Even in my limited experience, there have been many things that have been opened to me since beginning to ride. Of those, the camaraderie I have witnessed and experienced has been pretty amazing. There aren't many things in life that will bring two strangers together like a motorcycle.

If you are out on the road driving in any automobile, you meet fellow drivers all day long. With you Jeepsters bing the exception, you pass without a second thought. It is different on a motorcycle.

When one rider happens across a fellow motorcyclist, 9 times out of 10, they will have an interaction with each other. Whether it is the simple wave of acknowledgement or stopping together for a bite to eat after pacing each other down your favorite twisty back roads, there is a kinship. Two complete strangers will spend an entire day together without a thought of political opinions, social views or personal agendas. Friendships are formed because of one simple fact; you both love to ride.

Of course there is always a guy or group of guys that won't mesh well with others. Some of the Harley guys don't like the sportbike riders. Some of the sportbike riders don't like the "stunters". I guess life can't be perfect, but that is the minority. I have ridden to work and ended up cruising along side a Harley-Davidson for 5 miles, stopping at each red light for a little conversation. A week later I ended up riding along side a guy on a Yamaha YZF600R, watching him do a couple of wheelies and, again, making small talk at the stoplights.

I know that on just about any nice riding day, I can spend a few minutes online and set up a ride with somebody. We won't know anything about each other, other than what bike we ride. With a quick hello and a handshake, we'll be off for a great day in the sun. We will explore roads, both familiar and unfamiliar. We will see small towns and big cities. We will experience that small town diner where the atmosphere and food will catch you off guard; making a return visit a must. In the end, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and screen names are exchanged. The chain continues, adding another link, continuing a tradition that pre-dates even world wars.

Yes, my world has expanded exponentially since I started riding. I can only say that it was a most unexpected surprise.

Well, I'm bored and was messing around and figured out a good way to get multiple pics posted so I thought I'd share. Thanks www.photobucket.com for making this so freakin easy. :-) This is my 1998 Hawk GT from day one to pretty much now with some before and after pics of the minor mods I have done up to this point.

--Ride safe, but have fun doin' it!

The weather is really changing now. It is pretty much staying below 40 degrees everyday now. The snow is falling, if only moderately and mixed with rain.

I don't have a problem riding in cold weather. I did get a nice pair of gloves for my big 30th birthday that work quite well. I put layers on underneath my clothes. And I'm not kidding when I say layers. I put regular underwear, long johns and sweat pants all underneath my jeans. Covering my torso consists of a couple of t-shirts, long sleeved shirt and of course my leather jacket. Over all that is a San Francisco 49ers parka that is about two sizes too big for me. That thing really breaks the wind too. My face gets cold under my helmet, but it is tolerable.

With all that said, it is pretty much time to stop riding for the year. Yeah, my last ride will be taking it to the garage to park it for winter hibernation. Yeah, I don't want to run it on dangerous roads or salty roads. I have some maintenance plans for her too.

If things go well this winter, these are the projects planned.

- Improved rear suspension in the form of a shock from a 1995 Honda CBR900RR. It will add more adjustability and really improve the handling. No it isn't the preferred aftermarket replacement - the Penske unit - but it isn't $750.00 either.

- I have clip-ons (handle bars) from a Honda CBR600F2 and new grips. These clip-ons mount lower then stock giving a more aggressive riding position for the twisty roads and if I'm lucky enough, the track. I am having them and the clutch/brake levers powdercoated. This should look real nice. It will look especially sweet of I can manage to swing a set of CRG bar end mirrors. But those are expensive, as in $75.00 each, so I better be saving some pop bottles, eh.

- Since I am lowering the bars and levers, I have to shorten all my cables. That means this will be a great oppurtunity to put on stainless steel brake lines. That way when I get better brakes put on, they will be their most effective. Yeah, you guessed it. They look pretty sweet too.

- If I can come up with another couple of hundred dollars (please profit sharing, help me out here), I need to rebuild my forks, also. If I do, then it will call for seals of course, but also some stiffer springs from racetech, heavier oil and some racetech gold valve emulators. Not sure exactly how those emulators work, but they will allow me to set pre-load so the bike doesn't sag as bad when I sit my heavy ass on it.

This should make for some good winter time fun. Heck, if you can't ride your bike, you might as well be working on it. Of course, getting dad and my schedules working together could be difficult, so I might be doing some of this myself. Yikes, I'm supposed to trust this bike to ride on the street. I will do my best to get some pictures of the work before, during and after. If I slip, you will at least get some before and after. Now it is just time to make sure we still have a good kerosene space heater available to use. Otherwise, I ain't even getting started.

--Ride safe, but have fun doin' it!