Laced Up and Ready to Go!

Last year when I was wrapping up the day at the Arizona Ironman I decided to check out the vendor booths to see what cool things I might be interested in and I happened upon the XTENEX booth. They were showing off some pretty cool laces for tennis shoes and I decided that since I am a fan of slipping shoes on and off (read, LAZY) I'd give them a try. It didn't hurt that they were giving volunteers a break on the price either.

I got the laces home and after a little trial and error I found that they worked rather well on my favorite pair of New Balance shoes. They worked well for slipping on and off and to my surprise worked well with no adjustment for running. After quite a few weeks of using them I decided to refurbish a pair of motorcycle boots that I had owned for quite a bit of time and I wondered if the XTENEX would work on them as well...

If you are a wearer of laced boots you know that while the fit is awesome, the process of putting them on and taking them off can be quite a chore, do it more than twice in a day and you opt for a different pair of shoes. I even use laced boots with zippers on the side, because they offer the fit I want, with the ease of use I desire. The only bad thing is that zippers have issues when it comes to overall comfort and then occasionally they catch on things on a motorcycle as well. Not to mention the zipper seems to allow a whole lot more cold air flow in the winter and they do not stop water from getting in the boot at all.

So, after wondering for a while, I dropped an email to the folks at XTENEX and asked if they had a lace that would work on my boots (I had remembered a comment about military boots at the booth.) They responded quickly and before I knew it I had a pair of black laces for my boots, ready to try for a spin.

The process of lacing the XTENEX laces on shoes or boots is the same, just different than using normal laces. The XTENEX laces have little bulges that keep the lace from slipping through an eyelet that are reduced to flat when the lace is pulled from either side. To set a shoe/boot up with them you simply place the bulges where they need to be when the footwear is normally worn and that's it, Getting the perfect bulge placement takes a little trial and error, but once done that's it. The XTENEX laces expand enough to let your foot in and out, but do not do so much when you normally wear your footwear. Basically the shoe or boot stays put.

Getting the spacing on my boots took a bit of trial and error, but after 5 rides I identified where things were either too loose or too tight, fixed it and now I can easily slip the boots on and off with relative ease. Yeah, a zippered boot is easier, but these boots with the XTENEX laces feel better fitted and feel better on a long ride.

The only issue I have to deal with is making sure the tongue on the boot does not get folded on itself when I put my boots on, but other than that I really like how the XTENEX have made this pair of boots a lot more easy to use.

While slipping the boots on and off was my original goal for wanting to try the XTENEX laces I found that the best thing that they did was make my boots feel good all the time. If you've used laced boots when riding you know that sometimes you make them too tight and sometimes too loose and that every once and a while you get the perfect fit. Well, the XTENEX laces, once properly set, give you that perfect fit EVERY TIME.

Well worth the price, I'll be using XTENEX laces on all my laced boots from here on out.

Want to get your own? Find them here - http://www.xtenex.com/

Body Maintenance

We all know that we have to keep our bikes maintained, and regardless of how well we do things sometimes things happen. Well, it happens to us as well. So, what to do?

The obvious of course, you pull over and take a rest. Fix what's wrong and then back on the road.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:N 1st Pl,Show Low,United States

Breakfast is Served

{I posted this the morning of Oct 8th and found it never posted via my iPhone, so here it is.}

Here I sit, ready to eat breakfast and at the beginning of my second winter in Show Low, AZ. The last year has been one of discovery and growth personally, and one of struggles and adaptation financially. I've made some compromises to make money and on one side I've discovered a new area of expression that is rewarded both with some pay and gratitude. On the other has been complete frustration as the individuals involved not only don't have any vision or direction, but they are unable or unwilling to communicate either. I've decided it is time to turn back to what I know works, to maintain my line, look ahead and simply ride my life.

Steve Job's death has happened at a very good time to wake me up. It has made me revisit his words and look at how they apply to my life. That and the timing of training opportunities is also the perfect springboard that gives me comfort in being that square peg in a round hole.

