That First Ding

Ken’s post over at Passes & Canyon blog about his new to him used bike already came pre-scratched brought this memory come flashing back.

True story. 12/26/1992 brand spanking new first Harley a FXSTC (that's a Softail Custom for you non-Harley folk). To say I was a proud man would be the understatement of the day. Now considering I live in Iowa you can bet that day was plenty chilly. I ride a few miles from the dealer and load it in my buddies truck to get it the 45 miles home.

I'm walking around it in the garage with a smile as big as can be. My boss and wife even drops by to have look at all the shiny black and chrome. They want to hear it and well with stock mufflers... well you know. I had always like the sound of the stock pipe on the Evo motor with just the plugs knocked out. Not to loud with a nice deep throaty rumble.

So after the boss and the misses leave I walk over to my tool box an grab my long pipe for beating on an a big BFH. A few smacks later plugs are removed and I've got to hear this thing. So instead of replacing the tools in the box first I just let the big pipe hit the concrete floor. When it did it bounce up off the floor and hit the rear fender. First paint ding! I just kind of laughed saying well I got that out the way now.

I rode 100 miles that night showing off my new prize to any an everyone and enjoying the sound of that Evo with the open mufflers.

I had a great time for 10 years and 114,000 miles on ol’ Silver until some low life piece of shit stole him in October of 2002. My buddy was just as reliable as a guy could ask for. A voltage regulators or two, a stator and countless batteries and tires. Dropped a small bolt in camshaft at about 50K for a nice little bump to 70HP and we would ride together all day long to any and and everywhere. We seen both coast together and an unknown number of states. Like I said we had a great time together. 

Miss you ol’ buddy!!!

fasthair

Got To Take the New 29er Out

Today was the first day I've really have had a chance to take my new 29er out for a proper ride in the dirt. I went with a guy who knows the trails well and where they all are.

 
We stated out easy enough with a quick 5 miles on the road to the trail head. This trail was pretty flat and wide. Being a rookie Ted thought this would be a good way to get to know the new ride and break into dirt riding. This was an absolute ball with some man made obstacles, trees to cross and just enough moisture in the dirt for good bite. I enjoyed this 5 miles of back woods a lot.

 
The next 15 miles was anything but easy. Lot of granny gear steep climbs, lots of rocks, lot of roots and big trees and tight steep downhill turns. This section was hard, slow, fast and rugged. I tried to ride slow on the downhill's as much as I could but still found trouble.

 
Crash number one happen on a tight turn heading back up hill. I was in a low gear and hit a root which caused my back wheel to bounce causing my forward motion to stop and over I went. Crash number two was three feet later as I was trying to get going again spinning out on the wet rocks. That drew a bit of blood when I bounced off the big rock. I didn't feel too bad because a guy who had entered the trail right in front of us there and was having the same problem. Crash number three was trying to cross a stair step over a tree. Not going very fast at all but just wasn't square and the bike slid off the side of the tree and on my butt I landed with a nice Cat 5 tattoo to add insult. 

Crash number four was on a rough downhill and I'm trying to go easy but clipped a tree with the left end of the handlebar. That spill tossed me down a small embankment with mud covering my right leg just for good measure. How I didn't get hurt in that one is small miracle.

All this abuse to me and the new bike never even so much as suffered a scratch that I can tell. That might change as I wash all of the mud off it later. But quick inspections on the trails after each get off didn't show any damage. It still rode and shifted just fine which is more than I can say about the rider. I've got a hunch tomorrow morning is going to feel like the first day of high school football practice.

All in all 20 miles of mud, rocks, roots, trees, hills and water crossings and I had an absolute blast. But man was it hard riding. 50 miles on my road bike is much easier!

fasthair

Am I The Last One?

OK am I just an old fuddy duddy or what? I ask because I’m not on Facebook and it seems like everyone else and their mother is. I’ve got friends and family all who harp on me to join. To be honest I just don’t see what the big deal is. What am I missing here?  Am I just being stubborn because I can’t stand that snot nosed brat Zuckerberg? That smug ass just rubs me wrong in so many ways. Are you on Facebook?

While I’m asking questions. Here is another thing that rubs me wrong, Apple. I can’t stand that smug ass company either. I must admit though I’ve been harboring a desire to buy the new iPad. My biggest distaste for the company other than the worlds worst software for Windows, yes I’m talking about that shit software iTunes, is the smug ass fan boys that seem to think if you don’t have a Mac and an iPhone and all iThings that you are some how stupid for “putting up” with Windows. Just a FYI. I like Windows and I couldn’t run my business without it because the software I use all day long doesn’t work on a Mac or even available for that matter on a Mac. Since you don’t have to have that crapware on your PC now to sync the iPad I’m really starting to think about getting one. So who has an iPad? 

Gosh it seems like I’m on a rant today. OK fine since I am.

Google, what the hell? What have you done to my browser? I don’t care how many times I’ve told Chrome to use Google as my homepage you insist on opening the last page I had open when I closed the browser. While that’s not that big of deal it’s annoying as hell. Another thing Google since you are on my shit list today. Why do you keep populating my Google+ Stream page with content from other people I don’t even know or who aren’t even in my circles for that matter? Don’t you think if I wanted to know these people I would seek them out on my own?  The real pisser is these posts can pop up in the archives days, weeks or even months later. Would you please stop it, it’s really starting to piss me off. Don’t force me to delete all things Google in my life because I really like my Android phone and would hate to think I have to have a damn iPhone because than I would have to have the crapware iTunes on my PC again and I think you know how I feel about that! Another question Google if you will. What the hell happen to Blogger? Why is it I can’t comment on my friends blogs anymore? Every time I type a comment and hit post it disappears into cyberspace never to see it post regardless how many times I type it. I wanted to comment on Ms. M’s blog yesterday but you just refused to post it. Stop it already! You’re really starting to act like that snot nosed brat Zucherbrug!

OK now I feel better :)

fasthair

1+1=N+1

So I had a bike I wasn’t using anymore and had no plans to ride every again after all the trouble it gave me for the year I rode it. I guess the worst parts was I bought it brand new and still had pay for all the repairs it needed which should have been under warranty. Needless to say I wasn’t happy and I sure wasn’t about to buy another bike from this dealer again. I’ll give them credit that they did try their best to treat me right by giving me a major break on the cost of these repairs but the fact still stands that I should not had to pay a nickel. Screw me once, silly me.

Now admittedly there was nothing wrong with my Scott winter bike. In fact it held up well and gave me zero trouble dealing with the ice, snow and freezing cold. Unlike the other bike that always had frozen shifters if it even got close to freezing. That was just another reason to hate that bike. The Scott was even a lot of fun playing in the dirt with. The only reason it was even going in on this deal was the fact, that it too, would end up not being ridden and I really didn’t need six bicycles. I mean how many can a guy ride at one time really?

I’ve got a real nice Cannondale road bike, a real cool older Cannondale Hybrid that is a lot of fun to cruise around on and this ultra cool vintage Cannondale mountain bike. So really I didn’t need these two bikes. What I did want though was a modern 29er mountain bike. So the plan was hatched to trade in the two old bikes and buy one. Hence the 1+1=N+1.

You might notice a trend here that all the bikes I was keeping are Cannondale’s and that is because like Harley’s they are hand built here in the USA. Well that was until 2010 when the little company that could sold out to some large cooperation who of course shipped productions and jobs overseas.  So as much as I wanted to hate them for this they at least kept design and research here. Not many brands even do that anymore.

Since I own all of these Cannondale’s I have devolved a very good relationship with the local dealer of them. And since they are not the same dealer that hosed me on the other bike it seemed only logical I buy the new bike from them. To say they made me a hell of a deal on this new quest would be an under statement in my mind. All little back and forth and the deal was made. When you buy a $890.00 bike for $510.00 I called that a pretty good deal. The bonus is I didn’t have to screw around trying to sell the two other bikes and all the headaches that involves.

So it’s only 10F here right now and a buddy just called and wants to have homemade pizza and beer at the little pub down the street so it sounds like a pretty good reason to hop on the new ride.

Let’s see if I can wipe this grin off my face! :)

    fasthair

Update: Got to go play in the dirt and mud today. This photo was early into the ride so it wasn’t very dirty yet. It was a complete mess by the end of my little romp.

That Was a First

One of the better things about winter cycling is there are no leave on the trees to block your view so you get to see more of the wild life. There is always the seemingly suicidal squirrels that like to always run across the path in front of me only to turn right around and run right back across. Maybe they like playing chicken or something? I don’t know but I’ve seen pictures of them getting caught in a bicycle wheel and it never ends pretty for the varmint or the cyclist. Anyway, I’ve seen this big red fox twice now in the past week. That’s not something a person would normally see in the middle of a big city. At least not around here. Or from behind the wheel of a car stuck in traffic for that matter. Of course he’s not like the squirrels because he is off like a, well like a fox. Of course there is always a bunch of dear too. Last spring on my way home I watched as a doe gave birth to a fawn. I must admit, that was a first too.

Had a flat this morning on the way in to work. I’ve had a lot of flats while out riding but that was the first while commuting to work. While flats are never fun, just like a motorcycle, at least you have a chance on a bicycle if you carry a spare tube and some sort of air installing device which I do. But as luck would have it I was a block away from a local bike shop and a bagel shop. So I grabbed a bagel and enjoyed my coffee as the shop fixed my tire. I just set outside in the warm sunshine with a smile on my face thinking it could be worse. The nineteen bucks it cost is still less than it takes to fill the tank on the motorcycle, much less the car!

It must be warming up because yesterday was the the first time THIS YEAR that I was yelled at and told “get on the paths!” Try as I might to catch her at the next stop light three or four blocks from where she yelled at me only missing her by about ten seconds. But I really just wanted to tell her that sometimes the paths don’t go where I want to go. If it was still cold she wouldn’t have rolled her passenger side electric window down to yell at me and just buzzed like she did instead only. Never mind there is a center turn lane that every other person passing me uses. I think she was mad because she had to wait three seconds to pass me because of the truck that was in the center turn lane wanting to, well turn. I would like to think maybe Aunt Flow was in town for a visit and it isn’t really me she dislikes. Yeah I’ll go with that.

Damn I’m enjoying this commuting by bicycle thing! I’ve got the itch for a new mountain bike too. It’s that N+1 thing don’tcha know. I went dirt riding last fall with a buddy for the first time since I was a kid and it was a blast! I may be to old to go flying off big jumps like I did back then. I’m also too old to be getting broken arms like a did when I was a kid. But I’m not to old to play in the dirt and get muddy just like little boys are supposed to do.

