Motorcycle Grandma Linda’s Ride

Hi,

I thought I would have the opportunity to do a daily log of my activities while here in Williamsburg and it just has not happened and now the time is about gone. If you want to see some of what has been going on you can check it out here as someone else has written up and posted some photos (even some of mine as I was having difficulty getting mine to upload.)

Anyway I will try to get my post on what I have done after I get home on Monday. Have a great weekend!

And another one…..

Thanks for checking it out!

Well that is not me taking it, but I wanted to write a little about it here and pass on the information about it. There are these really kewl guys down in Florida who have taken it on themselves to ride to the four corners of the United States and then to the US Capitol steps. Why? For prayer for our country. Now that makes me feel special. That these guys I don’t even know care so much about me..yeah me..I am a part of this country…but I know they are looking at a much broader picture too! You see whenever someone prays for our country here or for the inhabitants of the world they are also praying for the individuals. Makes you stop and think. There was someone about 2000 years ago that did something special for the world. He died on a cross for the world…there for for each individual…for me and for you.

Anyway I want to get back to these guys and their trip. They are welcoming other riders to join with them on any part of the trip and also for everyone to join in praying with them. They have a website and a blog so you can follow along with them and see where they are and what progress they are making. From what I have already read about them they are real prayer warriors as they plan to pray as they go by each mile marker while riding! WOW that is a lot of prayer. I must confess that at times I have a hard time concentrating for five to ten minutes without my mind wandering off and having to bring myself back to what I was praying about.
Please check out their site and pass on this information to others. Especially be in prayer for their safety the next few weeks.
I think this might be a great place to post this writing that has been passed on to me several years ago. I have no idea who wrote it, but it gives a lot of insight about bikers:

THE BIKER

I saw you, hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn’t see me, put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you, pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn’t see me, playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you, change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn’t see me, attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you, roll up your window and shake your head when I rode by.
But, you didn’t see me, riding behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you, frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn’t see me, when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you, stare at my long hair.
But, you didn’t see me, and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you, roll your eyes at our leather jackets and gloves.
But, you didn’t see me, and my brothers and sisters donate our old ones to those that had none.

I saw you, look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn’t see me, cry as my children were born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you, change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn’t see me, going home to be with my family.

I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn’t see me, when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you, yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn’t see me, pat my child’s hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you, reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn’t see me, squeeze my wife’s leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you, race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn’t see me, get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date

I saw you, run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But, you didn’t see me, trying to turn right.

I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn’t see me, leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn’t see me.

Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker . A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn’t see me.

Re-send this around in hopes that people will understand the biker community.

If you don’t re-send this, all I can say is I hope you never loose someone that rides. I have.

EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE US, RESPECT OUR RIGHTS TO RIDE WHAT WE CHOOSE
AND TAKE A FEW EXTRA SECONDS TO BE SURE WE’RE NOT IN ‘YOUR’ WAY - LIVE TO RIDE. . .
RIDE TO LIVE

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Linda

Do you feel as each day passes you seem to get farther behind on what is going on in the world of technology? I know that I have no hope of keeping up or even coming close. How do I cope with it then? There are several ways.

1. Help files. They seem to answer a lot of the same questions I have. Imagine that. There are other people out there with the same questions I have. This applies to my computer and other techie devices that I do not have a 4 year (or more) degree on how to operate. My motorcycle also has a help file with it. It is the owners’ manual. What about my personal and spiritual life? God has given me the Bible to guide me. I can lean on my daily relationship with Jesus to provide me with strength to get through the rough spots in life.

2. Tech support. I noticed recently when my husband had a question about his Verizon email he typed it in and immediately this tech person came back and started asking him specific questions and was going to access his computer to see if he could assist him. WOW! Even before that kind of personal support was available you could dial a number (and after staying on hold for a very long time you could talk to a technical support person and get some assistance) The motorcycle manual also does not answer all the questions I might have. When the manual does not have the answers I need then I can go to the
owners’ group online and ask more experienced owners how they solved
similar problems. Even in my personal life when I feel overwhelmed God has given me other Christians to help me through the rough spots. They are my “tech support” for everyday life. Without them I would have a tendency to get even more “error” messages than I already do.

3. Upgrade. It does not seem like long…maybe as soon as you take it out of the box that your model of whatever is already outdated and you have to upgrade it. I know that even when I download a software program I immediately have to download the latest updates to it. The same thing has happened with my motorcycle. Of course my bike is a 1986 model (older than my grandchildren) and the guys that have been riding and working on them for a long time have made some very important upgrades to them. They are safety issues. As soon as I found that out I was there looking at my bike to see if it had been modified yet with these new parts. I really did not want my fork brace cracking as I rode down the highway. I also check my secondary gear oil to make sure it is at the level it is supposed to be so that everything will be running smoothly. What about in my walk with God? That requires a daily upgrade. Communication with Him through prayers, listening to Him through His Word and meditating on what He is saying to me in my life and making those adjustments to my life personally.

