I you don’t have it yet, get it. It is chocked full of great places to ride, great places to eat, yada, yada, yada. AND, I’ve managed to have already done at least parts of a great many of them.

The weather is great… strap on your helmet and RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I appreciate the email, voice mail and direct conversation asking me when the next segment wiill be avialalbe -- I do hear you and it's coming soon!!!

Many things drove us toward oblique tangents last year, but we intend to be refocused on biking and photography again for 2006 — and straddling the intersection of those two is even better.

We are changing color labs to get a more robust offering to you for prints and are still working to move our e-commerce photography site to a system that will make it much easier for you to order and receive your prints. Stay tuned on that one.

In February we will reopen our offering to capture action biker shots — so polish up the scoot, wash the duds and get ready for another opportunity to be immortalised through the lens.

See our photography at Byron Sands Photography.

BTW, any of you who wish to fire up your own blog or podcast and would like to hear about the pitfalls, etc that I have waded through in the process, drop me a line.

Again, for my blog I use:
Movable Type for my blog hosting software
BlogJet and Movable Type for blog creation
EV1 Servers for my Internet server backbone connection

Sixapart (Movable Type) is located in San Francisco, CA; BlogJet is located in Moscow, Russia; EV1 Servers is located in Houston, TX.

The podcasting equipment and software is much more involved, but let me know if you have an interest and I will describe it all to you.

We got up around 7:30 am and started puttering around to get ready for the ride: make coffee, feed the cats, jump in the shower, etc. Around 8:30 we head out toward Texan Harley Davidson, with a pit stop for fuel — pull in about 9:10 and sign in. The ride is plotted for around 100 miles from Conroe, TX over to Carlos, TX through the countryside on a meandering route. On a straight line it’s only 48 miles, but who rides a motorcycle on a straight when its 83 degrees for the high on a great New Years Day.

So we get to the staging area and find it void of coordination. We sign in and get assigned to a group led by Road Captain A (we’re leaving out names here because they are all volunteers and frankly, who cares). We wander over to the McDonald’s next door and grab a bite, come back ask RC “A”, “When are we heading out?”. RC “A” says, “I got re-assigned to ride sweep for a different group instead, so I don’t know.” So I go back to sign-in and ask who is leading the group now. Turns out that RC “B” was assigned to lead the group instead, so I start looking around for RC “B” to find out when we are leaving — but I can’t find him around there anywhere. After about 15 minutes of searching, I go back to sign-in ask where I can locate RC “B” and when the group is leaving. The sign-in RC “C”, looks around and finally decides that RC “B” must have left with some group other than the one assigned to him, “damn, we have to get this straightened out”. Things are getting more out of control.

So we get now assigned to Smitty and within about 15 minutes Smitty has a group of 7 bikes lined up to head out. So after standing around for an hour wasting good riding weather we are finally on the road… as an aside, Cut-N-Shoot HOG changes volunteer leaders at the start of the year so it probably takes a ride or two to get coordinated.

AND it was a great 100 mile ride past farms and ranches to Yankee’s Tavern and Grill. Reneé was staggered just to Smitty’s right and I was directly behind, with the other 4 bikes following… Bill was riding sweep. Just staggered behind me was Greg with Gracie (aka “Sweaty Buns”) holding on behind him. I wanted to ask how she got that handle but couldn’t bring myself to do it — maybe she’ll just send me an email when she reads this — you can reach her on the Harley Boards of Texas and ask for yourself.

Smitty led a great ride… Reneé and I only stayed at Yankee’s long enough to hit the restroom and then headed back out. Only rode about 200 miles today, but what better way to launch a new year? The odometer on the JustaScoot II was setting at just over 16,000 when I got up this morning. Let's see what it is at this year end.

And to our biker brethren in the frigid north — the weather today was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While we did get any IBA certified Iron Butt ride in back in June, we weren’t able to get in any long tours this year. Seems like I was sitting in an airplane seat all year rather than a saddle.

So, I think that we will start the new year off right by joining the Hangover Ride tomorrow morning with the great folks up at Cut-N-Shoot HOG. Not a particularly long ride, just runs from Texan Harley Davidson in Conroe, TX over to Yankee’s Tavern and Grill in Carlos over by College Station — but just getting out will be nice. Flew back in to town yesterday and now I’m ready to ride.

We’ll update you after the ride tomorrow.

This top tourer also has a comfort package available which includes an 80 watt sound system with 6 CD changer, Honda satellite-linked navigation, heated seat and grips and ABS. It lists in the neighborhood of $21,000 with all the stuff, but word has it that it can be had from some dealers for several thousand under that.

Check it out... I rode a Gold Wing for the better part of a decade a while back and am often tempted to have another go at it.

I wish I had had a chance to get to know Dan. I attended his memorial because he was a fellow biker and recent member of the HOG chapter with which I associate.

I found out a lot about Dan at a wonderful celebration of his life last week. Friends were in from all over from childhood, high school, college and military days.

From those many stories that were shared it was evident that Dan was a very special person. Son, husband, father, friend, military hero (who flew helicopter extraction missions in Viet Nam).

At 61, Dan left way too soon, but obviously touched and enhanced the lives of many people.