Writing that reminds me of a camping trip I did last summer. It had rained over the night time so there was standing water in the little holes of this gravel drive. I’m sitting at the picnic table and watching this little boy that is probably five or six years old riding his little bicycle. The first time he nears this little puddle I said watch this. Sure enough he rode right though the puddle popping a little wheel in order to make a splash so he would be a mess and get muddy. I watched him ride back and forth sometimes making sharp turns just to hit this puddle. Not once did he miss this puddle until he had splashed all the water out of it. I just laughed every time he went by thinking, I know that little boy. He was of course me at that age! Fun times those days were.

fasthair    

Who Says You Can’t?

When I told some friends was going to try and continue to commute to work in the winter on my bicycle I was told, you can’t do that! Since I’m pretty hard headed at times I took that as a challenge and set out to prove that it could be done and I was going to do it.

Since I always rode my motorcycle until it snowed I knew how to handle the cold. But I wasn’t counting on was how much different it is just sitting on something blasting along at 60 something miles per hour and pedaling something at 18 mph or slower. The clothes I had for the motorcycle were too big, heavy and hot for bicycling in the cold. So a new wardrobe was in order. Funny how little it takes to stay warm when you are working at riding a bicycle at times in deep snow. Who knew at 10F a person could sweat?

I did know though that the summer road bike with it's skinny little 23mm wide slick tires wasn’t going to cut it so I had to get another bike (N+1) for the job. It was just pure luck that I found a used Scott (my last name) mountain bike at a second hand sports store. While I knew the knobby tires used for dirt riding would probably work in the snow I wasn’t so sure about ice. A little searching on the ‘net revealed they make studded snow tires for bicycles. Who knew?

Studded tires and fenders installed. Winter bike clothing kit bought and off I went.

We’ve had a rather mild winter here as far as snow goes. It hasn’t been all that cold with 2F being about as cold as it has been when I hit the roads for my morning commute. And you know what? It’s been a lot of damn fun!

 

Even as much fun as this is I’m like everyone else and can’t wait for spring so I can get the road bike back out. I miss going fast! With 40lbs of bike and gear there is no such thing as fast.

fasthair

Tour for the Tata's

Over the weekend I did a little different type of riding for the cause, breast cancer awareness. The best part was I talked my family into donating five dollars each and covered most of the sixty dollar entry fee. A win win for everybody.

 
This was a 24 hour ride held at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapid, Iowa on a banked half mile asphalt oval. I was in town for family business so I couldn’t spend a lot of time riding. My plan was to ride for one continues hour nonstop to see if I could do it with an average of 18/19mph. Somewhere during the hour I came up with this silly idea of one hour plus a lap.

 
I rode to the event about five miles to get warmed up so I would be ready to go. With my support team (thanks Shelley!) at hand I clipped in and rolled on to the track. Oh, did I mention the 20+mph head/side wind for about half the track? No? Heading down the back straight wasn’t too bad but banking in to turn three and four I got the full brunt of the wind. Than as you come out of four the front straight has a slight rise until the start finish line where the grand stands would block the wind. Pass the start finish line was a dip leading into turn one that was slightly downhill then the wind would kick you in the butt and you could really get some good speed built up to get ready repeat it all over again. I learned in short order to sit up in that part to get the full benefit from the wind and get a little rest time in.

 
On the track I quickly fell into my normal cadence and thought the two guys in front of me might make a good pace line. I soon found out the only thing they had in mind was staying on my wheel, not that I really cared because I had my own agenda. After 15 minutes or so Merle had enough and peeled off to ride at his own pace muttering something about I have a good pace going. At about the half hour mark my half full water bottle ran empty and I tossed it to Shelley as I went by her standing in the gate. I felt this smile come across my face as I watched the bottle skid across the pavement and then laugh as I thought to myself, that looked so Pro. A few laps later Shelley is jogging to hand off the now full bottle of ice water and I take a big swig happy to have it back.

 
All of this time I have really no clue of my average speed since I have the computer in clock mode only. I do catch a glimpse of the pace arrow at times but can only tell I’m close to my speed goal. The hour mark comes up as I’m heading into the back straight. Pulling around turn four I raise my left arm in the air with one finger held up. I hear these two ladies sitting with Shelley and her give me a great big cheer and it really give me a big boost. I apply rule #5 and pull as hard as I can for the last lap, no taking a rest in turn one this time around. I’m going to give it every last bit of effort I have left and stomp this last half mile. I’m not quite sucking wasps as I turn into the wind of turn three one last time but I’m really starting to suffer!

 
Crossing the finish line I sit up and throw my arms in the air thinking I did it as I hear the ladies clapping and cheering. I hit the brakes and pull into the center grass as I unclip and stop laying the bike and myself in the grass. Several minutes go by as I lay there wondering if I hit my speed goal and if my legs would work to walk. I stand up to take a look at my computer.

 
Total time was 1:01:28 with an average speed of 18.84mph and a top speed of 26.6mph which if you do the math means I did 37 or so laps. I feel that smile cross my face again as I look at Shelley showing her the results to which she says “good job!” Walking on limp legs and still breathing deeply I say to her, “damn that was fun!”

