Blog 44: Culture: Not just for yogurt anymore. And, sadly, the Enertie (rhymes with Bertie) nickname has stuck in my head. Worst nickname ever. (though if I get a black Enertia Plus of my own I hope to call it T’Challa)
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So this weekend was a cultural weekend for me and the loaner Enertia Plus. We went on a multi-museum trip, caught a show at the Albuquerque Little Theater, toured Old Town and also found time for a breakfast ride through the North Valley.
Friday was a private showing of the Machine Wilderness show at the Albuquerque Museum. So expensive wine and beer and finger food for all.
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The Enertia felt right at home at the Electronic Arts show.
Solar Chair. Moved around the Museum on it’s own. Cute…but not sure I understand the usefulness of a solar chair unless I truly do shine light out my @ss like my Grandfather accused me of thinking so many years ago.
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This car was GREAT. It was made to travel around the broken and abandoned railroads of Mexico. Can travel by rail or road.
Oh, and Hi Mom.
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The front and back had the railroad track wheels.
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I loved the little details.
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I thought the flash was off when I took this…the Museum guard wasn’t happy. I thought I should use this so the stern look I got wasn’t for nothing . Go visit the site.
Really some cool stuff for engineers…for design people…for exploration people.
Reminded me of the Aliens in the funky French cartoon movie I saw as a kid…Fantastic Planet (The Planet Wild in French).
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And out in front of the Museum… It was getting dark but I wanted to get a few photos.
A Cattle drive would be so easy on a Brammo…No loud pipes to cause stampedes.
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Friday night, after the Art Museum, I traveled over to Explora and the Museum of Natural History for some quick photos. I had to hurry as it was quickly getting dark and the iPhone doesn’t love the dark.
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First stop: Explora.
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Explora is great…but the outdoor photo ops are kinda limited. So I hurried over to my next stop.
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Next stop. There are a couple of fun outdoor things here… 🙂
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I wanted to do an “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” photo…but I had to shine the headlight on the dino to get a nice shot.
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Outline only and very grainy in this light.
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The light was a bit better toward “Sera”, but not great…I knew I had to come back when the light was better.
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I did play around with a couple of shots to see if I could get a nice image…
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Fun, but not what I was looking for…so….
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I went back on Sunday…after breakfast (more on that later), before riding through Old Town (more on that later) and before the play (more on that later too). I didn’t go riding on Saturday…see last post for info on why.
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First, a shout out to the Artist…These dinosaurs are beautiful. And impressive. Amazing job Mr. Thomas.
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Spike…I call her Sera.
Sera/Spike is great…but let’s face it, we love the Carnivores….
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After that a nice little ride around Old Town…Video at the end of Blog.
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Then, for fun, a quick stop at the Hot Dog House…
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And then to the Albuquerque Little Theater for an afternoon showing of The Hobbitt.
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The Parking Security actually stopped me and told me to park right by the Entrance and not in the parking lot.
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My eldest, when she was 14 and 15, was in a couple of plays at the ALT. Met her future husband during the second play.
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So a fairly busy weekend…and I didn’t include the Breakfast ride. Will put a video or two at the end of the blog post.
I will say that where we met to ride from is right next to a Breaking Bad filming site. Where Badger is arrested in the second season by DJ Qualls in “Better Call Saul.”
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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Bonus Video clips:
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shows a bit of the balance of the Enertia Plus…rides almost like a mountain bike in terms of balance.
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Showing the Engine Braking. The faster the speed, the more noticable. At 25 mph, not much breaking, but at 45 mph you go down to 35 mph fairly quickly.
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Downtown. EV Charging stations see at about 20 seconds into video clip.
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Group start to ride for breakfast. Not many riders as it is hard to get scooter people up at 8 am on Sunday.
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Group riding by Old Town.
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Solo ride around Old Town Church.
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Going Solo to a Winery in the North Valley. I love that we have this “countryside” in the middle of Albuquerque.
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Going to the Museums after Breakfast.
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DINOS.
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Parking at Little Albuquerque Theater. Everybody must know that I park where I want as the parking “dude” stopped me and told me to park right at the entrance.
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And the last two are a bit longer videos of the “small” group ride going through the North Valley.
Blog 43: Review number 1 of 2 for the Enertia Plus.
Some Sunset photos. And a trip to Madrid….New Mexico.
IT”S BLOGNESDAY!!
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Starting with the easy part….PHOTOS. (reviews are hard) Friday night I was out getting some Vodka and hot dog buns at Costco because we needed big bottles of Vodka and an insane amount of hot dog buns. Costco is the place for that.
Saturday was our “End of Summer” party as we don’t want to have 3 birthday parties in one week (me, my wife and my sister in law’s birthdays are all within 6 days of each other). So as I’m driving to Costco I notice that the sunset is looking quite nice in my large Enertia Plus mirrors (will be discussed in Review part 1). And like I often…too often…do, I stopped to get some photos. And then I force you, the readers of this blog, to look at them.
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So first I drove to every inch of the Costco parking lot and couldn’t get the photo I wanted. So I left Costco and found a nice little construction site…but still no good….So off to a field across from the Nuclear Museum and BINGO. Photo one.
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And then I thought, “Hey I bet the Nuclear Museum** would be a nice backdrop” So…..
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But the lighting wasn’t quite right…and I was using just my iPhone…which does great in daylight, but not nearly as nice at night.
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But then I remembered a little trick. Focus in close and take a photo…and then focus out far and take a photo…and then “merge” them…So you have a nice bright foreground and a nice natural color background.
