Finally Laconia

After several years of hoping and waiting, through other obligations and inclement weather, I finally made the trip to Laconia for Bike Week - 2007. While only a day visit, it was no less an adventure in viewing machinery, sounds, scenery and people.

Along with my riding partner, Rob, we left central Massachusetts at around 6:00 AM. Other than being a bit chilly - Rob suffered the most, me, I have a bagger (that's a touring bike for the less informed) with a 'barn door' in the front that keeps the elements to a minimum - the ride went pretty much as planned. I missed one exit off 101, so that lengthened our ride by about 25 minutes. We arrived shortly after 10:00 and much to our surprise, traffic was not as bad as we have heard that it could be. As the day drew out and as typical for this event, traffic started to back up well past the immediate downtown area.

Tens of thousands of bikes and people and with so much to look at we could hardly take it all in. Knowing that we only had the day to visit, I resigned myself that this would be more of a fact finding event so that when I go next year, I will plan better and stay several days.

The crowds were well behaved and while I would not call this a family event, it was very entertaining. Lots of custom bikes, more T-shirt sales tents that you could possibly imagine and a fair number of scantily-clad folks, rounded out the day. The cops in the area seemed good natured and we saw regular traffic stops throughout the day. Of course, there are always the nutso people that cause accidents, as we saw several ambulances running through downtown throughout the afternoon. We bought a few token souvenirs and left shortly after 3:00. My plan was to get back on to Route 3 and head over to the north of Meredith and around lake Winnipesaukee, but the traffic was so crazy, we opted out of that plan and took some side roads off the beaten path that got us out of the area fairly quickly.

Overall, it was a great trip, a great ride, the weather could not have been nicer and still with a grin on my face and dirt in my eyes, I look forward to next year's Bike Week even more.

More Mustang Musings

I have found that one of the advantages of owning an antique auto is that I can actually work on the car myself. One of the disadvantages of owning an antique auto is that I have to work on the car! Such are the joys of knowing too much about a lot of little things about cars.

I forget too often that the Mach 1 is 37 years old and the most technological aspect of this car - as compared to today's cars - is, well, really nothing. When I restored the car my intent was to keep it in its purest form and not make any alterations to 1) keep it original in the event I ever entered the car in a judged event, and 2) because from a resale standpoint, stock restored cars bring higher value than altered ones. So, through this long project I have learned that common sense often rules over any financial gain or emotional posturing. For instance, I knew that electronics have come light years over the past 25 years, so logic stepped in and I replaced the antiquated mechanical ignition system with an after market electronic ignition system. Reliable, no maintenance, very efficient and unless you took the distributor cap off, you cannot tell the difference.

Now one area that I really lost sight off during the restoration was the stopping ability (or lack of) of this car. For those of us old enough to remember, 4 wheel disc brake systems, anti-skid brakes options and other "high tech" amenities were often times optional equipment - or just not available. We drove these cars with drum brakes and many times with no power assist, never giving a second thought to the inefficiency of these antiquated braking systems. Oddly enough, this car was ordered with manual drum brakes (why someone would order a high performance car with manual drum brakes is beyond me). Once this restoration was completed I found out early on that this car had very limited stopping power and, at times, stopping the car has been a bit scary. With that, I made the decision to waiver - again - from my original plan for no alterations, to one of understanding the importance of not hitting something and decided to install a 4-wheel disc brake conversion system. This is where I am glad I know too much about cars.

Over the course of this vacation week, I started the installation of an aftermarket disc brake conversion kit. Underscore here kit as this is not from Ford, it is from another manufacturer - who is highly regarded in the industry as manufacturers of very efficient advanced braking systems. What I have learned in installing this system is that, as is often times the case, the directions help you get there, but they don't tell you about all of the detours that must be taken to get to the end. While I enjoy the hands on and the personal satisfaction of doing it myself, the manufacturers "recommended" time to install just the rear system is 8 hours. OK... I am 3 days into this including install and dismantle 3 times, fabrication of several components and 4 trips to the parts store!

With one more rear brake and the fronts to do, I might be done in a week. I will let you know how much better the car stops in a later report. For those that understand, here are some before and after images

Deer with Attitude!

A few weeks ago, Grace was on her way upstairs to get ready for work and as she passed through the front foyer, she saw a deer in the front yard. Now this is not a totally unusual experience here, we we are frequented by such guests as deer, fox, wild turkeys (the edible kind, not the liquor!) and other not-s0-typical wild life.

As Grace took some pictures, she tried to scoot the deer from the front yard and it just turned its head towards her and gave her a look of "are you talking to me?" It did eventually scurry off.

