Tis' The Season For a New Red K&N Air Filter

Goodbye Black and worn out K&N filter. You have done all you could do. Many cleanings and oil treatments and you never let me down even when it was pouring down rain and I forgot my rain sock. I want to thank you for the 56,000 miles you gave me. Peace out!

HD Screaming Eagle Heavy Breather w/K&N filter

Hello brand new K&N filter. I forgot how sexy you look in red. I know you will be good to me for another 50 plus thousand miles! 

The removal and install was super easy. If you actually look at my old filter you can see the chrome backing plate where the clamp is has been removed. Well, I did not remove it, it actually fell off. I still have it, but all the glue in the world that I had around the house just never held it back in place. Nonetheless, it is good to have a new filter back on so Nomad can breathe cleaner again. Here is a quick video put together by my Google Movie Collections, I love how it just takes an experience and pops a video out for you to share.

 

Pope Francis in Philly, The City of Brotherly Love

Well Pope Francis has come and gone. Even as non-Catholics, he reminded us here in the USA that family is everything. Family is the key to happiness, success and virtue.

Photo shared from catholicmedianetwork.org

It is a bit a difficult to connect to this statement when many I know, include myself came from very broken family structures. There sometimes is no fixing or mending, but merely trying to figure out ways to start new ones. However, in the end when family is damaged, all involved are broken. This bond is among the hardest to mend.

Many outsiders may judge, because perhaps they came from that strong perfect structure that the Pope spoke of. Maybe they just never seen or felt what broken means or what it even looks like. It is real, and it is a daily struggle. We all write our futures by our actions, but sometimes our futures are altered by the actions of others. Perhaps this is part of "everything happens for a reason". I don't know. In the end, I truly feel that a broken family structure is the worst pain and anxiety that many in the world carry with them each and every single day.

So, if you took anything from the Pope this weekend, take away the idea of freeing your mind from judgement. There is no need for you to judge and add more stress and anxiety to folks that already suffer from their own struggles inside. Let's love and respect one another the same way we would want to be treated. Let us refocus on the definition of family, as we all know it is not always blood relations.

An Inspiring story of one man, one motorcycle and his mission to bring Suicide awareness to the forefront.

A year ago I was making my way into work one morning. Only that day turned out to be a different morning, which changed my mood for the rest of the day and honestly the next few days there after.

I had just parked and was walking to the main door to scan in. When I saw a guy messing around with a MSR universal windscreen. He was attempting to install it on an old beautiful BMW. I have a huge soft spot for the vintage bikes and if I had the money, I would probably have a garage of vintage BMW, Suzuki, Honda, Indian...well you get the idea. Nonetheless, many of you all know me, I am not that type of person to just walk on by without starting a conversation. This guys had his bike was fully packed up with luggage and I knew he was about to embark on a journey. Only his journey was a life mission.

Photo taken by Chris Michael, visit his blog to see more photos of his bike and the folks he met along the way.

After my evaluation of what was going on I finally had approached him and asked if he needed help. He looked up somewhat happy that someone was there and offering assistance. We got to talking and went through introductions. He said his name was Chris and he was about to start a motorcycle journey consisting of interviews with strangers all around one emotional topic, suicide. More particularly men who lost their fathers to suicide. I was floored! I was not expecting to hear that, usually in my work parking lot I meet folks off to Alaska, or Key West, or just going across country for a ride. Not often do you meet someone on such a heart felt mission for change. It was the type of movement that inspired change.

Chris went on to tell me about his Kick Starter campaign to get this series of interviews funded for and how the Suicide Prevention Association was also supporting his project. He continued with his story as he personally opened up to me that he had lost his father to suicide and the emotion, pain and struggles that brought to his family. He had just recently started coming to terms with it, and began disclosing the truth. He continued saying it was such a struggle to talk about such a topic, most folks just do not want to discuss it. I can understand that, because it seems like you mention suicide and everyone disperses. Knowing this happens, Chris wanted to make it a topic of healing. Which hence drove the passion to want to reach out to other men that had not talked about it, but were really wanting to deep down inside. Chris was amazed at the response he got from folks and the voluntary interviews that just poured in via email or phone.

After such a deep discussion I realized I really had to get in to work to start my day. We managed to get the windscreen installed as he was about to ride up to New York to record his first interview. We exchanged contact information so we could keep in touch. Fast forward to a year later and some emails between then and now, I get an email the other morning from Chris. He writes,

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I finished the first series of audio interviews and you can read about it here, and hear the episodes at www.fatherlessbysuicide.com."

I hope you all can take the time to listen to these stories, as I have started doing, and open your hearts and mind to the courage it took these men to speak publicly about their fathers and suicide. I will leave you all today with another informational piece taken from Chris's blog regarding Getting Help:

If you need to talk to someone now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and you’ll be connected with a trained counselor. They can also connect you to mental health services in your area. The line is available 24/7 and is for people in crisis and those who support people in crisis. 