I have a lot to offer the world in insight, understanding and the ability to be calm in chaos. To those who want to share and learn welcome aboard. To those who want to be disrespectful and ignorant, well you know what to do.

It is a new day and breakfast is served.

- Posted Live and on The Road.

No really, I'm not Dead!

And I've not forgotten how to blog. I've just been pretty tied up getting things established in my life.

So far, so good.

In the last 30 days I've gotten in 2 very nice rides, I've established a new location to teach Total Control and I'm having fun taking photos as well.

This girl liked my bike so much I told her to jump on for a shot, right after I had finished up a different shoot in a classified location.

I'm looking forward to the summer and I'll be now blogging more consistently. See ya soon, on the road, the range and on the web.

New Location, New Perspective

I've had a few changes in my life recently, one of the major ones is the location in which I live. No longer am I an hour away from twisty roads, instead I'm minutes away. Now, with this new location comes something else......Snow!

Having lived in the Valley of the Sun for the last 13 years I had gotten used to riding just about whenever I waned to, heck even bad weather there wasn't that bad. Of course the summer's are a bit exhausting and while you can ride year round, most don't.

My new locale is Show Low, which is located about 3 hours North and East of the Valley, it sits at the North entrance of Salt River Canyon, has the North Side of 260 on one side and the North end of the 191 (The Coronado Trail or Devil's Highway) on the other. So despite some down time the riding location is superb. As I continue to settle in and get my life here in some sort of flow I'll be writing about the differences from Valley riding and how a new perspective affects my riding.

The first thing that I'll mention about higher elevation and cooler weather is that my Jacket choice is a lot better. It is great to be able to be comfortable in leather and not sweating like crazy when stopped or standing still. Additionally it is great to not have to deal with scalding heat at a red light or stopped in traffic (not that the traffic up North is anything like the Valley.)

I look forward to the spring and meeting up with folks traveling through Show Low, it is sure to be a brand new way to connect with other riders, hear different stories and with my new job I'll be able to tell those stories in a more interactive way.

So, I'm glad to be back on the Blog and look for more from me soon!

Till then, Ride Safe and never forget to Have Fun!

Undiscovered Country

What's The Best Ride?



If you ride regularly, at some point, regardless of how exciting the roads in your area may be you'll find yourself on a new road. Now this may be just a different path or in most cases something completely different. Adding new rides by venturing outside of your normal path will yield not that much different of a riding experience as you'll simply go from what you know to something along the same path. But, as I said eventually you'll step out of your comfort zone and head out to places you've never been before and that is when adventure begins.

What's Next?

If you start one morning and point you bike in a direction, start riding and stop at night you'll find yourself in a place you most likely have never been. Continue a couple more days and then you'll really be in a position to discover things you've not seen before. While the US is made of mostly the same types of roads, how those roads cut through the terrain and how nature sculpts its way around those cuts varies differently.

The type of road you love where you live may not even compare to the new ones you discover and may even seem more challenging or thrilling. This is of course due to how new things are and the fact that without the knowledge of the road, how it curves and where the normal dangers may lie a rider must approach it with respect. Typically this means a slower pace and occasionally has the quintessential butt pucker moment. But even the most safety conscious rider will encounter a raised sense of awareness and will experience a usually higher level of euphoria than they experience on their normal route.

Over the years I've heard tales of this road and that road and have ventured out to ride them and discover for myself what is better and what is just truly different. I've found that while some of the "Great Rides" are simply better because of the overall experience and the hype, they are simply better in a sense because they are different. That being said I have also found that there are roads, that once you take a look past the newness can ready hold their own when it comes to being a better ride. I've found that roads around the ones that are all the rage usually deliver a similar experience, all without all the other riders...

To me the best road is one with the proper amount of curves, well paved and sometimes completely traffic free. I have my favorites, but don't really share.

I mean, if I told everyone, they would not remain the way I like them, yes?

Nothing Like Suspens-ion

After a year of ownership of my 2008 Night Rod I looked at the odometer and made a determination. I had not been riding it enough. Yes, it is the bike of choice for short jaunts around town and the perfect Bike Night bike, but something about it was just not right.

