Parked

Poor, check. Rolling, not so much.

The ghost of winter are starting to haunt. Truth be told I could be riding today if I could keep steady work lined up. I'm starting to think I suck as a painter. Here's to hoping I'll be good at something before I die. There is a long and tragic history in my family of "almost" being good at something. Seems like there is no real talent in the name Haggenmiller. We just plug away hoping to find a calling. Maybe I should get back into art? Is there any need for cute cartoons?

So the motorcycles sit as cold and rain have wondered into our little part of the world. Even the power wheels have been ignored by the kids. It's just not fun to ride in the cold. It's my god daughter's birthday tomorrow and I'd love to bring the little 125 Honda to give kids rids on but I don't have a trailer. If it's meant to be God will provide a way to get the bike there.

I had forgotten when I was in high school I gave all my cousins rides on the old KZ400. Now riding with my wife and kids I realize that I never really wanted a different motorcycle, I just wanted to ride that old Kawasaki on the road. Again, all things according to Gods plan. So as things sit with cold bearing down on us I constantly think about warmer days to come and try to figure out what the heck I'm doing.

Photobucket KZ400 like we used to ride...

Summer is going, going...

As the leaves gather ever higher I know the time is coming to pull the batteries out of the "personal combustion reaction chambers" (my coined term for motorcycles. Storage is a process when it comes to motorcycles. First you drain the reactant (fuel), clean out the lines and carb, and then remove the battery and put it somewhere that it won't freeze which would break the internal components. There are gell batteries which don't freeze but the are expensive. If I ever get down to one motorcycle I'll have to pick one up.

Soon I'll have to choose between the mountain bike or the trike. Bring on the snow, I'm ready!

Here's a flicker image, "Nature and Machine by Anuj Chaman" to get your motor running.

Catch me if you can

So in church they were mentioning that if the lord is prompting you to do something you shouldn't hesitate to listen. I love when church's decide to send out that kind of message, because I've been prompted to ride my motorcycle without registering it with Minnesota. You see there are a lot of dumb laws to keep stolen motorcycles from being used, there is no laws for "my brother bought this from a guy in North Dakota without a title". I guess the only thing to do is ride without registration? There is a long process by which you could, maybe get papers if the state grants you mercy. I can just see getting pulled over though...I should at least put some mirrors on the bike before I take it out screaming catch me if you can!

Riding in the passenger seat

It's an interesting thing catching a ride with someone else. For a given amount of time twice a day you share motion, stories, and space traveling to work. The interesting part is for a while before you catch a ride you anticipate what is to come and afterwards you reflect on the trip and stories shared. It seems to me that this amplifies the time spent riding along because it becomes the focus of what your thinking about. Oh to be able to ride motorcycle to work like I did in Las Vegas. Nothing teaches you to be ready for anything like riding a motorcycle in traffic. You practice thinking ahead, reacting swiftly and correctly, and best of all you can relax and feel alive!

In Minnesota the days are numbered for riding. Most of the year it's just too bloody hard to get out in the rain and snow for a ride. Maybe I need to pick up a scooter with a roof?

Riding in the yard

Like a caged tiger I circle my pen of my yard ever watching for a chance to take my motorcycle out on the street. It's not registered, it most likely can't be registered, but still I deliver a quick kick and with a roar the beast awakens to stalk the edges of the yard once again. Then once satisfied that the open road is still unobtainable the CB125 putters to rest once more in the dark corner of the garage.

Winter is coming and it makes me frantic every year, wondering weather this or that will get done. Will the car hold together through this one, will I crack over the cold and blustery landscape engulfing my home? How long until we're all riding bike in the house once again? The leaves falling and covering the ground, reducing traction, serve to prepare us all for the impending snow and ice that will once again test the limits of our driving abilities.

So many things run through my head while I'm riding in the yard.

The new normal

I've been told that after undergoing a change in thinking you reach a point where you know what to expect from life again. I've had a shift in thinking leading me to get smaller motorcycles handed to me that I don't deserve because I couldn't by them. As I gather myself together I realize that something has remained constant, I don't want to spend the little money I have to get papers so I can ride them on the road. I just started a new job, and after three weeks of not working we were starting to panic again.

Having a job has been such a challenge for me. Just finding someone to need me week after week has been a struggle. I know things only get harder as you get older but I trust there is something for us all in the future. I don't know how to get rich but I know someone up there is going to keep us rolling. Thanks to everyone who keeps me on a motorcycle. You've shown how much I'm love again and again.

Breaking the mold

Sometimes you need to do something drastic, change everything even though you like what you have.

We've been getting assistance from everyone and everything to get through these slow economic times, and the point came to sell my motorcycle to make my house payment. Now I could have thrown a fit and kept my Katana but what fun is it to have a motorcycle when you can take off and ride it without the family and can't afford insurance, gas, or parts for the thing? So I sold the bike knowing something else would come along, hopefully something my kids could ride with on. Then my brother calls from North Dakota and says he got me a 1974 CB125 for my birthday.

Now I know the average rider is going to say something like why not just ride a moped or minibike. This has five gears and something like 100mpgs. What really surprised me was how fun it is to take my daughters out on a ride since they can reach the foot pegs! The new toy has been a blast but my yard is paying the price because there's no title and Minnesota is a real pain about not just anything hitting the road. I have no money to put into the paperwork right now either. So I got a small displacement bike like I've been dreaming about and can't take it around the block, unbelievable. I did discover though that I really miss kick starting. The neighbor was walking by with her son in a stroller and he saw me kick start the bike and he jumped up and pointed at me. I miss the excitement of a good kick start from time to time. So for my next bike I'd like to pick up something like a cafe racer, but that's not gonna happen.

I took the family out to a cycle dealership we don't go to once a week and the misses found a 150cc scooter she loved. She knew she would have to get a motorcycle endorsement but she said, "Have you ever seen a girl on a scooter pulled over by a cop?" My wife is so cool! Well things being lean like they are we couldn't pick up the scooter yet, but I've had so many bikes it's ladies choice this time. So here's to hoping we can by one in the off season. It really is the best time to buy.

How many times can you do that before you fall down?

Ah, my imprompt return to my blog!

I have been riding in inhospitable cold on untamed bike trails which has prompted the title of this "post". I also have a unicycle now.

To add to the title I was riding on my bike trainer, a thing you hook up to your bike to make it an exercise bike, and pedaling away when the right pedal broke off. So I've been thinking, how many times can your do something your good at, something you love to do, before you fall flat on your face from the slightest mistake?

In all honesty nobody likes to think, "yeah one of these days I'm going to miss that turn and fall into a medical bed" but the truth is going faster than your body was ever made to handle is dangerous. I've heard that the best way to protect yourself is to prepare for failure and hope for success. Here's a toast to hoping we all get the next year done right.

In other news the Focus wagon lost a wheel bearing, as in look at all those shiny broken pieces. The part was only $50, and I had to bring it somewhere to be pressed in, $50. Luckily it happened on the weekend so no school was missed. The thing is I just gave it to God. I said God it's in your hands and praise for what will be. And you know what, it all went well. So maybe the best way to stay up is just to let God know your still rolling and let him show you the path.

So now it's time to scrounge up another set of crank arms and tools. I have entirely too many bicycles, I hope to get a good riding party in this summer. Let some of the parts fall off, just keep rolling!