Day 4…
Heidelberg, Germany – Ottrott, France – 342.3km

I made it to France!!!! But…it was my worst riding day yet. I stayed out way to late with the boys partying and having a good time. I wasn’t hung over, but we went to bed about 1:00am and my body woke up at 5:00am. I just couldn’t concentrate very well on so little sleep. See there is this thing called the sun. And there is this other stuff called A.C. I had to have the windows open because there was no A.C., but there was plenty of sun at 5:00am.

Then Liz was running way behind. I waited for her and everyone else took off in their own groups. John and Mike said they would wait at the gas station, but we were so far behind they were long gone when we got there.

And we couldn’t get out of the gas station! It was a bunch of one-way streets that led us all over creation and back before we could get back to the main road. So just trying to get out of town put us almost 2 hours back!

Liz and I skipped several of the side-trips and made up as much time as possible. I was really having problems because I was so fatigued. I also was reading the route maps because I was leading Liz. That requires far more concentration that I wanted to expend but we kept going.

Axel, one of our guides, told us that we would get lost today and we did. A bunch. For whatever reason, once you come into France they can’t put up signs where signs should be. So you would be booking along a road just fine and get to a town. Then you would lose the road. So you would try to find it…..and you did this by just randomly trying different roads until you finally found a sign or stopped and asked for directions. We probably burned a total of 1.5 hours dicking around in the towns trying to find the roads leading out of the towns. In some cases, we found other roads that we could see on the maps and took them instead. That combined routes 1 (easy route), route 2 (harder route) and the Brad and Liz route (most f’d up route).

Since Liz and I were so lost and trying to make up time we finally ended up stopping in the La Petite Pierre Nord region of France and having a nice picnic lunch of fruit, bread and cheeses. We even had a lovely view of the town. Sounds pretty romantic doesn’t it?

Did I mention this was from the curb-stop in a parking lot of a grocery store? See, everything was closed. The French obviously don’t believe in having any place to eat open past about 1:00pm and it was almost 3:00pm. My blood sugar was so low I thought I might literally pass out. So we just hit the store and bought a few things and munched them down in the parking lot.

I then had a thought. It takes a certain kind of person to ride motorcycles. It takes another breed of person to ride motorcycles and go on adventures like this one. And it takes yet another kind of person to get totally freaking lost in France and make a picnic lunch in a parking lot of a grocery store and actually enjoy it. Maybe it’s because I was starving to death?

So Liz and I high-tailed it out of there and got lost a few more times before finally running across another rider that we knew. He had already been to the hotel and was back out for a quick flog on the bike. He never found the roads he was supposed to be on, but we figured it out and ended up on the Tour De France route into Obernai!! It was one of the sweetest roads I had ridden in many years. I believe this is road 704 out of Mollkirchen and then route 204 from Klingenthal to Obernai.

The only problem was that I was running on fumes and didn’t know if I was going to make it. The fuel light came on with almost 50km left in the tank. No problem….except the French also don’t have gas stations in their towns. I don’t know where they gas up, but we went through at least six towns without any gas. Then we found one and it was closed. I then found a Texaco sign and headed towards it only to find out there was no gas. WTF? But I arrived at the hotel with 3km left on the tank and knew I could make it until the morning to gas up.

The hotel here is beautiful and I will try to include some pics later. They also have A.C.!!! BTW – the French servants are very rude and difficult to deal with. The folks in the little towns were very friendly and helped us out tremendously throughout the day.

We weren’t the only ones that got lost. EVERYONE got lost on that route. Some took it better than others. One guy went down on the bike, but it was in a mud bank. I don’t even think his pride was hurt. Me, I was riding too slow to get hurt – I couldn’t concentrate to ride fast.

I am crashing early to get some rest!

Day 5….a Rest Day!
Rest Day in Ottrott, France – 220.7km

No rest for the wicked!!! Several of us got up and rode with Axel this morning for a most excellent flog through some of the best roads I have ever ridden. The group was moving fast and furiously through some of the most heinous ball busting twisties I have ever seen. One rider bowed out after the first 15 minutes because he couldn’t keep up (he ended up having a great day).

We rode fast and hard through all kinds of terrain up into a ski area somewhere around Le Bezouard. There we had a lovely lunch of crepes while many sport bikes went by. It was cool, almost cold and we finally headed down the mountain.

Mom – stop reading here!!! Skip the next paragraph or two!!

Some of the riders were good, some were fast, but only a few were fast and good. For the most part, these were definitely the most skilled riders in the group. I was asked to take the rear again and did so until after lunch at which time we all felt like we were pretty comfy and I went up to the front (about 2 bike of the leader). I almost ate it on a turn when I was pretty deep into a corner with the bike nearing maximum lean and I hit some sand or gravel. The bike stepped out on me and I had a serious case of pucker factor going on. Fortunately I pulled it back in and got through the corner just fine.

I also saw a guy almost get creamed by a tour bus on a hairpin turn. He rode wide of the center line before the turn to set it up (so he was in the wrong lane) and the bus almost took him out. I hope he learned his lesson. I was almost taken out by a bus in MY lane…the bus was in it’s lane plus ½ of mine. Yes, the turns were that sharp!! If you ride, imagine looking through the apex of the turn back, behind you and either uphill or downhill. It was pretty wild. Grashopper, if you are reading this, you would have hated the ride today. For me, it was great!!!!

I did a little shopping in town, but again I couldn’t find anything that would make a good gift.

I gotta get some rest, it’s a long day back into Germany tomorrow. Goodbye to Obernai.

Day 6
Ottrott, France – Titisee, Germany – 305km

Nice day riding out of France. We didn’t have as many navigational issues as we had before. One thing is for sure, the women are better looking in Germany than France. I didn’t care much for France other than the twisties that were offered up. The people were borderline rude (ever been to NYC?). It smelled better than Germany, but it just didn’t impress me that much.

We played in the twisties in the morning and then crossed back into Germany by the afternoon. Arriving in Titisee was interesting as we came down through a mountain pass by a lake. There were some good picture taking opportunities but I was moving too quickly to stop for fear of being ran over.

The group I was riding with had to put in some extra miles after the day ride. For the most part, with the exception of day one, I have ridden the longer, more sporty routes on all of the days. At some points we were hitting 160kmh on the straights before jamming on the breaks and dropping the bike into a corner.

Titisee was really pretty and we had a nice buffet style dinner before heading down the strip to check out the local bars and brews. We met some local women and sat up until the wee hours of the morning enjoying the company and beverages. One of the guys I was with, Shawn, thought he had a chance of getting lucky with the locals, but she was married and was not going to stray very far.

Unfortunately, it was another hot hotel room and I left the windows open – which pretty much meant that I had to wake up at 4:30am and it made me very tired for the next day. Stupid me, I didn’t get any souvenirs in France.

Day 7
Titisee, Germany – Lucerne, Switzerland – 230.7km

WOW! What a great ride. I slowed it down today from being tired and lead a small group of four people through some heinous twisties before hitting the straights into Switzerland.

Some of these roads require being very cautious on. Imagine one of our roads that is only 1.5 lanes wides (total for the road) and hairpin curves with cars, truck, and tour busses waiting for you around the corner (which you cannot see through).

Heading into Switzerland was no big deal, but the ride was very nice and I was able to give up my leadership to a couple that was riding two up. She was reading maps and our guide book while he had a map on the tank. I call it cheating, but it worked quite well.

The drivers in Switzerland were not as nice as the drivers in Germany. The Germans are much more courteous drivers and would give way to the bikes. In Switzerland they wouldn’t try to kill you (like back home), but they weren’t quite as willing to let you ride on by.

The worst part of the day was trying to get to the hotel! Lucerne is a big city with lots of traffic. They had the street getting to the hotel blocked off for a significant period of time. We had to circle and wait (some folks were waiting up to two hours) before they opened the street up and we could get to the hotel.

Tired, and hungry we made the bars and dinner before crashing early to get a good nights rest.

Day 8
Rest Day in Lucerne, Switzerland - 320.6km!!

It was a rest day so I spent it resting on the bike!!! The best of the best of the group went on this ride which netted us two mountain passes. We were shooting for four of them, but two of the passes were closed. One was closed due to rock slides and one was closed due to construction of the road.

