2Wheeltips

Bikers come in different sizes for a reason,
Because there are different biker’s season;
Some like it cold and some like it hot,
Some like it in the rain believe it or not;
Snow or the cold many don’t care,
Just as long as their bike will get them there;
I heard of fair weather riders and that is ok,
Each must make the ride fit their own way;
What about this biker’s seat that you were telling me about,
Is it something that I must buy, if so you will hear me shout;
I have seen all the brands and the price as well,
And read the tall stories from the biker’s tale;
I went on a ride just the other day,
It was 700 miles one-way;
My airhawk, I blew it full of air,
Didn’t follow the directions, I did not care;
25 miles down the road, I felt some pain,
My mind told me it was not the same;
I pulled over the iron pony to the side of the road,
Let a little air out as the direction had told;
I stretch my legs and bent my knees,
And prayed a pray that ended in please;
My mind began to think about Americade,
The vendors that sold seats custom made;
I purchased a backrest and it cost an arm and leg,
I started to purchase the seat but my credit card went dead;
I saw people spending money left and right,
I am the kind of person with money, I am tight;
Well I am on the road now and it doesn’t matter,
I must get to a place to empty my bladder;
Now that I have let out some air,
I can do 75 miles and my butt won’t care;
The next time I am at Americade,
A seat I will purchase, will be custom made.

 Last year, I bought the Gerbings G3 microwire gloves,  microwire heated liner and the dual temperature controller.

Well....the dual temperature controller failed about 3 weeks after I got it.  I was on a ride on a very cold day and all of a sudden I got cold...very cold. I fussed around with the controller and still no heat. At the first stop, I checked everything out and long story short it was the controller. I took it back to the store and they happily swapped it out. I think I used it about 4 times before it died. 

Fast forward to this year and the darn thing crapped out again!! But this time it is stuck on high!! It's like riding around with a blow torch on your skin. I think I may have gotten 6 - 8 rides out of it before it started acting up. 

But this time I called Gerbings Heating Gear.....since their products have a lifetime warranty. And this is where it gets interesting. 

Well....I was told the warranty is if you send it your registration card and you are the original owner.  If you do not, then.....you are out of luck!  They will not replace it. You can pay for them to repair it at $35/hour or you can buy another one. Me? I never send in the cards because all it triggers is a bunch of junk mail. 

Not one to argue but I did ask.....if it has a lifetime warranty, why does it matter who purchased it?

Needless to say, I am not happy about this. Their stuff is not cheap and to have them fail back to back is not good. Just think if it would have happened on a 20 degree day and I was 2 hours from home?

Since this is the second one that died on me, I'm not looking to try it a third time.  Has this happened to anyone out there?   Anyone have any suggestions on a different controller?

 

As I look back on this year's riding season, for the most part, I feel pretty good about how things went. I had fewer close calls than previous seasons caused by "cager" errors, with one exception which I'll mention later. Riding a touring bike this season versus the cruiser I rode for the last 4 years provided some great benefits but, also, created a challenge I had not properly prepared for. Lastly, dealing with unexpected road closures and detours caused some problems that we will need to better plan for in the future. Let me run through these in more detail and I would encourage all of you to take a look back over your riding season and do a similar critique.
We were riding North from Dubuque, IA along the "great river road" on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. It was about 9AM on a beautiful Saturday morning and we were riding the speed limit or slower and taking in the beautiful scenery. The road would change from 2 lanes to 3 lanes to allow for passing on one side and we had just gotten that extra lane on our side going up a hill. I had an RV behind me and he seemed to be in no hurry either but I put my right turn signal on to move over to the right lane to allow him to pass me if he wanted too. I started to pull into the right lane and checked my mirror one more time when a car comes flying aroung the RV passing him on the right going about twice the speed limit. I pulled back into the left lane as he flew by me. If I had not taken a second look, he would have creamed me!! It turned out to be a non-event and my wife didn't even notice that we had narrowly avoided a tragic incident, but it sure rattled me for a while. I was not expecting this and it caught me "off guard". I will never forget to take that second look as it saved us from a very bad day!!
Going from a cruiser to a Honda Goldwing has allowed us to take longer trips in comfort. In previous seasons, we would ride 3,000 to 4,000 miles. This season, with our Goldwing, we rode 8,500 miles. This is great but what I did not adequately consider was the fatigue factor. Riding 3 to 4 hours on the cruiser was about all we could do before our hind ends were saying "enough already!!" On the Goldwing, we could ride all day with very little discomfort. On 3 occasions,  we rode all day and were on our way home or back to our hotel and encountered either traffic delays or detours that were not expected. These added extra miles and time that was not planned for and I was already tired. I was able to get back OK but I was pushing myself beyond my endurance limits and was not comfortable. The added frustration of having to deal with a closed road with no detour route posted along with my GPS not being very helpful after being on the road for 8 hours, was more than challenging. Lesson learned; allow a safety factor for the unexpected!! When we travel, we try to stay off the expressways and take the secondary roads. This has its pros and cons. The biggest is time, and if we are going to take some very long trips we are going to have to take the Interstate in the interest of saving time to and from. The other con is road closures, detours, roads not on the GPS and ever changing names of roads. This has become a challenge as the road names listed on a map and or GPS don't always match-up with the road signs. This is a particular problem here in Iowa and makes it difficult to be sure you are going on the route you had planned. We will spend more time planning our routes next year and looking at more detailed maps to make sure we have all the possible names. Taking alternate routes is not necessarily a bad thing but it usually adds time and messes up the continuity of the trip. Those are my "learnings" from 2010 and I would love to hear yours.

