Well,
it has been since last October since I have sent out a newsletter
update. With
Arizona Bike Week starting this Wednesday, I thought it would be a good
time to catch up. First of all, for those who live in the Phoenix area,
can you believe the weather that we have been having? We have lived
here 42 years and I can't remember a more cold, rainy and windy winter
than we have had this year. Certainly not real conducive to riding
motorcycles for the last 3-4 months. Hopefully we will get a break from
that in the near future and get back to some of our Chamber of Commerce
Spring weather.
I have had a lot of people inquire
about how we are doing and what might be coming up. First
of all, Mrs. C. and I are doing well. She is now using her expertise as
an Architect in facilities management and I am running Hat Saver
which will soon be going full speed again as the weather gets hot and
sweat starts ruining hats. We have not been doing much riding lately at
all. After 50 years
of riding and 23 of those years riding for Cyclerides.com to
share stories with you about all of the beautiful sites to see around
this country, I just think I've done all I can do in this paradigm and
it is time to tackle some other interests.
Golf has seemed to fill that
niche and we have are having a good time with the change in activity. I
have been playing for 45 years and Mrs. C. started with lessons about
18 months ago and is really enjoying it. So that has taken up a lot of
our free time both during the week and weekends. It is actually kind of
ironic how this has all come together. I used to make fun of all the
old guys in Westbrook Village riding their golf carts around the
streets with golf clubs on the back. Now I am one! I have also had a lot of questions about
bike nights coming back. As
you know, the last bike night we had at Norterra got abruptly canceled
by the management without any discussion. As you might imagine, there
was no hope of going back there. I reached out to Westgate a few times
to set up a meeting to see if they might be interested in rekindling it
there and never got a response.
So I had to take that as a no. . . As Luke Combs said in his recent song,
"maybe I'm in the middle of growin' up and gettin' old. As we all know,
the hour glass we have doesn't last forever and the less you have, the
faster it goes. I haven't lost a step, I just look before I take them."
It has
been a great run and I have enjoyed every minute of it, butI truly believe after all these
years it is time
to move on to other interests and live out my hour glass to the
fullest. Not that I am any less energetic or
enthusiastic, it just might be time to tackle some other activities for
a while. I truly enjoy the motorcycle events, but it seems like this
last bike night cancellation might have been a sign for me to move on.
But you
never know what might be next! I'm sure there will be something.
. .
I want to thank each and every one of
you that have been around for the last 23 years of Cyclerides.com. The
love that you have shared with us has been remarkable and life
changing. I hope we were able to do some good for the motorcycle
community and enrich your life in a positive way along the way. I will
miss the direct motorcycle connection as it has been my life for a long
time. But I wouldn't trade the experiences that we have had for
anything. The site www.cyclerides.com
will still be active for you to search for past information. We have
truly been blessed to be able to do this for so long. And we owe it all
to you that have followed us along the way. God Bless you for that.
With that in mind, Mrs. C. and I are
putting our motorcycles up for sale.
I'm sure most of you have seen these bikes before. Hers is a red 2012
HD Street Glide with custom paint, bags, etc. with a 103 engine and
33,000 miles. Click here
for photos.
Mine is a 2010 HD Road Glide that is full custom from the ground up
known as the Mako Glide. Every part is a one off creation and was
themed after a 1965 Mako Shark Corvette. It won 1st Place at the
Easyriders Show in Anaheim right after it was finished and has many
other trophies to go with it. Click Here for
photos. If you or anyone you know might be interested, feel free to
reply to this email me at info@cyclerides.com.
Arizona Bike Week begins this week and
there are many events happening all over the Valley. So there should be
no shortage of something to do. ABW has concerts from
Wednesday-Saturday including Texas Hippie Coalition, Billy Idol,
Megadeth and Staind along with vendors and activities daily. Most all
of the dealerships as well as Cave Creek have events going on as well.
So with the great weather predicted, it should be the perfect week for
getting out on the bikes!
Here is one thing that you might be
interested in if you are going to start your Arizona Bike Week
riding on Wednesday. Paul Yaffe has bought out all the remaining
tickets for the Wednesday Texas Hippie Coalition concert and is going
to give them away for FREE! He would like you to be his guest for the
PYO BASH this day and it will get you in to the vendor area and to the
concert all for FREE! All you have to do is go to this link and sign up
for the free tickets! Thanks PYO! https://azbikeweek.com/PYOBASH.htm
This is a busy time of year on the roads in the Valley. Please ride
safe!
Blessings and Safe Riding to All,
Barry Caraway
"The Road is Yours - Take The Ride"
www.cyclerides.com
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