A Short But Nice Visit

Patrick came home this week to sign off at his old job. Keeping with the secret squirrel rules, we won't say where it is, but it is a place where much of the family has worked over the years. Kristen came down for a few days, too, so we were able to spend some time this week visiting and dining - while Patrick also got to visit with many of his New England friends.

His last day was yesterday and apparently his boss was so enamoured with him and not wanting to see him leave, kept on giving him busy work to keep him there as long as possible. So for now, he is gainfully unemployed until Monday when he starts his new job.

Have fun on your new adventure and get a blog up to let us know how your first day went!

Southward Bound!

Grace and I just returned from a short, but eventful trip to NC this weekend to visit Patrick and Kate. This was the first opportunity that Grace and I have had to visit them, so we were long overdue. We arrived Friday morning and although Kate had to work, we had a chance to have a quick lunch and catch up on how they were doing and see the new house for the first time.

After Kate left for work, Patrick gave us the grand tour of the neighborhood and we went off for a ride around the area. We stopped by the local Harley dealer (of course) and picked up a few souvenirs, and after a dinner at Chili's, Grace and I dropped Patrick at home and we headed back to the hotel.

On Saturday morning we met them and decided to do some shopping - serious shopping!We made a few stops around the local stores and they picked out a new patio set for the back yard. We all chipped in and put it together and what a difference it makes set up on their patio. After all of that work, we broke it in by picking up some lunch and had a nice relaxing time.




After lunch we took two cars and went over to one of the local garden shops where they picked out some new junipers for the back yard. Once planted, these are going to look great up on the hill and, in a short time, these will provide some nice coverage for them. Kate also picked out some other bushes (see Rockland-Ave.com). We then went out to visit one of Grace's friends; recently relocate to NC and then to dinner at a local sports place.

On Sunday morning the kids met us at the hotel for a farewell breakfast and all to quickly, the weekend trip was over! We had a great time and it was good to see that Patrick and Kate are settling in their new home.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

It is hard to believe that we have not posted since Christmas. We have been so busy, but, really, not too much has been happening.

Grace went through a bit of a time with some dental work. As always the teeth demons caught up to her again and she ended up with an infection! But, after time, she is on the mend.

Winter needs to be over! While we did have it pretty good this year, with the mild early winter, I think that spoiled us when the season finally arrived. I typically judge how sever a winter we had based on the number of bills we get from our plow guy. This year, it was only two, it just seems worse. Every winter I always ask, "why do we live here" and since no one answers, we press on. Of course, waking up this morning to another 3 inches of fresh snow doesn't help. It is tough to ride the Harley in this stuff! Did I mention that winter needs to be over? Moving on...

After 11 months on the market, my parents finally sold their house of some 42 years and are moving into a new condo about 2 miles from where they are now. I am sure it is hard to make the transition - so many memories of all of us growing up there and all, but as with everything else in life, change is always good. They are moving this week, so Grace and I are headed out there today to give them a hand.

I have been ridding the house of some non-essentials over the past few weeks by ebaying items. (Is ebaying a word?) While I am not a big buyer of things on ebay, as I devote my time to selling, I do find the process incredibly efficient and so much better than a garage sale. It is equally amazing what people will pay for someone elses stuff!

Grace and I are headed to warmer climates this weekend by visiting Patrick and Kate in North Carolina. It is hard to believe that they have been gone for 6 months and we have not had the time to see there new abode - other than a short You Tube tour. We are very excited to be going.

Tempted by some warm weather we had this week, I dug out one of the Harley's and fired it up. Sadly, the roads are just too wet, salty and sandy to risk the ride, so I drove up and down the driveway just to get the wind in my hair feeling. And, it felt good.

Nothing too Exciting

Grace and I are getting ready for tomorrow's Christmas celebration. It will be a little quieter and a smaller group at the homestead this year. Patrick and Kate are celebrating their first Christmas in their new home (yea), but it will be sad not to have them here for the first time in many years. Change is always inevitable! My Aunt Kay won't be joining us either as she is now residing in Kentucky and that is a long way for her to travel. We will miss you all! But, my folks, Dede and Jackie, John and Mary, and my daughter Kristen and her beau Josh will be here for the festivities.

I have been fighting a nasty cold this week and it pretty much shot my long weekend. Oh well, it could be worse I guess. Grace and I spent a little money on ourselves and bought a video camera. Boy have times changed! We never had the opportunity to have one years ago when the kids were growing up, so when needed it, we just borrowed one. This thing is amazing in its technology - it fits in the plan of your hand and can do so much more than the old over-the-shoulder units from years ago.

