This is a map of Windy Ridge, the road leading up to Mt St Helens crater from the east. I spotted the mountain with red. As you can imagine, it's ridiculously fun on a motorcycle, plus you get to see the smoking lava dome growing inside the crater at the end. A coworker and friend organized a little ride yesterday, four of us ended up going, here's the story and pics.....

The long, lonely road to get there. 2 R1's, a SV650, and me on my Zx10r. That used to be a lake...( p.s. - as always, click on the pics and they'll get BIGGER.)

Mellow cruising, great weather.

Finally, WINDY RIDGE. After getting stuck behind convoys of slow moving harley packs, oblivious suv drivers, it all becomes worth it...

Banking in for landing...

The (un)usual suspects at the end of the road.Yellow Jacket guy was a beemer rider we ripped by, then got to talking with at a lookoff. He was about to turn around at that point, missing the best 4-5 miles of twisties and the view of the crater. We convinced him to come along.

The mountain.

The bikes, resting from their efforts.

Heading back. The combination of grand-scale scenery, still full of signs of unimaginable destruction, the sinuous road with absolutely nothing but self preservation instincts keeping you from falling a long way down, and the occasional gravel coated corner all conspire to divide your attention. In other words, cycling nirvana.

Yep. Going off here would ruin your whole day...

Stopped at a little "restaurant" to eat. Looking back....

Dude, get out of the shot...

Thats better...

Look at that smile!...

Miles and miles of fun...

Balanced by being stuck in miles and miles of slow moving traffic on the way home to Seattle. Frame protectors do double duty as highway pegs...

It was a great way to spend the day. Y'all missed out.

I live in Seattle. I bought a new bike. It's summertime. That equals roadtrip. 3-4 national parks in 10 days. Leaving July 19th, returning the 29th. So far, two others are in. Motelling it, sharing costs. Minimal itinerary. Bikes... Kawasaki ZX10r, Yamaha R1, Honda CBR600rr. Needless to say, there'll be a pause in my posting, followed by a flurry of pic posts upon my truimphant return.

Anybody else wanna go? Come on, you've got a bike, vacation time just sitting there, lets go!!

Tim? John? Shane? Bueller?

Last roadtrip was September, but I was on my Valkyrie. Click on the Sept. 2006 archive at the bottom right of the page to see that trip.

Halloween Idea....

Here's a great idea, a Biowall. It simultaneously provides greenery, O2, and filtration at minimal cost.

QueensU has one in action.

Naturaire makes systems.

I like this idea.

Speed reader signs beset by problems

Edythe Jensen
The Arizona Republic

CHANDLER - Flashing speed reader signs going up all over Chandler are getting drivers' attention, but some inaccurate readings and unpredictable flashing need fixing.

City spokesman Jim Phipps said 23 of the 64 lighted flashing signs have been installed on roads leading to the 16 intersections, including 12 where photo speed enforcement will soon nab violators.

Some of the new signs are failing to show accurate speeds of approaching vehicles or flash at inappropriate times because they need minor adjustments, Phipps said.

Gary O'Dell, spokesman for Information Display Company of Portland, Ore., the devices' manufacturer, said they have to be adjusted to the roadway's speed limit to work properly. "The city didn't tell us where they were going at first," he said.

Lighted numbers should flash the speed of an approaching vehicle only when it is traveling above the limit. And it should stop flashing at 55 miles per hour "to discourage speed contests," O'Dell said. Drivers going the speed limit or slower should see lighted numbers but no flashing.

To do the job right, sensors in the signs also must be aimed correctly, Phipps said. Nearby neon lights or another road sign can throw off the sensors and produce inaccurate readings, O'Dell said.

The minor glitches don't bother Councilman Jeff Weninger, who proposed buying the signs for $295,587 with traffic fine revenues.

"I have confidence we'll get all the bugs worked out," he said. "Our goal is to improve public safety, and they are a goodwill gesture to citizens to show we're not just trying to be punitive."

Weninger said he wanted to warn speeding motorists before they entered intersections equipped with photo radar and speed cameras.

Installation and adjustment of all 64 signs is expected to be done by the end of the summer, Phipps said.


Really kind of makes you wonder how accurate and reliable the radar units that'll be going up in their place and actually mailing tickets to people will be, doesn't it? Well, I for one rest assured in the knowledge that our elected officials will tirelessly police the system and ensure no innocent drivers are erroneously ticketed. (Yeah right)

I recently bought my first sport bike, a 2004 zx10r. It's fast, black, and it's performance is so far above anything else that it's just a blast to ride.

In the clip Street Race: Corvette Vs Kawasaki ZX10R,

a Corvette sees what a bike just like mine can do....

