08 Harley Nightster

So I picked up a motorcycle a couple years back and have been riding the tires off the thing. I've been wanting a bike for 20 years now and I finally decided I should pull the proverbial trigger before I get too old (not quite 40 yet). I'm a surfer and a snowboarder, your typical California kid except that I now live in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, if I didn't find something to do, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. . .you catch my drift. It was everything that has been missing from my life until that point. It's basically stock, a few upgrades like the handlebars, pegs, some RK air shocks and a new comfy seat.
I ride this thing everywhere. I ride until it snows and then I ride once the roads are clear. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I filled up my car this summer. I love it, it is what I was meant to do. It's therapeutic. Let me just put out this disclaimer, I don't care what you ride or what you think about mine, I bought what I wanted and I ride the piss out of it. There, I feel better. It's hard to explain to people who don't ride the feeling I get when I'm on my bike. It's a serene intensity that heightens my senses yet relaxes my entire person.
The last couple years that I lived in Reno, I got into backcountry snowboarding. I'd go out with my dog, climb a peak and ride down. I loved it all. Sitting at the top of a mountain and looking down at Lake Tahoe filled me with what others might consider a religious experience. I felt a connection. Blasting down the mountain in that state of mind transformed my world into a single focused purpose. Nothing else mattered, not family shit, work, bills, etc. Nothing mattered except the ride.
I get that same feeling on my bike. There are a lot of back roads in Pennsylvania and at any given time, you can ride out and be alone. The buzz of my bike has that same serene quality that I felt in my years riding the mountains and the ocean. My tires fuse in the black liquid asphalt and I find myself in a trance. It's a hard feeling to describe and I'm not doing it justice. I think there are times in life when you just know that you're doing something that makes you happy and fulfilled. I thought when I left the west coast that I'd never find that connection again and I held a lot of resentment and bitterness. That's all gone now. Would I rather be cruising down the Monterey coastline, you bet. For now, I've found a place to call home and something to keep me sane. See you on the road, I'll be the one wearing the bug splattered grin.

4 years later. . .

I can't believe that I haven't touched this in 4 years and it doesn't look like anyone was reading anyway. 4 years later and what has changed. Billions of dollars have been spent, lost, earned, borrowed and given away. America seems worse off than in 2008 and we are continually told that progress is slow and it takes time. I feel like we stepped backwards instead of moving forward. Maybe that was the natural ebb and flow of the times, maybe it was as a result of poor leadership and maybe it goes back further than that. A few updates since my last post: we're still broke, China has us by the balls, neither political party wants to work with the other, still at war and the status quo seems alive and well. We've ridden this disgusting "Status Ho" for as long as I can remember and she's looking a little used up. Now don't get me wrong my friends, I'm not against taking the beaten down 2am girl home for a roll every now and then but wouldn't it be nice to get some "strange"? Two parties, same shit different day. We recently had a debate between all the 3rd party candidates, how many of you watched? Come on. . .be honest. . .hardly anyone. I know there is some skepticism when looking at 3rd party candidates and I understand some of the apprehension but neither Obama nor Romney have offered a solution to balance the budget and all the 3rd party candidates did. Now, I know it's easy to say that you'll balance the budget and it's another thing to have the ability to do it. Explore all the options, no matter how different it might seem or how much they smell like that reggae concert you attended when you were 18. Have an open mind and you just might bring home some strange.

Holy S@#%

Well, it's done and there is nothing else that can change. The presidential elections are over and all I can say is holy shit! We are deteriorating as a society when we decide that the office of president is one of those jobs where qualifications don't matter, the old playground adage of "let's give him a shot he can't do any worse" should never apply to one of the greatest positions on earth. Keep in mind all the sheeple that might read this blog, Obama is no messiah and he will not be the savior of the world. He is another sleazy politician who will look for ways to keep himself in office for 2 full terms, regardless the cost to average citizens like you and me. It's funny how everyone wants to blame our current situation on the Republicans, but will never mention the policies of a previous president that helped lead to this situation. Clinton's signing of NAFTA has cost our country more manufacturing jobs and wages than almost anything else. Of course, Bush is a dipshit and nobody is trying to debate that fact. However, I keep coming back to what is in store for the next 4 years and all I can do is cringe. Our government is sloppy and inefficient, and president elect Obama is looking to grow this drain on the American people. The founding fathers wanted limited government and formed itself to allow the people to best live their lives free from unwanted intrusion. The democratic congress has proven completely ineffective in the 2 years they've had office and now there will be no check to their power. Mark my words, you'll be wishing for the crappy Bush administration this time next year. The old saying of: Be careful what you wish for has a new poignancy now.

Dirty pool

So, here goes my first blog. I've heard about them and I figured that I'd give it a shot. Hell, I have just as much to say as anyone else. The election of 2008! It, like so many other elections before, is becoming yet another dirty word sitting upon the collective tongue of America. Like many of my fellow citizens, I looked to this election as a chance for something new/different and hoped that the candidates would stick to their promises to talk about issues. Boy do I feel stupid! Like the battered spouse who believes that "this was the last time" I stepped face first into the bullshit right cross and took another toothless gum at irony. My gripe this time out is with both candidate's campaign managers. The only thing these morons have to say is how stupid the other candidate is. Attack, attack, attack, attackackackack. . . it echoes in my sleep. I feel so letdown because I felt that finally, we had two solid choices and two candidates who would talk to us in an intelligent manner about what is important to us; instead, we get the political version of the national enquirer. I could see this tactic with the last election because, let's face it, both candidates were morons. I had hoped for the better this time and I should've known better. Let's face the music, both sides have engaged in this; neither one is innocent. I just wish that once in my lifetime, a politician would earn my vote by telling me their contributions and how they will benefit me instead of "the other guy is worse." Take care my friends.

The Turbine Saint