chicken over his competetors “Fat yellow chicken”.
He’s also known for unusual and perhaps illegal influence peddling, and outright bribery of state legislators. Apparently, he takes himself quite seriously.
So, Bo, my man…are you hopelessly conceited or what? I mean really, where does one go to get a massive 30-foot fiberglass likeness of yourself made anyway?
I’m ashamed to admit this monstrosity is outside a processing plant here in the great state of Texas on 271 near Pittsburg…
I mean…really…what in the world are they thinking?
Corporate icon or overbearing nutcase. You decide.
CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer