2 January 2012 - A different pic of the bike on the scenic loop in Red Rock Canyon

Well, I’d planned to wake up this morning rather late before working on the blog and going for a short ride.  But then plans have a way of changing.  I still got out for a ride and got this picture which I think is one of the best in recent memory

Tomorrow will be back to work, but I think I can handle that

Have a great day, everyone

Seriously, I don’t know why I get so many confused looks when I say this, but it’s true for me.  I like riding when it’s raining or drizzling.  We get so much dry sunshine and clear skies here in Vegas that a wet day is a nice change

12 December 2011 - The bike had been sitting in a light rain all day

 Coming out to a wet bike after work isn’t too bad, but I would like to look into some way to keep the seat dry.  Of course, I’ll probably just keep a towel or rag in one of the saddle bags if I can remember to put it in there in the first place.  It’s always a bit amusing to see the looks on my co-workers’ faces as they walk out to their cars.  They seem to think there’s something strange or wrong with wanting to be outside in anything but warm sunshine 

12 December 2011 - Time to get some gas and reflect on newly learned lessons

 12 December wasn’t really rainy in the accepted sense of rain.  It was more like an hours-long continual drizzle.  Now, that’s great for lawns and other green things, but it’s not so great for the road.  You see, oil tends to build up on the roads over time if there’s no rain to wash it off.  It’s not too much of a problem when it’s dry because it pretty much seeps into the ground and leaves the surface with plenty of traction.  The first rain after a long dry spell can be a bit of an issue, though.  The oil floats up to the surface and the next thing you know the road is slicker than a politician at election time and you’re trying to navigate a motor vehicle across an ice rink   Normally, this is only a problem during the first fifteen minutes to hour of the first rain as the continual rain will wash the oil away.

The continual light rain and drizzle was just enough to float all that oil up without actually washing it away.  I was acquainted with this fact that I hadn’t thought about when I pulled into the left turn lane to get into the driveway of the gas station.  Cars waiting in that left turn lane had dropped plenty of oil on the road and it had all been brought up to the surface for my skating motorcycling pleasure   As I straightened up and got back on the brakes (always straighten up before braking ), the rear tire decided to lock up and the bike started to fishtail…  I ended up saving the possibly bad situation by slowly letting off the rear brake and allowing the back end to come back in line with the rest of the bike.  It wasn’t a high speed situation or difficult to recover from – Just stay calm and DON’T PANIC

13 December 2011 - ROK Straps came in handy while shopping at Wal-Mart

 the next night was cold, but dry and clear.  I’d picked up my set of ROK Straps down at the BMW dealer a couple of days before and this was my first opportunity to put them to work properly.  The poor clerk down at Wal-Mart looked at me with a rather perplexed look as he eyed my purchases and the helmet in my shopping basket and asked, “How in the heck are you going to fit all that on the bike?!”  I told him most was going into the saddle bags and the soda would be strapped down to the passenger seat   It worked fairly well, but could probably use another strap – that ain’t a light load back there and it kinda wanted to shift around a bit

Well, that’s all for now but keep on havin’ fun and I’ll be back again soon

19 November 2011 - Ferrari 458 Italia at the overlook in Red Rock Canyon

19 November 2011 - Ferrari 430 at the overlook in Red Rock Canyon

You really never know what you’ll see out in Red Rock Canyon

These Ferraris are part of a rental program where people can see what it’s like to drive one without having a mortgage payment for a California mansion.  It looks like fun, but I don’t think I’ll spend $300+ for a few hours in them :wink;

We had to work two hours of mandatory overtime on the day before Thanksgiving, so I went in and worked from 0600 – 1630 and left for Price immediately following work.  I arrived just shy of seven hours later safe and sound   I opted to take the car for this journey as forecast low temperatures were somewhere in the low 20′s in Price and I really don’t have the gear to deal with that sort of cold.  I don’t like driving my car anymore, but I dislike hypothermia even more

Thanksgiving went extremely well and though Cindy had to work the rest of the days I was up there, we still had a good time   I went out exploring just a bit while she was at work and made sure to bring my camera

25 November 2011 - Abandoned house near Wellington, UT

25 November 2011 - Abandoned house near Wellington, UT

25 November 2011 - Long lonely highway near Wellington, UT

25 November 2011 - Semi-frozen creek near Wellington, UT

26 November 2011 - Cool lighting near Wellington, UT but the clouds were moving in fast

25 November 2011 - Semi-frozen creek near Wellington, UT

25 November 2011 - Weather moving in from the north near Wellington, UT

 I headed out from Price toward Nine Mile Canyon, but I noticed that it was indeed extremely cold out and that clouds were moving in quite quickly.  Up just a little ways past where the creek pictures were taken the road had turned to dirt.  Putting two and two together I figured there was a halfway decent chance that I might be caught on a muddy road in a snow storm.  The HHR just ain’t set up for that, so I headed back toward Price.  Still, I think the trip was worth it if for no other reason than it got some nice pictures

26 November 2011 - Looking north from the Wedge Overlook on the San Rafael Swell

26 November 2011 - Panorama - Wedge Overlook on the San Rafael Swell

26 November 2011 - Panorama - Wedge Overlook on the San Rafael Swell

26 November 2011 - Panorama - Looking out over grazing land on the San Rafael Swell

26 November 2011 - Sunset in Price, UT

 26 November saw me set out for a nice drive in the countryside south of Price.  I’d been to all the places before, but it’s country that I really like.  Sadly, the dinosaur quarry was closed but that was OK – I had a very nice drive in the middle of nowhere   While I think the V-Star could handle the very nicely maintained dirt roads, I’m glad I had the car because it was something like 24° when I left

I had to head home on 27 November, but I’m growing to like Utah more with every trip

Happy belated Thanks giving everyone

I’d thought about going from Kristen’s place down to San Diego to spend Saturday night with other friends, but the forecast was for a very cold storm to come through southern California.  I’d been cold enough on the trip down and lacking warm and waterproof gear, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to try to ride home on Sunday through cold and wet weather.  At least Saturday had pretty good weather.

Well, I wasn’t about to stay off the bike on Sunday as long as the weather wasn’t too bad here in Vegas   I headed on over toward Red Rock Canyon as I am wont to do when I want a nice, stress-free ride

6 November 2011 - Storm clouds in Red Rock Canyon

 Fairly clear skies prevailed over much of the Las Vegas valley, but clouds and precipitation dominated in Red Rock Canyon.

6 November 2011 - Looking out at the storm I'm about to ride through in Red Rock Canyon

6 November 2011 - Looking out at the storm I'm about to ride through in Red Rock Canyon

6 November 2011 - Looking out at the storm I'm about to ride through in Red Rock Canyon

 I stopped for a quick drink up at one of the overlooks on the scenic loop and got a few pictures I really liked

6 November 2011 - Panorama - Closer to the storm

6 November 2011 - Snow on the mountains and misty rain on my visor

 I also made sure to stop a couple of more times on that scenic loop for a few more nice pics   Yes, it was rather cold, but the ride was more than enjoyable enough to compensate for a bit of a chill in the air

Here’s hopin’ you’re still having fun