The Thrill of it all

Greetings and salutations my virtual friends.  Well its the end of October in the first official year of the Sidetrak'n project.  I find myself wishing I had an actual time machine or at least a time stretcher so I could make this month last just a little bit longer.  October is actually our most summer-like weather here on the Central Coast of California. The almost daily clear skies and warm temperatures tend to make you a bit spoiled.  When you add to that, the vivid colors of the season, the long light of fall and the many harvest celebrations, it's easy to see why one would wish it last just a bit longer.  

Well Sunday was a great example of finding a happy place behind the handlebars.  My intention was to tie a few local events together as an excuse to get unite some friends and  generate some spontaneous fun.  The plan was to do a scavenger hunt for scarecrows and see what else pops up.  Well, almost immediately upon kicking the idea around something else popped up.  It turns out there was a flash mob planned for the same day in the general area.  Now when I say flash mob I do mean a dancing flash mob but this wasn't just any old dance or any old place.  The event was to perform the choreography to Michael Jackson's epic video of Thriller.  Thats a pretty cool plan for a Halloween flash mob but this was going to occur at the entrance of his former home, the Neverland Ranch.  So there you have it;  find scarecrows, have fun, see a historic flash mob and of course find some pie.  No worries! The scarecrows were easy since there was a scarecrow festival happening in Solvang just down the road from MJ's ranch.  The ranch was an easy drive so I didn't put too much worry into the planning.   As for pie…well the Ural has pie seeking radar for that so not a prob.

All in all it worked out fine.  We accomplished all of our goals and met some neat people along the way.  With some help from Willie Wonka, all the kids got plenty of sugar (the big ones too) plus a balloon that unfortunately didn't survive.  Sadly there  were some alligator tears over that one for the littlest monkey in the gang.  --Reader assume sad face... now--.  OK we're over it.... as Dad said,  "your three,  I'm sure you'll get another one."  Brilliant sarcasm lost on the 3yr old.  Anyway, the scarecrows were cool,  the flash mob was great but I think the best part of the day for me was introducing my friend Stacie to side-hacking (she immediately assumed the role as my impromptu monkey) She was a real trooper and got to find out what this is really all about.  Life is short and precious so enjoy the day and savor the interactions that happen, even when you start off on the smallest of adventures.  All will be fine if you take the plunge, keep an open mind and see where it leads you when your head is in the right place.  So off we went, her first ride in a sidecar and her first flash mob (my first flash mob as well).  One my favorite Stacie comments, "people really do just smile when they see you in this [sidecar]."   Its true.  They can't help themselves.  umm the monkey always smiles as well.  That is all the payback I need. 

The flash mob was very cool.  I would say about 100 people showed up with about 50 or so dancers in full make-up and attire.  It was very kind of the current Neverland Property owners to allow this to happen without hassle.  There was only one major bummer.  My friend the Vino Vaquera couldn't make it.  She got stranded in LA with car trouble.  She was the one that brought it to my attention and I was looking forward to her participation.  I know she was as well.  Next year!  My helmets off to all of those who participated both in the dance and the coord.  All very cool.   If you'd like to see more pictures check out the Sidetrak'n FaceBook photo album. 

Next stop… pie. 

So now that we are rolling and we have the proper attitude, we find that the adventure is often something as simple as the stories we learn along the way…. somehow they just happen.  It's like there is some cosmic force that calls your attention to the periphery and there in-wait are the stories.  This day was no different.  On the quest for pie we took a detour to a pumpkin patch for some pictures when a story presented itself.  We had a gentleman and his family (a fellow Ural owner) come up and tell us about his great camping adventure he had with his son.  His story sums up this project perfectly, I might add..  Anyway this is an example of how life is an adventure but more importantly how we view it is the difference.  Here's the readers digest version of the story;  He and his son were n the middle of nowhere, 40 miles outside of cell phone range, heading up a mountain pass on their sidecar when the bikes engine blows.  BAM!  Not good!  So, they turn the bike around and coast back down the mountain to the nearest home and stop to ask if they can use the phone and possibly camp in their yard until they get help.  The strangers greet them at the door and are completely sympathetic to their situation.  You see… they "get it" the adventure, the courtesy etc etc.  they also get it because they too own a Ural sidecar.  Seriously, what are the odds of being in such a remote place and having such troubles and finding such a connection.  What a great experience for all.  They embarked on what they thought would be a particular adventure and ended up finding something completely different and being rewarded with a connection that they otherwise would have missed.  

That was a cool UDF!  I was happy Stacie the "Flying Tiger" Monkey was there to experience this unscripted random exchange.  Usually I'm by myself when this stuff happens.  It was cool to share it with someone in real-time.  Thanks for hanging with us. It truly made my day.

So thats it… Keep pulling on the thread my friends.  An adventure is bound to unravel.

Reporting to you this week with the assistance of the "Flying Tiger" Monkey and as Woody Guthrie would say,  Take it easy… but take it!

jp

Moto Guzzi... Do they still make those? Yes, yes they do

So, Why the Guzzi?

Well for the most part, it's completely inverse of the Ural.  They are like mechanical Yin and Yang.

The Goose is absolutely the most passionate machine I have ever owned and that says something because I have had my share of machines.  It has a level of intensity that permeates everything in its vicinity. You don't merely start or "turn on" this bike.  You literally bring it to life when you put in the key.  It reciprocates by bringing the same to you when you settle into the saddle.  

It has an explosive symphonic growl that is simply unique.  If you were to try to visualize the sound, it would be as if it were a star at the brink of going super nova.  Sticking with that theme; when you twist the throttle it is like the M1 Nebula… it just keeps expanding with this explosive force that feels as though you are going to be hurled across the universe. 

