My Motorcycles Over the Years

Whoa! First "bike" I had. A Honda Cub 50. I have a black & white pic of me on it somewhere, but this is all I've got right now. Step-thru frame...nasty! A couple friends and I had these monsters. We took off the beige "wings" and removed the muffler's baffles. We thought we were terrorizing the populace. Pitiful little bike, but you gotta start somewhere. Nowadays, folks start out on a Hayabusa and die real quickly. We learned on small ones and worked our way up.

Again, this isn't my bike, but I can't locate the one pic I know I have. Will replace these first 2 with my shots when I locate them. Black and gold Yamaha 250. Bought used. Mine had a ridiculously high sissy bar. 2-stroke screamer. I raced this mutha in a field where we'd built a racetrack for dirt bikes! Many times I'd ride home with turn signals hanging by the wires after dumping it in a turn. But I hung with those dirt bikers! Everybody knew that bike 'cause I'd also take it up the huge hills when they were building the new interstate.

Next up is my beautiful '74 Kawasaki 500 Triple. A two-stroke, 3 cylinder rocket with no suspension and weak brakes. Made to go really fast in a straight line. Pictured is me in my wild days and mom on the bike. I absolutely loved this bike. Wish I had it now. A power company employee caught up with me one afternoon and told me he'd seen me scream by beneath him as he worked on a power line earlier in the day. He wanted to buy the bike right then. And he offered me enough that I parted with it. Like I said, I wish I had it now. Beautiful styling and a crazy fast engine.

The Kaw 750 Triple to the left is exactly like the one that a good friend was killed on. I rode it once and it was dangerous...in a good way. FAST!!! Poor ol' Mike was riding without a helmet, though, when he left the road and hit a tree.

On to my Yamaha 750 Special. Another favorite. Also a triple, but a 4-stroke with shaft drive. Took my first long trip (to Oklahoma, Texas, etc.) on this baby. Had it for years and years. When my wife and I lived in the sticks in Bullock County, I rode it 45 miles to school at Troy State University for 9 months. She and I took it to the Smokies and camped out and then rode on to see a friend in North Carolina. Eventually I slapped a good ol' Vetter Windjammer on it 'cause I was riding so many long rides. That fairing didn't add to the bike's aesthetics at all, but it served its purpose. The aforementioned Mike bought this bike from me and I bought it back a year later.

Here's my oldest son and me with my '79 Suzuki GS850G. I hadn't bought a used bike since the Yamaha 250, but I got this one in Birmingham and thought it was a diamond in the rough. Lotsa rust and wear on it when I got ahold of it, but I had it looking brand new in no time. Excellent machine. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, but didn't keep it long. The boys were young and money was short. Plus, I wanted to be around to see them grow up!


I took the pic below at the farm we lived on in Posey's Crossroads, AL.

I didn't own a bike for quite a while. As the boys grew up and I worked 2 jobs at times, money was tight and time was short. Working a bar job for extra cash also meant too many "extracurricular" activities, so bikes had to wait. My current wife then suggested I should get a bike. WHAT?! A wife suggesting a husband buy a motorcycle?! Has she got insurance on me that I'm unaware of? Who cares?! Yeeha!!! Rushed over to a friend's dealership and plopped down the money for a new Suzuki Volusia, now called a C50. The pic above is of a girl who owned a bar/restaurant in Selma.

The Volusia (at left)was a very good bike. Just a little underpowered. When I was offered virtually what I'd paid for it, I sold it after a year of riding. On the way home after delivering the bike to its new owner, I saw a motorcycle parked at a bank. It was one of those, "Holy crap! What is that?!" moments. i stopped, tracked down the owner and asked him about the bike. It was a black Honda VTX1800. BEEYOOTEEFUL!!!

I had to have one. A couple days later, en route to see my wife's parents, I stopped at a dealership and inquired about a 1300. I'd read enough by this point to realize I didn't need the 1800. Couldn't afford it anyway. The owner took me in the back and showed me a black 1300S in the crate. He told me he'd have it assembled for me to test ride that afternoon.

My wife suggested that I not tell them that day that I wanted it. I rode it, fell in love with it, walked back in the shop and said, "Service it. I'll be back Tuesday to pick it up." Sorry, honey.

