Change in Topic

I was going to devote today's blog to the design of my logo. It's a good little story that focuses not only on the development of graphic, but also in brand definition.

But then the attack on the French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, happened.

Three armed men, with professed links to al-Qaida (They shouted their connections during the attack), stormed the offices of the publication and killed 12 people in a highly militarized attack. Early reports say the attackers were seeking retribution for publishing characterized images of Muhammad.

We're going to learn a lot about the victims in the coming weeks. We're going to learn a lot about the killers and their motives.

What we probably won't hear a lot about are the majority of Muslims who condemn the killings. And I'd be surprised if any foreign national leaders of Muslim nations denounce the attack.

I hope I'm wrong on those last two points.

For now, I'm just sad for the lives lost.

Je Suis Charlie

Je Suis Charlie

New hashtag to support France in wake of Charlie Hebdo attack #jesuischarlie (I am Charlie) pic.twitter.com/KfuEHT6ZZT

Spit and Polish

The logo is ready! And it looks really sweet. I've added it to this blog and my Twitter account. Next I'll be printing stickers.

So I've always coveted my buddy Pedro's Redmond-to-Rio sticker. He had some printed up for his ride to South America. The design is really clean and I always seem to see them in unexpected places. This December, I spotted one of his stickers on an adventure bike on display at the Seattle Motorcycle Show.

You can find Redmond to Rio on Facebook. Just search for it.

So after struggling with my own design concepts--I no longer have access to PhotoShop and was trying to pull something together using PowerPoint (don't ask)--a local graphic designer with no free time of her own turned me on to Etsy. There I found a St Louis-based designer named Matt Cockrum, and he's working on designs for me right now. He's got a great bold touch. I'm anxious to see how it plays out.

Check back to see what he designs.

Baby Got Back

So Christmas has come and gone, like a lead-footed rider pushing the Castrol Rocket across the Bonneville Salt Flats. We still manage to capture magic this time of year, no matter how fleeting, and I look forward to the new year with optimism that our efforts to imbue the kids with a sense of wonder will pay off for them later in life.

All three of our kids managed to make it into the double-digits believing in Santa Claus. It took a lot of work on our behalf; nibbling on the cookies and milk well after midnight, running around the house in the black of night with the jingle bells, and equipping our kids with the intellectual means for fending off naysayers. And we're happy to say we have one remaining who still believes, though this may be his last year for it.

I know parents who share our point of view; childhood lasts just a few years and most of us spend the majority of our lives as adults (not always as mature, but as adults). We want our kids to bask in the joy of childhood as long as they can. Santa is a big part of that.

There are plenty of other parents who do not share our outlook on Santa. Through the years, the ones who managed to equip their children with a lack of belief but not the mechanics to keep their mouths shut often caused our kids temporary frustration, but not long-term pain (as can be the case with crueler children). I believe this is due to the key requirement for belief: faith.

Belief requires a suspension of the facts in order to achieve an understanding. And you can't have faith without believing in something inexplainable.

Not so inexplainable is the discomfort that comes with riding a motorcycle over long distances. As much as I love my Tiger, a 50-year old butt sitting on a 6-year old seat gets a little painful even after 250 miles, much less 5,000.

So I was very happy this year that Santa Claus brought me an Airhawk 2 Comfort Seating System for Christmas. It will definitely come in handy for the coast-to-coast run this spring.

The Airhawk 2 mounted on the Tiger.

Rather than a gel seat or a lambs wool pad for my tenders, the Airhawk 2 will be providing a cushion of air (a cush for my tush) that both cools the underside and softs the vibrations. I'm looking forward to getting on the road for a long ride, even before the Puget-to-Potomac Run just to see if it makes a difference.

Sitting on the Airhawk 2 feels a little funny at first. The padding is created through multiple air cells with narrow vents between them, so as you shift in the seat, air is slowly squeezed from cell to cell, giving you a kind of squishy Jell-o feel under your butt.

There's always room for Jell-o.

