New look

Mr. Motorcycle Motorcycle Blog has a slightly juiced up look.

"Taste's Great. Less filling"!

Some of the stuff stayed the same since the day I started the blog. I've learned a couple of tricks since then. Thus, it was time for some change.

So if you are reading this through an RSS feed such as Google Reader, please stop by and take a peek. If you are already at my site, Great.

I'd love to hear your reaction to the mild change in visual, and if I don't like your comments, so be it. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Heck, If it is constructive, I might even listen. (Maybe.)

Cheers!

P.S. I can't wait for tomorrow night's Season 2, episode 2 of Son's of Anarchy!

Tune in and watch it, and stop by my blog tomorrow afternoon to get the scoop on what happened if you can't watch the show, or just want a recap.

Perception; beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder.

My regular readers already know I have basically a one up custom bar hopper, that when given the opportunity, I will ride all day long with others whom have comfy cruisers (Geezer Gliders), Etc.

Although I am extremely satisfied with the look, and performance of my bike, I long for comfort and convenience. I have fairing, windshield, cushy seat, saddle bag envy. (I'm gettin older) almost 39.

I do love the look and performance of my Custom H.D. Sportster, but at the same time have been eyeing an H.D. Street Glide for quite some time.

Even If I sold my bike, I'd have to take out a loan to buy the Street Glide, so that isn't an option right now. I own my bike outright. Besides, I really don't want to sell my bike. I want both.

Back to the post title...

Perception; beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.

One of the things we all long for in a bike is beauty. It may not be a physical cosmetic beauty.

For some of us, beauty is simply function over form. For some it's purely form, for most it is a combination of the two.

For some it's a price line. Many folks don't like Harley's like I do, and want a similar look for a more economical price line. Some also think metric cruisers are more reliable than Harleys. Some like other brands of American Iron. Some like custom choppers. Some like crotch rockets, or Hybrids like BMW RT's.

Point is, There are so many different bikes, because there are so many different perceptions in what makes a bike beautiful. I like to think I'm a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to motorcycles. I truly like and appreciate most of them. I'd have a hard time saying no to anyone giving me a motorcycle; (any motorcycle). However, I do have my favorites.

A few days ago, I had stopped at my local H.D. dealer to look at some patches. I narrowed it down to a few. I needed my jacket though to see which would physically fit and which would look best. I thought my son could come with me next trip for a second man's opinion. So, yesterday I brought my 17 Yr. old son with me to the Harley store. I brought my helmet and jacket with me. He obviously knows what my bike looks like. I wanted something that will tie the three together nicely.

I'm a big fan of custom, and yet just as big of a fan of subtlety.

This was a key in the patch selection. To my surprise, "Eye of the beholder", (I should have seen it coming), My son liked none of the patches that I had previously selected. He even went as far as to say that the one that I picked with the skull looked "childish"!

I left the store with nothing.

Let's back up a minute though to the moment when my son and I entered the dealership. Mind you, he does love bikes, and is just starting to learn a little bit about what he likes himself in a bike, and is starting to learn the differences between the different models, etc.

So we walk in, and just in front of us, immediately to my left is a brand new shiny black Street Glide. I point it out to my son, and say to him, "That is my next bike right there. It's an 09 Street Glide"! (Big fucking smile on my face, like I just bought it). He looks at me, forehead wrinkled, with a sincere look of bewilderment, and say's, "Why?", "You'd take those bags off wouldn't you?"

LOL! I go on to explain the whole comfort and convenience factor, and then he asks, if I'd sell my bike or have both. I said I'd have both.

Funny thing is there is a part of my boy young man that is growing up and said that the skull was childish, and as I get a bit older, want to hang onto that symbol of youth, and this also goes for the bike as well. There is a part of my son that wants the same things I do. We just see things so differently. Yesterday was quite an awakening moment.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Son's Of Anarchy Season 2 episode 1 review

To begin season two, let's recap where we left off on season one. We left off with Clay and Tig arranging Opie's death by drive by shooting. They set it up to make it look as though it was a gang shooting by the Niners. Tig was to be the masked drive by shooter. Their reasoning was that they thought Opie was a narc and was being paid off by the Feds. Ultimately, Tig Fucked up, and shot Donna by mistake, because she took Opie's truck. Jax V.P. of SAMCRO and (Son of John Teller, Founder of SAMCRO) and Piney (Opie's father, and SAMCRO Co-Founder with John Teller) discover after confrontation with the Niners that they had nothing to do with (Opie's wife) Donna's shooting. This is where we left off on season one.

Season two starts off with a new gun running deal being made with the Irish, until the heat from the Feds. wears off. At the end of the gun running deal making, Tig and Clay secretly have a discussion about the fact that Piney and Jax know that the Niners had nothing to do with the shooting of Donna, and that Opie will want revenge on the shooter.

The rest of the show skips around a bit, so I will recap (not necessarily in the exact order of things as they occurred).

Bobby is released from Prison. The case against him for a murder was dropped as the Feds. could no longer hold him. The witness "went missing".

Piney and Jax have talks about making things right again because as Piney says, Clay killed his daughter, and was trying to kill his son. Jax tells Piney that making things right is gonna take some time. Right now it's all about protecting Opie.

The Club has an official club meeting to talk about getting revenge on Donna's killer. Opie says he heard it was the Niners. Tig and the rest of the club say it wasn't. Opie kind of buys it. They blame a Myan (rival M.C.) for the killing, and talks start about seeking out revenge. After the club meeting during a party that they are having for the return of Bobby, their is a private discussion between Clay and Jax regarding the Myan that they are planning on using as a scape goat for Donna's death. Jax says to Clay, "Who ever you put this murder on... Just be sure they deserve to die, 'Cause the guy who killed Donna is out there sharing a beer with her husband."

Clay replies, "You better be real careful how you navigate around this one."

Jax replies, "Or what, You gonna put a bullet in the back of my head too?"
(Oooooh, can you feel the tension rising?)

SAMCRO ends up seeking out their revenge on the Myan scapegoat. Opie and Jax finish the job after Tig starts it. Opie is doubtful that this is really the guy. After some convincing that it is the right guy, they finish the job. Opie takes it a step too far, and carves the "A" anarchy symbol on the dudes chest and stomach area.

After they leave, Jax cleans up Opie's carving by shooting it up so it is unidentifiable. (I'm guessing so as not to start a war with the Myans.)

Meanwhile Gemma and Tara are having a conversation about trust and loyalty and making things work between Tara and Jax. Gemma tells Tara that she has to know everything. Jax has to tell her. "No truth, No pussy." Tara says she isn't sure if she wants to know it all. Gemma tells her if she doesn't, then it'll never work. She says, "Love the man, You learn to love the club. You can do that, there's no truth you can't handle."

Later on that night, Tara tells Jax she wants to know everything and Jax comes clean and tells her about the shooting of the Myan. Jax say's he's going to bed and then Tara joins him. I guess that means this is a big turning point in the Tara and Jax relationship.

Clay and Gemma are gettin it on in a back room of the Clubhouse, when in comes the prospect Kip, A.K.A. Half Sack. He's putting away a mop bucket, and notices them doing the nasty. He freezes. Genmma says,"Join in, or get out Sparky!" Kip leaves, then turns around, pokes his head back in, and starts saying,"You didn't really mean that you wanted me to.... Clay says, "GET OUT!" (Waaay Funny!)

Happening from the beginning to the end of the episode is the goings on with "The League of American Nationalists" moving into Charming. We start out with a diner scene of Ethan Zobel (owner of fine cigar shops), A.J. Weston (Nazi skinhead) and Jake Hale(Real-estate investor and Charming's Deputy David Hale's brother) having a conversation about moving their White supremacist drug trade into Charming, under the guise of a new Charming Cigar shop. Charming Deputy David Hale comes into the scene, and ins introduced to the League of American Nationalists members. He is being asked to give them their support, and is told that SAMCRO has been dealing guns to gangs like the Myans and it needs to stop. They say that they are nothing more than an influential business group. Hale says,"And how many Black and Latino businessmen are in your influential group? I know who you are. White Hate." He walks out on them, and chews his brother a new asshole. Basically tells him that trading one bad for another isn't going to work.

