Happy Thanksgiving

We wanted to take a quick moment and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time of the year where we all come together and give thanks for all of life's blessings. As a traditionalist, we will of course have our traditional turkey and ham and celebrate with our family and friends.

Since BAM Ridez has come into existence a little over 4 months ago, we just now went over 1000 site visitors. So in the spirit of giving "Thanks", I want to personally thank all of you who have visited, commented and subscribed to our site.

May all your rides be safe this Holiday Season!

BAM

Biker Image - Why Bother?

This article is for those folks that have the following perception "Biker = Outlaw".

ALL FELLOW BIKERS - YOU ARE EXCUSED FROM THIS LESSON....

Ok - Plenty of us have either read or written something about a Bikers Image. Rough, tough, rebellious, outlaw, assholes - you name it, it probably all personifies negativity.

Despite those occasions where charity rides are made, the overall persona is - STAY AWAY FROM THEM! I'm sure there are some benefit organizations that are probably scarred to death to even put out there hand to take the check for fear of losing their life.

Maybe this sounds harsh and even controversial, but I don't really care. We can thank our Biker ancestors for providing this image and the many generations that followed to carry it on. Even today, if you have been reading the papers or watching TV, the image still lives on.

However, how many blue and white collar workers do you know or hear about, that love to ride? Personally, I know plenty. Do you think they are part of the Hells Angels? Do you think they are out selling their families and wives? Do you think they are plotting which bike they are going to steal next? HMMMMMM - Give it some thought if you really need to....

OK - I know what it is. It's our leather and denim. It's our shaded masks that cover our face. It's our loud exhausts that cause chaos. It's our tattoos that are a sin of the world! It's our bandannas and rough looks. Is this what scares the crap out of you????

Well let me help educate you with a short course entitled "Bike 101 Safety for dummies":

1. Leather - It is our second skin on the road in case we have the unfortunate pleasure of meeting you in an accident. Should we hit pavement, the leather protects our skin!

2. Denim - Seriously - Would you wear a three piece suit on a bike?

3. Shaded Masks - These are called helmets and visors. Helmets are to prevent our head from splitting open in the event of item 1 above. As for the dark tinted visors - do you wear sunglasses when you drive? Same idea on a helmet Einstein!!

4. Loud Exhausts - I'll make this real simple - if you HEAR them in your car, it just saved MY LIFE!

5. Tattoos - Had those before I had a bike... So go back to the drawing board....

6. Bandannas - Have you ever wore a ball cap for several hours and took it off thinking that you looked like a million bucks? Or - can you imagine wearing shoes with no socks for hours at a time. How do you think these shoes would smell afterwards? Get my point?...

7. Rough Looks - How do you think your skin would look after traveling in the wind at an average speed of 55 mph or over?

Now that I have explained in a short time period the reasons to these outlandish acts of rebellion we display, I'm willing to bet by tomorrow, or maybe even in the next few seconds after you move on from this article, your mind will have not changed one bit.

So do me a favor - don't ever think of getting on a bike!!!

Rubber Side Down! (What’s the point of trying to explain that to you?!)

B

Ever Feel Like a Guardian Angel?

While driving home from work the other evening in my truck, I noticed a young biker on the busy 101 loop here in Phoenix, AZ. His bike was enough to be street legal but without signals..??

I couldn't help but commend him in my mind as he had on the armored jacket, helmet and gloves and using the appropriate hand signals while changing lanes. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to get in behind him as if to provide that extra protection. I know when I ride during the busy rush hour, how much I constantly check my mirrors to make sure I am not going to get rammed due to sudden stops.

As we were going down the highway, stopping and going, I felt I was providing him that extra protection. We received such a gesture from a gentleman while we were caught in a monsoon back in June. You can read about that lovely ride in the Tortilla Flats post. He realized we were in enough distress with the heavy rain and wind that he provided a cushion from behind by following us to our exit. As he passed by, he gave the "wave" and nodded confirming his understanding as a fellow biker.

If he is following this blog, I want to pass along my sincere appreciation! That was an awful and dangerous ride home. That added protection was comforting to my wife as she was on the back of the bike, gripping like there was no tomorrow!

Having that experience compelled me to "pay it forward" to this young biker. I don't think he realized what I was doing and for all I know, didn't even know I was there. But nonetheless, I think we all tend to look out for one another in our own way!

Rubber Side Down!