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And all these would have fit in nicely with my last blog of How I Learned to Stop Worrying…
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and then I had to get a little fancy and get rid of the wires overhead…
It was a nice little diversion…but there was Vodka to be bought…and Costco closes kinda early….
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That was Friday night. No driving on Saturday as it was our End of the Summer Party…and there is no driving for me that day for sure:
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A fun day….but not a day for driving.
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I made up for it on Sunday. A ride to Madrid, NM and back. 87 miles of mixed driving, but most of the ride was over 50 mph.
I love the ride out to Madrid. Up, down, flat, curvy, and mostly empty open roads. And then you end up in Madrid, a funky little ex-mining, ex-ghost town. It was the town used in Wild Hogs. An awful movie. And for the bar fight scene in Paul. A much better movie.
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But first I leave home to meet up with some friends for the ride.
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Leaving the house. The Enertia Plus and my Maxi-Scoot. My son-in-law now rides my Fuoco as I am always on the Brammo.
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First stop….Einsteins on Tramway and Central. All rides to the East Mountains start here.
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I had to ride up and talk to William…he had a new scooter I had not seen before.
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I like to ride in the back when filming
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That Ram Mount better hold…my iPhone is My Precious.
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Handlebar camera. I am now rocking two cameras…Now I just need to stop being lazy and edit the clips down.
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Heading into Madrid
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A couple of long videos will be added at the bottom of this post….
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And I always stop at the Mine Shaft Tavern for a Buffalo Burger.
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Fun and funky.
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At first I parked here…
but no outlets (Tavern is OLD…and haunted)
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so I moved and found me some free charging 🙂
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and it was a cool place to park…right by the entrance to the Old Mine Shaft.
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and leaving Madrid (pronounced MAD RID)
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more leaving….
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On the road back….this is the high point of the highway…7027 feet. I stopped to see what the elevation was.
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And yes my iPhone battery was almost empty…I was doing some video with my helmet cam and my iPhone on the ride. It was a “use up all your batteries” kind of day…but more on that in a minute.
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And that minute is now: I knew the Plus couldn’t make it to Madrid and back. It is 87 miles round trip from my house and I have done almost 87 miles on the Plus, but that was city/suburb riding. No way with a large portion of the trip being 50 mph or more.
So I get to Madrid with my odometer looking like so:
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60 percent used. Ok. I need to charge back up to about 60 percent before I leave.
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and an hour and a half spent in the Mine Shaft Tavern fit the bill perfectly.
Except…I rode home without the scooter people. I rode a bit faster heading home as I wasn’t staying back with the 150cc 2-stroke bikes that take the trip a bit slower than I do on the Enertia Plus. Thus I used more juice. Long story short, at 81 miles traveled and 6 miles or so from home I was at zero battery. Bike was still going, but I didn’t want to push it. I stopped at a Smith’s Grocery store, hooked up the charger and bought a soda. Drank the soda and unhooked and headed the rest of the way…And was at zero again at home. It still was going fine (I wonder how much extra distance you can go on zero?) but I did get a “hey dude, charge up you fool” warning.
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But all in all, a good day, a nice ride and “almost” enough juice. I should have stayed and walked around Madrid a bit with the scooter people, then it would have been fine. But I had Sunday Football at my brother’s house and didn’t want to be too late.
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Review: 1 of 2.
A short review.
This is basically a review of the differences from the Enertia to the Plus. It really won’t mean too much to anybody other than those who have owned an Enertia. For everybody else, the Plus will likely be the only commuter Brammo bike you demo or ride and won’t know what the Classic or Legacy Enertia was like….So.
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Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes…
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Range: The most obvious change. I was getting about 35 mile per charge in my city commute. I expected the Plus to go about 70 miles. I am getting 84-86 miles per charge on the same route. So the expected doubling of the range, plus about 15 miles more. Sweet.
Mirrors: Nice…I can now actually see something in the mirrors other than my shoulders 🙂 They are, in my opinion, perhaps just a bit too large. I see about 3 lanes on either side in them now. A happy medium would have worked. But better a bit too big than a bit too small.
Turning–Steering lock–The garage and parking lot maneuverability of the Enertia Legacy was fairly poor. She did great on the roads, but had a very limited turning radius at “walking” speed. Basically the times you move the bike within your garage or other tight areas. The new Plus has much improved turning. Very Very nice. In and out of my garage with no effort at all.
No more do I need to pretend to be Austin Powers as I make my 18 point turn in the garage (exaggerated for humor).
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O-Chain. Oh my oh my do I love the O-Chain. Nuff Said.
Top Speed. I could go an indicated 65 on the Legacy. It did 60 mph easily and as long as I wanted. I can go an indicated 70 on the Plus. It does 65 mph easily and as long as I want. I have not confirmed the speedo with my GPS at highway speeds. It seems fairly accurate. And I have ridden with the GPS in town and the speedo is about 1 mph high at 40 mph (GPS said 39 mph). Will try and GPS on the highway this weekend.
Engine Braking–Regen. The Enertia Legacy had no engine braking and no regen. The Plus has both. It is the one change I wasn’t completely happy with at first. I loved coasting. Especially at night. I felt, with no noise and no vibrations, that I was a piece of the bike moving through the wind. Like the nose cone of an airplane. It was fun. The Plus does not coast. The upside is that the engine braking gives some regen and it does make the Plus feel more like a “real” motorcycle. It is also killer fun in the twisties where engine braking is both joyous and helpful.
So I am still just a touch “torn” on the Engine Braking. LOVE it in the mountains. But I would like to turn it off with night riding. A clutch would solve that…but adds complexity. A “no-regen” switch would be nice. But that is for the future, if Brammo wants. The Engine Braking does make the bike feel more solid and it likely will be appreciated by motorcycle people. And really only myself and a few other Brammo riders will even know engine braking is a new thing. So…I missed the coasting a lot at first…now I hardly miss it at all….but still would love to have it for dark, still nights.
