Repairs Done?

I picked Bonnie up from the shop today. Numerous gaskets were replaced as were both the sprockets and chain. I figured I would head to the spot where I had to call it quits last time because of the oil leak. I crossed the 59th Street Bridge (now titled the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge barf!) and headed back toward the East River.

I rode through Calvary Cemetery. It is surreal to be in a large cemetery with the view of the city so near in the background.

I headed south and back to the river. A good rule of thumb for getting good shots is…when you see a hole cut in a fence, walk through it.

When I went back to the bike, I was disappointed to see oil dripping. The gasket around the clutch adjustment lever was still leaking, so I took her back to the shop.

The International Motorcycle Show

A friend got me a free pass to the bike show at the Javits Center last week. We went on Friday night. In the past I went on Saturday or Sunday. Friday makes a huge difference as far as the crowd goes. It was nice to be able to check everything out without much hustle.

This big beauty didn’t feel as large once I sat on it. Just after this I bumped into a friend I met at a pow wow in Montana while traveling cross country in 2009.

This is one of Pauly Jr’s bikes.

Norton is back. I sat on this Commando. It may not be the bike for a long distance ride, but it sure feels like fun.

A Quick Ride to LIC

Long Island City (LIC) is the section of Queens along the East River. Today is one of those freakish January days with the temperature in the 50’s. I hadn’t gone for a ride in a while. The bike has been leaking oil. I am still waiting for some parts to fix that. But I figured I could take her just across the river and explore some of the neighborhoods. I knew a long ride was out of the question. On my last ride my leg was soaked with oil. I checked the oil gauge and Bonnie was good to go. She doesn’t drip much once she cools off. So I zipped through the tunnel and rode north along the East River. This area is quickly becoming overdeveloped with tall new buildings obscuring many good views of the city. There are occasional parks too. Here they have incorporated some of the old loading docks into the new park. Looking through the docks you see the Empire State Building on the left side and the United Nations through the right.

There aren’t a lot of spots to get to the river. A few streets still dead end at the water’s edge. It was at this spot below that I noticed I would have to cut this trip short. After taking this picture I saw a fresh puddle of oil the size of a hockey puck under my bike. Leaving her running while leaning on the kickstand had the oil dripping furiously. It was time to head back. If you don’t know NYC, that’s downtown Manhattan in the distance and to the left of the smokestacks. The tallest building closest to the smokestacks is the new Liberty Tower.

Before getting to the tunnel and back into Manhattan, I couldn’t resist taking this shot. There is some great graffiti all around the neighborhoods on this side of the East River. This piece is in Greenpoint, Brooklyn which is just south of LIC. Once the bike is fixed up I’ll take a graffiti tour. There’s some really great stuff out here!

 

2012…Bring it!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe new year! Keep on keepin’ on.

I leave you with these words of wisdom.

C.C. and Company

I was pleasantly surprised to find my favorite biker movie on YouTube. Complete! As a young kid C.C. was an inspiration. If you’ve never seen it, it’s great from the opening scene. Check it out and enjoy!

Crossing the Delaware

Riders on the Northeast Coast were blessed with a very comfortable day for taking their bikes out for a nice ride. And that’s just what I did. My destination was the location where George Washington crossed the Delaware River to capture Hessian troops as his own troops were on the brink of despair. This battle reinvigorated the Revolution. I started my history seeking in Trenton, NJ. The house below was built in 1719 by William Trent. His land eventually became the city of Trenton. Hence the name. This old brick dwelling was also home to numerous New Jersey governors.

I had a brief look around Trenton as well. There are some very depressed neighborhoods in Trenton surrounded by neighborhoods once grand in stature. Both of the grand old homes below are for sale.

I went to look inside through the windows when I was startled by this bird stuck inside.

I have posted before about the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC. Here is New Jersey’s version.

A few miles north of Trenton is where George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776.