Still we managed to hit two very nice passes. Remember what I said about France and the twisties? Forget it. The Swiss Alps are it. Hairpin after hairpin, under, over, behind, you name it and the road went that way with drastic elevation changes.


The guys were riding really quick today. If you weren’t dragging or scraping some part of the bike you weren’t riding fast and hard enough. We ground foot pegs, saddlebags and one guy even got a cylinder head!!! For those non-motorcyclists that might are reading this you have to lean a bike into a curve. The faster through the curve and the shaper the turn the more you have to lean the bike in. As you lean the bike further and further one of two things will happen – you will either break your tire loose and the bike will come out from under you (called a low-side) or you begin to put those lower parts on the pavement. So when I say we were scraping pegs, I mean we were literally grinding them off on the asphalt as we came around the corners. I was finally starting to feel the effects of being on a bike and riding the roads we had been riding. I had some sharp pains through my shoulders and down my left arm. It wasn’t enough to keep me from riding, but it was enough to keep me from riding quite as fast as the tour leader and two of the other guys (I later heard that he never takes folks as fast as we were pushing the pace). Still, I had a great freaking ride!! Taking passes at 9000+ feet with hairpins and sharp drop offs really wakes you up!

It was a tough 320km, but I would definitely do it again. After getting back we had some beverages and then went out for dinner. Italy won a game of the World Cup and the plaza square in Lucerne went ballistic. It was quite entertaining to be there.

One guy in our group got pretty hosed on wine and we ended up going out afterwards. His friend dared him to mess with this Asian prostitute, but only to mess with her. Turns out, the she was a he and everyone was in on the joke except this guy that we knew (sorry, no names just in case) Now, I would never do that to anyone but it was already in full swing by the time I came along. Needless to say we were in tears laughing a few tables over while he was putting the moves on the she/he. The she/he even had it’s his/her hands up our friend’s shorts a few times. We were losing it about this point. His friend finally stopped it all by telling him and thankfully took it very well.

We then went to a place of “ill repute.” I am not sure if this is legal or not but this place was a brothel. Drinks were very expensive and the ladies wanted us to buy Champagne for them at $25.00 a glass. The standard proposition appeared to be $200 (francs) for a ½ hour. I told them no way and I left, but a few of the guys stayed behind. What happened? Who knows for sure!!!

I can’t say that Lucerne did much for me, but apparently it was picked so that the ladies could get some quality shopping time in. To me, the little towns and villages that we passed through were much more interesting, warm, and a pleasure to ride through and see.

Day 9
Lucerne, Switzerland – Warth, Austria – 284.7km

Man! Another great day of riding. It’s amazing to me that we are getting day after day of good riding. I hooked back up with Mike, John and Sean to tear it up in the twisties some more before getting out of the mountains.

We had some more of the roads that I really didn’t like – that’s the ones that are about 1.25 lanes wide with a lot of blind corners. I still kept coming around them and almost got squeezed off the road a few times. Maybe I had more room than I thought, but it was pretty sketchy.

The three of us stopped several time and took plenty of pictures crossing the borders of Switzterland, Austria and through the country of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is the smallest country in Europe. Blink and you will miss it!!

We even stopped and something to drink while Mike got his camera battery charged. There were a lot of cute European hotties walking around and of course we were all geared up and smelling pretty ripe. I think I may just have to burn my jacket after this trip.

A last stop was made to try to catch the toboggan run heading into Warth, but we had wasted too much time and didn’t get to make it. So we made our own “run” by taking some photos and goofing off for a few minutes. Even here, John was still lagging behind.

We played some more on the longer route and took our time coming into Warth. It was hysterical because John was really lagging behind. He hates the twisties and high altitude passes. We gave him a pretty hard time, but the best was when he took off ahead of us so we could get some photos. We caught him pretty quick and there was a dump trunk behind him with it’s break lights on!! John was getting schooled in the twistes by a dump trunk!! You can imagine that we gave him a ton of shit about that one.

The place we stayed that night was Jager Alps and it rocked. It’s a ski resort in the middle of nowhere. Very warm and cozy with a great bar and, great atmosphere and good people. Definitely one of may favorite places on the trip. We had Jagermeister shots after the ride and Axel taught us how to do it properly. You open the bottle of Jager, put the lid on your nose and then shoot the bottle without the lid falling off your nose. I guess we looked pretty silly, but that is OK with me. You only go around once.

That evening I caught wind that some folks on the tour were unhappy with either the tour, Axel, or all of the above. I couldn’t quite figure that out because everyone that I talked with was having a most excellent time. I think there was just one or two people that are very picky and likely to complain about anything. One of the most vocal complainers was even saying how happy he was with the trip, so this was all a bit odd to me.

Ahh….open the windows….cold air….and cowbells tinkling like wind chimes all night. Not a bad way to sleep.

Day 10
Warth, Austria – Sauerlach, Geramany – 244.8 km

I suppose it would be fitting that our last day of riding would end with some rain. Still, I fell pretty fortunate that we didn’t get much and really had nice conditions for the entire trip. There was a tornado in the mountains with golf-ball sized hail, but we never saw any of it.

I was really feeling the effects of riding every day on a sportier bike. The engine vibration, the ergonomics and the miles finally took their toll and I just didn’t have it in me to push myself or the bike anymore. A really nice couple named Keith and Katy let me follow them into Sauerlach for the “ride home.”

Aside from a little bit of rain, Austria was another really pretty country. We even stopped to check out the “Disneyland” castle of Neuschwantstein. We never went inside as the tour would take over three hours.

Lunch was another fabulous picnic lunch on the shoreline of a lake. The water was a brilliant aqua color that we normally don’t see here in the U.S. You could see down about ten feet into the water before the bottom dropped out of view.

I even maxed out the BMW on the Autobahn. I got it up to somewhere around 230 ~ 240kmph (142.6 ~ 148mph) before it wouldn’t go any faster. That’s still not as fast as my Aprilia, but it’s plenty fast. Scary to think we could clip along at 160+kpmh and a Porche would blow by you like you were standing still.

It’s true that you can fly on the Autobahn, but that doesn’t mean that you can ignore the warnings and signs. You have to pass on the left, and the speed limits can dynamically change depending on the road conditions ahead. So you had to stay pretty aware and alert lest ye be taken out by someone else. It’s too bad that in the U.S. we couldn’t have a highway system like this because it made getting between cities really fast. The U.S. drivers would kill each other on it and I’m not sure the legal system could handle all the lawsuits that would erupt.

Dinner was nice and we all had some time to say our goodbyes with some last few drinks at the bar. Several of us plan on staying in touch and riding together when we can. I even have a hook up in Austria for skiing and boarding, now. Maybe next year.

Would I do it all again? You bet!!!

Day 11 & 12 – The Trip Home

Well, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings….or so they say. She definitely was not singing for me yesterday. We got up early to make our flights out of Germany. Our in-bound flight was delayed out of Canada due to thunderstorms. Knowing that the pilots could make time up in the air those of us that had a four hour layover we weren’t very concerned . Then we get on our plane and it gets delayed due to storms in Germany. Not much you can do about the weather, but now we are questioning whether or not we’ll make it on time.

After 10 hours on the flight, they parked us on the tarmac and wouldn’t let us off the plane because there weren’t any gates available. We finally get in only to find that ALL of the flights have been cancelled….supposedly due to weather.

Now as most of you know I travel quite a bit. And I am certainly empathetic to weather delays. But why were ALL the flights cancelled so early in the afternoon? If the weather was so bad, why wasn’t Air Canada getting extra flights ready to go and getting some additional agents at the airport to help everyone?

I was on hold for over 20 minutes to finally find out I couldn’t get home until July 1st….roughly 2.5 days out. Unbelievable. No apologies, no assistance with hotels or anything just a nice “do you want the flight or not?”

So I took it and tried to find alternate ways home. I finally got into the hotel in Canada about 1:00am after traveling for 20-some-odd hours. I was beat. So what happens? Tex, a guy that was part of our group and on the same flights, gets a flight out 1st thing in the A.M.!!!!! I called Air Canada back only to hear the “it was luck of the draw” bullshit and then I started calling them every hour until they got me setup on a 6:45pm flight back to DFW. Now I am in the airport typing this and my flight is yet again delayed.

In all of this time not ONE time has an Air Canada agent apologized for the inconvenience (even after telling them this), offered a meal voucher or anything. I have heard this is not unusual for this airline. My advice to you is to avoid them like that neighbor that always borrows tools and never returns them. Avoid them like the barfly chick you see every weekend and mysteriously always seems to have a cold sore. Avoid them at all cost. I will have to write a letter to them when I get home (if I ever make it) and see what, if anything, they will offer up to compensate for the hassles.

Seeing as how I had to kill time in Canada, I slept in very late and then went to the Lose Moose (what a great name) for a beer and some lunch. The FILA World Cup was on and the bar was packed at 11:30am. I didn’t know the Canadians were so into football / soccer, but that is cool.

As I said, here I sit….at the airport….killing time and drinking beer while waiting to see if my flight is ever going to leave. Wish me luck!

Made it back!!!

Well I am finally home. My last three hours to get home took over thirty thanks to the ineptitude of Air Canada. So I got in early this morning instead of early last night. It was about 1:30am by the time I got here and about 2:00am by the time I crawled in bed. Heck, my friends didn't even pick me up from the airport and I still couldn't make it home before the next day. My body is all screwed up with regards to time.

Anyway, I am working on the pics and all of that and will be uploading it all over the next day or so. Stay tuned.

T-Minus ONE Day!!!

Well, it's finally here. After all the planning, scheming, and large sums of cash it is my last day before I leave to go flog a foreign bike in a foreign country, drink some good German beer, see some beautiful countryside, eat some good food, make some new friends and check out some hot chickie babes.

I had started to realize how burned out on work I was when I finally had a "normal" week. It was the first "normal" week I had in about a year. I haven't really taken a good vacation in about four or five years. It's been seven years since I have been overseas. Things have changed a lot since then. The world has moved on. I have moved on. But I am still looking forward to it.

So I've got my money (both traveler's checks and cash), my passport, and my bags all packed up. If it wasn't for my bike gear I think I could get away with one backpack, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I do have a few disappointments:
I won't be here to spend time with my dad on Father's Day (tomorrow). HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you dad's out there, including mine!
and
none of my friends are able to go with me on this particular adventure.

But....like I said, I'll be taking along several of you in spirit. I've already been asked to yell out a few friend's names in the pubs in Germany. I can just see them now: "Look at that crazy American. He just yells out random names every few minutes and drinks his beer!! And what is a 'Grasshopper?'"

BTW - I don't have everyone's address for post cards. Please do NOT post them on here unless you want some crazy person to hunt you down for knowing me. If you want a post card, email me and I'll try to get one in the mail for you. I think there is a link to my personal email on here. Otherwise, keep watching the blog for pics and updates!

The Reaction To Gore's Movie

Thanks to my friend, Bling!, for sending me this link from Canada Free Press. It is a response to the new Gore film (which I still have not gotten to see, yet).

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/harris061206.htm


Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe"The Inconvenient Truth" is indeed inconvenient to alarmists

By Tom HarrisMonday, June 12, 2006

"Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth", showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives what, for many Canadians, is a surprising assessment: "Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

But surely Carter is merely part of what most people regard as a tiny cadre of "climate change skeptics" who disagree with the "vast majority of scientists" Gore cites?

No; Carter is one of hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. "Climate experts" is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore's "majority of scientists" think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

Even among that fraction, many focus their studies on the impacts of climate change; biologists, for example, who study everything from insects to polar bears to poison ivy. "While many are highly skilled researchers, they generally do not have special knowledge about the causes of global climate change," explains former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball. "They usually can tell us only about the effects of changes in the local environment where they conduct their studies."

This is highly valuable knowledge, but doesn't make them climate change cause experts, only climate impact experts.

So we have a smaller fraction.

But it becomes smaller still. Among experts who actually examine the causes of change on a global scale, many concentrate their research on designing and enhancing computer models of hypothetical futures. "These models have been consistently wrong in all their scenarios," asserts Ball. "Since modelers concede computer outputs are not "predictions" but are in fact merely scenarios, they are negligent in letting policy-makers and the public think they are actually making forecasts."

We should listen most to scientists who use real data to try to understand what nature is actually telling us about the causes and extent of global climate change. In this relatively small community, there is no consensus, despite what Gore and others would suggest.
Here is a small sample of the side of the debate we almost never hear:
Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years." Patterson asked the committee, "On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

Patterson concluded his testimony by explaining what his research and "hundreds of other studies" reveal: on all time scales, there is very good correlation between Earth's temperature and natural celestial phenomena such changes in the brightness of the Sun.

Dr. Boris Winterhalter, former marine researcher at the Geological Survey of Finland and professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, takes apart Gore's dramatic display of Antarctic glaciers collapsing into the sea. "The breaking glacier wall is a normally occurring phenomenon which is due to the normal advance of a glacier," says Winterhalter. "In Antarctica the temperature is low enough to prohibit melting of the ice front, so if the ice is grounded, it has to break off in beautiful ice cascades. If the water is deep enough icebergs will form."
Dr. Wibjörn Karlén, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, admits, "Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time. The temperature in this part of Antarctica has increased recently, probably because of a small change in the position of the low pressure systems."

But Karlén clarifies that the 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, Ball explains, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans. When Greenland and Antarctica are assessed together, "their mass balance is considered to possibly increase the sea level by 0.03 mm/year - not much of an effect," Karlén concludes.

The Antarctica has survived warm and cold events over millions of years. A meltdown is simply not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future.

Gore tells us in the film, "Starting in 1970, there was a precipitous drop-off in the amount and extent and thickness of the Arctic ice cap." This is misleading, according to Ball: "The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology."

Karlén explains that a paper published in 2003 by University of Alaska professor Igor Polyakov shows that, the region of the Arctic where rising temperature is supposedly endangering polar bears showed fluctuations since 1940 but no overall temperature rise. "For several published records it is a decrease for the last 50 years," says Karlén

Dr. Dick Morgan, former advisor to the World Meteorological Organization and climatology researcher at University of Exeter, U.K. gives the details, "There has been some decrease in ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic over the past 30 years but no melt down. The Canadian Ice Service records show that from 1971-1981 there was average, to above average, ice thickness. From 1981-1982 there was a sharp decrease of 15% but there was a quick recovery to average, to slightly above average, values from 1983-1995. A sharp drop of 30% occurred again 1996-1998 and since then there has been a steady increase to reach near normal conditions since 2001."

Concerning Gore's beliefs about worldwide warming, Morgan points out that, in addition to the cooling in the NW Atlantic, massive areas of cooling are found in the North and South Pacific Ocean; the whole of the Amazon Valley; the north coast of South America and the Caribbean; the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caucasus and Red Sea; New Zealand and even the Ganges Valley in India. Morgan explains, "Had the IPCC used the standard parameter for climate change (the 30 year average) and used an equal area projection, instead of the Mercator (which doubled the area of warming in Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic Ocean) warming and cooling would have been almost in balance."

Gore's point that 200 cities and towns in the American West set all time high temperature records is also misleading according to Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. "It is not unusual for some locations, out of the thousands of cities and towns in the U.S., to set all-time records," he says. "The actual data shows that overall, recent temperatures in the U.S. were not unusual."

Carter does not pull his punches about Gore's activism, "The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

In April sixty of the world's leading experts in the field asked Prime Minister Harper to order a thorough public review of the science of climate change, something that has never happened in Canada. Considering what's at stake - either the end of civilization, if you believe Gore, or a waste of billions of dollars, if you believe his opponents - it seems like a reasonable request.
Tom Harris is mechanical engineer and Ottawa Director of High Park Group, a public affairs and public policy company.

An Email From A Friend

Here is an email from a friend of mine. I got a good laugh out of it:


Hey you twisted fucker -

ONLY YOU could make packing bags a logistical issue~!

You a a truly pathetic GEEK !
all true....except the "pathetic" part. OK, maybe that is true. what can I say?