I’ve made some minor changes to the bike to make it unique and mine, but where is really had a large issue was in handling and traction management. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was not looking for sport bike type handling, just a nice plush ride without bottoming and most importantly the front needed to track properly mid-turn if it encountered a dip or bump and as it was it was actually quite dangerous. The lack of damping was extremely evident and really limited my comfort on the bike.

Having completed a project with Race Tech in the past and having an even better relationship with them due to there support of Total Control I gave them a call to see what was available for my bike. Well, it turns out that the front was pretty straight forwards, but no one had yet done a bike like mine with their newest G3-S Custom shocks. That being the case a ride to Corona, CA was in order, because even with the factory suspension I could not justify a trailer, after all is was just a tad bit under 400 miles, right?




The night before I packed lightly and set out my new Piloti Moto800s, figuring this might be just the ride to see how they truly perform. I took my time the next morning (Easter Sunday) and headed out around 10 am. The trip over proved to be just as painful as you’d expect a ride to be with forward controls, a factory seat and a factory suspension. Add to that the pain from a fall on my tailbone just days before and one might understand why the trip took a good 6 hours.




I did stop and had a great salad at an unassuming Mexican restaurant in Quartzite, AZ, from there all was decent until I happened upon the windiest part of the day in the Valley of Windmills near Banning, CA. Ahead of time I thought of taking a photo there, but once in the midst of the wind blasts all I wanted to do was get to the other side. I finally arrived in Corona, found my friends at their tuning shop and then found my way to their house. Snug and sound I was ready for the next day.


That night in SoCal I found out I had missed a pretty large earthquake and that we would be getting rain, more than I had planned for based upon my small pack. I arose the next morning to find that it had indeed rained the night before and was threatening to rain more. I headed out to the shop, found it quickly since it was only 5 miles away and about 30 minutes after arrive found my bike devoid of a suspension, the upgrade had begun!



During the day the skies let loose at least 3 times, but after the progression of the upgrade was complete I was presented with sun dried roads! After a couple test rides, a few tweaks and 2 planned upgrades for a later date my bike was buttoned up and I returned to my friends’ house.


That night I was treated to a SoCal iconic meal in the form of Chicken and Waffles at the world famous Roscoe’s, I’m not sure my digestive system agreed, but it was an awesome treat!

The next morning I headed back for AZ and things were markedly different. My “seat of the pants” feel told me that I would be able to travel the distance home with a lot less pain that the trip to CA. Not only does the suspension now inspire confidence and provide me with the traction needed, it looks cool as well. The gold body looks cool, but will be getting swapped for an anodized black body in about a month or so. While the rear shocks would typically have the piggyback mounted on the topside to reduce un-sprung weight we decided that the Harley wouldn’t suffer drastically because of it and would look a lot cooler with the shocks mounted upside down.

The front upgrade was in the form of a spring that matches my weight and a Race Tech Gold Valve Emulator for the compression. The front currently is a progressive rate spring, but after my feedback and their techs support, we may be changing to a straight rate in the future.



The first thing that was decided for the rear was the right spring rate for me and then the fact that the shocks would be fully adjustable, including preload, rebound and compression. Then we decided to increase the travel of the rear shocks by about one and a half inches. While the overall ride height of the bike would not change the travel available would be larger. That means that for the lower nature of the bike, I would actually gain back SAG and be able to have more travel available for dips or extension into the roadway. This is key for better mid-corner traction management and proved so on the test rides.





Over the next month I’ll most likely dial in the exact settings for my personal riding style and I can do so because I was left with plenty of adjustment range by the techs at Race Tech. Out the door this system comes in at about $2300 and has drastically increased my confidence in the bike, not to mention my ability to ride it longer distances. I’m sure next year this time I’ll be looking at the odometer and smiling.







Give me a few days and I’ll write up my report of the Piloti Moto800’s, but as a quick nod let me say that they will be getting used quite often, more than I initially thought.

Click for Full Gallery of Race Tech Shots.