Alone again, naturally

Enter sad panda.

My best friend with whom I spend the majority of my time riding with is moving back to Mississippi...

My "twin" of the one piece suit splendor is selling his bike...

Wow Morton Salt was right, when it rains it pours.

It'll all be okay though. Change happens, and there is always a reason for it. Cherish the memories, they're like amazing photographs that are stored in a permanently opened archive aka, your brain... (us mid westerners aren't the best at metaphors; we reserve that and frying chicken to the southerners).

Next time you ride with a friend, remember the feeling, and how fun it is to share that with someone. Que the music... "Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day..." My little homage to Mr. Rogers there.

Happy August everyone. Remember only 6 days left until the Kansas City Cowboy Biker's birthday :)

I see a bad moon arising

It's nearly the end of July, and I've been pestered to keep the blog going, so I'll catch everyone up to date on what's new and exciting.

I found a new set of leathers, that I just had to buy... I know, "had" to... more like couldn't pass up the deal, plus I've always wanted a set like these. It's the Dainese Laguna Seca 1 Piece suit. I figured the red would be a wise choice for Diablo, and couldn't have been happier when I received the suit. The quality is top notch, very similar to the Alpinestars gear. The leather is a bit softer, and the cuffs near the ankles can be zipped over the boot if one prefers, but still placed inside the boot as well. As far as fit goes, I'd say its a bit tighter in the chest then the Alpinestars, but not by much. It's a little more uncomfortable to stand up in, but then again the suits are designed to be used while on the bike, not walking a 5k.

Unfortunately the heat in Kansas City during July has been unbearable, at least to me. I can't even seem to be comfortable in my car while driving home with the AC on. We're talking days that have got up in the high 90s with 40-50% humidity with a heat index ranging from 110-120. Yuck! So my riding has been sparse. I've had the suit for about 2 weeks and only gotten out once in it.

Last Sunday was my first opportunity to ride with my best friend, so we hit the road and went up to St. Joseph, MO. We had a really good ride, it wasn't too bad, only 89 degrees. It's amazing the stuff you can think about on a ride. I love just looking at the scenery and collecting all my thoughts. It's very tranquil, at the same time exhilarating, if that's possible.

We stopped and got gas, turned around and came back. On our way home we got mooned by some frat guys. I must say its been a long time since I've been mooned. I at first was perplexed at what was hanging out the rear passenger side window, so huge and white and hairy, and then as I passed them, I'm sure the bare ass reflected in my mirrored visor, and I just had to laugh a little bit. Too bad they didn't catch up to us, I would have had to come up with something creative to do ;) And trust me I would have too!

Well here's hoping the weather cools off a day or two so I can get some ridin in! I've still got about 3500 miles to go to reach my goal of 8000 miles on the bike.

Sport Bike Gear Talk

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!

Really?

Right after I had written the last blog, I decided to take a trip to go visit the Whore... aka "Wendy's" (she always puts out, fresh and never frozen).

On my way there, I pass the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles. What do I happen to see? A guy taking his road test on an older style Kawasaki Ninja (early 1990s). I'm struck dumbfounded as I noticed that he was wearing shorts, a tshirt, no boots, no gloves! Good thing I don't work there because if I did I think showing up to take the test for your license dressed like that, would be automatic failure.

When I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) http://www.msf-usa.org/ course to get my license (which I HIGHLY recommend that you do before you ride, they wouldn't even let you sit on a bike without a jacket, boots, helmet, some type of long pant, and gloves. If you ever showed up to class without this, well its your own fault you didn't pass.

The good news is, while I was waiting in the drive thu line, I noticed the wanna be biker trying to navigate the cones in front of the two officers, and missed quite a few, and then multiple times had his leg down to balance him. I would venture to guess that he did not pass the road course and hopefully he decides to enroll in a MSF class before he kills himself or injures someone else on the road.

Fits like.. well... a Glove!

