The Zen of a Rumbling Big Twin

Well the temptation of Retro is complete, he has given himself over to the “Darkside.” Today I made an offer on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and it was accepted. Tomorrow I will be a Harley Owner.

Before I go any farther, let me pause for this important message HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR!!!! Today is my beloved’s (XX) anniversary of her 29th Birthday. For which we claimed she got a convertible. However, today was as much my day as her’s, in that I got a Harley! I have the best wife in the world, who else has a wife that not only is OK with them riding, rides along often, moreover, buys me a bike without my expecting it (last year the ’84 Wing) and to top it all off, allows me to buy myself a Harley for her birthday!

Now, while I will try not to bore those of you who do not ride with incessant and inane talk about cc’s or cubic inches, and fork rakes, or the virtues of baggers vs. sportsers… occasionally I have what I call a typical guy moment, where my veneer of the “Renaissance Man” slips and I become just a bike guy. (OK, for those more well read, you will realize that what we currently call a “Renaissance Man” really isn’t, because usually he is softend to the mechanical arts, and the idea of building anything with his hands, other than “art” is anathema. When in reality the term comes from the Renaissance of not only beauty and art, but of science away from unabridged spiritualism. I.E. along the lines of Da Vinci, who built war machines as well as amazing and moving art.)

The bike I will acquire on the morrow is a 1996 Harley Davidson Dyna Glide FXDS-Convertible. Not called a convertible because it has no top (though it doesn’t,) the name comes from the fact that the Convertible was designed to be the ultimate “utility” Harley. It was given a Big Twin 88 cubic inch power plant with a 5speed transmission capable of pulling a house uphill. This was all set in a Dyna frame which was the midsized frame available, bigger than the Sportsters, but slightly smaller body parts and wheel base than the Electra Glide or Road Kings. But attached to that frame is the fork and lean clearance of a Sportster. Meaning that this bike has the power and comfort for distance touring, but is agile and nimble enough to feel and look comfortable in traffic. Additionally, the bike comes equipped with a detachable windshield and quick release saddlebags. So, when you are touring you have the comfort of some wind and road protection, as well as luggage room, but when you are just cruising town, you can strip it down for a lean mean look.

So far what I have told you is true of EVERY Dyna Convertible… now let me tell you about MINE! This bike is beautiful. It is two-tone Harley red on red, with all the brass eagle and chrome accessories that you would expect to find, air cleaner cover, battery box, etc… There is not a scratch on the bike, likely because the bike might as well be new. She has only 2934mi on the odometer. And, before the nay sayers begin it is a digital odometer so tampering is difficult, and unlikely. Not only that, but everything else on the bike speaks to the fact that it has only been ridden <3000>

The best part is I paid anywhere from $2-3k less than I though I would have to for a bike of anywhere near this quality, and probably that much less than what the bike would sell for in a few weeks as the weather gets nicer and nicer, and the owner waited for a more heavily pocketed buyer (it would be worth every penny of it…) So not only did I fulfill another item on my bucket list, Own a Harley, I did so at a bargain. And to top it all off, with the bargain I got, I don’t have to immediately let go of my beloved Wing. I will keep it to ride on poorer weather days, or when I am in a hurry and the Harley may take too long to warm up, or just because the seat may be more comfortable for a particular riding day. (And in reality, I am kinda excited about the prospect of sharing it with my brother who has been putting off buying a bike of his own, but now he and his wife can ride with the Retro and Spouse and enjoy their knees in the breeze too. Life is better shared.)

So, as a friend on a web forum I read puts it… I now have Multiple Bike Syndrome, and the most interesting part is the two bikes I own are often the butt of each other’s jokes, so I guess I can just pick on them all, and laugh at us all. After all if you can’t laugh at yourself, you really need to get a sense of humor (or medication.)

Retro

p.s. These two picures are NOT MY BIKE!!! But they are of one of the same year and model with a similar paint scheme and similar added chrome and brass amenities. And yes, my bike looks this good and better.

The Lure of the Dark Side… be there Zen?