Later in the evening we go back to listen to some of the bands that are playing and to watch some of the other riders. Standing there I say to Shelley I should get the bike back out and just cruise around for a while to which she replied “you should.” I think about it for a minute than I look at her and say “I better not, I know me and that cruise would turned in to let’s see if I can beat my last hour.” At that point the music comes back in to focus as I bask in the satisfaction of my effort as I think once again, damn that was fun!

I’m the one in the black still going…

fasthair

Warning: Mobile Device Protection Association (MDPA) is a Scam

First off sorry but this is going to be long.

I bought my phone from Wire Fly back when the DX came out. I was offered insurance from this company through them and not knowing it wasn’t the same insurance that Version offered I bought it since I was a new Version customer.

So over the past weekend I lost my phone while riding my bike on some trails here. I make a claim knowing it’s a long weekend and I won’t hear from them until Tuesday. No big deal but I can’t be without a phone so I head over to my local VZ store and buy one outright figuring when I get my replacement phone I will just sell it and recoup some of my money. The guy at the store cuts me a sweet deal and I continue enjoying my weekend of golf and what not.

I wasn’t prepared for what follows. This is a copy and paste from my contact with this company.

Lost my phone last night. I need my phone replaced please. Thank You.

On 05/31/2011 @ 9:02 AM MDP wrote:Please provide details as to the how and where the loss of your cell phone occurred. Once this information is received, it will be forwarded to your Account Manager for processing.

On 06/01/2011 @ 6:37 PM you wrote:I lost the phone while riding my bicycle on some bike paths in xxxxxx.I had the phone in the pocket of my cargo pants. Once I noticed it was gone I tried to use the App Plan B to find it's GPS location on my PC. Going to that location I could not find it.

On 06/02/2011 @ 9:05 AM MDP wrote:We’re sorry to hear about your phone. You provided information on how and where your phone was lost, but please provide details as to WHEN the loss of your cell phone occurred. Once this information is received, it will be forwarded to your Account Manager for processing.

On 06/02/2011 @ 3:12 PM you wrote:It was lost 5/28/2011 around 10PMish. Not to be a jerk here but this information wasn't asked for in the first response or I would've provided it then.

On 06/02/2011 @ 3:13 PM MDP wrote:The additional information you have provided was received and has been forwarded to your Account Manager for processing. Please allow 24 hours for a reply.

On 06/03/2011 @ 1:33 PM MDP wrote: I'm sorry to inform you that your Request for Service (RFS) has been denied. A letter with further details has been forwarded to you via your email address of record.

(Reason of denial of claim)

This letter is in reference to the above captioned request for service (RFS). The loss was reported to our office on May 29, 2011.

As stated in your Request for Service: “I lost the phone while riding my bicycle on some bike paths in xxxxxx. I had the phone in the pocket of my cargo pants. Once I noticed it was gone.”

Therefore, the following exclusion applies to this request for service:

“UNSECURED AND NEGLIGENT LOSS”

MDPA requires that reasonable care and control be exercised at all times. Based on the above listed exclusion, we cannot consider this Request for Service for payment.

Should you have any questions, edited as not to give their contact info…

We regret any inconvenience you may have been caused.

Sincerely,

On 06/03/2011 @ 2:18 PM you wrote:You can't be real on this! How is having a phone in my pants pocket be "unsecured and negligent"? Just how do I carry my phone would you suggest? OK you guys got my first 90 bucks but I promise you you will not get another dollar out of my pocket! And you can bet I will not recommend your "service" to anyone I know. But I really want to know how I am to carry my phone?

On 06/03/2011 @ 2:48 PM MDP wrote:In accord with your request the MDPA Membership has been cancelled. A full refun of your Member Fee is forthcoming.

On 06/03/2011 @ 3:48 PM you wrote:You people take the cake! I don't see anywhere where I asked for cancellation of my contract and asked for a refund, which BTW is spelled wrong in your canned message!!! I want a phone with the insurance I paid for! My have brought this to the attention of my states attorney general office. I've printed all of this for their information. I ask again, where am I to carry my phone so as not to be "unsecured and negligent"?

I haven’t heard a thing out of them since. Of course after the fact I did a search on this company and this is SOP for them. Just do a search about them and the complaints are all over the web. One of the posts even had a person claiming to have once worked for them and this is how they handle every claim.

A few things here. First since I told them right off the bat I lost the phone why was even any need for these days of back and forth crap and just told at the start that I wasn’t getting a replacement because I lost it? Second why keep asking for more details with a 24 hour delay in each response? This company makes you log in to their web site to see if they have responded instead of sending you an email to tell to log for their response. They knew good and well they were not going to replace my phone and all they did was delay and drag it out.

So anyway that is my warning about this company. If anyone is insured by this company I would ask for that refund NOW because you will not be getting a replacement phone if/when you make a claim.

At this point I’m just going to laugh it off and make their life hell by posting this all over the web starting with my blog and any other web site like My 3 Cents that I feel like.

Oh lest you think this isn’t covered here is a copy and paste of the terms which they sent me with the denial email.

What is included? The entire phone and original electronic accessories provided in the phone box, not including aftermarket accessories purchased. The protected device and original accessories are covered up to the repair or replacement value or up the limit of liability, with no deductible. If a covered device cannot be repaired, MDPA will replace with the same or similar model if the same model is unavailable, at no additional cost, to the member up to the limit of liability depending on your membership plan. A police report may be requested for a lost or stolen cell phone.