Are you laying out ALL of your items and "checking them off" on your SPREADSHEET ? LOL !
I do have a checklest, but no spreadsheet.

Probably... I find it hilarious how "meticolous" you can be...
I'm sure they meant meticulous. But yeah, I'm pretty anal at times.

Personally - I would have done the spreadsheet last week !
- had the load already analyzed, weighed and balanced,
- all items tagged with their spreadsheet line item marked in indelible ink
- plus an RFID tag in place for easier accounting.
That's a good thought..... but you forgot to cross reference the serial tags with the spreadsheet on a PDA / Blackberry and some asset tracking so that you would immediately know if everything was accountable.

You are carrying "bluetooth " with you - correct? You should therefore be able to cobble together a scanner with no trouble.
Nope! I do not have a bluetooth device. I am really not a gadget freak.


And WHAT ABOUT spare parts for your scooter???

We expect to see the 18 wheeler already in Europe on the ground !
MY bike is staying right here in good 'ol Hotter Than Hell Texas. I am renting a BMW. If you weren't such an old bastard you would have been able to read that already. Get with the program.


Get with it Bud !

Oh, and we do EXPECT daily updates of your travels...



Of course!

More Europe Stuff - Still Getting Ready

So my plan is to grab the maps that were sent to me, along with the tour book, and highlight my routes. Should be simple, right? WRONG!! I have already discovered that the German's do not call their towns the same thing that we do. As an example, Munich is spelled on the map as "Munchen." How am I, as an American supposed to know that? American's are horrible at geography and I am no exception to that rule.

As you can see here, I had people on the phone, my laptop out (for Google Earth), the tour book, highlighters and everything else. This was only the FIRST day in which there were no alternate routes. All the other days I have to figure out the primary as well as the alternate routes. This simple task for only the first day took me over an hour. I am going to have to get on the stick if I want to have them all done by the time I leave.

The finished product with a highlighted route.....

T-Minus 5 Days and Counting!!

Well it's almost time to go to Europe. I started the process of thinking of what I wanted to take and how to pack it quite some time ago. Today, I experimented with how to pack all of my bike gear. It didn't quite turn out the way I wanted, but I think it will work nicely. I am constrained on my trip to the chase vehicle only carrying two bags per person. I want to have a gear bag, my clothes bag, and of course....my laptop and electronics so I can stay in touch. That's three bags. But.....if I can figure out a while to put one bag into another while in between stops then I am set.

So what all is here? Try this:

Full Set of Racing Leathers
Wind Stopper Suite (leathers are perforated)
Sidi Motorcycle Boots
Winter Gloves
Summer Glovers
Rain Suit
Helmet
Secondary Textile Jacket
Penlight
Leatherman
Thermals

And that is just for riding my bike!!! I have to have far more stuff since I can't just come back to the casa and grab something if I need it. I wanted this to all go in a small bag, but due to the armor in the jacket(s) and pants it wasn't going to happen that way. So what I ended up with was cramming it all into a large hard-shell suitcase. I am thinking that when I pull the majority of the gear out, I can fit my laptop / electronics back into this and that still gets me down to two bags.

So here is the carnage from trying to figure all this out, and how it ended up. I guess I'll just have to carry my helmet on the plane. BTW - I haven't even started on my clothing and electronic stuff, yet.

I Admit it, I was Wrong....

Global Warming IS happening and is catastrophic!!! When I left Montana it was 53 degrees and raining. People were looking at me strange for wearing shorts and an athletic t-shirt. So I fly to TX through Chicago (mental note - don't ever do that again). My friends picked me up at the airport and we grab my bags. Then, the double-doors at the airport slide apart and OH MY GOD!!! It was liking walking into a blast furnace!!! The ambient temperature had cooled off to 98 degrees and it was almost 9:00 at night!!

So what do we do? Naturally we go to a bar / restaurant to get a drink and a bite to eat. The place was packed so people could watch some guys beat each others brains in (professional boxing). I could care less, but we sat outside because it was too packed to sit inside. Everyone was remarking on how "nice" it was out there? 93 degrees? Are you HIGH? My quesadilla was curling at the edges from continuing to cook on my plate. I had to suck down the beer far faster than usual to keep it from evaporating or boiling over.

Of course, we didn't stop partying until about 5:30am. Glad to know that I can count on my friends to get me home "early." Needless to say I was pretty darned worthless come Sunday. And now, I am getting into my Europe Trip Mode. Gotta start the staging process and all that. I got my new camera, so I'll be posting pics, soon!

I knew this would happen. I knew I would get too used to being in Montana and the TX summer would kill me. Thank goodness I am traveling to Europe at the end of the week. It will be nice and cool there. How did I ever stand it before?

Apparently This Thing Really is On!

I have been hearing through the grapevine that more people are reading this than I originally thought. I find that very amusing. I am glad to know that some of you out there get some sick and twisted enjoyment from it.

This is my last day in Montana until July 5th!!! I am soooooo stoked about going to Europe!!! Keep checking back for updates.

It's only 68 here, and it's 98 back in Texas. I think I am going to die.....

I Want to Go Faster Than The Speed of Light!

And this is just the bike to do it with!! It's the Kawasaki ZX-14. The fastest production sport bike made. A "gentleman's" agreement of the manufacturers limits the top speed of the bike to 186mph. Yes, that is correct....you can roll one of these off the showroom floor and hit 186mph without modifications to the bike. Quarter mile times are in the low to mid 9's. All stock, and all under $12k.

....and I want one. I don't need one. Not anymore than some women crave chocolate, but I'd really like to have one. So now I have to figure out how much of that want will be transferred to greenbacks. Even the insurance wouldn't be any more (maybe less?) than what I pay today. And, if I buy it in Montana there is no state sales tax. Give me time and I'll figure out a way to talk myself into it.

Vertical Windows vs. Horizontal Blinds

Here in Montana a lot of the architecture uses vertical crank-out windows. That is, windows that are on a vertical axis and rotate outwards. This is great, this is fine. BUT....why do people install horizontal blinds on these things? If the wind is blowing in the blinds have to be all the way up or they "clack" back and forth and make a hell of a noise. Can't open the window to let the cool air in, or I have to have the blinds all the way up. This is not conducive to me getting any real rest.

Speaking of, yes, another night of dreaming. Very odd....

When Dream and Day Unite

That is actually a title from a band called Dream Theater. They are one of my favorite bands out there today. You probably haven't heard of them because they don't write music that is conducive to radio play. It's very progressive, and a bit on the heavier side. Each member of the band is incredible on their own and combined they write very interesting music.

So why is that the title of my blog today? Well, I had a dream last night. My dream was fairly sad, but that is not what is odd. What is odd is that I rarely dream on a level that I can remember that I even had a dream. I've read that everyone dreams every night, but that you may not remember them. This is true for me. However, I have had four or five very vivid dreams over the last week. Some good, some not so good. Considering I usually only have a dream about once a month this is highly unusual. So what gives? That is the question.....

a brief word on politics......
My intentions were not to get into political and religious debates on my own blog site. I am not a political poster and there are plenty of other sites that invite a good political debate. I don't care to argue politics most of the time. Politics, like religion, can ruin a good relationship and I find it very difficult to have a discussion with people without someone getting emotional. That doesn't mean that I think we shouldn't talk about it or try to ignore it.
Want to argue some politics? Here is my dad's blog, he's far more right-wing and conservative than I am but we do tend to agree on quite a few things:
http://politicalangstinamerica.blogspot.com

Hi There!! My Feet are Green!

While that doesn't quite have the same impact as being in an elevator with a complete stranger and turning to them with a big grin on your face an announcing that you have on new socks, it probably got your attention!

Yes, my feet are green. I mowed the yard this morning with sandals on and the chlorophyll turned my toes and the bottoms of my feet green. I was industrious this morning. Yesterday I was at Home Depot grabbing a small item and there were people loading up their vehicles with all manners of tools, lumber, yard stuff, etc. I suddenly realized how much I miss working on my own house. Of course I complained about mowing the yard from time to time and all that, but now I miss not having those little things to fill my day up.

So this morning I got up and stained the back deck. Then I mowed and edged the yard (I don't think it has ever been edged). Now I feel better at least.