P.s. ads on the link page may be NSFW.

YouTubin'

A classic WarnerBros cartonn, Whats Opera, Doc...(6:52)



Boxing...(0:24)



Screwey drive...(0:26)

Hey, want to have some fun? Learn to tie the "constrictor knot" and make all your friends buy new shoelaces. Any knot that has under it's "release" header...cut with a knife, you know it's a good one.

Believe it or knot, there's a Knotblog

where you can read all about it, or click here for the animated version.

Know, go put the knowledge to knuse.

Will Ferrell gets upstaged?!?....(4;01)

Can't embed, you must Click below....

FunnyorDie

I grew up watching Star Trek. These "inspirational posters" poke a little fun and bring me back to my tv "golden years"....

The images above and below were not chosen for their wit, they're simply from two of the episodes that are especially stuck in my head.

Want more? There are pages and pages, both Here (8pages) and Here (four pages).

Face-Blindness ( Prosopagnosia ) and stones

This disorder has always been tough for me to get my head around. How can one not recognize faces?

This page does a wonderful job of displaying the difficulties faced (pun intended) by prosopagnosia sufferers.

Kayaking. Fun, but a workout. Also tough to go upstream. Not anymore. Mr. Baker here has fitted a motor and a jet drive pump to his bitty boat.

YouTube has a video of him running against a 4X4 run by one of the "Top Gear" boys....(6:44)

Need More? he's got a Site

Residents of Oregon town say shape of traffic posts is offensive

KEIZER, Ore. - The City of Keizer is taking heat for installing a group of cement posts designed to protect pedestrians from cars, but which some say is a phallic symbol.

A total of 52 of the posts were installed at a busy intersection in Keizer and they are getting a lot of second glances.

A number of residents have complained to the city that the posts resemble male genitalia.

"I can't disagree with that," said City Manager Chris Eppley. "They certainly did not turn out the way we anticipated."

According to Eppley, the posts were ordered from a catalog and looked much different on paper.

"They're a standard style," Eppley said. "I think in the right context they look fine. They just happened not to (look fine) here."

The city is looking into retrofitting the posts with metal collars and chains that run between them, which they hope will change the look. If not, they said the posts will have to go.

"If that fix doesn't work and I still think they look inappropriate, we'll have wasted $20,000 and we'll have to do something different," Eppley said.

Of course, the city could always keep them up and use them for sex education, at least according to one woman we spoke to. "My son said he wanted to hang a sign on it that says 'always use protection,'" she said.

Wow. I guess all the other problems in Oregon are solved, since there's an outcry over concrete posts. Good thing they're not in Amsterdam, where the bollards look like this...
Honestly, get a life.

Youtubin'

The best movie "be polite" intro, from Aqua Teen Hunger Force....(2:56)



Family Guy does Carl Sagan for Rednecks...(0:34)



Impressive card trick.. "Sam the Bellhop" (4:59)



Lastly, an Excellent commercial...(2:03)

Couple of pages of a hummingbird nest and it's inhabitants... you just don't realize the scale until the last page....

Click

Flight of the Conchords - Frodo Don't Wear the Ring







Similar Tenacious D's stuff, but entertaining none the less.

Pretty cool custom....

I am delighted to present this work of art by a new star in the custom bike firmament, Bryan Petersen.

Unlike most customs however, this bike not only looks great, but promises to offer a substantial performance improvement over the stock bike.

Among the many features of note are:

1. Ohlins front fork
2. Ohlins rear shock
3. Ohlins steering damper
4. Lightweight Marchesini wheels
5. Ultra light weight seat and subframe : approx. 5 lb.
6. Custom made stainless muffler
7. Eccentric chain adjuster
8. Inboard rear brake
9. Clip-on handle bars
10. Handmade high output head light
11. Long Wheelbase single sided swing arm
12. 520 Chain conversion
13. Dual ZTL front brakes
14. Custom made rearsets

I haven't ridden this bike yet, but I have every expectation that in addition turning heads where ever it goes, that this bike will definitely out handle a stock Buell because of it's longer wheelbase, less unsprung weight fore and aft, its lighter weight, and of course, the Ohlins suspension and damper are all advantages over the stock bike.

When one considers that this is the first effort of a young builder, it is all the more impressive.

I am looking forward to Bryan's next bike which is already in the sketch stage, and will definitely be be a Buell.

Floccinaucinihilipilification

"the act or habit of estimating or describing something as worthless, or making something to be worthless by deprecation"

floccinaucinihilipilification.org

We've all had to sit through one or two of these, should be required reading for all powerpoint creators...

Light Graffiti