Thanksgiving Day is here,
I have so much to be thankful for my dear;
I have a bike that I love to ride,
The road in front of me is my guide;
I am thankful for the bike I have to ride;
 Old or new and even used, I do not care,
Just as long as my bike can get me there;
Many times, I almost ran out of gas,
I said a quick prayer to make it last;
There have been times when I rode without safety gear,
The Hurt's report in my mind is all that I could hear;
I remember a time when I closed my eyes,
I went to sleep while on my ride;
 heard a sound that woke me up,
Just in time and it saved my butt;
I hit the curve in a tight lean,
Too drunk to know what that would mean;
I hit my breaks while in the turn,
The bikers law says, it was my time to burn;
Skin against pavement, friction and all,
Smoke coming from my skin is all I can recall;
On to the next bar, was our chase, and hurry
Breaking all the rules, without a worry;
Thanksgiving Day is here at last,
I have so much to be thankful for when I look at my past;
On my bike, I have done foolish things,
Some so dumb, it makes my head swing;
I am thankful for the good and bad,
I am thankful even when I am sad;
I know the Lord has been good to me,
When I review the foolish choices that I can see;
A safety check on my bike, I did not do,
Protective gear for the dogs and nothing new;
A helmet, a helmet what is that,
Each time I rode, I played russian-roulette;
How many hours on the bike in one day,
Construction zones all in the way;
Cages, cages and their left turns,
Look right into your eyes and make your soul burn;
 I didn't see him or her, is what they say,
There on the ground, I could lay;
I am thankful that it was not my day,
Not my day for me to lay;
All bikers must give thanks today,
All bikers at one time will pray;
All bikers kiss your iron pony on his/her tail,
Each time you mount him/her you are riding into hell;
You never know what the outcome will be,
Until you dismount him/her, and still in one piece;
To all the members of 2wheeltips,
I just want you to hear it from my lips;
I am really thankful today,
That the Almighty made a way;
I have my family and I have my friends,
I even have with me a memory of our sins;
Reconciliation is a must,
If you don't want your heart to stay in the dust;
"Burn rubber and not your soul,"
Is truly a biker's goal;
If you are not sure what you can be thankful for,
Maybe your pain is deep to the core;
My prayer is one day you shall heal,
The broken pain will make a deal;
The deal that it make, will seem untrue,
For you think that it can never happen to you;
The serenity prayer, you might have to say
When you say it, it goes this way;
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference
Happy Thanksgiving Day

A ride to no where, is a ride we all must take,
It is a ride with your bike as your date;
If this you have not done,
Trust me when you do, it will be fun;
How do you get started on such a quest,
To make this ride be your very best;
Do I need my protection gear,
Can I ride without fear;
Do I need to do my safety check,
I am ready to go, but not just yet;
You can ride alone or with a crowd,
This kind of ride will make you proud;
A tank full of gas, you might not need,
Stop dragging this on, tell me please;
Now that you have taken my time,
Not getting to the point, is frustrating my mind;
I have been sitting here all day, and wanting to ride,
All I can see is rain outside;
 I know that shouldn't stop me, for I have my gear,
There is a voice in my head that I can hear;
Now my friend this is what you must do,
Close your eye and count to two;
When you do this, click your heels,
And think of your favorite meal;
Place the image of your bike in your mind,
Take your left hand and rub your behind;
Bend over with your right hand and touch your toe,
In this position you are ready to go;
Wait, wait, wait, wait and wait,
You said this would be a biker's date;
A date with my bike and me,
Being in this position, I just can't see;
I want to use some unchoice words,
Maybe some you have never heard;
You got me all excited and even aroused,
With the image of my bike in the cloud;
When I rubbed my behind and touched my toes,
I smelled a scent go up my nose;
 know that I have inhaled this scent before,
OH, NO, what is this on the floor;
PrayAsIride, you ought to be ashamed,
This is not a game;
Are you aware, what you made me do,
 I am going to write 2wheeltips and tell on you;
2wheeltips will not believe you, and you will see,
They have placed a great deal of trust in me;
To you I did not lie, and did not say anything false,
Just think how much it did cost;
PrayAsIride, I don't think you care,
You took me for a ride, that didn't go anywhere;
You must think that this is a joke,
For being a trickester, you get my vote;
Listen my friend, the ride you have taken and have arrived,
Believe me you are there, and this is no jive;
Wait a minute, I kept my word to dare,
That's why it is called, A Ride to No Where

