thirdgenlxi

Just a little update to the whole puppy story for those that might be interested.... Everybody is doing great still! And still growing too..... they're up to 45 lbs each as of this morning. It's getting hot outside so I got them a little pool to splash around in until I can find a place to take them swimming (been looking). I really didn't want the blow up one but it was all they had, so I'll use it until they pop it, hahah A couple videos [ame]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1996871714258[/ame] [ame]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1996884914588[/ame] And much like Piggy, they love riding in the car (thank god, lol) But anyways, I've had a few ideas that have been floating around my brain the last couple weeks that I've been tossing around. Watching these two grow up and seeing their personalities and whatnot, I'm seeing ALOT of talent. They're both incredibly smart, attentive, well mannered dogs, so I really wanted to do something with them. I feel like I'd be wasting alot of good talent if I didn't. So here's my idea that I've been tossing around in my head the last couple of weeks.... I'm giving some serious thought into trying to get them trained and certified as therapy dogs. From the way I see them behave it just seems like something that they would be great at. I know they have to pass a pretty strict test to pass, but I think I'm gonna give it a shot and see what happens (once they're old enough, of course.... gotta be 1 yr). That's something I'd love to do too So yea... that's my plan as of now. I've trained them to the best of my abilities (which isn't great, lol), but we've got a trainer here in town that's supposed to be pretty good, so I'm gonna talk with him about this and see what happens from there. I've got 5 months to prepare them and with as quickly as they catch onto stuff, I don't foresee any problems there I really want to do something with Piggy too, I hate feeling like I'm leaving her out cuz she's such an awesome dog too, but I just don't know what just yet We'll see what happens! Oh and on a side note.... I had all 3 at the groomers (which is a friend of mine) getting their hair trimmed on saturday, and she said Riley and Piper were right at the top of her list of some of the best behaved dogs that she's had in her shop... and that's compared to adult dogs and everything, and they're still 7 month old puppies. Makes me quite proud!

My 3 babies..... Piglet (big one), Riley (tan) and Piper (black). All 3 rescues from bad situations (all were very much underweight, 2 puppies were also full of worms, fleas, extremely dehydrated, etc). They mean the absolute world to me Oh and I had absolutely NOTHING to do with setting up the pose for this first pic... they did that 100% entirely on their own Piggy the day I got her back in 2008 Piper and Riley the day I found them First time all 3 of them met, Piggy immediately went into "mama dog" mode, and has been their step mama ever since, and takes care of them as her own Whole story here... http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=221642

Thanks guys!! Yea I really love this thing alot! Nice and comfy like my old RF-1000 was, but now a little lighter too! I definitely have to get a tinted or mirrored visor though... riding to work in the mornings with the clear one going against the sun, I almost can't even keep my eyes open, lol

That is a possibility..... and I wouldn't argue! haha Yea same here other than all the stupid little crap breaking it's not a bad helmet.... I love the designs and it was pretty quiet and comfy, and the flip down visor was fantastic before it broke (lol), but with as much as I ride I can't have stuff constantly breaking on me, I just need something that works right, every time. And the sad part is, at least when I bought my Scorpion, it really wasn't 'that' much less than the Shoei's. The one I had was $333 OTD... still a good difference but not like it's one of the $150 HJC's Hahah nope no typo's.... I like to ride... ALOT! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs8I8fYNNG0

Cool deal guys yea I don't mind, although I'm not as familiar with all the little backroads around the deals gap area as I am the ones around here. Alot of us locals actually don't go to Deals Gap that often cuz there's alot of other local roads that we think are better than the Dragon, much less crowded and no popo to be found. There's one I just went up the other day (NC 151) that makes Deals Gap look like kiddy stuff, hahaha... it's just not as long though, but very tight and very steep! There's another one over by my old house that's a 15% grade and nothing but switchbacks the entire way.... non stop. I don't know if you guys would be interested in doing a little side trip or not, but if you wanted to spend 2 days or so exploring away from Deals Gap, I'd be happy to lead you out this way on all the little backroads, have some fun around here, and you guys are welcome to crash at my place for the night... I've got plenty of space, then head back the next day on some different roads. If you guys like swimming (and/or waterfalls) there's an awesome little swimming hole not far from me that's in a waterfall. Tons and tons of awesome roads off the BRP too (pretty much all of them, lol). It's totally up to you guys though, it's your trip after all so I don't want to go trying to change anything around, just throwing the idea out there. But let me know and we'll figure something out If it's a go, if anybody wants to shoot me their contact info I'll give mine as well, that way we can get in touch with each other and get something set up

