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Saturday Fun: Cartoons, Kids and Neil Young

by Erick Mott 

Saturdays are fun and memorable when you apply this formula: up early with sun shining; Curious George and Caillou cartoons for the kids; breakfast at home for all; costumes for the kids; a pre-Halloween party at the Club with other kids and parents; a brush with a rock legend and storyteller for mom and dad; a digital camera or iPhone to capture the scenes; a blog, Twitter and a little time to share with others. 

To be clear, I'm not saying you need all of these things to have fun. Truth is, any one of these moments are things to be thankful for and enjoy. We had a blast yesterday and got to experience an unexpected moment of driving with a camera crew on El Camino while they filmed Neil Young in one of his Chrome Dreams II tour cars. Neil played a benefit concert this weekend in Mountain View; check out details for other cities.

Labor Day Week 2008 Motorcycle Adventure

by Erick Mott

It's that time of year again. Summer coming to an end soon and one of the busiest American holiday seasons of the year. Except, I'm not going to sit at home in front of the tube like many past Labor Day weekends. Quite the opposite experience with an anticipated 2,000+ mile ride (and motorcycle seat) as my primary vantage point.

First up, starting Friday August 29th is the annual Range of Light Gypsy Tour with friends, family members and a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts that thrive on street riding and camping (see photo from last year) off the beaten path. The tour is about 1,200 miles and usually heads up into Northern California and Southern Oregon, with three nights of camping and four days of riding. The fun part is you don't know where you're headed the next day until your route sheet is provided the evening before. Event coordinators make it a nice experience too with good camping / facilities including meals, showers, electricity and usually more than 200 riders -- enough for great conversations, storytelling and a few parties along the way. Riders range in all ages, skill levels and motorcycle types; it's a NorCal BMW Club ride but guest like me with a Triumph 955 Sprint are always welcome.

Then on to the second leg of the ride. My father-n-law (Mark Norris), brother-n-law (Brent Synder) and some OMC friends will split off from the Range of Light Gypsy Tour (probably Sunday, 8/31) to ride to UT for the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials at Bonneville Salt Flats. Long ride, yes, and well worth it for the adventure and to support my sister-n-law (Tracy Snyder), a very good street rider who is attempting to break a national land speed record [update, she did!] on her high performance Suzuki. Godspeed and good luck Tracy! Growing up around dirt bikes, I remember hearing about Bonneville and being completely amazed at how fast cars and motorcycles of all sorts were running at top speeds on the salt flats. The recent film, "The World's Fastest Indian" (Burt Monro story) staring Anthony Hopkins, helped to spread the word and understanding about the history, thrills and spills at Bonneville.

This will probably be the most incredible motorcycle week of my life, so far, with all things considered -- family, friends and plenty of adventure along the way. I'm bringing my new iPhone and plan to make posts on Twitter and this blog; connection and battery permitting. I won't be riding on the official Bonneville track that Tracy will compete on (I'll be there as a gate volunteer, pit crew member and spectator) but do hope to roll on the salt flats for a photo or two.

Yes, safety first and foremost and a nice break from the Silicon Valley race. It's amazing what two wheels, two side bags, a few close friends and family members, the outdoors, bad cell reception and time on the back roads can do for the soul.

Happy New Year

From our family to yours, we hope you have a healthy and happy 2008!

Happy 1st

by Erick Mott

I couldn't resist making a brief post today about our son's first birthday. It's all good, every moment. Happy birthday Mr. J.

Your comments, ideas and links?

Making Motorcycling Memories

by Erick Mott

"Sundays are fun days" — that's what my wife says to our young kids. And if you're lucky, Sundays start early with Saturdays and so on. I think her parents used to say the same thing too.

We both grew up in motorcycle families (hers more active than mine) in different parts of the world, and motorcycles helped to bring us together in 1999. My early experiences started when I was 12 with a Yamaha 60 that was purchased for $250 with paper route earnings. Things progressed from there with more dirt bikes over the years, amateur racing, and eventually getting comfortable on the street. Northern California is an amazing place to tour, and I can't wait until Labor Day weekend to participate once again in the annual Range of Light Gypsy Tour.

On August 18th, the Oakland Motorcycle Club (OMC) celebrated its 100 year anniversary. A century — that's quite an accomplishment for any organization to thrive. I recently joined (after more than 5 years as a guest) because of the history, exceptional rides, nice people, camping, and family that have been members for a long time; generations of riders from my wife's side. The OMC and motorcycles have been good to me, and our kids will learn early that riding safe with others is the only way to go. Here's an excerpt from an article in the Oakland Tribune, that says it all:

"It's really a social club," said member Mark Norris, a member from 1963, hugging old friends as they arrived at the party. "My father-in-law's father-in-law belonged to the club. There are a lot of father-son members. See this little girl?" he asked, pointing to a photo of a 2-year-old girl on a toy motorcycle. "She's the next generation of the club. Her aunt and uncle are members, her father, her grandfather — that's me — and her great-grandfather and great-great grandfather were members, too."   

Done right, motorcycling can make the world a better place! Maybe we'll see you on the road or trails.

Your comments, ideas and links?

Father's Day 2007

by Erick Mott

This year's Father's Day was extra special. Most recently, with the births of two children (daughter, 2 years and son, 9 months), Father's Day takes on a whole new meaning! We all went to Grandpa's house and took a dip -- a first for our son. These past few weeks have been challenging to say the least, but last Sunday helped me to clearly see that fatherhood is one of my most important roles in life, and a lot of fun too.

Your comments, ideas and links?