I know, they say to make something a habit you have to do it consistently for something like 21 days… and here I am less than a week in and I am missing two days in a row of blogging. Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way, work and social life have kept me hopping and taking the time to write something more than… today I had pizza… with more thought and insight than… I think black is hard to see at night… sometimes may be impossible. And while I will try to always get back to the blog, I will never promise to “make up for it” because that would imply that somehow I could be particularly insightful on demand (which would be helpful, but unfortunately is not a skill which I have acquired.)

Today I am speaking on the temptation of Retro Winger… to explain. The name Retro Winger for those who are unaware comes from the fact that I ride a 1984 (26yr old) GoldWing or as I call it OldWing. I began riding Goldwing’s not as an “old man” as you normally see, but as a 27yr old. The cause of my first Goldwing purchase was that I was broke, and had just had my last bike damaged to the point it would not operate. I was trying to find a ride, and found this ’78 Wing at the bus barn at the church where I attended. It had been donated and needed “some work.” But the church didn’t have any good way to make use of it, or get rid of it, so I was able to purchase it for VERY LITTLE. Come to find out, even an old Wing that needs “some work” often is a great ride. There is a reason all those old guys ride Wing’s. They are bulletproof engines that with a little TLC and routine maintainer will provide 150,000+miles of the most comfortable riding you have ever experienced.

I will admit as a 27 year old I did feel a bit silly riding around on an old Wing, until I really learned how to ride it, and how maneuverable that bike was. How nimble it was, and how much power and lean it had for the curvy’s. Since that time I let that bike go thinking I wanted a “cruiser” styled bike so I got a Suzuki Marauder. I enjoyed the bike just fine for running around town. But it was not the bike you wanted to get out on the highway, or do any back road touring for any real saddle time. The worst part was, I owned my old Wing when the wife and I met and married. So, she was immediately spoiled to the big comfortable pillon seat that the Wing affords. Needless to say, she was not impressed with the Marauders postage stamp of a pillon seat. In fact, while she would ride around town some, we made one trip from Tulsa OK to OKC OK and back in one day (212 mi round trip) and she never made another out of town trip on that bike, the seat was so uncomfortable. So, the next bike I was going to get WAS going to have the big comfortable pillon seat.

So, the next bike was this ’84 Wing, which I have had for about a year now. I put about 20,000 miles a year on a bike. One of the things I have always loved about the Goldwings was that here I had bought a 25 year old bike, with 93,000 miles on the clock, and yet put 20k more with only routine maintenance (with one minor exception which was my fault, had some icing on my front forks coming back from Dallas after the Cotton Bowl which caused me to have to replace the fork seals…)

Another thing you need to know about me, and my potential decent to the dark side, is that I am learning patience, especially fiscal patience. I have been the world’s worst about “finding” what I wanted just because the potential to purchase existed, not necessarily because it was the right time to purchase, or was the best deal, etc..

So, as I mentioned in a prior posting, we purchased the wife her convertible last Saturday. That purchase was a prerequisite to my purchasing a new bike. Thus, now I can start looking and considering what type of new bike I want. We had done some budgeting and figured that I might be able to purchase as early as Christmas (which also happens to be really close to my birthday so probably a combine present.)

Then, a friend tells me he is considering the purchase of a newer model Electra Glide Harley and selling his Road King. Better than that he has the wife sit on the back seat to see that it is a big comfortable seat, and lets her know that all the “big twins” can have those types of seats. Well, we check the budget again and find that there is the possibility that we can borrow and buy, but do we want to? What he is asking for the bike is a very fair price but not an unpassable deal. We were not really going to be ready to purchase until Dec, so we would be pushing our budget. So we made the “grown up” decision not to. We discussed it at length and decided that if it was meant to be that the right deal would be available when we were ready to purchase, and when it was not going to stress the budget, and until then I could look, but unless it was an unpassable deal I was only looking.