Hell yea I'm always down for a meet up! I should be free that weekend 11-12th, I think it was. What part you guys headed to, Deals Gap or somewhere else?? I'd be happy to show you guys around to some of the local stuff if you'd like

Just picked this bad boy up saturday, as I've been getting more and more fed up lately with my damn 1.5 year old Scorpion EXO-1000 that's seemingly forever falling apart. I got tired of trying to fix it so out it goes, and back to Shoei I go, lol. Had an '06 RF-1000 that I had for almost 5 years and 147k miles of use and it was fantastic, then got lured into the EXO-1000 by some of it's fancy farkles, which were definitely cool, but they just don't hold up to the kind of serious use that I put my gear through. Picked this up off craigslist, it's literally in like new condition and not so much as a scratch on it anywhere. You'd never even know it had been worn (dude said it got worn 6 times.... sold his bike so selling all the gear too). Just had to go up to Knoxville, TN saturday to pick it up (but ended having to go to Knoxville saturday for a funeral anyways, so it wasn't even an extra trip). Dude was real cool and held it all week for me since monday without even paying him for it yet RF-1100 Hadron Wore it all day today on my way home from Franklin, NC (~9 hr ride, even though it's only like 3 hrs away, if that.... I have a bad habit of taking the super scenic route, lol), and it was sooooooooo much better! More comfortable, doesn't give me a headache after a couple hours, much lighter, and the ventilation is insane! Now I just need to pick up a tinted visor and I'll be all set. Now I may send the Scorpion in and try and get everything that's broken on it fixed under warranty, and just keep it as a spare or for passengers if I ever actually take any And yea... you guys would hate me if I told you what I paid for it....

Had a nice little pre-world ending rapture ride this weekend, lol.... But being that I was gonna be gone the entire weekend, I did have to have a little fun with the neighbors, so I left these out in the driveway before I left Made my way up to Knoxville, TN sat morning to pick up my new lid Then had to head down to Franklin, NC to go to a bike meet with the Honda VFR guys that I go to every year. I made my way through the Great Smokey Mountain Nat'l Park in Tennessee, watching the clock to be mindful of the soon to be imploding earth (I do hope everybody knows I'm joking and being utterly sarcastic here, lol). I pulled over to take a little break at 5 mins to 6:00 Then... 6:00 PM, the time when the earth was supposed to be shaking, fireballs falling from the sky, and Richard Simmons videos playing non-stop on every TV worldwide for the next 153 days. But instead it was dead silent except for this relaxing rustling stream and some annoying little bugs that insisted on flying in my ears Since the world didn't blow up, I continued on my way with my faithful companion and made my way down to Franklin for the VFR meet. Had a great time there, then headed out this morning and decided to take the nice relaxing scenic route back home on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I must admit, I do have that special talent of turning a less than 3 hr ride into..... about 9 hours, hahah (left at 10, got home at 7). Anyways... pretty much anywhere along here is a nice view, so I snapped some pics along the way. It was near 90 deg at the lower elevations, but it's always nice and cool on the BRP and was around 65-70 deg up there today. BEAUTIFUL!! This looked like a good spot to stop and take a lil break There was a hiking trail so I had to check it out It was a little rocky going up But the view wasn't bad Then moving on.... highest part of the BRP, and yours truly (a HD dude near by offered to take my pic, lol). And I swear I'm not a crackhead... I don't know why there's veins popping out of my head In this pic, take note of that rock all the way up at the top towards the left-center, next to the tops of the trees Well that's where I am here.... there was another badass little hiking trail, took about 20 mins to get up, but the view was incredible! I think I can see my bike down there, haha DEFINITELY coming back here for a sunset picture!! My ugly mug yet again, lol Ol' Faithful... and my poor cargo net really hating life BRP visitors center out by Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi Then some dark clouds started rolling in quick! And right in the direction I was headed too..... doh And so much for beating the rain, lol..... got to NC 80 and it was raining pretty good, then headed down NC 80, which is a very tight and very steep road with downhill switchbacks and all that fun stuff... and wet leaves all over the road too. So that was fun, lol. Got to the bottom of the mountain where it straightens out some and it was bright, sunny, and dry as could be... go figure That's all the pics.... sorry picture quality isn't that great, took them all with my phone. I really need to get a DSLR camera for up here, haha

