Hey man, nice shot!

Stolen from Allen...

Shot of Tim Sutton shooting the pan.

Alright, that's done. On to the next!

Born Free is in the rearview, and now I have about 4 days to get ready for the next big thing - hitting the freakin' road! Considering the fact that I got absolutely zero preparation done while building the bikes for the show, I  once again have my work cut out for me. I must thrive on the rush of rushing... or something. Ha! Thanks so much for all the good words on the builds. Means a ton when people appreciate the work you put into something, no matter what that is. Even more when it comes from people that see way too many cycles in their daily life.

I'll be packed up on Friday and out the door with my brother-in-law first light on Saturday, so if you want to shoot the shit or grab a beer, you best get me before that! Look forward to seeing everyone out there in the great yonder...

See you Saturday!

I think I'm sick of motorcycles, but I'll go to the show still anyways...

And yes, these will be there too!

HAHA! Perfect Ad!

Yeah... So... Anyway...

Back at the ranch after running around with my head cut off all day yesterday hoping for something to go right. Well, actually, lunch and dinner went well, but most everything in-between was screwed royally. No chrome. No paint. No bikes put together. Nothing but good sushi and pizza later on. Not together. C'mon.

More of the same today. No chrome. No bikes put together. Taking wheels to get tires on 'em. Couple parts came in the mail that aren't good until I get chrome. I could keep on about the chrome guy, but whatever. Fuck 'em. Says tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. My version of "tomorrow" and his differ slightly.

The List...

...is not even worth posting. Just trust that it's longer than 1 item in length and has a lot of sweat and bloodstains on it already. It's in about the eightieth revision and will got through more I'm sure. Waiting is the name of the game, even on things I planned well for. Today brings a bevy of beautiful happenings though (or so I hope). If all goes well, there will be a lot more on these lifts by the end of the night. Time to move the cot into the shop...

Something about a one-legged man and a contest where ass kicking occurs...

Also known as being busy. Too busy. Well, maybe never "too" busy, but busy enough where you look up from the tunnel vision of the day only to find out that you missed being able to hit up a single restaurant in town (yes, they all close about the same time geriatrics hit the sack around here). That, and you forgot to pee. Yeah, about that busy.

Found out today, that chrome for the panhead won't be ready until Tuesday or early Wednesday. Sucky news. Found out today that paint for the pan won't be ready for the weekend. Sucky news. Got the Knuck broken down and cleaned up for powdercoating on Monday, which is better news, but still about 2 days behind schedule according to my watch.

What the hell am I saying? More like 2 months behind schedule. Oh well, that's what being busy gets you. Hopefully, I'll grow a Kuato that knows how to build bikes and has extremely long arms here pretty soon and I can be working on both builds at once. Cutting close for sure. At least with nothing to do over the weekend, I can get going on the fixes to the rig, hit the Hell on Wheels races, pack up the house, clean the garage, organize the parts racks, catch up on orders, restock the office, drain my holding tanks and remember to pee.

Can't do much here...

Might could do a little here...

...and will be spending some time trying to figure out how to grow one of these to help out...

Later. See ya out there if I ever finish!

Forced Conservationism...

Ok, maybe not "forced", but coming all the same and by my own doing. Seems that life in a trailer will do that to you. I've done my share of camping over the short span of my life, and am no stranger to spit baths and port-o-potties, but meshing your everyday life into those confines is a new one. Yeah, I planned it all out and bought the books and read the forums and blah, blah, blah - truth is in the lifestyle though. I'm beginning to believe that, just as all people should be forced to ride a motorcycle for a year prior to getting a car license, that they should also have to live in a trailer before being let out in the world on their own.

It's not just the slimming down of your belongings that I've mentioned before, but now it's more apparent than ever, that slimming down your consumption of resources is a very doable and non-invasive action as well.

It's only taken a short amount of time to realize that if I only run the water when i'm actually using it, I save my holding tanks at both ends. If I only use lights in the room I'm in and only when I can't have sun, I save my inverter and battery life. If I plan my daily trips in the truck efficiently and only go once to do everything, then I save the fuel in the tank. This list goes on and on, but you get the drift. On the road like this, you have to be aware of things that we take for granted in our daily lives in a brick-and-mortar dwelling. Ok, maybe gas is on your mind just like me lately due to the ever-increasing costs, but other than that, how many of you really do the other things?

Now don't go thinking I'm some greenpeace-loving, earth-hugging, hippy-dancing, fruit loop here. I still believe that the best way to induce alternative fuels is to use up what we have as quickly as possible so that the smart types get off their asses quicker. I'm doing my part there for sure. Drill, drill, drill. That being said, I do believe that if we only use what we need, we will have what we need when we need to use it. Make sense? I'm a fan of not having to scrape and scrounge to get the necessities in life.

It's been an eye-opener for me to see how much I've wasted in my life. I stood there washing my dishes this morning and only turned the faucet on when I was filling the sink, then again when I was actually rinsing the dishes off. Plug the sink and use the first batch of water to wash and then only drain once. Much less than usual, where I run the damn faucet if I'm in front of the sink. Same goes for showering or whatever. Same outcome, but much less waste. You may think that water isn't something to be concerned about, and that's cool, but for me, it's all the same. We're seeing everything cost more and more, so I'm all about using less and less. The lighting thing is a different story. Last I checked, they rape you in the summer for electricity and in the winter for heating fuels. By cutting your usage to only the areas you are in, you can cut your costs down considerably.

I'm not preaching, just relating my experience over to you a little. I work hard for what I have and want to make sure that it always has the ability to get me what I need. What I really need is up to me, so it's an equation that you control. One of the few. Doesn't take a trailer to figure out that simple math...

...But it helps!

See ya out there.

Remember that seat I made?

It's done! I'm stoked and it's perfect. Always good to get a piece done to completion and even better to find a quality craftsman you can count on down the road.

I like this...

It is funny. Yeah, I've been lazy and stealing other people's crap lately to fill my own void. Get over it.