Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
12/15/04 

Greetings Riders,
 
If you ever wondered why you live in Arizona, last weekend should have answered that question. It was an absolutely beautiful "Chamber of Commerce" weekend in the 70's that was perfect for riding and it looks like this weekend is going to be more of the same. If you are looking for a good deal on some Christmas shopping for the motorcycle junkie in your family or just need an excuse to get the bike out and ride someplace, this is your weekend. You can take advantage of some free food and fun with other riders as 5 of the 6 Harley dealers in town are having sales and Christmas Celebrations this weekend. Check the Rides and Events Calendar for times and locations and make the rounds.
 
As Americans, it seems as though part of our culture is to never be satisfied with status quo. We are always looking for something new to new entertain us as we go through different trends. Just in my lifetime there have been many different changes in clothing, music, language and entertainment. 40 years ago changes were motivated by print media, radio and 3 channels of network television. In the new millennium it seems as though cable television is the catalyst for defining what we do. In the late 80's and 90's MTV and VH1 were the channels for teens and young adults. Now for those same baby boomers and motorsports fans, it is Discovery Channel that keeps us entertained. Four years ago it started with Jesse James in "Motorcycle Mania" building a motorcycle and riding it to Sturgis. Then it was on to a Father and Son bike building duo with the Teutul's and now there is everything from American Chopper, American Hot Rod, Monster Garage, Monster House, Extreme Engineering, MythBusters and Biker Buildoff's every week to keep our creative juices flowing and inspiring us to get out and try something new.
 
The latest craze sweeping the nation to watch on TV, to entertain at home or go to your local restaurant or pub to compete against other players is Texas Hold'em Poker. I never thought I would be watching this on television, but I also never thought I would be watching guys build motorcycles either. The Travel Channel has taken the mantel on this sport and has made it huge by televising the World Poker Tour. Celebrities from movie stars to race car drivers are now getting involved in the sport as well. Recently the boys from American Chopper took on the crew from Trading Spaces. The promo even comes up with clever lines like: "Can the Trading Spaces crew design a win or are they just building a house of cards? Will Team American Chopper rake in the chips or run out of gas? Find out who's got the right tools to win on the World Poker Tour." And yes, I watched that episode too, I won't tell you who won just in case you want to watch the re-run yourself. Tonight is Ladies Night on the Travel Channel as the best Women players square off.
 
After taking all of this in for the last few months on television, I thought I was ready to take what I had learned from the World Poker Tour and apply it in person. Not only can you play Texas Hold'em online or with your friends at home, you can now go to several places around town that are holding tournaments every week. Last Thursday night I decided to go to Casey Jones for the first National Pub Poker League tournament.  I was one of 17 players to sign up that night playing at 3 different tables. The good thing about playing Texas Hold'em especially in these settings is that anybody can win. You have to be somewhat smart about your bets, but it is about 90% luck and 10% skill. As the old saying goes, anyone with a "chip and a chair" can be a winner.
 
It is a free buy in, so there is no money exchanged, but you are given chip values of $4000 to start. To begin with I had no expectations about winning the game. I was just wanting to get my feet wet and experience the game that I had been watching on TV. So throwing around $1000 of play money wasn't that big of a deal. The first few rounds were kind of slow as everyone at the table was trying to settle into to their best poker face. Once things started to heat up and players started dropping out, we had consolidated to seven players at one table and I was still alive! Now my attitude had changed from doing this for fun to actually thinking that I could win this thing. This was the very same point that this play money started to seem real and those $1000 chips were getting a little heavier to throw out as the adrenaline started to rise. 
 