What to do with the rest of the day? I feel a big nap coming on....

Burning a Hole in My Boxers.....

Ok folks, I just couldn't resist any longer. I know that I already made two lengthy posts today but here is another one for you.

Gore is releasing his new film and it focuses on Global Warming. I saw the trailer for this at the movie theater and noticed that even in the trailer there are multiple inaccuracies and outright lies. Now, if you believe in Global Warming then good for you. Some people on drugs believe that they can fly but that doesn't keep them out of the hospital after a 3rd floor leap off the balcony.

What I don't believe in is Global Warming as an event that is happening. I don't believe in using this as a fear tactic, or for political leverage, but that is happening. I DO believe that our climate is changing. I also believe that mankind has the potential to have a profound impact on our environment and that we should study this more closely. Becoming aware of how we impact our environment is not a bad thing. If you can admit that you believe in Global Warming, but don't know any of the science to back it up then you are one step closer to not being a "sheeple."

Credible scientist are aware that we cannot possibly and accurately predict climate change and what impact it has on our environment. Remember the predictions of Gore and his team during the time of the Kyoto Treaty? Does it surprise you to look back on that and realize that none of those predictions came true?

Read on if you dare...... here are the things you will not hear about from people that advocate Global Warming.

Myth 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate.

Fact: For the atmosphere as a whole, accurate satellite, balloon and long-term mountain top measurements have observed no increase at all.

Average ground station readings show a mild warming over the last 100 years, but well within the natural variations recorded in the last millennium. Further, the majority of stations are located in growing urban and industrial areas ("heat islands") which show substantially higher readings than adjacent rural areas ("land use effects").

To further emphasize this the city of NY has increased in temperature (though surprisingly very little) while Syracuse the temperature has decreased. They are only about 200 miles apart.

Myth 2: The “hockey stick” graph proves that the earth has experienced a steady, very gradual temperature increase for 1000 years, then recently began a sudden increase.

Fact: Significant changes in climate have continually occurred throughout geologic time. For instance, the Medieval Warm Period, from around 100to 120000 AD (when the Vikings farmed on Greenland) was followed by a period known as the Little Ice Age. Since the end of the 17th Century the "average" global temperature has been rising at a rate of 0.6 to 0.8 degrees Celsius per 100 years; although from 1940 – 1970 temperatures actually dropped, leading to a Global Cooling scare. The hockey stick not only ignores historical fact, but is also scientifically flawed. The guy who wrote the algorithm admittedly injected information to skew the data.

Myth 3: Human produced carbon dioxide has increased over the last 100 years, adding to the Greenhouse effect, thus warming the earth.

Fact: Carbon dioxide levels have indeed changed for various reasons, human and otherwise, just as they have throughout geologic time. The CO2 increase was only 0.4% over the last 50 years, rather than the 5% per 100 years quoted by Kyoto. However, as measured in ice cores dated over many thousands of years, CO2 levels move up and down AFTER the temperature has done so, and thus are the RESULT OF, NOT THE CAUSE of warming. Geological field work in recent sediments confirms this. There is solid evidence that as temperatures rise naturally and cyclically, the earth naturally produces more CO2 as a result.

Myth 4: CO2 is the most common greenhouse gas.

Fact: Water vapor or clouds, which makes up on average about 3 % of the atmosphere, is the major greenhouse gas. CO2 makes up only about 3% of the greenhouse gases, or about 0.03% of the atmosphere. Moreover, because of its molecular weight and absorptive capacity, water vapor is 3000 times more effective than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. Those attributing climate change to CO2 rarely mention this important fact.

Myth 5: Computer models verify that CO2 increases will cause significant global warming.

Fact: Unfortunately, computer models predicting global warming are incapable of including the effects of the sun and the clouds. Further, the main cause of temperature variation is the sun. Its radiation changes all the time, partly in cyclical fashion. The number of sunspots can be correlated very closely with average temperatures on earth, e.g. the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period. Varying intensity of solar heat radiation affects the surface temperature of the oceans and the currents. Warmer ocean water expels gases, some of which is CO2.

Myth 6: The UN proved that man–made CO2 causes global warming.

Fact: In a 1996 report by the UN on global warming, two statements were deleted from the final draft. Here they are:

1. “None of the studies cited above has shown clear evidence that we can attribute the observed climate changes to increases in greenhouse gases.”
2. “No study to date has positively attributed all or part of the climate change to ………..man–made causes”

Myth 7: CO2 is a pollutant.

Fact: This is absolutely not true. In fact, CO2 is essential to life on earth. It is necessary for plant growth and its intake causes many trees and other plants to grow more vigorously.

Myth 8: Global warming will cause more storms and other weather extremes.

Fact: There is no scientific or statistical evidence whatsoever that supports such claims Growing insurance and infrastructure repair costs, particularly in coastal areas, are sometimes claimed to be the result of increasing frequency and severity of storms, whereas in reality they are a function of increasing population density and escalating development value.

Myth 9: Receding glaciers and the calving of ice shelves are proof of global warming.

Fact: Glaciers have been receding for hundreds of years; thatÂ’s because we are still coming out of the very cool period of the Little Ice Age. Ice shelves have been breaking off for centuries. Scientists know of at least 33 periods of glaciers growing and then retreating. ItÂ’s normal.

Myth 10: The earth’s poles are warming; polar ice caps are breaking up and melting and the sea level rising.

Fact: The earth is variable. The western Arctic may be getting somewhat warmer, but the eastern Arctic and Greenland are getting colder. The small Palmer Peninsula of Antarctica is getting warmer, while the main Antarctic continent is actually cooling.

So now I am done for the day. I think I have posted enough. I hope that you are enlightened and will go find the answers for yourself.

To My Friends.....

Most of the people that should read this probably never will. Who are my friends? I am not talking about about aquaintences, or people I just hang out with every now and then. I am referring to my true friends, some of whom are no longer around to talk to. How do you know if you are that person? You just know....without having to be told.

My friends are the ones that:

• i have laughed with
• i have cried with
• gotten completely hosed with
• looked at the stars and questioned life and the rest of mankinds existence in the universe
• kicked my ass when I needed it (and sometimes when I didn't)
• pushed my buttons to see how far they could take it before I lost it
• were there for me when I really needed it
• ran from the cops with
• got me in trouble just to see me squirm
• put up with my idosyncronies
• put up with my sometimes unfounded emotional behavior
• listened to me when I thought they should hear something
• ...continued to listen to me even though they thought I was full of crap
• embarrassed the crap out of me if they could get away with it
• challenged me intellectualy
• challenged me phsyicaly
• challenged me competitively
• challenged me emotionaly
• challenged me spiritiualy
• acted like little kids with regardless of who else was around to see it
• laughed at me when I acted like a fool or did something stupid - hopefully I was laughing too!
• shared their thoughts and feeling with me
• asked me for my advice or opinion - and sometimes even followed it
• and on...and on...and on.

In any case, like I said....you just know without having to be told. Should I ever depart this earth unexpectedly just know that I loved you and appreciated you (and no I am not gay!!! only a friend would give me shit about that).

You'll Love It!
It Looks Just Like A Telefunken U47!

Is this thing on? Is anyone listening? That's the one thing I don't like about this site. Unlike other web portals, there is no way to tell if people are actually visiting and reading what you have going on. Not that I really care, I'll blab away regardless....but curiosity did kill the cat, after all. And speaking of, if your are a curious type person please check this out!

In the last week I have been chastised by two different women on my approach to women. Not that I said anything nearly as derogatory as when I had a conversation at a bar with a chick and she said you really shouldn't call women "chicks." OK, fine. When I was relaying that story to a friend's girlfriend she laughed and asked me who said this....."some chick," I replied. And if you find that offensive, then you might not ever want to ask me my opinion on anything.....

Irregardless of that, I was told that I was entirely too logical in dealing with women. Does that sound a bit off? Is that to imply that women are not logical? So what if you know women that are definitively logical?

One person actually told me I should get drunk, make my move, and if it didn't work out then I could fall back to blaming the alcohol. As much as I like the idea, it just isn't quite my style. The worst thing for me is for other females to tell me things like:

• you should be rolling it
• you are a great guy
• you are good looking
• you should be able to get just about any woman you want
• etc.

