Bike Rally Oct. 8 in Plymouth, MI

We went to this event last year and saw some neat bikes, but this year I won't be attending because I'll be out of town taking some massage training. Bummer timing because I've already missed most of the local motorcycle events this year.

Anyway, if you're available, consider attending the Great Lakes Chili Bike Show in Plymouth.

MOTOR CYCLE BIKE SHOW
The GLR Chili Bike Show is a ride-in show with 17 bike categories including Harley and non-Harley classes. There is a $10 fee to enter a bike and all first-place winners will receive a trophy with judges' choice winning $$. The Bike Show takes place on Main Street at Kellogg Park from noon-4 p.m. A “Chili Ride” will begin at MotorCity Harley Davidson in Farmington Hills and end up at the Chili Cook-off. A fee of $10 will get participants V.I.P. parking at the event on Ann Arbor Trail plus $5 in 50/50 raffle tickets. Bike Show & Chili Ride inquiries should be directed to MotorCity Harley-Davidson, 248-473-7433, or BMW Motorcycles 734-981-1479



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Freestyle Motocross for Teens

  

The Ignited Center in Highland, Mich., is hosting MOTOFEST: A Freestyle Motocross Event at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28.

According to a press release from the center, "The Ignited Center is Cornerstone Church’s answer to the question on the lips of teenagers for a 30 mile radius: 'What is there to do here?'

"Ignited is kicking off their 2011 experience with the biggest event of the year for teenagers. This event is open those in 7-12th grade only and is free of charge. Cool giveaways, free food, live music, real talk about God that speaks to teens, not at them. Plus the once in a lifetime opportunity to see live freestyle motocross demos, including the back flip. Don’t miss out!"

Ignited is the youth ministry of Cornerstone Church, 4995 N. Hickory Ridge Road, Highland, MI 48357. Visit: ignited.org

People Make Mistakes

Last year, while I was first learning to ride, I really struggled with falling and dropping my bike. I lost count of how many times it happened. This year, things went a whole lot smoother. Not once did I fall down while riding.

Still, I've dropped the bike three times this season. Once backing out of the garage and turning on dirt; once turning to line up with a gas pump; and last week while attempting a U-turn on a hilly gravel road.

That started when we turned the wrong way on the way home at the end of the day. I knew it was the wrong road when I saw it was patched with a thousand little blobs of asphalt, then turned into dirt. I pulled over to the side and tried to make a U-turn, but I wound up sideways at the other edge of the road with no tire traction and no boot traction on rocks and dirt. My next move: Drop the damn bike on a hill.

I wanted to blame my husband for leading us down this stupid road, but the fact is this was my own fault. I saw the gravel, I saw the hill, but I didn't see my way out of that situation, so I got stuck there.

Naturally, I was immediately flustered and angry. Ironman parked his own bike and ran to help me.

Two cars came by before we got it back on its wheels. One driver stopped to see if I needed help, and like a whiny little bitch I just said, "I don't need help," to hurry him out of my way, instead of thanking him for being so considerate.

I was too embarrassed and angry at my own self.

It took a few minutes for me to get over my misplaced anger and thank my man for helping me get it up off that stupid road and on our way in the right direction again.

Now I recall what my rider coach said when I dropped a bike in the basic rider course: "Shake it off." Until I do that, negative emotions prevent me from doing the right thing.

So I ask myself: When will I learn to cut the mental castigation, let things like this go and accept that I make mistakes?

Like everybody else.

We learn from our mistakes. We aren't here to be perfect — we're here to experience life.

It's what we make of it that matters.

Tempting Me with Motorcycles

I got this ad in my email. Of course, it has nothing to do with motorcycles, and everything to do with the psychology of emotion. Because naturally, it's hard for me to resist anything that makes an Internet router look that exciting. Maybe I DO need a new Netgear!

Inconsiderate Bikers

We took the nice day Sunday to ride out to the Michigan Renaissance Festival in "Hollygrove." We go every year, even though I spend too much money and we don't even eat those smoked turkey legs. It's a real nice ride, and motorcyclists can park up front, so we don't have to get there early.

When we got there, the nearest place where we've parked before was filled up with about half as many bikes as spaces. That's because some inconsiderate so-and-so's parked parallel to the fence instead of perpendicularly.

