Are You a Motorcycle Maniac?

Take this quick quiz to find out where you stand in the world of motorcycling. Answer yes or no to each question.

1. As soon as you get your new motorcycle home you're already thinking about your next bike.
2. You read motorcycle magazines cover to cover, even the technical stuff you don't understand.
3. You read motorcycle magazines cover to cover, even the technical stuff, which you do understand.
4. You are on your bike and half way down the street before your wife can finish the sentence, "Honey can you go get a loaf of bread from the store?"
5. When you're walking through a parking lot you veer off course to take a look at a parked bike.
6. When you hear a motorcycle coming up the street you stop and watch it go by.
7. You read motorcycle blogs.
8. You have your own motorcycle blog.
9. You belong to a riding club and you are the current Secretary, Historian, Treasurer, and Road Captain.
10. When not riding you're thinking about riding.
11. Your idea of dressing up is putting on some leather chaps and a leather vest to match.
12. You've spent almost as much money in chrome and other doo dads as you spent to buy the bike itself.
13. You're a year rounder and ride rain or shine.

Now add up how many yes answers you got.
*13 yes answers earn you the title "Moto Maniac." You need to get into some kind of 12 step program such as Moto Anonymous.
*11-12 yes answers gets you the distinction of being a "Moto Enthusiast." Congratulations. I won't be seeing your bike parked in front of a Psychiatrists office any time soon.
*4-10 yes answers puts you in the category of "Moto Dabbler." Maybe you were born without the motorcycle gene or maybe you haven't been fully enlightened yet, a motorcyclist in the making.
*3 or less yes answers makes you a "Moto Poser". You're better off driving a cage. Stick to knitting, basket weaving or worm ranching.

*Disclaimer-I am not knocking knitting, basket weaving or worm ranching. I present those ideas as viable alternatives to motorcycling. By the way I've always thought it would be cool to be a worm rancher. I know my kids would be impressed!

Motorcyclists-Today Is Ride To Work Day

Wednesday, July 18 is a good day to ride your motorcycle or scooter to work. You can make a statement by just being on the road. It's the Annual Ride To Work Day!

Change Is Good (as long as I can keep the Sportster)

Yesterday I submitted my resignation from my job. I've worked there about 3 years and that's long enough. As the saying goes, "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Life is all about change. Life itself is change.

I got another job but it's always a little unsettling not knowing what I'm getting into. I remind myself that if for some reason I don't like the new job, there are plenty more out there. It's an adventure and adventure makes me feel alive.

I ride off into uncharted territory, my faithful Sportster will gather no moss either.

Take a Motorcycle Ride Up To Mt. St. Helens, WA.

Near Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

July 9, 2007. 7:34pm

A group of Gold Wings appeared out of nowhere, taking up residence on my motorcycle's mirrors. They were more eager than I to get down off the mountain. I pulled my Sportster off the road to let them pass and to take a last look at the panoramic scene behind me. The Gold Wings went by. The riders were concentrated on the road, oblivious to the wonder that was all around. Not me, I wanted to linger. Peering into the very breach of hell from where I was near Coldwater Ridge was a scene both terrible and beautiful all at the same time. I wondered what it must have been like on the mountain 27 years ago when everything changed.

Spirit Lake Lodge near Mount St. Helens

May 18, 1980. 8:31am

The stubborn old man oddly named Harry S. Truman may have been sitting in his comfortable deck chair. A few of his many cats might have been lounging nearby. Harry could have been taking in the beauty of the mountain's peak in the early morning sunlight. It was an ordinary start of a day on the mountain. Nothing lasts forever.

The ground shook violently, a deafening roar filled the air that could be heard from 225 miles away broke the quiet solitude of Harry's last morning on earth. A tremendous explosion 500-times greater than the bomb that leveled Hiroshima ripped the top of the mountain off. A wall of ash, debris, and super heated gas raced toward Harry at hundreds of miles per hour. He was vaporized in an instant.

Somewhere between 57 and 60 people died on and around the mountain on that day. The blast destroyed 200 square miles of forests, leaving behind an unfathomable amount of downed trees. 27 years have gone by and new life is emerging out of the utter destruction of the area. The government made it into a National Volcanic Monument. They have re-built many of the roads and made lots of scenic places to stop and contemplate the enormity of it all.

If you haven't been there, then you must go, and what better way than on a bike! There are good paved roads that make a loop all the way around the mountain with a variety of different vantage points and panoramic vistas. Stop at the Johnston Ridge Observatory just 5 miles from the volcano and gaze into the enormous gaping crater that once was the top of the mountain. You will feel small and as insignificant as a flea as you begin to comprehend the magnitude and violence Mother Nature is capable of.

Mount St. Helens is still a very active volcano but is deemed safe at the moment. No more cataclysmic eruptions are expected any time soon. If you plan on visiting take at least a day, 2 or more would even be better. The place is a motorcyclists dream. There are plenty of twisties to negotiate and unforgettable awe inspiring scenery. Only about an hour's ride from Portland, Oregon, Mount St. Helens is very accessible except during the winter months. There are campgrounds to stay at within the shadow of the volcano. It's a ride you won't forget, I know I wont.

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

©2007 N.(Kano)Miles, Kano's eCoffee House

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What's Your Favorite Bike?

Hey, check out my new poll to find out what type of bikes readers of this blog like the most. Look up at the top right of the blog page and click on the link to vote. You can even see the results yourself. If your bike choice is not represented let me know. Thanks!

Motorcycles, Allergies and Global Warming

Just in case anybody out there needs another reason to park the cage and ride instead, listen to this. Motorcycles and scooters are far more environmentally friendly than their 4 wheel cousins. They use far less raw materials to produce, use up about half the fuel, and add less pollution to the air from exhaust. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have gone up significantly. Too much carbon dioxide has become an ever growing problem. What's any of this got to do with allergies?

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study soon to be published, allergies are on the rise because of an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This pollution encourages plant growth, which means more grass, ragweed and tree pollen. In fact, ragweed alone makes nearly twice as much pollen today at it did 100 years ago. That production is predicted to double again in this century, due to predicted increases in carbon dioxide levels.

If you have noticed more people are suffering from allergies than ever before, now you know why. Every time you jump in the saddle instead of climbing into the cage, you have become a part of the solution to the problem and you are setting a good example for others to follow. Now if we could just get about a billion other people to start riding! Maybe us motorcyclists can make a difference, by doing all we can to promote riding over driving. For every bike on the road that's one less car or truck, and that's a good thing.

Work To Ride - Ride To Work

Remember to ride your motorcycle or scooter to work on July 18. Ride to work day is a good way to show America there is a fun and more environmentally friendly way to get around. Who knows, your presence on the road along with lots of others that day may just plant a seed. Maybe your neigbor or co-worker will decide to park the SUV and get a bike.