Daveand Barbie

And that would suit me just fine. A V4 with 150hp and 110+tq in that chassis would be just as good a performer and narrower to boot.

I own both a 1st Gen Venture and an FJR. Both bikes are outstanding, but there is one major difference. The VR is a touring bike and the FJR is SPORT touring. Both are very capable tourers(I did 7800 miles in the west on my FJR this summer) but the FJR is a thoroughbred that can be thrashed hooligan style and is happy with it. Now I have ridden both on twisty roads, have drug parts with both, and can say that the FJR is easier to ride aggressively in the twisty bits. In '16, the FJR comes with cruise and heated grips, which puts it even closer to the VR. I would agree that the factory top box moves it closer to the VR, but 200 pounds makes a difference, and the much stiffer chassis is quite noticeable. My VR didn't get much love last year, it will probably go on the block soon.

For a bunch of years, I was an exclusive scotch drinker until a couple of trips on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I appreciated the sweeter taste and have begun drinking bourbon more often. I have eave visited all the distilleries at least once, and have come to enjoy the Woodford quite a bit. There are others that I think are also quite good. They are: Bulleit 10 year old 4 Roses small batch 4 Roses yellow label Knob Creek Russell Reserve Jim Beam black label the budget brands that I have found to be really good are: Evan Williams Benchmark 8 year old The Creme de la creme I found this summer.......Bulleit Blade and Bow. At $55 a bottle, it is worth every penny. It was only available in Kentucky, but I understand it is going to be releas d in other parts of the country soon.

As a pro musician of 50 years and educator of 40, I am often asked what music I like or listen to, my response is "anything that can hold my interest". I listen to music analytically because of my training, which means it has to have melodic content, harmony, and if a vocal, lyrics that are understandable and/or have some cogent message. So, I enjoy everything from 12th century Palestrina to today(except rap) especially the horn bands of the 70s and the big bands. Just for grins, search Stairway to Heaven - Kennedy Center Honors 2012 for one of the most awesome performances ever. I can't copy it here on my iPad.

If it is within reach of Jekyll Island, I would ride on down.

My first one was a '62 Triumph Thunderbird that I got in '67. In '69, as a poor college student, I sold it to buy an engagement ring. I know, dumb move, but she is still with me. I got got away from bikes until I finished school in 1972 but traded Corvettes while I was in school, the profits to pay for tuition and living expenses. That enterprise allowed me to only rely on my family for only $250 to finance my college education. the next bike I bought was a Kawasaki Greenstreak that was a bit worn. It didn't stay with me for long because everyone I ran with at that time were trials riders and a MX bike didn't fit well. So.....I sold th Kaw and bought the lovely Barbie a Hodaka 100B. We "shared" it for a while, and I rode my first trial on it. Not long afterward, so that she could have her Hodaka all to herself, I bought my first real trials bike, a Bultaco Sherpa T.

The announcement about the Victory Ignition may very well happen tomorrow. It is based on the 156 Project, which was the one off Pikes Peak racer that was built for this past summer. It qualified 4th and first in class, but crashed in the race. it seems that Victory is attempting to add a performance series to their line while Indian remains the Retro series. That Ignition Concept really turns my crank, except for the forward controls.

I rode through there the first week of June this year and there was still an 8 foot snow pack on top of the mountain, and all the lakes were still frozen. Next time, later in th year will be better.

We have reservation at Shady Acres in Ft. Myers for January. After that, we are just going to go where our nose leads us. We may go on to the Keys, go to Flamingo in Jacksonville, or back to Jekyll Island. Jekyll has one of the best municipal tennis facilities in the country, which is important to me.

We arrived at Jekyll Island, GA yesterday to stay for the next 2 months, then on south for the next 3 months. It's Barbie and me and 3 cats. We are in a 34 foot class A pulling a 12 foot enclosed trailer that has a freezer full of food, my FJR, a pantry, 120v apartment size washer/dryer stack, and other miscellaneous things. This setup works just perfect for us.

Holly.......I would agree completely! I also had a 62 Fairlaine 500 Sport Coupe with that 221 V8. The lobe on the cam that drove the fuel pump kept falling off, so I sold it foolishly. The person I sold it to put a $25 electric fuel pump on it and was set to go. I so wish I had that one back.