To visit places of historical events on rivers is a bit odd. Most rivers in the United States have been dammed since the time of George Washington or Louis and Clark. They no longer resemble the rivers that would have been described during the time of these events. In the case of this crossing however, some things have remained. The building to the right is the McConkey Ferry Inn on the banks of the Delaware River (Pennsylvania side). Samuel McConkey operated a successful ferry business at the location of the famous crossing. George Washington had dinner here before traversing the river. The house on the left was built in 1817.

There is a boathouse where they keep the replica Durham boats. These boats are used in reenactments.

The red spot represents the McConkey Ferry Inn where the crossing of the Delaware began.

Across the river are a few other structures that date back to the time of the Revolution. Below is the ferry house on the New Jersey side built in 1740.

I returned to the Pennsylvania side and headed north. Looming above just ahead of me I saw a tower atop a mountain.

Bowman’s Hill Tower was built in 1930 to commemorate the American Revolution.

To the south you can see the lovely sight of strip mining on the Jersey side.

 The overcast skies were pushing in from the west as I looked to the north. Down below you can see a couple buildings from the colonial days.

This is the Thompson-Neely Grist Mill. This mill was build in the 1830’s.

When I think of a grist mill I visualize a big wheel on the side of the mill powered by water. This mill has a trough for the water to get to the mill, but it leads the water inside.

The wheel to power the mill is located inside. I could lift my camera to a basement window and see the inner workings.

The water then exits through a channel cut on the other side of the mill.

Across the road is the Thompson-Neely house. During the winter of 1776-77, this home was used to care for soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Lieutenant James Madison (later the fourth President of the US) was quartered here for a time.

From here I continued north along Route 32. It’s a great ride as the road continues along the Delaware. It passes through New Hope which was packed with people wining and dining on either side of the road. Many motorcycles lined the street as well. It was getting too late for me to stop and explore New Hope.

The hurricane last month has had lasting effects in these parts. Firstly, it is the reason the grist mill was closed to the public, but also there was a resulting detour. This took me west when I wanted to go east. It was also getting dark and cold. However the detour did lead me to a beautiful sunset.

Someone recently asked me what my favorite color was. The answer is here. It is the color of the sky just before night.

It was a cold ride home. Not only that, Bonnie is leaking oil. It was a very slow drip when the thick dark oil from my cross country trip was circulating through the bike. But since a recent oil change things have gotten messy. That drip was spraying at 70mph all over my left side. My pants are now oil soaked. A well earned greasy souvenir.

Connecticut

Determined to go for a ride this weekend, I ignored the fact that it was below 40 degrees when I left NYC and headed for Connecticut. I could see evidence of the recent winter storm as I rode around. There were fallen trees here and there. People were cleaning branches and debris from their lawns. One home seemed unfazed, still alive with seasonal splendor.

There was still some snow on the ground from the October storm.

The colors of Fall were intermittent. It seems some trees had already been stripped of it’s leaves as others were just beginning to change. Occasionally there was a fine blast of color.

I wanted to ride further into Connecticut and see some historical sites, but the cold was getting to me. It wasn’t going to get any warmer either. I headed home. Most of my riding lately has been to and from work or at least within city limits. It was good to get out despite the cold.

Around town:

You may remember the bike below from my previous post. The rider has since added some custom fairing. Nice!

This beauty is usually tucked between the wall and a car at my garage. I was glad to have my camera when I saw the car had gone.

Down on 14th Street this bike is having some work done.

And lastly, I was going through some old photos and decided to re-crop and clean up this shot of my old Bonnie in Osborne, Kansas (2008).

Riding downtown to Occupy Wall Street

I feel bad that I missed a September post. But as is often the case, my riding slows down a bit after a cross country adventure. This weekend saw intermittent rains so I kept my riding within city limits. I rode downtown. I was curious to see the Wall Street protest that has been going on for over a week now. I parked in the would be shadows of the World Trade Center. The new buildings are looking good and finally going up at a rapid pace. Maybe it is just a normal pace, but with all the construction delays it sure seems to be moving at a fast rate.

I really like the way the sky reflects on the building’s surface. If the surrounding buildings have this same effect, it’s gonna look great! It will be like a live Magritte cityscape.