All of this seems like a lot to comprehend, but when you do it a little at a time and on a regular basis you don’t really think about it anymore. You probably have virus protection on your computer that also has regular updates etc. That is the same with the other areas of life. When you get into the habit of doing something it is a part of life. You would not go to bed without brushing you teeth (well maybe some bikers would) but you know what I mean!

Life has a lot to throw at us these days and to keep up with. When we incorporate small habits one at a time it makes it so much easier to keep up with all of it. Maintaining our technical stuff, our motorcycles (or other transportation) and our life takes love and care. We need to take care of what we have (especially with rising costs) and the most important thing we have to care for is our own life and others about us. That is why Jesus died for us. I am looking forward to sharing more of this in the near future. If you want a sneak preview check out this link.

God bless and have a wonderful day!

I found this on one of my bike groups and thought I would share it here (with some editing of course).

A BIKERS PLEA…

1. I’m just like you. I have friends, family, loved ones and a
responsible job. If I’m not on my bike and not in my gear, you could
not pick me out from anybody else. I am well read and have interesting
hobbies, and …. sometimes I ride my motorcycle. When I ride my
motorcycle, I am not running meth for some outlaw motorcycle gang and
I am not going to/coming from a drinking establishment. Nor am I part
of a stunt group.

2. Bikers ride the way they do for a reason. I’m not talking about
mile long wheelies… but when I whizz by you fast, it is because I do
not ride in anybody’s blind spot. The more time I spend in close
proximity to another vehicle, the higher the probability that
something bad will happen to me. Don’t take it personally that I go by
you with a 20mph differential and then slow down. You drive your
pace… I’ll drive mine and let the tickets fall where they may. And
I’m not passing that 18 wheeler until I can get all the way by him in
one blast… His tires exploding could kill me as opposed to
scratching the paint on my car.

3. Please understand that I do not want to pop a wheelie for your kid
and I don’t want to race you; and please stay off my rear. I
bought this bike because the performance of all production cars were
becoming a little underwhelming. Just because you put a fantastic
exhaust on your car does not mean that I will covet your car, or want
to race.

( well, maybe sometimes, if your GF is along, just to embarass you)
(or your boyfriend;/)

4. I’m looking at obstacles through a soda straw called a helmet and
relying on mirrors that are vibrating pretty good. I’m looking at the
big picture… don’t expect me to interpret hand signals to the rear.
Please give me a little room… please. Oh… and about that helmet…
I’m not hearing anything you want to say to me. Nothing personal.

5. I am simply a guy or gal trying to master a very simple machine
with very complex dynamics. Please don’t assume that the guy or girl
on a sport bike is actually flattered by the extra attention you try
and throw at us while we’re just trying to get to where we’re going.
Trust me… you people have embarrassed yourselves more than once in
this regard, oh and male drivers, stop the hate….seriously.

6. I am more scared of you. Statistics show that if I die on a
motorcycle, more than likely it will be from a driver that did not see
me until it was too late. Why in the world are you scared of me? Just
leave me alone… and give me some room.

7. Oh, and another thing. There is a lever on the left side of YOUR
steering wheel. You can use it to signal your intention to go left or
go right.

USE THE THING!!

8. Riding a motorcycle is so different from driving a car that it can
not be explained. Accept that. Give me some points for riding a
vehicle to work that is three times more efficient than my car and
eases the congestion on the road. Most of all, just give me some
space.

I hope this gives you a few things to think on as it did me and thanks again for reading today. Ride safe.

What???? No I don’t believe it! There is white stuff outside that I can see through my curtains even though I have not even got out of bed yet……SNOW! Didn’t that calendar say today is April 29th??? Okay no big deal just as long as this Saturday, May 3rd it is sunny & warm. I have a 100+ mile bike ride. That is what Run for the Son 2008 is.

Normally several of us will talk and say if the weather is nice Saturday let’s get together and go for a ride. The first Saturday in May every year a group of bikers get together and ride no matter what the weather. The last two years we have ridden in the rain and had fun anyway.

I have been working on this post since 9 this morning and it is now 9 in the evening. First I was looking for some neat photos of last year’s run and then could not find them. They were somewhere on my husband’s computer. I finally found them and got copies transferred to my computer and then could not find this post. I had saved it as a draft, but somehow it had been deleted. I am now thinking that another article that I started is gone too. (I was not a happy biker/blogger at this point in the afternoon.)

A kind Internet friend chatted with me a short while and cheered me up some when telling me that his manuscripts were lost two times like that. YIKES!!! I just lost a couple of paragraphs. Oh that is so sad that someone else’s misfortune cheered me up. Well when I phrase it like that it is. What I really mean though is that hearing about something like that puts my misery into perspective as I realize my few paragraphs are nothing compared to someone losing months or years of work.

I had a great dinner with my husband and I was encouraged by his sweet comment when he kissed my cheek as I was doing the dishes and he complimented me for the good dinner. So I decided to do something special for him and make him some raisin filled cookies. He really likes this kind of cookie and I have never made them. A few weeks ago he had got a recipe from his niece and I had looked at it and put it up in a safe place. Tonight I could not find the safe place. I looked in my recipe notebook where I usually put such recipes and it was not there and I had recently cleaned out my cupboard with recipe books so I had no idea where else it could be. I had just came back to the computer to start in on this article again when I thought of one more place. Went back into the kitchen and there it was…in the recipe box. Imagine that!