We will use it a lot on our Harley trips, but I thought I would give my movie taking abilities a shot to see what I need to work on... ahh, I have some skills that I need to develop! Here our first movie featuring the Mach 1.

Retrospect

I have been remiss in not getting a recent blog posted, but we have been a busy group.
Patrick and Kate bought a house in Clayton NC - Hoorah! But as all things go, it is still sad time for us all as Grace, Kristen, Josh, Bill, Cass and I spent some of the weekend helping them load up a moving truck with the last of their belongings. Another empty room.... They had a long trip home, but made it safe and sound and with no breakage! (thanks to Kristen's excellent packing skills).

As reported a few blogs ago, the Mach 1 saga continues. With the remainder of the repairs now completed (exhaust and wiring) we drove the car back from the shop, got it inspected and have been having a lot fun driving it around. The car is everything I expected, pretty fast, loud and very flashy. (It is also a flashback for Grace and me, as we had a red 68 Mustang GT fastback back when we dated.) We do create a few glances while driving it around town - as this is not a car that you'd typically see out and about during the day. A lot of thumbs up signs from even the new "Tuner" car crowd. I was in downtown Douglas on my way home from the shop, stopped at a crosswalk to let some teens cross the street and one of them stopped in the middle of the walk, paused looked at the car and screamed "cool car!". OK then.

When we started this project almost 18 years ago, I planned on a three year restoration - well that didn't work out! Kids, school, work and other familial responsibilities took precedent and the car just seemed to get pushed to the back burner time and again. There were more than a few times where I contemplated selling it - but I am grateful that I did not. I think the pictures tell how fast things change.

This first picture (someone, for some reason, painted the car Corvette White)was taken in April 1989 the weekend we made the purchase (love the hair!) Quite the transformation for us all.

Another Jaunt

Just got home from a short 2 day run up through Lake George and Lake Champlain. The weather was great and the scenery was fabulous. Only downside were all of the leaf peepers! More details to follow.

The Final Touches

The Mach 1 saga continues. After many months of wrapping up some of the details of the car (i.e. some electrical issues and 4 exhaust system attempts) and in light of the limited time I have available, I have made a decision to get the car to an expert to close the deal.

Yes, I said 4 exhaust systems! It seems that no one can produce the correct system for this car off the shelf. So, after returning these I am having a custom built system made up that is cut and bent to the factory specifications. I also had some issues with the wiring and while I do have a fair amount of skills in rebuilding cars, I admit that diagnosing and repairing electrical systems is one of my weaker points.

Since the car has not had a state safety inspection sticker put on it since 1989 (!) and the fact that while I could have driven it to the shop, I just did not want to chance a ticket. Unfortunately, this meant having the car flat bedded to the shop. Except for the initial shake-down cruise we took around the block last year, this is the first time in 17 years the car has been away from home. Very stressful, indeed.

I called our local towing company and asked for a flat bed to take the car up to Worcester. Fortunately, the driver is a car guy and respected what my concerns were; to the point of allowing me to help him load and unload the car. We made it to the shop without issue and as I shook the hand of the shop owner - himself a Mustang fan - he said to me that the car was in good hands. I sit and wait patiently for its return

Pat and Kate's Excellent Adventure!

Unlike the 80's cult movie of similar name (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) Patrick and Kate will not be using time travel as their means of moving on to their new home - Cary, North Carolina. They are taking yet another 14 hour 'jaunt' in their cars. After months of planning, multiple trips back and forth to NC, these pioneers are taking the plunge and moving on to new ground.

It seems like yesterday when I told a very pregnant Grace one night that I was not interested in going to work the next day. That next morning we were on our way to Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick see Patrick come into the world. Some 26 years later, through a lot of laughs and tears, school, a few broken bones, a few of life's stumbles, and a fabulous marriage, they are taking yet another step in their lives. As parents, we are terribly sadden to see them leave, but we know in our hearts that this is what they need to do to realize their dream of owning home and raising a family. Thankfully, today's technology will allow us to stay in constant touch and I am sure that we will be making use of some frequent flyer miles (and maybe a few Harley road trips!)

Patrick and Kate - we are so proud of you, your accomplishments and your courage in taking this giant leap. Their is a saying among bikers, "it is not about the destination, but the journey". Have a safe journey.

Love, Dad and Mom

Road Trip!

