| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Might've been a breeze when Gale took those pics. | ||
| Crusty |
Might have. | ||
| Tootal |
Wow, with the matching shirts you guys look like a couple!! Glad you had a nice day and a nice ride. Sometimes getting lost just isn't that bad! | ||
| 86129squids |
So- why am I thinking that maybe RoadCrust might have a new riding partner?? She's kinda cute!!  | ||
| Crusty |
She's definitely cute, but I don't think she's looking for a riding partner. This was more like a visit to meet somebody who's been giving me all kinds of good advice for a few years. She definitely would make a good Badweb member if she was into Buells. She has the right attitude. | ||
| 86129squids |
That works too. But hey! It's been years since I had MY Buell, sadly a majority of us no longer have one, including you, buddy! What does she ride? I'm guessing a Sporty of some sort... | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Just saw this on facebook and thought of you...  | ||
| Crusty |
That's an ugly looking pileup. | ||
| 86129squids |
 Talk about a HIGH side!!! Wonder what was going through dude's mind as he did that "Iron Man" impersonation... owie. | ||
| Shoggin |
He was just standing there and the 'expelling' made him fly that high!  Wow, thats a crazy pic. | ||
| Adrenaline_junkie |
Does anyone know how the guys in the photo faired? | ||
| Crusty |
I take back my original comment. I think that was at the Ft. Worth 1/2 Mile a couple of weeks ago. Steve Bonsey is the rider in the air. Jake Johnson is the rider in blue and white, #64 is Danny Eslick and the rider in black is Brian Smith. Eslick and Johnson are fine, Smith has a broken fibula and will be out for a couple of races and I'm not sure about Bonsey. I think he wasn't hurt badly, but I can't find any info on him. (Message edited by Crusty on May 08, 2018) | ||
| Adrenaline_junkie |
Thanks Crusty. This picture has funny meme written all over it but I hate to make jokes if someone was seriously injured. | ||
| Akbuell |
In keeping w/the above photo, best wishes to Sandriana Shipman for a full and speedy recovery. Washed out the front end at the Texas(?) 1/2 mile and got hit by other riders. Hope to see her back soon; racing deserves more women on the track. | ||
| Etennuly |
Wow. I hate to see that. I was watching flat track in the late 70' s in Welland Canada. One guy hit a rut lap after lap sideways WFO, until it caught. It launched him, like this guy, but much higher. He was on his way down from orbit When he hit the top of the outside retaining fence. The fence sprung back and threw him spring loaded like, onto the track. He did not make it. From that moment I have had a serious distain for watching any of those incredible wreck films. I still love racing though. | ||
| Crusty |
Writers Block The Muse has left me. I’m having a very hard time hacking out anything that’s readable. I’ve started writing a Snippet a few times this past week, but after a short paragraph or so, my mind goes blank. It’s not that I don’t have things to write about; quite the contrary. There are a bunch of things that have happened and are happening, but I just can’t seem to put anything coherent together. I want to write about the Sportster Rally I’m going to attend and the neat idea I have for a give away for Buelltoberfest. Each time I try, the wording is clumsy and disjointed. I especially want to write about my new laptop. The other day, I came home and saw a package on my front porch. When I opened it, there was a laptop inside. It was a gift from a friend. (I don’t know if he wants to remain anonymous, but I’d rather err on the side of caution). I don’t know if it’s new (it looks it), I hope it was a refurb, ‘cause it looks like a fairly expensive model. It’s a pretty sweet little computer. And I don’t know how to use all its features. I’m learning, but my Computer Literacy level is on a par with Hooked On Phonics. The screen pivots so it can become a tablet. Size wise, it’s a little smaller and thinner than the Macbook I’ve been using. The person who sent it said that my old laptop was almost as old as my bike and, "computers don’t age as well as a Harley”. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed by this act of generosity. I’m astounded and humbled that I have people like this in my life. Now I have to work on figuring out how to Pay It Forward. In any event, there’s a lot to write about, and now I have a new laptop to do it with. I sure feel Blessed. | ||
| Ourdee |
You are very blessed John. I have discovered one simple thing in my short life. Gifts look like the receiver is getting all the reward. Quite the opposite is the case. The giver receives the blessing. People that never give can't comprehend how it works, and they miss out on life. Generous people put others before themselves. The word magnanimous comes from two latin words (loosely translated) "great" and "spirit or soul". Be magnanimous to one another. When I get a gift, I graciously receive it and say thank you. To do otherwise is to steal their blessing. | ||
| Crusty |