PrayasIride has done it again
He gave us the "what"…now we give you the "when"
Write a new ending to some of his prose
And someone will win…maybe you…hey, who knows?
"Things I Have Said to Myself While Riding"
Is a poem by PrayasIride
Your challenge is now to create a new ending
The ending is yours to decide!
"Want to Ride But Don't Feel Like It"
Is the other poem needing an end
Write a new ending for this poem, that fits
And, to you, a prize we will send!
The rules are as simple as one, two and three
Send your poetry to us for review
Just keep your words clean and send us your entry
That's really all you have to do!
The deadline for entering is the end of November
The date is approaching quite fast!
So put pen to paper..remember!  remember!
The contest ends when November has passed!!

Okay, all you 2wheeltips biker poets!  Get your contest entries in fast!  Send them to:  info@2wheeltips.com.  We will review all entries and pick the ones that we think are the best!  The winners will win a box of 200 earplugs and, of course, some 2wheeltips chocolate!!!

Today is Veteran's Day, an honor day to recall,
A Day when all gave some, and some gave all;
The freedom of the wind blowing in your hair,
We must give thanks to our Veterans for being there;
Being where is a question that you might ask,
Back to the history books for you is your task;
Freedom is not free, somone paid the price,
Sleeping on the cold ground, and being eaten by mice;
On your iron pony, do you ride,
A Vet has hump the load and many have died;
When you hear a boom, it makes you wonder,
But for a Vet it is the sound of rolling thunder;
Patches on your vest, you do wear,
Patches for a Vet means more than care;
Words can not express, inner pain,
If you saw a Vet's world it would drive you insane;
Families themselves have paid a great price,
The soldier who came home without advice;
Who is this person that has returned me,
It's not the one, that I was expecting to see;
You wonder why I ride,
You know nothing about pride;
The red white and blue, when I see it wave,
My mind goes back and I can see the grave;
Red is the blood that splashed on me,
It is still there and only a Vet can see;
White is light that came from a flare,
It was a sign that they were there;
Blue is the colors of my toes,
It remindes of the day when they were froze;
On my bike several colors you will see,
Each color has a story that tells you about me;
A spiritual injury that touched my soul,
The gates of hell I traveled in bold;
So what is this day that is set aside,
Is it to give honor to those that died;
Maybe the day that means more than that,
How would you know, if in my place you have not sat;
On the iron pony, yes, I do ride,
On the iron pony, I ride with pride;
On the iron pony, I just don't ride for me,
On the iron pony, I am holding a key;
To all the Veterans, past, present and future,
This is the day, civilians want to meet you;
Many of them do not know what to say,
Today USA is saying, Happy Veteran's Day!

This is a Challenge: Create Your Own Ending to: “Things I Have Said To Myself, While Riding." Rules: Keep it clean Go for it and give it your best shot Limited to only 2 prose…poems… Contest ends November 30, 2010.  The winner will get a free copy of one of David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling books! 

This is a Challenge: Create Your Own Ending to: “Want to Ride But Don’t Feel Like It.” Rules: Keep it clean Go for it and give it your best shot Limited to only 2 prose…poems… Contest ends November 30, 2010.  The winner will get a free copy of one of David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling books!

Maybe, you who are reading this, the question you can answer,
The days you do not feel like riding or being a dancer;
You hear the music playing your favorite tune,
Your soul does not move and you feel gloom;
 I want to ride, I want to ride, I really do,
I think that is why I am feeling depressed and feeling blue;
45,000 miles on my bike, I do have,
The tires are worn, and the brakes won’t grab;
Before I can ride and feel real safe,
I must put it in the shop that is the case;
 I know they are going to charge me an arm and leg,
And I don’t have the money and I am too proud to beg;
I want to ride, I really do,
But I know riding an unsafe bike is not the thing to do;
So now you know the story and why I don’t feel like riding,
Because today, on an unsafe bike, I do not want to be dying!