New Motor: The new motor does give a bit more top end…and a more powerful pull through the middle speeds. Again, feels more like a “big-boy” bike. It is a smidgen slower off the line, but quickly makes up for that with a faster middle. Again, for the future I would love a switch…City/Highway. City gives more speed off the line, but less top end. Highway takes off a bit of the low speed acceleration, but gives a higher top speed. Always looking for ways to help Brammo by giving them more work to do 🙂
Start up LCD screen: The start up LCD screen is, thankfully, the 3rd screen on the Legacy. The screen with all the information. The screen I always used.
Horn placement: Moved from body to under headlight. Not horribly attractive, nor does it jump out as a design error…so looks are neutral. But it is a far bit louder being outside the body of the bike. And louder, for a horn, is nice.
Noise: The new motor seems a bit louder than the old one. And the Legacy, with coasting, had periods of near silent riding. The new motor seems a bit louder with acceleration, but also louder overall because engine braking is making noise too. So, where before the bike was silent at stops and when coasting, the Plus is only silent at lights.
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Well, saying all that, what it comes down to is: “I like it. A lot”. I can go to the top of the mountain and back on one charge (70 miles and 5ooo feet gain in elevation). I can go to Madrid and back with a nice little lunch break. I can commute all week on one charge.
It is a big difference. But more on that with the “real” review. This was just a teaser review…a review for current owners only.
See ya next week.
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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Bonus video…longer, but has some pretty stuff.
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Long helmet cam ride towards and into Madrid
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leave no man, or woman, behind.
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The group gets separated a bit.
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longish handlebar camera (iPhone) video heading toward Madrid.
Blog 33: Some Camping and Riding and all around fun.
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Ok, so Laguna Seca Day 2 gets bumped back again. But I really wanted to put up these beautiful photos and some video I took this weekend.
CampScoot 2012. The 10th anniversary of CampScoot, a scooter and camping weekend held every August. Camping and riding and general craziness up in the Jemez Mountains near Ponderosa, New Mexico. The Jemez (Haymez for those looking to say it correctly) Pueblo area has some amazing Red Rock. And Friday’s ride to Tunnels is one of my favorite rides of all time. I could do that ride everyday.**
But we start with some nice Red Rocks photos.
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It was cloudy and spitting rain a bit…but dang that rock and dirt is such a pretty color.
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These photos are taken after our Tunnels ride and heading back to the Campsite.
Tunnels Video will be added at the end of the post.
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Probably my favorite.
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I reluctantly left the Red Rocks to get back to camp. I could have taken Red Rock photos all day.
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Campsite. No running water….but 5 kegs of beer.
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My set up…the Truck is very versitale…carries the bike on long trips and also is my tent “floor”.
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New Mexico has some lovely rock formations.
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Indian Sunflowers. Wildflowers that bloom every August.
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And the City Commuter goes Off-Road….just a bit.
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Sunset Friday…This photo makes it look like nobody was there, but everybody is over by the kegs.
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Tunnels ride. We usually have more riders, but it was a good group.
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My favorite scooter accessory.
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Why this ride is called Tunnels.
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A nice part of the Tunnels ride is the creek at the turn around spot. COLD, but refreshing. Josef saying ‘Hi.”
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Long video of leaving campsite to go on Tunnels Ride. I was staying back with Shannon…It was her first ride since being hit by a car and totaling her scooter. She was going a bit slow and nervous, but got much better after a bit.
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Continuation of the Tunnels Ride. Shorter video. This takes us to the turn off to the Tunnels. We almost lost one rider who missed the turn…but I waited just long enough for them to see me waving.
Some nice red rocks. The helmet cam doesn’t do it justice.
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The actual road to Tunnels. GREAT RIDE. 10 minutes long, but, if nothing else, please watch the last few minutes.
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Leaving Tunnels. I left first so I could stop at the GAS STATION on the way back. Wanted a soda. It seems to always rain on us at CampScoot. Crazy. We are drier than heck all summer and then CampScoot comes along and we get rained on every ride we do. It is almost a tradition now.
I forgot to clear my camera memory…so I run out of space half way through the ride back.
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
**I need to get the Brammo People on this ride. 17 Mile drive was nice…and great to do as they don’t let ICE motorcycles on it…so that was very cool…But I love this ride. It is much more awe-inspiring than the video shows.
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
Blog 20. A busy weekend coming up…followed by a CRAZY BUSY week next week.
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Friday is my official Non-Blog, Blog Day. So short and semi-sweet (and why is semi-sweet chocolate so sour? Or is it just me?)
Tonight…Not much riding. Will meet the wife and daughters for dinner and then hitting the 7:40 XD showing of The Dark Knight**. The Enertia does get a bit of attention at the Movie Parking lot. Last time I came out to a guy…wait let me rephrase that: Last time, as I was leaving the theater, a guy was taking photos of the bike and when I got on and turned the Enertia on, he said, “Hey, turn off the headlight, I’m taking a picture.” Rude, but I turned off the light so he could get his photo.
I’ll be there from 1:30 to about 5:30…showing off the Enertia and giving out some brochures…
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I would stay longer, but I “came into” a couple of Club House tickets to the Isotopes game Saturday night (thanks Haze) and my wife loves going to the games. And there are fireworks after the game, which is cool. Plus going to the Isotopes games is about the only time my wife will ride with me on the Enertia. Parking is soooooo much better on the bike than by car. But mostly I can’t miss a chance to have D ride with me.
