We are officially on the road for the “Man Trip.”

This all started when my wife “purchased” a cabin for me and my friends to stay at so we could go dirt biking in the mountains in Tennessee.

I use the term “purchased” very loosely because I found out today that our trip was not confirmed. But because I love my wife and took her for better or worse, the mistake was made by the people at Ride Royal Blue. However, in all of the confusion, RideRoyalBlue.com has been more than gracious and is hooking us up with free breakfast.

Last night Phil and Taj (those of you that have seen the movie “Van Wilder” will understand this reference, well actually you will not because Taj is not Indian nor tan, but it is the nickname he got in college and it stuck so well there are people who still do not know his first or last name) loaded the trailer with two ATV’s, two dirt bikes and a ton of gear. We are very prepared.

Currently we are on I-275. There are there are two Chevys, two trailers, seven guys, four ATV’s, two dirt bikes, one gator, four cases of beer, three half-gallons of whiskey, four empty bags of Wendy’s, two empty sugar-free Red Bull cans, and the back window is whistling everything but Dixie.

The next time you hear from us, it will either be from a hospital or we will be posting videos and pictures. Wish us luck!

Jarrod

P.S.: It is finally nice to see Nicky show some speed on the Ducati. Go Nicky!

Hello fellow riders. Guess what..?

I have still not ridden my motos. NOPE. Actually, I did take my dirt bike for a “down and back” after I picked it up from Dreyer Powersports the other day. The Man Trip is ONE WEEK AWAY, and everyone involved is excited. The numbers continue to grow. I believe we are up to eight now.

Wednesday was a scorching 60 F, and there were several bikes on the road. Not mine, however; it was painfully sitting in the garage collecting dust. You see, ever since my son, Van, started school, my moto time has been limited. Have no fear, I am bound to make up for lost time once the season warms up.

Well, on to my fantastic blog. As many of you may have heard, the Consumer Products division of the government has put a stop on sales for all ATV/dirt bikes built for children under 12 years old. This is a result of the government requiring toy makers to dismiss lead. Lead is bad, and lead in toys that children chew is bad. Lead on a motorcycle is not bad. It’s a motor vehicle. If your child is chewing on the engine of a motorcycle, you’ve got bigger issues than him actually digesting lead.

Here is a link to a news special on how dealers are “dealing,” ha, with the ban on ATV/dirt bikes.

So how does this affect me?  It really doesn’t because I have a hunch that by the time Van is able to ride an ATV or a dirt bike, this will be resolved. Between avid riders, manufacturers and the AMA, this will all be resolved, for sure. The sad part is that the government enforced a law without considering a huge issue (powersports). Or even worse, the government didn’t use “good” judgment and simply exclude ATVs and dirt bikes once they realized the mistake.

Remember the picture form last week’s blog with Van wheeling the motorcycle? That may not happen until he is 12!!!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine the government enforcing this for much longer.

Another update … I used the GOPRO Camera at Fast Times karting center here in Indianapolis. Here is a link to a clip. Click your mouse on the static image to start the video. It gets good a couple laps in:

On another note, my brother picked up a sweet helmet.  Its rated PG because A) It’s a graphic B) it’s not in full color and C) There is ZERO nudity. Here is a graphic.

Jarrod

My “experience” at Dealer Expo was a much different experience than “The Experience.”

My day at Dealer Expo was with the Vanimal (my son) and my slightly dazed friend Phil. Phil pops into several of “The Ride” blogs because of his common passion for danger on two wheels. That’s right: I said danger.

My day started out with a fantastic breakfast at Petit Chou in Broad Ripple where Van had Green Eggs and Ham and I had “Bruce’s Oatmeal.” Once we were finished with breakfast, Van and I dropped the wife off at home and soldiered on to Dealer Expo. We arrived at about 9:30 a.m. and waited for our friend Phil, who arrived at 10 a.m. While we were waiting for Phil, Van decided to highjack this moped to the right.

Once Phil arrived, we set off for Lucas Oil Stadium where Ride Royal Blue was set up. If you don’t remember, the “Man Trip” is just two weeks away, and the venue is rideroyalblue.com. While at Ride Royal Blue’s booth, we discussed our growing group of six to eight and if there were rental ATV’s and extra cabins still available. About two minutes into the conversation, Van nearly lunged off my shoulders toward the booth to the right. Van spotted the Kiddi Moto booth immediately to the right. Of course, just like everything else, Van had to get on one. Unlucky for Van, Kiddi Moto isn’t distributing to the U.S. until May. He’ll just have to wait. The common theme of the day was that Van had to ride every single vehicle at the show. Check out this list of Van’s excursions.

The low-riding vehicles are the easiest for Van to jump into. Funny thing about Van is that he only likes to sit properly in the seat and drive.

To the left, Van sweetens up to the Repsol girl. I think the fact that she was blonde (like mommy) and gave Van a small-scale Nicky Hayden motorcycle were the reasons that they got along so well.

Van had a good time on a Chinese-built ATV. They were selling this particular ATV straight off the floor for $290. I swear, the Chinese are going to take over the world.

Perhaps one of Van’s more spectacular moments. Please notice that this is the largest ATV alive. The handlebars are up to Phil’s shoulders(pictured right). Phil is not a small guy!

None of this seemed to bother Van.

Besides chasing Van around Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Convention Center, we got see an awful lot of fun aftermarket pieces. The one item that stood out to Phil and I was the GoPro Motorsports Camera.

“Funny Story”… I thought for some reason that the exhibitors were able to sell items off the floor. Apparently I was wrong, and you had to be a dealer to purchase anything. Here is the exchange:

Phil: Do you want to get one?
Jarrod: I think so.
Jarrod to the camera rep: Can you give us a sweet deal on these cameras?
Camera rep: You’ll have to ask Marshall.
Jarrod: OK, let’s ask Marshall.
Camera Rep: Your rep, you’ll have to ask your Marshall rep. I am just here on behalf of Marshall.
Jarrod: I’m not a dealer. I’m with a venue. Can you still hook it up?
Camera Rep: Nope.

That was painful. Phil was so pumped up about the camera that he purchased one that night. Other than that, Dealer Expo was pretty typical. Girls, bikes and a lot of fun times with Van.

Jarrod