Yes I went somewhere, but not on a Bike. It has been a long week. I started Saturday at my brother’s In-laws, at their May Fest (Maibaum). It was a great party! The core of the group was the Dallas German-American Society. They are a really great group of people celebrating their heritage. The video below is of the raising of the Maibaum. 
Maibaum 2013

Sunday I flew to San Jose for work. I usually like to work in a little sightseeing, but after two days, I had done nothing. I rested Sunday after driving around a bit, worked Monday, and except for my morning walks, have not left the hotel.

Why on the motorcycle blog?

Well, while commuting about town for meetings I have had my first experience as a cager with lane filtering. I have seen it done safely, recklessly and varying degrees of in-between. One of my first surprises was learning that filtering is not just used during jams; I was “filtered” by while I was going 80MPH! Lately, I have been hearing that there is talk of bringing some variation of this to Texas.

My own experiences of trying to get around jams and accidents on 1-35 between Dallas and Austin over the last few years have me wondering if that is a good idea. Short of a massive marketing and driver education, some people may not adjust to this well back home.

I know it would take time, but am left to wonder if the character of many of my fellow Texans can tolerate somebody going by them in a jam without the urge to crush them with their F-950!? Less than 4 months ago I tried to filter in central Texas at a very low speed with flashers on, only to have angry drivers swerve wildly to cut me off. Several “professional” OTR truck drivers, whom I can only assume have been to CA, took drastic maneuvers to attempt to spill me. One driver drove his truck off of the surface to cut me off, only to force me to go around him, between him and another 18 wheeler! Sadly, all I was attempting to do was exit the roadway before my ST1300’s clutch was smoked in the stop and go.  

I wonder if the best option for Texas may be to follow a practice I observed while living in MN back in 2000? In MN busses are allowed on the shoulder, where available. Motorcycles would often (and illegally) follow the busses, and still move faster than traffic.

A few safety rules I would keep in mind if I were writing legislation?

1.      “Filtering” on shoulders only

a.      This would to a great degree eliminate the “bubba-factor” or “Soccer-mom factor”, and most other “Factors” that have tried to crush you while texting.

2.      Only allow shoulder use when traffic slows to 50% of posted speeds

3.      Filtering speeds 10 MPH below posted maximum speed limit (55mph on a 65MPH road)

a.      This keeps people from filtering needlessly (recklessly)

4.      HUGE fines for exceeding maximum filtering speed

5.      HUGE, and I mean HUGE fines for any drivers attempting obstruct filtering

6.      Filtering restricted to riders wearing helmets. 

a.      (I know this will likely piss people off) Personal thing here, but let’s face it, filtering is dangerous. In two days in CA I have yet to see ANYONE without full gear on a bike. During my first commute on the 101 I saw, that I can only presume was SCU student spilled on his sportster while filtering. (He seemed to be okay) If the state of TX, governmentally speaking, is bent on having people wear helmets, this is a mechanism. Filtering would be a privilege for those willing to play by DOT rules. I am personally surprised NTTA and other toll road operators have not already done this. 

Thoughts? I welcome mature and thoughtful feedback J! 

Yes I am still here, just not "here" much. I have recently started some two-up riding adventures, and soon will follow with some feedback and tips. Right now though, the ST is in the shop being looked over one last time as the warranty expires for an oil leak and blown rear shock. The shock has leaked for quite some time but seeing the warranty expiration on the horizon I used the first day of my vacation to get it into the shop. So, until then, I will see you later. Stop back for some 4th of July boating pics!

Where the H*ll have you been?

I was on a friend’s blog and noticed he had not posted since July! I was shocked W.S.! That was until I looked here… D’oh! So, call me kettle. What have I been up to? Well, from a purely riding position, I have not really done anything save for one Denton bike night since the July ride below this posting. Since Sept, I have been on a deer lease, and have seen nothing except crows and zombie nighttime deer pics from the camera. I duck hunted one day and had two firsts, a hooded merganser drake and a woodie hen. These are detailed in photos below. The box blind has become my weekend place, and by ET standards is not too shabby. No central heat, kind of cramped, no plumbing, but again by ET standards, nothing out of the ordinary.

I hope to ride more, and the hunting has really hemmed up my budget, but in the spring there will be a little more cash, and with an aging hunting dog and poor luck at the lease this year I will have to really question if the hunting with its high price of entry is practical when competing against riding, family camping and kayak fishing.

Hunter was really resistant to get the birds we downed in the big water, but was a little more open to going in the mud for the woodies until he tweaked his hip pulling up a hind leg in knee deep mud. So, I have said for a few years that “I am really only hunting for him and when he is done I probably am too.”

Where will I ride next? MN is off the table until I am gold-wing- corbin-saddled wealthy, but I would like to try another trip to the west. Maybe a ride to my cousin’s place on the river.