Where the Ural turns heads by its unique visual presence this bike turns beds by its voice.  When I was at Speed Week this guy comes running out of the store at a gas station with his buddy to get a glimpse of the bike.  He told me he was an AMA tech inspector and how he loved the unique sound of a Guzzi.  He was right, nothing sounds quite like a Goose.  He kept saying, "Man I heard you downshift and pull up to the pump and knew.  THAT HAS TO BE A GOOSE".  He was elated to see one on road. 

The design; well it's artistic yet comfortable.  I can ride it all day and still feel fresh.  At your very first gaze you realize it has its own shape and it is not merely a copy of every other half-naked sport bike.  The closer you look the more finesse in engineering you will see. from the fasteners to the fairing brackets.  Yes... even the brackets on this bike have style and functional style at that.  

More importantly to me is its character.  The combination of all of those things brings a unique character to this bike.  It is what drew my father to love Moto Guzzi's many years ago.  I can remember him coming home with a flyer for a new Eldorado and telling me all about the engineering of the transverse V-twin and the shaft drive.  I remember him proclaiming that it was the Maserati of motorcycles.  He was right.  He never was able to own a Moto Guzzi because shortly thereafter he had a stroke which prevented him from ever riding a motorcycle again.  I know he rides with me every time it comes to life.  He would have loved this machine.

Sidetrak'n worthy?  You bet!  It too is a catalyst for dialog.  The people that walk up are either "in the know" or they want to be.  Either way, they have a story and are interested in yours.  For example the other day I stopped to say hello to Cookie Kelli and enjoy a fine Chocobloc Cookie (a somewhat religious experience, i might add) and Jim the Corvair guy was captivated by the Goose which resulted in a 20 minute conversation about all things mechanical and philosophical.  Brilliant. 

So thats it, passionate, absolute, dependable and unassuming yet stylish enough to a sophisticated taste. I guess it's just a mechanical reflection of what I aspire to be.  

Twisting somewhere--jp

Why a Ural?

People ask me  why the Ural?… Easy… Its cool, its unique and its fitting.  

Fitting?  your damn skippy its fitting..  For you see… I am an old Cold War veteran that saw the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting social changes. I was part of that history.  So for me to be able to own a Russian Military Motorcycle that is now publicly available on an open US market and built by the folks that largely own the privately held company is just simply a level of poetry.   I would call that sociotechnical evolution.  

Cool?… your damn skippy it's cool.  For you see… when you travel via sidecar there are several things that happen that are unlike other modes of travel.  Sidehacking is like a relationship;  once you realize that you "effect" it and cannot "control" it… well… everything is much more enjoyable.  So you learn to not worry about the dumb stuff and you are forced to slow down and see the things that matter. 

 One of those things is human interaction.  When you travel down the road via sidecar everyone smiles.  It's like being in a perpetual parade and you are the lead float.  I often tell people it feels like a public service because you leave leave nothing but smiles in your wake.  

When people see you they wave.  Well… "to wave," may be an understatement. They all but throw their arm out of its socket.  I had one guy almost fall of his bike because he could not prevent himself from waving.  It's like tossing a ball around a Border Collie; they are going to chase it.  Who knew that sidecars were programed into our DNA. It's innate. 

Of course you have the riders;  technically if they are in the "Chair" aka sidecar, they are referred to as the "monkey".  take a look at any side car racing clip and you'll understand why.  On-Board a sidecar race hack However all of that aside, the riders also cannot help themselves.  They have an innate reaction as well.  Regardless of age or gender, they all do the same thing.  They grin from ear to ear. I swear someone is going to break their face one of these days and my insurance is going to go up. 

Cool?… yep thats pretty damn cool.

So there you have it.  Why a Ural.  

PS.: They go anywhere and you can haul a pant-load of stuff!  I can't do that on my Guzzi so that begs the question; Why the Guzzi?  More on that in another installment.  

out there…--jp

Time...

Man there are so many things to share but so little time to do it all.  I am reminded of an Ani Difranco lyric,  "I've been a long time coming and I'll be a long time gone.  You've got you whole life to do something and thats not very long."  

I wrestle with my time management/efficiency and often feel like I should be doing more.  I have to find a more simple way to write and edit all of the things I want to accomplish.   Crap!  

Recently I commented to friend that I was just exhausted and didn't understand why I wasn't getting more accomplished.  He laughed and replied that maybe I should slow down a bit.   Slow Down?  Slow Down?  What?  I ride a Ural for craps sake how much slower can I go.  lol…  He commented that perhaps my perspective is a bit off.  He looked at my odometers and reminded me that I put over 17K clicks on 2 bikes and recorded almost 2 terabit's of data in 9 months while still working a separate full time job.  Whatever… I still feel like I should be doing better at this.  

Largely its about having the right equipment and then spending the time to learn how to make it productive.  I'm getting there.  This is the first year and the project is just starting to have its own personality which helps define what the work needs to be.  

I will admit…sometimes I fantasize about simplifying my world and imagine what it would be like to have a defined task related job.  I wonder if I would get bored if all I as doing was videography or just editing etc etc.  I enjoy to do too many things.  Hmm, I wonder why I always feel busy.  

Recently I have been reminded that busy is good but just remember to enjoy the things and people around you.  If that isn't happening your focus is wrong.  

I come back to the Chinese Proverb about the red thread.  "Just pull the damn thread Prichard and don't get yourself tangled in it."  Practice what you preach.

Until next time…. look for me broadcasting from my 3 wheeled pulpit.  --jp