Thanks!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I think you're right.... it definitely seems to be the way it worked out here. Kinda funny how everything just seems to fall right into place sometimes And thank you for the donation as well.... very much appreciated and always a great help Here's a few more pics from today of everybody.... A nice array of activities going on here...

Yup that's the ones.... both of them were up in the window for a little bit, but it's usually Riley (tan one) that usually ends up jumping up there first and staying for a little bit. He's not gonna be able to fit up there much longer, hahah I too don't understand how people can do the things they do to dogs and other animals... just boggles my mind

Snapped this a few weeks ago of my furry kiddos.... the flash made for some green glowing eyes, so a buddy touched it up a little bit in photoshop to clean it up some and get rid of the glowing eyes. I love how this pic turned out though... so much I printed it out and framed it, and hung it on the wall in my living room The beauty of this pic... I had absolutely NOTHING to do with the pose whatsoever.... they did that 100% entirely on their own (including the paw on the shoulder), I was just sitting there and had my camera handy, and just happened to snap the pic just at the right time I don't think I posted the story here, but here's a little background info on the puppies and their relationship with Piggy. I've been keeping this thread updated with pics from January up until recent, so scroll through all pages of the thread for picture updates http://www.600rr.net/vb/showthread.php?t=221642

Ohhh man.... ain't no joke!! I seriously can't wait until the next one Of course there's better things to tow with, but for what it is it really doesn't do bad at all. I can run 75-80 MPH in 5th gear no probs and still got 27.58 MPG. If I start going up a loooong steep hill I need to downshift to 4th to maintain my speed, but otherwise it goes right on along no prob. It has a 1000 lb towing capacity, and the bike and trailer are only about 650 lbs or so.... I've towed alot heavier things before, lol Yea that's definitely a bad habit that I need to get out of..... I'm not used to being able to move my right foot back at all cuz I've had my high mount midpipe on for the past 3 years, so I'm just so used to it being in that exact position. I kept catching myself doing that throughout the day and would move it back when I noticed it, but somehow it kept moving back forward, lol. I'll work on that more the next time. Getting my head and chest down lower helped out a ton!! I didn't take them to the track itself.... I figured they'd be bored all day just sitting there and would prob just end up barking at everybody all day, lol. They stayed at my buddies house that we all stayed at.... he has 3 dogs and was home most of the day, and has a fenced in yard so they all played together and had a good time while I was at the track Thanks everyone for all the comments and compliments! Glad you guys enjoyed the pics

