MC Nation Podcast

I felt that I should write a quick post just to let you all know that I have not forgotten about you. I value each and everyone of you that take the time to read my thoughts and those of you waiting patiently for me to get the podcast up.

This weekend life has happened. My granddaughter, who is living with us, just came home from the hospital yesterday (after a 7 week stay), I have had to deal with problems at my safety site, and I am working on a 16 page paper for school that is due in 4 days. I can’t wait to get back on a more normal schedule and get back to the blog and the quest for that podcast. Thank you very much for your patience and please bear with me.

Steve and the MC Nation Podcast

There are many faces to motorcyclists in the eyes of the general public. They see the bikers with the ten thousand mile stare that would just as soon shoot you as look at you. There is the young, aggressive motorcyclist. The husband and the wife that love to tour together. Don’t forget the RUBS (Rich Urban Bikers). And then just your everyday average Joe.

I can’t tell you which one of the above perceptions is most often tagged on motorcyclists but I can tell you that the public has noticed one important thing. They have noticed that motorcyclists have huge hearts and deep pockets. Charity rides have almost become an epidemic. It has not been too many years ago that you might find one or two charity rides in your local area in any given month. Today, in the Indy metro area, I can pretty much assure you that I can choose from 5 or more a week. This is within a fifty mile radius of downtown.

These rides vary from rides to benefit sick children, these are money makers, to fundraisers for school books or some other cause. Over the years, those people who would not go near a motorcycle have noticed the cash cow that many rides can become. They find someone willing to throw together a ride and they count the money. It seems like there is no limit to reasons for throwing together a ride. Joe and Mary’s house burnt down. Little Nicky has some disease. The humane society needs dog or cat food. The local school could use new playground equipment. And so on, and so on, etc.

The problem with the number of rides available on any given weekend is that they actually take away revenue from each other. Motorcyclists love to ride and they love to do charity rides. But, the pockets only go so deep and they can not be in two places at once. So, they are forced to make a decision and attend one ride. The dollars are stretched pretty thin and all rides suffer in today’s world. So, my personal suggestions for choosing a ride.

Avoid the rides that have all the stops at bars (for safety reasons).
Try to find the ride that actually gives the biggest part of your dollar to the cause.
Choose a ride that is actually helping something or someone.
Believe in the cause that you are riding for.

I am involved with a ride to raise money for type 1 juvenile diabetes research. This ride is the Dallas and Reid’s Ride and takes place in Plainfield, Indiana in September. Every dollar raised goes directly to the Iacocca Foundation (check out joinleenow.org) to fund research to find a cure for juvenile diabetes. The ride is the single largest fundraiser for the foundation every year and averages about $65,000 per ride. If you are in Indiana in September come look me up. Food, bands, and other fun for less than $20. This is the type of ride that needs supported. Where are you going to get a bargain like that?

The other ride that I like to participate in is the Miracle Ride for Riley Hospital which raises money for Riley Children’s Hospital in Indy. In the 14 year history of this event, Midwest motorcyclists have raised nearly $2,000,000 for the hospital. Please check that one out.

When you choose your ride for the weekend, choose the ride that provides the best bang for your buck. I don’t mean taking the attitude of “What is in it for me?” but the where is my money needed most and which cause will my money benefit the most people. You spend a few bucks, have a great time, and you go home feeling like you have made a difference. Please shoot me your comments. And, if you live near or far and can make either one of these rides, please let us know you will be in town.

Ride Safe

Steve and the MC Nation

Well, i had a good day today. We had a zoning issue going on with one of our Indianapolis safety sites so I decided to go and witness municipal government at work. I got to the hearing at 1 pm and we had to wait our turn. Thought I would be gone at 3 or so but it turned out that there were a few other matters on the docket that really took up time. Try 1-1/2 hours to argue a variance for a restaurant to put a firepit into an outside eating area and 3 hours for a neighborhood to argue with T-Mobile about putting a cell tower up. We finally got our turn at about 7:15 and we got done at 8:15.

What a way to spend a birthday! All that matters was we won and we can start conducting classes again at a local dealer. So, all in all a good day. This is going to have to do for a post tonight as it is already almost 11 pm. Check back tomorrow for more motorcycle related news.

Ride Safe

Steve and the MC Nation

The local newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, ran a story about a young man that lost his life in a motorcycle accident this weekend. The reporter actually only told part of the story, which is a little surprising. Normally the first thing reported is that the motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. It is not even mentioned in this story. But, don’t stop there. Check out the comments left on the story and you will start to see other information. I did not know this person personally but I am friends with people that were close to him.

I was told that there was a history of extremely fast riding. I heard from one of my sources, even before I read the comments for the story, that the estimated speed was 130 mph. There was a hill in the area of the accident and at the estimated speed, or a much lower speed, it would be impossible to stop the motorcycle prior to impact after cresting the hill. i also received information that the skid marks were in excess of 40 feet long. What reason is there to run that type of speed on any road meant for general transportation? Some people want to ban motorcycles for actions such as this. Others want to ban sportbikes only. You could almost compare it to the handgun issue that we have here in the United States. Guns do not kill people,the person pulling the trigger does. Motorcycles do not run 130 mph without someone there to roll on that throttle. It is all about responsibility. I know hundreds of people that ride sportbikes that have never seen speeds over 75 mph which would pass on almost any highway here. Responsibility.