Later on in the episode during Bobby's coming home party the skinheads show up to offer a box of fine cigars and "give some advise" to Clay, Tig, and the rest of SAMCRO.


They threaten that they better stop trading guns with Blacks and Latinos. Tig pulls a gun on them, and They say "What, You gonna shoot with all these witnesses?" Clay replies, "Nobody threatens SAMCRO, and Nobody tells us what to do. Why don't you just climb back into your little German clown car and drive back to Nazi town. 'Cause the next time you piss all over my shoes, It will kill you, and I don't give a shit how many witnesses there are.

The show concludes with Gemma driving down the road. At a stop she notices a minivan behind her, a gal gets out, runs up to Gemma, and says, "Please help, my baby is chocking on something!" Gemma goes to help, finds out the baby is only a doll, and then gets knocked out from being hit from behind by the mystery woman. Shortly after that, we flip to another scene where Gemma is tied up in a warehouse somewhere and gets raped by about 4 skinheads wearing white masks.

A threat is made to Gemma that she better tell Clay to stop selling guns to ni**ers and spi*s, or they will find her and do this again.

Gemma sees the Tat on the Skinhead making the threat's neck.

This will be sure to be the beginning of something BIG!

That's all I got this episode folks! Hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did.

Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Final Episode

Warning:

This video contains Fowl ... I mean, foul language. Enjoy!

Ride to McGehee Catfish Restaurant Part 2

I got to the McGehee Catfish Restaurant early to take pictures and I was the first of many that arrived and waited for them to open for lunch. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a photographer and forgetting to check the cameras settings the photos turned out too dark because I think it was on the close up setting. The restaurant exterior was made of rough weathered wood and had a wood shingle roof and had an old log cabin feel to it. There was some type of pine trees scattered around it ad a nice breeze blowing through that helped with the heat. The parking lot is fine gravel so I advise taking it slow and cautious. The lettering on the door stated Weekdays 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 1 p.m. – 9 p.m. Closed Wednesdays.

The first elderly couple to arrive after me came in a white car with Texas plates. I asked them if they had eaten hear before and if it was good. They had and I said that must mean it was good if they came back again. While we stood around in the shade enjoying the cooling breeze we chatted and they told me how you used to be able to look out into the river area and see the catfish farms where the restaurant used to raise there own.

One older gentleman rode on a Suzuki Burgman 650 with a buddy on a burgundy Honda VTX1300. We chatted about the bikes and the scooter. The VTX owner bragged about how much better the ride quality was since he installed a new Mustang seat. Before he said it was like riding a log. The Burgman owner stated that even the 400 model would be a good first scooter and bragged about the large cargo space under the seat. He claims when grocery shopping he can fit five grocery bags under there. He said they run great at highway speeds as well. They also mentioned that the airstrip next door had been closed down a few years before. People used to fly in for lunch or diner here. Before long the restaurant doors were being unlocked.

I went in and the hostess said we could seat ourselves. I took a spot in the main room in a corner by the window at a small table. You could look out the window behind the restaurant and see the Red River in the distance. Inside the restaurant was decorated rustic country style with old antique farming utensils and tools hung on the rough out dark wood slat walls. The waitress showed up shortly and asked what I would like to drink and did I want the catfish. I responded water with lemon and yes to the catfish. She came back shortly with some coleslaw, sweet pickled green tomatoes, and hushpuppies. The hushpuppies were too hot to bite into yet so I started in on the slaw and tomatoes.

The eating utensils were packaged and at the table in a holder as well as a roll of paper towels to clean your hands with. The coleslaw was good and not too sweet. It was diced up to a real fine consistency, the finest I had ever seen. I had never tasted sweet pickled green tomatoes before but they were excellent. They tasted like a sweet pickle and had a slight spicy hotness to them. Note to self; look for these in the store. The hushpuppies finally cooled down and I sampled them. They were not too big and you could tell they were freshly made and quite tasty. I texted a status report to my better half and about that time the main course arrived.