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We don’t actually park “here”…we park CLOSER. 🙂
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So Saturday is booked solid.
Sunday is a mildly down day. If things are quiet I hope to do a bit of filming. Maybe in Tijeras, definitely redoing the Hotel Parq Central through Knob Hill video that I lost the other day. (see Blog 19).
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But the real news is NEXT WEEK…because…
I am going to SECA. I am going to SECA. I am going to SECA.
(sung in Conga Line cadence– like this:)
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I’ve been practicing loading and unloading the Enertia by myself.
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Super Stoked about that…though the 1000 mile drive in a CAGE is not my favorite thing. But when I get there it will be fun. A lot of work, but fun.
I do get the privileged of helping Brammo set up their area on Thursday morning and do odds and ends with them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then help take down the set up on Sunday night…Hey, wait a minute…that sounds vaguely like WORK.
And it will be…I will get dirty and it will be hot and nasty down in the pit area…and LOUD with all the gas bikes. But it will be fun and a great experience. And hopefully I don’t lose a finger or two. But if I do, I plan to wear them around my neck like The Onion Knight.
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If you get to Laguna Seca next weekend: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday-from 8am to 6pm-I will be at one of the two circled areas 🙂
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Well a lot more at “S” or the Pit/Paddock area. The Beer Garden will have to wait for the end of the day…and then only 1 as I am riding the Enertia from Salinas to Seca and back each day. And I imagine that the cops will be out in force with all the event goers and tourist. Seca draws 100,000 people over the 3 day event.
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I will keep the blog running during all of next week. Updating the travel and the TXXGP racing news. But till then…Have a great weekend everybody.
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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ps…next week is the StreetFest…but you don’t have to wait till then to buy a raffle ticket to win a Scooter or Fixie…Buy one NOW!…or buy many.
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**I really don’t want to write anything about, nor even thing about, what happened at the midnight showing of The Dark Night up in Colorado. Horrible. Horrible. My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones.
Blog 18: “Scooter Boys” clink clink clink “Scooter Girls” clink clink clink “Come out and Plaaayyyy”
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(ok, I’m just gonna come out and admit that is the most disturbing photoshop I’ve ever done)
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Saturday was the Show and Shine. Sunday was a Scooter Ride with the Pharaohs…or a few of them.
It was a ride from Joe’s Place near campus to some batting cages in the South Valley. And it was a great time. I haven’t really played any baseball since I was nine and in Little League, but I do remember how to swing a bat (I’ve watched The Warriors about a dozen times just to work on my swing) and I have fair eye/hand coordination. So I, of course, rocked the batting cage. And was the only one to try the Fastball cage. And I’m very HUMBLE too, just like Wilber. (hmmm, Wilber will be my next photoshop project.)
But I’m getting ahead of myself…We met at Joe’s Place:
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They look like they are getting ready to “slack”…
Hi Lisa…it kinda looks like your giving your bike a prostate exam.
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The only other fun thing at Joe’s, before heading to the batting cages, is that we met Nester. Well actually we met Nester’s scar (I want to write a story called Nester’s Scar). Now by funny coincidence in the last 2 weeks I have seen 2 people wearing Mummy Mayhem t-shirts that I don’t know. One in Durango and the other on Sunday at Joe’s Place. (**Mummy Mayhem is a Scooter ride in Phoenix.) Now it isn’t a crime to wear a Mummy Mayhem t-shirt and for me not to know you, but I had yelled out in Durango, “Hey, Mummy Mayhem!” to the one guy and got a blank stare in return. So I know he got the shirt from a friend or flea market or by rolling a drunk scooter guy, but that he hadn’t been on the ride and gotten it “legit”. And I suspected the same at Joe’s Place. So I yell out, “Hey, Mummy Mayhem!” Cuz I tend to repeat myself like that. So, after I tended to repeat myself like that, I followed up with, “So have you been on the ride?” And he admitted that he hadn’t and that he bought the shirt at a used clothing store. He quickly added,”I am a scooter rider, or at least I was until I got hit by a car and had my hip replaced.” And then, right in Joe’s Place, he showed us the scar. And it was impressive. Impressive enough that I pulled out the iPhone and asked, “Nice scar, mind if I take a picture?” And so, since I have an electric motorcycle that has given me god-like powers where nobody can say no to me,** he said, “Sure.” And so here it is…
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(and I can’t believe I just wrote all that just to show you Nestor’s Scar)
**see Blog 11 for more on my God-like power..but really, within 10 seconds of meeting Nestor I got him to drop his pants and take a photo…I am unstoppable!!
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The Batting Cages
I didnt bring my helmet cam, so I couldn’t take video of the ride from Joe’s to the Cages. Which is too bad as our ride leader forgot his turn signal doesn’t work and made one quick, unannounced turn that made that portion of the ride kinda interesting. I’ll leave it at that. Nobody fell and no scars. So no harm, no foul.
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We were a small, but energetic group. Or eclectic group…one or the other.
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Ok, I’m going with eclectic.
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Yeah, probably not energetic.
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At this point I stopped taking pictures as I was too busy timing my swing to the pitching machine….(photo by Beth)
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Very happy I did all those steriods before batting practice…really paid off. (photo by Beth)
ps. Riding gloves are not a substitute for batting gloves. I have the blister to prove it.
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So we spent an hour or so at the cages and decided to ride back to The Blackbird. And I was really sad that I forgot my helmet cam…but then I remembered I have an iPhone that shoots video…and a bike with no clutch….soooooooooo…Video Time.
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Crossing the Rio Grande River. I really need to do this video correctly some day.