Wouldn’t you know, yesterday, leaving the office our building engineer, a Harley rider, and I are talking and I am confiding in him that I have been discussing getting rid of the Wing and going with a Harley only after talking to some other 20k+/year Harley riders and being reassured that the jokes and stories of Harley maintenance are largely from AMF and pre EVO days of Harley. That with proper maintenance and upkeep a big twin can comfortably do 20k+ a year with routine maintenance and be a 150k mile bike. He tells me of a gentleman he knows with a ’94 Convertible with 7k miles on the clock. The guy is a motivated seller as he has another bike, just lost his job, and when he tells me what he wants out of the bike my jaw hit the floor. It was a good $3k under what I know the bike would sell for if he were patient, likely $4k under, and well within my price range.

Needless to say, if all the information is accurate, this is an unpassable deal! I may go to the dark side and have to eat all the jokes I have told for the last several years about Harleys and Harley riders. However, if it happens, it would be fulfillment of another lifelong dream, owning a big twin Harley (any Harley for that matter.) The good thing about being a Goldwing rider, as opposed to a Harley rider up to this point in my life is that Goldwing stuff doesn’t usually take over your life the way Harley stuff does. You know the type, first he gets the bike, next he gets the Harley jacket and car tag holder, and before you know it everything he owns has a Harley logo on it, including his Ford truck! So if I do go to the dark side, I don’t have so much stuff to get rid of that says Goldwing.

I will keep you updated on my decent, or lack thereof.


Retro

The Zen in a Spinning Wheel

As you read my posts you will likely tire of hearing how great my life is. But the fact is, I have a great life. Not because it is perfect by any stretch of the imagination. No, my I have a great life first, because I choose to look to the positives and not dwell (nor ignore) the negatives. Second, I can honestly say I have a great life because between personal experiences, and the experiences of those I help every day I know how it could be.

Today many people might not consider that spectacular of a day. I got up, went to work, after work spent time on a hobby, had dinner, and now am sharing this with you. I however choose to see today differently, according to my "great life" view, it looked more like this...

I woke up to a still snow covered ground, but celebrated that the temps stayed high enough the roads were just wet, mostly, which meant I got to ride my motorcycle to work (not an unusual occurance, but since my stroke I celebrate every riding day.) Once at work I have the opportunity to actually help people, which always warms my heart. I keep a file of success stories for those colder hearted days (you know when I am feeling like a "regular" lawyer.)

Now one of the downsides of non-profit law is that it does not pay well. Like I said my life is far from perfect. However one nice exchange is that since we don't get overtime occasionally getting out of the office early is an option. Today was just such a day. I headed out to 3rd Street Clayworks, where I do pottery. Very Zen. I have a love of wheel thrown pottery, and even enjoy slab building, although I am too impatient to be good at that.

This evening I had the opportunity to throw on a new wheel, a "Randall" wheel. For me this was huge, the style of wheel fit my throwing style and technique to a "T". It felt almost symbiotic between me and the wheel working together, rather than the way it had felt, like me having to "opperate" the student wheels. It just felt amazing. And that made for a very productive evening. I was able to throw several mugs, a couple of bowls, and a grapefruit juicer, and still have enough time to glaze a dozen other mugs I had previously thrown.

Then, after all that, I get a 50 degree bike ride home (which is plenty warm in case you are wondering.) Topped off by walking in to find that my wonderful wife had cooked me breakfast for dinner (one of my favorite meals.)

So yes, in some ways today was just a "normal" day, and not that great. But from the Zen of the spinning wheel to the little miracles, I think it was one of the greatest days of my life.


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The Zen of Nuptials

There is a definite Zen to someone ELSES’ nuptials. The reason it has to be someone else’s is because it is almost impossible to reach a truly Zen-like state at either your own wedding or the wedding of a child at which you carry any responsibility. Only at the wedding of someone else can you sit back and relax, enjoy cake, music, dancing, and reminiscing about what you can actually remember of your own wedding day (or the courtship surrounding it.)

