I had planned on writing about finishing the Power Half Hour program, or about my dog Porter making it through a minor procedure that required general anesthesia, but with my family here and some other stuff I am just too exhausted to do a full post.

So, you’re going to get pictures of my trip to the local zoo with my family :)
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One thing that owning two BMW motorcycles has taught me: replacement parts are ridiculously expensive. From a $20+ oil filter to $20 stainless steel gas quick disconnects, to who knows what special belts, doo-dads, and what’s-its. My license plate bulb died late last summer, and as usual I was horrified when I found out how much a single Osram BAX9S 12v6w replacement bulb would cost: $13 before shipping. For a tiny light bulb.

I turned to the Internet for help, and was not surprised that other people weren’t happy about paying that amount, either. Thanks to the R1150R forum I was able to find a pair of LED-based replacements for $10 shipped on eBay.
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I’ve written about the SmartCarry deep concealment holster a few times before on Gibberish. I affectionately refer to it as my “assault diaper,” and I have found it to solve a problem other holsters cannot.

I was cleaning my Kel-Tec PF-9 and noticed that the color was fading from the front of the SmartCarry holster where the barrel and front sight rest against the fabric. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was some wear on the edge of the holster. I don’t think there is any structural danger, but it does make me wonder how long the SmartCarry is going to last.
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I just finished session 25 of the Power Half Hour exercise routine by Beachbody.com yesterday. I am in the home stretch! I have to say, I am mightily impressed with the results. I still find all of the sessions challenging, and like how my body is reacting. I can almost see my abs! Even though there are a few things I would change about the program (not enough stretching is the biggest one), I think it is vastly superior to the P90 Basic course I completed earlier. Granted, P90B got me in shape for this, but the five different routines of the PHH really makes a difference.

I have gotten a lot stronger, and trimmed down a little. I can now do all five routines without (too much) resting. The abs are still hard for me, but I am doing them all now instead of just the first twenty or so reps. I do twenty-five to thirty reps for each ab movement, and some of them are pretty damn crazy.

I look forward to the arms routine the most, because that means the next day is stretching. :) I love the stretch course. It’s particularly nice when the routine falls on a workday, and I can just spend a half hour relaxing and becoming more flexible.

Riding a motorcycle requires a lot of balance, and core muscles play a huge part in that. I would like to think that my increased riding confidence this season is partially due to the P90 and PHH workouts. I definitely feel a lot stronger and my balance has improved.

I’ll take pictures after I’ve completed the whole series, but here are my stats as of yesterday:
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I was using the restroom at a nifty coffee shop near downtown. They have one of those dual tank toilets that use less water if you just need to flush some piss down the toilet. If you, uh, make a larger deposit you can flush the whole tank. Pretty cool!

So, there I am, taking a piss, and I’m looking at the flush handle. Here, check it out:
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You encounter (or perhaps create) all sorts of new challenges when you ride a motorcycle more than you drive a car. There are obvious ones: dealing with rain by obtaining waterproof gear; adding a topcase and panniers for luggage capacity. But there are some creature comforts that you take for granted in a car that you don’t have on a bike. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to talk to someone you’re traveling with, and sometimes it’s nice to listen to something other than wind noise.

I tried using my old BMW K1200LTE’s onboard intercom and radio to solve these problems, but the concept of a wired headset seemed problematic. Furthermore, the “compatible” headsets I purchased were not, and I wasn’t interested in spending $260 for a pair of the approved BMW headsets. I wound up selling the KT1200LTE anyway, and I put my comm search on hold.

That is, until I found out about the Scala Cardo Q2 Bluetooth motorcycle intercom. They were wireless, had a built-in FM tuner, an AUX jack for an MP3 player / satellite radio, and a range of up to 500′. This meant that I could talk with my passenger, or perhaps another riding buddy. I am really glad I didn’t spring for those wired headsets now.