I wrote this in January of 2015, but it still holds true for me. I already have my tickets for both Springfield Miles this year and I'm looking forward to being there for the race. Springfield I learned to ride motorcycles in 1969 and I immediately fell in love with riding. I started learning as much as I could about pretty much all facets of motorcycles. I started buying all the magazines at the Newsstand and explored a whole new world with enthusiasm. I read about Old (Vintage) bikes and New bikes, I learned about famous riders like Ed Kretz and “Iron Man” Fred Ham, I read articles on Vincents and even Indian Vincents, Munch Mammuts and Seeley Condors. I fell in love with the Royal Enfield Mark 2 Interceptor. I read about Racing of all types. I read about people like Dave Aldana, Gene Romero, Gary Nixon and Dick Mann. I learned about the different types of motorcycle races. I learned the history of AMA Racing and how the National #1 plate was awarded to the winner of the Springfield Mile up until 1954. I read about places like Ascot and the San Jose Mile and the Castle Rock TT and the Houston Astrodome Short Track. There was a whole lot to learn, and I jumped into the deep end of the knowledge pool with enthusiasm. In 1973, I saw my first Dirt Track race (the Colorado Springs Mile), and it was instant love all over again. I would attend as many Nationals as I could over the next few years, and I loved watching all of them. I met retired racers and learned about what it was like to race back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I had my heroes, and would cheer them on at every race I attended. In the early ‘80s, the Springfield Mile returned. The Legendary Springfield Mile. The place where, in the Old Days, the #1 Plate was awarded. I read about it in the magazines, and decided that, one day I would go to see it. One Tuesday in May of 1984, I was reading a magazine and discovered that the Springfield Mile was going to be held on the upcoming Sunday, May 20. I was unemployed at the time, and I had the money to go, so I left on Thursday for Illinois. I found the Fairgrounds on Saturday, and went to the window to get a ticket for Sunday’s race. When I told the guy at the window that I had just ridden out from Boston, he was amazed and he took me into the Grandstands so that I could see the track. It was groomed to perfection, and I could just tell that the race was going to be a really good one. The track had a real aura; Magical or Electric both come to mind, but however you want to describe it, I could feel it. However, around midnight that night, it started to rain. I was in my tent at the KOA, and I could hear it. It wasn’t a heavy rain and it would stop then restart, but it was enough to worry me. I got up around 7:00 and rode into town to get breakfast at the Howard Johnson’s. Jay Springsteen, Scotty Parker and their wives were eating in the booth behind me, and I shamelessly eavesdropped on their conversation. I remember Jay saying that he hoped the officials would cancel early so he could head for home, and that just made me feel worse. I had come out from Massachusetts and I wasn’t going to see the race. It was going to be a Rain out. I left the restaurant, and headed downtown on my way to the Fairgrounds, and the sky just opened up. I wound up stopping in another restaurant just to get out of the rain, it was pouring so bad. I was waiting to get a seat and watching a puddle grow around me as the water drained out of my Levis when I looked over and Ricky Graham was standing next to me. I was getting to have breakfast with three of my heroes, and my mood was so foul, I wouldn’t talk to them. I was bummed. (besides, what do you say to one of your heroes? “Gee, I think you’re cool!”? That only embarrasses both you and him.) Anyway, the rain quit shortly after that, and the sun came out. I rode out to the fairgrounds around noon, and there was a sign on the ticket window saying Rain Date May 27. The doors to the stands were wide open, so I went in and looked at the track. There was a set of footprints about six inches deep in the mud where somebody had walked across the front straight. I could understand why the race had been cancelled, but I didn’t like it. I thought about just hanging around Springfield for a week so that I could see the race, but then my common sense kicked in and I realized that was not really feasible. I went back to the KOA, and discovered that the wind had blown my tent down, and my sleeping bag and clothes were soaked. I was camped away from all the Rudabagos and off by the edge of the Kampground, so I hung my wet clothes on the fence behind my tent, and spread my bag out on the picnic table and let the wind dry them. The next morning, I got up early and headed home. I later discovered that not hanging around was the best thing I could have done. The race got rained out again the following week. If I had stayed, I still wouldn’t have gotten to see it. It took four tries that year to finally get the Mile in. However, just seeing the track had been enough to get me to come back the following year. And the race in 1985 was good enough to have me returning almost every year for the next 25+ years. I haven’t been to Springfield for a few years, now. Circumstances and health issues have kept me away. This year though, I’ve already talked to the very nice lady at the IMDA and there will be a ticket for me waiting at the Will Call window on both Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. I’ve said it many times over the years, and it still holds true; if I could only see one race for the rest of my life, it would be the Springfield Mile. If you’ve never been to it, you don’t know what you’re missing. } | ||
