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I escorted Doc to Hocking Hills after skipping the meal in Caldwell. I Hope he made it to his destination, He seem tired. I went to dinner later and could have sworn I saw Doc with a pack of Harley Pirates at a local watering hole. He had a Vest on with "Property of Neil Ubich" and his new biker name on the front was "Love Doctor" I hope he comes back to us soon. I would hate to see him operating a Aid Station at Sturgis next year.

I had a couple of you ask about my fuel pump swap on Saturday. Thought I'd give an update. Bike is running like a champ now. I did not realize how much it was running like a dog prior to the swap. It feels as though I gained 50hp back.

I remember my first time I went to Hatfield McCoy(early 2000's we stayed in Gilbert, WV). Rockhouse is definitely rockiest of all the trailheads. We used to go to the Little Coal River Trailhead, which is now closed. @Connie14 print and laminate a map of whichever trail system you're going to ride, it makes it nice being able to glance at the map.

Ahhhh... so that's what he meant when he said 'before he gives up 2 wheels'.

I sure did. I'm glad I pulled the pass the same time you 2 did. I made sure I kept pace with you 2 just watch you at work Derek. Nice riding - both of you.

It's the streets. We ALWAYS need to accept the fact that they are unpredictable. If anyone gets upset because you aren't going full blast into the unknown, then you shouldn't be riding with them. Everyone I ride with accepts the fact that if you don't feel comfortable, slow down. A recent quote that I heard from pro racer Kyle Wyman has kind of stuck with me recently. "Don't accelerate into what you can't see." Great street advice. If you aren't sure what's ahead or around the corner, taking it at a reasonable and safe speed seems to be the only reasonable answer. Honestly, I had an incredible blast chasing you around trying to turn 2 bikes into 1. Probably some of the most fun I've had on the street recently. Even though we weren't trying to go mach retard (until 78 into Caldwell), I had a great time working on trailing you and learning your tendencies to get even closer, while trying to make sure I maintained being safe. Really made me focus on what was going on. I think it was fantastic practice for the track and learning to hold lines and pass 'slower' riders. Even though it's not legal, I think removing my mirrors has helped greatly too. I've always been a chronic mirror checker and not having mirrors let me focus more on what was in front of me. I think @durk had a blast watching me mimic your every move. He seemed about as excited as I was at the end of 536.

Ditch these losers and come hang in Louisville with me and Busta Rhymes.

Ok gang, we have traction. It has been refereed to committee, so it is not dead. The committee will debate it and the modify it and pass it to the general assembly or it will kill it. We need to continue to move it along. I wrote another wall of text that you can copy and paste and email to the committee members. Yes there are a bunch but come on it will only take five minutes to do them all. When it goes to hearing we need to be there, I know for a fact they will look around the room to see if there is support. We will need to get @NinjaDoc there as our medical expert. No, he isn't a ENT but he as Dr. in front of his name it will bring credibility to what he says. I have also pinged ABATE to help, if you are a member ping them too. Here is the link to the committee members and the wall of text to paste...or say your own thing. Just click the members on the right and paste into a message. http://www.ohiohouse.gov/committee/transportation-and-public-safety Hello, I see that House Bill 280 has been refered to the Transportation and Public Safety Committee on which you serve. HB 280 addresses an issue with ORC 4511.84 that needs to be corrected. This law prohibits the use of earphones and earplugs while riding a motorcycle. While prohibiting earphones may make sense, the prohibition on earplugs does not. This law is antiquated and does not account for the medical community’s better understanding of hearing loss and it’s causes. Ohio is one of only five states that still have a law like this in effect. The Ohio BMV handbook for new motorcycle riders says: “Long-term exposure to engine and wind noise can cause permanent hearing damage, even if you have a quiet motorcycle and wear a full-face helmet. Whether you choose disposable foam plugs or reusable custom-molded devices, properly worn hearing protection reduces noise, while allowing you to hear important sounds like car horns and sirens.” I have a quiet motorcycle, and I wear a full face helmet. When I don’t wear ear plugs I can clearly tell my hearing has been impacted after a day of riding. They ring and buzz, just like being at a loud concert. Yes, I ignore the law and wear ear plugs as do a great many other riders I know. One of whom just got a $95 dollar ticket for doing so. I can assure you we can hear sirens, horns and the traffic around us when we wear ear plugs. Ear plugs are selective in what noise they block. Simply put the State has a law forcing a motorcycle rider to expose themselves to noise levels far in excess of what OSHA allows in the work place. It is forcing us to suffer permanent hearing loss. It has no moral right to do so. HB 280 needs to be passed to correct this issue. Please let me know what I can do to help make this happen and thank you in advance for your help in this matter and thank you for your service to our State. It is genuinly apprecaited.

This one? Lol

Just going through some preliminary footage of me chasing @NinjaDoc around. Here are just a few screenshots to wet the appetite. @NinjaDoc ---- You're supposed to dodge the poles Nivin wants to see if the grass is greener on the other side. Always a good feeling when you come over a hill and power into a wheelie. Don't stop Nivin! haha And lastly, I'm not sure why I selected this one in particular, but it just represents us as motorcyclists and riding twisties. The full concentration, getting to push the limits, the adrenaline rush and just the outlook of knowing the road ahead that gets us excited.

Took her to the kart track I can't believe there are not more bikes here. $30 and I had the track completely to myself for 2 hours. I could have ridden for another 2 hours alternating every 10 min. I am slow at the track and it is hard work but it was fun working alot of tight corners. That is a great track. Watched the bikes on the big track for awhile. Still amazed how fast the track day bikes run.

Took more video this time, that will take some time to edit... Only took a few photos and here they are. (To download any of these photos in high-res here is the album link: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm8UkuZH )

Made it home safe and sound! Was good to see the OR crew again and special thanks to @durk @B-Mac for letting me tag along

I received a response, and they are going to take acton: "Thank you for emailing Senator Balderson regarding concerns with earphone/earplug use and motorcycles. Senator Balderson received your message and asked me to look into it for him. I contacted the Ohio Department of Public Safety and they researched the issue. They concluded that it was inconsistent with state law to have that paragraph on encouraging the use of hearing protection in their motorcycle handbook, and they will be removing it from future editions. They also told me that if it is something we would like to change, it would become a legislative issue. I have talked to Senator Balderson about potentially formulating a new bill that would allow motorcyclists to wear earplugs for health reasons to prevent hearing loss. Although I certainly can't guarantee anything at this point, I wanted to let you know that we are aware of the issue and are looking into it. Senator Balderson is an avid motorcyclist himself, so he is always interested in helping out fellow motorcyclists. I will stay in touch with you if I have " :smh: Apparantly, common sense has no business in legislative or beaurocratic matters.

i'm not techy and getting it to work (at least the most recent versions) was no problem at all for me. I connect the phone to my home network whenever visiting a new track to download the "waypoints", and that's all there is to it. if nelson's is downloadable, pretty much everything is. lol. just because one guy had trouble with it, I wouldn't blow it off as no-good. if it DOESNT work, so what if you wasted 20 bucks (the cheap version). just saying.

now she can give the true meaning of unenthusiastic hand jobs ....