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!

New things

I guess it's been a while since I've put anything on here. I keep forgetting to be perfectly honest. So here's what's new as of late.
My wife and I have been fixing up a house for her grandparents to move into. It's definitely been an experience but in a good way.
I've finally joined a band again. They're out of the Spirit Lake area. We have no name as of yet but the guys have all been playing for 20 plus years (in some cases much more)and are very talented. We're going to be leaning towards bluesy classic rock stuff like The Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule. I hope it works out. I'll try to keep you posted.
My stepson broke his arm pretty bad on Friday so we've been dealing with that. Doctors visits and surgeries...YAY!! He's doing really well though, he's a tough little guy. He had four pins put in yesterday and it sounds like things are going to heal just fine. We're just going to have to have to let his body do it's thing.
It's short and it's sweet but it'll do the trick (that's what she said)
Enjoy the day!