We are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are bringing unnecessary negative attention to our nation and we need to stop. Look at the comments to the story. Funkyzero writes that their children will never ride a motorcycle. MissLinda basically said that most people have problems with the riders. The problem is that when people see someone running at light speed, performing a stoppie, or riding a wheelie down the highway, they don’t differentiate between a responsible rider and an irresponsible one. They see a motorcycle. So, all motorcyclists are irresponsible in their eyes.

This situation is a very unfortunate one but definitely one that could have easily been avoided. Irresponsibility is a stereotype that we can not afford to have tagged on us. Let’s police our nation and save lives at the same time. Our thoughts go out to both families and anyone who is affected by the senseless death.

Ride Safe

Steve and the MC Nation

I had planned on writing a blog post on functional motorcycle accessories vs cosmetic or dress up accessories in the upcoming weeks. But, I was reading a post on Twitter where one of my friends, dekkerd, made a post about riding his motorcycle to pick up some farkle. I felt stupid. I had no idea what farkle was. As much as I am around motorcyclists, I have never heard that term. So, curiosity got the best of me and I went straight to Google which led me to Wikipedia where I found the definition for farkle.

It is basically a functional accessory for a motorcycle. It differs from cosmetic accessories, also known as bling, because it is so much more than an item to make your motorcycle look more appealing. Wikipedia goes on to say that the word may be a combination of the words function and sparkle. I really hate to admit that one who professes to live, eat, and breathe motorcycles had not even heard of this saying. to make matters worse, Wikipedia also mentions that the word may have been coined as early as 1997. Eleven years later and I have to admit my ignorance. I guess I need to get out more.

Farkle must be big because during my search I even came across websites such as Farklemasters.com A whole website devoted to farkle. Shoot, even people across the pond know what farkle is as evidenced by the company that sells navigation and luggage called gofarkle.com Am I alone in not being “hip” to the latest jargon? Anyone know of good places to get farkle? Leave those comments and more in the comments section. I gotta go for now. I have a farkling headache.

Ride Safe

Steve and the MC Nation

We are seeing the greens coming to the grass and trees, the flowers and trees blooming, and we are hearing the birds singing in the morning. That can only mean one thing. It is time to ride every day. The temperatures are awesome in my neck of the woods and I hope that they are the same in yours. A little cool in the mornings but about 70 on the way home. It has been sweet.

I have some exciting news. Well, exciting news to me at least. Tonight, Motorcycle Nation bought it’s own domain name. This blog will be moving there shortly. The main reason that this is being done is so that I can host the podcast there. This blog, as I told all of you before, was born out of my desire to podcast. We will still keep the blog going when we move but I can finally quit running my mouth about doing the podcast and getting it out there to you. I hope that you will be able to hear two podcasts as of Sunday evening. I need your help when they come out. I need ideas for shows and I need for all of you to share the new domain with all your motorcycling friends. What is the new domain? I will tell you when it is out of construction phase. Until then, keep visiting right here.

I hope you are finding the time to ride. Ride Safe

Steve and the MC Nation

I am so glad that I am better at riding a motorcycle than I am at figuring out the finer points of publishing a podcast. It has proven to be an exercise in futility for me so far this week. But, I will overcome the obstacles and you will be listening to a podcast soon. Episode one has been recorded, although it may be a month old by the time you actually get to listen in. Let’s hope that is not the case.

I did not update the blog yesterday as I worked on getting this podcast publishing figured out. I wanted to let you faithful readers know that I did not forget a day, I just need to get the podcast going. The creation of this blog is the result of the desire to podcast. They are both important elements of what I want to do, bring motorcycling to the world, and I want both of them to be running simultaneously. In other words, I said there was going to be a podcast and I feel the need to deliver and live by my word. So, be patient. You should see a motorcycle related post either tonight or tomorrow.

Ride safe.

Steve and the MC Nation

Don’t take your attention totally away from the road, but start looking around the next time you go for a drive. Pay particular attention to the the motorcycles that you see during your trip. What is the main thing that you are noticing about riders today? The main thing that I am noticing is that the sport is enjoying an influx of lady riders. I have not only noticed this while out on the road, but we have experienced the same in our motorcycle safety classes. I would guess that the percentage of female students in our program is in the neighborhood of 35 to 45%. In a report on the Women Riders Now.com website (http://www.womenridersnow.com/PublicFiles/DepartmentViewer.asp?ArticleID=810), they say,

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, the number of female riders has increased 36% since 1998.

I could not argue that point at all. Every class that I teach, the students introduce themselves and give the class an idea of why they are there. Two main reasons pop up in every class. One is that they got rid of the boyfriend or husband and had enjoyed motorcycling with them so much that they decided they would take up the sport on their own. The second is that the boyfriend or hubby is still around but they were tired of sitting on the back seat. They wanted to be in control of that motorcycle.

