OK CLOQUET RIDE

On a cool April 6 evening the Nobodies held their first ride. As is the case for many of their rides, it was an impromptu affair. Meeting at the club house, the Nobodies rode to Gordy's Hi Hat in Cloquet MN. Gordy's is know for its hamburgers, fish sandwiches, shakes and onion rings. In fact its hamburger is ranked in the top ten in Minnesota. I have heard, Gordy's will be featured on the food network this year http://www.gordys-hihat.com/.


Thunder Brother, Jen (prospecting) Gutts, Smelty

We took the North Cloquet Road for the majority of the ride 40 plus mile ride. The temperature was in the high 40's.

Gordy's Hi Hat Drive In

Nobodies in Gordy's Parking Lot

Kickstand, Dirty Deeds, Gutts, Smelty, Jen (Prospect), Thunder Brother After A Great Meal

If you are interested in joining the Nobodies for a ride keep your eye on this blog, as this weekend the 2010 Ride Calendar will be posted. You can also email Kickstand at mailto:bikerbergums@msn.com.

Remember whenever riding in a group your number one concern should be getting to the destination first.

GOT PATIENCE ?

We Americans are not known for our patience. Right?, do all my international followers agree?
It doesn't take a very astute observer to notice the impatience in our culture. If one takes a trip to a store that is short on cashiers and long on customers, you can witness impatient behavior. Or simply monitor your own reactions when you are behind schedule and you experience some kind of delay.

Life offers us many opportunities to grow in patience. The bad thing is most of the opportunities come when we don't have the time. Hmm, I suppose time constraints are a necessary element when learning about being patient. But like every thing else, we Americans are always looking for short cuts and painless ways to learn and mature.

I have stumbled on a great way for motorcycle owners to practice patience, and as an added bonus have a beginner level mechanical experience. All you will need is a screw driver! Simply take out the 2 or so screws that attach you head light to the head light can. After you have taken the head light out, disconnect it to assure it will not disconnect and fall on the floor. Now for the lesson in patients. You will notice in the head light can many, many wires. It might be wise for you to observe how neatly the wires are arranged and attempt to remember exactly how they are arranged. Now very carefully, but with confidence, pull all the wires out of the can and arrange them in any pattern that strikes your fancy. You will notice that all the wires ( in my case with my Honda CX 650 I have 50 plus wires) enter the can from an opening in the back. You will also notice that there are a variety of connectors ranging from small single connectors with clear plastic sleeves to large plastic plugs. If you want to do a graduate level lesson in patience you could disconnect a bunch of the connections, but I don't recommend doing that. Now comes the lesson. It is so simple, that one would expect a 5year old could do it, place all the wires back into the can and insert your head light and secure it with the screws. Actually before you put the wires back in the can take note of the time or better yet time your assembly with a stop watch.
If you are fortunate and have a minimum number of wires like the photo of the can below you may not experience any irritation or frustration. More than likely you will have enough wires to make this seemly easy exercise challenging. As you struggle, practice some breathing techniques, prayer, or other stuff you have read about to keep an even keel and positive focus. Remember when you have successfully completed the task, take a few minutes to reflect on the experience. Experiential learning is a great way to learn, but you will need to take that additional time to glean the most out of the experience and figure how you can apply the lessons learned.

Regrettably I did not have a camera available, when I did the can project yesterday on my 650. That bike is blessed with a wonderful array of wires.





Send me a line telling me if you were able to learn a little more about being patient. Next time you are waiting in a line or feeling some frustrations from slow traffic, slow people or slow computers; ask yourself would I rather be messing with my can?

Nobodies New Patch

During the Nobodies Annual Meeting at the end of February, a decision was made to get a new patch designed. The Nobodies will be sporting this patch on their jackets very soon.





Last summer we discovered that we were not able to wear a patch that claimed we were a motorcycle club. There is protocol involved in forming a motorcycle club, even when you just want to pretend that you are a club. The process to be sanctioned in Minnesota did not appeal to us, so we just removed our patches. We did learn that people can be a motorcycle rider group without going through any formal process. So our new patche identifies us as riders, but in reality we are still a pretend motorcycle club.

If you want to order a patch just contact me as we allow anyone in our Nobody Motorcycle Club.

ASK KICKSTAND

Ask Kickstand is an email advice column dedicated to motorcycle questions. These questions can be technical: regarding mechanical issues, safety related, philosophical, spiritual or relationship issues.

Disclaimer: Kickstand is not a psychiatrist, a professional mechanic, Motorcycle Safety Trainer, pastor or a social worker. If readers choose to follow Kickstand's advice it is with the understanding that neither Kickstand nor the Nobody Motorcycle Club will be held liable.

Dear Kickstand,

I own and ride a 49 cc scooter. I ride year round using my scooter mainly to commute to work. Last year I rode nearly 7,000 miles. I get a lot of grief at work from people who own motorcycles. Most of these people have very large bikes (1000 cc or larger). They keep telling me to get a real cycle. I tell them that I enjoy my small scooter and that I don't need a big bike to experience the joys of cycling. I came across your blog and immediately realized that there are others out in the cycle world that also believe that size does not matter. Is there any way to convince my co- workers that I am in deed a biker too?

Sincerely Moto Woozy

Dear Moto Woozy,

I agree with you, One can experience the joy of motorcycling on any size bike or scooter. In reality that is what is important. If you are enjoying your riding, that is all that matters. I believe you are wasting time and energy trying to win over your co-worker bikers. Now there are a few techniques you can use to quiet down the biker buzz.