Before we get to the protest I have to share a motorcycle parked nearby. I am guessing it belonged to one of the protesters. After seeing the photos to come, I think you will agree.

Ain’t she pretty! Now, on to the protest. It’s called Occupy Wall Street and it’s a worthy cause, but after seeing it I was a little deflated. On Saturday thousands showed up, but many may have been lured by the rumor of a surprise Radiohead performance. 700 people were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. If you don’t know the layout, it is easy to unintentionally end up on the road of the bridge instead of the walkway if you are caught up in a group. That group was actually following cops on to the bridge before being rounded up and arrested. A little game of mousetrap if you ask me. That was Saturday. This is what I saw on Sunday.

Granted it was Sunday. Everybody deserves a day of rest. I have mixed feelings about the execution of the protest. I don’t have the answers. Like I said it is a worthy cause and people are out there. Maybe just the fact that they are out there is worthy in itself. Good for the folks that fight the fight for others! My photos only concentrate on some of the more colorful characters. There were others painting signs, playing drums, making sandwiches and instigating debate and conversation. I don’t think it is fair to judge what’s going on by a short glimpse on a Sunday afternoon. I hope that they get the support they need to carry on. The media has been fickle and at times misleading about this event. I have seen photoshop doctored photos increasing crowd sizes and this morning I read in the paper that thousands more showed up on Sunday after Saturday’s arrests. I was there and these people were there, but not in the thousands. Not even close.

Coast to Coast 2011

Click on the photo below to view this years journey, all summed up in chronological order.

East Bound and Down

The sunset photo at the end of the Sturgis post was a little premature. It was placed for dramatic effect. Between that long lonely highway and the sunset was the Missouri River.

The river crept in and out of view. Lewis and Clark were hoping the Missouri was going to be the one to take them all the way west. Not quite. Just before Pierre, SD there is a sign that says this area was used to film Dances with Wolves. The river in Pierre was flooded. You can see the playground below is well beyond the shoreline in the water.

And now for the appropriately placed sunset.

Mitchell, SD

I spent the night in Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace. They have been changing these murals made of corn annually with new designs since 1948.

I checked out the Prehistoric Indian Village while in Mitchell as well. I’d have to say it’s not worth the price of 6 bucks. The one thing I did find interesting was the buffalo skeleton. I didn’t know the hump on it’s back was shaped by vertical bone.

I stopped by Baltic, South Dakota. I had been here for the first time when I was 11 years old. Back in NYC my friend Michael and his mom Donna would often take me to the movies. To this day I probably have seen more movies with them than anyone. Then one summer they took me with them to Baltic, South Dakota.

I believe the population at the time was 80. I even remember the movie we saw when we came to South Dakota. It was The White Buffalo with Charles Bronson. And I remember meeting Conrad Bain at the Minneapolis St.Paul Airport where we had to transfer to a small propeller plane. Anyway, Facebook got me back in touch with my friend, but I found out his mom had passed a few years ago. As I was leaving Sturgis, it occurred to me that she had probably returned to Baltic. Donna was very kind to me growing up, so I went to pay my respects. In Baltic if you need to know something you can just go to the general store, generally everybody knows everything about everybody. I asked the cashier if she knew Donna. She said she was new to Baltic but we could go ask Mr. Slanzky at the American Legion (to the left below). She left the store with me, brought me to the Legion and introduced me to Mr. Slanzky. Mr. Slanzky directed me to the spot in the cemetery and I had a visit.

When we were kids this was our fishing spot. We caught 35 catfish one day.

IOWA

I was moving along fine through Iowa as the 65 mph highways turn to 55 mph. I had just passed through the town of Estherville. In a line of traffic headed east out of town, a police car jumped ahead of some other cars and got right behind me. He followed me tight, staying right on my ass, uncomfortably close for about 6 miles before he pulled me over. I was wondering what his justification would be. He told me he pulled me over because he couldn’t read my tags. I said, “that’s funny because that is the only part of my bike I cleaned just this morning so it could be seen.” These guys know Sturgis just ended. I wasn’t doing anything to warrant being pulled over. It was straight up harassment. He was hoping to find some dirt when he ran the drivers license. Bullshit!