To Dan, I learned alot about you last Friday from many of your life long friends. Rest in peace.

Dan's obituary from the Houston chronicle follows:

MRF's Mission: To continue developing an aggressive, independent national advocate for the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle which is financially stable and exceeds the needs of motorcycling enthusiasts.

MRF's Goals:
- Maintain and improve our ability to act as an advocate before national, state, and local legislative, executive, and judicial bodies and with private or public entities regarding issues affecting motorcycles, motorcyclists, or motorcycling.
- Maintain and improve our financial base and ensure financial stability.
- Maintain and improve our capability to meet and exceed the needs of our membership base and all state motorcyclists' rights organizations.
- Maintain and improve our capability to be the national information center for motorcyclists' rights information.
- Enhance training of national, state, and local motorcyclists' rights activists.

More and more, we face legislators at the national level who feel compelled for various reasons to move toward impeding the rights of bikers. A main focus of MRF is less federal government -- leave the right of legistation to the state and local governments without the threat of federal intervention.

If you only align with one motorcycle related organization, make it MRF. I am proud to say that I support MRF as a sustaining member. Don't sit idly by and expect others to preserve your rights. Engage. Become of part of preserving your rights for yourself and for your motorcycling brothers and sisters yet to come.

For only $25 a year you can make a difference -- and you get a patch, a pin, a newsletter, email alerts -- AND the pride of knowing that you are helping to make a difference. Click here to Join today!!! -- tell them that you are here to help and that JustaBiker set you over.

Harley-Davidson Announces Safety Recall and Related Customer Care Plan

Copyright (C) 2005 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

My brother Paul had brain cancer. I prayed for the kind of miracle where my brother was completely healed.

I love you, Paul.

While its always hard to loose a brother, it was time for his suffering to end. He was only 56, but he had an amazing life.

He had a great memorial service in Albuquerque Friday evening which was attended by hundreds of people -- he was a senior elder in his church.

I am over in Tucson visiting with our parents now as they are unable to travel any longer and could not attend the services for Paul -- that was very tough on them.

Be back home tomorrow night...

Again... thanks

Paul passed on peacefully this morning around 5:30am at home. Paul was a great father and husband, a leader in his church and a brilliant scientist. While his physical presence will be missed by many, his memory will be cherished by all.

During trying times like these you focus on the things that matter. We have only a small 650 watt generator, so we had to make choices. The generator is hooked up to the aquarium pumps to keep the fish and coral reasonably happy and to the broadband modem, switch and wireless access point to keep me reasonably happy. I'm on the battery of a laptop to write this.

Hopefully the power will come back on soon... this little generator won't even start to power an AC unit. It's actually about 9pm here on Saturday night and I won't sleep well with no AC and no fan.

But that aside, it was fun... we ran into a bunch of folks from the Cut-n-Shoot HOG Chapter (we are life memers of CNS HOG), but then what rally in world doesn't have Cut-n-Shoot riders in attendance? CNS HOG bills itself as the "ridingest chapter in all of Hogdom", and for good reason.

We stopped by the Haley Insurance booth and they had one BEAUTIFUL bike sitting there... Johnny (Trashman) was wiping off the rain drops when we stopped in...the paint job and the work on the bike was phenomental... BTW, if Sue isn't the world's largest insurer of motorcyle riders, she's damn close... we insure all of our bikes through Sue and we're happy (this is an unpaid ad from a satisfied client).

I do have a qestion for your readers out there. Why is it that the women that feel compelled to go topless or otherwise flaunt their uncovered breasts are as over weight as I am? I didn't see that from a single "super model" type? Damn!!!

I hate it when my thought is, "I'm getting a headache, please put your top back on".

Look what just flew in under the radar. The all-new Sportster® 1200 Low motorcycle. A long, low, custom street bike straight from the Harley-Davidson factory. Take a look at the …

... chromed-out Evolution® engine at the center of a narrow frame. 1200cc and mounds of torque will keep any wrist happy. The handlebar grips are a full inch closer to the rider for a comfortable ride. Combine that with a lowered suspension and mid-mount foot controls. The machine looks as good as it feels. Exclusive emblem on a 4.5-gallon tank. Chrome eyebrow over the headlamp. Black 13-spoke Cast Aluminum wheels. And a low, two-up seat just over 26” off pavement. Easier to get the boots down. Not that you’ll ever want to.

As a note, it achieves the 26" height when it has a 180 lbs rider sitting on it... so maybe it does apply to both scoot and rider.

Coincident with the rally, Ranch Ride 2005, will happen on Saturday, November 5, leaving from Stubbs Harley at 10:30a (registration opens at 8a) and ending at the famed Balinese Room on the seawall on Galveston Island. The organizers are out to set a record for the largest ever escorted motorcycle ride in Texas and to help a great local cause. The cost to be a part of history is $20 per person -- and it includes a t-shirt, free breakfast, door prizes, live music, drink specials and a biker babe auction. I'm not sure if the biker babes are being auctioned or it they are performing the auction -- be there to find out.

BTW, I had to write this entry twice -- I hit delete instead of send after I finished the first one. I hate it when I do that!!! When will I learn to hit save periodically while writing?