One Picture. One Story.

[Blue is Best]

Who is that with all the trophies? Can't be you that guy is good looking!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sport-Touring]

[jay547]

And I thought I was old then...

[Grnarrowe]

Why did the bear cross the road?

Happy Valley Road in Tennessee. September 2020.

[jay547]

Back in '73, when I was 14, I lusted for a Yamaha 125 Enduro. Of course, dad said no. Fast forward to 2000, I was on Ebay casually looking at old bikes. I ran across a '73 Yamaha 125 Enduro, not running, not tagged, no title, up for auction in Omaha - I live in Oklahoma. It looked like it was in pretty good shape otherwise. I put in a low bid as a lark and logged off. The next day, I had a notice that I won the auction. I told my then wife, "I guess we're going to Omaha this weekend." I hauled it back in my truck, put a few hundred bucks into it, got it tagged, and rode it for years. I still have it.

My daughter just loved this bike. Ironically, she was 14 in this pic.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Back in '73, when I was 14, I lusted for a Yamaha 125 Enduro. Of course, dad said no. Fast forward to 2000, I was on Ebay casually looking at old bikes. I ran across a '73 Yamaha 125 Enduro, not running, not tagged, no title, up for auction in Omaha - I live in Oklahoma. It looked like it was in pretty good shape otherwise. I put in a low bid as a lark and logged off. The next day, I had a notice that I won the auction. I told my then wife, "I guess we're going to Omaha this weekend." I hauled it back in my truck, put a few hundred bucks into it, got it tagged, and rode it for years. I still have it.

That's a pretty cool story.  

[jay547]

I was riding my dual-sport down a country road west of Muskogee, Oklahoma Saturday and some kids were playing with a dirtbike. As I went by, the rider flagged me down. He asked if I knew much about dirtbikes, I answered, "A little." He said he just got the bike and it was cutting out like it wasn't getting enough gas. I looked it over and everything seemed in order. In fact, it was spotless. He said it was brand new. I said it sounds like the choke might be on. I adjusted it, and he took off, blasting down the road. He came back with a big grin and said, "I'm gonna tear up the yard!"

[Mrs. DantesDame]

that is an awesome story!

You need to ride by there more often  

[jay547]

From March 28, 2020:



It's good to know that there are still honest people in the world. I was on a long ride this afternoon and stopped at a convenience store in Little Kansas, Oklahoma for a Coke. As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed that my wedding ring was missing. It sometimes comes off in my glove so it wasn't a big concern - until I realized that it wasn't in my glove. I looked all around and couldn't find it anywhere. I had only taken my gloves off once before so I rode back to that spot. I had made a pit stop at a riverside potty. I searched all around but couldn't find it there either. A girl was there walking her dog and she helped me look for awhile too. I rode back to the store hoping for a miracle. I looked around again but still didn't find it. My last chance was checking inside. I didn't see it on the floor anywhere so I told the girl working that I had been there a couple hours earlier and apparently had lost my ring and wondered if anyone had turned it in. She smiled big, reached behind the counter, and handed it to me. She said a lady had brought it in just about three minutes before. I couldn't believe it. I smiled all the way home.

[Blue is Best]

WOW! Now that is an opportunity to say "Today was a really good day"!

On my first trip to Okiehoma a couple of days ago I was really impressed with the beautiful countryside there. Looks like a nice place to live.

[Bounce]

WOW! Now that is an opportunity to say "Today was a really good day"!

On my first trip to Okiehoma a couple of days ago I was really impressed with the beautiful countryside there. Looks like a nice place to live.

And the CoL is very competitive if you are flexible with your work (since job opportunities, for pay you might be more used to, are limited).

[jay547]

There's a convenience store down the street from work that I stop at a couple times a week on my way home. A few weeks ago, I was on my bike and stopped there. There was a mint Kawasaki Voyager out front. It was in like-new condition, nearly perfect. I went inside looking for the rider. There was only one other guy inside and he walked out to a pick up truck. Two ladies were behind the counter. I asked, "Who does the bike belong to?" One lady said, "It's hers" and motioned to the other lady. The other lady said, "It's my father-in-law's. My husband was riding it but he needed our truck so he swapped with me. He's coming back later to get it." I told her, "Next time you see your father-in-law, ask him what he would have to have for it." She said he had less than three thousand in it and thought he might sell because "he has like six bikes." Last week, I stopped there again and she was working. I said, "Did you ask your father-in-law about selling me that bike?" She replied with, "Yup, he said he would sell you his five children first. He would probably throw me in too."