Now I know how to park a motorcycle. You park facing the street — not parallel to it — backing your rear tire up to the curb. You do not pull in as if you were parallel parking a car. That's why we get discounted parking at so many places, because we can fit TWO bikes in one space.

Right?

I actually did squeeze in against the fence, but Ironman had a helluva time parking along the edge of the road further away, where they directed bikers to a ditch, basically, on grass.

A bunch of riders who reached the primo area after me tried to park on the other side of the road but were told they had to move down to that grassy area. They were not pleased.

I didn't get a chance to ask the parallel parkers why they did that (might not have been a good idea to do that, especially after a number of ales), but I would like to know.


Maybe they're afraid someone will dent their doors.

The right way to park a bike — side by side with other bikes, not wheel to wheel.

Motorcycle Recall

The Associated Press reports that off-road motorcycles imported by KTM North America Inc. of Murrieta, Calif., sold at authorized KTM and Husaberg dealers nationwide from April 2010 through May 2011, have been recalled.
The recall came after it was discovered that the motorcycle handlebar clamp can develop cracks during normal use, causing the handlebars to move from their set position, causing the rider to lose control of the vehicle, posing a crash hazard.

KTM received a report of one incident in which the consumer was hospitalized from injuries received in a crash after the handlebar clamps cracked and failed to secure the handlebars.

This recall involves all 2011 KTM and Husaberg off-road/competition motorcycles.

The affected Husaberg bikes are blue, yellow and white in color with the model name and Husaberg logo located on the right and left shrouds, KOIN local 6 in Oregon reported.

The motorcycles, about 6,117 of which were sold in the United States, were manufactured in Austria.

If you have one, contact KTM North America Inc. at 888-985-6090 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT.

For additional information, consumers should contact authorized KTM or Husaberg dealers. Authorized dealers can be located by going the KTM website or the Husaberg website.

My First 10,000 Miles

Count 'em! 10!

Harley riders have a saying: Ten thousand dollars and ten thousand miles don't make you a biker.

But ... how about 55-hundred dollars and ten thousand miles?

Yep, I did it. I have officially driven my motorcycle more than 10,000 miles.

I know, I called that picture of me a couple of weeks ago "first 10,000 miles," but I hadn't quite reached it till now. I had written down the mileage when I bought my used bike (only 3,524, despite two previous owners), and then I calculated and subtracted the number of miles my hubby rode it — bringing it home, riding to a couple of parking lots where I could practice before I got my permit and once when I experienced problems with the electrical, so he took it to work.

It took a while — more than a year — because although I ride to work fairly often — roughly 60 miles round trip — I haven't been able to take my touring buddy on any long rides this year as I'd hoped. And weather kept me driving my four-wheeler all last week. Finally, Sunday I went to the garage to check the odometer against my records. Looked like enough to me ...

I came back in and a hot flash distracted me the moment I got inside. Uh, oh. Was it ... 807 ... ? I opened up my log, fired up the calculator (shameful truth: I can't add and subtract without one), and totaled it out. Yes! I thought I'd reached my goal.

But I don't trust my own memory. So I put my shoes back on and went back to the garage, reminding me of another axiom: When will you have time to do it again if you don't have time to do it right the first time?

Sure enough, I'd transposed numbers. I redid the calculations.

Damn! TWO miles SHORT!

So I announced "I MUST ride. NOW!" I jumped on the bike and took rode to the grocery store to pick up bread and milk. I know. Such a cliché.

I didn't realize till I got that bike rolling just how much I missed it last week. What joy! What a feeling of freedom! I wish I could do this EVERY day.

And it when I got back, I had done it! Here's proof.

Pop the bubbly!

Worse Comes to Worst

Autumn came down on us in a big way the moment Labor Day arrived. Cold. Rain. What a bummer. I didn't even drive my bike to work all this week.

But what was kind of cool was that when I went to get gasoline and pulled out the log in which I faithfully record my mileage, I saw that a month had passed since I last filled the tank in my car.

The bad part of it was that my first day back after the long holiday weekend, I slept through my alarm. Normally I leave for work around 9:15, but when I rolled over and looked at the clock, it was 9:30. No time to exercise (ha!), no time to play with the cat (she was pissed), not even time to shower or mix up the protein smoothie I've been having in the morning ever since my doctor warned me about low blood sugar.

