Squids In Long Beach Abound

Where to start, the bars or the scooter rentals?

Let's do the bars... with Harleys parked out front (don't look at me, I didn't put them there).
I watched a guy last night, pull out in front of me while I was driving down the main drag (at 25mph luckily for him), with his 'old lady' on the back. He pulled out in front of me to go the opposite direction, but was either drunk already, or REALLY doesn't know how to use his clutch, because his left turn from the curb (at 90 degrees) took him all the way to the opposite curb in jerky motions and he almost hit the curb. If there had been a car parked there, he'd have hit it, hard. Drinking + riding=STUPID!

The scooter rentals are another story. I saw a probably 12 yr old kid on a 50cc riding next to his dad on a similar model, both with bicycle helmets! Hopefully they're locals and owned those. However the streets are filled with people on these Chinese scooters with shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. Don't these people read?

Oh well, Ciao~4~now

4th Of July In Long Beach, Wa

So far, so good.
We've been to the beach with the kids, watched a couple of movies, my brother-in-law and I got to watch "white-trash-riff-raff" get into a fight at Chico's Pizza Parlor (complete with police, a LOT of police); what more could you ask for?

It was lind of "trailer park sad" to hear parents rounding up their kids so they wouldn't become collateral damage. Seeing this unfold I couldn't help thinking of my boss, David, and how'd he'd NEVER be caught in place like that for these EXACT reasons; NO BARRIER TO ENTRY.
(That means that 'just anyone' can waltz right in, unlike a wine tasting and dinner for $200/plate)

Ok, so the 'fight' was more like a 'scuffle', but just the same. It was a challenge to resist the 'urge to assist' after being a bouncer in my younger days, but I managed. Nate and I talked about it afterward and these days, if it's not OUR family or friends in danger, it's not our problem. That said, if it was a 3 or 5 on 1 fight, I might step up to request they even the odds down to 1 on 1, but it would need to look like there was no other option but for me to butt-in.

You just never know who's packin' heat. The last stat I heard was that in Oregon, 1 in 5 homes have a gun, and 1 in 10 people are carrying. I don't like those numbers because "people are stupid" and might actually use it prematurely. A gun is supposed to be a last resort, but for a lot of people, it's the "path of least resistance". 3-yr-olds accidentally kill parents all the time with a gun that they found in the house, so it's not complicated.


More to come...

Heading Out For A RoadRunner Ride To Mt St Helens Observatory In The AM...

Heading out at "0'-dark-hundred" to go for a ride with a couple of friends and a bunch of strangers. I'll try and get a good report on here tomorrow night to let you all know how it went.

Ciao~4~Now

The Track Day Was AWESOME!!!!!

OK, the track day was AWESOME! Did I say that already? Well it WAS! The instructors were great, the weather was great, and my 'pit crew' (Beau) was great too. It was nice to have someone there to talk to that I knew, and he got to shoot some pretty good pics at the track.

We all had a pretty good day, I think we lost only 3 or 4 bikes out of all the classes. 1 was pretty nasty though; a young girl on her SV650 got 'ejected' in turn 5 (that's 8 for you car guys) and landed, unconcious, on the track. Her bike hit the wall pretty hard; don't know if it was rideable or not. Thankfully, she was 'ok' but the Paramedics were trying to convince her to go to the hospital for once over, but she was being a little stubborn. Hard to say why...

We also had a major oil spray over half the track. I was asked to help, but insisted it was my 'day off'. I caught some flak for that but hey... I work almost all the club races, and have to do two of those PSSR days to make up for my taking the class. I was takin' a break.

My last session felt great; the bike felt great, the tires felt great, my turns felt better and a bit faster. I didn't get any lap times, but I was MOVIN'! I was chasing down a Hayabusa on the last lap, but couldn't pass him because his line was irratic. I'll get him next time though. >; D I think I was just 'less afraid' of my throttle than he was.

Well, must get to sleep - the ^ above post says it all.

Ciao~4~Now

T-Minus 6.5 HRS, And She's Battle Ready !!!

WHEW! I finally got her done (note the time)! All the lights are disconnected, taped, brakes are done, oil's changed, fueled up and ready to rock! (Uh-oh, I feel a quote coming on...)

"I FEEL THE NEED; THE NEED, FOR SPEED!"

My friend Beau is coming out tomorrow to the track to take some pics. He one HELL of a photographer, so if I eat $#!7, I'll have a great photo journal of it! I still have to get up at 5:30, meet Beau outside at 6:00 load the bike, get food... too much stress for a FUN day, isn't it?


Oh well; wish me luck?? >8 D (Muahahahaha!)
(Must... sleep... now...)

PSSR Crunch Time; T-Minus 13 HRS...

WHOLY $H!7!

I have to BOOGIE if I'm going to the bike done in time. I still have to clean out the garage, prep the trailer, transfer car seats, AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!

Well, I'm off to the garage to figure it all out; I'll update ya later.

Ciao~4~Now