1st Annual Archer City Lucky Ticket Bike Run 7 Jun 08

On Saturday, 7 Jun 08, Archer City held its "1st Annual Archer City Lucky Ticket Bike Run" to benefit the VFD/EMS. I rode over to Rod & Vicki's house, met up with them & then we rode to the gathering point at Wal-Mart on Tx Hwy 79. We departed Wal-mart enroute to Archer City at 8 a.m. Russ had shoulder surgery and could not ride his Harley but he did drive his Jeep. So, scroll down & check out today's event. REMEMBER: if you want to see it bigger, click on the picture.


The folks gather at Wal-Mart on Tx Hwy 79 just prior to 8 a.m. KSU (kick stands up) was at 8 a.m.

Pattie & Russ..I didn't even give the poor girl time to take her helmet off...

Rodney, his daughter Rianne, and wife Vicki.

Getting ready to mount up & head South to Archer City.

It was a quick 30 mile run to the park at Archer City. After parking the bikes, we all headed for the Blue tent which was the registration point for the ride.

This is the back patch on someones leather vest that was draped over the rear of a Harley.

This "Death Mobile" was there & for sale..

Vicki & Sissy visit prior to heading out

Sissy & Russ ham it up for Linda's benefit... Nice knowing ya Russ....(grin)

Rod, Vicki & Rianne after registration..

Rodney & me..We were partner's on Police Motorcycles back in the 80's.

The bikes at the park in Archer City Texas

Some more bikes prior to heading out on the run. They had a 75 mile short course or a 112 mile long course..We all opted for the long course..

At one of the rest stops

At one of the rest stops

As we went our merry way, I took several rolling pictures..Here is a view of the bikes behind me

A view of the four lead bikes

A view of my speedometer. A little over 60 mph on the way up to 70 mph

The bikes to the rear

Just 1/2 second before I clicked the shutter, a large juicy bug hit the windshield. If I wouldn't of had the windshield, it would've got me right between the eyes.

Rod & Rianne at 70 mph...I think she had a good time riding with her dad..

A view out the other mirror

Vickie at 70 mph...Her Harley Heritage Softtail is up for sale..If interested, e-mail me and I will put her in touch with you..

Rod & Rianne pull into view...

112 miles later, we pulled back into the park at Archer City..Here are some of the bikes lined up

More of the bikes returning from the run

Another view of some of the returning bikes

Another successful run..Left to right: Charles & Gloria, Niki & Flip..

The bikes that were entered in the best bike show.

An Archer County EMS vehicle

An Archer City VFD vehicle

I believe this is a mobile burn house that the VFD uses to teach the public about fires..Its either that or a flash fire unit to train firefighters..Or it could be something else entirely..I had a brain fart & didn't think to walk over & ask...That will do it for this post. Tomorrow, 8 Jun 08, we have a run to Seymour Texas for a PGR meet & greet. Tune in tomorrow evening for that post. I had fun today and enjoyed the company of good friends & other riders..Look forward to tomorrow...Til the next post, ya'll ride safe & keep the rubber on the road................John

I Went for a Walk

I went for a walk.

I walked down the old street, amazed at how trees I had never noticed before had grown so incredibly tall.

I remember that house. I remember this whole street. It used to be shiny houses and green grass and tiny sticks for trees. Look how dirty and faded and old the houses have become. Look at the overgrown bushes and giant trees. My God, even the bricks on the houses look old somehow.

Everyone needs new roofs. Everyone needs to trim their damn bushes. Everyone has grown old and moved away, leaving their homes to younger people to buy. But these younger people, they don't have nearly as much money as the previous generation once did. Our nation's leaders have betrayed us, betrayed this land, sold the future for some magic beans. But that's a rant for another day.

I walked for an hour and a half. It was still light when I started. I could see the Big Dipper when I finished.

Funny how I can't find the constellations at my house, but when I come here I can find everything, right where it should be, just like before.

And you know, now I know what My Dad had been trying to tell me about there being so many more stars, but you can't see them here because of all the lights. Oh, you can see the stars. It's not so bright that you can't see them at all. But you don't realize how much the light is interfering with your view until you get out into the country and see what the night sky really looks like. So now I know.

I remember this street. I remember when all these houses were being built. I remember when they sparkled and there were no trees at all. I remember all the couples moving in and having kids. And now look at it. It's just an old street. The young couples are long gone. I'll bet not a single original owner still lives here anymore. And look at these trees, all grown up.

What is with the dude with the five sprinklers all going at once? His front yard must be no bigger than an eighth of an acre. Not even that, really. He must really like to run the water. That's ridiculous. His driveway and the sidewalk are sparkling clean. His yard is a swamp. Maybe he's trying to water his house in the hopes that it will grow a second story?

I hadn't planned on walking over here. But the mood just took me. Man, this hill is steep. I used to ride my bike up this damn thing. I used to jog up this. How in the hell did I ever do that? I can barely walk it. Listen to that motorcycle trying to drive up it. Holy shit, dude, if you don't shift into a lower gear you're going to stall.

Now there's a nice house. These must have been built later and I just didn't remember. That monster is impressive. All of these over here are impressive. I guess when you build up on the hilltops you pay more and expect to get more? These are some serious houses.

