A Blah Kind Of Weekend.

My weekend wasn't really the greatest. I fell into a "I don't want to do anything" mode and I just could not shake it. I winded up sleeping all day Saturday and only got up on Sunday to attend mass and have dinner at my sister's. Once that was done it was back home to bed. Needless other than going to mass and dinner it was totally a wasted weekend. So the fairly big "to do" list that I had for Saturday will just have to join the the list for next weekend.

This morning I woke up on time and left the house early only to find the entrance of the freeway backed up. I thought here I go again I am going to be late for work so I started to settle into the freeway traffic when I noticed the source of the slow down. This guy that takes the same freeway entrance and exit and rides a semi-custom bike was down. Now I don't know if he was hit, if he hit, or if he just lost control of the bike. I just hate to see riders down as it is a constant reminder of how vulnerable we are while riding.

I could see he was moving and there were people there already giving him aid. I imagine the ambulance had also been called. So I just silently extended a prayer for him to be OK and kept going. I have seen this type of scene before and I have to shake it real fast and not let it get to me, riding is still my passion and would not dream of giving it up, at least not yet.

One of those things in my "to do" list is to take the bike for service but since I have to drop it off and leave it there I would need a ride back home and then back to the dealership when ready. These days those rides are scarce as everybody seems to be extremely busy.

Well, hopefuly next weekend I will figure it out one way or the other. For now I just hope my week goes fine.

And I wish for yours to go fine as well.

Peace!

On The Road Again

Yep, that's me riding. What you can't see the smile on my face?
Oh yes it really was long overdue but last week my FatBoy was finally serviced and is now back on the road. When I received the first phone call from the dealership and they asked me how long it had been out of service I told them a little bit over three years. Well Mr. Joe Cool the bike won't start, and it's not because your battery is dead but due to it being parked for so long... And so it started, the long list of things that needed to be replaced. Brittle hoses, blown lamps, dead battery, fluids and on and on and on.

On Saturday I received another call this one was bitter sweet. Bitter because I knew the big hole that my pocked was about to acquire, but sweet because finally the FatBoy would be on the road. "Mr. Joe Cool, your bike is ready, you may pick it up at your convenience". I drafted my daughter Nikki to give me a ride to go pick it up. "So dad how long has it been since you last rode it?" Nikki asked. "Well baby, I can tell you exactly the last day I rode it. It was a Friday, I rode it to work, then rode back home, parked it, got on my car, picked junior up, and we were on our way to California for your wedding". "Dad, that was FIVE years ago!".

Poser? I think not. But I did pose for this picture. lol
So while at the counter going through all the damage Nikki says. Dad are you going to come out clean and tell them the truth. She tells the guy at the counter it had been five years since I started it. The guy at the counter laughs and says, we figured on five to six years. lol

How did I go without riding for that long is beyond me. But boy I mounted that thing and got it on the freeway and it felt as if I had just ridden it recently. I added the insurance, got it through emissions, renew my tags, and now I am legal to ride it again. Needless to say I already rode it to work once.

Arizona Bike Week is about to begin and I intend to do a ride or two. I deserve it for being so patient. Who knows maybe even do Laughlin and Sturgis this year, yep I'm going all out, got lots of ground to recover and ride.


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Beach Cruiser

I know now my bike is a Huffy.

You all may remember that I used to walk during my lunch hour. It used to be a nice two mile 35-minute walk around my work but here in Arizona and specifically in Phoenix all of a sudden is like the city remembers that it's charm and personality reflects in being a desert and when the three digit temperatures make it's appearance walking at noon is pretty much out of the question.

About a year ago I was at my father in law's house and I noticed he had a nice bike hanging from the wall just gathering dust. I always meant to ask him if he used it and finally last week I did. He said, he was not using it, he bought it because it was nicely priced and thought he may use it but the truth was it had been hanging there unused.

I offered to buy it but he said that I could have it if I wanted it. He said it had a flat tire but other than that the bike was in excellent condition. So, last Sunday he brought it to me and let me tell you this bike is pretty awesome. I have no idea if it is old or new but the look of it is pure classic beach cruiser. (Since I am in Phoenix I'll dub it Desert Cruiser)


I had my son in law fix it the following day and when I came home I took it for a spin. I was totally surprised to find out that even though the bike has only one speed it goes pretty fast. The seat is super comfortable and I get absolutely no pain on my knees. The beach cruiser bars are positioned high enough that again the ride is very enjoyable and I am going to make it a point to ride almost every night around the neighborhood for at least half an hour if not more.


One of the reasons I like riding a bike and wonder why I don't do it more often is that I get so see and appreciate what’s around me, landscapes automatically pop up at you and when the bike looks this good I even catch jealous stares. It should save some money if you run small errands and it's fun to ride alone and with the family. One of the biggest effects is that it should keep me fit and healthy. I am really looking forward riding it tonight.

I am hoping to get into shape; I am kindda tired of the current shape I'm in... round.


I do hope I loose some weight riding this bicicle around the neighborhood. Now tell me, is it or isn't it a cool looking bike?

Totally unplanned this bike is pretty similar to the one I saw at Costco last year that I really liked and didn't buy because it was $175.00. If you don't remember that post or are a new reader to my blog then click here to refresh the memory.