As excited as I am to get on the road with the Airhawk 2, there are a few concerns nagging at the back of my head:

• The pad raises the height of my already tall motorcycle seat, and I already look like a doofus when I'm geared up and trying to pull my leg up and over. Doing that after a thousand miles will be... interesting.
• I've read some reviews in which riders say the air leaked out of their Airhawks after a few hundred miles. You add air by blowing through the valve (pictured above).
• The Airhawk attaches to the seat by means of two straps (pictured below). The hook-and-loop looks like it could be a little flimsy. I'd rather have a buckle.

Hook-and-loop attach mechanism.

Anxiety Busters

A friend asked me today how I cope with anxiety. The immediate response was: exercise; go for a run or walk, and avoid caffeine and sugar foods. But as I continued to think about her question, I thought I could do a lot better than those two answers.

For the few of you who read this blog, or know me, you'll recognize that I'm often on the move. Part of that is due to anxiety. And one of the reasons for planning a two-day stop at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse is to see just how much I can allow myself to relax. That stopover combined with the ride across South Dakota and Iowa are sure to tax my ability to calmly be in the moment.

I don't know if anxiety is ever beatable, but it can be managed. Here's a list anxiety-busters that have worked for me from time-to-time and might work for you:

• Exercise through cardio-vascular activity
• Avoid caffeine and sugar foods
• Perform good deeds. helping others is a sure-fire way to get out of your own head
• Take a long, hot bath or shower
• Meditate. Own 10-15 minutes to clear the mind of distractions and worries
• Laugh 'til you cry
• Pitch in. Get busy on tasks that benefit others without having to be asked
• Listen to loud music and sing along
• Journal. Start every day writing longhand and stream-of-consciousness
• Find a buddy and hug it out
• Pray
• Monitor food intake. You may find that slight allergies or food intolerances put you on edge

I don't recommend talking out anxieties unless the person you are talking to is a certified therapist and you are paying them for the session. Friends will tolerate only so much verbal processing. Also, avoid self-medicating through drinking and drugs.

Peace out.

Wax On, Wax Off

As previously mentioned in "I'm an Orange Guy, Too," I picked up some leather conditioner at the recent Seattle Motorcycle Show. None of my leathers are on the packing list for the Ride--this is to be a strictly textiles trip--with the exception of the boots. But since booth saleswoman did such a good job of getting me to buy a tin of The Original Australian Leather Seal, it seemed like a good Sunday afternoon task to see what it could do for my BMG Montana jacket.


The instructions for the ALS are simple; apply with a cloth on warm leather, and then buff with a cloth or brush. I used a clean terry cloth from the garage for application, and a brush from my Dad's old shoeshine kit for buffing.

I grabbed an old beach towel from the linen closet for the work surface and got down to business.


The photo to the left shows the immediate effect of the Leather Seal. Though the beeswax is colorless, it can darken your material, as is stated on the tin.

The left side of the jacket is freshly sealed and nearly black. I didn't mind so much because when I ordered the jacket, it was marketed as black. The Leather Seal gets the tone of the jacket closer to where I want it.


The instructions for the ALS say you don't have to use too much to apply on surfaces, and my application was probably a little light. However, I'm really pleased with the results. The jacket isn't greasy, and water beads right off the leather. The combination of beeswax and leather smells great. I'll probably start wearing it on a daily basis in Seattle's rainy winter conditions. I also like the all-natural ingredients.

The tin of Australian Leather Seal cost $20 at the motorcycle show. I couldn't find it on Amazon, but there are online stores that carry it. Search for "The Original Australian Leather Seal."

"I'm an Orange Guy, Too"

"You get that helmet here?"

"Hm? No, I've had it a while."

"I'm an orange guy, too."

Riding a motorcycle brings with it a paradox--riders love to get out on the road, to be free, to be individuals. But they are always looking for ways to connect with other bikers. That's why we're always waving at each other.

Today's connection happened at the Seattle Motorcycle Show. I had my fill of walking the booths and was reviewing my loot. The parallel of a kid coming home from trick-or-treating was not lost on me--not when they supply me with a goody bag on the way in.