What is excluded? The loss, real or perceived of data, time, financial opportunity, or any other consequence arising from the loss of the use of the wireless device, normal wear and tear, inventory shortage, dishonest or malicious acts, cosmetic damage (ex. marring, scratching), negligent loss (editor: their loop hole), liquid damage, pervasive corrosion, loss or unexplained disappearance or voluntary surrender to a third party, loss in a body of water, theft from an unattended premises or vehicle not reasonably secured, in transit either through postal or courier services, or incidences occurring outside the US or Canada are not included with this service.

(emphasis added)

There so much double talk here it makes my head spin. And before someone says you should have read the terms before you bought it, if you go read it it has more of the same double talk and isn’t even the same terms that I posted above. And while I’m at it Wire Fly can kiss my ass too for dealing with such a company!!!

fasthair

UPDATE: So today (6/10/2011) I get a check in the mail from these clowns for $35.00 and not the $69.99 I paid them for this headache. I don’t know about you but that is not a full refund that they stated I would be getting. Needless to say I have not and will not cash this check until I get a replacement phone and am done dealing with this company. Of course by then I’m sure the check will bounce anyway.

Oh yeah and our local police have nothing better to do than come to me to file a “lost phone” police report. Please spare me from going in to just how stupid that is.

One other note Verizon has already blocked the ESN of the phone so if someone did find it and try to activate it it won’t and it is  Verizon who will know if and when that ever happens not this joke of a company!

Filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau too. They’ve been a member since 3/2010 and have 119 complaints files against them in that time.

Here is the latest email from these clowns.

We would be happy to further review this matter of your lost/stolen phone. Your case has been forwarded to our Fraud Protection Unit. In order to expedite your request we require you get a police report and forward it to us by fax xxx-xxx-xxxx or email us @xxxx.com. Once this is received we will be able to flag the ESN/IMEI number of that phone so if someone is using your phone, or tries to activate it, we will be notified. At that time the phone will be confiscated and the person holding the phone will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. All police information must be received within 30 days of this notification.

We are here to assist you the quickest way possible. We appreciate your assistance with this matter and if you have any additional questions, please contact Fraud Protection Unit’s liaison, xxx-xxx-xxxx or email at xxxx.com

Best regards,
MDPA Membership Committee

F&B Go Nitro Harley Racing

This is an old post I wrote back in March of 2003 on a private forum I belong to that I was reminded of today. Since I know it has never been posted here before I thought would offer it up for your reading. As most of you know my friend Frog is no longer with us and is enjoying that great drag strip in the sky where the track is always perfect and the sun always shines. I’ve got more stories I need to write about racing with my friend Frog an the Buffalo’s. Enjoy.

After raining out Saturdays qualifying Sunday woke all bright and sunny. Frog, Buffalo and I got the bike ready for the first of two qualifying runs. The last time we ran "Strip Tease" it ran ok at a 6.17 seconds. Frog had did some work to the carburetor to allow it to pass more fuel since than. We hoped for better this time out.

His first pass was a blistering 5.276 seconds at 140.71mph, Frog’s carb work was indeed paying off in a big way. We ready the bike for the last pass of the day and hoped for even more improvements. After the second round of qualifying Frog said he didn't feel the clutch worked like it should. He was right cause it slowed to a 5.596 at 133.61 mph. So Buffalo worked on it installing some more plates and resetting the "clutch pack” height. He sure knows his clutch and what it takes to make it work and it would show on the next pass.

We push up to the line for the first round of eliminations up against the same guy who we lost to last time out (Frog red lighted… another story for another time). Frog yanks the throttle late at the line giving the other guy a slight lead. He is already about 3 or so tenths behind before he finally gets it moving. Buffalo's clutch is right on the money allowing Frog to run him down from behind. We hold our breath as we watch Frog slowly pull up from behind and then the score board flashes our side first with an amazing 5.059 @ 140.99mph. The other sides lights up a split second later at 5.114 @ 134.00 mph. The racers are asking each other who won cause it was so close they couldn't tell. Buffalo and I look at each other with that same “who won” look on our faces. No win light on our side of the scoreboard. What the?

Back to the pits and we ready the bike for the finals to see if we can win the event. We are all set to go when we ask the starter how much longer before we run?

He looks at us and says with a puzzled look on his face, "You are in the finals?"

It is at this point we feel like something is for sure not right. We dig out the time slip to add up the numbers and see who won. The whole crew stands there in disbelieve. We was so excited at the performance of Strip Tease no one bothered to look to see who had won on the time slip. The ticket clearly states, "left lane 1st", we were in the right lane.

Are happy kick butt mode was all lost by a mere .052 of a second. We had nothing to be ashamed of, after all Frog did set low E.T. of the event for his class as well as top speed. Not to shabby for a 60 years young guy and a 13 year old Harley!

It will be awhile before we can go racing again. Frog is getting is knee worked on June 17th so it will be a good while before he can get back on the bike. If ever you get a chance to go to an AMRA Harley Drag Race by all means go. They are so much fun and exciting. Just
remember to park in the proper place!

fasthair

Epilogue: To this day we still don’t really know how we lost that round. On paper everything says we won but the timing system says another. Such is racing. Some days it’s a cruel sport. 