Today was a Zen wedding for me, not so much for the First Office of my riding club, for he was the father of the bride. Remember that movie, the one with Steve Martin, where the day before the wedding they had a rare/never freeze and they had to move the geese into the bathtub to keep them from freezing. I also remember one of the funny thing I thought was so funny was them using hair dryers on the flowers they had staged the day before. And they ended up having to move much of the wedding from the back yard into the house and under a tent, which turned out to be beautiful, all because they had originally intended to have an outdoor wedding.

Well, fortunately for all involved in today’s wedding, there was not near the mad dash to move everything due to the “Oklahoma Spring” weather (which if you read yesterdays blog came in EXACTLY as expected!) All parties involved are life long Okies so they know much better than to plan anything outdoors for any season in Oklahoma without an indoor backup, or in the case of a wedding, you just don’t plan them outdoors EVER!

It was a beautiful wedding, the bride was blushing in white, the groom was tall and sharp in Marine Dress uniform, which always looks amazing at weddings. Brought back memories of my own wedding, not that I was a tall Marine, far from it, just brought the memories. One day, when I am not writing at midnight I will have to tell the story of how the wife and I met and our wedding. I was in trouble often in planning it. Today was much better, show up, sit back, enjoy, eat, dance, go home.

Happy Wedding Day, and many good wishes Bride and Groom Andrea and Brandon.


Retro

The not so Zen of Oklahoma Weather

Rather than just deleting my previous blog entry, where I claimed Spring had arrived in Oklahoma, to remove proof of my error, I will just admit it. The weather in Oklahoma will make a fool out of you any time you make absolute statements. The next surrounding 48hrs will be the perfect example.

Today it was a beautiful Spring day. By mid day the temperature was reaching up to the low 70’s (about 73) and there was a nice cool breeze in the air. The sun was shining which made the day warm and wonderful. In my haste to take advantage of it, I found an opportunity to go for a ride this evening (not that I really needed an excuse, but it is nice to have a destination sometimes.)

The wife and I headed out about 3p to look at a car found on Craigslist for her. (I have promised her a convertible, a story for another entry.) We headed down historic Route 66 to The Rock Café, which if you have not heard of it, was an inspiration for the Pixar movie Cars (the Porche is based on Dawn the owner.) From there we rode on down to Shawnee to look at a classic 1969 Chevy Impala, which unfortunately turned out not to be what we had hoped for.

As we stopped at Micky D’s (McDonald’s for the uninitiated) for my sweet tea addiction where we got an interesting question from a police officer. He asked which way we were headed? I thought he was asking because there was rain coming in from the west and north and he was going to warn us. NO!!! he was wanting to make sure we were aware of the weather coming in tomorrow.

See this is Oklahoma, and while it was a beautiful sunny 73 today, tonight it is raining and the temp is dropping constantly. Tomorrow it is going to drop on down past 32 and start snowing, expected accumulation 6-8 inches! Yes, 73degrees to 6-8inches of snow in 36hrs! Only in Oklahoma!

So as we readjusted our route home, because the route we took already was getting rain and had dropping temps we hit the road. Across the great American Highway 40 to Henryetta we rode, and then up to home. At Henryetta the temperature was still in the 70’s though cloudy. However as we rode North you could see the clouds gather, and the wind pick up. Then it began, a sprinkle, which wasn’t a big deal. But as the sprinkle began, the temperature dropped precipitously. The sprinkling was enough the last 10 miles my safety glasses were getting wet, and between there and home the temp dropped from 70 to 51. Gotta Love Oklahoma Weather. Like I said, 3h50min of great riding 10m of cold wet misery. (worst part is I had to admit I was wrong…may Spring return quickly)


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Wii Fit Yoga Zen

You are only as old as you think you are… and Wii fit tells you that you are!

About a month ago I decided I would get a Wii for the express purpose of using it for the Wii Fit Plus exercise program. Sounds like a good reason to buy a video game to me. What was amazing was that when I went to actually purchase the game machine, there was not one in the entire state of Oklahoma. When I started calling around what I found was that places were getting shipments in of 2 or 3, maybe 4 and selling out almost immediately and they were almost not hitting the shelves. Then, finding the Fit Plus with Balance Board was an equally difficult task.