Since I am on the road, I don't have photos available to me. I financed my education playing in bands and trading cars. Now, being in Kentucky at the time, the "good ol boys" had an affinity for sporty cars, and used their tobacco and coal money to buy them, drive them like the fools they were, and then park them. The great old cars that I bought and sold for a profit while I was in undergraduate school included: 1954 Corvette, White with red. Blue Flame 6 1958 Corvette, Black with red. 283 with 3 speed - needed a fair amount of work 1959 Corvette Maroon with black 283 with 4 speed - needed king pins 1963 Corvette Coupe Marina blue with blue 327/300 with 4 speed 1967 Corvette Roadster BRG with black 427/390 with 4 speed After I finished school, and got a job, I bought a 1959 AH Bugeye. Like others before, I loved it, but it had to go away because in 1977 I fell in love with an AH 3000 which I still own. Along the way, we have owned any number of MGB's, and they were great, but had to go away for a profit. While we were being crazy about the Brit cars, a 1967 XKE coupe presented itself. I still have it. My race cars were "great old cars" too. I still have my Datsun 240Z in GT trim.

For what it's worth...... i bought a 26 foot class c on a Ford chassis with a 460 V8 in 1994 to tow my 24 foot trailer with race car and all the supporting gear. It was a 1993 model that was bought in 1994. I pulled that rig all over the eastern US both with the race trailer, my Miata on an open trailer while vacationing, and got 12 mpg empty and 11 mpg with trailer in tow. The only issue I had with it was keeping the cab over section sealed up to keep the water out. Many of the newer models have a one piece cap over the cab that are much more water resistant. All told, we put about 40K miles on that one that were mostly trouble free. in 2001, I sold the Tioga and bought a 2000 class A. It is 34 foot with a living room slide. It is also on a Ford chassis with the V10 gas engine. The difference between the two is significant in that the amount of room is quite noticeable. It handles the race trailer just fine and is easy with the 12 foot bike trailer. To date, we have put 40K miles on it and the only issue we have had with it has been rust due in large part to the 7 winters we spent in the keys. I have spent many hours under it cleaning and treating the rust with POR15 paint. I have replaced all the brake lines when one rusted through last year. 3 years ago, when I retired from racing, I gutted it and replaced the carpets with wood floors, jettisoned all the furniture and replaced it with furniture that better suited our lifestyle, replaced the TV, and installed a surround system. It now is "drinks for 6, dinner for 4, and sleeps 2" just the way we like it. All brakes and rotors have been replaced due to rust, all new tires, and it is ready to go later this week. We expect to be living in it for the next 4 to 5 months. The V10 gets between 7 and 8 mpg. It will probably retire to the farm in Tennessee and be replaced with something a bit smaller in the next few years, who knows?

We'll be in Waynesville mid week next week. Going to take the lovely Barbie to the museum while there. Puc, you let me know when you are headed that way, I'll come chase you and Tippy around the mountains then report here what hooligans you are. Might also bring a couple of Cubans along to share.....

I did near that same loop this past June. I also visited the Bandelier National Monument, which is an ancient hme of cave dwellers, and Cimarron Canyon which ends at Philmont. Philmont is one of the national Boy Scout ranches, and the old time ice cream shop in the town is beyond excellent. I am sure you enjoyed that ride as much as I did.

Not me! I am going to run away from that! Mariah Carey is shooting a movie here. Those photos were taken Wednesday night. Movies are cool like that......

Hey Puc.....looks like someone has been messing with my neighborhood and leaving you alone. You're welcome.

It snowed in a neighborhood near me night before last. I wonder if someone from up north had a detour this way?

My 250 and 350 'Tacos get the job done better than anything I could imagine.

And.....add Natural Bridge to any stop at The Gorge. It's just across the road and would make for a great hike.

Think I will go ride 421 some time next week. Anyone want to ride along? My schedule is "flexible"

I score 7 of 10 on this one. I expect to get 8 next summer.

I have ridden 421 from Lexington, Ky to Pennington Gap, then Rt 70 to Rogersville, Tn. From there 11W to Bristol where I connected with 421 again. It is an absolute blast of a ride.

Oh the stories........I hope I can explain this well enough to be understood. i have made my living as a musician/conductor/educator for the past 50 years, and my favorite people to mess with have always been drummers. With that said..... i went to to undergraduate school in Kentucky, and occasionally a poor rube drummer would come down out of the mountains to get him some learnin' so, one day during orchestra rehearsal, as we were working on some symphony, one of the drummers noticed that in the 2nd movement his part had "TACET" marked on it in bold letters. He leaned over and asked my stand partner what it meant, and being the smart azz Trumpet guys we were, he suggested he ask Dr. Cooper, the Percussion Professor if he had one to use. We even made sure to inform him that he needed one pitched in E-flat. Dr. Cooper walked in shortly thereafter and the poor kid made the mistake of asking him for an E-flat TACET. In front of the entire world, this kid was berated for not being aware of a very important instrument, and the rest of the semester he would be studying the TACET in great depth. oh, and by the way, TACET means DONT PLAY. Dr. Cooper was cool like that.