It's thursday, in the US, it's Thanksgiving day...

Got a 10 day stretch off from work, it's cold and damp so far. But the weather is looking up, no rain for several days in the latest forecast. Maybe I'll head up to the mountains, and with any luck find some ski-able snow.....but for now it's headed in the other direction to the Monterey area for Thanksgiving...

                           Where I'd like to be....Chipmonk Ridge ,near Loon Lake California.
                            Maybe later in the week...

                              In a few hours I'll be on Interstate 5, heading to the coast.
                              Hopefully a little sunnier than in this shot....

Been having a good time trying to organize my tools, parts and projects....all neglected for too long.

                              Got one of these in the garage, sorry about the out of focus pic.
                              Mine has a long way to go before it looks like this again.
                              Known as a 'Rocket' or 'Spitfire' Scrambler depending on the year.
                              Then I believe BSA confused the issue by using the 'Spitfire' name
                              during the Unit construction era... 

                              Been gathering up what cub parts I have, to mock up a Trials
                              build. This bike is close to what I'd like, minus the lighting bits.
                              Anyone out there got an engine for sale?

Veteran's Day 2012 P-61 Reconnissance Aircraft Version (AKA F-15, and RF-61)

A Northrop RF-61 ,click here for a link to Wikipedia article------------>P-61 Article

Veteran's day again. Thinking about my departed father and his still living brother and their service in the US military. The pic above I posted last year. Some Sgt. stripes my father wore. The round patch was off of one of his bags. The matchbook from the base in California he retired out of.
My father started his service at the end of WW2 , serving as part of the Japan occupation, and also serving in Korea and Viet Nam. He was in Photo Reconaissance.
My Uncle who lives in Canada was in artillery during WW2 and was part of the D-Day invasion. When I see him at Christmas, if he doesn't mind I'd like to talk about that time. He's about 85 I believe, and still driving.

While searching the web for pictures I found this site, Click here---------->P61 Restoration

An amazing group of aircraft enthusiasts and craftsmen in Pennsylvania, have recovered a wrecked lo-air miles P-61 from a mountain top in New Guinea. They are nearing a complete restoration of the aircraft...to a flying condition. A pretty amazing story, check it out. They are using parts from a P-61 that was being used as a fire fighting plane in California, until it suffered a 'hard landing', and it was decided not to rebuild it.

My father talked about how the time he spent in the P-61 (aka F-15 or later as the RF-61) as being one of the high points of his military career, and probably one of the more exciting and dangerous times. Not that there were not other exciting or dangerous times. He really didn't speak about it much, because for a long time this was all still classified stuff you didn't talk about. I'm finding all kinds of interesting articles on the web now.

Here's to all who served in the services, past, present and future.


Here are some links to other WW2 aircraft that have been found.
Two links about a P-38 found deep under the ice in Greenland, and dubbed 'Glacier Girl'
Click here-------->P-38 found in ice    and click here--------->'Glacier Girl'

Click here for----------->P-40 found in Sahara desert

It was a dark and drizzley night....

...in the neighborhood. Halloween night. A little Bee and her Mama and Dada were looking for something....something called 'Punkins'....

As they walked along the streets of the neighborhood they spotted some strange glowing orange orbs.....

Hee hee heee.....

Whoooooooo are you....?

I see you.....smile.

Meeeeowww, meooooww....

Wake up Frankie....

Here comes the sun...good morning....

Here's the little Bee....

And here are some punkins that the little Bee's Mama carved....Owl and the Pussy Cat.

A well known train....

Known as Thomas.

It was the little Bee's first Halloween trick or treating.   And a good time was had by all....the end.

First Snow, it's Winter...

Did several hours of cross-country/back-country skiing up at the Echo Lake/Echo summit area this past Saturday. Snow was perfect. On the road out of the Sno-Park area we spotted this old cabin, in a state of 'un-arrested decay'.

Took my Cub Magazine T-shirt skiing. As usual we were over dressed, and could have got along with just a T-shirt. The weather was very spring like. Here's hoping for a good winter and ski season.

My first ride, again...

Over at another blog called "Thistledown" was a post labeled "Fixer-upper". You can visit that blog from the right over there, where there is a list of blogs...by clickin' on it of course...

It's a pic of the same model and color that my first bike was. I've  posted this pic before, and probably said I'd be posting some more of it. Yeah, as soon as I find them and scan them in...

It's a 1969 CL 175 K3, brand new with the temp reg taped to the rear fender. It's late 1968. The 1969 models are out. It was an interesting time to buy a Honda. They still had 160's and 175's with the slanted motors . They also still had CB 305 Superhawks,CL 305 Scramblers and 4 speed 450's in the shops for sale. And of course the mind blower was the CB 750 Four. If my memory serves, my 175 was $640.00 out the door, and I talked the sales man into a red metal flake "Skid Lid" and a very cheap pair of imitation leather gloves. I remember some friends saying you gotta talk them into giving you a helmet and anything else you can get them to throw in to seal the deal...gift of gab I guess. The 350's were about $735.00, and the 750 went for about 1295.00, don't quote me, but I believe that is about right. I was angling for a 750, had the old man convinced I could handle the payments...but my mother put an end to that fantasy. The prices on 750's started going up about 200 dollars a year after that and were always just out of my reach. I did finally pick up a 1972 CB 750 years later, which I still own.

I sold my 175 to my brother, who "big- bored" it into a 200 and ran open megaphones with a smidgeon of baffling . This is the same brother that now owns the Sportster with the Nitrous set up... He sold it on to a friend and away it went.

A while back I was given a similar bike, an SL 175. Also picked up a stack of 175 motors at a meet for 15 dollars each, 4 or 5 of them. Had some idea about racing the bike...who knows?

They were fun bikes, 20 horsepower at 10,000 RPM.....YeeeHawww!

A little Nitrous oxide for ya?

Why yes Officer, I know it's illegal to run one of these on the street...as you can plainly see, it's not hooked up...

He's got more into this front wheel than I put into a whole bike...

Note "Custom" wiring...

My brother Mike's Sporty. He wanted me to get some pics before he makes some changes. Some rear set linkages for the shifter are in the works, and as well for rear brake actuation. 

He just picked up this Ninja, so now he can get around to finishing up the Sportster.

Sacramento Mile 2012 Part Two

Before the races started, took a stroll through the indoor display and dealer areas.

 A Speedway machine.

 Yamaha TZ 750  dirt tracker

 A Honda CB 350 based road racer

 A four wheel dirt tracker

 An old Royal Enfield dirt tracker that was raced the next day at the Vintage races

 New Triumph Scrambler

 The "Street" version

 Space Age looking new Ducati

 An equally Space Age looking new BMW 

 This young man is Randy Felice of A and S Powersports in Roseville Calif. I remember Randy as a  little kid  running around the shop when I worked for his father at the original shop in Folsom California, in the 70's. He's running the show these days. I might be talking to him one of these days about a Triumph, or a Dual-purpose BMW.

Opening ceremonies

A fly by of two state of the art new Marine attack choppers.

Looks like another post coming with a few more vids and pics, to wrap up the Sac Mile 2012....too hot in Sacramento lately.