(Issue 100, Honda Red Rider magazine, Manager's Box)
This column is being written on a plane while I travel from Los Angeles to Washougal for the Motocross National. Sitting next to me is my 12-year-old grandson. His mother called several weeks ago complaining he was just sitting around the house doing nothing but playing... Read more »
Well, I'd like to claim that I'm super tough and I did this cross country adventure on two wheels but the fact is Honda relocated me to sunny Southern California and I just couldn't see letting the moving company take my motorcycle on the "mass transit" moving system. I have to admit that I had too much stuff to take on a bike.
I tried to... Read more »
I’m always impressed with people's fascination of moving machines, especially those that propel us to the destinations where we want to go. The North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer is a place where you can look back in time at the wonderful machines that took our fore fathers to the places that they dreamed of. Mr. Honda—who was so... Read more »
A couple of years ago, I was calling dealers in Florida asking for ideas for an HRCA Regional Event. One of the guys I called was Bob Poneleit at Hap’s Cycle Sales in Sarasota. Bob is a huge enthusiast and rides as much as anyone I know, so you tend to trust someone like that when they offer suggestions on place to ride too. Bob suggested... Read more »
If you didn’t make it to Daytona Bikeweek this year, you missed an amazing time. Bikeweek always presents a unique opportunity because it’s the only time all year the Honda Road Race and Supercross teams come together in one place to go racing, and fans can grab a close look at how it all works. The racers tend to take center stage, naturally,... Read more »
This year at Daytona Bike Week, we had the best seats in the house for the Supercross by Honda on Friday night! We had an exclusive set of bleachers set up for HRCA Members on pit road at the finish line. We passed out HRCA thunder sticks, and pit board signs in the stands to help cheer on our riders. If you liked the smell of race fuel,... Read more »
We’re off to Pigeon Forge to check out the Aquarium for a possible future event. Nice place. They have the longest plexiglass tunnel surrounded by water. With sharks. Live sharks swimming just over one’s head. Not me. No way. Nada. Can’t do it. Nope. I’m terrified of sharks. They may want to eat me and that could “ruin my day”. I take the... Read more »
Our busiest driving day. Will put almost 450 miles on the van. We leave Knoxville at 7:45AM (Eastern time) to head for Crossville and the Cumberland Playhouse. They’re in Central time. In the van, we all check our cell phones to see whose phone adjusts for the time change first. Sometimes we are easily amused. I come in second. No, I was not... Read more »
Buzz. Buzz. No, it can’t be. The alarm, and I almost remembered part of my dream. I usually am totally blank about them, and then the sliver slipped away. Oh, well. Some people seem to remember every detail, and in color. In this regard, I am not very lucky. Sixty-two on the bank thermometer. More than thirty degrees warmer than the morn of... Read more »
Thirty-one degrees on the bank roof thermometer. Going to be a cool mountain day. Quick breakfast, a couple of cups of java and we’re ready to roll for our first day. Driving to Pigeon Forge from Knoxville can be nerve wracking with seemingly endless traffic but this morning it is eerily light. Almost scarily so. We made it in just over half an... Read more »
The Hoot takes almost a year to plan, check, request, follow up, contact, plan some more, recheck and then finally open to the public. There are a number of site trips for each Hoot, the first shortly after a Hoot event closes, one in the Fall and usually the final one in early Spring.
The journey from Torrance to Knoxville does... Read more »
A nice breakfast meeting with some of the Marriott Hotel staff and again some catching up is done. Of course there is some gossip thrown in. After all, we’re all among friends.
Next up is a small meeting with City of Knoxville agencies. Only thirty or so people attend. Our big meeting is just before the Hoot opens. The City of Knoxville... Read more »
As the Western Regional Representative for the HRCA, I have quite a diverse geographical area. My area stretches from the West Coast out to Louisiana and north to Wisconsin and covers 3 time zones. In my area there are a lot of wide open spaces that are sparsely populated; those are the best places to go for rides! As an HRCA Rep, I... Read more »
In creating the 2006 Laguna Seca video, I tried to capture the essence of the event. It was exciting because the Moto GP was there, and everyone was in a good mood.
I tried to add in some funny clips to make the video more entertaining. I slipped in a couple people that I saw sleeping at the tables. It was so hot there, I don’t blame... Read more »