"Pretty slim pickings for a trade show (helmet not included)."

The helmet was set on a ledge along with my takeaways right in the main hallway. I didn't notice the guy at first, but he was really happy to find somebody else who believed in the Power of Orange. We weren't alone though, minutes after he stopped to talk, another person noticed the helmet and struck up a conversation with me. 

"Did I like the orange helmet?"

"Does it reflect at night?"

She doesn't like riding at night because it's more difficult to be seen. But the orange got her thinking that the basic black trap many riders fall into may not be the best idea when it comes to getting the attention of car drivers. It's tough enough when drivers fail to notice the presence of a bike on road--roar of the engine and all. Maybe blending in with the background and the night leaves something to be desired for long-term viability.

So about the show. It wasn't the worst show I've been to ("He-llooo San Antonio Motorcycle Show"), but it was far from the best. Of course, my jaded outlook may also be due to the fact that I've gone to so many of these--first in DC, then SA, and now Seattle. What made the SA show the bottom of the barrel? Because it had more tattoo artists than cycle product vendors. Those tattoos seemed to have just as much bacteria as ink. But I'm off-topic again...

What follows is a recap from what I took from the show. A lot of stuff was left in the booths because they didn't seem to contribute to the needs of the Ride. And I didn't bother to hop on any of the bikes there because I don't have plans to buy a new bike anytime soon. But here's hoping that a few of these wind up under the Christmas tree.

Australian Leather Seal
"C'mon then and puht your buht up hee-ah," was what the freckled redhead instructed me when she caught me watching the demo. How could I argue with that accent? It sounded legit enough, and if she was a local actress then she carried it off pretty well.

The Sheila spun her yarn ("Yahrn") with all the fluidness of somebody who's said it one-hundred times already that day; explaining the value of the natural ingredients, how it creates a waterproof coating on leather ("Leh-thehr"), vinyl, or timber ("Teehm-behr"). After a few minutes of application and buffer, she sprayed water on my old leather boots, which beaded right off.

I don't know that it was really needed in my gearbox, but her sale was so strong that I picked up a $20 can. In a future posting I'll show how it went on the leather jacket.

HealTech Electronics Brake Light Pro
You've read my posts enough to know that as much as I love riding, being in traffic with car drivers makes me nervous. Any gadget that promises to help me be seen will always get my attention. The Brake Light Pro from HealTech is a nifty little device that you splice onto your brake wire. When you apply the brakes, the light flashes a few times before going solid. I grabbed the brochure and placed it strategically in the kitchen hoping Mrs. Claus gets the hint.

Moto-Skiveez
You know who thinks that padded underwear is funny? Nobody who rides a motorcycle or bike. I ride both, and nothing's worse than getting rubbed the wrong way after a long ride. Yeah, I can hear you snickering.

The CEO of the company and I had a good chat--we both ride Tigers--and he explained in his schpiel the difference between cycling shorts and his product. It all comes down to the padding matching the rider's posture. Though I've got padded cycling shorts that would help for long rides, having a product designed for riding a motorcycle would be a better option.

The brochure and special show code are also sitting on the kitchen counter for Mrs. Claus.

Alaska, Ho!
Alaska has been in my sights for a couple years now as a biking destination. And last spring I started investigating the Alaska Ferry. Since its most southern port is 90 minutes north in Bellingham, it wouldn't take much to hitch a ride. But my planning always fell short in choosing spots to visit. Thankfully, the woman at the booth had just enough information to help me lock on potential routes.

The info in the photo at the right is also on their website, but not organized as well. This trip is my late summer back-up plan if Puget2Potomac falls through.

Twisted Throttle Catalog
I've been shopping with these guys for a couple years now, either direct or through the dealership. Their products are solid and well-priced. There's another after-market juggernaut out there that specializes in adventure riding, but their prices are always sky-high.

Like the Alaska Ferry literature, sometimes it's just better to have a glossy catalog for window-shopping instead of a website. This one always gets preferential treatment for my gear.



So that's what I walked away with for $12 and a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon. Below are some of the bikes that were on-display. Enjoy!