Sure, I could have ordered one from Amazon, but I am an instant gratification kinda guy. Thus, I want to get my exercise from a video game, not an actual gym, you see the logic. So I had been watching the websites of stores that carried the Wii and one Sunday morning I found stock, so I called my wife on her way to church and she stopped. She walked up to the counter and they had 3, someone was buying 1, she bought 1 and as she was checking out someone walked up and bought the 3rd…sold out. Amazing, a kid’s video game.

Anyway, took it home and hooked it up. For those not familiar with the Wii Fit, it uses a balance board that can tell where your center of balance is, how much you weigh, how well you move, how good your reflexes are, and all kinds of things. So, to start with it has you put in your height, birth date, and it runs you thorough some tests. Then, sound the music….. it gives you… Dum Dum Dum…. Your Wii Age….

The first time I did it I was 52…. 52! (You have to understand in real human years I am only 39, yes I am “morbidly” obese at 6’ and 316lbs but my wife tells me I look good, as all wives should.) I was hurt more than devastated. I didn’t expect to be in great shape, but I was hoping for something a little closer within a decade.

So I started an exercise regime which has included some Yoga, for balance, stretching and focus. Strength training for the obvious. And aerobic exercise for stamina. I do about 30 min a day balanced between the three. And have been going for about 3 weeks now. I knew that I had good balance when I was dancing in my history. And that I had good body control as well. Apparently that is coming back more quickly than I thought because as I have taken new tests over the last weeks my age has steadily decreased. A week into it I was down to 42. Last week I was so excited… I hit 37, two years younger than I actually am now.

But the coup de gras was last night…. After completing my workout and cool down, I did a couple of minutes of deep breathing exercises and hit a body test again. You could have blown me over with a feather when the result came back…. My Wii Age as of St. Paddy’s Day was ….wait for it…. 28… that’s right eleven years younger than my actual age.

So if you are only as old as you think you are…. And the Wii Fit tells you that you are… I will live FOREVER!


Retro

The Zen of Weird Al Yankovic

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I know it is a little early in my blogging life to let my geek flag fly. I was doing so well, being a motorcycle rider, talking tough about riding in weather others won’t ride in and all. But now I go and “ruin” it all.

I have been a Weird Al fan since back in his Dr. Demento days. By the time Eat It came out and people starting saying “have you heard this guy?” I had to say, “Yea, I’ve heard that guy. I have bootlegs of him performing live out in LA on cassette I traded by mail with a D&D buddy for.

Since that time I have purchased every album he has released (including “Polka Party!”) I have had the opportunity to see him live more than a dozen times. Which I know for some real tour followers isn’t much but for someone who just goes to concerts when they are there that accounts for a bunch. THEN…. Living in Tulsa, when he was filming VHF here I went down to the Brady every chance I got that I thought I might get to see him, and even was there when they filmed one of the outdoor scenes, which was cool. ALSO… in about 1985 I got to meet Al’s parents when I was on tour with a gospel singing group out in CA.

What was really great though was more recently, when Straight Outta Lynwood came out with the song White & Nerdy. See I have a now 17 year old son. At the time he was about 14 or 15 and he was into the hip hop music. And he thought dad with his Star Trek loving, D&D playing, computer geeking, comic book reading ways was just too much to deal with. THEN… Weird Al comes through to another generation and he comes home telling me about this really cool song he heard on the “you tubes.”

You should have seen the look on his face when I pulled the CD out of the computer where I had been playing it non-stop for over a week and a half because I had pre-purchased it. (OK, geek flag flying a little too high…lowering….) I was cool dad for a moment because the song was blowing up. And the best part was the song was blowing up hottest about the same time Al came to Tulsa for the tour. So what did I do? Bought tickets for both of us of course!!! For about a week I was awesome. (But it didn’t last long. Teenagers are fickle)

I however, am not fickle! I was pleasantly surprised that my starting a Twitter account actually paid off in the 1st week. @alyakovick posted some new tour date heads ups and guess what….. Tulsa is in there!!!!! There will be one butt in one seat for sure.

