Brenda H

YAHOO! Planning on making the International myself this year. Also hoping you are planning on joining up with the south Texas crowd again this trip. Maybe this time we can compare trikes!! :happy65:

You might try Doc Bailey's Leather Black. I use it on all of my saddlebags/seats, etc. It's leather conditioner with a touch of black dye added to it. Great for stuff that's sun faded which is a common occurence here in south Texas.

It wasn't hung upside down. It was sitting on a shelf and apparently got knocked over. It is/was my backup helmet and for use when I had to ride in weather, as my primary lid is a HJC SyMax II.

I'm PISSED!! WE have mice in our house. I went to get my brand new, never used Scorpion Exo1000 helmet to see about mounting the Edsets I've bought to put in my helmets in it. It was sitting upside down and the lil dears had built a nest in it! The styrofoam was in tiny pieces making the helmet unusable. I bought this when the 1000s when on clearance after Scorpion replaced it with the 1100. Paying $160 for it beat the regular price of $280. I don't want to pay the $280 for another one but I need the sunshield thanks to my eyes being very light sensitive. So far as I know, the helmet is a write off. If they had just chewed up the liner, which appears to be intact, I could replace it after giving the helmet a thorough cleaning. GRRRRRR!! One thing I am curious about . Most helmet manufacturers usually have two helmet shell sizes. It is the liners inside that make the different sizes. Some of the outfits do the change in shell size between large and xlarge, others do it between medium and large. I'd like to know where Scorpion does their change. I can still find a few Exo1000 [would you believe $54?] out there but they are the tiny sizes, XS and Small. If Scorpion does the change between L and XL, I can buy a Small and replace the liner with a Large one and have my helmet back! Anyone have the answer to that??

There should be a way around the overnite cost. The vet supply I get stuff from for the horses uses cold packs and mini coolers to ship stuff in. It wouldn't be cheap but it shouldn't cost $70 to do it. And there are other outfits that ship meat and cheese products that would be able to give you some ideas as to how to do it. My in laws used to send us a 30# box of Wisconsin cheese every Xmas for years. Hubby just had to have his Shullsburg cheese!! [sp?] BTW Put me on the list for possible future shipments!! It sounds like some interesting stuff!!

I think I'd rather have what it cost to build than something that looks like it should be on a drag circuit! Add in the fact that almost anyone shorter than the rider would have to spend their time looking around things rather than at the road straight ahead. As for the chicckee that got on in the video, what happened to the chute he used to slow it down and if he hits a bump hard enough, just how is she going to stay on it as there appears to be almost no pillon seat on the darn thing?

Here's a thought. This might be a bit less embarrassing [sp?] than the below mentioned option. It would depend on how you gentlemen wear your shirts. Find a men's crew or possibly calf length tube sock [the Hubby has dozens of them], cut a slice in the top, insert the family jewels, and drape the top of the sock either over the top of your briefs or the waistband on your pants. When getting on the bike, pull the sock up raising the aforementioned items, and go on your merry way. Just a bit less noticeable than to be seen sticking your hand down your pants in mixed company! And if you honestly think that us girls don't read every post in this crazy place, you're nuts!

Sounds like everybody's having fun. I'm been trying to talk the hubby into doing a cruise since we have several cruise lines based out of Galveston so getting there would just mean about a 2 hour drive for us. Patti I ended up having to stay at my Moms another week so I'll be heading back to Texas this coming week. Anybody going to be home??

I'm only going to be able to do the thinkin part of this as I'm up in Illinois with the Mum and the cage and the bikes are all back home in Texas with the Hubby. "Gunboat" Don, gone but not forgotten.

Well, we've made it back to the Mum's house. Fun trip, 1.5k+/- miles, will have to get an oil change done on the truck before heading home. That part of the trip has been put back a week as Mum had lost one of her hearing aids before I got up here and we spent part of today getting it's replacement ordered. Earliest it can get here is Saturday so no going home on Friday as planned as the supplier is in Springfield, not here in Decatur. As for the last part of the trip, had dinner with lil brother and his clan. I got to meet his new daughter in law. My nephew has good taste! She's quite a girl. Spent the night at his house and headed for OKC on Sunday after having a Skype video call with my niece who is on a missionary assignment in the Ukraine. Got to OKC and had an early dinner with my aunt. Quite a surprise to find the Murphy's gas station there where I bought gas had BOTH forms of regular unleaded, with/without Ethanol! Now if I could just find one like that down my way!!! We got into Springfield, Mo. in the wee hours. The Days Inn near the Battlefield Mall is a nice place. Kinda fun to find as it is a street behind and to the right of the Super 8 that is located on US 65. The room was a good size. The king sized bed was firm but comfortable with plenty of pillows. Only complaint was no electrical outlet with available space at the desk. The only one there was occupied by the tv and lamp cords. The laptop got plugged into the outlet next to the wing chair and placed on the table at it's side. I had to pass on Bass Pro. Mum is not walking fast enough to keep up with me even if I'm doing a slow stroll, so I may have to pass on it this trip. But there may be a detour on the trip home!! We got home in time for dinner. Since my travel plans have changed, I may take time to visit some of my dad's family while I'm still up here. My aunt in OKC is the last of her generation, but I've still got some cousins floating around Champaign/Urbana where I was born so who knows where I'll end up before heading back south. More later!