Just got my pics from the track photographer today so I figured I'd post some up.... pretty obvious I guess from the pics that I was nervous as s**t, especially at the beginning (I look like a damn brick, lol). But as the day went on I got more and more comfortable and relaxed, and you can prob see it in the pics from the beginning of the day to the end of the day. I learned a ton of good info, which I was trying to practice towards the end but then before I knew it the day was over, so I guess I'll just have to do another one now, heheh. Honestly though once I got past the jittery stage, I had an absolute BLAST!! I know I'm slooooww and still need alot of work on my body positioning and whatnot, but hey that's why I did a trackday in the first place.... to learn! I may have alot of street experience, but I just can't get into this 'go-fast' mindset on the street, I'm too cautious all the time, so this kinda stuff is all new to me. I loved it though... another trackday will certainly be in my near future Anyways, on with the pics.... some are from the track photographer and others are from a buddy who was there shooting pics as well (the low-res ones). Also some pics from the adventure down there as well, lol Saturday 2-19... got my faithful tow rig all loaded up and ready to hit the road, left NC by 7:30 am I had the whole family with me... Co-Pilot Piggy... snoozing on the job, as usual Piper and Riley... up in the back window everytime we stopped Made my way south... sadly this was only a little over half way, lol 9 pm... I'm still in the middle of freakin' Flawriduh somewhere, about 100 miles from my destination Finally got in about 10:30 or so and absolutely dead on my feet. Ate some dinner and passed out shortly after. Woke up bright and early Sunday to get to the track before the gates opened at 7am... got there about 6:45 and met up with all my old south Florida buddies After getting everything unpacked, got the bike all taped up and ready to go 9:40 am first call for novice group... extremely nervous for my first time out But out I go! See what I mean?? LOL Control riders worked with me several times throughout the day to help me out My buddy Kurt came down into novice to do a little one on one with me as well Towards the end of the day I was starting to get much more comfortable, especially after some great advice from other people at the track 5:00 pm... I was having a blast and wanted to keep going, but the day was over. Relaxed for a bit then got everything loaded back up Not too much tire meltage... it was my first time, after all. But I did get a few little dingleberries We all headed home after hanging out for a little while longer... got something to eat and passed out yet again. Monday morning woke up nice and early yet again... got everything loaded up and on the road by 8:00 am or so. I was soooo wiped from the weekend, I wanted nothing more than to join the puppies in their snoozing adventures.... but, I still had 700 miles to go for that Finally got home about midnight... absolutely exhausted beyond belief. I gotta say the trusty old Accord did fantastic on this little 1400 mile jaunt. Cruising at 75-80 MPH towing the trailer and bike, 3 dogs and all their supplies, all my gear, and me.... 27.58 MPG. Can't argue with that! She didn't miss a beat the whole trip. I didn't even unhook the trailer or unload the bike or anything from the car, just drove it all to work the next day, lol That's about all the pics I've got..... I definitely still need A LOT of work on my body position and getting rid of some bad street habits, and of course practice practice practice, but that's what more trackdays are for. I can't wait!!!

Ohhh man.... yea I'm hooked. They weren't joking when they said one hit of the trackpipe was all it took! LOL Must..... have...... more... Seriously I had so much fun.... learned a whole lot and had a great time in the process. I think I'll be back, hahah. I may have alot of street experience but this was something totally new, so I'm back to being a total n00b again and in learning mode. I was slow and my body positioning was horrid (they said I had the lines down great though), but hey that's what trackdays are for, to learn, right? I got lots of help from other people at the track and by the end of the day had already made some good improvements Not much as I didn't push it too hard on a sport touring tire, but still had fun and got a few dingleberries.... ol' girl has still got some spunk (she ran great & didn't miss a beat all day!) More pics to follow later on... I'm off to pass out, lol.... I am beyond exhausted, lol. As if the trackday itself didn't make me sore enough, sitting in my car for 700 more miles back home the next day definitely didn't help any, hahah

...To FINALLY do my first freakin' trackday already!!! Time to see what the ol' girl's still got in her..... hopefully she doesn't blow up, hahah But yea, some arm twisting was involved by my buddy being I wasn't planning on doing any trackdays until later this summer, but it was really too good of a deal to pass up. Basically a free trackday, it's pretty much just gonna cost me gas to get there and back (1400 mi round trip), and my buddy offered to help out with gas even just cuz he wants me to get out on the track with him so bad, lol. I've just gotta work tech/registration/whatever the dude running the trackday (a buddy of mine) needs help with for a little bit to cover the cost of the trackday, then the rest of the day is mine. I must say, I'm pretty excited! Should be a good time Doing it at Palm Beach Int'l Raceway in West Palm Beach, FL on the 20th of this month. I'm gonna feel like a n00b all over again!

