That's awesome! Glad things have come together for you!^I've just started riding again, mainly because no fun to go anyplace when everybody suspects you of carrying a deadly disease when you get there. Also, was legally blind for the last year until I got around to getting cataract operations. But rode some anywayNow vision is 20/20 w/o glasses for first time in my life and celebrated by getting some cheap sunglasses. I found what you miss most seeing just well enough to not bump into walls is seeing people's facial expressions.
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Just Ride.
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
I never rode a motorcycle there, but it's on my list.
Rode across that big sucker many a time... I-10, I-20 and the backroads.
The sun has riz'-
The sun has set
And here we are-
In Texas yet.
Funny, that brings back some memories. Those rides were back in the '70's and '80's.
Anytime I went through or around a big city Like Dallas/FW or Houston, I'd stop for gas prior and use a grease pencil to draw out my map and directions on the tank. Every time I passed an intersection of note, I'd cross it off the tank.
Good times.
It’s warm. We’re going out for barbecue.
A bit oblique but had to point out Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top - brilliant track! Do yourself a favour and check it out 
Barbecue & blues was good!
4 cylinder noise
That's how I knew the next thing I said would be about Texas. On my way back from the beach there I stopped in some town mentioned in one of their songs, don't remember which one. I had the beard until last monthA bit oblique but had to point out Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top - brilliant track! Do yourself a favour and check it out
Sorry for the hijack. On the "cheap sunglasses" comment, this is worth the watch. If nothing else, don't miss the last 2 minutes.
Around 2006, '07 I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and got my license. I'd never been on a MC before, except had ridden a couple times on back, once driven by a genius mechanical engineering student when we went to see a Led Zeppelin movie at the mall, but that's another story. The thing the MSF course didn't cover at all was pulling out to the left and right from a stop, a very important thing! I practiced that in a parking lot near my house. Somebody called the cops on me for suspiciously riding a MC around the parking lot. The cop didn't bother me but sat there in his car watching for an hour or two. As I took off to go back home, we waved. Next step was getting my MC licensed and inspected. At the MSF course we'd kidded each other about about how we passed the course but were nowhere near ready for traffic. I decided to go very early in the morning, like still dark, to get inspected to avoid traffic. So I rode downtown, went to a coffeehouse that was open early and waited till about 9:00 when the courthouse opened. Rode in real traffic across the street to the courthouse and got inspected. Surprisingly real inspection, like do all the lights work, horn, etc.; in rural areas they just sign off. Got finished around 11:00 and went back home in real traffic. Felt surprisingly refreshed and confident, like maybe they actually did teach us what we needed to know to survive. MC quickly became my preferred transportation, and in a couple of years I was in full frontal contact close encounter of the 4th kind with aliens from another world:
Which reminds me, one afternoon these two Marines in full dress blues came to my house. The whole dress blue thing, but didn't look presidential helicopter, looked more frumpy somehow. They wanted to know where my neighbor was. Apparently he'd signed up for Marines but was already AWOL without even going. I told them I thought I knew who they were talking about but didn't know him and hadn't seen him, and about how my dad had killed 1000 Japs at Iwo Jima, and so on. Later I realized if I'd had a son in Afghanistan and they pulled up like that, I'd have had a heart attack and dropped dead. Still later I read they wait in their car in the morning until the first light goes on, and then come up. I didn't know that then though...
Which reminds me, one afternoon these two Marines in full dress blues came to my house. The whole dress blue thing, but didn't look presidential helicopter, looked more frumpy somehow. They wanted to know where my neighbor was. Apparently he'd signed up for Marines but was already AWOL without even going. I told them I thought I knew who they were talking about but didn't know him and hadn't seen him, and about how my dad had killed 1000 Japs at Iwo Jima, and so on. Later I realized if I'd had a son in Afghanistan and they pulled up like that, I'd have had a heart attack and dropped dead. Still later I read they wait in their car in the morning until the first light goes on, and then come up. I didn't know that then though...
After a whole lot of very windy days, this morning was beautiful out, 60 degrees and sunny. So I went to go see if I could find any spring wildflowers, I rode out to an area that has always been a sure bet, and…..nothing.
This winter was everything they predicted, unusually warm and not much rain. But I had a nice ride anyways, I spent most of the time barreling down fairly empty desert roads. With the exception of the cattle guard that I hit at 55 mph , that knocked my ass somewhere up between my ears, it was a nice little spring ride!
This winter was everything they predicted, unusually warm and not much rain. But I had a nice ride anyways, I spent most of the time barreling down fairly empty desert roads. With the exception of the cattle guard that I hit at 55 mph , that knocked my ass somewhere up between my ears, it was a nice little spring ride!
mmmmmmmmmm i thought he got around a bit more than that.
The beauty part is the paint job by 
I think he parked it on the side of that dusty road and detailed it before snapping the eye candy to share with us.
But I most certainly enjoy the end result..
GORGEOUS Bike!
But I most certainly enjoy the end result..
GORGEOUS Bike!
It’s my “War and Peace” !