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I am doing Sweeper duty again. Better to film the group.
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Love this…the Low-riders where whistling and giving thumbs up to the scooter riders…Respect.
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And finally we end up at The Blackbird.
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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Reminder: Saturday is the StreetFest…but you don’t have to wait till then to buy a raffle ticket to win a Scooter or Fixie…Buy one NOW!…or buy many.
Blog 16: Riddle me this, when does 3rd place feel like 1st?
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When you didn’t even know you were in a contest….
Background. I went to a local “Show and Shine”. I know the person putting it on and I thought I would hang out, look at some bikes, chat a bit about their bikes and then chat a bit about the Enertia and just have a nice mellow time….yada yada yada…
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And yes I brought along the Enertia, but I didn’t think I/it was in the contest. Basically I thought it was a Scooter and RUCKSTAR Show and Shine (they had some beautiful and crazy Ruckus mods…images coming up)…So I was surprised when the Judges yelled out, “And 3rd place in Best in Show is the Electric Motorcycle, because we think it’s cool and unique.” I was, “What? Sweet.”
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I love that scooter badge soooo much
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Considering how nice the modified bikes were at the show, and that the Enertia is a 2-year-old stock Brammo motorcycle, well I was happy and surprised. I do remember that Richard, the guy running the show**, at one point said to me, “Gavin, we decided that since your bike has a chain that it is a motorcycle.” Me, “Umm, Ok?” Not sure at the time why he told me that. Now I know it was because they were deciding if they were going to include the Enertia in the Show.
**He was not a judge.
So that was nice. But more about the Show and Shine.
They had a wide variety of bikes (more Ruckus’s/Ruckii than I’ve seen around town, but I found out that the local Ruckus group was a co-sponsor of the Show and Shine and had bikes coming from a “sister” group in Portland), and a nice turn out. But the 2 main highlights for me: The heavily Modded Ruckstars…and LIVE Pin-striping. Nothing like adding an artist doing some pin-striping on a bike that makes me happy.
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The pin-striping area…everybody was staying in the shade as much as possible.
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Seems like it was a lost art for a while. Making a nice come back, at least locally.
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But people don’t come here to see pinstriping…they come to see some bikes. (ok, not sure what constitutes “people”…but I like to tell myself “people” come here…and if being delusional is wrong, I don’t want to be right.)
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One of these things in not like the others….
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3 crazy modded Ruckii…all local…Nice guys too. I snuck my bike into the photo…and a nice dune buggy too.
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Every Ruckus was different. Pipes, shocks, wheels, handlebars…so many variations.
Here could be Brammo’s Anti-Scooter.
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Gotta love the Spree…1976 I think and less than 1000 miles….I told the owner that if it ever goes “missing”, don’t check my garage.
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We did go on a little ride down Rio Grande Blvd (stupid Lavender Festival slowed us down…who the hell puts on a Lavender Festival? Who the hell GOES to a Lavender Festival?**)
I will put up video of the ride tomorrow…so you too can see the wonders of the Lavender Festival.
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A couple of helmet photos…why? because…
Scary Clown=Crazy good helmet.
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Icon Carbon Helmet…I included this for 2 reasons: Icon is a sponsor with Brammo for the TTXGP racing circuit…and this helmet looks quite a bit like the one SteveO Atlas is wearing while he races for IconBrammo…and I plan to bug them at Laguna Seca to make me one too…:)
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I want that helmet!!! Except in my size…SteveO is a little dude. And I have a huge Irish head, so I doubt he wears my XL size helmet.
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And finally, a couple of photos from the Scooter Shop that allowed ScootNM to take up their parking lot on a Saturday morning.
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That is one nice Cushman
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And the world needs more happy neon bears hawking wheel alinements**…Look how happy that bear is!! I want him to be my friend and make my car drive straight.
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**what is the proper spelling? Alinements? Alignments?
Tomorrow, Video from the Ride…and more….maybe…:)
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Till Next Time…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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ps…next week is the StreetFest…but you don’t have to wait till then to buy a raffle ticket to win a Scooter or Fixie…Buy one NOW!…or buy many.
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pss…yeah, never did work in the title…too lazy to change it. or did I? Perhaps it is just a mystery…yeah, mystery is the route I’m going.
Blog 9. Number Nine…Number Nine…Number Nine…I’ve got blisters on my fingers!!!**
**did The Beatles Blog?
OK….This will be a very familiar blog post for my friends over at BrammoForum.com as I posted these photos there quite some time ago.
But I thought it would be nice to have them up on my “official” blog. Plus this should be a fast and easy blog entry…and everybody knows how much I like things “fast and easy.”
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So Breaking Bad is filmed here in Albuquerque. And it is a GREAT show. Wonderful writing. Amazing acting. To have a show of this quality filmed here in town is insane…but in the good insane way. Like watching cliff diving: You’re thinking, “Oh my god, that is crazy, but it’s beautiful. I so want to do that, but hell no, I could never do that.”
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But back to Breaking Bad. During Season 2 my cousin, who lives in Pittsburgh and works in film, came to visit and he LOVES Breaking Bad. So we looked around to find some of the filming locations. And surprisingly, Walter’s house is about 4 blocks from my brother’s house, and only one and a half miles from my house.
Cousin and I went around and took photos of him standing by Walt’s house and other sites. And a fun time was had by all (the owner of “Walter’s” house saw us taking photos and came out and talked to us…Nice woman.**)
Fast forward to 2011 and I get a nice little loaner motorcycle from Brammo to test out and I’m thinking, “Where should I go and get some nice local shots that will be interesting to people outside of my family?” I replied to myself, “I should do some Breaking Bad locations with the Enertia in them.” And so I did…and here there are.
