19 October 2011 - Looking down into the Las Vegas valley from Red Rock Canyon

19 October 2011 - Panorama - Red Rock Canyon at sunset

Looking back at these two pictures, it’s funny to see just how much earlier the daylight dies these days.  These pictures were taken at about 1735 hours.  If you went up to Red Rock Canyon this time of year at the same time, it would be night.  I know because I managed to get out to the same place at only about 1715 hours last week and I had to turn on my bike’s high beam to see better.

I’m looking forward to 11 March 2012 when we get to go back on daylight saving time and I once again have plenty of time to go for a nice daylight ride after work.

11 May 2011 - 2004 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic - Low miles!

 I’ve been told that some people thought I’d buy a bunch of gear, get a bike, and then proceed to let it go to rot in a parking space.  They said I’d lose interest or not want to go riding because it would be too hot or because of rain, wind, traffic, etc.  Well, I think we’ve seen that all those supposed reasons not to ride are merely a matter of Perception

23 August 2011 - 11111.1 miles on the odometer

23 August 2011 - 11111.1 miles on the odometer

Yeah, you could say I tend to ride just a bit   For those of you keeping score at home, the two pics above represent 2675 miles in the 2.5 months since my bike got out of the shop   Its’ gotten to the point that I take the car out once or twice a week for a few miles just to keep the thing working in case I actually need it for something.  Other than that, I’m on the bike!  Rain?  Please   Wind?  Yeah, that’s fun   Heat?  Sure, why not   It’s kind of funny that we have an excessive heat warning going from Tuesday morning at 1100 hrs until Saturday evening.  I didn’t think it was really all that bad out this afternoon – it was only about 108°   Maybe my brain’s only half cooked and I was just trying to finish it

All I know for sure is that I never want to stop riding.  It’s the closest thing I’ve found to flying that’s affordable enough to do every day.  You are a part of the world you travel through, not just a spectator who watches it like a movie on a screen outside the windows of a climate controlled theater.  You see more.  You feel more.  You smell more.  Sometimes you can almost taste the world around you.  People seem to see you as an actual person rather than a piece of painted steel that’s going down the road.  It’s like you’re more alive on the bike.  I’ll try to describe it better sometime in the future – I’m just at a bit of a loss for words right now

Folks, I have a recommendation to make.  Go look up the local organization that’s affiliated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.  See if they have something like the Introductory Motorcycle Experience that cycleschool.com offers.  Find the time and money to get on a motorcycle for the first time and see what you think of it.  It may not be something that trips your trigger, but you may never look at a road the same way again and you could end up hopelessly hooked like me

That’s all for now, but I hope you have a great Wednesday!  Have fun and ride safe

Aside from failing to post very often, I’ve also been seriously remiss in keeping up with my email and responses   I’ll try to get back to you, but if you haven’t heard from me, please re-send your messages and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

I have the pics for the next post uploaded so you can expect something half way decent tomorrow evening

Thanks again for your understanding and patience

7 August 2011 - Mark Rich's N.Y. Pizza and Pasta in Summerlin

7 August 2011 - Two slices of Sicilian for $5.00

 My original plan was to head for Costco’s food court and pick up a chicken bake or some pizza, but there were problems with that plan.  The parking lot was so jam packed you’d think they were giving away free cars or something and there was no dedicated motorcycle parking like I’ve seen at other locations.  It was rather warm out and I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with that many people and a long walk across an asphalt parking lot

I decided to head closer to Red Rock Canyon and found Mark Rich’s N.Y. Pizza & Pasta   Yeah, it was darn good and affordable

7 August 2011 - Kicking back at the Red Rock Canyon Overlook

 I really wasn’t all that full of energy after dinner so I took a quick ride through Red Rock Canyon to clear out my head of all the negative thoughts.  One of the very positive aspects of motorcycle riding is that you’re often too focused on what you’re doing and or the beautiful scenery around you to think about much else.  I was getting a bit thirsty on my way back so I stopped off at my favorite overlook and kicked back for a bit.  I really do enjoy the scenery and the clean desert air up there

I’ve got more pics just about ready to go, so don’t despair – you won’t have to wait long for more photographic goodness here

See y’all again soon

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Plans for the near future include spending this upcoming Sunday out in the desert with friends, scheduling a CCW class sometime in the near future, and finally catching up on blogging

Have a great day and I’ll see y’all again soon!