Update - Jan 21, 2009

Howsyermoman'em! Hope your making the best of your winter, playing in the snow and all that. We had some busted water pipes when we got back home from our Caribbean vacation...punishment for returning home I suppose. That'll learn me good. Got it all straightened out now, thanks for the concern.

We've got (I feel) a lot of great pics to share from our trip, and I'm going to break it up over the next few updates to try and keep things interesting around here for as long as I can. We'll be at the Chicago IMS show in a few weeks as well, representin' Tail of the Dragon/Graham Co., so should have some cool shots from there to mix in with it.

As always you can access YEARS of archived entertainment on here via that "Blog Archive" drop-down menu over there on the right....should keep ya busy for a while if you're new.

Before we move on to the highlight pics, I've got some closing thoughts on the discussion from the car accident photos from last update.

Now, I was pretty sure it was a local, and I was pretty sure their parents would probably end up wanting to strangle me. Ironically, it's a risk I take every time I post a photo of how not to act out here in an attempt at making things safer. I ain't real hard to find, and it wouldn't be the first time someone threatened me with bodily harm for calling them out, mostly as a result of the things other people say regarding the photo I posted. Needless to say, I try to stay "prepared" for it when I'm out there. I don't gather the parents really want to strangle me in this case, but you never know.

I can understand how the small barrage of criticism can get tiring, although it's an insignificant price to pay if you consider what could have been. I, too, get tired of having to deal with all this...an unending flow of new drivers and riders - some local, most not - that can't grasp what would appear to be obvious road etiquette. Do what you can not to cause problems. It doesn't mean don't have fun, and some people just have a problem with seeing other people have fun...there's not much we can do for them, but do what you can. Using my lane, my wife's lane, my friend's and non-friend's lane for your personal run-off zone is not acceptable to most of us, and I don't believe it's wrong to expect others to respect that stance. I can't believe we even have to mention it...how is that not obvious?

I'm tired also of seeing my wife in pain, and having to make multiple trips over to UT hospital (2.5 hours...one way) for follow-ups on her wrist surgery resultant of another rider's inability to stay in their lane, hitting her head on. I'm tired of seeing her get so upset from close calls with head-on traffic now, on a road that she used to love to ride on, that we have to pull over and stop so she can cry it out. That shit ain't fair...it took away one of the greatest pleasures she and I shared...gone.

But still, a line I try to balance with these photo sermons is the one between peer-pressure and camaraderie. Yes, I will call you out in front of your friends, in hopes that no one else would want to get caught doing the same thing...y'all act right! But at the same time, I don't believe it's right to push troubled individuals away with insults. These are the very people we need to take under our wing and guide in the right direction. Pushing them away just moves the problem somewhere else.

That said, I sincerely invite the driver of the car, his family, and anyone else who feel they may not grasp what the dangers are out here, to come sit with me on the side of the road (March-November) for just one day, one hour if that's all you've got, and see what we see. See the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, children and grandparents out there enjoying themselves. So vulnerable and so loved...how easy it would be to destroy the lives of so many people from a single moment of disregard. Hey I'll even provide the chair!

Ok, on to the highlights... (I love y'all ;)