| Crusty |
A Short Spontaneous Ride Yesterday, the weather was flawless. I went to the Sunday Morning meeting and I was talking a couple of guys who ride and while talking with them I decided that maybe a ride over to Rabbit Hash was in order. It’s a popular destination for riders in the Tri-State area. Of course, since I made the decision spontaneously while I was out, I didn’t have my camera with me, but I wasn’t going to let a minor detail like that stop me. So I rode over to the Anderson Ferry and took that across the river. Now that the I-71/75 bridge has all its lanes open, the wait for the ferry isn’t nearly as long, even though they’re down to using only one ferry instead of two. I enjoy taking ferries with the Roadster. It just feels good to be that close to the River. Once over the river, I took the long way to Rabbit Hash. I stayed as close to the river as I could and just enjoyed the road as it rose and fell and twisted. Roads by the river match any twisty roads in the mountains and I just fell into a comfortable rhythm. There was little traffic and all the trees are fully leafed. It felt like Summer. Simply Magnificent! I got to Rabbit Hash just before 1:00 and, since I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast, I bought a Pulled Pork sandwich from the Scalded Hog. It was acceptable for Que around here. In other parts of the country, I’d say it was really good, but BBQ is an Art from here on South. The General Store opened at 1:00 (they were opening late because it was Mothers’ Day), so I went in and bought a can of Pepsi. At the register was a bowl of marshmallows dipped in caramel. I bought two (I love caramel) and they were very enjoyable. I sat on the front porch of the store and watched the bikes come and go, drinking my Pepsi and eating the candy for a while before deciding to get back on the road. Since the ride was spontaneous, I also didn’t have my maps with me. I didn’t want to take the same route back, but I wasn’t sure which way to go; so I just went. I was rewarded with even more wonderful roads. Eventually, I got into more populated areas and I wound up getting on the Interstate to cross back over the river into Cincinnati. The ride lasted only a few hours, but is was a heavenly few hours. When I finally got back home about five hours later than I had originally planned when I went out, I had time to use up the last of the Chocolate brown paint on the trim in the 3 foot hallway which was pretty much all I was really planning to do for the day. So; I got my “housework” accomplished and also got in another sweet ride. I think that next time, I might just go up river towards Marysville. There are more great roads that way. (Message edited by Crusty on May 14, 2018) | ||
| Crusty |
Oh Boy! I just found a little item that I've been trying to find for a couple of decades now. They would make a good give away at a rally. It's a good thing I bought a quantity of them. They're expensive, though; they cost me almost $0.25 each! That's OK; they're worth that much to me. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Great post, thanks for making my day better! | ||
| Crusty |
WTF??!? I’m experiencing a bit of weird luck, lately. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but it is noticeable to me. I hope it doesn’t become a streak, but you never know. My friend Don is going to come down from Buffalo bringing some tools that I don’t have; a chain saw, and electric pole saw and a hammer drill. The hammer drill is so that I can install some bolt anchors in my basement floor. The anchors require a 5/8” drill bit which Don doesn’t have, so I ordered one from Home Depot. On Thursday, I got an e-mail saying it was in at the local store. A couple of hours later, I got an e-mail saying that the shipment was delayed and I wouldn’t get it until a couple of weeks from now. I went to the store and it was at the service counter. I don’t know what that second e-mail was all about. My bike has been making a loud clunk whenever I hit a pothole or bump in the road. I determined that it was the gas cap, so I bought one of those low profile pop up gas caps from fleaBay. It was supposed to arrive by Friday. This is what I see when I go to the USPS web site to track it: May 19, 2018 In Transit to Next Facility The item is currently in transit to the next facility as of May 19, 2018. ________________________________________ May 18, 2018, 7:32 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility FAYETTEVILLE NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER ANNEX ________________________________________ May 18, 2018, 5:30 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility RALEIGH NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER ________________________________________ May 18, 2018, 4:42 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility RALEIGH NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER ________________________________________ May 18, 2018, 2:42 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility GREENSBORO NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER ________________________________________ May 18, 2018, 6:21 am Departed USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER ________________________________________ May 17, 2018, 7:14 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER ________________________________________ May 17, 2018, 5:59 pm Accepted at USPS Origin Facility WALTON, KY 41094 It originated about 20 miles south of here, just over the Ohio River. It was in Cincinnati, and now it’s taking a tour of North Carolina. By the time I get it, that gas cap will have a year’s worth of mileage on it. I know that the USPS is a very efficient operation; I’ve had several worse experiences with both Fed EX and UPS. However, this one has me scratching my head. I’m wondering if maybe a loose piece of tape snagged my package and it’s stuck to something going somewhere else? Well; whatever the reason, I hope it gets here soon. I’m heading for the Springfield Mile this coming weekend. It would be nice to have it on my bike then. | ||
| Froggy |
What I find to be odd is that it never departed the Walton KY facility, usually you get a message that it departed then shortly later you will get the arrived in Cinic. It is possible it was dropped off at the wrong post office or never initially scanned in, which will create weirdness at the start of the trip. After that point, my guess is the box ended up in the wrong bin, they use giant bins with wheels to sort where it is going before throwing it on the next truck, I'm guessing it got tossed on the NC truck instead of the one that brings it to your local post office. I'm not familiar with the routing out your way, it is possible there is no direct truck back to Ohio, but it is also very possible the information was typed in wrong and it thinks it wants to go to a different zip code. When you drop off a package that wasn't prepaid, they manually type in the zip code, which gets embeded in the label their register prints out, and it uses that for sorting and such. If this is the case, someone may have noticed it and attempted to correct it manually but several steps away. I dealt with the ended up on the wrong truck scenario a few weeks ago, had a package from St Paul Harley get to New York then instead of getting sent to the hub near me, it detoured to Jersey. I still got it, just took an extra 2 days. | ||
| Court |
I used "Express Mail" 5 times the last year . . . supposed to be overnight . . . best we've done, thus far, is 5 days. I no longer rely on the USPS for anything important. | ||
| Etennuly |
Makes me wonder.....what would it cost to send something on this route intentionally? | ||
| Crusty |
I tried that. It's still circling around the globe somewhere. I think. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Maybe just hovering in an expensive helicopter for hours, not going anywhere but maintaining an altitude of 150 feet. I doesn't actually get anywhere but it does so in style. | ||
| Ourdee |
We talking about a package or Court? | ||
| Crusty |
Just a quick update; here's where the gas cap has been since that post on Saturday: May 24, 2018, 6:34 am Arrived at Post Office CINCINNATI, OH 45211 May 23, 2018, 8:55 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH DISTRIBUTION CENTER May 23, 2018, 2:47 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH DISTRIBUTION CENTER May 23, 2018, 2:20 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER May 23, 2018, 6:45 am Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER May 23, 2018, 5:25 am Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CINCINNATI OH DISTRIBUTION CENTER May 23, 2018, 12:32 am Departed USPS Regional Facility CHARLESTON WV PROCESSING CENTER May 22, 2018, 10:51 am Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility CHARLESTON WV PROCESSING CENTER May 21, 2018, 6:04 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility FAYETTEVILLE NC DISTRIBUTION CENTER ANNEX May 21, 2018 In Transit to Next Facility May 20, 2018 In Transit to Next Facility It's supposed to be delivered today, but I ain't gonna count my chickens before they hatch. | ||
| Crusty |
Short Stuff I have house guests, so I have to be brief. Dondi and Scott are visiting, on their way to Arizona. Dondi’s moving there and Scott’s helping her with the drive. I’ve been living in my house for a year, now. I passed papers on the Friday before Memorial Day, last year. The actual date isn’t until tomorrow, but it’s been 52 weeks. Wow. Dondi and Scott are leaving today. After they leave, I have to do a bit of house related work (laundry, mow the lawn and pack the bike), because tomorrow I’m heading out to Springfield to see the TT and THE Mile. I won’t be able to take back roads there, but I think I might just take them home from Springfield. I know a great campground on the banks of the Wabash River in Indiana that’s about three hours or so from Springfield. I could ride US Rt. 50. My gas cap finally arrived. To go along with the rest of the Saga of its trip throughout the southeastern United States, it got delivered to the house next door along with the rest of yesterday’s mail (my NRA hat and my Handlebar Clock from China). My neighbor brought it over last night. I guess the Letter Carrier couldn’t see the 3” numbers on the front of my house. Well; people are waking up. Gotta go. |