Really? My, my, how I find that highly amusing and extremely frustrating. I don't want to hear that. Why does it irritate me? Because if any of it were true I would be exploring far more meaningful relationships than those with my guitar.

Admittedly I don't ask a lot of women out. I don't like rejection and it seems that more often than not that is what happens. I also don't play games, and I think this is the single largest problem. I speak my mind, when asked or provoked, and I refuse to fall into any of the following games (life is too short):

• any type of relationship based on how much I make or social status.
• women that think they hold all the power because they have something between their legs that makes them special.
• any psychological games that involve proving who is in control.

I have often been told I am unapproachable. WTF does that mean? How am I unapproachable? I'll talk to just about anyone on just about any subject (though I do tend to shy away from politics and religion as a general rule of thumb). When asked why people say that I never get a good answer.

And let's not even get into the whole traveling / where the hell do I really live type thing. That is a complete mess.

This could go on for a while, but in reality I am just ranting a bit.....

Moving Through It....

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. As you could tell from the previous post it was rainy and cold in Bozeman so I am glad that I ended up in Denver. The weather was beautiful and company was great. I can't say that we actually did a whole lot except hang out in the park and go check out a fair in Boulder. That was all we needed though. I even did a bungee trampoline thingie.

My friend's aunt is a very spiritual and holistic person. She is a very creative and well read person as well. We had some very good conversations and she even gave me a tune-up on my energy fields. A very interesting process in and of itself.

Lately, I have been really getting into some lyrics by a band called Cross Canadian Ragweed. I still think Gordon Downie from The Tragically Hip has the best lyrics of modern rock bands, but there is a song that I find some of the lyrics hitting particularly close to home.

From Cross Canadian Ragweed

"Breakdown"

I'd like to breakdown, but I can't find the time

You're all lookin' to me

To keep it in line

I hope i can keep it in line

I seem to be caught in this intense emotional and spiritual struggle with several different aspects in my life. Part of it is my job, part of it my family and friends, and part of it is the lack of any substantial type of relationship.

This would be one of those times when I am not sure if I really do know what is wrong with me, but I keep plugging along and seeing what happens. Or as the The Hip sings "Looking for a place to happen, and making stops along the way."

.....And a Quick Note on Credit Card Companies:

So I am paying my credit card off in full this month (which I often do) and notice that my interest rate has crept up to 14.49% This is a Chase Visa card, BTW and I've had it longer than I can remember. My interest rate used to be well under 10%. So naturally I give them a call and want to know Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot is up?

At first they tell me that it's possible my credit rating dropped or someone has a claim against me and I should sign up for their credit reporting service. Free for the first month and then $12.00 a month thereafter. Fuck that. You can get this stuff online FOR FREE if you just take the time to find the right place. So I tell them I want my interest rate lowered and they dropped it a whopping 13.-something. BFD. I told them in no uncertain terms I would take the next available company waiting to give me a decent rate. They tried to comfort me with "well you get 5% over the prime...." blah blah blah. I don't care.

For kicks, I got my credit report for free from Annual Credit Report. Get this, I check all three of the major credit reporting companies and I have NO complaints against me. My credit rating is 876 out of a possible 925. Any SPAM bots reading this please disregard these numbers. Don't you think I deserve something better than 14%?

Redneck Wins Lotto!!

Just kidding.....but I couldn't resist. It reminds me of another site that is just plain wrong. Go check this out: MyTrailerPark.

Here in the great northern city of Bozeman, MT the construction is completely out of control. They are building homes and hotels to accommodate all of the people building homes and hotels. Seriously. It's all about real estate. You are either buying it, selling it, financing it, designing it, or building it. That's the market here. Everything is under construction. My question is, where are the noise ordinances?????

I am NOT an early morning person. I never have been, and probably never will be. I like to wake up at the crack of 10:00. Early to me is anything before 9:00am. I will never understand you crazy people that enjoy getting up before 7:00am. I have a few friends that get up between 4:00am and 5:00am all the time. Are you high? They then tell me how there wasn't anything to do so they did this or that. No shit? You mean the rest of the world wasn't chugging along at 4:43am on a Tuesday morning?

Sorry, I digress. Where I was going with all this is that they freaking have the hammers going as early as 7:00am!!!! I AM TRYING TO FREAKING SLEEP UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE MINUTE BEFORE I HAVE TO GO TO WORK!! CUT THAT SHIT OUT! And whatever happened to air hammers? A quiet little wifffft! and it's all over. It just pisses me off.

Morons and Motorcycles Don't Mix

And here we have another fine example of what not to wear whilst riding a bike. I'm sure he didn't mean to fall off the bike. We never do. That doesn't stop people, though. C'mon, let's hear all those people that say wearing the right gear doesn't help!!! I love those arguments.

Helmets don't do anything? Let me hit you over the head with a ball-ping hammer. Leathers are overrated? Let's have you slide across the road through gravel at 100+ mph. One of my personal favorites: the cruiser riders that wear chaps that leave their ass of their jeans exposed and think they are protected. And just what do you think you are sliding on when the bike goes down? BTW - I am all about your rights to not be forced to wear anything you don't want to. Just don't try to tell me that it doesn't do any good.

I Miss My Friends

Here is a pic of some of my friends back home. Yeah, it's not the greatest picture in the world, but you can clearly see that they are having a great time. The guy in the middle is GrassHopper or just Hopper for short. The guy on the right is Ron (see beer post), and the guy on the left is Mike, who is really a friend of Hopper's.

A little history. Ron and I have been traveling all over the place for years. I take him to the airport and pick him up, and he does the same for me if he's in town. Traditionaly, I am not allowed to go home after being picked up from the airport. It doesn't matter if I get in at 11:00pm or 2:30pm. I do not get to go home until the next day. The last time they picked me up it was a 13 hour binge across the metroplex. If I tell Ron to get me home early because I am tired he gets me in about 3:00am. Yeah, I guess that counts as early. And people wonder why I am wiped out.

Here is a pic of Hopper jamming at a bar. He is playing harmonica (harp). I really miss that. I play guitar, or rather I used to play guitar. I still pick from time to time, but not like I used to. We used to jam all the time. At least he is still out there doing his thing.

And yes....he's completely, totally, insane.

Memorial Day

Last but not least, I am heading to Denver this weekend for Memorial Day. I am heading down with a friend of mine that doesn't want to make the 10-hour drive alone. I can't blame her, and I've got nothing better to do around here. The weather here is supposed to be kind of crummy. Denver should be nice. I've got a couple of friends there, too.

Please, while you are stuffing your face with hot dogs and sucking down a cold one, take a moment to honor, respect, and think about all of the men and women that have sacrificed their lives so you can deep-fry your twinkies and have freedom of speech and religion.

What is it with Target and Pregnant Women?

Even though my family, friends, house and toys are all in Texas I have effectively been living in Montana for about a year and a half. Now, Montana is not exactly known for being a diverse state when it comes to race. If I remember correctly, the last census here pegged Caucasians (read that as whites, crackers, or white-bread folk) at 96+ % for the entire state!! And while we can argue all day long about why that is, the bottom line is that you just don't see a lot of people of other ethnicity around here.

Why the background? Because white people aren't procreating (i.e. read this as breeding) at the same rates as minorities are. Statistically speaking, our population increase in the U.S. is predominantly due to two things:
1 - illegal immigration into the U.S. (and it's not just Mexicans)
2 - mass breeding of minorities.

So that means that you have a very small percentage of crackers (i.e. white folk) out there having kids compared to other ethnicities. Now, take all that and figure I am in a state that has roughly 1 million people in it (and not even that at the time of the census). Then I am at Target buying an Aerobie and I am being checked out by another pregnant cashier. I then started to think of the last time I checked out at Target and the girl wasn't pregnant and I couldn't remember. So I start looking around. Three of the five girls that I can see at the front are pregnant. To me, that's an astounding number of pregnant women in one place, at one retail chain, in a low population area and they were all white.

Speculation? Best Guess? I just thought it was odd.....
and by the way, does anyone else not see the irony in this book?

