Today's Bike Ride

Today I rode my Brompton after dropping Karen off at Costco for work. Part of my ride was along the canal path. Here's a picture of my Brompton at one of the bridges over the canal.

Yikes

I found those screws in the bike lane on McDowell Road. I'd like to think they we dropped there by accident instead of on purpose.

Bike Tire

Yup, definitely going to need a new bike tire and tube.

Cool HDR Photo

My iPhone has an HDR (High Definition Range) photo setting. I keep this turned on so I get 2 photos every time I take a picture, a regular exposure and an HDR exposure. The HDR is actually a compilation of 3 differently exposed photos which tends to give better results in certain cases. Anyway, yesterday I was at Tempe Town Lake riding my Brompton folding bike. I stopped at a picnic table to read for a while and saw a skateboarder coming. I took a picture and was surprised by the HDR results. The skateboarder was moving too fast for the iPhone's camera to take the same exact photo 3 times. Here are the interesting results:

Regular photo

HDR photo

Las Vegas

Karen and friend at Paris Las Vegas.

Las Vegas

Pelican at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Flamingos at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Fish at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Karen in elevator at the Flamingo.

Motorcycles On Main

Monthly event in downtown Mesa. They close Main Street to all but motorcycle traffic. Lots of bikes, bikers, music and vendors. And lots of fun!

More Frugal Additions

I wanted a set of saddlebags for my Shadow. I had a set on my Rebel but this time I didn't want to spend upwards of $200 on the bags and supports. What to do? Craigslist! I spent some time searching and finally found a pair listed for $75. I offered the seller $50 and he accepted. As an added bonus he included a set of supports for free. The trouble was that the supports were off a V-Star and wouldn't fit on my Shadow. So I used a very large box wrench as a pry bar and BENT them into shape. Then I just had to get some longer bolts and for a total investment of about $60 I now have saddlebags on my Shadow. Here's a new picture of it in front of Red Mountain.

Huh?

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. LOL!!

Rerouted Vista Trail

It's been a while since I hiked it, but I find it interesting how Usery Park dealt with a beehive problem at the top of the trail. They just moved the trail! The new trail is evident by the freshly worked brown dirt.

Cheap Accessories

After buying my new (to me) 2004 Shadow there were a couple of accessories I really wanted. The first was some kind of storage as the bike didn't come with saddle bags. I decided on a sissy bar bag because (1) I don't need much storage room and (2) I wanted to make mounting/dismounting the rear of the bike as easy as possible for Karen. I looked at commercially available bags ($$$) and decided on a more frugal (French for "cheap" I think) approach. So I went to a Goodwill thrift shop and found a leather backpack for $6. I sewed on (by hand) a new velcro closure strap and modified the shoulder straps to wrap around the sissy bar frame and then velcro to the back of the bag. I think it came out pretty good!

After that project I decided what I needed next was some kind of clock. I don't wear a watch anymore and pulling my iPhone out of my pocket while riding just isn't a great idea. Again I looked at what was available commercially but didn't want to spend the money. A couple of posting in the Honda Shadow forum that I frequent gave me the idea of using a cheap Walmart watch. I picked one up yesterday for $11 and used velcro to attach it below the speedometer. I like the analog watch as it goes with the classic styling of the Aero.

Bigger Motorcycle

After riding my Rebel for over 3 months and 2000+ miles I decided that I wanted a bigger motorcycle. The Rebel is a GREAT motorcycle! Being such a light weight motorcycle probably saved my butt a few times while I was getting comfortable learning to ride. It can handle freeway speeds and I got about 75 mpg. But being a 250cc class bike (the engine is actually 234cc) it definitely lacks in the acceleration department. And being as small as it is (331 lbs. wet) the ride can be pretty harsh at times. I actually seriously started considering a bigger bike several weeks ago. So I decided to bite the bullet and "move up." I sold the Rebel and bought a used Honda Shadow Aero. It's a 2004 and had about 22,000 miles on it. The engine is a 750cc class (745cc actual) and it weighs 519 lbs. dry. It can easily out accelerate most cars which comes in handy when trying to get away from trouble. And the much heavier weight translates into a much smoother and more comfortable ride. Another advantage is that Karen and I can comfortably ride "2 up" on it. Yesterday we did that and rode out to Gold Canyon on the freeway. We cruised comfortably at 65 mph. I've had the Shadow for about 1 1/2 weeks now and so far I LOVE this bike!