Thank you Weird Al…. you are a genius among mere mortals….


Retro

Zen in Spring - Brother bikers

Finally it looks like spring is peaking its head out of the clouds and the mercury is going to stay on the north side of 40 for a few days. Even better than that, there is this big orange thing in the sky, which if I remember from somewhere back in October or November was the Sun. However, it could just be a figment of my rain and snow addled mind.

It is good to see other bikes on the road again. Being a year round bike rider it sometimes gets lonely out on the road. However, the opposite of what you would expect, where you can usually assume NO ONE SEES YOU, it is funny that when it is 20 degrees and while the roads are clear there is snow on the ground, the fact that you are on a bike catches people off guard enough that YOU ARE SPOTTED. They not only see you, they point, and almost drive off the road and cause accidents looking at you, which you then have to watch out for their reckless shocked reactions, rather than just the indifference you become used to. Which just goes to the saying, don’t get too comfortable.

While it is good to see more other riders out again it did have a surreal experience the other day…

It was the first REALLY beautiful riding day we have had around here in a LONG time. Temp in the high 50's-low 60's sunny with dry roads. It was great. I was on the bike Downtown Tulsa, as I am during the day (I work there). Another rider on a Harley look-a-like pulls up next to me at a traffic light, we exchange nods, and he says...

"Isn't it nice to be able to get the bikes out again?"

I'm dumbfounded! What I want to say is, "I don't know about you but there have only been about 14 days all winter that I haven't been on this bike." OR, "I rode to work the day it was 9, why haven't you been riding?" OR, "I put this bike back on the road after the snow the first day I thought I could safely find a wet but not icy path to the office."

What I actually said was...

"Well, it is nice to not have such a cold wet day to ride."

As I pulled away I thought to myself, did he not look at my bike as he pulled up behind me, it is covered in road grime because I haven't had time to clean it up (my motto I'd rather ride than polish.) And I though, surely road grime can't be mistaken for garage dust?

Not that I expect everyone to ride like me, heck at times I think I’m silly for choosing to ride on the days I ride, but I have always dreamed of living my life on the back of a bike. It was the assumption that I had just pulled it out of the garage that got me. I learned a LONG time ago not to make such assumptions. Such as, the big guy covered in tattoos with long hair and a beard down to his chest… don’t assume he rides a Harley (I’ve got a couple of Goldwing riding buds who look like they came straight out of the outlaw clubs, and for all I know they did.) And NEVER assume they are outlaws! It amazes me how many of those old tattooed guys are former military, police, firemen, and other very “structured” professions. So I may comment on the weather, but I would never assume just because someone’s chrome was all polished that they were a weekend rider, or just pulled the bike out of the garage. For all I know they own a detail shop and keep their bike pristine even riding it all winter in all weather…. Enough rambling….

Now for the Oklahoma spring weather…. Bring on the tornados.



Retro

Introduction - The begining of Zen

I have resisted for years writing a blog. Largely because I spent most of my life telling everyone who I could make listen, everything I thought. And I actually thought they wanted to know. After many years, and much pounding into my head I learned that most of them did not want to hear what I thought about anything, much less EVERYTHING.

However, recently I have been convinced that I actually have something to say. And that I probably had something to say back then, it was more the approach to the message. So, this time I am taking a more Zen like approach to disseminating my wisdom to the world. (Wisdom being said with tongue firmly in cheek, as it is more likely my ramblings being disseminated.) Thus, with this blog, and my new Twitter account no one is forced to listen, they can tune me out to their hearts content.

As for the purpose and content of this blog, you will have to read my next post (and the hundreds to follow) to determine that. Because it is going to be a general rambling of my own ideas on subject ranging from Family, Politics, Motorcycles, Religion, Music, Theater, Art, Food, TV, Law, Education, Travel, Business, Personal Growth, and whatever else I come up with.

If you are still reading I thank you and welcome you to my world, and yes the sky is sometimes blue.

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