1. Do some research on small cc riders. There have been and continue to be some very interesting stories about people who have taken unbelievable trips on there little bikes. Start sharing some of these stories with your biker banters
2. Talk about your rides and ask your co-worker bikers what kind of mileage they are racking up. You may discover that many of them seldom ride and log less than 500 miles a year.
3. If you live in a climate that offers some nasty weather, ride to work during a storm. When questioned about it, just talk about how you enjoy riding in all kinds of weather.
4. Do an extreme ride and document it with photos.
5. Get a speeding ticket on your scooter. You simply need to find a very large hill and get your scooter going about 85 miles an hour. Keep doing it until you get pulled over. There is nothing like breaking the law on ones bike to gain respect.

Lets face it Moto, no matter what you do, you may never win over these critical co-workers. Just enjoy riding your scooter and have some adventures. And remember the Nobodies are on your side.

OVER COMING COLD WEATHER RIDING

Biker #1 " Have you been riding this week?"
Biker #2 " No it's been too cold for me. Have you been riding?"
Biker #1 "Yes, I put on 70 miles this week!"

What biker are you?

I call biker #1 THE EVERY DAY RIDER
To be an every day rider in Northern Minnesota one needs to learn how to be a Cold Weather Rider, or as we motorcycle mutants say you need to become a CWR.

KICKSTAND ARRIVING HOME FROM WORK

What does it take to become a CWR? Well in my opinion there are at least four factors.

1. Being a motorcycle nut

2. Having proper clothing

3 .Necessity

4. Having a cold weather bike

I was born a motorcycle nut, but the first 56 years of my life I didn't have a motorcycle. I just did other nutty things. If you have several of the following traits you have the right stuff to be a motorcycle nut.

• enjoy inclement weather
• don't mind getting dirty and muddy
• not redistricted to conventional behavior
• not interested in acting your age
• not very concerned about personal appearance
• like really fresh air
• like physical challenges
• don't mind looking stupid
• if in a relationship have a significant other who does not try to shape your behavior
• have a moderate to high tolerance to pain
• don't mind the unexpected
• think Mr. Rogers was a great guy

Proper Clothing

It is a must. You need some motorcycle specific stuff; like an all weather jacket and pants beyond that you can improvise with layering clothing, choppers, thin polypropylene hat under helmet etc. I have found Sorrels (winter pack boots) to be essential.

Necessity

It helps if you do not have other transportation options. In my case, my wife and I only own one car. There are days that commuting to work together fits our schedules, but several days each week requires me to spend longer hours at work. I like my job, but I have my limits. So as soon as our winter roads are some what clear and the weather hovers around freezing, I am motivated to ride a cycle.

Cold Weather Bike

One needs a bike that will start in cold weather and that can get dirty without damaging the owners psyche. I have found the perfect bike for me. It is an older two cycle trail/sport bike. Two cycle engines start very nicely in cold weather. Since it is a 125 cc it's light and maneuverable. I like the knobby tires too!

This year I started commuting to work on March 1. This is the earliest start for me. I have been able to do this due to warmer than average temperatures, no accumulating snow and just because I'm stupid.

If you need specific counseling regarding cold weather biking email me.

MOTORCYCLING AND MARRIAGE

When discussing motorcycling and marriage, love is not usually the first word that comes to mind. Motorcycles have historically caused friction in martial relationships. Take for example the book BACKFIRED MARRIAGE where a happily married couple experience some rough relationship roads, because the husband gets interested in collecting and riding British bikes.

The Nobody Motorcycle Museum recently installed an exhibit which features a love seat in front of several motorcycles. Along with the display, the curator Flash has included a video, art exhibit and radio play that addresses issues related to marriage and motorcycling.


Display Titled LOVE AND BIKES


Flash has done an excellent job exploring the complex interplay between couples and their motorcycles. I happen to be married to a woman who enjoys riding motorcycles too. One would think that such a common interest would eliminate any tensions or troubles related to bikes. Well on the contrary, it introduced new issues into a 29 year marriage. Initially I started riding and my wife reluctantly was a passenger on occasion. She then started instructing me on how to ride; including information on increasing my speed, rolling through corners with more speed, jumping quicker a stop lights and not being such a wimp about trying a wheelie. Since my wife started riding, I am talking to her about paying attention to speed limits, weaving through traffic and why a 1000cc sport bike would be impracticable for her.



DIRTY DEEDS AND KICKSTAND AT THE LOVE SEAT DISPLAY

Flash claimed that the display would have a positive impact on motorcycling couples and I have to admit after sitting in the love seat for just a few seconds my wife and I understood each other better. Dirty Deeds will be getting a 2008 Honda CBR 1000 and I will be buying my badly needed 1997 Honda ST 1100.

NEW ZEALAND'S INTEREST IN NOBODIES

The Nobody Blog Staff have noticed over the past month or so a spike in visits from New Zealanders. Actually this should not be surprising as the Nobody Blog is the fastest growing motorcycle blog in the world* and New Zealand has a very strong motorcycle community.

Wellington New Zealand's Motorcycle Parking

The climate is great for cycling and the price of gas encourages economic motor travel. There is designated motorcycle parking in Wellington, NZ. Now Duluth Minnesota would never do that as our season in a meer 4 - 7 months depending how crazy and hard core the rider. The only thing Duluth offers bikers is motorcycle sized pot holes to deposit one's bike.
The Nobodies have been an international organization for about 2 years. It's first international member was from the UK.













* statistical methods used to support this claim use imaginary variables a and b.