Just the fact that they think they don’t need a reason to pull me over is pissing me off as I continue and it’s taking the fun out of my ride.

I felt better after a night of camping in some cool shade at Pilot Knob State Park.

The landscape gets hilly again and the roads get more interesting right until it opens up to the Mississippi River. The plan was to head south along the Iowa side.

If You Build It, They Will Come

I saw on my map that it said Field of Dreams in little red letters. Field of Dreams? Really? Wow! I got the biggest grin on my face as I made my approach to this place. It was exactly as it was in the movie. They do such a good job making this place magical in the movie that it feels really special being there. They call me Shoeless Pat.

Ray loves Annie.

I am told on Sundays real old timers come out and play ball here. They built it, and they do come! How about that?

I continued south toward Clinton.

My reason for going to Clinton, Iowa was to get some Flavor Flav’s Chicken. I read about it a while back and I decided as well as I’m headed in that direction I was going to try some. I got to Clinton and asked a girl in the store where I could find Flavor Flav’s. She told me it was closed. Apparently Flavor Flav’s staff wasn’t getting paid and the place closed down already. Disappointed I crossed the mighty Mississippi River into Illinois and settled for a chicken sandwich from Hardees. I stayed in Morrison Rockwood SP. The log below burned the entire night and into the morning. it was about four feet long and burned from one end to the other like a cigarette. It you ever stop here bring your bug spray. I left my feet exposed and got chewed up bad!

It was time to make some miles. I hopped on the Interstate and flew. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio…blew right through ’em. In Pennsylvania I decided to get off the interstate and back into the mountains. I took Route 66. No relation to the old road out west.

I was headed east on 6 to go to a place I had visited on my first cross country trip. Cherry Springs State Park. Considered the darkest place on the east coast. Below is Kane, PA.

Smethport, PA.

This old bus house is in considerably worse shape than when I saw it 4 years ago.

On the way down Route 6 an old barn caught my eye. But there was more than just a barn at this location.

Looking up into the old barn silo.

The truck traffic on Route 6 became so bad I started yearning for the interstate. The truck traffic is due to natural gas drilling going on all over this part of Pennsylvania. Water tankers make up the greater syndicate of trucks. Apparently natural gas drilling involves lots of water! I was talking to this guy Steve who drives one of those trucks. He says the locals hate it but if it’s not him it’ll be someone else cause it pays real good! As a result of all the truck traffic there is lots of construction and flagmen stopping traffic for one lane roads. The ride started sucking. So I headed back toward the interstate. After a couple delays caused by a fully loaded truck going up hill and an Amish dude on a buggy I was back on the super highway on my way home.

And now I am back in NYC with many mixed feelings. Good to be home? I am not quite sure. Certainly, home or not, the adventure must continue.

Sturgis – 2011

And then there was Sturgis! I went last year and had a blast. I was psyched to get there again. So where the Rocky Mountains ended, the fast road to Sturgis began. The only thing that caught my interest on the way was a sign in Wyoming that said Oregon Trail Ruts. I thought, that sounds cool, so I altered my route slightly. On the road to the ruts I saw this truck.

And here are the ruts left from the Oregon Trail deeply grooved in the sandstone from heavy usage between the years 1841-1869.

From there it was straight to the Buffalo Chip Campground. When I say straight it really means, side to side, up and down, and all around. Through hot and cold,  passed young and old. From open stretch to quite compressed then on to the Buffalo Chip.

My first night there Lynyrd Skynyrd was supposed to open for Greg Allman but they didn’t show up. Greg did though. Having just gotten there, I was running around like an excited kid but Lukas Nelson (son of Willie Nelson), played before Greg and caught my attention. He sounded really good. Gonna have to keep an ear on him.

I knew from the previous year that shade was important. That sun gets hot first thing in the morning. After the inevitable late night at the Chip you want as much morning shade as you can get. So I got Bonnie to help me out.