If you are a Veteran or a family member of a Veteran, you can access specialized crisis services through the
Confidential Veteran's crisis chat. 

If you've lost someone to suicide, you may find the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's resources, stories and local groups helpful.Explore their site and connect with other survivors here.

Life After Wedding Planning

For those of you reading this blog, yes, I survived wedding planning. First off, I have to say, cheers to other ladies that made it through. Heck, big cheers to the fellas as well, because we all know "mom's" like to take over. Cool and thoughtful of them, but damn right stressful.

I honestly have to say, after you sit down and reflect on the experience it really was one of the most anxiety driven experiences of my life. None of it brought on by myself or my partner. All of it brought on by others. We understood is was all in good nature, but honestly it was a nightmare. People are freaking crazy about wedding planning and it does not need to be so crazy.

Many nights I sat with my fiance questioning the idea of marriage and how nothing but stress has come of this. Many nights he and I spoke of how we need to try to stay positive and how this may just be another test from the powers that be. Many nights he just wanted to call the whole thing off, just because of the level of stress it was on both of us. Sure we could have eloped, but think about that for a minute. A wedding day with no one to party with. I could not imagine that one bit, even though I am the type of person that will make friends anywhere and everywhere. The wedding went on as planned, even though jumping off a bridge was more attractive than planning this event.

From people laughing at you because you choose not to have Bridesmaids or Groomsmen. To folks asking about center pieces, that one ever really pays attention to. To wasting money on flowers that do nothing but make people sneeze. To invites and thank you cards that people just open up and then through away in the trash. I am an earth day born child. Waste is not in my vocabulary. Sitting through listening to people laughing at the ideas I had really was a stressful thing to do. In the end, I was getting married not them. Somehow, the roles change and you get bumped off the curb. Standing your ground seems to make tension, however, it was the best thing I did. I was just sick of it all and so was my fiance.

Fast forward to the wedding day, which turned out to be the most amazing day of my life. Not something this car wrenching, bike wrenching chic would say. At the end of the whole ordeal, we had many of guests thank us for having such a relaxed and chill wedding. A wedding that did not require them to wear suits/fancy dresses, a wedding that did not have assigned sitting, a wedding that more of a house party and forced you to talk to people you have never seen before in your life. Well that was the type of day it was and that in the end was what my husband and I were trying to accomplish.

When they say the person you are going to marry creeps up on you and love smacks you in the face when you least expect it, they are not joking. Luke and I met a friends BBQ, however I was so intoxicated I do not recall ever saying much to him. Our first date however, was one of the nicest days I can remember. From that day on EVERYTHING changed.

Once you wake up the next morning, married, you think to yourself "holy shit, yesterday went by so so so fast"! Your then fiance, now "husband", try saying that ten times fast half hung over, boy is it an eye opener. Trust me I tried it! I think I got right after a gallon of coffee and 4 Advil! He was pretty much doing the same thing, all I could hear is "wifey", I have a "wifey". Those words never sounded so good. So to wrap this up, Cheers! to the couples that survived wedding planning. Life after it, is pretty damn good! Minus the damn thank you cards, "ain't nobody got time for that!"

Live Life! Don't put all your eggs in one basket!

This summer has been nuts. I feel like I got robbed of a lot of riding time. However, I remember telling myself when the summer started that I wanted to be sure to give myself time to do other things in life besides motorcycling. I know that sounds nuts! I'm not ill, nor have a I become insane. However, I have craved other adventures and the summer turned out to be just that. From unexpected motorcycle to car repair, to falling in love, to loosing a dear friend, to seeing and doing new things. It's been a life changing year.

Back around Labor day, I had gone on a parade run in honor of Memorial Day. After that ride, my bike really hasn't been the same. Inspected the valves, changed the plugs, updated the exhaust gaskets and cam gasket. Gosh, it was a pain in the ass trying to put the exhaust back on. Here's a few pictures from that fiasco.

Chain Tensioner looks good!

Learned about plugs.

These gaskets are horrible engineering.

That same weekend I ended going on a date with a fella named Luke. Thanks to mutual friends for setting us up, he changed my summer. I guess when you wish for something it almost happens when you least expect it. Not that I was wishing for a boyfriend, but for doing other things on the weekends besides motorcycling. Although, I did manage to take him MotoGP, so not all hope was lost for motorcycling. He did repay me by taking me on my first helicopter ride ever! I have to say it was amazing! Just as amazing as he is! Truly a fella with a big heart, I'm still trying to figure out why he's still dating me. Oh wait, cause I'm the shit! lol

MotoGP Indy. Such an amazing experience. He loved it!

Co-Pilot! Who knew! 