The main course was three large pieces of farm raised catfish deep fried with a crunchy cornmeal coating. The waitress asked if I needed anything else and since there was already ketchup on the table I asked for some tarter sauce which she quickly brought out in a condiment squeeze bottle. Along with the amazing fish were the French fries. So many French fries that they were heaped on the plate and falling off as the waitress set the plate down, in fact. These weren’t ordinary fries either. They tasted like freshly cut with skin on and fried to a golden crispiness. They were a great compliment to the catfish and I used the ketchup liberally. The waitress asked me several times if I wanted more catfish since it was all you could it but, even though I had not eaten any breakfast, because I was so hot I did not have my normal appetite and I turned her down.

The feeding frenzy was over and it was time to go. I tossed a five spot down for my attentive waitress, took one last drink of water, and proceeded to check out. The food was great however I would have preferred my catfish a little moister inside. If you like yours real crispy you would have loved it. I went outside, rolled my sleeves down, put my gear on and started the ride home.

The ride home was rather uneventful. I rode straight through and was trying not to have to stop for fuel. Riding passed 114 on I35 I thought maybe I should take it to 121 to go home but instead I kept going the way I had come. When I got to Western Central Blvd the freeway came to a grinding halt and it was stop-n-go all the way down and around 820 eastbound to just past Rufe Snow. Looking down at the thermometer it was now reading almost 100 degrees.

There was a half mile reprieve and then where 820 merges with 183 Airport Freeway it stopped again and was backed up just as far as I could see. I managed to make it over to the Precinct Line exit and turned left and then right into the Quick Trip and refueled. Not wanting to get back into the traffic on the freeway I took Harwood the rest of the way home. Walking inside my house it was almost 4:00 pm. It felt grate to be home and I headed to the shower to cool off reflecting on what a great time I’d had.

If you missed part one of this ride, please check out Ride to McGegee Catfish Restaurant Part 1.

Ride on,
Torch

Twas not meant to be.

Notice anything new?

As recently seen on Arizona Harley Dude's blog, I saw this light switch cover and just had to have one of my own. I used electrical tape to lay it out, and cut it according to the general shape. I would usually have done it in reverse, sanded it for tooth(adhesion), and them masked it off and painted it black, however, I have women folk in my house, and I was going to see how it played out before doing any thing that would take that much time.

My 17 Yr. Old son thought it was a hoot, and my wife and almost 14 Yr. Old daughter did not think it was quite so funny.

I attest, this is "MY GARAGE" damnit, and I should be able to leave it that way! However, everyone goes in and out quite frequently. (Garbage can, Recycle bin, Extra Fridge./Freezer, Cars, Bikes, Etc. are all in "My garage too.) Therefore I must share "My garage".

With a little guilt, I left it there for the day. (Leaving my man foot firmly dug into place).

The following day, my daughter comes into the house after getting something out of the garage, and claims, "I'm not comfortable even touching that light switch in the garage any more."

I gave in. "Twas not meant to be."

The tape came off, and the women folk are happy again.

You know what they say.

If she ain't happy... Aint Nobody happy!

Ride to McGehee Catfish Restaurant Part 1

It was Saturday 8-29-2009 as I backed out my garage in Bedford Texas and was on my way with a sense of adventure gleaming n my eye. I had my IPod Nano playing 615 songs randomly through my Ink’d earphones. I glanced at the Yamaha V-Stars’ trip odometer and I only had 34 miles on this tank. No need to stop for gas before leaving, I thought to myself. The ambient temperature thermometer mounted on my handlebars read 80 degrees Fahrenheit and felt nice and cool as I rode away. I was leaving on my motorcycle ride to Marietta Oklahoma and specifically to McGehee Catfish Restaurant for lunch.