Well I'm sitting in a motel in Ottawa, Ks. Spent last night at the uncle's. Ended up spending some time at the Jumer casino in Rock Island as well. Enjoyed playing a 1cent poker machine. Never actually won anything over 4 cents but I managed to keep that particular $1 investment going for quite awhile. The evening only cost me about $10. I might have spent more but putting $10 bills in a slot machine is not my idea of being real bright. Stopped at the Walcott I80 truckstop. Funny that you don't really notice that it is a TA affiliated center. It is huge. Loved the gift shop [but not their prices]. The trucker's side of things could have had me spending some serious money if I had a better idea of what lights and stuff I want to add to the trike. An any place big enough to house a full rig and trailer [loved that paint job!] in addition to both a KW and a Peterbuilt tractor is not small. I also raided J&P and it appeared to be a HD day in the parking lot there. One guy had a gorgeous Indian tho. Wichita tomorrow. We are staying at the Knight's Inn in Ottawa and for anyone passing this way, this is a pretty nice little Inn. Our room is clean, the manager had turned on the ac for us earlier so it was nice and cool when we got here. Most of the reviews on this place mention staying in the rear building as it is one story and you can park in front of your door. The main building is 2 story and when I had requested a room in the back on my online reservation, the manager says he started checking his guest registry to find out when I had stayed here before . I've never been here before so it kinda had him going for awhile. Patti Plans originally were for my Mum to come down to my place for a few days, then we would do this trip from my place with me hopefully coming home in time for the ES gathering. Since I ended up having to go up to her place instead, I most likely won't make it this year. RATS! More later!

Well, I made it up here. Traffic was kinda fun. Bikes were everywhere, including one that makes me wonder just how they did it. Seeing a bike mounted on a receiver platform behind a motor home is nothing new - usually! This one was! Someone had built what I assume was a custom platform with it's own either spring or shock loaded wheel mounted to the rear bumper/frame of the motor home. What was on that platform was a full sized BMW bike! I had to do a double take when I realized just what I was looking at. If I hadn't been doing 70 mph on I55, I'd have taken a pic of it and had a few words with the owner. I was a bit concerned about it as it seemed to be doing a fair amount of bouncing as it went down the road. That is not a lightweight bike. Plans for the "big adventure" go into effect tomorrow. Hotel reservations are made for Ottawa [Fri. night] and Park City, Ks [sat. night] as my lil brother lives near there. OH FUN!

Can someone tell me just how you could/would pull a trailer with that thing? From the video on You Tube, no storage on it to speak of and for that money, I'd stay with a Spyder RT. IMHO, Polaris just turned a dune buggy into a street "bike".

Patti As things stand now, Labor Day weekend. I'd be heading for home on either Thursday or Friday, most likely Friday. Yours truly is supposed to be back at work on the 31st. If you leave before then, which way are you headed? Maybe we can get together somewhere on the road. rbig1 I've been to the casino in RI. I've always thought them a great way to lose one's shirt. I will definitely check out the Walcott truckstop. I regularly raid the big ones around here. You can find some very interesting stuff in them!

ANSWERS! Flyin - Farthest north we're going is Rock Island. It is also on the opposite side of the state from you. RI is one of the "Quad Cities", RI, Moline and East Moline, Il, with "big brother" on the other side of the Mississippi River - Davenport, Ia. From what I see on a map, you're just outside Milwaukee and almost due north of Chicago. Best we could do is take I39 up to where it crosses I80 [near Peru, Il] and head west from there but that's still a 3 hour one way drive for you. Add in the fact that we'll be doing this leg of the trip on a weekday so if you're still a working stiff??? But with that intersection, there's bound to be a truck stop around there somewhere! Vz - I think I saw that one the last time we went up that way back when I made the usual run up to my uncle's. It will depend on what our time concerns are when we head up there. The Springfield, Mo. store is Bass Pro Shops home base. It is HUGE! I stopped there on my way home on one trip heading for my aunt's and spent almost the entire time with my jaw down around my ankles. Add in the BPS outlet store next door and it will blow your mind. And if you're interesting in buying a boat? Nemo - Higher math was never my strong suit. But I intend to take a ruler to the map and check it that way. Patti - Apologies! I thought I had sent you a PM on the seat. I was also thinking of possibly taking the long way home and taking you two out to dinner at that restaurant everyone was talking about during your M&E. I want to make sure I've got all of the data on the trike down in my "notebook" so I don't mess it up. And I'd also like to see where my money went - aka the Beemer! Interested?

