Communting

So this time of year, I take the bike to work far more often than I take my truck. I do this because my office has nice motorcycle parking and it's a hell of a lot more fun. When I arrive at work, I have more engery and when I get home I just feel better. But it can be down right scarry on the road. Last week, traffic was moving like a slinky. Everyone takes off, gets to 30 or 40 MPH and then everyone slames on the breaks. After the car behind me locked up his tires I decided to try the other lane. Then that car got within 3 feet of me, so I split the car to my left and got in front of him. Well, I guess he didn't like it and he started to crowd me, HARD. Okay, screw it. Off the express way and on to surrface roads. It's an extra 20 minutes, but I'm not going to get myself runover for twenty minutes.

This morning traffic was light, not uncommon for a Monday (or Friday) morning. I'm maintaining 65MPH, with the flow of traffic, when a car traveling 45 moves from the right to the left lane. Now everyone is trying to make it to the right lane with traffic merging on to the express way. I stick it in the left, 4 cars behind the slow driver. But now traffic is passing me on the right running 65. The car's in front and behind me in the left lane are cutting people off to pass this slow driver on the right. At the next merge a flat bed truck makes his way in to the right lane, also traveling 45. Okay, things are getting a little scary with people darting left and right trying to get around these two, I'm im stuck in the middle. After a car in the right lane, looked right at me and forced me to the fog line, I decide that these fools are trying to kill me and I should get out of this. I move to the center line and split the car that cut me off and the car to my right, split another car and the truck, slow driver. Free, I maintain 65MPH all the way to my ramp and make it to work, just fine.

If a Cop would have seen any of it, I would be the one with the reckless driving ticket. My driving was anything but reckless. Yes, I split traffic. Yes the law says that doing so is an act of reckless driving, but I'll tell you this. I would prefure to slap a mirrior with my mirrior than have a bumpper hit me in the back of the head. It's stupid to think motorcycles should follow the same rules of the road as cars. We don't have bumpers, we don't have air bags, or A/C. Our only safty is in our mobility. Sitting in stopped traffic totaly removes that.

Maryland Mountain Weekend

For the first time ever, my wife and I took a overnight trip on the bike! Three days of riding in Western Maryland and Northern West Virginia. This was a very significant ride because my wife is not a motorcycle fan. She has only ridden a few times and has a healthy fear of being on the road. In the end we saw some great sites, had a great time and spent our 18th wedding anniversary on two wheels. Who could ask for more?

We departed from our home and used the interstate to get to Frederick, MD. From there we followed the "Old National Highway" out to Cumberland, MD. We booked two nights at the Fairfield Inn in Cumberland. Day two we awoke to threating sky and a forecast of thunderstorms. Weather radar showed a narrow ban of rain heading our way for the North West, so we headed south into West Virginia. The rain caught up to us. We did the rain gear dance on the side of the road and motored on, enjoying the much cooler temperatures. The wet roads would keep us off to tight twisty roads, but we still had a good time.

Day three was our return, again we followed the Old National Road back to Frederick and Interstate the rest of the way home. All in all it was a great ride. We didn't cover a lot of miles, only 554 in three days. No pegs dragging the pavement and no triple-digit speeds, but time with my wife is far better than all that.

Sorry, I have been gone for so long.

Sorry that I have not been updating this page. I want to blog, I enjoy sharing my stories, but I hate when I write something and get zero views. Okay, so I'm not a very good writer. Okay, I'm also not all that interesting of a person. I am going to try and do better with keeping this up to date.

Since my last post in 2006 I have taken a new job traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan as a contractor for the DoD. But after 2 years, I was just sick of being away from my family. So I started another job with no travel at all. Ugg. I love to travel, and would love a job with maybe 5 or 6 trips a year for no more than 2 weeks at a time. A bonus would be if it was to locations where the general population doesn't shoot at you.

I got a new bike too. To bad I wasn't blogging about that process. Anyway, I searched around and decided I wanted a BMW K13GT. But the price of the K13GT was way, way, way to high. I decided the FJR was almost as good of a bike, and at half the price of the K13, I would be very happy on one. Plus, I have always loved Yamaha's.