On my head I was wearing a cotton dew rag under my HJC Helmet, and my Oakley sunglasses. I had on a pair of blue jeans, a full sleeve cotton shirt, (with the sleeves pushed up over my elbows), my black leather FMC vest, and my Bates boots. I decided to use the crumby FieldSheer gloves; I might as well get as much use out of them as I can, before they completely fall apart. This trip I also remembered to coat all exposed surface areas with 45 SPF sun-screen, so as not to become a sacrifice to the sun gods this trip. For the record I should have re-applied before riding home, my face and nose did get some red.

For personal protection I had my Springfield XD .40 Subcompact in a C-TAC holster inside my right waistband, my Kel-Tec P3AT .380 in my left vest inside upper pocket, and my Kershaw Leek pocket knife in my left front pocket. Too bad I didn’t have room for my Smith and Wesson Boot Knife in these Bates boots, oh well. I had my phone, a Palm Treo, in my right vest pocket and along with a pair of compact reading glasses stashed away with my P3AT it allowed me to post updates of my ride on Twitter. In a pinch I could also throw it at an attacker, or just throw it like I’ve wanted to do on occasion. I wondered; does this vest make me look fat? I probably looked like a cross between one of the characters in the movie Wild Hogs and one of the personalities from the TV show Sons of Anarchy.

I hopped on 121 Southbound, hung a right onto 183 West continued onto 820 West before turning north on I35 W. Before long I was passing Texas Motor Speedway on the left and then the University of North Texas on the right. I was in Denton. I decided to stop and get a drink and refuel Mistress. I topped off the tank with unleaded, downed a Red Bull, texted my wife and was off heading north on I35 again.

I was making good time traveling at ~~ mph. I did manage to keep it under triple digits, barely. There were a lot of other motorcyclists out going the opposite direction and I tried to wave or acknowledge them all. I was passed by someone with Oklahoma plates in a hurry to get home, so I tucked right in behind them. You will be pleased to know that I did see one Texas State Trooper en-rout to Oklahoma. Fortunately, everyone had slowed down with the tell tale brake lights warning everyone. He was parked off the right shoulder down in a ditch or culvert and there was an 18 wheeler between us anyway. Before I knew it I was on the bridge going over the Red River and passing a large Welcome to Oklahoma sign on my right. Casino anyone?

It wasn’t much longer and I had arrived at exit 32 and was in Marietta. It is about 100 miles from my house to Marietta and the ride took around an hour and a half. I pulled into the McDonalds, parked and went in to get something to drink. I sat down and enjoyed an iced coffee with caramel while I texted my wife, got to check in with the boss, and checked my phones Google Maps GPS and indeed I was exactly where I thought I was. After that it was time to take a short tour through town.

I drove through downtown Marietta and tried not to blink so as not to miss it. Then I came back around coming down a side street and saw a museum. I had time to kill so I stopped in. It turned out it was the Love County Historical Society Pioneer Museum. They had an interesting mix of antiques, historical records and photos all dealing with Marietta and Love County. The volunteer on duty went out of his way to tell me some of the history of Marietta, including some interesting stories and strange characters as well as pointed out items of historical interest. After some time of browsing, visiting, and emailing my wife photos of some of the antique quilts it was time to leave.

I had asked directions to McGehee Catfish Restaurant to make sure I was headed in the right direction and decided to take a ride out there to scout it out even though they were not open for lunch yet. So I continued heading west and turned south on US77 which parallels I35 and then east on E2150 / McGehee RD which dead ends at the restaurant. Most of the Google Maps are incorrect, unless you look for the one that says Airport: McGehee Catfish Restaurant; the restaurant is at the dead end, not in the city of Marietta itself.

The restaurant scouted out I rode back to the town and walked around several stores to kill time until they opened for lunch at 1:00pm. After drinking a Monster energy drink at the Carl Jr.’s, texting my wife again, and browsing some of the local stores, I filled Mistress up at the Valero and headed back to McGehee’s noting that it had gotten a lot warmer, hot in fact, outside. A glance at the temperature reading showed it was now in the mid 90’s.


Ride on,
Torch