A Couple of Sweet Rides

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. My kid went out and bought an '07 FLSTSC Softail Springer Classic. As many people of his generation, they know what they want and they want it now. Needless to say, the bike cost more than any of the 6 vehicles Dave and I currently have, but it's sweet! I'm a little jealous to say the least. He also talked his friend into getting his first bike, an '08 XL1200N Nightster. What a couple of beauties. Now I have someone else to ride with on the weekends. Sounds like with Nate's three buddies who also ride, we should have some good group rides in our future. Check out these lovely machines....



The dealer mistakenly put on chrome pipes, but is replacing them with black ones to match the bike. The owner wanted to keep the chrome minimal. I think that will be a good choice.

How about those fish tails?


What do y'uns think?

Father's Day Ride to Marblemount

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Both my dad and father-in-law live in other states so on Father's Day we made the obligatory phone calls and had nothing else planned. I was perfectly ready to just vegetate that day because once again, it was overcast and only around 50 degrees. I have had enough!

We got a call from our friend who has the 105th Anniversary Harley and he wanted to know if we were doing anything. We all have grown children who are not living nearby. We speedily got ready and decided to ride north and east towards Darrington and over to Marblemount for a burger. There is a place called Buffalo Run that serves buffalo, elk, venison, and other regular meats. The town has two food establishments, the other a run down burger place as well. They also have a gas station. All the bikers stop there on their way over the cascades, or like us, it was a destination ride.

We met our friend in Arlington at the Cycle Barn - which was closed on Sundays anyway. We took off and the weather was ideal. It was cool, but comfortable when riding. As we headed northeast we took 530 over to Darrington. This area is wooded and approaches the cascade mountains, so has nice rolling turns and scenery gallore. There were snow capped mountains we could catch a glimpse of occasionally that would then disappear behind another ridge as we putted along.

We stopped for a drink of water in Darrington. What a lovely little town looking up to a very close little mountain. People live all along this road with nice large acreages and farms. I didn't stop because there were the three of us, but I saw so many cool barns I was registering them into my memory as I came across each picturesque scene.

We had a most enjoyable ride and stopped in Marblemount to eat. We sat outside and all the tables surrounding us were a vision of black leather. This is where everyone stops. Some were only having mixed drinks, which I thought was probably a bad idea. Some were eating, and all were using the restrooms. It felt good to stretch and walk around.

After a nice meal and a couple of restroom trips we were on our way back. This time we went west on highway 20 through Concrete until we got to highway 9 in Sedro Woolley. We headed south on 9 until it was time for our buddy to split off and head over to Camano Island where he lives. We kept going south back towards Bothell and then cut over on the roads toward home.

It was a great ride and a memorable one. Parts of it kept running back through my mind for days afterwards. We saw a bald eagle flying overhead for a while, very cool. In one place, there were 3 small deer grazing along the side of the road which started to run as we passed. I was in the rear, so one of the deer ran alongside me for a while. I could tell she was ready to dart out in front of me across the road. She didn't, but I was talking to her the whole time she was beside me. Maybe she sensed my thought waves. Seriously!

We rode 210 miles round trip, and took about 6 hours. Not many photos were taken because I just enjoyed the ride and the wind in my face. It was glorious!

Quotes For Riding and Life

My mother sent me this collection of quotes about travel and living in general. Some of them make you think about riding; others are profound statements that could apply to life. They struck a chord with me so I thought others might enjoy them. From the perspective of a motorcycle rider, they totally apply.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it - Yogi Berra

Bless not only the road but the bumps in the road. They are all part of the journey - Julia Cameron

It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end - Ursula K. Le Guin

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness - Anonymous

A pleasant companion reduces the length of the journey - Publilius Syrus

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving - Lao Tzu

My favorite thing is to go where I've never gone - Diane Arbus

The world is a great book....They who never stir from home read only a page - St. Augustine

The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes - Marcel Proust

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak - G.K. Chesterton

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. - Robert L. Stevenson

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart - Confusious

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Confusious

Travel is 90% anticipation and 10% recollection - E. Streeter

I have found that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them - Mark Twain

I Made It Into Alltop!

Biker Chickz Blog was recently added to the Alltop website in their new category, Motorcycles. (Thanks Mike Werner for suggesting it) It is quite an honor as not too many motorcycle themed blogs have been added yet.

The Alltop site collects feeds from blogs of any particular interest or topic and displays them all together with the 5 most recent headlines showing for each website. It is meant to help you find new sites that you may not have known about.

Go check them out, you may find other subjects that will peak your interests while you're there.