Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
9/13/06 

Greetings Riders,
 
Well, here we are in the middle of September. It is that time of year that the water cooler talk has changed from generally how hot it is, to "I'm sick of this weather, I am ready for Summer to be over!" That is because it has been humid lately making things seem overly hot, uncomfortable and generally creating a heavy disdain for the weather conditions. As for me, I don't mind the hot temperatures. But high humidity is why I moved from Kansas. Give me 105 and 5% humidity over 95 and 50% humidity any day. But the good news is that our Chamber of Commerce weather is right around the corner and it will soon be perfect riding weather both day and night. Check out the Rides and Events Calendar on www.cyclerides.com to see all of the new Bike Nights that you can partake in while enjoying a great evening ride.
 
A lot of you noticed my reference to a GPS in the reports from our Banff to Sturgis ride and inquired about it. Well, as most of you know by now I am kind of a "gadget" guy and love electronics of all kinds. I have so many chargers that I take on these trips that I had to bring my own 3-ways just to have enough plug-ins to get everything charged back up. This year I added a new item to my bag of goodies that quickly became the most useful travel tool that I have ever had. It is the Garmin Quest GPS.
 
You non tech types are probably saying right now, why do I need one of those? I can just go get a $5 map and be on my way. That is true. We have all done that for years and it worked. We also used to heat up our soup in a pan on the kitchen stove too. But we don't do that anymore either. The microwave makes it a lot easier and faster. Same with the GPS. Just tell it where you want to go, and it will give you the route to follow, how many miles you will have to ride, how long it will take you and it will even tell you when to make the turns. No more pulling out the map with a magnifying glass trying to see the micro sized numbers next to the roads and then adding them up in your head to see how far it is from here to Bryce Canyon. The Quest will do it all for you. In fact I just did that. From I-17 and Loop 101 it is 423 miles Bryce Canyon. Click Here to see the screen shots.
 
Not only will it tell you how to get there, it will monitor your travel to see if you are staying on course. If you happen to take a wrong turn, it will tell you that you are "Off Route" and ask you if you want to Recalculate. This feature saved me untold miles in Canada this past trip. I was traveling on Hwy. 2 in Alberta. But just outside of Fort Macleod the road makes a gentle sweeping curve to turn into Hwy. 3. To stay on Hwy. 2 you actually have to make a turn to the right to continue on South.
 
As you can see by the map, if you are not looking for that turn, you could easily follow the sweeping curve of the road and miss it. I did! About a quarter mile down Hwy. 3 I saw that my Quest was telling me that I was "Off Route" asking me if I wanted to recalculate. I couldn't understand why it would be asking me that, I was positive I was on the correct road. I pulled over and looked at the GPS to find that I had to make a turn to stay on the same road. It recalculated and got me back on the right road. This saved me a lot of miles as I was so sure I was on the right road, I even doubted the GPS as it was telling me that I was wrong.
 
Not only will this little device, measuring just about the same size as a cell phone, keep you on the right road, it will also help you find the nearest gas stations, restaurants and motels complete with address and phone number. When you find the one that you want, just click the route to button and it will take you right there. I used this feature in California earlier this Summer and it was a huge help as we were there over 4th of July weekend and all the Hotels were filled. I did a search in the area and finally found one about 12 miles inland. I clicked the "route to" button and told me which direction to go, what turns to make and took me right to it.
 
For those of you that have bikes and are sensitive to gas needs, you will always know exactly how far you are from your destination by just moving the cursor to your end location. Another really cool feature is the Trip Computer. Being a numbers guy, I tend to study this page at the end of every day just to see some statistics about the day. This page tells you everything you would want to know about your trip including total miles traveled, amount of time moving and moving average, amount of time stopped and your overall average as well as total amount of time traveled and top speed. This page will also give you your current speed in case your speedometer doesn't work or is not calibrated correctly.
 
As for installation on the bike, I did something a little different than most. I'm not a big fan of attaching things to handlebars, fairings, etc., so I just simply put some Velcro on the back of the Garmin, some Velcro on the handlebar mount and stuck it right below the speedometer. It stays very secure and at the end of the day or when I am going to be off of the bike for a while, I just take it off and stick it in my pocket. It is a really slick way to mount it. This way you can easily take it off and use it in your car with the cigarette lighter adapter and speaker that comes with it. Then it will actually talk to you and verbally tell you what turns to make. Makes negotiating the multiple freeway system in California a breeze.
 
