Meeting Recap--July 26, 2014

Nine of us met this Saturday for our regular monthly meeting, It was good to see Frank and Dan there as it's been a while, Frank with persistent knee troubles and Dan immersed in video  making(more on that later).

After viewing a legacy Baloney Shop video (I do miss Ken Klaus) we moved on to discuss the August 16th family picnic. We decided to cancel it as the anticipated attendance wouldn't justify laying out $175 for the shelter at Sweetwater Creek. Perhaps we'll revisit the idea in the fall at a different location.

Instead of the picnic we decided to ride on the 16th. An off Interstate route up to Fort Mountain, with a stop at Edna's in Chatsworth for lunch is planned. The HD planner puts the distance at 130 miles and I'd guess 41/2 hours including lunch. Details and the route plan will be posted on the Calender.

We took a look at a novel way to restart a bike with a dead battery using the driven wheel on a running bike as a driver to the dead bikes rear wheel. Pretty slick.

We had a chance to "run" this year's Pikes Peak race with one of the contestants. This 12 mile ride to the top of the 14,000 foot mountain is definitely not for the faint of heart

http://www.cycleworld.com/videos/featured_videos/don_canet_s_on-board_pov_video_of_his_pikes_peak_hill_climb_debut/#ooid=k0d3NvbjpfUxiDVBXz1JR5ZszrfsQxms

We also rode along with four guys on BMWs that gradually became mired in mud on their way to a BMW rally at Barber. It was evident front wheels don't steer when they don't rotate and they won't rotate with no friction to drive them, not to mention the effect of wheel stopping mud, packing between the wheel and fender (why do BMW "adventure bikes" have such close fitting clog-able  fenders?)

Dan, our budding movie mogul, brought a copy of his latest production for us to view. The video is an entry in a contest that requires the video team to conceive of a screen play, collect props and actors, rehearse scripts, film and produce a finished product in 48 hours (if I recall correctly). I'd say they did a great job with a comedy entitled Baby On Board. Kudos Dan (and company).

Halfthrottle, the fellow that lived in Panama and rode a KLR to interesting places and since moved back to the USA, videoed  and reviewed his recent test rides on three models of the Zero electric motorcycle. He was impressed, as were those at the meeting. Faster electrics with greater range (Zero is up to 120 miles) appear to be a certainty for the future.

Although we didn't discuss it at the meeting, it looks as if August 23rd is the best date for our next meeting as the last Saturday of the month, our usual time, falls on Labor Day weekend.

See you on the 16th and/or the 23rd.