My neighbor Brian however is the shade king. He has three shade tents. One for morning, one for evening and one for the tent. And he happily shares his shade with all.

The Dustbuster!

I visited a couple places near the Buffalo Chip. First the Full Throttle Saloon. It’s a labyrinth of bars and activities.

Outside they had a round arena where a guy performs the wall of death. The whole thing rattles as he whips around on the wooden slats just beneath you.

I also went to the Broken Spoke Saloon. This guy Randy from Texas had shown me this place last year. There is a big pool there and they have a bar that you can drive your bike into on the way to the parking area.

Randy said he might stay at the Broken Spoke this year and I was hoping to bump into him. He’s a funny dude.

Unfortunately there was no sign of Randy, but poolside still looked good.

 

Jeff Bridges and then Stevie Nicks opened for John Fogerty on my second night there. I got caught up hanging with people at the campsite and missed Jeff Bridges.

I got there for Stevie, but she only played a few songs. The wind was blowing hard and there were storms in the background. It made for a nice effect. In fact it was like a Stevie Nicks video. But as a result they pulled her early.

Here…see what I mean for yourself.

This girl from the Miss Buffalo Chip Contest was posing for some photos. Then she asked does anyone want to pose with me? Nobody stepped up! She asked, “Nobody wants to pose with me?” I was as shocked as she was. So I quickly hopped up there.

The guy taking the pictures called out, “I’m not sure that worked!”

“So take another one!” I said. Duh?

The raging storm passed and John Fogerty played a great show!

And now it was time for me to ride the zip line. They have wires running from tower to tower over the entire concert area. During the storm it was closed, so as soon as I saw it reopen I jumped in line.

Here is a video of the zip line and John Fogerty.

You can get 2 photos printed from your ride for 20 bucks. When I got back down on the ground I bought them, then I had someone take this picture below. To look cool I took the white envelope with my printed photo of me on the zip line and stuck it under my jacket.

I went back to watch the concert over where Tim and Jean were. Tim and Jean are a nice couple I met from Phoenix who are also my camping neighbors. And Jeff Bridges came out and joined Fogerty for a tune.

As I am grooving to the show, I realized the white envelope with the zip line photos is gone. Noooooo! I decide I am going to find them. Amongst this giant maniacal party I was going to retrace my steps and find my photo. I walked all over the place until I got to the area where I had taken that photo with those girls. And then I saw it. A white envelope. I did a little happy dance, ran over, picked it up…looked inside… It was me!!! Then, when I stood up, there he was. Standing right in front of me was that big, 6  foot 5 five inch, Texan truck driver. It was Randy who I had been looking for earlier that day. How crazy is that? Right there standing over the envelope. Amazing!

The next day I was going into town to get a new rear tire. I am talking about the bike, not the photo above. All my center tread was gone. (As you can see, the center tread is firmly in place in the photo above.) I wasn’t risking riding all the way home on a bald tire and this was as good a place as any to find a motorcycle tire to fit my bike.

After getting the tire I had a look around Downtown Sturgis. Even the cops have bad ass bikes!

I do believe Custer is standing once again! Check out the details on this guys bike.

Then it was back to the Chip.

I stayed a third night. Puddle of Mudd opened for Tesla. It was cold this night and the crowd was not raging like the nights before. Back at the campsite we sat around and laughed a lot. A new guy had pitched tent there too. Jim. He was from nearby and very happy his boss gave him a few days off and told him to go to Sturgis. And later in the night Brian and this guy Die Hard showed up with some hilarious stories of their nights adventures. Sure, there is a lot of fun and exciting things to do at Sturgis but it’s really the people that make it great.

The next day I did some laundry and said my goodbyes. Die Hard rolled by just before I left and almost had me convinced to stay for George Thorogood, but I felt it was time to go.

So as nearly everyone makes that left turn on 34 out of the Buffalo Chip to seek more Sturgis entertainment, or to board that Interstate in their desired direction, I made a right turn and headed east down a long lonely highway.

And off into the sunset with the cows.