Would the Cardo Scala Q2 headset meet my expectations? Unfortunately there’s still a long way to go to make these live up to the hype.
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When it comes to taking photos, I’m a simple man. I like taking pictures of my dogs, and of my friends. I also take pictures of my motorcycles and the products I review for Gibberish. I have an original Canon Digital Rebel (200D), and while I never got around to really mastering the ins and outs of the camera, I’ve had to learn a bit to take some of the pictures I like to take. For example, most of my people and dog pictures are taking in low light conditions. I try to take pictures of my dogs while they are playing, but as soon as I get too close they get more interested in me than in each other.

My friend Bond recently picked up a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens for himself and his wife. He brought it to work, and I thoroughly evaluated it according to strict photo-scientific protocols. What I really meant to type was “I wheeled around in my office chair, upside down, cackling like a maniac while snapping pictures.”

I was intrigued, because the lens is sort of built to take good pictures in low light conditions. It is a “prime” lens, which means it has no zoom — potentially a problem for taking dog shots without being noticed. But the price was right ($93 shipped from Amazon.com), so I bought one. I belong to Amazon Prime, so the lens arrived two days later. A prime via Prime? Good omen, for sure.
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It might be a heightened sense of awareness while riding a motorcycle. It might be that I sit up higher than I do when in my car. But I see all sorts of weird people and odd behavior while riding. This may regrettably be an ongoing feature: my motorcycling nature report.

Today’s specimen is the dexterous eaticus whilstdrivingcus, commonly known as “that bitch who eats a Frosty from Wendy’s while steering with her knees.” Now, if you can juggle a frozen dessert, a spoon, and a two-ton car all at once, more power to you. I’m not going to get on my high horse and throw stones for questionable motoring behavior. What does peeve me, however, is when eaticus swerves from side to side and crosses the lane markers because she’s trying to eat.

What the hell, lady?

It’s too bad my helmet visor is tinted, otherwise you could have seen my puzzled oO face as I rode by.

It has been raining since last Friday (technically wintery mix then), but yesterday I rode into work anyway. Light rain, no problem. It didn’t rain a SINGLE DROP from 9AM until about 3PM, and then it started to rain more and more.

By 5PM it was steady; by the time I was on the highway it was a downpour :)

I really enjoy riding in the rain, but it adds a few layers of complexity to an already sketchy commute. I have to allow for extra space between cars, worry about putting my feet down on painted surfaces, etc. I also have to worry (particularly on the way into work) about water getting through my gear. I kept a status check looping through my brain: car in front of you, car behind you, car to the right, gauntlets are covering sleeves, visor clear enough to see, neckline still dry, car in front of you, car behind you, car to the right ….

It becomes meditative. I think that motorcycle riding puts me in a trance anyway, which is probably why I think so clearly while riding, and why I am happy when I get to work. Riding in the rain also plays on that traditional motorcycle spirit of being independent. I didn’t see another single bike out yesterday. I really enjoy riding in the rain, as long as I am prepared and am traveling a short distance.

My gear did very well: my Rev’It Cayenne Pro jacket was fantastic, and the Motoport mesh kevlar pants were watertight, too. I wore my Teknic Speedstar gloves, although I probably shouldn’t have; they are great gloves and I don’t want to shorten their lifespan by wearing them in the rain too often. I have some Aerostich waterproof glove covers, but that will have to wait for another entry. My Sidi OnRoad boots kept my feets dry.

The Gmax helmet is still very comfortable, but it doesn’t vent for shit. All of those vents on the top didn’t keep my face shield from fogging up. I had to decide between a partially fogged visor or getting blasted in the face from wind and rain. I split the difference on the highway, and ran with the visor three clicks open once I got back to the surface streets.

It’s supposed to be less rainy today, so I will be riding again. Hopefully this time without the free bike wash. ;)

I spend a fair amount of time on the highway. I have a fifty-plus mile round trip commute every day, plus need to take the highway to get to the fun stuff. Motorcycling for pleasure also tacks on more road time. Add this all together plus my propensity to, uh, push boundaries and you develop a need to identify unmarked police vehicles very quickly.

Here a few ways to tell if that Crown Victoria in front or behind of you is an old lady blabbing on her mobile phone, or an unmarked trooper getting ready to cite you for reckless driving.
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