Harleys don't pack well

I've tried it a couple of ways. Even thought about taking fewer clothes, but no matter how hard I try I cannot for the life of me, fit the Deuce in my suitcase!!

You see, the girlfriend wants to go to New York City (cue shouting cowboys sitting around the campfire from the old Picante salsa TV ad) for New Years Eve. When I say 'wants to', she's booked the plane tickets, hotel room, made arrangements with friends which nights we'll be where and what restaurants we'll eat at. So if I sound like there's any choice in the matter, its only to puff out my chest and appear manly in the whole scheme of things.

I knew I enjoyed the ride on Monday too much.













Enough of the scooter pic already...heres a real bike with the real NYPD!


One report heard how many times
The State of Florida released its holiday accident report last night and consequently its everywhere today. I'm not talking about the mainstream media, but a medium far more powerful and certainly more intrusive. Friends and family.

I've had the admittedly sad news that from midnight Christmas eve/morning to midnight Monday the Florida Highway Patrol reported that nineteen people died in accidents. The deaths occurred in sixteen different accidents and included five motorcyclists, three of which weren't wearing their helmets. Interestingly enough only three automobile fatalities weren't wearing seatbelts, a low number I thought.

Not sure why people felt the urge to call and tell me this news as I have the same access to the media they do. I guess I'm the only biker they know.

But I'm sure the other bikers I know are like me, waiting for the other shoe to drop from this report as it will most definitely re-ignite the helmet debate as well as the quest by that not-so-quiet minority to get all motorcycles off the roads.


Charity? We don't take kindly to that 'round here
Just as the full ramifications of this accident report can't be fully realized, the decision of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to rule poker runs fundraisers as 'illegal gambling' under that states law won't be fully felt for a few months.

Poker runs typically have a participant paying a registration fee or have the motorcycle rider purchase cards or hands at various rally points. At the end of the run, a cash prize is usually awarded for the best hand, the second-best hand and the worst hand.

Abbott ruled that a poker run with cash prizes would amount to a lottery under state law. He said an organization that kept part of the proceeds for charity would violate the state's prohibition on gambling. The sad irony is that the poker run that prompted Abbott's opinion was organized by the Blue Knights Texas XXXI chapter to raise money for Galveston County Deputy Sheriff Michel Roy, who was injured in April when his squad car collided with a drunken driver's vehicle.

However the optimistic organizers and riders in Texas feel they can come up with a work-around to the new legal decision. Read the full story in the Houston Chronicle. Sad to think that you have to be more creative to raise money for charities.


So ski jacket in hand and already practicing my layering technique to keep this thin-blooded Florida boy warm, I hope you all have a happy and safe New Years Eve. If you happen to watch the ball drop in Times Square, look for the blue, shivering guy shouting above the crowd, "Does anyone know where the nearest Harley dealership is?"

Be safe.