Well, it's here.

Winter seems to have remembered where I live.
We finally got some snow over the weekend. I'm not opposed to snow. It's actually a nice change of pace from the drab dirty brown of the post fall beauty. It makes me appreciate the fact that I live in a state where we have so many different types of scenery and seasons. Well, we have the same amount of seasons as most of the world but it makes me appreciate them anyway.
Often times about 3 months into it I'll find myself wishing that I lived in Florida or Arizona or some other part of the world that doesn't experience the bittersweet chill of a Minnesota Winter. I think that's mainly because I miss riding my motorcycle or opening the windows on my house.
The snow I can deal with. It's the cold that really gets to me. I've lived in or around Minnesota all of my life so you'd think that I would be used to it by now. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I am not and never will be used to the cold. I will tolerate it because this is where I am from and I love it here. That does not mean that I have to like it though.
I guess that I will go and take the batteries out of the bikes this coming weekend and start planning out the winter modifications. That should give me something to do I suppose.
I hope that you all have a safe and warm Winter. Also here's to hoping that this winter isn't as long and as cold as the last few that we've had.
Enjoy the day!

What's new?

So, how has everyone been?
I haven't written here since before Sturgis, so I'll start with that. Sturgis was a good time. The ride out and back was very uneventful which was not a bad thing at all. The weather was great and the traffic was tolerable.
I hadn't been to Sturgis since 2000 and now I remember why. I love to ride in the hills but damn do I hate the crowds. That just reaffirms my love for the smaller rallies. Don't get me wrong, I'll go again someday but it will probably a week or two before or after the rally. I think that's more my speed. Oh yeah, I bought a new GoPro camera to mount on my bike to take some cool video. I had a 4Gb SD card and like a 20Gb card. I filled the 20 with pictures and video and then proceeded to lose the damn thing somewhere between here and Sturgis. Oh well, fuck pictures I have a good memory.
Lets see, what else is going on. Oh, my band is coming along nicely. We've been playing out a bit which is nice. Here is a link to our YouTube site if anyone is interested. The name of the band is "Blue Water", I'm the singer.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bluewaterfromboji

Let me know what you think.

I've been trying to catch up on things at my house to get ready for winter. I finally got my new garage door in and all of my winter preparation chores done. My wife and I have been helping out my mom a lot the past few months since she is alone now. She seems to be doing fine though. I've been keeping a watchful eye on her to make sure she doesn't get too down. She's a tough broad though, I'm sure she'll be fine. Let's wish her luck!
I had to finally put the bikes away for the winter...kind of. They are in the shed but the batteries are still in just in case. As soon as we get snow I'll take them out and start with my winter mods, money providing that is.
My homebrewing is going great. It's a hobby that I absolutely love. I just bought a kegging system, because bottling blows ass!
I got a used refrigerator that is now my designated beer fridge. Due to limited space at my house it is out at my dads. That's fine though, he needs a beer once in a while too. I have 2 kegs so I can have 2 on tap at any time. It's fucking great!
For Thanksgiving this year I have a batch of hard apple cider, 2 gallons of wine and about 5 gallons of beer, all of which is homemade. I hope that's enough!

Anyway, that's a bit of an update for you all if you give a shit.
Enjoy the day!!

STURGIS!!!!!

It just about here. On Friday after I get off of work I'll be heading to my buddies place in Lennox South Dakota for the night. On Saturday we will be getting up early to boogie out to them there hills. I want to pull into our campground no later than 2 in the afternoon. That way we can get a little shut eye and then head out somewhere for some supper and a few beers.
I think that most of our time will be spent riding and seeing things. I doubt we'll spend much time actually in Sturgis, maybe an afternoon. I'm sure I'll buy some shirts and trinkets for the wife and offspring, see some friends and look at bikes. I don't know what we'll do for sure but I do know that I am going to go and see Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band at the Full Throttle. Oh, I will also drink whiskey.
If any of you are going to the rally have a good time, be safe and don't forget to where a condom.
Enjoy the day!

It's Official!

Yesterday I made my reservations for Sturgis.I went to Sturgis for the first time in 2000 and I said that I would never go back. There are too many people, everything is way too expensive and I hate crowds. I've spent every year since then at the smaller rallies. I love those but I'd been starting to think that it was time for something different.
Well my buddy asked me a while back if I wanted to go with him. we'd been talking about taking a road trip together for quite some time. After much thought I decided that I would give Sturgis another chance and now I find myself very excited about it.
I'm not sure if I am more excited about the ride out there or the rally itself. I doubt that I will spend much time in town at all, maybe go check out a few vendors or look for people that I know. Most of our time I'm sure will be spent riding and checking out the sites. I love the Black Hills, I have since I was a kid and I'm very excited to get back out there.
We're going to be camping at Rushmore Shadows just south of Rapid City. It's nice and quiet. Don't get me wrong I love to party and have a good time, but dammit I love my sleep too. Like I said I hate crowds and I don't think that I could handle The Chip or Glencoe. I'd probably get into a fight and my wife would not be happy with me if I got arrested. I don't need the hassle. So if anyone wants to look me up, that's where I will be.
You all have a good day and keep the shiny side up!
Later

What a year...so far.