So I made the cookies…well tried. The recipe was not cooperating anything like I thought a dough should look like. I called the niece and asked her about it. She looked at her recipe book and was reading it…after a bit I got suspicious and questioned her about when she made them. She had never used the recipe. Well I finally decided to made some adjustments on the recipe and go from there. It worked. At least I had a dough now! Made some cookies and they are edible. So I have been sitting here nibbling on a cookie and drinking a cup of decaf. Have a great day..what is left & Pray we don’t get more snow tomorrow.

Thanks for reading today!

Linda

and I was tagged by Brian

(For anyone like me who needs to know what

Internet meme means click on it!)

Here’s how this one works…
1. The rules are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and ask them to read your blog.

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Spring of 1998, I had been married to my wonderful husband for 3 years and we had been in our new house in AZ for 2 years. He had come home one day and had just been laid off from work after 18 years. We were in shock. After three months of hard work on his part and lots of prayers by both of us he was offered a position in OH immediately. So he left and I started marketing the house. (I just happened to be in real estate!) The house sold in 1 week…still wonder if we didn’t ask enough or if God was just trying to keep us together :). We found a great house in less than a week in OH, but less than a month after moving to OH the company hubby was working for sold that facility and he had the option of moving to WV or looking for a new job. We checked out WV and decided on moving there. (A bird in the hand…) So that is how we bought and sold two houses in one year! Wow…that has been 10 years already!

Five things on my to do list for today:

1. Laundry-already started
2. Call insurance and get a quote
3. Call my aunt about family reunion in June
4. Finish minutes for CMA meeting and email
5. Clean house, fix dinner… (oh now I am adding things to this number because I ran out of numbers but not things to do list)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Work as a missionary more than I do now
2. Give and Give some more (I like Brian’s answer so I will just keep it - saves me thinking of another one)
3. Go see Wendy in Australia
4. Tell my hubby he could take early retirement today
5. Get hubby a toy hauler and we would travel (could afford the gas!) may need to invest in some oil wells

Three of my bad habits:

1. Procrastination
2. Wasting time
3. Unorganized (thankfully there is only 3 on this list!)

Five places I have lived:

1. Greenville, SC
2. Michigan City, IN
3. Albuquerque, NM
4. Beale AFB, CA (Marysville/Yuba city)
5. Eloy, AZ (It is featured on the TV commercial)

Five jobs I have had:

1. store clerk/cashier
2. phlebotomist
3. gas station attendant (telling my age here)
4. police officer
5. pit crew

Five People I Want to Know More About:

1. Mike K
2. Paula
3. Cecil
4. John P
5. Lace (now I just have to figure out how to tag some of these people hehe)

May 1st is coming up and it is also the day that is set aside here in the USA as the National Day of Prayer. This video is an excellent reminder to us as why it is so important for us as individuals and as a nation to pray for our country and our world. Thank you John Dobbs for the reminder to share this information.

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Please do as I have and pass this on to someone else. We have a tendency to pass a lot of unimportant information around the Internet and now we have the opportunity to forward on something of importance!

God Bless!

Linda

Welcome,

I got my learner’s permit for the bike yesterday and now I am posting my first blog that my friend Wendy has encouraged me to start writing. I get easily sidetracked in life so it will be a big surprise to me as to what happens in either one of these adventures.

My bike has this terrific feature that is made to stabilize it for smoother riding…it is called auto level. I needed instructions to understand the instructions……

And after many attempts and much time the copy of my instruction manual and instructions will JUST not cooperate and place themselves in this area! I have soooo much to learn!

After all of that I found out it was a very simple procedure. After loading, getting on and starting the bike just push the button and wait for the compressor to level. Why didn’t they say so??? My dear husband Will

always explains things to me like the manual, but then he writes technical manuals for work that have to go to FAA. (No I am not blond!) Plain speaking does work though as does examples of “how to”.

I am using a program on my Firefox browser called ScribeFire to help me write this. One thing I have learned by trial and error is that the neat features do not work “automatically” even if they happen to say “auto”. I have to do something to use them. Some times it even requires reading instructions. I am still learning the blog and ScribeFire instructions so my comments on those will have to wait (at this point I see nothing funny about them!)

This has happened in my life also. I have to use my “Life Book” to get the instructions from God in order to have smoother riding. It does not always mean that I don’t have bumps and hazards in the road, but at least with my owner’s manual at hand I can read about how others have gotten through the rough spots and know that I too can do this. My life is not perfect and I know my bike riding is not (I am a beginner and have lots to learn) and the same will be true of my writings. Anyone who has ever chatted with me already knows that I am a horrible tyipytst.

To make my first post a little more interesting I am including a couple
of photos to spice this up…after all adventure is what makes any ride fun.

Thanks for letting me share!

Linda