Hey All,

So it’s been a month or so since I last updated….my how time flies…..been a busy last few weeks. Engineering has been kicking my ass up and down the block with no apparent signs of letting up. Hopefully I can get all my work finished up during the week so I can head home this weekend. Planning to goto knotts scary farm with some friends and spend some time with Mom as it’s her b-day.

On a side note, I finally got the new pipe for my motorcycle. I love it….it’s so quiet! (yeah….you read that right…) When i’m on the freeway I hear the wind and tire’s over the exhaust now, that’s awesome! With that I can ride it around more freely and not worry about getting busted for a noise voilation or something of that nature.

I did notice a slight (ever so slight) decrease in performance with the new pipe, but I think I can live with that given the significant decrease in sound. I went on a test ride to break it in and I loved it. Sadly one of my clostest riding spots got closed down (Refugio fire road). Most likely due to the fire that was raging in those parts during the summer. So I had to make my way over to Paradise/Lower Oso. I should be putting up GPS maps and a ride report soon (just have to figure out how to download the data in linux)

Until Next time….

Well today I decided to go on a motorcycle ride. A friend of mine was supposed to come with, but he didn’t have any gas for his car to tote his bike around so I ended up going alone…..ah….the wonders of a Dual Sport moto!

Decided to give the new tires and chain a run for their money, so I went on an extra long ride…..

So I finally got all the parts in so I can fix my motorcycle….my sweet sexxy moto got $263 in parts upgrades!

New tires (front/back), new brakes (front/back), new handlebars, new chain, new shifter.

I have pictures of the carnage here, unfortunately I had to take the pictures with the cell (dad lost the digi cam…doh!) so some of them came out much more blurry than I would have liked….

http://gallery.crshman.com/v/Moto_Upgrade_8-9-08/

So today was a very eventful motorcycle ride to say the least….It was a long ride, most enjoyable. Complete with no injuries or falls! w00t!

I believe I did a total of 126 miles of riding today, went deep into the back country of Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez. Unfortunately the charger I installed on my motorcycle wasn’t working, and I didn’t realize it until my phone said “Low Battery”. Which means I only got half of my trip on GPS tracks. But I suppose something is better than nothing?

Started out like any other motorcycle ride, me having fun, enjoying life and ripping up the dirt. I was actually able to make it to Jameson lake, the gate was open! w00t…..unfortunately I forgot my camera….yet again….so I didn’t get any pictures of it. (And my phone was dead by that point)

I also managed to find a nice hot spring on my adventure, I stopped there for a while…it was quite nice to relax for a few minutes all alone with no one out there but nature…

As I started making my way back home I stopped in a well shaded area with a few trees. I had seen helicopters going up and down the valley all day so I figured it was just a training exercise of some sort. A few minutes after stopping one of the helicopters starts circling around me. I just smiled and waved at the helicopter while sipping my camel back and eating a power bar. It kept circling so I gave it a thumbs up to let them know I was ok……well the 3rd time I took a closer look at the tail of the helicopter and it turned out to be the sheriff…..hmm ok….w/e I’ll just keep eating. A few minutes after that a truck rolls up quite quickly and 3 rather large men jump out, hands on their holsters yelling at me “Don’t move! Don’t Move!”……well shit, I’m not going anywhere, I’m just resting eating my power bar…. One of them asks “Hablas espanol” (Do you speak Spanish…..translated for those of you who don’t know)….I respond, yes….and I speak English too….They ask for my id, and want to know what I’m doing here…..well uh….*looks at motorcycle* I’m out for a ride….and I’m taking a break *looks at power bar*…..He then proceeds to ask me where I came from….I just turn and point at the road I came from…completely dumbfounded…. After a search of my backpack, and my jacket the tension had ceased…….they sheriff/officers/whatever explained to me that they thought I was part of an operation that was taking place….. I was very curious about that, so I asked hehe…..he said it was a sting operation and they were cleaning up “some weeds” riiiight…..

So I guess I fit the profile of a drug trafficking mexican….*shrug* oh the many adventures of me and my moto rides…..

GPS Tracks made possible by PathAway for my phone =)

Welp, another long time no update…oh well not like anyone reads this thing anways eh? haha

Went for a nice ride on Saturday (7/19/08) afternoon/evening. Went out to go visit the leftovers of the GAP Fire….it definitely did some damage to the landscape =(

Here are a few photos that I took right off of West Camino Del Cielo: http://gallery.crshman.com/v/Moto_Ride_7-19-08/

Lots of charred territory….no bueno

I soon got kicked out of the area by the USFS, thanks guys! >.<

I then proceeded to ride out to Pendola ranger station, never made it though….’le sigh…about 7/8ths of the way there I took a turn going a tad too fast and slid out. I had it in a controlled slide for a bit and was about to recover, but wouldn’t you know it….a rock decided to pop out of no where! The rear tire hit the rock and I lost control of the slide, bike went down on top of my left leg and slid for like 10 ft. I was PISSED! As the bike went down i was saying “No No NO!” as i knew the handle bars were going to get all bent up. Well, they did….during my fit of rage and large doses of adrenaline I was actually able to bend the handle bars back into position about 1 1/2 inches. Couldn’t get it any further than that….damnit! Needless to say I rode back with a whack left side of my motorcycle, which facilitated the following list of repairs:

asdfasdfasdf <– Not a typo….mad to no end…