Okay, so if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm probably an extremist when it comes to gear. I could hope that everyone would be properly attired when riding, but maybe its just way of Darwinism showing through. We need to weed out some of the population anyways :P

So guys have made the conscious decision not to wear gear. Case and point:

"Oh man its like 92 degrees out and its so damn hot. I'm going to hop on my crotch rocket in my shorts and t-shirt and pick up my anorexic girlfriend who will be even less scantily clothed, then we'll do some wheelies down I-70 and look like douche bags...hell yeah!" (well maybe that's what I think anyway)

Even guys that are just out for an easy ride, maybe they have some gear on... It always seems like they are missing one article..gloves.

Think about it. Even if you are just walking. You trip, you throw your arms out to try and brace your fall. It hurts when you skid across pavement. So when you take a spill on a bike, be it a high side or low side crash, your first instinct is to throw your hands out. Without gloves... kiss your palms goodbye.

The gloves I always wear is the Alpinestars SP1 gloves. These offer maximum protection, and are super comfortable, even on 92 degree days!

• Strong and supple leather main chassis and palm.
  
• Palm and outer edge of hand reinforced with Clarino panel.
  
• Molded carbon fiber knuckle and finger sliders provide impact and abrasion protection.
  
• Thumb, fingers, top of hand and wrist are padded for impact protection.
  
• Long, adjustable cuff design with flexible lateral wrist protection.
  
• Pre-curved fingers with vented sidewalls.
  
• Perforated leather panels for ventilation.
• Anatomically designed palm for added grip and feel.
  
• Perforated cuff, leather top panel and ventilated finger sidewalls keep the hands cool.
  
• Anatomical pre-curved fingers.
  
• Accordion flex leather paneling on first three fingers, outer thumb circumference and top of wrist.
  
• Triple adjusting wrist closure with stretch Lycra expansion panel for easy glove entry.

So next time you go ride, remember your gloves!

Warning! Graphic content!

So while reading a sportbike magazine the other day at work, I came across an advertisement for some type of new 1 piece suit one of the manufactures is offering, I believe it was a Scorpion suit; and it said something about how it was for "serious riders." I guess they mean serious riders who enjoy track or racing? Well what about the serious rider who rides with the crazy "cagers" (aka car drivers) every day, city roads with pot holes and debris? I for one think that riders are safer on a closed track. Sure there is more often highly excessive speeds related with a track, but how many times have you seen sportbikes blaze by you on the freeway doing over 130 mph and wearing shirts and shorts?

I advocate wearing the "serious" suit in everyday riding situations.

I wanted to show this youtube video with you, (its not of me,) but I think it proves my point. It is graphic.

Remember, wear your gear :D

A new friend!

Look out Kansas City, there are now 2 leather clad "super hero/power ranger/ninja turtle" bikers.

It was quite an experience today. It's true what the proverbial "they" say... it's easier in numbers.

I was lucky enough to find another guy out there locally who appreciates the gear as much as I do. Up until today, I had never rode side by side with another gear whore like myself. What a great experience that was.

Met up with my new buddy at the Conoco gas station off Blue Ridge Cutoff. As he got gas I looked around and noticed that when people looked, it seemed normal to them. Maybe that's because if there are two guys in head to toe gear, it seems more normal.

I've chatted with plenty of other "gear" whores like myself, but in other parts of the world. In Europe it's common place that everyone wears what I wear to ride in. They think us Yankee's are foolish for riding in tshirts and shorts. No shit, it's dumb. But it seems to be the most convenient, we do it because we're lazy or because it's easy. 'Dress for the crash not for the ride,' I say. A lot of guys out in California wear the full gear too, and the reason I think is because they can ride all year round and thus don't mind spending money for proper gear since it will see year round use. Sure it gets just as hot if not hotter out in California, but 'sweat wipes off and skin grafts suck.' <- I say that too.

So me and my leather biker friend rode out to Longview Lake via Raytown road. Would have been a lot cooler ride had we not hit every red light, but alas it was good practice for starting and stopping (insert raised eyebrow here).

We enjoyed each others company at the lake, and came back to my place where I helped him lube his chain. That sounds so dirty. Let's restate that sentence. I helped him lube his chain on his bike by using bike chain oil. Much better. We took the obligatory photos, hung out for a bit and he departed.

To reflect, it was great to have another person in the same gear as me riding. It's easier in numbers, it's hard to stand alone sometimes. It's nice to know I made a new gear friend biker who enjoys it as much as I do.

Always wear your gear :)