Heading for points north a week from Sunday going up to the Mum's to give her a hand with some stuff and then we will both be heading out to visit family over a 4 state area. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk her into doing the trip on the trike. RATS! One thing is that I'm looking at a slightly different route that I may take either on the way up or on the way back [more likely]. Usual route for me is cutting across the NE part of Texas picking up I30 west of Texarkana, spending the night in Lil Rock, then heading east for Memphis on I40 where I pick up I55 and and then north for Illinois. The alternate route is US67 which comes out of the NE corner of Lil Rock and cuts across over to I55 just south of ST Louis. I like to work things out on Mapquest and what struck me as funny is the two routes are almost identical in mileage and driving time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the long side of a triangle supposed to be shorter than the other two sides combined? US67 strikes me as being the "scenic route", one reason why it will probably be the route home after I take the Mum home [and not on the trike RATS! again] . Anyone familiar with this highway?? As for the family trip, I'll be in Decatur, Il for a few days at the Mum's house then we'll be heading for Rock Island, Il [my uncle] staying overnite there. Next day includes probable stop at J&P in Iowa then heading for Wichita, Ks [my brother and his clan] with an overnite stop possibly in Ottawa, Ks or therabouts on the way down. We'll spend a day or two there then head for OKC [my aunt], after which we'll head back to Illinois with an overnite stop planned for Springfield, Mo as I've promised the Mum a trip to the Gateway Arch which neither of us have been in. But I'm going to raid the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield first. Anyone who is familiar with the one in Katy, Tx will throw rocks at it after seeing the one in Springfield! Then I'll be back in Decatur for a couple days before heading back home to Texas. The reason for including all this info is that I'd be very interested in having a M&E along the way with other VRO members. Time may be a factor in some of the stops due to our family time but I'd love to meet some of you. The Mum won't mind hearing a bunch of bike talk. She's met some of the Houston crowd and will probably be joining me at our gatherings once she gets moved down here. Anybody interested??

My '96 RSTC has the covered hard bags. I'm thinking you could get both back then. Mine are showing their age but as far as I can tell they are all original right down to the straps and buckles on both ends.

In my case, it depends on where I'm going. Long distance trips, ATTGATT, armored jacket, hikers, gloves, riding jeans, full or flip face helmet. Short trips, like a day trip or a run down to Houston or over to Austin, MOTGATT, only difference there being regular jeans instead of my riding jeans. I carry reflective vests in my saddlebags and will put them on if I'm out after dark. Thanks to Don [b2Dad], the trike lights up like a Xmas tree and I'm planning to do something similar to the TC. I was considering buying a half helmet after I got the TC but Ponch's accident put a halt to that idea. Some of his injuries I believe were CAUSED by his wearing a half helmet instead of something with a face shield. I laid my old maxi scooter down some years back and came off of it face first. My rain gear was completely shredded down the front, my full face had a 3 inch wide swath diagonally across it's shield and the only injury I had was a bruised hand from wearing regular gloves instead of my usual armored ones. Ponch's accident reminded me why I have never ridden in anything less than a 3/4 with face shield.

Somewhat popular? I love them. Burritos made to order but not like the ones you find in a Mexican restaurant. Think sub but made with a giant tortilla instead of bread. 4 or 5 flavors of tortillas and 3 sizes and you had better be big time hungry if you order the "Monster". Got started in College Station and are slowly spreading around. Nearest thing to them on a national level would be Chipotle's but as they are not owned by Mickey D's as I understand Chipotle's is, it may take them just a bit longer to get around. I invariably hit the ones either in College Station or Austin whenever I'm near one. Give me a choice between Chipotle's and Freebird's - Freebird's every time!

I've known bulls to do some DUMB stuff, but did that fool animal think that was a KOW?

Larry Since Don left me very little left to add on to this munster [MAJOR BLING! on this thing!], I'm having serious thoughts about your skid plate too! I think that with some of the roads down here, it could use the protection.

Before popping the Hannigan aux tank on the bill, check out Carbon One's version. That's what's on mine and I like the set up.

I'll have to agree with the last part of this. But then I'm sneaky. I bought mine already triked!

I get miffed at all this discussion of "what to wear". Here is a question for you guys. How do you find riding gear for short people? In nearly all riding gear, the larger the size, the longer the inseam or the longer the sleeve length. I'm short, 5'6". Unfortunately that is the only place where I'm "small". I wear women's size clothing and I'm just large enough that basically all riding gear manufacturers do NOT include my size in their women's lines [and I'm not "that" big!]. End result is I have to buy men's wear. Even in the "short" sizes, the pants can be 3 inches too long. My mesh men's jacket has to be worn with the sleeves rolled up. My leather jacket, which is the largest size I've ever seen in women's gear, is also too long in the sleeves. One of the reasons why I have a pair of chaps is because I can get them short enough to fit! The only piece of riding gear that I have that actually fits me are my riding jeans. Interesting as they are the only kind of riding pants I've seen that are sized like regular jeans, with separate waist and inseam sizes. Mine are leather lined in the seat and come with armor in the knees. They are what I wear on long trips when I'm usually ATTGATT. They're great!! Can someone tell me why I can get my jeans this way but not other styles/material?? One of these days someone will come up with a riding gear line that is not this "the bigger you are, the taller you are" mentality!

I've listened to him so much over the years that I can hear his voice in my head. Too damn bad the last few months of his life he ended up being a bone between two dogs, the wife and his kids. Hopefully he was not aware of it. Rest in peace Casey. One advantage to your doing classic R&R Top 40 is they can keep on playing the recordings forever!