Lego Model City
We almost missed model city. It was in the middle of the park. If you go to Legoland be careful in making your way around the circumference because you might miss the most awesome part of Legoland in San Diego.
View From Room in Manchester Grand Hyatt
This is amazing. There’s lots of activity going on out the window. Lots of military helicopters practicing too. We were able to run along the path in the mornings here.
Sean’s First Plane Trip
It was overwhelming in a good way. He was a little apprehensive about the window seat. But he loved it.
First Trip to Wahoo’s in San Diego
On day one of our San Diego trip we make a special trip to the Wahoo’s. My favorite restaurant. The kids loved it. Mainly because we had to tell Sean it was “California Chicken” in order to get him to eat fish. How many times can you eat at a Wahoo’s Fish Taco in four days? Hopefully at least four.
Madeline is on her trip for her 14th birthday. With a little help from a couple of iPhone 4’s and a Sprint OverDrive, I was able to have a little face time with her. Awesome!
919 Cockpit with Renthal Lows
This is just a quick snapshot of the cockpit with the Renthal bars. The bike is dramatically changed, for the better, with these bars.
Yeah the bike is dirty. With my time lately, I’d rather ride than wash…
Black Honda 919 – Hornet
I’m a big sucker for a 919. The first bike I ever owned was a Honda 919. It’s easy to ride, plenty fast, and fits me extremely well.
This is my 2005 black 919. It’s fitted with Renthal Low bars and with bar end mirrors. The Renthal bars are the only way to go. They put you in a more aggressive and more stretched out riding position. For me, since I’m a tall rider, this is more comfortable. Basically I feel like I can go all day on this bike in this position and never have any trouble.
For those who don’t think of a 919 as being fast, you’re wrong. I’ve had two CBR100rr’s and a 1098s. Yes, those bikes are much faster but you never use any of it on the road. On the 919 you can tap into more of the potential of this bike on the road. Granted, it’s likely not legal, but it’s just a great ride.
I’ll add a few more mods and plan to build one up in a very custom sort of way. More on that coming.
Reevu Helmet
Found this on Engadget today. It’s the Reevu helmet with built in rear view mirror. Hmmmm, I don’t know about this just yet. But there is a certain amount of anxiety you face when hitting the brakes hard in traffic. We’ll see how the reviews come in when this is released.
It’s been a while since I rode the kind of bike that you pedal, but this is one of my latest that I’m especially in love with. It’s an Independent Fabrication, Crown Jewel SSR. This one is Stainless Steel. I’m an old roadie who can certainly appreciate the fine qualities of carbon, aluminum, and titanium, but I feel especially attached to the qualities of steel in a bicycle.
The rear seat stays are not painted on this bike so a lot of people think it’s titanium when they see it. The ride quality is stiff but very compliant. It feels like it’s on rails when cornering (hate that overused term but it just does).
My grouppo of choice has always been Campagnolo. This time I chose the Record variety. Keeps me firmly planted in the hooks when shifting in sprint situations… yeah, because that still happens…
In any case, this bike needs to be photographed some more. It’s a real work of art. Independent Fabrication did a great job on the fit and finish. This bike is modeled after the dimensions of my race bike from 15+ years ago. All tubes and angles are the same.
Steel is Real
2010 VFR1200f
The VFR1200 is just a couple weeks old and I had time to break away. There’s a bicycle route we in east Dallas know as the “east loop.” It’s a loop out to Lake Ray Hubbard through Mesquite and Sunnyvale.
It was beautiful tonight. My ride was just under an hour long. I was reflecting on my recent track day and thinking about how slow I felt. Was feeling more comfortable in the saddle though since working on my skills on the track. In short, I can feel an amazing difference in confidence on the road.
Then I happened upon a guy on a Road King. He was going my direction and a little wobbly, and especially slow in the turns. I stayed behind him rather than passing him. By the way he was riding he seems very new and apprehensive. Braking to less than 20mph in every sweeping turn. He had a new license tag on the bike. Hope he’s careful and does not rush it. Hope he can have as much fun as I had today on the VFR1200.
