Memorial Day

Remember...


Navy Seal Jon Tumilson's casket with his dog Hawkeye lying next to it. Not many photos hit me like this one... One of many who have sacrificed for all of us - buy em' a beer, shake their hand, or just say thanks. They deserve more appreciation than they get.

In Two Weeks

I'll be in Northern Wisconsin for my brother's bachelor party weekend. Riding the chop back for some drinking, fishing, and riding in the north woods.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the area, it's amazing. Thick forests, lakes everywhere(as you can see from the picture), and some of the best back-country roads(in my opinion) for getting lost on a bike. Being out in Colorado, I don't miss much from back home, but the north woods is something very unique. The muskies are the size of small children, the mosquitoes are the size of birds, and the women are tougher than most city-boys. Even better, the bars are gritty, the greasy food will kill ya, and the people are genuine. Ask for an old-fashion, they'll give you a can of PBR and a shot of rail whiskey. It takes a special breed of human to live up there year-round...

It's been quite a while since I've been spotted north of Minocqua, I can't wait.



Hitting the Twin Cities for a couple nights on my way back to see friends and hit a Scott H Biram concert. If you're in the Cities and feel like hitting the streets, let me know - speedandglory@hotmail.com

If You Don't Ride in the Rain

...you don't ride.


The miserable rides are always the most memorable.

Back Door, Man

Hey, all you people that tryin' to sleep
I'm out to make it with my midnight dream, yeah



I'm the crawling king snake, and I rule my den

Speaking of the Isle of Man TT

'The reason I do it is because if you get it wrong, it'll kill you. If you think it's too dangerous then go home and cut your grass and leave us to it'.
- Guy Martin

Awesome

SPEED THRILLS

Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~Hunter Thompson

I enjoy going fast, as fast as my bike will allow without falling apart. Nothing really matters when I'm flying down the road, not laws, not limits. My motto is keep cars where they belong, behind you, and all you have to worry about is wildlife...cars are much more predictable. I keep my eyes on the horizon and five cars ahead, but also find myself daydreaming more often than not. I accept the fact that people in cars probably hate me, throwing the finger at me on a regular basis(even though I never see it being well past them by that point), but they don't understand and I don't blame them for their cluelessness. I find that splitting lanes and cutting through narrow gaps between vehicles is an exhilaration that not much in life can compare to. As much as other motorists and motorcyclists probably think I'm reckless, to say I am comfortable with my riding ability is an huge understatement. I continuously challenge myself whenever I'm out riding. I feel that those who don't have less of a chance of excelling beyond a certain point and that's more dangerous than playing it safe all of the time.

After riding Boulder Canyon from Sturgis to Deadwood one early morning years back, someone once said to me, "you sure do like hugging that white line near the shoulder". Other times, during high winds, I'll pass 18-wheelers right along side of them instead of as far over as possible in the other lane. And though some people tend to pull over or slow down in torrential rain storms, I do neither - Very early in my motorcycling life, riding through a bad rain storm on Chief Joseph Highway(for those of you who have ridden it, you know what it's like) a friend of ours went flying by us on his beemer on the last straight-away before hitting Cody, Wyoming. He was doing close to 100 or more and I was blown away at how fast he was tearing through the rain and wet pavement. Later, that friend, who was an experienced rider to say the least, told me something I'll never forget, "Trust your motorcycle", and I have ever since(thanks Bill)...it helps to have good rubber on your wheels.

I do these things not to be careless, show off, or flirt with death, but to enhance my abilities... in all different conditions. To be a good motorcycle rider doesn't take a safety class or road test from the DMV, it takes practice. Not a ride around the block or to your local watering hole, but thousands upon thousands of tested miles. I said that I'm very comfortable with my abilities, but that doesn't mean I still don't need practice. After all, I love practicing... that's why I own a bike to begin with.

(To watch motorcyclists who race for a living, whatever kind of racing - but a good example is the Isle of Man TT - motivates me to become a better rider. These guys are the best at what they do and it shows. I envy them...)

I Came Here To Party

Story of my life. My days start in the afternoon, and on average, don't end until 5a.m.

Older whiskey, younger women, faster bikes, more money... you only go around once.


It's three in morning and my mouth feels like fuzz
long time till daylight and I am about to lose my buzz
where's all the music
the night is still young
I came here to party and have a little fun.