If you want to see the impact of women on motorcycling look no further than cyberspace. Pull a search on lady riders or lady bikers and you will be blasted with hundreds of thousands of website hits. Their impact is so great on the motorcycling community that new products are being introduced into the market every day, designed just for that woman who wants the freedom of the road. We are not just talking about riding gear any more. The motorcycle manufacturers are designing motorcycles just for the ladies. The Harley Davidson Motor Company (http://www.harley-davidson.com) with the Sportster Low that has a seat height of 25.3 inches. Or the Ridley Automatic (http://www.ridleymotorcycles.com) line of light weight, low center of gravity motorcycles that are targeted at both new riders and women. The automatic transmission takes much of the coordination factor out of riding which is appealing to many people. To each their own, as shifting is part of the fun of motorcycling in my opinion.

The boom of lady riders is not only a United States experience. It is also being witnessed in Canada according to my friend RonW who teaches the safety course there. They are experiencing the same influx of lady riders into their community that we are. I welcome the ladies to riding and encourage them to take a safety course and be responsible.

Steve (HarleyMac1) and the MC Nation

Man, I have had so much fun this evening. I spent quite a bit of time learning about podcasting from my friend, Daniel Brusilovsky. Daniel gave me some pointers on how to get set up and start the first show. The first podcast is recorded and edited. I will tell you this. Recording the podcast is as fun as riding your favorite twisties and editing is about as bad as either rush hour traffic or going down. It is about as fun as having road rash. Because we did not talk about it, I have not quite figured out how to publish it on the net so that all of you can listen but I will make sure to get that done asap. 

The first episode was more of an opportunity for me to tell you about the vision of the show and tell you a little bit about myself. It is pretty short and the only meat that was in the show concerned a motorcycle recall that I need to share here as well. Big Bear choppers has issued a recall on 2004 and 2005 Venom and Devil’s Advocate models and 2005 Sled choppers. It has been discovered that there was a lack of weld penetration in the neck, backbone, and downtubes that could cause the collapse of the front end. If you, or anyone you know, owns one of these motorcycles, call Big Bear at 909-878-4340 or take the bike to your local dealer for repair.

That is it for now. It is 4:30 a.m. and I need my beauty sleep. You all will agree that I need the beauty sleep once we start live streaming on Ustream.tv

Ride Safe

HarleyMac1 and the MC Nation

Seems like every time I look at the weather forecast this week all I see is rain today, thunderstorms tomorrow, rain Thursday, blah, blah, blah. I am so sick of rain I can’t see straight. I also know that things could be worse. That rain that we are getting right now could be snow and that would be even worse. But, life moves on rain and all. I have been teaching a weeknight motorcycle safety class this week and rain is one of the biggest fears of many riders, experienced or inexperienced. So, I thought that I would drop a few quick tips on you. I have struggled the past 24 hours to think of a topic for the post today and it has been in front of me the whole time. Go figure!

Being prepared is the first step to riding in the rain, and what I mean by being prepared is to have your choice of rain gear with you. Some people seem not to mind getting caught in the rain in pants and a t-shirt. The problem is that the longer you ride in that condition, the more apt you are to grow frustrated and uncomfortable. So we prepare ourselves for riding in the rain by having raingear available. There are different types of raingear and all different materials. You can purchase a one or two piece suit. It is advisable to choose gear that fits over your normal riding gear. Look for suits that have retro-reflective piping or patches built in for visibility (remember our earlier post on See and Be Seen?). It should also have elastic around the ankles and wrists for a snug, waterproof fit and rain flaps that cover all zippered areas. Some riders also choose to purchase a special type of glove for wet weather riding.

After our gear, we should make sure that our motorcycle is safe to ride in the rain which mostly entails insuring that we have a good set of tires that are not overly worn. Lack of sufficient tread will not allow the tire to disperse the rain correctly and could cause hydroplaning. That is one butt puckering situation that I don’t want to find myself in! We should also have good brakes but there are issues with that that we will discuss further here shortly.

Now it comes to the riding. The first point to make here is that if you are out and it just starts to rain, you should pull off the road and wait out about the first fifteen minutes. During daily highway travel, our friendly automobiles and trucks are leaking oil and it deposits itself on the roadway, usually down the center. During the first minutes of the rain, those oils and antifreeze rise to the top and make the surface slick. The slick stuff will eventually work itself to the side of the road and allow for safer riding. Basically, there is one action that we, as riders, can take in any situation that poses a hazard and that is to simply slow down. When riding in the rain, back off the throttle and don’t be in any big hurry. You also do not want to make any sudden moves such as a quick press of the handgrips to quickly change lanes. Make it a gradual, smooth press and keep as upright as possible on the slick surface.

If your motorcycle is equipped with disc brakes, you must allow for a greater stopping distance. When the discs are wet your stopping distance will double or triple at least. Keep this in mind. And finally, relax. Do not get in the panic mode and stiff arm the handlebars. You must ride with the gentleness and finesse that you do in other weather. Stiff arming the motorcycle will just make it more difficult to maneuver and stress you out even more. If you feel stress during the rain dance, park the motorcycle and wait the rain out.

Gotta Go

It is raining and I gotta ride!

Ride Safe

HarleyMac1 and the MC Nation