These photos are of locations featured in mostly the first and second season, except Jesse’s Grandmother’s house, which is quite active for the later seasons too. I will have to go back and do some later season shots. I’m thinking I will do that: A) when I get MY bike, vs the loaner and B) maybe do it when Breaking Bad is filming in town again so that I “might” be able to see some filming in action. Unlikely, but I could try increasing my “stalker” vibe and bug some film buddies who might be able to get me info on shooting and such.
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1st:
Who’s House? WALT”S HOUSE (shouted in my head in Run DMC style).
The house isn’t quite complete without a pizza on the roof.
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The Administration Building at Walt’s School. Not seen anymore as Walt has moved passed his teaching days
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Walt’s classroom is in this building. I had to “sneak” into this area for the photo. This whole area is enclosed by a metal fenced in area. Truthfully, it was a Sunday and surprisingly one of the gates was open, making my work here quite easy.
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This was Saul Goodman’s office. It has since changed into a bar called Hooligans…somewhat fitting.
Still, You better call Saul, his office is gone.**
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The Crossroads Motel. Ah, art imitating life. This motel was used a lot in the first season. I think the owners thought it would give some good publicity. Instead most viewers think of it, maybe correctly, as a crack whore motel.
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Jesse’s ill-fated apartment. Some sad shit went down in here…And it is available to rent!! So you can share in the sadness.
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This is Jesse’s House. It was Jesse’s Grandmothers house and home of some fun scenes in season one…sadder scene later. Poor Jesse doesn’t get a lot of joy in this series…though I guess nobody gets much joy on this series.
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Ah, more art imitating life. This is the car washed used in Breaking Bad. Walter’s wife wants to buy it to launder his drug money. Interestingly there is another Octopus Car Wash in town (not this one) that is “rumored” to be owned by a local gang to launder money. This rumor has been around longer than Breaking Bad, so I wonder if the writers decided to include a bit of local reality into the show?
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That’s it for the Breaking Bad photos….hopefully when I get my new bike I can add some more.
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On a separate note….Mr. Cranston, if you see this blog ( unlikely, but I remain ever hopeful) and would like a test ride on this Electric Motorcycle…Any Time, Any Place (in Albuquerque). I know you’re hella busy; I also know you’re a scooter guy, but I think you will like the Enertia. Easy and fun and clean. I’m not a sales person, nor affiliated with Brammo, just a fan…of the motorcycle and of your acting.
For a chance to get you to sign the “gas” tank, I would let you borrow her for a day and make a small donation to your favorite charity. I’m not a rich guy, but I would happily give 100 bucks or so to have both your signature permanently attached on my bike and a photo of you by or on the bike to hang in the waiting room at my work (I work at the Children’s Hospital Heart Center here at University Hospital). So if nothing else, you can “do it for the children.” And yes I have no shame using the children that way.
But enough of the groveling…any more and I hit “stalker” level…which I really don’t want to happen….again….for the 4th time. Sigh, so many court appearances and so much paper work involved each and every time.
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Till next time….
Gavin
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For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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**Saul Goodman’s Office before it became Hooligans:
and the nice owner of Walter’s House…this was a couple of years ago…so I am sitting in a car…I try to not do that anymore…car’s suck. 🙂
Blog 7, Lucky Lucky 7. Probably not for the people reading this blog, but somewhere there is somebody who is lucky.
This Blog today is a continuation of yesterdays post. My niece (who flew back to South Carolina at the ungodly hour of 6am this morning…bye AP, hope to see you again soon) and I rode in the Pride Parade here in Albuquerque and I used that opportunity to try out my brand new, unopened and untested helmet video camera. I had planned to take some of my video clips and make them into a single movie, which I would then inflict share with all of you. And by “all of you” I mostly mean the clatter of voices in my head.
Just this morning I made a major executive decision, after a brief discussion with said voices in head, and decided to post the individual clips instead.
Why? Some could say laziness. In fact 3 of the clatter voices said laziness. But I beg to differ. If I edited all the clips together there would be one fairly long video that would likely bore the pants of many of my “readers”…and yes I like to live in a delusional world where I actually have readers.
But if I include individual clips:
A) The clips are short and likely/hopefully less boring to watch.
B) Readers get to choose which clips to watch and how many to watch. Watch a couple, watch them all; it is all your Choice. And isn’t that what AMERICA is all about? Choice, Freedom and the option to watch endless YouTube videos of sleeping cats falling off TVs or post-anesthesia children cursing like Longshoreman.
C) Instead of one long introduction to a single clip, I now get to make several, short pithy comments…and I love to be pithy.
D) There is no D.
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I decided to break it down like this: Some pre parade clips, Some parade clips, and a single post parade clip.
We start with PRE PARADE 1
Short clip. 16 freaking seconds of your life. Of course it is also a boring and semi useless clip. But it shows my niece, the Enertia and our place in line (just in front of the Taos Pride truck).** Plus I am just learning how to use the video camera, so I considered this a practice run. Sadly the whole day was a practice run since I couldn’t check how I was doing until I got home and hooked up the camera to my computer.
**We could have ridden with the Dykes on Bikes at the front of the Parade. We did hang with them at first and almost went with them. But they tend to ride fast–well fast for Parades–and I, probably incorrectly, thought it would be better to go slow and be in the middle of the parade. Next year, I will likely be a “Mike with the Dykes on Bikes”…which is a guy who rides with the women up front. It just looks a bit more fun.