I got a wonderful little case of food poisoning for x-mas..... go me!! I believe it was from the food I brought home from the christmas party we had at work on thursday (it was mostly chicken). Ate some of that friday afternoon, then went over to my buddy Travis' house to spend the holiday weekend with him and his wife, and their families since I have no family near by (kind of my adopted families, lol). Friday night I had a headache, sore throat, and my eyes kinda hurt, like my sinuses were irritated or something, but otherwise felt OK (keep in mind I NEVER get sick, even when everybody else around me is). Went to bed, woke up saturday morning and almost immediately started throwing up, and kept throwing up from 8am to about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I couldn't keep down anything... a couple sips of water and 5 mins later it was back up. Took some pepto and my stomach finally started to settle down, and about 6 or so was feeling better, and I was finally able to drink some water and eat some food. Ended up eating an entire plate of food before the night was over. It sucked though cuz there was sooooo much good food. They made me a couple platefuls for later though and some to take home. Feeling MUCH better today!! As for gifts... my family doesn't really do the whole gift exchange thing anymore, so I didn't get anything. We've all pretty much got whatever we need anyways, and figured it wasn't worth putting us all into debt each year buying stuff we really didn't 'need'. Most years recently we've all pitched in and made a donation to a charity, since they could use it a lot more than we could. Everything is kinda crazy for all of us this year, so we weren't able to do that this time, but I did still make a donation to St. Jude Childrens Hospital and the ASPCA. Wasn't a whole lot, but something at least

Hey thanks guys!! Had a good B-day even though I didn't really do much... had to work all day, then my buddy Travis (rides an R6) and his wife and I went out to a really good Mexican restaurant and he bought me dinner. It was really good, and I was stuffffed, lol

Still riding every day here... I'm a little further south though, lol. Weather has been pretty nice here lately... mid/high 30's-low 40's in the AM when I go to work, and 60-70 during the day It's gotten down in the 20's a few times too... I still rode anyways

About 25,300 mi for me so far, since April 3rd. Kind of a low year for me too, but I got kind of a late start as well being it sat for 3.5 months after my lowside last winter. Still not complaining at all Still riding everyday until there's snow on the ground

Yup yup.... as the title states, she rolled over 200k earlier tonight without even so much as a hiccup, and still rolling right along and running like a dream! I started looking through all my old pics and got all sappy, so I decided to do something a little different this time instead of the quick rollover video and a few pics. So I made a video, and started from the beginning and posted some pics from along the way of our travels, and then the video of it rolling over at the end. Music is a little cheesy, I know, but hey I had to add something in there, and plus it just seemed to kinda fit the theme pretty well, lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs8I8fYNNG0 And I'll put a few pics up anyways... Being that it was getting dark, it made for getting pics 'at the scene' nearly impossible. This is about the only one that even somewhat turned out Keeping with tradition, I had to get the shot at 19 miles, lol. First pics I took of the bike and odo were at 19, so I stopped and took one again at 19 after it turned 100k Took a few more pics when I got home Definitely living up to her name! New GoPro... worked like a champ! Since those kinda suck too, here's a couple daytime pics from the day before As for the bike... it's still running like an absolute dream! Still ridden daily, never gives me a lick of trouble. As long as she keeps running good, I'll keep riding her.... still curious as to just how far she'll go!

Oh yea definitely got some strange looks alright! haha Literally every single gas stop at least one person would say... "it's a little cold to be on that thing, isn't it??". Or "oh man you've gotta be freezing on that thing!". Didn't follow any semis.... prob not a bad idea though!

Heated gear = 110% WIN!! Back in '08 I rode from Decatur, IL to Columbus, OH (about 350 miles) just after thanksgiving time, and the highest temp I saw all day, which was around 1:30 pm, was 17 degrees in Montezuma, Indiana. Feet were a little cold, but the rest of me wasn't bad at all. I was much colder every time I had to stop for gas and everything else and get unbundled, lol. Made it there in one piece with all my fingers and toes still working

I've logged exactly 22,230 miles since April 5th (when I got my bike back together from the wreck). Bike total is at 199,658

Where at?? That's the cheapest I've heard so far for new stuff...

Anybody got one?? I've got a special occasion coming up in about 1000 miles that I need to film, lol Trying to find a used one instead of new cuz $$ is kinda tight right now, buuuuut....