Hall Of Fame pt 1 - Erwin 'Cannonball' Baker

Been traveling the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame site for the last couple weeks and it has me hooked. All of the inductees and the info on them is overwhelming, but worth a look if you get a chance. So, from time to time I'm gonna be posting here on S&G about some of the inductees who interest me, just to give you all a taste if you don't browse the site yourself.

I'm not claiming to know this info off-hand, I'm only transferring the interesting facts from the AMA site to here. Pretty cool shit for anyone interested in two wheel history...

The first guy I want to post about is Erwin 'Cannonball' Baker. Being a rider myself, and a guy who enjoys blasting across the country, I was immediately captivated by this dude.

Baker won the very first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 at the age of 27 on an Indian he had bought a year earlier. Soon after, he began riding endurance runs from town to town, usually racing passenger trains on shitty, un-maintained roads.

In 1912, he was commissioned by Indian Motorcycles to ride their 2-speed, 7-horse model through Cuba and Central America on a "demonstration tour". In 1913, he completed a record transcontinental run on his Indian to Savannah, Georgia.. then immediately rode in a 300-mile national championship on the same two wheels. For all of you "Iron Butt" riders out there, bow down.

Soon after, his stories were recognized by newspapers across the country which compared him to the Cannonball express train, hence the nickname.

According to the AMA Hall of Fame site, "Baker accumulated his share of scars as well as trophies during his years of setting records. He also had a slew of interesting stories of things that happened to him during his record runs. In one three-flags record attempt in 1916, Baker had to change routes several times to avoid vast forest fires. In another run he came around a curve at a high rate of speed and came upon a herd of cattle in the road. In trying to miss the herd, Baker turned sharply, hit a hole in the road and was thrown off his motorcycle into a fence which in turn bounced him right onto the back of one of the cows. The surprised cow bucked him off and he ultimately landed in a ditch off the side of the road".

He also entered economy runs. On one run, he went 3,364 miles on 45 gallons of gas(roughly 75 miles/gallon). What amazes me the most, is that this guy did this in the early 1900's! For those of us now who have the luxury of swing-arms, gel-padded seats, highway pegs, windshields, gas stations every 50 miles, and well paved roads just to name a few helpful commodities...damn, this guy makes me feel like a sally.

He was definitely a pioneer, and one hell of a cross-country record holder. Remember this next time you want to complain about your seat being too stiff, leaving your windshield at home before a long rainy trip, or whatever else you may want to bitch about... things could be a lot worse.

Baker went on to set multiple records overseas as well, most in Australia and New Zealand. At the end of it all, he was believed to have ridden or driven over 5 million miles and undertook more than 143 timed, long-distance records.

Awesome.

Great Photo

RIP MCA

A little late, but RIP Adam 'MCA' Yauch from the Beastie Boys who died at the age of 47 Friday after a 3 year battle with cancer. The Beastie Boys were quite the act to see live. Saw them at Alpine Valley in the summer of '99, drinking and jumping around like lunatics on-stage. To say the least, it was a great show and they were amazing performers.

Cancer sucks...

Rad Shot

So close, So far away

Hit the road for Texas last Monday, only made it about 200 miles before having to turn back. Here's a photo from the short amount of traveling that I did that day... Bummer, but it's only the beginning of the riding season. Next up, a Colorado to northern Wisconsin trip next month. Riding, fishing, and drinking - should be a shitshow of a good time.

Shout Out

Thank you to anyone who follows, likes what I'm throwing out there, checks in from time to time, and/or has a link to S&G from their site. Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Russia, Greece, Ireland, Brazil, Croatia, Thailand, and any other country I may be leaving out - keep it comin'.

And of course, the United States of America....

Like always, I encourage anyone to comment or email me if they want. I appreciate it all....

Ever feel like

Aint that a bitch

Well, I spoke way too fucking soon. Got on the road, everything running smoothly until about the New Mexico border, then I notice this. Tranny fluid all over my battery, frame, chain, tire... basically everything from the transmission back. Got worse as I rode, fucking awesome. So, second Texas trip in 7 months that I've had to bail on. Busted spokes held me back last October, now this bullshit.


I should be riding through Dallas right about now...fuck.

On a different note, Happy Birthday to one of my heroes, Willie Nelson.