Recovery

Rhandy is making an excellent recovery!

AND - he is looking forward to riding again. Not an easy step to make after an accident.

Motorcycle Accidents Happen...

You hear about them all the time.

BUT, it's different when it happens to a friend...



My previous post was about riding with North County Cruisers. Really friendly group, they ride every weekend.

This past weekend, August 1o, they rode to Big Bear. A great ride and I was sorry to miss it. It wasn't until Monday morning that I received the news. On that ride, Rhandy went off the road, hit an embankment and was thrown 25 feet into a tree. He was taken by helicopter to Loma Linda hospital. The photos posted in the previous post were taken by Rhandy.

The GOOD news is that he is on the road to a full recovery.

The BAD news is that it will be painful trip.

He has suffered 7 broken ribs, a fractured spine at T-5 and a lacerated liver. Luckily the spinal cord was not injured and he is able to move his fingers and toes.

So to my friend Rhandy - I wish you a speedy recovery, you are in my thoughts.

Cruising with North County Cruisers

It's been a long time since I went on a group ride. Too long. It's been at least a year. First it was because of my school schedule and now that school is over it's because of my work schedule. Well, I finally decided that I needed to take some time for me to do the things I enjoy. And what do I enjoy the most???

Riding my bike of course!

I met up with North County Cruisers and we rode to the Diamond Lake Reservoir. It was a beautiful warm day. Perfect riding weather.

As luck would have it, one of the cruisers is a professional photographer and has two cameras mounted on his bike. He took some excellent shots, including this one which he doctored up a little...


You can view the rest of the ride pictures on his website www.MomentsInTimeImaging.com

Just want to say THANK YOU!

With gas prices being what they are I am commuting to work and back on my bike these days. It usually takes me about 45 min (20 miles each way) because, of course, I am traveling at rush hour. I take a route that bypasses any major freeways. However, I do travel some busy 2-3 lane streets. So, what do I do? I split lanes. Yes, it's legal here in California. I don't speed by at obnoxious speeds and if I don't think there is enough room, I don't do it. It saves me at least 10 minutes off my commute going to and coming from work each day.
There is one section in particular as I approach the on and off ramp to the 78 that is particularly congested. Three lanes of traffic each direction and it is bumper to bumper. But as I approach it's like the parting of the red seas! The cars will actually move over to give me room to pass. Not all of them, but a good majority. So to these drivers I say THANK YOU!

Christmas 2007

Santa was good to me...

It was time for a new car. My 2001 GMC Jimmy has been very good to me but at 94,000 miles it was time for something new. I am commuting 40 miles to work each way and I needed something comfortable and feul efficient. After looking at several dealerships I decided on the Volkswagen Jetta SE. Ok, I actually had my mind made up before I started looking but thought I should look anyway.

So here it is, my new car on Christmas morning

My brother and I travelled to New Mexico to spend the holidays at my parents. The trip took about 12 hours which was pretty good time considering that during the trip we ran out of gas and I got a speeding ticket!

I was one of 250 citations that evening on the I-40 between the Arizona border and Texas. They clocked me at 82 in a 65 zone. I didn't know it was a 65 zone! The officer was nice enough to say I was only going 75, which reduced the ticket from $115 to $65. "Merry Christmas" he says as he hands me the ticket!

How I chose the KYMCO Venox

There is a lot of debate about whether a new rider should start off with a small bike or start with something larger. Some people say that a smaller bike is safer until you get used to handling a motorcycle. Others say you need something lasrger so you can get out of the way when needed.

I chose to go with a smaller bike. My original thought was the Honda Rebel. Of course I turned to the internet to research more information. Everything I read said the Honda Rebel was a great, reliable bike. I even checked it out at my local Honda dealer.

One of my resources was a forum called http://www.beginnerbikers.org/.

Here are some of my posts...

http://www.beginnerbikers.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4864

http://www.beginnerbikers.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4935

http://www.beginnerbikers.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5013

Then I came across the KYMCO Venox. The bike really appealed to me but it was relatively unknown. I asked about it in the forum and was introduced to another forum called http://alternativecruisers.com/. Found a lot of useful information and made some good friends.

Here are some of my posts...

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=819.0

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=838.0

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=1186.0

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=1224.0

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=1338.0

http://www.alternativecruisers.com/index.php?topic=987.0

Then I was invited to http://www.prideinwhatyouride.com/ and am currently a moderator at that site. I won't list all my topics because there are just too many.

http://www.prideinwhatyouride.com/ is an awesome forum for anyone looking for information on KYMCO, Hyosung or UM. We also have several members with other bikes that provide a lot of useful information to motorcycling in general.

It was with the help of my friends on the forums and their advice that led me to choose the KYMCO Venox. It has been almost two years since i purchased my bike and it has been an incredible experience. I coudn't have asked for a better bike.

My love of motorcycles definately came from my family.

My Dad rode a motorcycle back before my time. I'm not sure why or when he stopped riding. However, I do remember going for a little ride with Dad when I was little.

Since then I never really gave much thought to motorcycles until my brother decided to get one. He was young, 16! What is he nuts?? He's going to kill himself!

Well, he's 20 now and still riding.

After he had a couple years of experience under his belt, I finally let him take me for a ride. What a thrill! He was very careful, because, I will admit, I was scared.

Since then we have had the opportunity to ride together on occasion. We don't live too close to eachother, which is a pity. He has helped me change the oil, adjust the suspension, lube and adjust the chain. It's nice to know I can contact the little bro when I need assistance.