Funny Story

I got to thinking about my blog about tattoos, and it reminded me of a funny story. We were on a cruise four or five years ago. My wife a several other couples went on the "Hogs on the High Seas" cruise. On this cruise, half the ship is reserved by members of the motorcycle community. Thus the name. The problem with this is, that when the other passengers book their half of the ship, they are not informed of this.

On every cruise, a couple of times during the week they have formal night. This is where the normal passengers dress in formal attire ( tuxedos and ball gowns). You guessed it; the bikers wear leather. We were in the elevator on the way down to our six p.m. dinner seating, fully adorned in our (formal) leathers, when the door opens ,and on steps two tiny, little, older ladies. They were scared to death. Lord knows what they were thinking. They were whispering to each other about the terrors that were about to befall them, when I noticed they had cute little Irish accents. The door opened and we all got off, and I never thought any more about it.

A couple of nights later the same situation happened. We were on our way down to dinner, the door opens and on steps these two tiny, little older Irish ladies. One of them kept glancing at me like she was trying to get her courage up, and finally she asked me if my friends and I would do her a favor. I told her we would sure try. She informed me that she had called her best friend back in Ireland and told her, that her, and her sister were on the ship with a bunch of "Hells Angels". Her best friend didn't believe her. She was wondering if her sister and her could get their pictures taken with us to prove it.

When the elevator door open, we found a spot, put those two little Irish women between the six of us, and gave our meanest, baddest, grouchiest, arms crossed across our chest looks. My wife snapped the picture. The one sister looked up at us, thanked us, and said, in her little Irish accent, "By Gar, she'll have ta believe me now, I've got the picture ta prove it".

Have a nice ride, and keep the shiny side up.

Tattoos

In my last post we talked about loud pipes and how it sheds a bad light on all motorcycle enthusiasts. A gentleman that read my post told me that I should take the subject a little deeper, so I think I will (by the way, thanks Jim).

Tattoos seem to be an ever more prevalent part of our society. People that, ten years ago, would have never considered getting paint, now have tattoos (myself included). Even though they have become more common place, I believe they still carry a somewhat negative connotation. For example, all of my tattoos are in places that can be covered up by business casual attire. The gentleman that suggested this blog is a very professional, articulate, and well spoken person, and carries a tattoo on his shoulder that can easily be covered for a business situation. Since we are both in the job market I believe our conservative approach is appropriate.

Tattoos are kind of like eating potato chips, once you start, it's hard to stop. I believe, like anything else, it can be overdone. I also believe, a person should not run out and get a tattoo, just to be getting one. A tattoo should have a special meaning to the person getting it, because it will be with you a long time.

The parlor that you get your tattoo is just as important as the tattoo itself. It needs to be researched for cleanliness and sanitation. The artist you choose should be researched, and some of his work looked at. Just like everything else, there is good and bad.

Ten years ago I was probably judgemental about people wearing tattoos, and now look. I guess the old saying is true. "You can't judge a book by it's cover" (unless it's a western).

Have a good ride, and keep the shiny side up.

Turn Signals

Boy, if you want to talk about writers block, I can, because I've had it.

Our friends B-O-B and his wife Deborah Sue came out the other night. We grilled kabobs (chicken and steak) and sat around the fire pit talking. I asked them what I should write about, and B-O-B said turn signals. So, here we go.

Does everyone realize how easy it is to use your turn signals. Reach to the steering column on the left side and pull down on the lever to signal a left turn, and pull up on the lever to signal a right turn. Then everyone knows what your doing, and don't have to guess.

While were in the car , can anyone out there tell me why some people get out in the left lane and stay there, irregardless of how fast they are driving. Normally a good indicator is their license plate. I think everyone knows what I mean.

Another thing that puzzles me. I thought cruise control came standard on most cars nowadays. If it does, there are only about 10% of the people that use it. This option is really easy to use. Just get to the desired speed and push the button. That way you don't drive 65 mph for a little while, then 75 mph for a little while, and then 65 mph. You also don't zoom up behind someone, swing out to pass, and then run right beside a car for miles. You don't pass someone on a downhill, pull in front of them and then lose 10 mph, on the uphill, so the car you just passed has to pass you, only to be passed again on the next downhill.

Thanks for the idea B-O-B.

Have a good ride and keep the shiny side up.

Loud Pipes

Last month when we were coming back from Murfreesboro, TN, we were heading north on I 81 when some guy passed us on some kind of Hardly a Davidson. The pipes on that thing were so loud it actually hurt our ears. Now mind you, we were running about 80 miles an hour with the juke box on, so things weren't exactly quiet. I'm a firm believer in "to each his own, but that was crazy! I wish someone would tell me why people do this. It certainly doesn't sound good. It's too loud to know what it sounds like.

I have Screamin' Eagle pipes on a couple of my bikes, and a set of Sampson Short Shot drag pipes on another one. The Sampsons are about as loud as I want to go. Yes they are baffled and, you can carry on a conversation standing beside the bike while it's running.

I ride with people that have Kirkers, Bub Reinhardt's, and Vance and Hines on their bikes and they sound good. They have that deep low rumble that makes a V-Twin sound like it's supposed to. I could ride behind them all day.

In defense of louder than stock pipes, I have been riding down a city street and see a car pull up to an intersection, and start to pull out in front of me. I pull in the clutch, rev the motor (I've tried the horn, but I always turn on my left turn signal, go figure), and they see me. You have to understand my big bike has a head light, two spots, and two Motolight running lights, but for some reason, people don't see you until they hear you. So I suppose you could say "loud pipes save lives", but use a little common sense. Please.

The biggest problem is that a few "look at me, look at me" people are going to have all of us riding bikes that sound like sewing machines (you know the ones I mean).
Have a good ride and keep the shiney side up.