So… After a costly mishap, I have determined to write a post on securing your bags when riding. More to come….

Folks,

Everyone is polishing up for the 2012 Rally – for all you vetrans and new riders; please take a moment to consider your safety and the safety of others this year. If you have less than 5000 miles riding experience and or less than 1 year of riding and want to live to ride further, consider this post from the daily news after the 2011 rally…..

By T.J. Aulds

The Daily News

Published November 7, 2011

“GALVESTON — A 19-year-old Houston man was the third person to die in motorcycle-related accidents during the Lone Star Rally weekend. For the most part, roads were relatively safe for the annual procession of motorcycles, but law enforcement officials were kept busy responding to wrecks throughout the county.
Mathew Taylor, 19, of Houston, was killed Saturday night after his motorcycle slammed head on into an oncoming pickup.
Taylor was headed westbound on Harborside Drive at 8:31 p.m. Saturday when the rider veered into the eastbound lanes and slammed head on into the pickup at the 51st Street intersection, Galveston police said. Police believe Taylor was riding at more than 100 mph when he collided with the truck.
The 45-year-old man driving the truck was treated and released from John Sealy Hospital.
Taylor’s death was the third during rally weekend after several years of no motorcycle related accident deaths during the annual motorcycle gathering in Galveston that brings about 400,000 riders to the county.
On Sunday, police released the names of the husband and wife riders who were killed in a crash in the northbound feeder road of Interstate 45 on Friday night.
Jerry Latham, 34, and his wife, Nancy Latham, 27, were killed after their bike hit a curb and Jerry lost control of the motorcycle.
Those were not the only major motorcycle-related crashes that marred the rally weekend.
Guy Dale Stratton, the rider of a motorcycle that crashed into a Galveston school bus Friday, remained in the intensive care unit at John Sealy Hospital on Sunday, Heyse said.
An unidentified motorcycle rider, who police said was riding his motorcycle at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic, lost control of his bike and crashed on Interstate 45 near Bayou Vista on Saturday. He remained in the hospital Sunday and was listed in serious condition.
According to available police records, there were nine injury accidents in the county during the Lone Star Rally weekend. ”

I hope you all have a fun and safe Rally: Ride Safe !

In memory of the Latham’s

Worst group riding weather you could have had. Not the most scenic ride you could take. Best reason to ride ever as we honored the men and women of the armed services and rode to support them and the organizations dedicated to helping them. We had 70-80 bikers converge on East Side Honda on Saturday (Sept 29) to participate in a ride to the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown TX.

It was an honor and quite a thrill to ride in the group with all the police escort and the helicopter circling around. We all arrived safe and enjoyed time together along with BBQ provided by the sponsors.

Due to the rain, we had the whole area to ourselves.

This is the way things happen, sponsors like Twisted Cyclyes and regular folk like myself do a part to help a wounded soldier be able to get out and function again with the rest of the world.

They fought for this country and freedom overseas, everyone of them deserves to come back and enjoy the same things we do. You don’t have to give alot, we just need everyone that can to give.

Simper Fidelis MC had the best turnout (go figure) and is pictured here with folks from the WWP. And finally, I was in the right place at the right time wearing the right shirt to get in a picture with some cool folk.

Our hosts and members of the Wounded Warrior Project.

Here is a link to the Wounded Warrior Project page on Facebook.

Saturday, September 15, 2012  print off flyer <-

Facebook event page 

• 9:00am

• 4th Annual Ride For the GI – Presented by Outcasts MC SEPT 15TH – TIME OUT TAVERN 9AM – 6PM Escorted Fun Run, Live Music, BBQ Plates … Gumbo Cook Off – Please get with Time Out for Rules & Entry Info Rum Punch Contest – - Please get with Time Out for Rules & Entry Info Lottery Hat, Live & Silent Auction, 50/50 Raffle, Bikini Bike Wash & Biker Games Raffle Tickets for the following: ***Custom BBQ Pit – $10 Per Ticket ***Liquor Wagon $600 Value $5.00 Per Ticket or (6) for $20 ***4 Day Cruise to Cozumel Leaving Galveston – Donated by Fox Travel – $10 Per Ticket **YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PRESENT TO WIN** All Proceeds Benefit US Wounded Soldiers Foundation Donations are tax deductible ALL BIKES, BIKE CLUBS & FAMILIES ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!!!!!!!!! For More Info: Call Cass 281-701-4738 or Email RidefortheGI@outcastsmc.org

It was dark and rainy….. I left late afternoon on Monday in my rain gear for what would be the wettest rides I have done in a long time. Some light showers getting through Baytown and I10 East toward the Texas border to heavy rain through much of Louisiana and Mississippi. The lightning show riding over the Atchafalaya Basin was both awesome and terrifying. Nowhere to run for cover up there. Some rain heading into Mobile and I finally got out of the rain when I got into Florida. As I made my way toward Jacksonville I was able to shed more gear and finally go with no jacket just outside of Jacksonville. I made it to the hotel in Palms Coast after 19 hours of riding. Not too bad considering the conditions. After unpacking my damp gear to dry out, I jumped back on the bike for a ride through Tomoka Park. If you ever go to Bike Week, you don’t want to miss this area. Tomoka State Park is one of the most scenic areas to be found. I enjoy the river and riding along the Atlantic Coast, but riding under the canopy of trees in Tomoka is one of the most relaxing times I can remember. It started getting chilly as the sun went down and I had about 27 hours of saddle time so I headed back to the hotel to eat and get rested up for the visit to the rally sites. Link to pictures (need to be logged into Facebook – pictures are open to public)