As you can tell by this write-up, I am a huge fan of this little guy and it has become a permanent fixture on my bike for long rides, day rides or just finding a location here in town that I have never been to. It is literally as easy as moving the cursor on the screen to where you want to go, click OK and then click route to. The Quest will do the rest. The reason I chose the Garmin Quest is that it is small to mount on the bike and to put in my pocket to transport, has a 256 bright color screen and has a 20 hour battery life that will get me completely through the day without having to hook up a dedicated power source to it. I love this thing, just ask the people that I have traveled with, I am constantly giving them stats of where we are and how much farther to go.  
 
If you would like to get one for yourself or a gift for someone, I found a great GPS place on the internet to order mine. The cost is $369.95 for a factory new unit that includes a DVD with map software that has the entire United States and Canada, USB PC interface cable, A/C power adapter, external speaker with 12 volt cig. lighter plug and a suction cup mount for you windshield. You can easily do routes and waypoints on your computer and download them to your Quest. If you would prefer the Quest 2 that comes with ALL of the maps pre-loaded, the cost is $549.95. If you order by 5:00 Central time it will ship the same day. If you want it here the next day you can choose to have it overnighted for around $20. This place is located in Nebraska. Beware of the ones in New York, I have not had good luck getting product on time or in good condition from there. These guys were right on time and delivered what was promised at a great price.

Click Here for their web site for more information and to order. HAVE FUN!!
 
You will never want to travel without your Garmin Quest again. I even take mine on commercial flights to see where we are at, how high and fast we are going.
 

Highlights This Week 

Saturday, September 16th
 
Superstition Harley-Davidson’s Wide-Open House. Music, Demo Rides, BBQ.
Chester's Harley-Davidson Giant 10 Hour Indoor Tent Sale. Huge Discounts.
National POW-MIA Recognition Day Event. 

Saturday, September 16th
Superstition Harley-Davidson’s Wide-Open House. Stop by from 10am-3pm to experience the New Twin Cam 96 Engine, plus other exciting, never before seen, enhancements. And, enjoy Music, Demo Rides, and FREE BBQ!  Don’t worry about the heat!  We’ll help cool you down with ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s…not to mention, great savings on all our gear. To top it off, we’ve jammed pack a safe full of prizes!  Just come on down to Superstition Harley-Davidson to get your code that could crack the safe wide-open! Superstition HD is located at 2910 W. Apache Trail in Apache Junction, AZ. 480-346-0600. Click Here for Map.
 
Saturday, September 16th
Chester's Harley-Davidson Giant 10 Hour Indoor Tent Sale. Saturday, September 16th ride by Chester's HD from 8am - 6pm to find Big Savings on selected MotorClothes, Merchandise and Accessories. You will find HUGE, never before seen discounts on parts. So come on down to Chester's to find that bargain you have been looking for and Enjoy a Coffee Bar from 8am - 10am. Tom's BBQ from 11am - 2pm. Chester's is located at 922 S. Country Club Dr. in Mesa. 480-894-0404. www.chestershd.com .
 
Saturday, September 16th
National POW-MIA Recognition Day Event. Noon - 6:00pm at the American Legion Post 1 located at 364 N. 7th Ave. (7th Ave. and Van Buren). Music, 50/50 Raffle, Door Prizes and Raffles, Missing Man Table and Ceremony. $5.00 Per Person. First 50 people receive a special event pin. A portion of the proceeds go to The National League of Pow-Mia Families. Info: Robert at 480-430-5852. 

Next Week 

Saturday, September 23rd
Chester's Harley-Davidson Demo Day. Everyone loves a motorcycle Demo Day! Have you been wondering what it is like to ride one of the new 2007 HD motorcycles with the new 96" motors? This is your chance to experience it for yourself. Demo rides will be from 9am - 5pm. If you are an early bird, there will be a Coffee Bar from 8am - 10am. Or come around lunch time from 11am - 2pm for Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. Don't miss this opportunity to get into the saddle of the highly acclaimed 2007 Harley-Davidson with the new 96" motors and 6 speed transmissions. You will be amazed! Chester's HD is located at 922 S. Country Club in Mesa, AZ. 480-894-0404. Click Here for Map.
 
Saturday, September 23rd
Thunder Valley Rally Poker Run. This is the 6th year for this popular event with $15 from every entry to benefit Toys For Tots of Northern Arizona.

Extras 

Almost as much as riding motorcycles I am a huge fan of flying and plan to soon get my private pilot's license. Here is a great pictorial of a private pilot that flew his small single engine plane from California to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He took aerial pictures along the way of famous landmarks. This is a very cool page of photos and commentary. Click Here to view. Enjoy!
 
Here is a funny video that could classify as an embarrassing moment. Click Here.
 
Here is one sheep that you wouldn't want to butt heads with. Click Here.