Insert You Are Old Joke Here

Go ahead and let’em rip if you must. But I must warn you…

I also want to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friends Chris and Sonya (she’s the better looking one of the group clearly) too!

fasthair

Phil “The Mercedes” Mangan

Buy a Mercedes-Benz from Studebaker? Yes you can. 



My mentor and best friend Phil Mangan was there at the start of that partnership. He was working for Handler Motors that was a Studebaker dealership in Des Moines, Iowa at the time. He told me that story many times.

When I moved the shop a few years ago I found his certificates that he had earned from Mercedes-Benz dated from 11/58 to 10/76. It was shortly after the last testing, working for the dealership who took over selling Mercedes-Benz, Dave Osterm Imports, that the union crew went out on strike. The strike was short lived as people crossed the line and broke the union in the shop. All of these striking workers joined up and started an independent shop that was also short lived. All
of these guys went on to open their own shops with Phil partnering up with Bob Altamari to open A&M Imports. This is when I would meet Phil and my life, as they say, was changed forever.

 

Of all of his awards from Mercedes-Benz his "Meister Mechaniker Award" that he received on 3/23/64 was his most prized. It's unknown to me just how many ever received this rare status but I'm sure there were very few. Along with the award came a cap proclaiming his status that he wore on special occasions. I always told him that when he passed on I would like to have that cap. After years of working side by side with Phil (15 years by this time) I got the surprise of a life time. It was during Christmas one year that I opened my small present from him to find my own Meister Mechaniker cap with the very same patch. It seems he had a couple extra patches that I never knew about. His statement to me at the time was "I think you've earned this now." Needless to say I was blown over and even though I don't wear caps I do wear this one when I go for independent Mercedes-Benz training. Of course everyone wants to know how I got such an award and I proudly tell them of my friend Phil “The Mercedes” Mangan and how the award came about.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos but I didn't want to take them off the wall here in the shop and remove them from the frames just to get the shots. When I was getting the awards framed I was trying to figure just where I was going to put them. After some thinking it hit me, I would hang them in the shop area where Phil belongs. So he may be gone now but he still is in the shop with me looking over me making sure I do it right. And every now and than I look up at him and ask “Phil I could use some help here.”

fasthair

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! and yes I know I've been gone awhile... more on that some other time

It’s All About the Music

I don’t know if anyone actually noticed or used the little radio link on the side of my blog to listen to KFMG radio but as of high noon 1/15/2010 my favorite radio station is going off the air. KFMG was a local low powered station that was a commercial free independent among many giant cookie cutter play-it-again-Sam-same-damn-song-you’ve-played-for-30-years-radio in town.

Ron Sorenson, brainchild behind KFMG, is a legend in town and has always pushed his brand of radio for over 30 years. He has took on and conquered more then one station. Once doing so well in the market to sell out to corporate America when they came knocking. They then of course took the station and ruined it like only they can do. Take something that works and change it until you get it completely screwed up and call it good. No thanks. You can keep your paid for radio. I’ll just keep listen free independent forward thinking radio that plays something other than the same 30 song rotation that they’ve played for the last 30 years.

So the search is on for a new station and sadly I think this time it’s going to have to come from the internet. I will miss my local news and information. I will miss being able to hear music ranging from Albert Collins to Frank Zappa. I will miss sitting down for pizza and beers with people, friends, who I’ve known for years. I will miss supporting the little guy.

Ron promises he will rise again and knowing him he will, he has after all done that more then a few times. But in the mean time…

RIP KFMG

fasthair

From The Phone Years End

What started out as a just a whim turned out to be rather fun. When I posted the first of the “From The Phone” pictures I had no plans for making it a series that would last all year long. The first phone photo from the lake was posted on 01/30/2009 and the last one was posted 11/28/2009 which if I added correctly that makes ten months. During that amount of time I managed to post eight photos from the same spot at the lake. I really planned on getting one more before years end but something called snow, and lots of it, put the brakes on that plan. One thing I’m pretty sure about is it would’ve have looked pretty much like the first photo.

With that, “From the Phone all at once” post in the same time line. Pretty cool to watch it all change as the year went along.

Next year I’ll look for a new spot and start all over again. I will also keep posting other From the Phone pictures as they happen while out riding. Here is hoping we all get to roll up the miles in the new year. And with that…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

fasthair

Cool Tech

Note: I’ve wrote this and not sure I like it much. I’m not sure it has much value in it but I’m posting it anyway. Sorry but this one just might suck on so many levels.

Here are a few things I’ve been playing with or wanting. I’m a Windows Media Center nut. I love it and think it is one of the best things about Windows 7. If you are worried about Microsoft's latest operating system, don’t be, it kicks ass. If you are even thinking about upgrading to it just do it. If you use Vista now you will love it. You old XP users might be harder to convince that it is better because of the learning curve. Trust me it is easy to use and learn where MS moved everything to. I’ve had two friends who used XP that I got to try 7 and they just dig it. I’ve said it many times that once I loaded the beta version back in January the was no way I was going back to XP. 7 runs so much faster on the same system that was once running XP and is rock solid stable. If you are running Vista your machine can run Windows 7 without a problem. An upgrade for a XP machine may or may not be possible. If you have any concerns if your system can run Windows 7 download and run the Upgrade Advisor for free from MS.