Last week, Grace and I decided to pack up the Harley and take a 'quick' 1400 mile trip down south. Well, at least south of the Mason Dixon Line! This was the longest bike trip we have taken since we started riding a few years ago. We have done a few over-nighters, but always tried to plan them around good weather and those that were fairly-close-to-home jaunts. This trip required us to brave the elements, although we made a significant investment (lots of money) for rain gear for each of us. The purchased worked, as it fended off the rain!

We left early last Thursday morning and as we maneuvered our way south to Port Jervis through Route 209 in PA, the temperature rose to over 100 degrees. We quickly found out that no matter how fast you go on a motorcycle, it doesn't get any cooler. Picture riding headlong into a giant hair dryer for about 8 hours. But, through frequent stops and much water refreshment, we made it to York without issue.

While in PA we made a tour of the Harley-Davidson plant.
It was my second go-around and saw many different areas and production locations than previous. It was a great tour and while I would love to have my name associated with the building of these bikes, I do not envy those plant workers who have to endure such extreme conditions. It was incredibly loud and the temperatures in the plant approached the high 90s. They earn their pay!

We left there and headed off down the street to Gettysburg and spent the afternoon experiencing the horrors of that 3-day event back in 1863. We took a guided bus tour and I think we learned more in that afternoon than we did when we studied this in school.

The next leg of our trip took us to Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. Here, we made a stop at the Skyline Caverns - where we saw one of the only places in the world to have clusters of shimmering white calcium carbonate crystals called anthodites. They are now a protected by the federal government.



Then it was off to Sky Line Drive and then south to the Blue Ridge
Parkway. We experienced some spectacular sights and these were made more eventful being on the Harley - no 'cage' around us to diminish the experience! Climbing to over 3800 feet we saw sights that have to be seen to believe. Hundreds of miles of constant 'twisties' and elevation changes kept the ride a challenge, but what a blast we had making the run.

We closed our trip with an overnight stay in Grantville PA and an afternoon for Grace to make use of the pool. The trip home went well as we stayed ahead of the raindrops.

Milestones

Not a lot going on at SEM Street, but we thought we would report on a few milestones of recent weeks.

On July 20th, I celebrated 30 years with Travelers (actually Premier, which is part of the Saint Paul Travelers Company). Not a bad run since I originally thought that when I started this job back in 1976, that this job was going to be a 1 year gig! A genuine plastic desk decoration and a certificate was my reward (sarcasm emphasized). A week after that event, and much to my surprise, I was promoted to Claim Manager. While not the president of the company - a position which is not near or dear to me – I was pleased with the recognition and ready to take on the new role. For those that know me, I have this penchant for changing jobs every 22 months (yes, I do track it), so it was time anyway.

Grace and I just celebrated 20 years in Douglas! Wow, time flies and with Patrick and Kristen off doing there things, this has become a very big house. No plans to change, we are just figuring out what we need to do around here to spruce the place up… besides buying more Harley’s!

While not as significant as the above, my Beetle
just passed 150,000 miles. I have never been
an advocate of buying a car every three years or so. First, I could never afford it and second, we have enough vehicles around here so I have a choice to swap around in the event that I get bored with the Bug. Even so, I am thinking that as long as I continue to get almost 50 miles per gallon with this little diesel, I may see if I can get to 300,000 miles. Oh, and I did pull over to take this photo (for Patrick).

Finally a Rain Free Weekend!

For what seems to be the first time in months, we are having great weather at SEM Street. Grace and I took full advantage of it, too. She spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon on Chico rustling around in the woods. She came home with a bouquet of horse scent and with lots of bug bites. I equate this to the bug hits I get while riding the Harley - it is all part of the charm of riding.

I spent the morning doing some errands, hair cut and then the gym. After Grace's rendezvous with her steed, we took of on the 'barc-o-bike' for a few hour ride and then stopped for a late afternoon lunch. All-in-all, I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. Now, for some yard work.

With all of the recent hype over fuel prices, hybrids, and fuel sucking SUVs, I thought I would offer my nickels worth on this topic.

For those that know me, I have always had an eclectic taste in motor vehicles. My dad worked for Ford Motor Company for 50 years, so I guess I developed my addiction to all things motor driven from him. He was always coming home with cool cars and rarely had a car longer than 6 months. Back in the late 60’s through the early 70’s his homecomings frequently involved hi-performance Mustangs, Torinos, Panteras and such. How about a 1968 Shelby GT 500 convertible, red with a saddle interior, with a 428 – dual quad with a 4peed! Oh to have that car today, I could retire. In fact at one time we had matching 1966 Mustangs – one was mom’s the other was dad’s company car. My friends always thought my dad was cool because of his ability to get these cars. It was, after all, the heyday of the muscle car era.

