ABCD - A Bloggers Centerline Day

It was 85+ degrees yesterday and I got a lot of riding in.  Today, not so much.  Cold front hit bringing rain and a high of 55 today!  However, life situations more than the weather kept me from riding today but, not from getting my ABCD photo!

Standing at the crossroads, which way do we go?

There is some significance in the location of the photo.  Over the last few months my wife and I along with our teenage son have been discussing his educational future.  We were standing at the crossroads between continuing in public school or going to a high quality private school.  I am an assistant principal in a local district and he has ridden to school with me for the past 8 years.  Letting him attend this local private school is a big decision.

We decided to let him attend the private school, he is really excited.  This road leads to our house and the crossroad leads to the new school.  We were heading to a parents' meeting at the school when my lovely wife snapped the shot.

I will miss having him ride to and from school/work with me but, I am excited about the quality of education he will get.  I know he and I still have a lot of miles of riding ahead of us, after all, we have our 10 day trip to the Smoky Mountains coming this summer!

Scooter Pete's - Tyler, TX

Tyler is located in the Pineywoods of East Texas and unless you ride the long slab named I-20 the roads to Tyler are lined with great scenery and dotted with nice curves.  The town has a lot of worthy ride destinations including the friendly motorcycle shop, Scooter Pete's.

Scooter Pete's has a sales department, a service department, accessories, a grill, and on selected days a seamstress with a good selection of patches.  Pete and Nisee, owners of the shop, have developed a reputation for fairness and integrity while building a great team of employees.  Hagar, a well known and respected mechanic, runs the high quality service department.  Once in the store Bubba can answer your questions and help you find what you need.

Hagar starting of the days events

On April 16, 2011 Scooter Pete's hosted the Spring Rally benefiting Wounded Hearts, a foundation that helps wounded soldiers.  The recipient for the one day event was Rob Dickey, a brave soldier and fellow rider who lost part of both his legs while serving in Afghanistan.  Through the efforts of the event Rob was presented with a 2006 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic at the end of the day.

 Scooter presenting the bike to Rob, Hagar looks on.

Nisee escorts Rob to the bike

The rally included the Moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, military vehicles, vendors, live bands, and a Bike Show.  Scooter Pete's also provided a bike washing team of ladies that detailed bikes using only Moto Oz detailing products with proceeds benefiting Wounded Hearts Rally.

The Legacy Vets M/C performed the moving POW/MIA Empty Chair Ceremony at the beginning of the rally.  This highly symbolic ceremony reminds us of the brave men and women that have still not been brought home.  This was my first time to see the ceremony and it was quite humbling.

 We are reminded that all soldiers have not made it home

The empty chair reminds us to never forget.

The National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, The Empty Chair Ceremony, a flyover, and laying of wreaths at the wall were all part of the opening ceremonies.  The rest of the day included the bike show, bike detailing, food, and fun.

Hagar introduces the Moto Oz detailing team to the bikers

 The Wall

 Too many names

 Equipment of the greatest and bravest armed forces in the world

 Forever free

 WW II bike and uniform.  This guy was awesome.

 The detailing team in action - hey that bike looks familiar.

 This softtail had a lot of custom work

 Another great paint job.

 Nice bike

A custom Valkyrie trike in the show

Scooter Pete's is a great shop with quality people who truly care about bikers and the biker community.  If you are out in the East Texas area do yourself a favor and stop by Scooter Pete's at 14685 Hwy. 155 South, Tyler, TX - 903-581-0810.  If it is near lunch time enjoy one of Scooter's cheeseburgers from the grill.

Will you participate?

I have seen this on Gary France's blog and one many other blogs.  I figure most bloggers connected to motorcycles have already seen it but, I thought I would share Gary's post here just to make sure word gets around.  Below is Gary's post from his blog.

Sounds like a neat idea and I know I will be participating.  Will you?
Now I have to come up with a good photo idea.  Suggestions? (Be nice)

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

ABCD - Will You Take Part?

Maybe you would like to join in with this.....

A Bloggers Centerline Day, or ABCD, will take place on Sunday 1st May 2011.

The plan is to inspire as many bloggers as possible to go outside and take a photograph of themselves on this day, wherever they are in the world. The photo can be creative, arty, contain more than one person, be in any type of location and can contain anything else you like. It must however contain the centerline of a road and at least part of you, the blogger.

There are 5 rules....

Rule 1 - the picture must be taken on 1st May 2011.

Rule 2 - the picture must be of yourself, and you must be a person that publishes a blog. You can include whatever else you like in the picture, including other people if you wish.

Rule 3 - the picture must include the centerline of a road.

Rule 4 – you should publish the picture on your blog on 1st May 2011, along with a few words about the picture and why you chose that location or pose.

Rule 5 - when you have posted the picture on your own blog, put a comment on http://garysusatour.blogspot.com/2011/04/abcd-will-you-take-part.html and include in that comment the address of your own blog post containing your own picture. 

Gary France will then pick his favourite photos and publish these as being the winners. There will be a prize of $100 awarded to the overall single winner, as chosen by Gary.