[jay547]

New Year's Eve, 2021, the weather was nice so I spent the day riding around the Grand Lake area of northeastern Oklahoma. I was just about finished and heading back when I saw this large truck parked in a gravel-covered corner of a field. I had seen it a few weeks before on the highway but just thought it was passing through. I saw a couple outside so I pulled over to visit. The guy came out and we talked for a few minutes. We talked a little supercross and he asked a few questions about my 450L. He said he had bought ten acres and now lived there. He said it put him about right in the middle of where all his kids live. He told me that he was leaving in the morning for Anaheim-the first round of the supercross series. Meet Jim Brown of Parts Unlimited.

[jay547]

All you guys ride but don't have any stories?

[bajaru]

Sunday May 7, 2006

Rolling through a small town on the southeast coast of Taiwan I stopped at a roadside store for a quick snack... (Google Maps)



I was getting fairly hungry but was mainly only looking for some bottled water and a quick, easy to purchase w/o knowing the language, wrapped snack. This lady seemed to sense my hunger and put on her "sales cap". She went over to a freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen dumplings. You can see them in the blue bowl. I nodded affirmative and she went digging for the "other" bag. One was green (vegetarian?) and the other brown (beef?). I went for the green label and she took it back to cook it up.

She returned with the bowl of food and added to it some soup she had on the stove - without asking and probably with no charge. While she was cooking it up her son sat and talked with me. He spoke English just a bit. She spoke no English. I speak no Chinese. Mainly we laughed a lot and enjoyed each others company. She looked through the Lonlely Planet guide book and I noted that as she was flipping pages the book was upside down. She turned it right side up when she came to some pictures. Tables be turned, I understand her language about as much and would probably do the same.

The kicker is - people are wired the same no matter where - I pulled out the camera and motioned to taking a picture with her in it - if it would be OK. She immediately became bashful and her hands flew up to make sure her hair was just right.

Two nice people in a small town. I was far from home, arrived hungry, and was provided a nice meal. Well appreciated hospitality. I shall remember her and her son for a long time.

Felipe's yellow Yamaha Majesty scooter, that I was riding, in the background.

[jay547]

This is me and a few of my riding buddies. The first weekend of October, we did a three-day dual-sport ride in the forests and mountains of Arkansas. I'm the one holding the helmet. Next to me is my friend Robert. He hauls butt. I have a very difficult time keeping up with him. I think he could lose me, if he really wanted to.





He rides a lot and he rides fast. What's your excuse?

[Tejasbusa]

The last little ride I took. 2,800 miles up north to visit family and to speak at my old college.  Decide to stop and take a photo of the Otter Statue that I helped build during my senior year of high school.  Spent many hours welding on it in 1971/72.

[Biking Sailor]

I am super intrigued with the SpaceX Starship concept. Been following it for years and just made my second trip down there to witness the incredible engineering effort going on. So ready for them to "Light This Candle" and launch this thing under the full power of 33 raptors!

[jay547]

I've been needing to mow the yard but since I banged up my shoulder a couple weeks ago, I haven't been able to. Today, I hired one of the neighborhood kids to mow it. My buddy Kevin's boy came over and took care of it. After he finished, he told us a bunch of his motocross stories (just like his dad does.) I gave him some cash and he said, "Next time, I'll do it for free." We live in a cool neighborhood. This was his mode of transportation.

[Biking Sailor]

Group of Guzzi riders and a few ADV guy do a campout in Cedar Vale, Kansas this time of year. Weather forecasts scared a bunch of guy off but it was really nice most of the time. One of the times it wasn't was Friday night. We had quite a down pour and lightning show, along with a bit of wind.

On the ride home I stopped just a bit South of the campground to take this photo showing a wind turbine blade that had enough of the wind.

[Delegate1k]

Did a lighthouse tour for southern RI and South east CT