Got up early the next morning to hit the Daytona Speedway Rally site and do some shopping. I got a good deal with Cycle Sounds and left the Midway listening to tunes off my iPhone. Now that I have it, I wish I had gotten it sooner, music really helps on long rides. From the Midway you go up Intl Speedway Blvd and hit Beach St, another Rally site with Vendors and a vintage bike contest. All bikes (including a 1930 HD) had to be in working order to enter. Really enjoyed the atmosphere and energy of the area, bikers are a blast!! From here I took the long way around (coastal route) to visit the Bruce Rossmeyers HD shop on I95. They had all the fun stuff, cage of death, steel ball, etc…. plus lots of vendors. I bought a few Tees and headed back to the hotel. Of course, on the way back, I saw the exit for Tomoka Park and detoured. So again, I did not get back to my room until later that evening.

The run home was really nice. I left the hotel about 10 AM and made it back to La Porte about 3:30 AM the following day. I have a lot of friends that kinda shake their head at this but I get a lot of that being an IBA rider. Besides the feeling of accomplishment for pulling off a long ride, I saved hundreds of dollars on food and hotel bills I would otherwise incurred. Kinda lets me justify my new sound system installed at the rally

For info on safe long distance riding go to the Iron Butt page.

My rally tips:

1 Most rallies are in scenic areas, plan extra time to ride and enjoy the unique aspects of the area.

2 Get a waterproof and shock proof camera for pictures. Most of what we do is outside, just makes sense.

3 If you are hurting for space, you may consider shipping tee-shirts and other items back home. HD in Sturgis has a Fed-Ex setup during the rally. Many Walmarts do this as well if you cannot find a post office.

4 Pick up a couple of bottles of water before getting to the rally site, I had to pay 4 dollars for a small bottle of water at Galveston and Daytona. Really annoying

5 Vendors will usually give great deals and cheap installations in order to promote thier products. Be on the lookout for things you may want for your bike.

6 Be ready to walk alot. I walk around the site first and I buy stuff as I am ready to leave to keep from having to lug it around.

7 Most rallies have activities and events listed on a web site and send e-mail updates as the rally time nears. Just a little planning goes a long way.

Got my new brake pedal and gasket for my fuel gauge. Heading off to Daytona on Monday. Enjoy folks, will update with pictures soon as I get there.

Folks, we are one week away!!!! Check oil and tires. All other majors should have been done by now. If not, get it in gear!! Ride safe and I hope to see you at Bike Week!!

The date is set and running 1 week later for Daytona Bike Week 2012. The date is 9 – 18 March 2012 as given by http://www.daytonabikeweek.com/ 

I plan to be out there this year and will most likely skip either Laconia or Sturgis (both if I make a Grand Canyon run). Look forward to riding aound Tomoka again

Less than 3 months now, better start thinking about booking a room. Ride safe !!

Texas has talent, but we did not demonstrate it with the 2011 LSR patch. I bought one, but it is not going on my leather jacket, not giving up the real estate for something that plain. I had a good time at the rally, it just could have been better. Here is the blow by blow. Yes, I am unloading, but it is valid critique, lets make this better so it can become a first class rally.

1) My third year to visit (Things are the same / less than previous years)

Harley Davidson was not there AGAIN (2 years missed) take a hint. Other friends mentioned big name vendors that did not show.

2) Parking has quadrupled in price to 10$ per day instead of getting a single sticker good for 4 days.

They also need to talk to the folks running Laconia, it runs a lot smoother up there, we could learn from their 88 years of experience. Parking and traffic control needs overhaul before someone gets hurt.

3) Galveston eatery’s are expensive but compete well with the cost of eating the greasy food offered by the rally food vendors. Few places to sit down and eat, you think after 10 years that they would clue in on this. No one wants to blow 20 bucks on food and drink and juggle it – setup a bigger food court please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Side note – one vendor I saw did have a place to sit down but you had to buy from them to use it.

4) Charity raffles. Fine, but the guy running the booth should have to follow some guidelines. Far to pushy for my encounter.

5) MSPevents – those guys bring some life to rallies, some LSR coordinator should work with them to get a nice area (background setup) for shooting pictures.

Lets look at pictures from MSP (BTW see mspevents.com for you picture)

LSR vs Laconia

Paid 24$ for the jpeg file at Laconia, LSR did not give them much to ork with regarding backgrounds.

Speaking of pictures, here is the rally patch

On a positive note, the Bandito’s and their supporters will have a patch to match their vests as this one bleeds Bandito red and yellow all over.  Lone Star – where is the star? It’s a motorcycle rally? right ???? Lamest patch ever !!! I spent 6 $ so I could mock it. Come On Man ! Work a motorcycle in there or make the patch shaped like a  star. Pins and the Tee shirts looked good. I bought a tee.