Monday, March 5, 2012

Texas License, Commute, & Hulu

This past week I surrendered my class-C Pennsylvania license for a class-CM temporary Texas license, got my bike registered to ride on post, and finally took the 30-mile ride to work on Friday.
This was my first trip over a few miles or at sustained highway speeds. Overall it easier than I'd feared. The 'oh my; big trucks' feeling on the interstate doesn't last. It was a little rough on my head at higher speeds sans windshield. I don't know if I'll keep the windshield off, but I'll definitely be looking at some riding-specific goggles next weekend.

The bike's reception at the Company was pretty good. I don't know what the guys who knew about my bike were expecting, but most seemed pleasantly surprised.



This is the closest you'll get to action shots until
Sarah learns how to drive and take pictures with
her iPhone at the same time.
Saturday I went on a short ride to Grove Cycles and Owl Creek Park. Grove Cycles is definitely a Harley/cruiser shop, but they're independently owned and friendly folks. My detour to Owl Creek Park was more of a whim after seeing the sign on my way to Grove Cycles. It's just boat launch and a couple of picnic sites on the shore of Belton Lake. Lucky for me, it was too cold for Texans to be making use of the park and I could wander about in solitude.


I found this on Hulu last week; Speed Network has done a special on Triumph Motorcycles and their (then) new Thunderbird. It's part how-it's-made documentary and part advertising exercise, but gives a good history of the company and overview of how their modern bikes are made.  The narrator's chatter doesn't always follow the video footage, though. Half the time he's going on about the new Thunderbird's engine or frame while the video shows technicians working on other models.
Odometer: 1088

2 comments:

  1. Hi there! I found you through From The Desk. That Bonnie sure is a gorgeous bike, but I can imagine the wind gets rough at highway speed! A good friend of mine tucks himself in on his classic BMW on the highway for that reason. Ride her in good health sir!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. The 'ol stinky project looks awesome. I've been following along and I wish I was at the level of tools/abilities/time that I could attempt a project like that. Whos GS Dakar is that with the ADV sticker?

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