So now it's time to sit back, relax after a day of work and enjoy a beverage. For those of you who don't know me, a beverage is something with alcohol in it....anything else is just a drink. If you are still confused, go watch The Big Lebowski and come back.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Yes, I know I just posted yesterday..... but I had my first bear encounter today. Well, OK...it wasn't really an encounter. I saw a bear today. A real live one. Not behind a cage, not over a concrete barrier.

I was doing some work up at Moonlight Basin Ski Area. We were in an alpine neighborhood up on an elevated ridge line when we were looking down at some of the other houses. Then, walking down the street like it was no big deal

was a black bear. Was it huge? To me, it was huge. It might not really have been that big as far as bears go but I would not have wanted to get up close and personal with it if you know what I mean.

Sorry, but I don't have a picture of the bear. My camera was not ready and I was a bit surprised to see it in the first place. The bear, oblivious to us (or maybe it just didn't care) sauntered off around the bend in the road where we could no longer see it.

About that time we all remember that one of our partners in crime is in the area below us taking readings for the project. What this means is that he has a fluke meter and is intently studying the device and not paying attention to his surroundings. Imagine walking while reading a book.

So he answers the phone and I say "I don't know where you are, but start making a lot of noise and head back towards the car." He responds, "Yeah! Thanks man, I just saw a bear!" And naturally I had forgotten that I drove the car off and left him down there. Oopsie!

He later told me that was taking his readings and finally looked up only to be looking right at the bear! From his indications he was only about 60 ~ 80 feet from where the bear was and it was looking right at him! Fortunately, they both turned in opposite directions and walked off.

I just thought that was very cool and had to write something about it.

Also, the rivers are running high right now due to all the snow run off. I'm not sure what the volume is, but here is a quick pick of a massive rock in the Gallatin River on the way up to big sky. I'm sorry I couldn't provide a very good perspective with a frame of reference, but this rock is easily bigger than any car or SUV that you or I could own. These pictures are of the same rock.

Tidbits from the edge.....

Man Drinks More Beer than Budda and Ron!!

Budda is my nextdoor neighbor back home in TX. He is a serious beer drinking, but he likes his whiskey, too. I don't even try to keep up, there is no way I can do that. Ron is one of my best friends. He's completely crazy and puts away more beer than most people I know. However, there may be a guy who beats them both!!!

In an article that was forwarded to me by Bling! (another friend of mine) a property manager discovered a real mess apparently upon receipt of a complaint. The man who had lived there (unnamed) put away an astonishing 70,000 cans of Coors Light. Figure that's 24 beers a day, 365 days a year for 8 years straight!!

Click on the pic below for the actual article....

And the Cheap Bastard Award Goes To:

....my friend Nils. I'm a pretty serious cheap bastard. Not that I don't spend money. But I try to be careful with how I spend it. If I can get away with spending less to acomplish the same thing, I genearaly will! So last month I am in town and there is a speed trap setup on I-20 near Nils' house. I give him a ring to let him know about it so he won't get a ticket on the way in. He tells me "I don't have to worry about it. I drive the speed limit because it costs less money." What? Are you serious? Yup. That's Nils. Cheap to the extreme.

Other Stuff

Well I submitted a contract proposal to my company to ensure my employment so that I can move to Montana. I haven't heard anything back as of yet, so I don't know where that is. They want me to move up here and I want a guarantee of employment to do so. Very expensive up here, mostly due to real estate which is about 2.5 times that of Texas.

Euro Trip Notes Pt 2.

I still haven't made it to Europe, yet. But I did get my information pack in the mail today. I was so excited that I am not even going to go hike or anything. I had to start checking it out immediately!!!

It's got a bunch of stuff in there including a booklet that explains each day / leg of the tour that is complete with route information (one for a casual route and a longer one for sport riders!), highlights of the towns, some common English-to-German translations, where we are staying and all that good stuff. It even includes space for a diary, but I will be making an effort to record that info here so that people can read it. I read day-1 and had to put it down for a bit due to be overwhelmed.

Also included in the pack is a map for each the various countries and regions, some custom luggage tags to help identify our gear that we will be traveling with, a list of other riders (22 in the group), and a placard of road signs and their meanings.

All in all it's a LOT of information. I need to keep digging through it to absorb it all. Part of me is very excited about it. A small part of me (the analytical / anal side) is thinking about all this information and how to process it. Then there is the adventurous side that is saying "Fuck it...you don't need to read all that!! Just go for it!" Yeah, that's the side that gets me in trouble all the time.

26 days and counting!!

A brief political rant....

I'm not nearly as in to politics as some people. In fact, most of the times I'd prefer to stay out of a heated political discussion. But I also believe that complacency and apathy are far worse than getting involved and making a few wrong decisions or formulating some bad opinions. Ok, perhaps straight party voting is worse. I can't stand people that vote a party line and have NO CLUE what is going on.

I am definite an independent when it comes to politics. While I think some liberalism is a healthy thing I don't agree with the ideology when it ignores facts, is illogical, and is more harmful to society than the purported benefit. I also don't buy into conservatism when they are trying to shove their religious ideas down everyone's throat. Basically, I am too conservative for the liberals and too liberal for the conservatives. I hate politicians that play political lines as opposed to having some balls and taking an affirmative stand.

If you have forgotten about 9/11 then you should be ashamed. If you believe that "they" will leave us alone, you are a fool. And if you agree with the libs, democrats, media and terrorists that our country sucks you should leave.

Here we have some "peaceful" Muslim / Moslim (what's the problem? can't figure out how to spell it? same thing for the Quoran) protestors. I guess they are peaceful because they aren't killing someone.

How this is not considered a direct threat and act of war I have no idea. I guess I am too conservative.

Last, but not least, I'd like to say thanks to all those men and women out there fighting for us. Here is something you can do if you' like to say thanks as well!

How big is too big??

That was the question I had yesterday as we set out to play horse shoes at the park. I wasn't in a beer drinking mood, but a jack and coke sounded tasty. The only problem is that I didn't have any thermally insulated mugs - all mine are back home in TX. So my friend and I decided to hit the convenience store and buy a couple. When we got there, the "normal" sized mugs were about $5.00 ea. But these puppies were only $1.79 each, and included the first fill-up.

For those of you who enjoy these sized mugs for your morning coffee - thank you for supporting the other gross national product of Columbia, and it's not the monitor that is out of synch and shaking, it's you....ok?

So we filled 'em up with coke and ice before proceeding to pour about a 1/2-liter of JD into each one. We were all set to throw shoes. We played for about 4 hours and of course we had to play two other guys that were drunk and talking smack. They accused us of having the advantage since we "weren't drinking."

It was a beautiful and warm day yesterday as well as today. In fact, it is warmer here than back home in TX. That doesn't happen too often, but fortunately for us up here it will be a very rare thing to get near the century mark. I don't miss that about being back home at all.

When I was flying back from Seattle I was letting my thoughts drift on the plane. Or rather, I was on the plane and my thoughts were drifting. There is an amazing amount of diversity in our landscape here. It can be quite beautiful or quite dull depending on what you are looking at. I then thought of the Buddhist monks that climb the mountain peaks and dedicate their lives to finding peace. Maybe that really is the meaning of life, that your question is wrong and it's really finding inner peace that is what this is all about. At least until you hit an air pocket or see oil leaking from the engine cowling.

And finally, I actually had a decent day at work today. Yes I still had quite a few things on my plate and yes I still had to try to get it all done, but it just wasn't ripe with chaos and I was able to accomplish most of my goals that I set out to do this morning. Usually it's getting slammed with one request after another and I don't get to finish one thing before I am on to something else. I don't think I have ever been this stressed out and disorganized in my whole life. Having more time to work at a decent pace would certainly help.

Almost forgot the last thing - is it just Murphy's law? Why is it that the smoke detector always runs out of battery juice in the middle of the night? We moved into a new house here in Bozeman and it was my first or second night in it. Sure enough, 2:05am - chirp. WTF? chirp Rats!! chirp Maybe I can sleep through it.... chirp Do we even have any batteries? chirp Do we even have a ladder? chirp Maybe I'll just go sleep on the couch.... chirp

Happy Mother's Day!!