We were soon down to only 3 players and I was still at the table. I had a good stack of chips by this time, but a guy across the table had more. But after a few more hands the third guy went "all in" with $12,000 and I called, winning the hand and sending him packing leaving only 2 of us at the table to play to the end for all of the chips. At this point I had now moved ahead of my last opponent in chip value. We played a few more hands as I slowly pulled some more chips away. By this point, believe it or not, the adrenaline was running so high, that I actually found myself shaking as I was about to make my bets. It wasn't the fact that there was a $5 T-Shirt and a $25 gift certificate to Casey Jones on the line, I had now gone from a casual observer to one hand away from winning this thing and it was getting pretty exciting. 
 
The last hand was dealt and I had gotten a 9 and a 7 in the hole. Not a hand that you would normally feel that good about. But I was the "big blind" on that hand and my opponent didn't raise, so I got to see the flop for free. The first card up was a 9, the next card up was a 7 and the next was a Queen. As you can see, I now had 2 pair in a 2 man game with 2 cards to go. Now that is a hand that you can work with. But unbeknownst to me, my opponent had paired up with the Queen and was equally proud of his hand and came out betting $5000 which I saw and raised $5000. We went the next 2 cards with the same bets until he was "all in" after the River card with no other pairs showing on the board.
 
When the cards were turned over the 9's and 7's had stood up and the "Kid from Kansas" had taken all of the chips and won the tournament. So what had started out as an exploratory outing just to see what all of the fuss was about with this Texas Hold'em Poker, turned out to be an exciting evening. I don't profess to be a great poker player by any means, all I did was prove the old saying that anyone with a "chip and a chair" can win one of these games. But it is a good time for both Men and Women and a way to have fun with some friends in the home or at the pubs. Casey Jones has tournaments every Thursday night on Bike Night at 7:00pm and 10:00pm and every Sunday at 5:00pm. If you want to play at home, Costco is in on the craze of selling chip sets.
 
The Travel Channel is a great resource for Texas Hold'em. You can play the game on the site, practice, learn the rules, see video clips, play along with some of the great players, or play along from the episode with the Teutul's on some hands and see a video clip of the final cards. Check it out.
 

December 18th and 19th - Happy Harley Days from Arrowhead and Chandler Harley-Davidson.

Sunday, December 19th - W. Steven Martin's Police Toy Run.

Next Week
 
Merry Christmas!! 

If any of you out there are looking for a Church to attend a Christmas Service this year, I would like to invite you to our Church on the West side of the Valley. It is Christ's Church of the Valley, known as CCV to most. It is a big new Church that holds about 3500 people each service so you won't feel out of place if you come and you will really enjoy it. CCV even has a motorcycle ministry. There will be 6 identical services this year. Two services on Thursday, December 23rd at 6:00pm and 8:00pm and Four services on Friday, December 24th at 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, and 9:00pm. CCV is located at 7007 W. Happy Valley Rd. in Peoria. 623-376-2444.
 

I have a few more videos for you that came across my email this week.
 
The first one is titled: Why Grandmas Shouldn't Skydive.
The second is titled: Don't bring a rifle to a tank battle.
The last one is a compelling video of military taking out some insurgents. Click Here.
 
Motorcycle insurance is becoming a real issue with riders today especially if you are riding a custom or a special construction type of motorcycle. It is sometimes hard to get any insurance, much less something that you can afford. Janson & Stuart Insurance Agency is an independent agency that can take care of all of your insurance needs, from Harley's to Metrics and Customs. By offering multiple insurance companies such as Progressive, Safeco, AIG, and Foremost, Janson & Stuart can design a program that meets your needs, every time. And with multiple companies and programs, comes multiple ways to save you time and money. One call, 4 quotes, and all your questions answered.  Let Janson & Stuart help you spend more time on the road, and less time worrying about your motorcycle insurance.  The next time you have insurance needs, give Clay Janson and his staff a call at (602)955-7705 or email Clay at clayton@jansonaz.com. You can always find Janson & Stuart in the Business Search on www.cyclerides.com.
 
As for me this weekend, I am going to take advantage of some of the sales at the dealerships for some last minute shopping. Of course I will take the long way around to take advantage of this great weather.