Then came the late 70’s and 80’s! Hi-performance was out and emissions and safety became the newspeak of the day. Anything with more than a 6 cylinder engine just seemed to be wrong. Gas lines, 5 mile per hour bumpers, and Pintos were the norm. These factory hot-rods of the 60’s became boat anchors overnight and you couldn’t give them away. Gas was hovering around a dollar a gallon and if you needed more than $5.00 dollars worth and if you were an ‘even calendar day’ car needing gas on an odd calendar day… well, you stayed home or walked.

As is often the case, life tends to run in circles. Here we are some 25 years later dealing with similar fuel shortage issues. The irony here is that we can have our cake and eat it to. You want to be a tree-hugging environmentalist? Cool, go buy a Hybrid or diesel. You need 500 horsepower and still get 20 miles per gallon; you have more choice today than we did 25 years ago. Better yet the cars are cleaner (emissions wise), safer and faster than the vehicles of a quarter century ago!

As mentioned in my earlier blog, we have a 1971 Mustang Mach 1. It has been a project of some 18 years now and has been a labor of love bringing it back to its former factory condition. It is not the fastest car out there. It has no power steering, it has manual drum brakes and you cannot see out the back to save your life. A Subaru WRX could probably dance circles around it. But it has ‘the feel’ of what the muscle cars were about and that is what makes the difference. You have to really drive this car; it is not a get in and point it down the road car.

Besides the Mach 1, the Harleys, Grace’s daily driver (1998 Sable) and a weekend runner (1996 F150), my daily runner is a 2000 Beetle. When I arrived at work the other day, one of my new employees (he is 17) asked me if that was my wife’s car. I looked at him and was probably looking a bit perturbed when I replied, “no, it is mine.” He said with all seriousness, “I never saw a guy drive one of these before”. No, I didn’t pick him up and throw him across the room, but I did tell him about our “fleet’ and that this was my daily driver. When I mentioned to him that it was a diesel and that I averaged 48 miles to the gallon, he suddenly became more interested and wanted to see under the hood.

The point of all of this is that alternative fuels are not a new thing. Diesels and electric cars have been with us in some form or fashion for almost 100 years. While today’s electric cars are certainly more technically proficient than those from the late 80’s, I am not sure if they are the solution to the gas shortage issue (if, in fact there really is an issue, but that is another post for another day). Diesels were originally designed to run on vegetable oil and with a minor conversion, any of today’s diesels can run on the same. The new SMART car from Mercedes is a three cylinder 2 passenger commuter car that purportedly gets in excess of 80 miles to the gallon! Although officially unavailable in the US, they are drifting in from Canada. Grace and I saw one in Acton yesterday and it is tiny.

We have choice and that is what makes living in today’s world such a great thing. I, at times, consider myself to be stuck in the 60’s, but with the technology we have today - I wouldn’t go back for anything

Welcome to SEM Street

No, it is not an abbreviation of Sesame Street, it stands for Southeast Main Street - our humble abode for 21 years. I have never been known to be of the techno-geek type, but Patrick and Kristen (two fabulous kids of ours) have inspired me to create a common link with the rest of the world - as small as it is.

It never ceases to amaze me that as our lives go on - people tend to drift in there own direction. I don't think this is a bad thing, it is just what it is. Change is always in the wind, and this technology can help stay in synch with each other. From time to time, Grace and I will put up some postings as to what is happening in our little end of the world - SEM Street. Most of it is uneventful, some may be inspiring and some postings may be just a way of saying hello. We welcome your input and greetings.

Welcome to New England - The New Flood State
Thankfully, the weather is finally turning for the better as we have been in a perpetual state of rain for weeks. Grace and I will be able to take advantage of this by spending more time on each of our respective rides. Hers a one horse model aka Paso Fino (I think I have that right). While I am more into the mutli-horse models, this is Grace's one-with-the-world escape (that and Yoga). My escape (and Graces too) is the Harley. (We also have a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 - but that will be a later report) .

Since we took up riding 4 years ago, we realized that our Harley Fat Boy, while a valiant and noble machine, just was not the ride for long distance runs. With that, we invested in a pearl white 2006 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic. Fully appointed with all of the features best suited for the long haul, this steed has proven to be a relief for the glutius. We have really only made a few day trips thus far - including a 350 mile day to the Lakes Region in NH - but our planned goal is to make a multi-day run down to the Blue Ridge Trail in August. We are ready!