Honda VTX1300S - packed and ready to roll to North Carolina in '06. She now has over 47,000 miles on her. I may keep this one forever.

On the Gee's Bend Ferry in west Alabama.

My oldest son and me with our bikes.

My older son on some of his bikes. He's a helluva rider. A bit rough on the machines though.

My Top Ten as of This Morning

1 - Texas
2 - Alabama
3 - Iowa
4 - Florida
5 - USC
6 - Cincy
7 - TCU
8 - LSU
9 - Oregon
10 - Ga Tech/Penn State/Boise St/Oklahoma (tie)


Do I think Texas or Iowa (or Florida, for that matter) would beat Alabama? No. They all have weaknesses. But so does the Tide. There is no overpowering, dominant team this year. Texas can't run the ball a lick. Iowa hasn't played anybody and their QB turns the ball over too much. Florida's offense is crippled by their inability to pass downfield. I predicted elsewhere that Mississippi State could beat Florida (man, did I catch some hell!) and they damn near did it. Alabama has a similar situation in that they no longer force defenses to respect their passing game. Defenses load up to stop the run and McElroy isn't able to stretch the D.

It's gonna get really interesting the next few weeks.

As far as Bama's win, I still haven't completely recovered. A couple aspirin and two very nice nurses at the local hospital helped after my heart attack, but I'm still convalescing.

The shoulda lost talk, though is strange to me. We were up 12-3 with about 3 minutes left. Mark Ingram, who had never fumbled since dropping a rattle at age 4, had the ball ripped loose. The Alabama defense then allowed their first TD in 3 weeks. Next, whilst I cowered in a closet, the Vols recovered an onside kick that everybody on earth knew was coming. Then Terence Cody asserted every ounce of energy left in his mammoth body and blocked his second FG attempt of the day.

In my mind, Bama shouldn't have lost the game. Blocking field goals is part of the game, is it not? They busted their asses and won. And knew they would win it...even as Tennessee lined up for that kick. The players said they had no doubt that FG wouldn't go through. Not that that means shit. Julio Jones gets so high on blocks, it's a wonder any FG gets up. But for Cody to penetrate as far as he did...wow. Amazing.

The Birmingham News headline was a classic on Sunday: GOOD OL' ROCKY BLOCK.

Tampa October 09

Due to my aversion to putting pics of my kids or their kids online, I wil not be exhibiting any of the pics of my gorgeous granddaughter, nor her beautiful mother, or even her lovely dad. If you know me and I haven't sent you some pics of them...and you actually would like to see them...let me know and I'll email them to you.

Now the "safe" stuff:

Day one I've already discussed: the nasty sewage smell in Tuskegee, the ride itself, the searing Florida heat.
We always gravitate to the Green Iguana restaurants. This trip, we hit the one located in Ybor City, which is the entertainment/shopping/cigar store area of downtown Tampa.

We had a great time with the baby. She never whined a bit, while twins at the table next to us howled. The Iguana serves some really tasty food. My salmon (left) was excellent and the kids enjoyed their meals, too. Dear god...are blogs supposed to be this boring?!


Sure would have liked to hung around and seen Trower at the Ritz. Cool looking theater.









These signs were everywhere. Tampa is very gay-friendly, I guess.







Crappy touristy shot.











'nuther 'un.





Had a blast keeping the baby from noon to 9 on Saturday. She didn't poop once! I coulda dealt with it, but it was nice to not have to. Saturday couldn't have been any better a day: got to spend lotsa time with my granddaughter, the Crimson Tide beat Mississippi, Arkansas knocked off Auburn, then LSU-Florida that night. Excellent day.

My son and I ate at another Green Iguana (we must like that place) on Sunday and watched the pitiful Bucs get their asses stomped by the Eagles. Ate a ton of wings and a good burger. Met Sanovia, a 6 foot chick who was pretty crazy...even by my standards. We had a great time talking with her and her friends. She assumed I was a country music fan because I'm from Alabama. Stereotyping sucks.

Tuesday was leaving day. I hated it. May have to move down there.