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Pre Parade 2
This is where I got bored waiting for the Parade to start and decided to drive around a bit and look at the people getting ready. The Bus was the place to be if you were a gay male. That Bus was ready to party. Clip is 3 minutes and 5 seconds…not horribly exciting, not horribly boring either. Your choice to watch or bail…
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Pre Pride 3…
Ok..12 seconds and purely to show that the TV News was there. I am an attention whore.
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Pre Pride 4…the last pre parade clip…
Again, showing a News van, this time radio. Yes, I am constantly seeking attention and confirmation…I should probably be in Therapy…ok, I should probably be in more Therapy. Ok, I should probably NEVER leave therapy. Shuddup voices!
Plus we get the “Bear” organizer on the microphone telling us to make some noise. His earlier taunt was “People this isn’t a protest parade, this is a Gay Pride Parade. Stop being so somber and make some NOISE.” Bear Dude…we love ya, but it is hotter than the face of the Sun right now and we aren’t moving at all…the only noise I want to make is yelling across the street to http://baileysonthebeach.com/ for, “Una cerveza por favor.”
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Ok, So finally The Parade. I have way too many clips and will try and limit it to just a few.
This first clip is from the very start of the Parade. I let my passenger know that some kids are coming up, so get ready with the Candy. I also notice a small group of Protesters. This actually surprised me. We are a pretty laid back town/city. It shouldn’t have surprise me, but I really didn’t expect anybody to be protesting.
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I didn’t quite get it on camera, but my niece almost nailed the cop with some candy…the female cop had to lean back quickly to avoid the sugary missile. A bit later on my niece did hit a woman right in the forehead, but her aim got better after that. 46 seconds…I think it is worth it to watch just to see the protesters. Sad little people. Wasting energy on hate is silly in this beautiful world we live in. I hope they are happier in their next lives. Happy? Heck, I hope they are downright gay in their next life 🙂
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Parade clip 2.
Short. 32 seconds. I like this one for the woman at 26 seconds in that is pointing and going, “Electric bike. Electric bike.”
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Parade clip 3 is on yesterday’s blog. That one is nice for the people up on the roof of Kelly’s Brew Pub. Not going to post the whole clip a second time.
But here is a screen grab.
Hmmmm, a beer at Kelly’s sounded good at this point of the parade…so did an ice cream at ColdStone Creamery…or just mix them both together…
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Parade Clip 4.
At 5:29 it is the longest clip, but a nice one. This shows the second most crowded spot on the parade.** It feels a bit like the top of a mountain stage in the Tour de France as the crowd really gets in close. Well that and the fact that I had to give a blood sample at the end too…they are really cracking down on performance enhancing drugs here at the Pride Parade. **The most crowded spot is at the end of the parade by the State Fair Grounds…sadly we didn’t quite make it that far…see yesterday’s blog for info on that.
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Clip 5 is cut. So just imagine how mind-crushingly boring it must have been if these other clips made it and this one got cut.
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Clip 6 could be cut, but is only 30 seconds…and at 8 seconds in there is a woman pouring water on her dog to cool the dog down…so that is a bit fun.
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and the last Parade clip…Clip 7.
also short…33 seconds…and largely forgettable. But it does show the Nob Hill location of O’Neill’s Pub…which was featured in my “I Park Where I Want” blog. That and it has me being photographed (4 seconds in) for the millionth time.
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After the Parade, we went to the surface of the Sun…I mean the Zoo. This clip show where I like to park…also featured in “I Park Where I Want”.
You can hear the motor fan running. The clip ends with me looking over to where I am “suppose” to park. Motorcycle Parking? Isn’t everything and everywhere motorcycle parking?
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So that is the Parade…plus 1. Not really much about the Enertia. She did fine. No overheating. With her single gear she is easy as can be to ride “stop & go” type riding. And she never got dizzy nor nauseous like my niece. 🙂
What did I learn about filming with a Helmet Cam?
1) Hold head as still as possible.
2) When I do move head, move slowly.
3) Don’t film parades while in them. Boring.
4) Do film more action footage. Get to the mountains and film the bike going fast on curvy roads. That is much more interesting. For Me, the voices in my head and my imaginary readers.
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Till next time….
Gavin
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For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
So this weekend I took the Brammo Enertia for a ride in the Pride Parade. I love riding in Parades…or at least the idea and Utopian concept of riding in Parades. The truth is pretty different though: going 10 feet, stopping, going 12 feet, stopping. Throwing candy to kids. Most of the time they are happy and running to get the candy, which is GREAT! Sometimes they look at it and go, “ok, where’s the good stuff?” Or there’s the 35 year old guy going, “throw me some candy…” Hmmmm, “NO CANDY FOR YOU!!” I say in my best Soup Nazi voice.
Still it is a “certain” kind of fun. As long as you realize there will be mass confusion mixed with stifling boredom in the pre parade set-up (get here an hour early is always what you’re told…still nobody knows where anybody goes and it all just comes down to a free-for-all to get on the road and going…and if you cut off a float filled with 6’6″ guys all dressed like Divine, well, as the Pat Benetar Drag Queen says, “you better run, you better hide” ).
Then the Parade itself will move slower than you think humanly possible. Plus there will be a certain number of kids that look at your FREE CANDY with distain…and a certain number of supposed ADULTS who will be pissed when you don’t throw them candy. Mix in a few mildly brain damaged people that think it is OK to cross from one side of the road to the other while the parade is going on just for fun…AND add in the fact that it will always be on the HOTTEST day of the year for some crazy reason. Stir gently till the Crazy mixes with the Excitement and Energy…then fold in a pinch of Heat Stoke and a dash of Anger…and bake till everything boils over….