Of course you can say screw upgrading and just buy a new system with Windows 7 already installed. There are many good sub-500$ system out there to choose from. My advice, for what it is worth, is to buy a system with at least a dual core 64bit processor (CPU), 2gigs of RAM with 4gig being all you really need unless you do a lot of video editing. At this time I have five browser tabs open, watching two live HDTV football games, email and I don’t know at least four other programs open and I am using just under 3gigs of the 8gigs of the RAM I have installed on this system. If your new systems uses on board video, like most cheap systems do, then it will share the system RAM so you can see why more is better. Of course it goes without saying that you want to make sure the new system is running Windows 7 64bit. Hey it’s the latest greatest and the future so no need to be buying yesterdays tech if you can avoid it.

Now you know what you need or want lets take a look at what I happen to think is one of the coolest little PCs I’ve seen in a long time. It is perfect for a Media Center PC being nice and small so it fits easily in your entertainment system cabinet. Plus it has all of the system requirements I just listed above. This little Acer fits the bill for a Media Center PC, sometimes labeled as a HTPC, short for Home Theater PC. Not only will this tiny thing do Media Center prefect it makes a great “do most anything you do day in and day out computer.” This would make a great computer for anyone who wants a small quite low power consumption PC like Grandma want. Add in the fact it has the video power to drive large HDTV you can plug it in directly to your HD wide screen TV via HDMI and has digital audio out so you can plug it into your surround sound system and you’ve got, in my opinion, the prefect little HTPC. No it doesn’t have all the horse power that a big quad core PC does but it doesn’t have the high price tag of one either. This is on my very short list for Christmas if anyone feels generous.

OK so the Acers cute, but what are you going to do with it and why would you want it plugged into your TV? Why to record TV of course. In other words you just got rid of that TiVo DVR that you pay a monthly fee to use. Just add a TV tuner to the Acer either using a USB tuner like the one I use. Or better yet buy a digital network TV tuner. (damn it… it’s 30 bucks cheaper then when I bought it two weeks ago… bastards) Just as the name implies this device is plugged in your network router. This model has two tuners so I can watch and or record two shows at the same time. The bonus is any Media Center PC on your network can see and use it. Since you already have a wireless network in your house with this set up you don’t need to run a cable to a USB tuner. The Acer has wireless N (fastest wireless at this time) built in so you can connect wirelessly to this tuner. I’ve even been able to stream TV wirelessly to my netbook with this setup. With my TV as one of the four monitors and my 1080P LCD monitors plus my sound system plugged into my hotrod PC I have better picture and sound quality then just using the analog signal from my cable company and the puny speakers in my TV.

Now for some motorcycle tech. I don’t know about everyone else but I like to take my laptop with me on road trips so I can post about my trip as it unfolds. My friends and family have enjoyed this in the past but my laptops were getting old and even being smallish they was still kind of pain to haul around. Enter the netbook. To be honest I thought these things were a joke and a waste of money. Then while at a friends I picked his up and started playing with it. I was hooked and could see instantly how perfect they are for a motorcycle. The little Samsung N130 I bought fit perfectly in my inside my coat pocket and weighs all of about two and half pounds. It has all of the things I wanted in a netbook. Great battery life at over fives hours so far, wireless N and Windows 7 but sadly it is only 32bit. The little Atom CPU inside most all netbooks is just a single core and only 32bit.

Things to look for in a netbook, again in my opinion, are Windows 7 (watch this close, ALOT of them still have XP Home on them for the same money!) a six cell battery and wireless N. After that your only other choices other then color for the most part is the amount of RAM and hard drive size. Most have 1gig of RAM installed upgradable to 2gig. For hard drive size most have 160gig drives and some have 250gig drives. After that for the most part they all use and have the same stuff inside, of course there are exceptions. A buddy of mine was so impressed with this little netbook that he went out and bought one for his wife and she just loves it.

If you are looking for or at a new system shot me an email with a link to it, what you want it to be able to do and I would be happy to give it a look. If you have any questions about anything I’ve posted here or how else I use Media Center post a comment and I’d be happy to see if I can’t answer it for you.

fasthair

From The Phone No Snow… Yet

 

Whiskeys clean... gas... sunshine,.. all check... time for a lap or two!!!

Update:

Yes I’m still alive. I must apologize for my lack of participation of every ones comments and blogs.

The ride yesterday couldn’t have been a nicer day for what time of year it is. The sun was bright and warm plus there was no wind. I wasn’t the only one enjoying what little time we have left before the deep freeze hits and we are holed up in the house just itching to get out and play. I seen a lot of bikes out on the back roads and it felt good to see them. I even seen a couple out together, him on a small dual sport and her on a even smaller pink scooter.

Speaking of scooters. Had a lady pull up next to me on my way home from work in the rain on a scooter earlier this week. I’m betting some nice rain gear is on her holiday wish list. This had to be a sight to see. Picture it. Some big bad Harley biker dude in full gear with a little scooter sitting at the stop light next to him with a little lady on it soaked to the bone with rain. She did manage a smile when I flipped her a thumbs up but I can’t think she was all that happy. She gets major bonus point for gutting it out though.

There were a few boats on the lakes with people trying to catch fish and just enjoying a nice holiday weekend. The crops are all in and some of the fields have already been turned ready for planting next years crop. In fact I only seen one field of corn left to pick in all of the hundred miles I rode yesterday. So we no longer have just corn corn corn to even look at.