While all this fun was happening in my life with the boyfriend, having my bike together, well part of that fell apart. I ended up being in an accident. I lowsided to avoid hitting a sportbike that my co-worker/roommate was riding. Long story, but my bike was out of commission again. With the bike down for the count, I took off to the Outer Banks of NC in order to get some sunshine. Time to refocus. The beach helps me with that. 

When I got back from messing around, it was time to get to business and put the darn bike back together. Hard to tell from the one photo below, but my forward controls where bent. The metal actually twisted. I couldn't believe it. My exhaust is all scratched up, but hey you have to be laying on the ground to see it. That I didn't replace. The bars were bent too, and my bags were shredded. 

Twisted! The other side was the same. Crazy!

All scratched up! So sad!

Trashed! The other one is worse off.

After waiting for all the parts to finally arrive, I started putting my bike back together again. My new mission was to ride. I missed my bike so much. 

New pegs and forward controls. 

Waiting on the new bars to arrive.

The Zbars look so sexy!

All back together again!

Like I said earlier, it was a life changing summer. While messing around with my bike I got word that one of my dearest friends, Tim Hartsough died in a motorcycle accident. One of my truest, dearest, loving friends I had ever connected with in my life. I was devastated. I'm still shocked. At his memorial we all drank his favorite beer, Torpedo from Sierra Nevada. Family and friends talked about the loss of a great man. It was a day I'll never forget.

Cheers to you Tim!

I hope to see you again, maybe next lifetime!

The moral of the summer turned out to mean, "Live life! Don't put all your eggs in one basket". Meaning, sometimes we get wrapped up in the routine of life. We never seem to step outside of our own box enough. We get wrapped up in ourselves and forget there is a whole other world to enjoy. It can be enjoyed without a motorcycle. However, in my world it seems to do a 360. Guess in the end, it's my motorcycle that helps me to take in the pain and suffering life throws at me. It is also the same thing that inspires me to be a better person, to do positive things in this short life that we have. Well ladies and gentlemen, I hate to end on that note, but that was my summer.

Appalachian Trail- Hawk Mountain PA

What did you do on Independence day? Well, instead of preparing for a BBQ or fireworks my boy friend Luke and I decided to do a 7.5 mile hike on Hawk Mountain along the popular Appalachian Trail and then ending on the Skyline Trail.   It was a sunny wsadday, but thank goodness it was not humid out. 

Almost to the look out!

The first part of the trail was pretty easy. The path was well maintained. You could tell someone had laid rocks in certain spots and cut fallen trees out of the way. We walked over small bridges that someone had built over creeks and some of the larger washes. We finally got to a part of the path that made you hate your decision to hike that day. It was a slope that completely killed my legs for the following 48 hours after the hike. For someone like myself that hasn't done much hiking in the last 3-4  years, it was a challenge. The whole time I was thinking to myself, why am I not home having a beer and barbecuing. When I finally made it to the top I saw a sign that said look out 2 miles. At that point, I felt that I was threw the worst part and with some motivation from Luke we were on our way. 

Years ago Luke had hiked this trail with his boy scouts club. Oddly enough, he did not seem to remember the killer slop that we had just completed. (ha!) Luke had planned our days hike around the idea that we would eventually get to the Skyline Trail and walk the ridge of Hawk Mountain. Well that is what we did. Only we found ourselves walking most of the Skyline Trail on a path that was less traveled on. 

No path, just following painted markers.

A path! 

Needless to say, it was one of the best days ever! We made it to many different look out points along the way and stopped to admire the views of nature. The landscape makes you think about life, love and what the true definition of happiness might be. In the end, we need to see beyond the beauty in order to get to the core of our own salvation. Stepping away from our day to day lives seems impossible for many folks. It truly is sad that we get wrapped up in the daily grind so much that places like this we may never see and feel the emotion they bring to us. With that being said, I challenge you to take the path less traveled on. Break your own norms, step outside of your comfort zone and try something new. Let it change you, inspire you, and feed you with the energy you need to take on life.  

A top Hawk Mountain.

Pure Zen

Waking up this morning was a little different than waking up previous mornings. I actually feel good. I feel like I slept well and ready for the world. I thought to myself, why am I feeling like this? Hump day? Nah! Well after going through the morning routine, brushing my teeth and hair, I walk in the kitchen to brew up some coffee. The kitchen window was glistening with the morning sun. Beautiful, warm and as I look out I see its warmth melting the frost still left on the grass from last night.  As well as a bunny out to sun bathe. When my coffee was complete I had to go outside and drink it. The sun drew me to it like a dog that couldn't get it's eyes off the bone. As I sit in the sun, drinking my coffee, I realize this is pure zen. There is only one thing left to do, GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE!

Be safe today my friends. May you all find your zen in the power of the sun while on your motorcycle.

#payitforward