Three people are coming towards me. I can hear them talking. It sounds like women. That's awesome. I'm covered in sweat from climbing these hills. I look and smell like ass. Perfect time for me to meet three women in the dark night coming head-on.

Oh, they look like high school girls. Kinda hot, too. Well, hot enough, I guess. I mean, how ugly can you be at that age? You have no fat except where you want to have fat, and nothing is sagging or falling or fading or falling out. And it doesn't hurt that their clothes are skin tight, like they sprayed them on with an aerosol can. Obviously they are out crusing to be seen by boys in cars. I don't meet that qualification, so I think I'll just head on up this gigantic hill.

I can't believe we used to run sprint after sprint up this hill, with coach holding a stopwatch and giving us a few seconds rest before we had to go again. We'd loop down the side street, up most of the giant murderous bitch of a hill I'm on now, and then back around down Hickory Hill and down the side street to this monsterous hill again. How did we not drop dead from this? I can't even imagine being able to run all the way up this hill without stopping. I need a damn ladder to get up this thing.

I remember coming here to see Pam Salter. She didn't like me at all. And then I discovered Leslie Cothran and learned the skill of spinning tires and revving engines in front of girls' houses, as if that ever got a man a date before. But what did I know? I can't believe I never even noticed her back when I played basketball with her big brother and her dad was our coach. Of course, I was like 8 years old, so I guess she was 7. That probably had something to do with it. She sure did grow up, though.

There's Jamie's house. Crazy fucker went straight from his job at Super Shops to a bank, pulled out a gun, and robbed it. Then he drove straight home, threw the gun in the front yard and just sat down in his living room with the bag of money. He didn't even wear a mask. His shirt said "Super Shops" on the front, and "Jamie" on the back. It took them about 30 minutes to figure out who it was and arrest him. I swear it seemed as if he wanted to go to prison. That was insane. I wonder where he is now?

It's weird being here. I remember all of this. But it was all so much brighter and shinier back then. Now it all just looks ... I don't know ... like some faded memory. I don't belong here. None of the people I remember living in these houses are here anymore. And even if they were I wouldn't recognize them. And they wouldn't recognize me.

Hey, I know you. Holy shit, I haven't seen you in forever!




And now for something really old ....


Dig the hair

My Brother Gets A Bike: April 08

In April 08, my brother Bob, who resides up in Michigan, told me he was thinking about getting another bike. The last time he had one was back in the 80's. A day or so later he called and told me he had bought a Honda VTX 1300.
He calls his bike "The Grey Ghost" and you'll see why when ya see the pictures..I had to laugh though. The same thing happened to him that happened to me when I bought my Vulcan. After a couple of weeks, he was kicking himself in the butt for not buying a bigger bike. But like me, I predict a bigger bike for him in the near future. Without further ado, here is his bike with him, his wife Sharon, their daughter Melanie & our Dad. REMEMBER: if ya want to see the pic bigger, click on the pic.


Here is Bob & Sharon fixin' to head out..Check the grin on Sharon. She loves to ride..Already bought herself a fringed leather jacket..

Here is Bob the day he brought the Grey Ghost home... He has turned it into a Geezer glide and has added the backrest, windshield & saddlebags...Welcome to the Geezer club Bob!! I am currently looking for a Geezer Glide patch for him so he can sew it onto his leather vest...

Another shot of Bob on the Grey Ghost.

The Grey Ghost prior to windshield & backrest..Sharon do love that backrest...If I didn't have one on mine, Janice would never ride with me....

Sharon ready to go...She wants me to quit taking pics so she can get on the bike & leave......

Gave up waiting on me to quit taking pics, so on she goes...

Bob & Sharon fixin' to head out..

And away they go!!! My bike has an EFI (Electronic Fuel Ignition). Bob's bike has the old self adjust carb & choke. The good thing about EFI's are: you don't have to adjust the carb or jack with the choke as it is automatically done for you. The bad thing about adjusting chokes and messing with carbs are: if you forget to turn on the gas or fail to adjust the choke, you get about one house down the street and the bike quits, as demonstrated here by Bob who forgot to readjust his choke..It has happened to me many times on previous bikes and to just about everybody who has owned a non EFI bike....I think Bob was speaking French about the time I took this picture and I don't think it was "merci beau coup"

We had a little family get together at Bob's in May. Here is Bob's daughter, Melanie on the bike..She loves the do-rag & sunglasses...She rides with Bob some too..

Another view of Mel on the bike...

Here is our Dad sitting on the bike. Dad used to have a bike and ride but one day when he & his friends were riding, a trash truck pulled out & ran over & killed one of the other guys with them. He hasn't been on a motorcycle since. This happened before I was born & I am 57 yrs old..

Another view of Dad on Bob's bike. When riding a motorcycle. you should never drink & drive. However, it is okay to sit on a bike & drink a cool one every now & then....That's it for this post.. I will be riding my bike up to Michigan in October to visit the folks and do some riding with Bob..I will also get to fill in some more states on the visited states map...Until next post, ya'll be safe and keep the rubber on the road........JOHN