2004 Honda Shadow Aero Specifications

9/2/2003 10:09:18 PM

Model	VT750
Engine Type	745cc liquid-cooled 52 V-twin
Bore and Stroke	79mm x 76mm
Compression Ratio	9.6:1
Valve Train	SOHC; three valves per cylinder
Carburetion	Single 34mm CV type
Ignition	CD with electronic advance, two spark plugs per cylinder
Transmission	Wide-ratio five-speed
Final Drive	Shaft
Suspension	Front: 41mm fork; 4.6 inches travel Rear: Dual shocks with five-position spring preload adjustability; 3.5 inches travel
Brakes	Front: Single 296mm disc with twin-piston caliper Rear: 180mm Drum
Tires	Front: 120/90-17 Rear: 160/80-15
Wheelbase	64.5 inches
Seat Height	25.9 inches
Dry Weight	519.4 pounds
Fuel Capacity	3.7 gallons, including 0.9-gallon reserve
Colors	Black/Metallic Silver Black/Candy Dark Red Black/Pearl Blue Candy Dark Red Black
California version differs slightly due to emissions equipment.

Buying Motorbikes

Right after the BRC we started shopping for motorbikes. Ross ended up buying a new Honda Rebel, the same bike he rode during the BRC. Karen bought a new Sym Fiddle II scooter.

Karen on her Sym Fiddle II scooter

Ross on his Honda Rebel

Motorcycles!

I (Ross) have always wanted to ride motorcycles. It never made much sense to me when we lived in Michigan since I wouldn't ride for more than half the year. So once we moved down here to Arizona I started getting the bug again. We talked about it and started looking at various cycles. At first we were just going to buy a cheap Chinese scooter and ride "2 up" on it. After some research we decided they just aren't very durable and would be more trouble than fun. Then, after an aborted attempt to buy a used Honda Reflex scooter we decided to take the BRC (Basic Rider Course) through TEAM Arizona. Here in Arizona you can attend an approved class and, if you pass, take the certificate to the MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) and get you motorcycle endorsement.

We both attended the 2 day training class at TEAM Arizona's Gilbert location at the end of April. The class consisted of half classroom and half course (riding) work. This class was definitely the way to get our endorsements! We could have "done it ourselves" but we wouldn't have learned anywhere near as much as we did in the class. It was well worth the cost!

Karen at BRC on a Piaggio Fly 150 scooter

Ross at BRC on a Honda Rebel

We're Baaaaacccckkkkkk!

Wow, it's been quite some time since we've updated our blog. I (Ross) have been posting stuff to Facebook the last few months. But I want to update the blog because it's a much better way to "remember" than trying to sift through Facebook. Everything is here in one place. So we're going to start bringing things up to date. Soon. Promise!

Cat Peaks/Pass Trail

Here are some of the hedgehog cactuses in bloom we saw on the trail.

Seen At Silly Mountain Today

This western diamondback rattlesnake. It was next to the trail and I would have walked right by it if it hadn't rattled and caught my attention. It wasn't very happy to see me.

Spring Training

Ross cooking burgers at the Big A Grill.

Spring Training

Ross cooking at the Big A Grill.

Cat Peaks/Pass Trail

Today I hiked the Cat Peaks/Pass Trail. Here are some of the sights I saw.

 

Barrel cactus with big buddy.

Barrel cactus with little buddy.

Bush in bloom.

Hedgehog cactus in bloom.

Spring Training

Karen at work in our new stand, the Big A Grill.

Pass Mountain At Sunset

Spring Training 2012

We went to Tempe Diablo stadium today for employee orientation. This will be our 4th season of working concessions for Aramark during spring training for the LA Angels.

Pass Mountain Saddle

On Friday we hiked the Pass Mountain Saddle Trail. It's actually a part of the Pass Mountain Trail but this hike is from the Meridian parking area to the saddle and back. About 4 miles total and about 700' elevation gain.

Karen coming up the trail.

Karen going down a section of white slickrock .

Karen looking at the Superstition Mountains.

What 80 Pounds Looks Like

40 pounds difference between each picture.

The first picture is after having already lost 85 pounds!

Colorado River

South of Hoover Dam on our way home from Las Vegas on Thursday. HDR photo.

Goldman & Goldberg

Harrison Ford wasn't available so I had my picture taken with Whoopi Goldberg this time.

The Most Popular Place In Las Vegas

The McDonald's on The Strip!

Imperial Palace

Another view, this one a panorama, from our room.

Imperial Palace

View from our 15th floor room.

Bulldog Saddle Trail

Yesterday I hiked the Bulldog Saddle Trail. Here's a nice view of the Superstition Mountains I took while coming down the trail.

Tonto National Monument

Today we visited the Tonto National Monument. We had made reservations for the hike/tour to the upper cliff dwellings. It's a 3 mile (1.5 miles each way) hike with 600' of elevation gain. There were about a dozen of us on the hike lead by Ranger Jan. We made many stops on the way up when Jan would talk about the animal and plant life. It took over 1 1/2 hours to get to the dwelling. Once there we ate lunch outside the dwelling and then went inside. Jan explained many of the rooms and what we were seeing. Very interesting place! After about an hour we headed back down. It took less than 1/2 hour to get back down. All in all a very worthwhile outing.

Upper cliff dwelling as seen from the trail.

Ranger Jan explaining one of the rooms.

View from the dwelling.

The trail switchbacking up the hill.