Other than that it’s great 🙂
So this was the Pride Parade (vs the Day of the Dead Parade or the Annual Toy Run or other parades I try to do). I like to do the Pride Parade for a couple of reasons. TONS of PEOPLE. It is a very happy and joyous Parade and so is the crowd….Dare I say it is a very happy and gay crowd. It is also the most outrageous parade and crowd (the Day of the Dead is a close second for outrageousness). Plus I love to support my gay family and friends.
This Parade I took my 16 year old niece (image below) who is visiting from South Carolina. She rode on the back of the Enertia and was the one throwing most of the candy (I still threw some as I couldn’t resist…nothing is quite like throwing food on the dirty ground to kids who don’t know you from jack and watching them happily running after it…with their parents approval! What a gloriously strange world we live in…”Johnny, the drag queen just threw you a tootsie roll, say thank you to the nice…person.” Sadly, I was actually dressed kinda boring…helmet, leather jacket, jeans, bright pink over-sized Cod Piece I “borrowed” from the Band Cameo…I pretty much always ride in the same gear).
Not me:) My niece and the Enertia…with bag of candy and Rainbow Chain graphic…the theme of the parade was Pride Links Us Together. I really didn’t do much “decoration”. A) I really can’t compete with the “Pros” and B) I had freaking FREE CANDY. I WIN!!!
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There were lessons to be learned here. Which I will now describe in too much detail:
Some FACTS
The Parade started at 10 am. It is a 2 mile ride from the start at the University of New Mexico to the end at the New Mexico State Fair Grounds. That 2 mile ride takes an hour or so at “Parade Speed.” Parade Speed should replace Jumbo Shrimp as the go-to example for the word Oxymoron. We arrived at the starting point about 9 am and walked around and then drove around and basically mingled and looked at the floats and such. It was already 90 plus degrees and sunny. We had left the house without drinking or putting on sunscreen (I am a horrid Uncle–that actually might be my official title from now on with my in-laws from South Carolina—“Oh him? That’s just my HORRID UNCLE…dum dum dum dum dum dummmmmmmmmmb.”) My niece had never ridden on a motorcycle before. I was being over-protective and not only made her wear my wife’s helmet to the Parade, but also for the whole Parade. It is a full faced helmet. It was hot. We were going slow with constant stopping and starting and somewhat jerky motions as I was unaccustomed to riding with a passenger who kept changing the center of gravity of the bike by throwing candy.
So….1.5 miles into what I thought was a nice little parade ride, my lovely niece leans forward and says, “We need to stop, I feel dizzy and think I might throw up.” As a father, and now grandfather, I know those words all so well…and know that I ignore them at my peril. “Ok, there is a side road up ahead and a break in the crowd. I’ll pull off there.”
She also did not quite understand how the D-Ring of a motorcycle helmet functions. So I am quickly helping her get her helmet off, the whole time she is bending over and making retching sounds……and it all was fine. Ha, you thought I was going to get covered in puke, didn’t you…Nope, this wasn’t college…but that is another story.
It was the end of our Parade. I took her to a Wendy’s on the corner, got her some water and kept her in the Air Conditioning (which is a Gift from God on days like that). Then I called my wife and had her come by and pick the niece up ( We were all heading to the Zoo after the parade, and this way I got to have some fun riding the motorcycle that I can’t have with a dizzy nauseous teenage on the back. Plus I really didn’t want to have her put the helmet on again.)
So what did I learn? 1. Hydrate. You would think I would have learned that by now having lived in the high desert for the last 17 years. Nope. It is a lesson I must learn over and over again. It is my mental Groundhog’s Day. My mental Prometheus. 2. Sunscreen. see hydrate for how stupid I am. 3. To Helmet or Not to Helmet, that is the Question…actually, no you idiot, that shouldn’t be a question at all. In a parade when it is 100 degrees and you’re going basically negative miles per hour, do not make your niece wear a full faced helmet. 4. If you forget 1,2 and 3 for some reason, expect your wife to give you “that look” when she comes to rescue your niece. The look that says, “Dear God, I’ve married a complete and utter imbecile…How did this happen and how can I kill him in his sleep and get away with it? 5. There is no 5.
I was too busy riding and making my niece nauseous to take photos. I did do some video…that I need to edit…but here is a short clip:
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This is just a random clip I grabbed. I had planned to edit down the clips, but I think I might just put up a few clips and not make an “official” video. This is the first time I used my new ContourRoam helmet camera. I have a lot to learn.
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After the Parade we all went to the Zoo (because, really, where else do you want to go at noon on a day that is 100 plus degrees other than a place where multiple exotic animals are sleeping in their odoriferous and slowly baking poo). Here is a clip of me catching up to the wife and giving her a wave…
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You can’t see, but she waved back…but I think she might have had a cramp in her hand as she didn’t hold up all her fingers when she waved.
I will put up the other clips tomorrow.
Till then…have a blast…
Gavin
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For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
No real post today, or any Friday. Brammo Blog believes the 5 day working week should die quickly and forever be forgotten…like Pet Rocks or High Colonics.
It is an affront to Man’s natural state of Sloth.
So Friday, Saturday and Sunday are days of play, party, sleep, leisure and riding.
Tomorrow I ride in the Pride Parade and will take photos and try out my new Helmet Video camera.
So lots of fun stuff to write about on Monday…and hopefully some video…
Really looking forward to using the helmet camera on some of our great mountain rides here in New Mexico…and for next weekend when I’m up in Durango…
Good times…everybody have a great weekend…
Gavin
For more info on Brammo, please visit: www.brammo.com For more images, photos, discussions and all around Brammo goodness: visit, lurk and maybe join: www.brammoforum.com
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