Got to Homassasa Springs or somewhere along there and decided to go see the Ted Williams museum. I figured I was gonna get some cool pics to blow y'all away with. I mean it's Ted Williams! Took the road to Lecanto and pulled up to a bank with a Ted Williams Museum sign. Odd.


Ted looked pretty lonely. I think Lecanto was where he dropped anchor and retired. Now he's decapitated and frozen in a lab in Arizona. Lecanto wasn't that great, but, considering Ted's current status, it ain't that bad a place.



A guy in the lot waiting for the bank to open told me the museum had been moved to Tampa, at the Rays' stadium. All the memorabilia is in Tampa...where I'd spent the last 4 days! A guy in the bank saw my head drop and he opened the doors

and let me in to shoot pics of the only two items remaining there. Two murals. Damn. Here's one of 'em:








Cross City. Cypress Inn. Ate too many collards and pork strips (odd little bastards they were...but damn tasty). About an hour and a half later the populace of Quincy, FL suffered because of this meal. I destroyed a restroom at a convenience store. Friendly tip: avoid Quincy for oh...maybe a month or so. However, in spite of the resulting apocalyptic event, if you're ever on Hwy 19, and need an inexpensive GOOD meal, stop at the Cypress Inn Restaurant. $7.00 and everything was damn good. Just be prepared to stop again not too far down the road.

A group of old guys was hanging around the convenience store parking lot. One of them stopped me and asked if I was coming down to the big Harley get together in Tallahassee. Told him no and that my bike was a Honda. He was stunned. Earlier, in one of the little towns I cruise through on 19, a guy at a light asked me if I was on an Indian. Damn I'm glad I ride a dependable Honda, rather than either of those two manufacturers' machines!


Inside the restaurant and my view of my trusty steed.

















The aforementioned restroom that I annihilated. Rather than the standard bathroom wall graffiti fare (Rosie gives great **** 867-5309), a football fan had left the local high school coach a suggestion.








Played tag with an FSU coed for a long time on 19 and then 27 into Tallahassee. Wandered around Tally a while just to slow things down. Then hit I-10 (only interstate I took on the trip...hate 'em on the bike) to Blountstown. Decided to take some backroads into Dothan, Alabama, then bring it on home.

Missed a great photo op around Malone or Cottonwood. To my left, two red tractors were discing a field. One coming toward me, one going away. As I went past, my bike startled a gaggle of those white birds that hang around cows. It stuck with me for a long way. The birds all up in front of the tractors...oh shit...anyway, it was very cool looking to me.

Wanted to ask a local how this community got its name, but being this close to home, I just kept boogiein'. Beat the rain and the cool weather and rolled into the driveway about 5:30 Tuesday, the 13th. Another excellent ride. And another shitty blog post.

Bama QB Update

Greg McElroy has regressed badly the last two weeks. Whereas he had been looking to his 2nd and 3rd receivers, he now locks on to Julio Jones and, by god, if he's triple-covered, he's still gonna force the ball in there. And where Mac had pulled the ball down and scrambled, he now seems panicky and tosses it straight to a defender. Uh, Greg, Colin Peek is still around, too, ya' know? Granted, he has faced much better defensive teams the last two weeks, but, if he and Coach McElwain don't straighten things out, the Tide could easily lose to Tennessee this Saturday and to anyone else on the schedule (other than Chattanooga).

To clarify my McElroy post's intentions: I never said he was or should be a Heisman candidate. I said that if Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen is a Heisman candidate, then McElroy should be as well. It was a comparison of QB stats at a certain point. McElroy could turn things around and finish the year with great stats. Even if he were to finish with a better QB efficiency rating than Clausen, I would still not think of him as a Heisman type player...unless he throws 50 TD passes with 0 interceptions the rest of the way.

I really don't care if any Bama player ever wins the Heisman, but,, if he continues racking up yards like he has, you couldn't ask for a more deserving kid than Mark Ingram. And what a polite, well-spoken guy he is. He goes overboard to be friendly and polite to interviewers. He is definitely not friendly or polite to tacklers. What a load to bring down!

And the coolest thing is, Trent Richardson runs just as hard. Damn, we got some running backs!