OOPS! Didn't Quite Fit Through There ............
Went for a ride this afternoon. Felt like taking a couple of pictures of the local covered bridges and there's probably 7-8 of them in a 50 mile radius of where I live. Seems like a good reason to go for a ride, eh?

That's what I thought too.


This is the Lovett Bridge over Graham Creek. Kinda cool. Not real impressive, except for the fact that it's still standing.








I consulted the Gazetteer and headed off cross country to try and find my way to the next place.

You do have a Gazetteer right? If the answer is no, get one. Best thing for finding your way when not on highways and major roads. No really, go get one NOW! If you only have one map reference for your state these things are great.

Worked my way via the back roads to this place next. Nice looking bridge here. This was the first time I'd gone to this one. The Otter Creek Bridge.


You can tell from the picture here that the approach is pretty steep.








That steep part? That's where the whole title of this post "Ooops, Didn't quite fit through there" comes from.

When I pulled up to this place I got about 1/2 way in and up that grade and realized "This is gonna be a bitch to get out of".

No problem right? Uh, that would be wrong.

Look at the space between those posts and then look at the width of that bike. Close isn't it? There is enough room. I measured it.

What I didn't count on was losing traction and sliding into the post on the right and then bouncing into the post on the left.

Shit. Broke BOTH of the saddlebag mounts. Yeah, not one but BOTH of 'em. I did try to roll backwards to get out of there at first, but I damn near dropped it. so I tried the forward route. Classic case of "Shoulda' paid more attention when I was coming in at first.

Duh. Oh well. The bags are basically ok. I'll have to repair the locks that hold them on the, now broken, mounts. Fortunately, I had a shitload of Bungee cords and a cargo net in the bags. I strapped the bags onto the back of the bike and headed home.

I'll have to go to a few of the other bridges at a later date and get pictures I guess. Good news? I didn't drop the bike. I was at this bridge for a good 1/2 hour and never had a single car go by. Yeah, it's out there. If I'd have dropped her rollin' backwards, I might still be there waiting for help getting her up from the ground.

Here's a picture from the window in the Bridge. There's a bigass Leatherback Turtle in that picture down in the lower left corner, but you can't really see it in the picture.

Here's a picture from the "Non- Crash" end.

Well, It could have been worse. I'll have to start lookin' for new mounts on Ebay or at the The Concours Owners Group I guess. New ones are out of the question. Totally outrageous price from the Kawasaki dealer.

Old Racers - Jim Redman .............

OK Chillin's, I promised a bit about Jim Redman When I put up that great photo of him here. Really great photo I should say. One thing you notice about all the great racers, no matter what they race, is the intensity.

OH hell, I'll put the photo up again so you don't have to go clicky-clicky with the mouse thing. No need to thank me. It's what I do for y'all.

Not the kinda look that encourages debate, eh?

Hell of a rider. 6 FIM world Championships. 6 Isle of Man Wins. 45 GP wins. Not to shabby I'd say.

He won the 350cc World Championship 4 years running from 1962 - 1965. Oh yeah, he won the 250cc title in 1962 and 1963 at the same time, by the way.

His Isle of Man victories? He won both Lightweight and JuniorTT classes 3 years in a row. 1963 - 1965. You seeing a trend here?

My favorite is the 1964 Dutch TT, where he won the 125 - 250 AND the 350 races on the same day!

What a Stud. Here's a few links to follow to read up on this guy. Wikipedia
Isle of Man TT site
2003 Article from Rubber Mag.com

Think you'd like to own one of his Works Honda Race Machines? Check this shit out - October 22, 2006 Auction Yeah Baby! Probably the only RC 164 Works Racer in existence. It'll probably be cheap enough that I may go buy it myself. HAH!! I crack myself up sometimes.

More on the Auction and bike here

Here's his Homepage

Good article here you should read

See the Guy doing the wrench work? Nobby Clark. I've heard of him for years, but don't know very much about him. Seems to have worked with a whole lot of fast guys. I'll have to do some look see about him. Should be interesting.

Notice the extensive and luxurious factory support area they're in there? Damn, how things change.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Do You Remember When There Were No Airplanes in the Sky? ......

Yesterday I went to The U.S. Airforce Museum at Wright Patterson Airbase in Dayton, Ohio. One of my co-workers suggested the trip several weeks ago and it turned out to be just the thing to help pull me out of the funk I've been in.

Not that I'm all Hunky Dorry yet ......... But I needed the distraction. I love that place and have visited it 4-5 times in the last 10 years. It's absolutely huge. There is no way you can see all of it in 1 day. They constantly cycle new displays in so it's not like you'll get bored of seeing the same old shit every time.

But even that would be ok with me, because I never get tired of looking at the aircraft. It's all the little displays that take up your time. I took a bunch of pictures, but most of them are blurry as hell and suck. I'll have to go through them and find a couple that only suck a little and try to clean a few up with my photo editor before I post any. Maybe tomorrow.