In order to get this event known as widely as possible, please copy and paste this posting onto your own blog, including the title. Please do that today!

As a reminder to yourself to take the photo and post it, put an entry into your diary for 1st May 2011.

Let’s see if we can get as any people to join in as possible.

High Island - Lake Charles

When given the choice I would rather ride in the mountain than near the coast but, I have found the coast has it charm.  On a recent trip my brother-in-law and I headed for the Texas/Louisiana coast since it was still early Spring and we were looking for warm temperatures.

Early on the second day of the trip Jeff mentioned that he liked the ocean and beaches.  We decided to alter our route and add a few miles so we could visit the Texas Coast town of High Island before heading to Lake Charles, LA and some great Cajun cookin'.

We rode south on the straight and flat TX 124 (there is one high causeway bridge just north of High Island which gives a great view of the area and tempted me to roll on the throttle) to TX 87 and the Gulf Coast.  We parked and walked around the beach for a short time.  Because of past hurricanes TX 87 no longer connects High Island and Sabine so we had to ride TX 125 back north to Winnie.

The Gulf Coast at High Island

At Winnie we turned east on TX 73 heading to Port Arthur, TX.  At Port Arthur we jumped on TX 82/Martin Luther King Dr. and rode east.  We had to stop on the road prior to the Lake Sabine Causeway bridge because of construction.  We were on a steep incline but we could see the area and we watch a tugboat maneuvering a barge.

 The Lake Sabine Causeway

Barge full of cargo

The road continued along side the causeway.  We could see boats, barges, and refineries.  We crossed over the southern end of Sabine Lake entering Louisiana.  On the left side was Johnson's Bayou and on the right was the Gulf of Mexico.  There were still signs of the effects hurricane Rita.

Johnson's Bayou 

We spotted an alligator in the bayou.  We turned around but the gator would not resurface and we did not stick around too long.  I did take time to take some pictures.  It was a pretty day and there was very little traffic.  It was a peaceful area.

FJR waits while we are looking for gators.

We continued east looking for a good place to stop and check out this stretch of the beach.  Jeff chose a paved road that took us to a small "development" of beach homes.  The only other people we saw was an elderly couple sitting in lawn chairs on the beach.  We dismounted and walked out to the water.  

Gulf Coast near Holly Beach, LA

The beach was nice and clean.  Seashells were plentiful.  I have walked several beaches in Florida but I had never seen so many pretty seashells.  We gathered a few to take home. 

The beach was lined with seashells

 I found this big shell with over half of it buried under the sand. I was surprised when I pulled it up.

After a relaxing stroll down the beach gathering seashells we washed them up and continued east to Holly Beach where we turned north on LA 27.  We passed Mud Lake on our right followed by West Cove, Long Point Lake, Calcasieu Lake, Moss Lake.  On the left we rode by Brown's Lake and Black Lake. 

Riding through the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge

After 35 miles on LA 27 we arrived at our motel in Sulphur, LA.  It was a great day of riding and the stretch along the coast was very enjoyable.  If you get down that way make time to ride along the coast and enjoy the sea breeze and coastal scenery.

Love that Cajun Cookin'

My favorite type of food is Cajun with German a close second.  Both are rare treats for me which probably helps maintain their status as my favorites.  When out riding I search for opportunities to dine at local one of kind restaurants.  I love the experience of sampling the culinary efforts of chefs that do not have to follow the cooperate recipes sent from some 12 floor office.

On a recent 4 day extended weekend trip my brother-in-law and I headed towards southwest Louisiana, Lake Charles to be exact.  Weeks before our departure I began thinking about Cajun cookin' and was looking forward to finding a local eatery with a unique flair.  Of course Google provided some suggestions that I noted but, I like asking the locals for recommendations.

We checked into our hotel after a second great day of riding and good stroll on the beach of the Gulf Coast near Holly Beach, LA.  The local suggestion coincided with my research so we jumped on I-10 and rode to Steamboat Bills.  As we were pulling into the parking lot a trio of parking attendants directed us to a motorcycle parking area.  The parking attendants remained busy with a steady flow of customers.

Front entrance of the busy Steamboat Bill's.

We were greeted by a friendly lady with a thick Cajun accent.  She explained that we were to order and pay at the counter and then they would seat us and bring our order when it was ready.  I asked "What's the best thing on the menu?"  She gave me a quick lesson on the menu and what was popular.

Order and pay at the front counter before being seated.

Upon her recommendation I ordered a crawfish pistolette as an appetizer.  I chose the Sampler plate so that I could taste several different items.  My brother-in-law is not a big seafood eaters so he ordered the grilled chicken with red beans and rice.

 Grilled chicken and Red Beans and Rice

His salad and my pistolette arrived shortly.  The pistolette is a roll that is cut and filled with crawfish (or shrimp) etouffee'.  The roll was light and had a flaky crust.  The roll was one of the best rolls I have eaten.  The etouffee' had great flavor and just a little "heat".  The pistolette was a great treat.  I will order pistolettes in the future and not just one!

