Saturday, December 31, 2011
and Happy New Year
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Merry Christmas!, etc.
My pal Gromit and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the new year bring you lots of smiles, love, and great rides.
- Doug
- Doug
Sunday, December 11, 2011
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
My t-shirt saga in the last blog entry struck a note with a few readers who began to worry that soon I'd be riding naked from the waist up and just the thought of that left them horrified. BobScoot said he'd be on the look out for another Bultaco shirt for me (thank you Bob) and my old VW engineering colleague and fellow blogger, Jac B. actually came through with a new shirt. Thanks, Jac!
Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, Jac and I worked together at VW. He moved on to other adventures while I continued to toil for das Vaterland. We've kept in touch, more or less, over the years, especially since he started his own blog, Lehman Hill.
Jac's work for Chrysler Corporation had him traveling through Phoenix so he called me last week and suggested we grab a burger together as he passed through. Cool. We'd not actually seen each other in person in about fifteen years so this would be a great chance to catch up on motorcycle stories that don't fit into e-mails or blog entries. We met up at an Irish pub/restaurant in Tempe that was the favorite hang out of our late colleague and friend, Bob Wilson. Bob lost his life early this year while riding his Moto Guzzi. I think Bob would be pleased at our small remembrance.
Jac rides a pair of Kawasakis, a ZRX and a KLR650 but his work with Chrysler brings him into contact with the Harley-Davidson factory test guys just as my work did long ago. Being a great guy Jac acquired a Harley Proving Grounds t-shirt for me. He knew I need to re-fill my wardrobe and a hard to find H-D shirt would be just the ticket to start.
When we met up Jac presented me with this fine specimen of t-shirt-dom:
Fairly tasteful and subdued for an H-D shirt. Jac knows my flair for style or lack thereof. To a conservative rider like me, a '40s style pin up with most of her clothes on is preferrable to the usual flaming skeleton riding a chopper through the Gates of Hell. I like to think that fellow riders could imagine me with a pretty girl, it's less likely that they could imagine me on a chopper.
On the back of the shirt is the nice artwork that makes the shirt more special than most H-D shirts:
When I got home I walked through the garage and casually hung the shirt by my Suzuki V-Strom. The next morning I found what one might have expected from an H-D product:
Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, Jac and I worked together at VW. He moved on to other adventures while I continued to toil for das Vaterland. We've kept in touch, more or less, over the years, especially since he started his own blog, Lehman Hill.
Jac's work for Chrysler Corporation had him traveling through Phoenix so he called me last week and suggested we grab a burger together as he passed through. Cool. We'd not actually seen each other in person in about fifteen years so this would be a great chance to catch up on motorcycle stories that don't fit into e-mails or blog entries. We met up at an Irish pub/restaurant in Tempe that was the favorite hang out of our late colleague and friend, Bob Wilson. Bob lost his life early this year while riding his Moto Guzzi. I think Bob would be pleased at our small remembrance.
Jac rides a pair of Kawasakis, a ZRX and a KLR650 but his work with Chrysler brings him into contact with the Harley-Davidson factory test guys just as my work did long ago. Being a great guy Jac acquired a Harley Proving Grounds t-shirt for me. He knew I need to re-fill my wardrobe and a hard to find H-D shirt would be just the ticket to start.
When we met up Jac presented me with this fine specimen of t-shirt-dom:
Fairly tasteful and subdued for an H-D shirt. Jac knows my flair for style or lack thereof. To a conservative rider like me, a '40s style pin up with most of her clothes on is preferrable to the usual flaming skeleton riding a chopper through the Gates of Hell. I like to think that fellow riders could imagine me with a pretty girl, it's less likely that they could imagine me on a chopper.
On the back of the shirt is the nice artwork that makes the shirt more special than most H-D shirts:
When I got home I walked through the garage and casually hung the shirt by my Suzuki V-Strom. The next morning I found what one might have expected from an H-D product:
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"When my mood gets too hot and I find myself wandering beyond control I pull out my motor-bike and hurl it top-speed through these unfit roads for hour after hour." - T.E. Lawrence
An Important reminder from the past:
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
