It’s been a little over a year since I got my Sportster and I’ve put a little over 11,000 miles on it in that time. I just got some new tires and a few other things to get me started for spring (not that I stopped riding in winter). I haven’t really changed anything big on the bike but I’ve done a bunch of little things now that I think about it. And since I like lists, here you go:
The stock bike:
2003 XLH 1200
Vivid Black paint with 100th anniversary detailing
Added by the previous owner:
Quick Release Detachable Super Sport Windshield
Pillow-Look Touring Seat and Low Backrest Pad
Sissy bar with luggage rack
Michelin Commander tires
Added by me:
LoJack
Saddlebag supports
Chrome engine guard
Tourmaster Cruiser II XL Slant Saddlebags and Toolbag
K&N air filter
Forward-mounted highway pegs
Stem-nut cover clock
Mustang One-Piece Wide Vintage Super Touring Seat & Sissy Bar Pad
Auxiliary Running Light / Brake Light / Turn Signal Conversion Kit
Layback License Plate and Turn Signal Relocation Kit
Autolite Spark Plugs
Taylor Spark Plug Wires
Flanders Vintage Triumph Handlebars
Nostalgic Grips
Polyurethane riser bushings
Intiminators
Flanders Speedster Handlebars
Vibranators
Oil temperature gauge
Avon Venom tires
EBC brake pads
SuperBrace fork brace
Wishlist:
Brighter headlight, maybe some aux lighting
Better brakes
LeatherPro saddlebags or aluminum panniers
Probably new handlebars again
More comfortable foot pegs
On Friday night we went down to Wilmington to check out the Wilmington Winter Bluegrass Festival. It’s the same deal as other festivals, except it’s in a hotel. Weird at first but people just jam in the hallways and conference rooms instead of around campfires in a field. I have to say I prefer the fields, although that could be camping withdrawal. I only went the one night since I had other stuff to do the rest of the weekend but the friend of my dad’s who I take mandolin lessons from was playing there that night (check out The Rockdale Boys, who were unfortunately interrupted by a fire alarm set off by someone smoking in their room). It was a good time. One band I really enjoyed on the main stage was Aspen Run. Most of the band is a family and I tend to enjoy family bands. My dad and I want to have a family band but the rest of the family isn’t cooperating. My brother, for example, will only be in a family band if he gets 90% of the profits and gets to be the decider. Needless to say, I didn’t agree. Although recently he did write an excellent Ode to his Camo Pants to the tune of The Safety Dance in which he rhymed pants with pants, and then sang about rhyming pants with pants. So I may have to reconsider. Back to the original topic, I thought about going back to Wilmington the next day for a few workshops but in the end I didn’t have time. Maybe next year.
I took the Experienced Rider Course this past Sunday. There were only 3 of us in the class so we got a lot more riding time in than we would have with all the waiting in line that a full 12 person class entails. I actually was kind of nervous before the course that I’d be awful on the U turns and other slow maneuvers, although I have no idea why since I haven’t had much trouble with anything like that in the past. And I was perfectly fine. The only thing I had trouble with was the S turn, and that was because I was so concerned with staying in between the lines that I kept looking at them when really I should have been looking through the turn. But I got that ironed out in the end so it was all good. I still need to call my insurance and see if I get another discount for passing the class (already got one for the basic rider course). One fun thing was at the end of the class we got to put on drunk goggles and try to walk a line taped on the floor. I remember doing this in high school (and then trying to drive a golf cart around cones in the parking lot) but I don’t remember it being anywhere near as bad. At first I couldn’t even find the line with my foot, then I could barely stand up straight and half fell onto the instructor, who walks next to the person on the line with his arms out for just that reason. We had to watch some ridiculous sober riding video since the class can also be used to get points taken off your license, so that’s where the drunk goggles came in. I’ve never had a problem just standing and not falling over when actually drunk though so those goggles must have been rated pretty high. It’s interesting what just affecting your eyesight can do to you.
I’ve decided I’m going to keep track of the books I read for one year just to see how many I go through. I know I go through a lot. I can keep my list in a monthly draft on this blog and post it at the end. So here’s my list for January 2009:
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie (fiction, contemporary romance, bought used, reread)
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie (fiction, contemporary romance, bought used, reread)
Women and Money by Suze Orman (nonfiction, personal finance, borrowed from library)
The Look of Love by Jennifer McKnight-Trontz (nonfiction, pop culture, bought new)
Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros (fiction, historical romance, borrowed from library)
A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action by LuAnn McLane (fiction, contemporary romance, bought new)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (fiction, gothic romance, borrowed from library)
Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett (nonfiction, organization, borrowed from library)
Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer (fiction, historical romance, bought used)
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer (fiction, romance, bought used)
The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (fiction, horror, bought used)
Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (fiction, contemporary romance, bought used, reread)
Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson (fiction, contemporary romance, free ebook)
Dancing in the Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne (fiction, contemporary romance, free ebook)
Most of the books listed as bought, I’ve owned for a while. I just accumulate books faster than I can read them, which is why I’m trying to stop buying more books until I catch up. Reading borrowed books all the time doesn’t help either.