Crawfish Pistolette - a house speciality

The Sampler plate came loaded with fried shrimp, a piece of fried catfish, a stuffed crab, a stuffed shrimp, cole slaw, fries, and a roll.  I tried to limit my fried foods but I must admit the fried stuff at Steamboat Bill's was not oily and did not have a typical fried flavor.

The small sampler plate is loaded with plenty of great food.

The catfish was fresh, tasty, and flaky.  The stuffed crab was my least favorite item but it was good.  The shrimp seemed to have been caught that morning.  They were fresh and did not have the frozen then thawed texture that places inland have.  The best part was the stuffed shrimp.  The big shrimp was stuffed and then deep fried.  Not for sure what all was in the stuffing but it was great. I wished they would have given me more than one.

Overall I greatly enjoyed my meal.  The atmosphere is festive, the service friendly and quick, and the food top-notched.  If you are on I-10 and near Lake Charles stop by and check out Steamboat Bill's.  I really think you will be satisfied and pleased. 

Impressions after 6000 miles

I know no one is waiting by their computers greatly anticipating my next post but, I do want to apologize for not posting for a month.  Life kept me busy and away from posting or reading many of the blogs I follow.  Hopefully I will be more consistent.

I have now ridden the Yamaha FJR 6,000 miles since I got it in September.  I posted my first impressions of the FJR shortly after buying it.  Now I can give a more informed and experienced review of the bike.

Waiting for the start of a toy ride in November.

Having ridden a Yamaha VStar 1100 and a Yamaha Venture prior to get the sport tourer it took a while to get use to the more aggressive riding position.  My knees being bent more and the added weight on the wrists took some time getting use to it, but it did not take too long.

The most impressive aspect is the sheer power.  I went from nearly 100 horsepower on a 860+lb Venture to a 144 horsepower on a 644lb bike.  The acceleration and speed is amazing and addicting.  Passing someone is a breeze.  Most time I don't even have to down shift.  I just roll on the throttle and the power is delivered smoothly and effortlessly.  I love it! If I had been on the FJR instead of the Venture I would have gotten out of the lady who ran the red light and hit me.

I quickly changed to seat to the Corbin. This is my first Corbin seat.  It lowered the sitting position about 1.5 inches.  The seat is comfortable and the pillion had a very noticeable improvement.  The leather on the seat is tightly pulled and is high quality.  I have found the seat to be comfortable, stylish, and well made.  No complaints.

The handling is amazing.  Low speed maneuvers are easy, especially after getting use to the large Venture.  A quick U-turn is very manageable.  Cornering in the twisties is awesome - now.  I say "now" because it took me a while to get comfortable with the capabilities of the FJR, the greater ground clearance, and the different riding style.

This past fall I enjoyed a great weekend ride in Arkansas with some friends.  (Previous post concerning Arkansas -Talimena Drive, Mena Mountain Top Cabins, Pig Trail, Country Store, Blanchard Springs Caverns)  I was still learning the bike so I did not push the bike on the curves.  After I got more miles in the saddle and I began to ride more aggressively.  I really enjoy the twisties!  The handling of the FJR is great!  Drop a knee, shift a cheek, and press the handlebar - the bike eats up the corners with stability and smoothness.

Checking out the fall colors at an overlook on the Talimena Drive

I quickly discovered that I had to do something about the grips.  My hands went numb quickly.  After some research I decided to purchase and install Grip Puppies.  The extra foam covering really made an impact.  The bigger diameter of the grip and the extra vibration absorption alleviated the numbing.  I also installed the ThrottleMeister throttle lock system.  The added weight on the end of the handlebars reduced the vibration.

Grip Puppies and ThrottleMeister

The detachable lockable luggage is very convenient.  They are so easy to remove and attach.  With the twist of the key the bags are unlocked and can be lifted by the handle and removed.  When in place and locked the saddlebags are also securely fastened to the bike.  When feeling really sporty and I don't need to haul something with me I will leave the bags at home and show off the sexy design of the bike.  (I need all the help I can get. :) )

Without the saddlebags

The detachable luggage is so easy to use.

The adjustable windshield is a nice feature.  Passengers tend to like to have it at maximum height.  I like that feature at times although I leave it down most of the time.  The wind buffeting is great reduced when the windshield is at full height but, so is the gas mileage.  The windshield goes down when the key is turned off which I don't mind but some riders would like it to stay at its current position until they manually change it.

The adjustable windshield allows for wind protection customization.

I have purchased some risers that will allow a more upright riding position but, I have not installed them yet once I do I will let post about them.  I am not for sure I need them but, I do think they will make long rides more comfortable.

I am completely satisfied with my purchase - no regrets.  I love riding the FJR.  My biggest challenge is keeping my speed down when leading some cruisers on a ride.  Not that I am running 100 mph but, I don't have to squeeze the breaks as much when approaching corners and acceleration comes so easy.  I have to keep an eye on the mirrors to make sure they are still back there. :)

 

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