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
Last week, I purchased a VholdR motorcycle camera and took Megan for a ride down to Nashville, Ind.
… and Van is crawling like a mad man!
I don’t have samples with the new camera ready to share because it has been a busy week, but I have been testing it out and riding daily, so be prepared for video all summer long. If you watched the lap around the track with the highly expensive camera, you should note that the quality on the VholdR is much better and has sound. The sound isn’t that great, but it is sound, no less.
Last Sunday, Megan decided that she was ready to take a trip on the bike. But the forecast lied to us! It was more like 45 and cloudy than 65 and partly sunny.
Regardless, Megan had made up her mind, and we went for ride toward Brown County. The ride wasn’t too bad, but I was beginning to get a neck pain because she was clutching her body against mine like a scared monkey, not to mention the constant head-butting from her helmet every time I shifted gears.
So as we rode down to Brown County, it seemed to get colder and colder and the roads began to get curvier and curvier. I noticed that when I go too fast around turns, Megan likes to punch me in the stomach. Her sisters tell me that when Megan was a little girl, she would run up to her sisters, punch them in the stomach and take their toys. It’s good to see that Megan hasn’t grown up too much.
When we arrived in Nashville, it was about the perfect time to take a break. I decided that Megan was going to need chaps, and I was going to need coffee and food.
We both got chaps, and I have to admit I prefer them over my leather Alpinestars pants, for sure. The leather chaps are much more comfortable, and they really don’t look that bad. So after we picked up the chaps at the leather shop in Nashville, we headed over to the “Ordinary” for lunch. Sprinkles cut our ride short, and we were back on the road to Megan’s parents, where Van was.
It was a good time, and Megan is all about taking day rides. Hopefully when the Indy 500 finishes up, we will get a Monday here and there to go riding.
Jarrod