Bit's and pieces

Today's post is a blend of a few things. A ride, some news and even a highlight from another biking blog!

The Ride
Even though we have a stormfront coming into South Florida, my riding buddy and I went out for a little cruise and onto a bike night held at the Hard Rock Seminole Casino last night.

We started a little late at around 7.30pm and with dark clouds rolling in we really weren't sure how long of a ride it would be. But the good weather stayed with us as we took Federal Highway from Lighthouse Point up to Delray Beach after deciding the ocean route might a little too windy that close to the beach. Speaking of the wind, we rode into it on the way to Delray but because the speed was in the 40's it wasn't as noticable and then it was at our back when we headed south on I-95 going down to the Hard Rock.

Nice ride with not much traffic and it just felt good to be on the bike again. The surprise came when we arrived at the Bike Night. When they held it on a tuesday night you could easily see two or three hundred bikes, from sports to cruisers with every make represented. This night, a Monday you could park all the bikes that turned up on a small cement square at a corner of the shopping/bar/restaurant complex and still have room. This could've been from changing nights, not really publicizing it or maybe even the weather.

We wandered around the complex checking out the new chopper store that also has a tattoo parlor and bar under it's roof. Talking about knowing your market! Met a couple of riders from the Outlaws MC and saw some pretty impressive choppers. With their sleek lines, amazing chrome and detailed paintwork they made the classic Heritage Softail on the sales floor sem bland and boring. This is sad enough in itself but it also happens to be the bike my buddy rides!

After a quick beer, some wings and curley fries it was time to head back and hopefully beat the storms and intermidant showers that had rolled in. Now that we're going north the wind was that much stronger it made cruising at 60 feel more like 90 mph. A shower springing up gave us a good enough excuse to stop in a sports bar to watch the second half of Monday night football, which as any fan will tell you ended up being a long game and we didn't get back until 12.30 in the am.

Funky weather but it felt so good to not only be back on the the bike, but to ride with my buddy again.

Some news!

New material for a Morissette song?
Softpedia reported today that Ryan Reynolds (The Amityville Horror, Blade: Trinity, Van Wilder), who is engaged to singer Alanis Morissette, was on his way to an interview in Hollywood when his foot peg clipped a car.

"I was lane sharing - that thing motorcyclists do when you're driving your car and you get really frustrated when they blow by you in the middle of the lane - well, I was being that a**hole and I hit a car. I feel horrible", the actor said.

Doesn't his fiance have enough obvious angst in her life without him crashing around on the LA freeways?

Another famous, well nearly famous, motorcycling accident was reported on Wrestling News.Com about wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow who was involved in a serious motorcycle accident Sunday in Brooksville, FL. He is in serious but stable condition at a Florida hospital.


Does a face veil go with a helmet?
It seems the ladies of Iran are about to find out. The gracious authorities are letting women ride motorcycles without the fear of being flogged stoned or imprisoned.

Going solo on a motorcycle has been off limits since the 1979 Islamic revolution given that wind resistance encountered by the rider could negate the efficiency of an Islamic dress code designed to hide bodily curves.

"It is not an offence for women to ride motorbikes and they can apply, just like men, for a driving license and ride while respecting Islamic values," Mohsen Ansari, the chief of Iran's traffic police, was quoted as saying by the Khorassan daily.

But! This was an interesting footnote in the Iranmania article......

In 2002, thousands of women lined up for free motorcycle lessons offered by a manufacturer, but the classes were quickly called off due to apparent opposition from authorities.


Sometimes politics and riding just don't mix!
Apparently a Wisconsin politician is getting in hot water over his love for motorcycles and his passion for creative accounting.

State Sen. Dave Zien bills taxpayers at twice the mileage rate when he uses his motorcycle for state business than other state employees, according to a newspaper. Zien, an ardent biker, claims the vehicle rate of 32.5 cents instead of the 16.2 cents rate set for motorcycles.

Zien consistently claims the higher rate, even when he drives a snowmobile on state business, he said. He said he saw nothing wrong with that practice.

"Who can be critical of someone driving an American motorcycle made in Wisconsin?" Zien said.

Read the entire article at Gazette Extra.


How do you keep 300,000 bikers orderly?
Just ask the organizers of the Bikes, Blues & BBQ festival held in Fayetville Arkansas last weekend.

Although the numbers of attendees are floating between 200,000 and 300,000 depending on which report you read, but either way the organizers are very happy with how it turned out.

"We never got overcrowded," said Bob Kramer, bar manager for George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, noting that a predetermined number of wrist bands may be a reason the bar managed to keep customers happy without bar fights.

Fayetteville police cited some people for disorderly conduct and public intoxication on Dickson Street and nearby."There were a couple of disturbances in a couple of the bars, but nobody was really hurt," said Sgt. Tad Scott, noting he knows of one individual who received a stab wound to the leg, but he did not have any other details.

Read the Morning News for the rest of the above report, or The Northwest Arkansas Times post-event story.


Ending the news portion on a funny note......
A Greenville police officer found his stolen motorcycle after stopping a truck that didn't have its headlights on. Cpl. Jeremiah Motz said he saw a pickup driving through his apartment complex parking lot early Saturday morning with a bike in the back.

"I was shocked," said Motz, who confirmed the motorcycle was the one taken from his yard the day before by checking the license tag.

When the driver spotted the officer, he sped off, according to a police report. The truck eventually pulled over in a church parking lot, police said.

Steven Dale Baker, 24, of Liberty, and Jamie Lee Crider, 27, of Greenville have been charged with grand larceny, according to arrest warrants.


The Other biking blog
Even though he wrote it a few weeks ago, I've been meaning to link to a post Gymi made on his blog Gymi's Place back on September 16th that really struck a cord.

What I witnessed today takes the cake.............. I noticed a Jeep Liberty come to a abrupt halt to my right, the woman driving this car didn't notice the car exiting till last second even though I left plenty of room for her to see. She was distracted by the bowl of cereal that she was eating as she steered the Jeep with her knees.

Read the entry...it's amazing what people think they can do, while driving!