Alt Vacation

As I mentioned, MN did not happen. The weather was horrible, and the logistics just did not work. The logistics failing mostly because I refused to stop & spend the night in Kansas and add two days to the trip.
Regardless, I have learned a few things in this ordeal. I am taking the Moto-Minnesota trip off of the table until when/if I ever own a gold wing. I went to Galveston, and in the heat, pushing for distance and not stopping much; I can cover 350 miles in 5.5 hours. And, my butt hurts. The sheepskin pad was helpful, but a $600.00 Sargent seat may be in the future. Again, I need to focus on the 300-400 mile per day rides over the 1000 mile per day rides.
I will look to the future to restrict moto-camping to spring, fall & winter. I have asked my wife to hit me with something heavy should I mention riding the ST to MN in the future.
To avoid the rain, I decided to go to Galveston Island. It was a hot ride. And it rained. I spent some time with friends and turned around to head back after two days of watching it rain on and off. The ride home through Houston was epic in the sense that at 5:30-6:00AM in rush hour traffic I was caught in the most violent thunderstorm I have ever ridden in. On I-45 I was trapped in the center lane at times riding in a foot of water, showered by arches of water from the surrounding vehicles unable to go faster than 20MPH with 100 foot visibility and unable to get off of the road. I assumed that my ticket was punched.
I rode out of the storm by the time I made the Woodlands, all the time just a step ahead of the developing weather. I made Huntsville and Sam Houston State park by 7:30AM. I used my parks pass to take a “natural” break, change clothes, drain the water out of my water proof boots and collect myself.
Traveling alone raised a few questions. One being, who watches your bike while you take extended “natural” breaks?
Regardless, I made it home again and spent the remainder of the break at the lake away from two wheels.

Not so Fast

So, here I am on the precipice of another MN trip… cancellation. This time, I have everything I need, gear, bike (in for repair at the moment), time off, etc. However, the one factor beyond my control, the weather, has stopped me in my tracks. The jet stream is in an uncharacteristically northern position laying a series of storm systems, one on the next, through the central USA. The weather has been odd to say the least this spring. Between severe tornado outbreaks, midwest flooding, severe drought in the south and west, one is left trying to decide where to go.

Why is this particular trip so hard? Well, geography I guess. From the southernmost state of the northernmost is a logistical problem if one is trying to beat the extreme heat and cold. In Texas prime spring riding begins in mid-February and runs through early May. In Minnesota, it can still snow in mid-May, and often on the fishing “opener”, and the remnants of the winter sand and rock salt still lay on the road. In June the temps in Minnesota are pleasant and in the 70’s and in Texas and much of the US south of Iowa already in the 100’s and high 90’s. Pick up in the fall, October is pleasant enough in the south, but in Minnesota the leaves are changing and snow by holloween is not totally uncommon. The last time I went grouse hunting up near Duluth in mid-October, it snowed all weekend.

Riding north, out of the heat is a possibility; however, the trip home grows hotter by the day. Last Wednesday in Minneapolis it was 103 degrees. On the days in the 10 day outlook it that it is not raining, the temps from Dallas to Minneapolis are consistent within a few degrees. 18 hours in the saddle in temps from the mid to high 90’s can be dangerous.

So as time runs out on the “Trans-country” I am left to find a new way to while away the next two weeks.

Yes, I am still here...

Well, another Holiday season in the bag. Not much going on but I suppose I am writing here so the TWAATFOG NATION (TFN) does not think this is a dead link. Was I limiting myself when I started this motorcycle blog so many years ago? I would like to think not. But I admit my travels have slowed since lost Rider Highway exited the two-wheeled plane and became a full time cager. It is not even a cool car, it’s a sedan.

Another shot at a MN trip? I don’t know. Funds will be an issue for the next 15 months since the Malibu has moved on to the other side. Its spot in the garage has been taken by another Honda, a CR-V with a fat payment that will all but kill me until AJ is out of child care. Speaking of moving on, we had put down a longtime friend over the Holidays. One of our dogs, Maggie, a 14-ish year old Sheppard mix was in poor health and it became her time. I wanted to publicly thank Dr. Wallace DDVM for her professionalism & compassion.

Truthfully, the only places I want to go, riding or otherwise are MN, Big bend/West TX, and maybe back to Galveston. BB/W-TX is a bit far to go solo, and can be dangerous if alone in the sense that if there were to be an accident the fire ants would likely get you before an ambulance would. MN is hard because 2/3 of the riding will be the commute. Also, the thought that you can never go home is ever present. The few people I want to see will be working which leaves be to my own devices during all week days. And the short riding season basically forces me to go between 6-15 and 7-31. G-town is cool but all of my friends have families and kids assuring I would get scolded for leaving them behind to pursue miles in the bike. When you look at a map of the US from a riders perspective North Texas is a black hole, a singularity for the over sensitive if you will.

Finally, for the last 24 months I have worked actively to expand my circle of friends and acquaintances. This has had mixed to crappy results. I have met a few people that have become good hunting buddies. On the Moto rider front, not so much. I thought I was meeting some good people but it was more like a handful of douchers and a thief. It is okay, riding is a solitary activity. If I meet someone along the way, fine, if not that is cool too.

Morning Ride to Lake Murray

I took a little “get out in the first cool air of the fall” ride this morning. I drove a fairly deserted I-35 North to Oklahoma and from Hwy 7 found my way to the Lodge of Lake Murray. Built in 1949, and looking as such, it was still in operation. I did not get to check out anything but the lobby. It was like I stepped back into time, way back.

The trip home was a little hairier. I-35 was busy. Texas DPS Troopers were all over the place, a menace really the way they kept racing in and out of traffic nabbing people for driving 5mph over. Really, I had the GPS and would not believe it myself had I not seen it. Welcome to Texas, I hope you brought your wallet.

Here are a few shots from the trip.