swingset

Yup, that was me. I saw you guys a couple times...I think you were stopped on 36 when I first passed ya.

Been off the bike for a while with a pinched nerve in my shoulder, so today I decide to enjoy the great weather and see if I'm feeling good enough to handle a long ride...rode out east of Coshocton and was buzzing around the twisties...had some lunch and was enjoying 258 when it happened. Came up to a flagged road crew trimming trees around a powerline. I was going about 45 when I came to them, the guy flagged me into the left hand lane past the trucks, and just as I started to go over around them I caught some movement on my right in my peripheral vision...but wasn't sure what I was seeing...just a blur moving in my direction, so I just intinctively got on the brakes a little and went further left towards the berm....as soon as pass the first truck a big dog darts out in front of me and another behind him at an angle about to collide with me, I am already pointed towards the ditch a bit and with nowhere to go but dog or ditch, I get on the brakes hard...hit the white line and some pea-gravel on the berm and slide sideways locked up...soon as I re-grab pavement I high side and go over. Going fairly slow by the time I went superman, but enough to judo-flip me into the pavement, right onto my bad shoulder and the bike slides after me pinning my ankle into the ditch. The guys on the ground didn't see it, but the guy in a cherry-picker did, and said the second dog hit me, grazing my side. I squirmed out from under the bike and lifted it up, didn't have any obvious pain or damage to me, so I pushed the bike into a driveway and sorted myself out. The engine guards, handguards, brake pedal, footpeg, rear pannier and rear rack are fucked up. Scratched fairing, windshield and shroud. Hit my shoulder, knee, elbows, hands and a strike to the helmet, and the bike on my ankle. No rash or any real injuries. Gear. Fucking. Works. I was in full gear, Teknic stinger jacket, Fieldsheer 4-season pants, Fox Comp5 shorty boots and a Caberg Trip lid. Gloves are Astars of some sort...all the gear did its job wonderfully. My shoulder has some ripping, but the kevlar lining and hard armor underneath are perfect. I was always a firm believer in crush-protection being important in boots, and why I wore an MX style boot and today it proved me right. Bike came down hard on my left ankle and the boot did its job. I was able to bend stuff back into place and ride home without any pain or discomfort (tho I suspect tomorrow I'll be sore as hell). So, I consider that a victory as far as gear. A little ticked off, couldn't find the owners of the dogs, but I'm alive and well. Unfortunately, I was preparing for a 3-day trip to Skyline/WV that is now in some jeopardy...but it could have been much worse. Here's some pics. Fairing/cowling/engine guards all scuffed (engine guards are pushed in and badly mangled...they took the brunt of it). Turn signal broke, aux. light stem mangled. Panniers dug into, rear-rack broken and bent. Brake pedal snapped, foot peg broken. There's also scuffs on the handguards, windshield lip and front fender...but pretty small. My gear faired really well for as hard as I hit. Pants are untouched, one small impact area on the helmet, the worst was the shoulder on my jacket, ripped through the outer layer but didn't get through kevlar or CE armor. Spent last night taking off broken shit and sorting things out....she's naked again.

Not my cup of tea, at all. The XR1200 is the only thing Harley's made in the last 20 years that appeals to me whatsoever.

'90 Geo Prism sedan for $1500 + Sawzall = convertible fun!!! Spend the other $3500 on a bike.

I'm gonna ride Sunday, my Saturday's shot so if you're looking for another bike I'm game. Can meet the same place - KFC/16 at 11?

That's because there stupid, their ought to be a fucking law banning wrong word usage. BTW, Fuck Julia.

Yup....see it a lot. Saw a guy on his fucking laptop while driving 161 the other day. Distracted driving is already a ticketable offense - banning a specific distraction won't solve anything...it hasn't in any of the states that have tried it.

Awesome looking neighborhood.

I've made quite a few paracord bracelets, lanyards and belts, but sometimes it's easier to buy them made. Five Below has the bracelets in all colors and sizes for $2. My daughter came home with a few last shopping trip. Somehow she thinks blue is better than olive drab and black. Tactical fail from my kiddo, must think she's in the Navy or something.

Dig a well, put girls in it.

I'd say considering suicide is damn near a man's rock bottom. If he's down there, he's ready to make a decision to turn his shit around.

Yup, this. If you spiral into apathy and being negative, everyone around you will pick up on it and treat you accordingly (including your children). Trust me, I have 1,000 reasons to pick apart my own life and career, but at a certain point I chose to be a better version of me and find my happiness instead of expecting it to come to me. It's a decision, man, nothing more. It's something you can hear, or read, and pass off as a platitude until you sack up and do it, and then it's the wisest shit you'll ever say to someone.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes I'm embarrassed to be conservative.

Yeah, a guy who shoots 77 children is gonna bounce right back to being a model citizen when he gets out. The better question is, what kind of fucked up society WANTS to rehabilitate a monster like that? Not an admirable one.

Copper is harder than lead, end of story. But, a lot more goes into rifling longevity than just material. A 220 swift shooting lead will burn out quicker than a .22lr shooting copper. As for what hits hard, that depends on caliber but most modern self-defense loadings are quite good - Gold Dot, PDX, Critical Defense, etc. JHP's are all I would consider, unless your gun is too finicky to load them consistently (and in that case, get a new gun). That said, you're going to go broke before you wear out most pistol barrels. I have a P89 that's got 40,000 rounds through it and the rifling is still sharp. Don't worry about that.

If I had a son, he'd look just like this guy. Who's ready for a beer summit?

Nice scoot!

First four games should really test the new Buckeyes. <snicker>

Is there an option for not living in the city? Best place to live with a motorcycle is out in the country, IMHO. The area around Silver City, NM was about the funnest riding I've done, I'd live near there. Awesome twisties, national forests, dual sporting and trails everywhere. It's bike heaven.

RevIt Air is a very nice jacket, great ventilation and looks good.

That makes my boy parts tingle. Gryphon engine XIV's too, those were the pinnacle of fighter development of their day.

I think they're swinging for the fence, hoping for pure emotional votes from the jury. Could it happen? OJ walked free from a slam-dunk trial, anything can happen.

Mine hates brown people. I'm using sun screen this summer, just to keep myself safe.

FWIW, I'm not gonna join the dog pile. If it went down like you state, that's epic douche shit to pull IMHO, especially when it's a fellow OR guy or rider. I would never sell to someone else if I had someone in the process that was ready to lay cash down, and if I was inclined to because a dealer threw an offer at me, I'd call the potential buyer and give him a chance to beat the dealer's offer. Threads like these are always good tho, they are wonderful indicators of who not to do business with, so I'm happy when the personal ethics test pops up and people declare their resume so boldly.

It's a GM sedan, which all but guarantees: 1. First year model will be plagued with stuff like bad bearings, brakes, water pumps, head gaskets, and the like. 2. It will depreciate fast, and hard. 3. It will be overpriced. You'll likely be able to buy a similar car of much better quality for the same dough.