I’ve actually wrote a couple of posts just haven’t sent them off to the blog. I’ve got a tech blog coming up later this week. It will have a couple of cool gadgets the tech lover in you might like for Christmas. Other then that I hope everyone has enjoyable safe and loving Thanksgivings weekend.

fasthair 

Fall-From the Phone

The seasons are changing. Not sure how many more times I get to take this shot. I think bikini season is gone too :-(

Update: This picture showed the fall colors better then I thought it would. Since February I’ve posted seven of these shots from Big Creek Lake. I hope I can get at least one more before the snow flies and the lake is once again covered in ice and snow.

fasthair 

Race Weekend – Day 1 Antique Racers

Not having been able to take a vacation of any kind for a couple of years now I decided that since this one job didn’t show up for the work that was planned that I was going to make a long four day weekend out of the Labor day weekend. For years I’ve heard of the Davenport Labor day weekend antique swap meet and races. Hell I even tried to go last but as some of you might remember I made a wrong turn and didn’t make it. Read that as I was an idiot and didn’t pay attention to where I was going.

Not this year though. I not only made it to this event and had just a bang up time at it. The weather was perfect for the whole event to boot. So nice in fact that I just rolled the sleeping bag out next to Whiskey for the night with no need for the tent. The swap meet was large with some real gems hidden here and there with some real junk thrown in for good measure. There was even an real nice" “ride in” bike show in one of the buildings but I’m sure most if not all made it there in a trailer. Which is in no way a slam on them because some of these restored bikes were very nice in deed and the ones in original condition still showed all of their time worn marks of pride. All in all a bunch of great looking bikes from a time most of us have never seen.

My only issue was my damn digital camera. Oh I was prepared for taking pictures. I had fresh set of charged batteries, a spare set of charged batteries and even a freshly formatted memory card. So what went wrong? The dang memory card took a dump and the camera was unable to format the card no matter what I tried. Heaven only knows why but it worked at home before I hit the road. Got to love the digital adventures… not. So for that reason all of the photos are once again from the phone that despite not having a flash took some pretty good photos in the night time lighting for being just a phone cam. 

Back to the races though. For me the real fun was watching the antique motorcycle dirt track races. What a hoot to watch these men, and one lady, race these old machines around this half mile dirt track. Forget about the riders taking it easy on these bikes, some being well over fifty years old and older. They drove them just as hard as I’m sure they once raced back all those years ago. The real highlight for me and I’m sure others was the old board track racers. Most of these bike were a hundred years old or older. These bad boys of yester year were still very fast. About ten bikes were in this class and to watch them roll off the banking of the short inner track for the rolling start was very cool in deed. Since these real life board track racers have no clutch, or brakes for that matter, it require that they make flying starts. Watching these riders handle these bikes with nothing more then springs on the seats for suspension and handle bars hung down low with skinny little tires was quite the thrill. As they came to the green flag for the rolling start it was like being transformed back to the time these were a main stay of any county fair grounds of the times. Hearing the sound of these engines with their short 10” long pipes, watching the riders three and four wide elbow to elbow joust for the front spot as they head for the first corner to disappear from sight heading for the back straight. Then as they come out of turn four with the rider all but laying on the gas tank to squeeze ever last bit of speed of their machines they fly by again dropping their left foot to the ground shooting off sparks from the steel shoes as the flames belch out of the pipes when the riders close the throttles for the corner. The crowd in the full grandstand roar with approval with each lap. After a few laps one of the old engine expires in grand fashion in the middle of the front straight as it blows the cylinder completely off the engine causing the real wheel to lock up as the rider slides it skillfully to the side of the track. Just then the old blue Harley with the white tires who tried but failed to make the start of the races comes cruising off the banking of the short track to join the race. Again the crowd roars it’s approval as the rider heads off in to turn one. I’m sure for most of these racers it’s not so much about winning as it is just to be there racing. To enjoy a thrill that can’t be had in any other way or time. Maybe getting to keep the checkered flag and make the victory lap with it held high to cheering crowd proved that they were the best this evening was what is all about for some. But as I talked to the rider who hauled all the way from Los Angeles put it best when he said “damn it that was so much fun!” I’ve got to bet that is what it is all about, the fun. Just as when I helped Frog race his nitro Harley it was all about the fun, winning was just a plus. And this was fun for all, riders and spectators a like. The cheap fifteen dollar admission fee was worth every penny. Even the crappy race steaks (hot dogs)  couldn’t kill the great time I had at these old timer races.

The rest of the weekends races where fun but nothing compared to the fun and races I had this evening. Enjoy the slide show, and Dave there is even a 1937 Crocker in there for you. Yes there was one at the bike show and I thought of you instantly. Got to admit it was the first time I’ve even seen one, pretty cool. Sorry the photo isn’t any better for you.

 

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I’ve been lacking at getting to everyone's blog lately so I’ll work on making thee rounds and catch up with what all of you have been doing.

fasthair

Day 3 of the racing weekend. NHRA Nitro Drag Racing @ the Big Go @ Indy! Nirto fumes tire smokin' ground poundin' ear splittin' drag racing! Yah baby!

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Race day 2 of the weekend. AMA Pro dirt track racing this time. Tune in tomorrow and see what kind of racing I'm enjoying. From the phon.

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Day 1 of a rate weekend! Vintage half mile dirt track racing. What racing will watch tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out. From the phone.

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