But all of that wasn't the worst part. That came after I left for work. I was in a big damn hurry, so naturally I was ... uh ... in a hurry. And I sped right into a speed trap.

Here's the worse part: I knew it was there. I have seen cops sitting on the side of the road I drive every day. And yet I just rolled right into trouble.

With the economy being what it is, speed traps are an easy way for cities to bring in cash. And here's the trick: Cop nails you speeding. Good guy that he is, he offers to write you up for only 5 mph over the limit even though you were going much faster. But now, in the state of Michigan, even 1 mph over the limit puts points on your license — meaning you're a risky driver, and your insurance company will sit up and take notice in the form of increased rates. So to be a nice guy, the cop puts on the ticket "impeding traffic" — ironic, when in fact that would mean I'm driving slowly. Anyway, if I admit to "impeding traffic," I will pay a fine, but I will not get those nasty points. Voila! I don't have to go to court and waste everybody's time, but I still pay my money to the city. Everybody goes home happy. But my bank account is a couple hundred bucks lighter.

The worst of all is the feeling that I would NOT have gotten an expensive traffic ticket if I had been on my motorcycle. Of course, I could be wrong, but just seems to be a rare thing — at least around here — for motorcyclists to be pulled over for speeding. And yet, I rarely see bikers hold to the speed limit.

I recall that just last weekend we did see a guy on a bike being written up by a local copper. I remarked on it because it was maybe the first time I've seen it.

Evart Motorcycle Trail Re-Opens After Damaging Storm

Since I'm not an off-roader, I was unaware of this motorcycle-only trail in Evart, Mich., until I got this press release about the reopening. But I'm sure it's good news to a lot of you out there.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced last week that the southeast section of the Evart Motorcycle Trail, located in Osceola County, has reopened. The three-mile segment was closed in 2009 and has remained closed to allow for cleanup and timber regeneration following a wind storm. The trail remains “motorcycle only,” per a DNR director’s order.

Questions regarding the trail may be directed to Amanda Matelski, DNR trails analyst, at 231-775-9727, ext. 6044. Information regarding other ORV/ATV riding opportunities may be found on the DNR’s website at www.michigan.gov/orvtrails.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

'Sons of Anarchy' is back

Labor Day is past us, and fall is coming on fast. But for the next 13 weeks we can still get plenty of motorcycle action on TV, because "The Sons of Anarchy" begins its fourth season tonight on FX.

I wasn't one of the privileged few to get a preview disk, but I did get all caught up watching the prior seasons again to refresh my memory. It's a complicated story — the kind I have a hard time following, so I tend to watch it again on DVD with subtitles turned on.

The crew did some time in prison and they get out tonight, 14 months after the last episode of Season 3. Jackson Teller is a father once again, with a second son by his loyal girlfriend (aka "old lady") Tara. Check out the DVD extras on Season 3 to see them what happened while the guys were imprisoned.

Tara presents baby Thomas to Jax in a prison visit.

Thomas is named after Jax's dead brother.

Proud gramma Gemma.

Here is my review of the Season 3 DVDs  and a few SPOILERS:

SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS
From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Over the first three episodes, fans will see the emergence of a heightened concern for stability and the future on the part of both Clay and Jax. Clay is talking about retirement and wants to make a lot of money as a cushion, something that he figures he can’t do on the strength of gun sales alone. That means climbing in bed with a Mexican drug cartel, despite the club’s longheld belief that the line would always be drawn at drug sales. Meanwhile, Jax not only wants to marry Tara, but take himself out of the club and adopt a normal family lifestyle in a year.

(Police Chieft) Wayne (Unser) has turned in his badge and is living in sad squalor in a trailer, his spirit broken as the cancer eats away at him, and very weird U.S. attorney Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon) is out to rid Charming of SAMCRO altogether. The town’s sleazy new mayor, Jacob Hale (Jeff Kober), is promoting a new subdivision in Charming, which would make it harder for SAMCRO to go about its business.

But the potential for new growth in town reflects the overall theme of changing times mirrored in Jax’ and Clay’s consideration of their own futures. That may seem a bit “Men of a Certain Age,” but there’s enough blood in the first three episodes to dispel any concerns that “Sons of Anarchy” is turning into “All My Leather-clad Children.”
— By David Wiegand, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE