NATIONAL HOME

ABOUT US
ARCHIVES
BIKER FRIENDLY
BIKER GALLERY
BIKER NEWS
EDITORIAL
EMPLOYMENT
FORUM
OUR ADVERTISERS
RIDE & EVENTS
CALENDAR

ADVERTISING INFO
H-D's FOR SALE
LINK TO US
SUBSCRIBE

SPRING TRAINING: No I don’t mean baseball but the idea is the same. A professional sports team would not think of taking the field after a long layoff without doing some “spring training” so why would you want to get on a motorcycle for a long ride after sitting out the winter and a very cold spring without preparing yourself and your bike? It’s not only dangerous it’s stupid! We have already had 5 motorcycle fatalities since late February in the NW. April was the coldest, nastiest April on record so it’s doubtful you got in much seat time this spring either.

Here is what I recommend: Go over the bike carefully. Tires are especially prone to lose air after sitting for months. Check the tire pressures. Check fluid levels, examine your belt or drive chain, your lights, horn etc. Then go around the bike and check all the nuts and bolts that you probably have not checked since last year. Tighten up anything loose. Make sure your bike is in top condition overall. Attend to any small problems before you ride. Now start out easy. Don’t expect to cover hundreds of miles on your first ride of the season. Take a short ride. Get your timing back. Get your “eye” back. Next day take another short ride. Sore from the day before? Then you over did it. Riding is physical as well as mental. Both areas are out of practice. Forearms, lower back, knees, upper thighs, and your neck all need some waking up and some conditioning. Take it easy, the whole season is ahead of you. The longer you have laid off, the longer it will take to get you back up to speed. Age is also a factor. Like it or not the older you are, the longer it will take to get back in your “middle of season groove.” Finally make sure you “exercise” your brain! Focus, Focus, Focus!

It’s like waking up in the morning. Sometimes you take longer than other times to work yourself into shape. Don’t push it. After impairment and speed, fatigue is the third leading cause of motorcycle accidents according to the AMA. You may not want to “train” but after a few short rides over a week or two you will see a major difference from when you first pulled the tarp off the bike and rode. It may not be “macho” but it is smart, and smart riders will outlast the “macho” riders every time!

LAVA LOVE: We have just been informed by the promoter, Brent Blake that this northwest favorite is cancelled for 2008. Lack of local sponsor support was the reason given. It seems that the local merchants in the Soap Lake area decided to sit this one out and “let the other guy” support it. The feeling on Brent’s part was that if the local stores whose cash registers get much of the benefits would not step up why should everyone else do all the work and take all the financial risk so they could make all the money? Too bad but maybe when all Soap Lake sees this summer are empty, dusty streets they may realize what they are missing and bring it back in 2009.

CALENDAR LISTINGS: Speaking of letting the other guy do it, what do these events have in common: Old Downtown Snohomish Show, Children’s Ride and the Oyster Run. Answer: none of them are listed in our Ride & Events Calendar. It seems that no one directly connected with any of these events has contacted us nor sent in a listing. I guess they all assumed that we were either clairvoyant or would be whiling away our spare time surfing the net looking for their listing! Sorry but it does not work that way and never has. As we say in our calendar heading “If you don’t see your listing it’s because you did not send it in. Nuff said, Point made.

JOURNEY FOR FREEDOM: This year will be bigger and better than ever. It leaves from Mount Tahoma National Cemetery on Thursday, May 15th . They hope you can join them if only for the first leg of the ride or even for a few miles, whatever your schedule permits. Even if you cannot make any part of the ride you can still support the ride and the cause it benefits by stepping up and helping with some badly needed gas money. With fuel close to $4.00 a gallon they are going to be very tight and frankly need some help to get everyone to Washington, D.C. for the “Rolling Thunder” event over the Memorial Day weekend. If you can help give us a call at 360-769-0408 or call Dan Harris at 253-221-9178. You can also mail your donations to: JFF Fund, 11504 Kent Kangley Road, Kent, WA. 98031. And remember: Memorial Day is not just about mattress sales and Monday off. Even a ten spot helps the riders pay homage in your name to our fallen heroes.

QUICK THROTTLE BIKE NIGHTS: Are you ready for our first huge Bike Night of the season slated for May 15th at the Junction Sports B&G in Centralia? Food, live music, raffles and special vendor booths plus a chance to win an all expenses paid trip for two to the Thunderboat Regatta in San Diego. Don’t miss it!

Our other May bike night slated for May 22nd at the Hideaway in Belfair is being rescheduled as the alterations to the facility are taking longer than anticipated. See the entire Bike Night schedule on page 28 in this issue.

BREAKING NEWS!: We have just arranged with the Nemo Guest Ranch in Nemo, South Dakota to have a kick ass BBQ and party for our readers and clients during this year’s Sturgis Black Hills rally. Nemo is located just outside Sturgis in between Sturgis and Deadwood and is a great ride to get to in itself. Mountains, streams, twisties, great country to see and more. Look for full details in the June issue along with a discount coupon for some great BBQ courtesy of the guest ranch.

MD