Regarding the title of this post - Do You Remember When There Were No Planes in the Sky?
I happen to live on an approach pattern to a pretty good size airport about 60 miles Northwest.

Last night around 10 pm I was outside smoking, watching the planes on their final approach, while the dogs pissed all over everything in the area surrounding the house. The approach lane goes almost directly over my house and they hit the landing lights a couple miles South of my place. I've been watching this for 6+ years now and I can pretty much call it when the lights are gonna flip on.

It's a neat trick and it amuses me, but there's seldom much of a crowd out there with me while the dogs are leaving big turds in the yard to be stepped in later, so it doesn't have much practical value.

But it got me to thinking last night. I'm over 50 years old and for as long as I can remember, there have ALWAYS been planes in the sky. I grew up watching planes on approach to O'hare airport in Chicago.

BUT .... About 5 years ago. For about a week. There weren't any airplanes in the sky.

Right after 9-11-01

Remember? Sure you do.

I remember thinking about it back then, how strange it was not seeing them up there. Just one of the things you expect to see. Look up ............. And in a few minutes time, you should see an airplane somewhere up there. Everywhere I've lived. All my life. That's just the way it's always been.

Spooky when they're not there.

I do not wish to ever NOT SEE airplanes again.

I think it would be wise if we all remembered that time - When There Were No Airplanes in the Sky.

It would be equally wise to remember - Why There Were No Airplanes in the Sky. The folks who perpetrated the massacre on 9-11-01 haven't changed their opinion of us. Nor have their stated goals changed any.

You would be wise to remember this fact also - If you're breathing, they haven't finished their job yet. That's what they believe.

That's a fact. Keep that in mind the next time you're watching the news or reading the paper. The Bullshit is gonna get thick in the next few months with the elections coming up and there is a segment of our elected officials who would like you forget about the time - When There Were No Airplanes in the Sky.

Don't forget. Nothing has changed in their plans for us. They have unfinished business yet.

Don't forget that there is also a significant number of politicians and media who feel that your family's safety is secondary to reclaiming political power. That's right, I said it. The safety of you and your family is not their primary concern. I'm more than happy to question the patriotism of most of the Democratic leadership in Washington and their allies in the media.

You should too.

Yes, I'm still Alive ..........

Just not motivated to do anything here or at http://themotorcyclegroup.com/ as of late.

There's a lot of bad shit going down at "Casa GrumpyUnk" lately and frankly, I'm depressed. I may or may not tell ya about it when I get shut of this funk I'm currently in. I'll get my shit tightened back into one small pile soon enough and be back to my usual annoying self.

Till then, hit the links and be safe out there.

Stolen from Curmudgeonly and Sceptical (See sidebar)

Outta' Here for a Couple Days .........

Riding North in a few to meet the Wife and a bunch of her family. Weather looks to be good for the next few days and that's a plus.

Be Safe, Chillins'. Yer Crazy Unk worries about Ya.

I'm leaving Jim Redman here to keep an eye on things.














Remember, He'll be watching.

Don't know who Jim Redman is???? With a look like that, does it matter??

I'll tell ya a little bit about him when I get back.

I'll see ya all next week.

Bad Weekend For Bikers Here .........

It seems when bad shit starts happening around here it comes in bunches. Yesterday we had three bikers in the Er at the same time. Four actually, but one of them refused treatment for his road rash and didn't sign in for care. Three separate incidents, BTW.

Final score?

4 cases of road rash.
1 broken wrist.
1 broken collarbone.
1 death.

Not a damn one had a helmet or any kind of protective gear on. None of them. OK. A helmet wouldn't have stopped either of the broken bones. It sure would've helped with the road rash.

The fatality? Hard to say. He died of massive head trauma, but if the story I heard about how the crash occurred is correct ............. I don't know if it would've mattered. No telling really. And we'll never know either.

About the only good thing you can say is - There's no way he ever felt a thing. That one should have been called at the scene and never transported. But I understand why responders are hesitant to do that. That's a big call to make out in the field and you'd only have to be wrong once to insure a lifetime of bad dreams.

You never know and so you do what you can do and try to give 'em a chance.

Damn depressing though. You kids be careful out there, will ya'?

Old Racers Revisited - Phil Read ........

Seven time World Champion. And the first man to win Championships in 125cc, 250cc and 500cc.

go here and listen to what his Yamaha sounded like

You'll have to scroll down to find the 1965 Yamaha-Reid (Their spelling, not mine).

Hell, spend some time at that place to hear some amazing recordings of cool bikes. I may well have to add them to the links bar.

definitely a stud. He isn't as well known as Agostini or Hailwood anymore, but I wish I could ride half as well.

An inconvenient Truth ............

Al Gore's a Dick.

His blathering and posturing about how "We're all gonna die" from global warming has made him a leader in the Green Movement.