So, my Stepfather committed suicide in front of my mother on the 29th of April.
How's that for an opening line?
I don't know what was going on in his head. I feel bad for him for whatever personal hell he was going through to make him do that and for him to think that was his only option. He and my mother had been married for 23 years. So needless to say I had known him for most of my life and I loved the guy. I guess that it's true that we never really know a person as well as we think that we do. No matter how long you have been involved with them.
Suicide really is a very selfish act. I never really put much thought into that until now. Now that I have been directly affected by suicide that statement has really come home to roost.
To actually do the act is one thing, but to do it in front of someone is really taking that selfishness to a whole new level. I feel so very bad for my mom. She is 61 years old and for the rest of her life she is going to have to live with that vision. I wish that I could do something to take that away so she never has to think about it again but I can't. All that I can do is be there for her when she needs me.
Oh well, onward and upward right?
I'm not going to go on and on about it but for some reason writing it all out is kind of therapeutic. I also wish that I could see him one more time so I could knock his ass out for what he did to my mom.
Anyway, goodbye Dan. I loved you and I will miss you forever.
Enjoy the day everyone...and don't forget to hug your family.
Later

Holy Shit!

Hello, once again it's been a while since I've written anything here. I usually wait until something inspires me to spend time typing. Mainly because I suck at typing so whatever it is had better be important or at least interesting to me. So what is it this time you may ask. It's this whole thing with Christianity and we need to get our country back to God and so on and so forth. Let me start by saying that I have no problems with what people believe or how they decide to spend their Sunday morning or anything like that. I believe in live and let live.
If going to church and believing in God helps you get through the day I think it's awesome. Everyone needs something to believe in. I just ask that you don't try to shove it down anyone else's throat and don't ring my doorbell and try to get me to believe in it or ask me to give you money to build another abomination that is as far away from the teachings of Christ as you can get.
From my understanding the United States was not founded as a Christian nation. It was founded as a place for religious freedom, thats why the people came here in the first place wasn't it?
The FOUNDING FATHERS were smart enough to know that religion and government do not mix. Thats why there is supposed to be a separation of church and state! Also "Under God" wasn't added to the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.
I'm not saying that religion is a bad thing. I'm just saying that it's not my thing. I think that I've lived my life as a good person and I try to treat people as good or better than they treat me. I also think that any belief system that causes wars or that is responsible for ruining the lives of children by causing them physical harm and mental anguish is probably not such a healthy thing to believe in.
That's just me and my opinion. You can take it or leave it, I don't care. I hope that you all have a great day and continue doing what makes you happy.

It's time

So yesterday was a sad day for me. I sold one of my favorite things in the world. My 1984 Chevy C10 Short Box pickup. It wasn't anything fancy. It had some rust and some cracks in the dash, among other things but it had character and that goes a long way with me.
You may ask yourself "Why would he part with something that he loved so much?" Well, the answer would be a 2003 Harley Davidson. There are some upgrades that I want to do to my bike but didn't have the scratch to get it done. I hate being in debt and didn't really like the idea of asking the bank for money. So as of 6:30 yesterday evening I now have the money to do said upgrades. The upgrades that I will be doing probably won't make my bike win any trophies for the fastest quarter mile time or a best in show award because the mural on my gas tank depicts a big titted stripper blowing John Wayne or some such shit. No, I am going for more of a reliability thing. I will be getting new exhaust, new intake, new gear driven 510 cams from S&S, a Screaming Eagle Race Tuner and whatever else I either forgot to mention or might be able to afford. I'm excited for the upgrades, and all of this warm weather around here is making me think more and more about riding but lets face it sometimes Mother Nature can be a real bitch and I'm sure she'll dash my dreams of riding any time soon. So in the meantime I will just have to settle for Sturgis videos on YouTube, my J&P catalog and a vivid imagination. Oh I can also remember the times that I had with my old truck.
Have a good one and enjoy the day.

Venting

So yesterday I got my new issue of American Bagger in the mail. I love this magazine and I look forward to receiving it each month, but something is starting to piss me off.
I've always been a fan of a certain amount of customization when it comes to motorcycles. I think it is a fine way to showcase a persons individuality through their motorcycle. I'm more of a fan of the old school bobber look, that's just what I'm into. However, I choose to ride a bagger now. I rode Shovelheads for years and to be honest I got tired of not being able to walk properly after long rides due to hip and lower back problems.
When the wide rear tire style customs started hitting the scene I liked them immediately. I had never seen anything like it before and it was pretty damn cool. Then all of a sudden you started seeing them on every show that was on the Discovery channel. Now to be honest I can't stand the sight of them. They just got done to death.
Now I am starting to see a trend in baggers that is pissing me off. It's the 19 and 21 in front tires. Those looked cool for a minute but now every fucking bagger in a magazine has one. I mean c'mon, I thought a bagger was supposed to be this big chunky comfort machine. Don't get me wrong though I still love all of the other custom features that people are doing, but that wheel pisses me off for some reason.
If anyone reading this has one or is planning on doing it to their bike I apologize, it's just my opinion. You'll never see it done to my bike though. I love my fat front tire and refuse to make my bagger look like what everyone else is doing. Even if that means it will stay stock.
I just had to get that off of my chest.
Enjoy the day!

A While

It's been quite a while since I've written anything here. I guess nothing has really happened, except winter. My Standard and my wifes Sporty are tucked away quietly in the corner of the garage waiting for spring modifications. The Donnie Smith Show is coming up in a few months and hopefully there will be some good deals there.
My wife has decided to run another marathon. This one will be in Deadwood on the Mickleson Trail. I don't know if I spelled that right but oh well. That should be a fun weekend.
My friend Zim and I have decided that we will be making the trek to Sturgis this year. I am looking forward to that very much.
On New Years my band played our first show at PJ's in Bingham Lake. It went very well, thanks for asking! We surprised ourselves at how well we played. Hopefully it continues.
Well that's it for now. Maybe I will remember that this thing exists and I can write more here!
Later!