B

Old Scottsdale / Phoenix Ride 11/02/2008

If you read the "Near Collision" article, you seen that our day got off to a very blood pumping start. We did not let it hinder our ride though.


Old Scottsdalehas been a destintation that we wanted to visit for a long time on the bike. We had once been there back in 1998 (rental car). How things have changed! To give some perspective on Scottsdale in general, it is a very artistic, fashionable city. Bordering on the edge of Phoenix, it brings out a whole new look with a lot of the up to date fancy restaurants, malls, etc, etc..





This particular monument is of Winfield and Helen Scott.







The Old Scottsdale area has its own flavor of fashion and art galleries art galleries line both sides of the streets. The galleries carry everything from modern art to western art to Indian art. Several other galleries carry pottery and jewelry. During these times of economic crisis, sales were everywhere! Let's just say I was glad we were on the bike that day or else I am sure we would have had a truck load of "stuff" to take back home.









One of the restaurants that we visited back in "98" was still there. It is an Italian pizza shop called "Grimaldi's". They are known for their brick oven pizzas which are out of this world and the prices are very reasonable. One of the things we enjoy of about Grimaldi's is their outdoor dining area. Should you visit during the cooler times of year, they have the outdoor lamp heaters which make it a perfect experience!







After filling up on pizza, we made a quick stop to our favorite coffee shop "Starbucks". What better way to top off a meal than with a nice cup of mocha!
















After a lot of window shopping and walking around, it was time to get back on the Harley. We wanted to ride through Phoenix via Camelback Road. This particular road is a main thoroughfare through Phoenix. Several spas are located on this particular stretch.

We finally made it to a cross street and turned in to the long stretch of I believe Main Street which takes you literally through downtown.


US Airway Center is where the Phoenix Suns play hoops. No game in session this day, Thank God!!
















And finally Chase Field is where our beloved Diamondbacks play. Maybe next season fellas!


Total Revs for this ride = 4 Simply because it was all interstate and inner city roads.

Route Taken: From West Peoria, AZ we took 101 East to Indian Hills exit. There you make a left until you get to Scottsdale Road. Turn right and you will end up in Old Scottsdale.

From Old Scottsdale to Phoenix: Simply turn left onto Camelback Road from Scottsdale Road. After approximatley 3 miles you will see downtown Phoenix on your left and you can take any crossroad at that point to get there.

Total miles for this trip = 98

Rubber Side Down!

B

Near Collision 11/02/2008

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS!!!!!

I start with that line because Melissa and I had our first near collision yesterday.

We started to head out for our ride to Old Scottsdale, AZ (article to come). Living in Vistancia, located in northwest Peoria, AZ we use Vistancia Blvd as our first road on all trips. If you are familiar with this road, you know that there is a lot of construction in the area and for the most part the speed limit is 45. The lanes consist of 2 lanes in both directions.

Heading south on the main stretch towards Deer Valley Road, there is an entrance onto Vistancia Blvd from the 303. I observed in front of me a car entering onto Vistancia Blvd heading south as well in far right lane. The problem began when a Truck (either a Ford F-150 or similar make) was began to run through a stop sign to cross over Vistancia Blvd to make a left to head north, opposite our direction.

In order to do this, you have to cross over both lanes in which we were in to get clear across the road in order to make the turn. By the grace of God at the last second he slammed on his breaks and only made it a few feet into the first lane.

By this time I anticipated he was going to run the stop and began to down shifted into 3rd gear. This allowed me to quickly slow down to about 35 mph. Significant when you have to perform the quick stop technique to avoid the potential collision. For those of you have had to utilize this, you know this is probably one of the more difficult tasks to perform. For those who do not ride, this is because the event in which you have to utilize the technique is happening so fast and when you are at a higher rate of speed, everything must happen together in order to avoid severe fish tailing which results in downing a bike.

The Harley performed like a charm! Only a slight fishtail effect came into play. And we were able to throttle back up before the traffic behind us became a factor.

I left all the yelling and gesturing to Melissa, a fantastic co-pilot! From our post conversation, Melissa indicated that the young man's passengers were yelling at him and he even received a slap in the back of his head from the passenger in the extended cab. Good for him!

Last night I made sure to send a "Thank You" email to the folks at MTC located in the Dallas, TX metro area. I received my training there this last January. I cannot emphasize enough how important this type of training is! I can honestly say the skills I applied in this particular situation prevented us from downing the bike and potentially much worse!

Rubber Side Down!!

B