But what's he doing personally? Not a hell of a lot it seems. Read the whole thing.

I was aware of this fact -

"Humanity might be "sitting on a ticking time bomb," but Gore's home in Carthage is sitting on a zinc mine. Gore receives $20,000 a year in royalties from Pasminco Zinc, which operates a zinc concession on his property. Tennessee has cited the company for adding large quantities of barium, iron and zinc to the nearby Caney Fork River."
I've gotten hammered and basically called a liar for pointing this out to Greens in the past. It's nice to see this kind of info floated out there for the general public to see.

Greens. Just like a watermelon. Green on the outside. Red on the inside. It's all about the control, baby.

Hat tip to my friend Terry for bring this to my attention.

File This Under - Things You Don't See Everyday in Texas .......
penguins in the Road

Seems the truck was transporting the animals from Indianapolis to Galveston.
I hope the folks who were witness to this mess realize seeing Penguins waddle down the roadside in South Texas is a once in a lifetime experince.

H/T to Ace

On This Day in 1945 .............

FATMAN was deployed over the city of Nagasaki, Japan. It was the second Atomic Weapon dropped by the United States military in a 3 day period and essentially ended the Second World War.

I was remiss on not posting 3 days ago regarding the THE FIRST successful deployment of Atomic Weapons and I apologize for that.

Hey, I have a job. Forgive me for my desire to eat regularly.

So far, these have been the only Nuclear Weapons ever used in warfare.

Fortunately. So Far.

You can argue about the necessity of using these weapons if you like, but if you do, I'll make fun of your Pansy Ass. Then I'll beat you about the head and neck with facts and figures to illustrate how fuckin' stupid you'd be to accept such a position.

BUT- What this post is really about is to remind people just how destructive these things are. And these 2 primitive atomic weapons, compared to any modern design, are like comparing .............. Well, something like this-









To This-







Now, if you're asking yourself, "Where is this silly bastid going with this?" Stick with me.

We all know how destructive these things are, right?
We've seen them in action 61 years ago and have refrained from using them again, right?
Wouldn't want one going off in your neighborhood, right?

Think about that when folks like this guy will soon be able to deploy these type weapons.

I Have To Switch Comment Verification Back On......

I'm getting bombed with spam from some spambot in the comments here, so I had to turn the sign in back on. Sorry about the inconvenience. I don't like using it myself other places and was hoping to be able to get by w/o using it here.

No such luck. This little missive has been dropped all over the place -

"Here are some links that I believe will be interested"

By reading this, I'm assuming this is coming from a person to whom English is not their native language. So even if I was able to trace where this shit is originating from, it's unlikely that I would be able to do anything about. It would take a huge amount of time and effort to figure out where this crap comes from. Time I don't really have.

Now, if I thought there was a chance this was originating from somewhere in CONUS (Continental United States, for you non-military types), I might expend the effort.

Not that I would do anything about it if I were able to ....................

Like Crashing Your Car Wasn't Bad Enough .......

You crash your car into a tree and break your legs. Then to have This happen too?

"A teenage driver crashed into a hollow tree and stirred up tens of thousands of angry honeybees, creating a swarm that sent her and nine others to the hospital."

Major nightmare action.

Final Mid-Ohio update ..........
For now anyway.

Chief and I split up Sunday morning. He was staying in Ohio and I had to head for home. I took a quick run back out to the track and visited the The BritBike.com crew at the campground area I'd wanted to meet.

Seems I really missed out by not staying at the campground. They had a big Bike show and BBQ Saturday night and a bunch of the TonUp Gang was there. I met a few of them in the pits earlier Saturday morning, but I am sorry I missed the chance to meet and shoot the shit with these folks. Next year I may have to break my 'No Camping' rule. My back doesn't do sleeping on the ground to well and Chief and I did the Motel thing.

I headed out and took 2 lane roads towards home. I wasn't in a hurry and Interstate doesn't do it for me. I was basically winging it, as I didn't have an Ohio map. I snuck a peek at one at a gas stop, but being the cheap ass I am, I didn't buy it.

No problem. As I was cruising into Plain City, Ohio, I ran across this-
Yeah, a real nice Old Car Show.

Since old cars are another thing I like a bunch, I stopped. I spent 2 bucks to get in and walked around and checked 'em out. Cooled off in the shade and had a bottle of water as it was about 95 degrees out.

There were over 300 cars there, and as you can see, they were some beauties.

I really didn't take the time I needed to check 'em out well. But Hey, it was one of those unexpected bonuses of not taking the Superslab. A good surprise to add to an already great weekend.

I had a great weekend. Good ride (not counting the rainstorm).Cool bikes. Got to get all "FanBoy" over Agostini, Mann and Nixon. And best of all, I had a great time hanging out with Chief. We don't get to see much of each other and You tend to forget how much fun we have when we do hang out.

So thanks for coming over and hanging out. Hope you had as much fun as I did, Bro.