I am too tired to write much today but I wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all those mom's out there. Especially my own, who I was unable to see today because I am out of town.

Ever Have One Of Those Days?


This morning started out early by my standards. I hate getting up early. I loathe it, in fact. And I especially hate my alarm clock going off. Even if I am already up, I'll hit the snooze about 20-million times because something in my brain says I have to be rebellious and that I am showing "the establishment" who is boss by not getting out of bed. And so I reach across my night stand to hit the snooze and spill a perfectly full glass of water all over the place.
Bad Day = 1, me = 0

But....I make it to the airport and manage to get on the plane without too much trouble. Now, look, I don't care what country you are from but most people shower in the morning here in the good 'ol U.S. of A. Not so on the cramped fuselage of the aircraft. I was lucky enough to have some really stinky eastern-looking guy in front of me. I wasn't the only one who noticed, either. This guy was rank. ick.
Bad Day = 2, me = 0

Fortunately the flight went OK and I was able to get my car. Now, I couldn't actually check into my hotel because the guy wasn't there. What? What do you mean "the guy?" Lobby? Front Desk? HELLO? Nope, nada.... come back at 3:00pm. Ok, Fine.
So I go to downtown Seattle and hang out on the pier for a bit. Have a great lunch at Ivar's. Then hit the Seattle Aquarium. It is a most awesome aquarium and has a lot of good exhibits and education on Puget Sound. I highly recommend going if you have an opportunity.
Bad Day = 2, me =1

Then I can't find the stinking parking garage and end up walking all over the place to find the car. I finally make it back over towards the hotel and find a parking space. Did I forget to mention that the hotel has NO parking? Not a lot, not a garage, nothing. You get to park on the public street and pay the meter. And of course, it's right on the college campus. Good luck.
So I start calling "the guy" to get let in so that I can check in. He's late. I'm really beginning to wonder about this place.

I finally get inside and get my key to my room and the front door. Then I check out the room on the 3rd floor. No radio. No TV. No AC / Heater. NO FREAKING BATHROOM!! That's right folks, it's a European 3rd world style hotel with a shared bathroom for the whole floor. That was it. I lost it. I called Orbitz and told them no way Jose. Give me my money back and find me a different place. Fortunately, they were very accommodating.
Bad Day = 3, me = 1

So now I drive to the new hotel. It's substantially farther away due to being cheap. I'm just trying to save the company a buck. In any case I get there and there is no record of my reservation. An hour or so later we finally get Orbitz on the phone and they straighten the whole thing out. Great. I finally get a room and get to put my bags down at about 5:30pm. Considering my flight left at 8:05am I'd say that kind of bites the big one.
Bad Day = 4, me = 1

To top the whole day off, the client that I am out here to train calls me last minute and makes the third or fourth change to the schedule and what they want done. Now I have to teach Thursday 1/2-day and all day on Friday. So now, not only do I not have enough material developed, I don't even have the right kind of material developed. Oh well, not my fault but I'll try to make it work out. I can't say I am looking forward to it, though.
Bad Day = 5, me =1

I'm going to bed.....going to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a new day, and you never know....it may turn out better than expected.

A Quick Word about the Word on Immigrants and Illegal Aliens

For all those people who keep sending me the emails about how many illegal aliens are over here, or how terrible / good they have it, and how bad it is in Mexico, and how it's a double standard, and on...and on...and on....

PLEASE!! Keep them coming. I like to know what is going on. Forward them to everyone on your email list so that they keep circulating around the internet. Make sure your dog's previous owner's best friends sister gets a copy of it. But whatever you do, do NOT take the time to actually write your representatives and let them know how you feel.

...From the Land of Ice and Snow

Would you believe it? I was in Texas yesterday at home, and the temps were fairly warm. I just saw it is currently 94 there today. I went over to my friend Margot's last night to start working on my contract and watch a movie (thanks Margot, if you are reading this). She tells me that the temperature was going to drop into the 20's here in Bozeman. Well, when I got up this morning it was only 32 and snowing.

So what is it with people that wear shorts and a big fluffy jacket? I'm not talking about someone on a jog or a hike that is wearing something to break the wind a little bit. I'm talking about someone that is dressed like that for the day. Look man, if you are cold then get rid of the flip-flops and shorts and go put on some freaking pants. You don't look cool, you look like a moron that doesn't know how to dress themselves. Yeah, yeah....I know....I am sure I will offend someone with this, but as most of my friends know I am prone to having strong opinions.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to flying around and having bizarre temperature swings. At least the traveling went well....if not a little boring. But that's how I've gotten to like it. My friend, Ron, and I both travel quite a bit. We always call each other with horror stories of a bad flight and give each other a hard time about it. Now, if it's boring, I'm quite content with that. Bouncing through the clouds and plummeting 500 feet on a jet liner while traveling at 400+ mph is not exactly my idea of fun, but it gets you there even if there isn't a good story to tell afterwards.

So my dad is an aerospace engineer. One of my best friends is a mechanical engineer and his fiancee' is an aerospace engineer (they both work on the new Boeing 7e7). Needless to say, I know far more about airplanes than I ever wanted to know. I could calculate the surface area needed on a wing to give it lift when I was about 8 years old (thanks dad!). So my friend's are always telling me their horror stories on airliner design and engineering. We call these "tin file" stories. I get them back, though. I send them "worm file" stories. Let's just say that you better have a strong constitution if you read them. All those noises you hear on an airplane? You don't want to know what they are.....

So onward to Seattle for a few days..... Hopefully I get some good chow while I am out there. I love seafood and there are plenty of clams, mussels and oysters to scarf down.

Stay warm, stay dry....and try not to crash into anything while being contained in an aluminum tube.

Euro Trip Notes Pt. 1

OK, I am not actually IN Europe as of yet but since I am getting ready to go I thought it would be as good of a time as any to catch up on my blog and start posting about the trip.

As any of you reading this can tell, I am not the best at keeping up with my blog site. Mainly because I just don't have time and am so completely drained at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is make any effort to activate more cerebral thought processes.

All of that aside, I am taking a trip to Europe next month on a bike (motorcycle). I'm going by myself, but will be hooking up with a tour group when I get over there. It's disappointing that none of my friends can go with me, but if I keep waiting I'll be 50 and still saying "Yeah, I plan on going to Europe on the bike." No time like the present! Besides, I really need a vacation....

The tour company is called Edelweiss Bike Travel. I have never done this before but some of the bike rags I read have commented on their tours on several occasions. If I like it, I'll try to do one every other year. Here is the link for the company and the tour I am taking: http://www.edelweissbike.com/tours/E/CONTINENTS/EUROPE/Best-of-Europe

It will cover Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France!!! I picked out a BMW R 1200 ST, which I figured is about as close to my bike I could get with a BMW. For another $500 I could have rode the new BMW 'Busa Hunter (K 1200 S), but my trip expenditures are adding up rapidly and I needed to cut costs.

Which made this week particularly rough and expensive! First off, I had to come home from Montana and try to juggle work and prepping for Europe. That was a bit of a nightmare and very stressful due to work B.S. I bought a new RS Taichi leather riding / track-day suit. Think of the Power Rangers. It's an all-leather, perforated, two-piece suit that is full of armor. It's made for riding on the track and doesn't have any pockets. But, because it's a two-piece, I can wear just the pants with one of my other jackets that has pockets. By the time I got that, plus an inner wind-stopper liner (perforated, remember?), and some do-dads for my helmet I was in for another $1000 stroke. Ick.

Then, of course, I had to get a new digital camera. Fortunately, my folks are helping me out on that one for my B-Day, which was a while back. I ended up going with a Canon SD600. The thing that really impressed me about this camera was how fast it is to focus and take a picture. It's also very light and compact. Of course, that meant buying more stuff - like an ultra-fast 1gig memory card and an extra battery.

Let's also not forget that to power all this stuff I had to buy a new power converter for all my stuff (laptop, camera, etc.). But now, I think I just about have everything. A little extra medical insurance for my trip is the last thing on my list and then I am ready to go.

I will try to post updates daily while I am in Europe, but that will depend on:
a) how tired I am at the end of a daily bike flog
b) if I can get online
and
c) how good the women and beer are over there

More to Come!