Killing time at the McCafe...

...and playing around with my little portable computer. haven't figured out how to get pictures from the phone to this device (other than e-mailing them to myself...which is too much bother...), but I have retrieved some of my own pics from the web....that are 'floating' around out there.  This is a pic I've posted before, that I took at the first DirtQuake US last year. This is a chopped 750 Honda with an Equalean sidecar that was raced at DirtQuake US. The leaning feature on this particular rig had been disabled. 

Been thinking about sidecars lately. Been looking to be a wet winter and thinking I'd like a light weight rig again.

Maybe something like what Pete and I used to get around in during the late 80's.

(retrieved this pic from this blog's 'Picassa web album'). This is a CB 350 Honda with a Thompson Cyclecar sidecar that a friend gifted me with. It came with a basket case BMW he bought. I ran this sidecar on an SL 350, a CB 350 and on a CL 450. Each time I fabricated subframes to attach to. Not sure what I'd like to attach to this time...still mulling that over. This time thinking about making it able to haul a small canoe I have....( seriously thinking about getting a fishing license this year, especially if all the predicted rain shows up... )

This envelope contained some literature that came with the sidecar. Dogs in side cars..

And this is a Honda 350 powered high heel shoe...found this pic on the web...and I believe this is the one that used to feature in a television bank advertisement years ago.

water is falling from the skies....

...and the skies are gray...desert dreaming, on a California day... (to paraphrase an old radio song from most of ours youth...)

right now it's more of a drizzle outside of the McCafe... sitting here ruminating...looking back at the year and how it's unfolded...and realizing in hindsight, that this was not the year to try to enter anything. Due to circumstances way beyond my control...I've had to miss DirtQuake US two...and now this years La/Barstow/Vegas desert run. Looking on the bright side...the bikes for those events will be more than ready next time around. Another event I've wanted to do involves pre 1971 bikes, and is a road run in Northern California called the Moto Melee. It's a three day backroads adventure that looks like it would be fun. I have an old 450 Honda 'Black Bombër' that would be a good candidate for that one..(as soon as I figure out why it's stuck in one gear).

I'll be watching my fellow 'desert rats' via social media... sigh.

Remembering my father...

Some time in the forties...later came Korea and Vietnam...

Wrestling with computers,paypal,and various sign up apps.... LA to Barstow to Las Vegas

....making lists, and checking them off...   bought a replacement Lap top...check
                                                                   AMA membership ...check
                                                                   reserved a spot in the ride...check
                                                                   bought a suitable bike for the event...check

                                                                    To do list:
                                                                             
                                                                     Go through the electrical system on the bike
                                                                     find and buy replacement bulbs
                                                                     install heavier springs in front suspension
                                                                     install heavier spring on rear shock
                                                                     install digital speedometer/odometer
                                                                     procure roll chart holder and install
                                                                     change drive chain and possibly sprockets?
                                                                     oil change and filter clean
                                                                     fabricate additional 'bash plate' and install
                                                                    

                                                                      Book some motel rooms
                                                                      install hitch on the tow vehicle
                                                                      purchase a trailer (add a channel rail)
                                                                      and probably a dozen other things...

In Honda we trust

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Making lists, and talking to veterans...

Typical of most things I get involved in, time is short and the crunch is on... Lucky for me, I have expert advice to tap into. Travis Newbold and Mike of the Ranum brothers, good guys I met at the first DirtQuake US in 2014...are racers and veterans of the LA-Barstow-to Las Vegas. They participated last year , and I blame them for my desire to participate this year. Travis said that "metal mender" and whiskey were two important components of his kit. Mike says if I can stay on course and on time...I shouldn't have to do any night riding...oh yeah, he says I'll need to purchase a "roll chart holder" to hold the course directions...(think I still have a compass somewhere in my back packing gear.. )

I hope the "metal mender" Travis mentioned was of the liquid metal in tubes variety, and not the full rescue welder kit...(though that does look interesting)

Thinking I better see if I can find one of those chart holders.... 

in Honda we trust?

I have a1986 Honda XR 200R....that starts and runs very well. I have heavy duty suspension components to add...some electrical issues to resolve. A trailer to procure and prepare...a tow vehicle that needs a hitch attached to it...gear and equipment to organize and pack...entry forms to fill out...

The usual things you do, to prepare for a two day ride in the desert... feeling just a bit anxious about it. One prerequisite is joining the AMA, which I was getting ready to do anyway...in hopes of doing some flat track racing this year. was hoping to have most of this done by this point...but, so it goes....Yep, feeling a bit like the pic, hazy...lacking focus...

Time for some housekeeping....

Had a little look backwards at this little blog...started in 2011, at that time with a new HP mini computer that has started giving me "software issues". Turns out it was easier to start fresh with a new Lenovo 'ídeapad'  ...and started thinking it was time to try some new stuff. For a while I've been posting with the cel phone...which though doable...is really a bit cumbersome and frustrating. it's not bad for short "on the road" posts .

Noticing a lot of the blogs I have followed have gone dormant...Facebook and Instagram to blame for it, I'm thinking....so it goes. That is an area I'll be looking at soon...culling the inactives. Now some of you, to your credit, post regularly....and I enjoy perusing your blogs....and now that I have a functioning 'puter might start commenting again...with the phone it was so hit or miss I pretty much gave up trying.

Having to learn Windows 10, which hasn't been too bad...though I haven't figured how to get pics from my phone to the puter yet...in time I will. So I'll do that via the phone for awhile....kind of a back and forth process.

The new puter...thinner, bigger screen, longer battery life....we'll see if it last 4 years...

Truth be told...been going through a bad time family wise...with a death in the family...but that's all I have to say about that...on ''Social media". This is supposed to be a blog about motorcycles and the like...so here we go!

I'm going to try like crazy to participate in the L.A. to Barstow to Las Vegas  desert ride comin up very soon at the end of this current month. So the next several posts will deal mainly with that.

The bike...a 1986 Honda XR 200 R...as Travis Newbold is fond of saying "In Honda we trust"