Video - 3 cameras...

 

The video from yesterday's ride, shot with the Insta360 X2, Insta360 Go 3, and HoverAir X1.  No voice-over, no reviews, just enjoying the ride on the Burgman 200.  Come along for the ride...

 

Live From Laurel Canyon...

 

We met friends Mark and Cindy at MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) last night for a concert.

 

"Live from Laurel Canyon - Songs and Stories of American Folk Rock" is an evening of live music and narrated stories of some of the most influential songwriters who lived in Laurel Canyon in the mid 1960's and 70's.   Similar to other legendary rock and roll neighborhoods of the same era like Haight Ashbury in San Fransisco or Greenwich Village in NYC, Laurel Canyon was a community of artists who would forge a new genre of music (Folk Rock) and forever change the look, sound and attitude of American pop music.   Live from Laurel Canyon celebrates The Mamas and The Papas, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, America, and the Eagles with their own unique interpretations of some of the most iconic songs of the era. 

Yes, the above paragraph is from their website.  It is more than just the music - between the songs, they tell the stories of the performers and the music.  The musicianship was good: nice vocal harmonies; the lead guitar player was particularly good.  I think we all enjoyed it - Joan was particularly taken with the stories they told to go with the music.

 --------

I just got photos from Steph - Wednesday night (when I was left unsupervised), she and Joan went to a lavender soap-making class (a Mom and daughter experience for them)...

The end result: each of them came home with a "brick" of soap...

The soap has to set-up for a couple days to get firm, then they can cut it to a more usable size.  They can get clean and smell like lavender!

All Hands On Deck...

 

That is a call for immediate assistance from everyone present and available.  No, it isn't an emergency... I took the Insta360 X2, the Go 3, and the HoverAir X1 with me on the ride today.  I don't know why - if I bring it along, I feel the need to use it.  The shooting happens rather seamlessly while I'm riding (except for the HoverAir X1 drone), but it takes a while to sort through all that video and come up with an end result.

I am running out of time today: we are going to a concert at MIM this evening, featuring the music of Laurel Canyon, a lot of music came out of that area, which became a celebrity enclave from the 60s on.  Should be an entertaining event.

In the meantime, I will get to the video at another time - here are some still photos of my time on the Burgman scoot today...

From the Insta360 Go 3 above; the Insta360 One X2 below...

A glorious day in the desert today: it was 72º when I left the house around 10:00.  The high was 83º.  Lots of sunshine.  Looks like we have a reprieve from the 90s (and higher) for a few days.  One must take advantage of that when it presents itself.

Unsupervised...

 

In my defense, I was left with no adult supervision.

Joan and Steph went out for supper and then to a class to learn to make lavender soap.  No, I don't think we're going into the soap-making business - it was an early Mothers Day present.  They left right after Steph got home from work.  I fed their kitties (and Murph) and gave Alfie his meds; Dan had to work late.

Joan told me to expect some Amazon packages.  That is a daily occurrence.  The first box I opened was quite large and had this in it...

 His and hers sombreros?  I had to look in our Vine history on the computer to figure out what they were.  In the meantime, I sent a text to Joan, letting her know I opened the sombreros.  "Try it on," she texted back...

I am not one to be easily swayed from getting a laugh.  My search on Vine showed me that you zip these together and they become a "cat tunnel... cat playhouse... cat donut."  I opened the next box; it was much smaller, but opened up to this...

Not much in the way of directions, but I thought some part of it might be an adult diaper...

Nope, just a pop-up cat toy...

Will Murphy play with any of this stuff?  Maybe...

He is a curious boy.  The real question is: will he get in it a second time?  By this point, the sun was down, and I had promised Murph that we'd go outside once it started cooling off...

The boy enjoys his outdoor time.  And, his lounging time...

Even though this latest batch of cat toys does collapse and fold down, I'm not sure where we're going to put all this stuff.  Vine can be dangerous: you start to feel like: it's there... I should order it.  Or, in my case: I should figure out what all this stuff is.

Selling my seat...

 

The new Corbin?  The one that makes your Burgman scoot so comfortable??  Not, just no, but absolutely not.  That seat is perfect for that bike.

I have posted some videos about the Burgman on YouTube.  I also posted a video there about the Corbin seat.  One viewer asked me if I'd be interested in selling the stock seat... really, I hadn't thought about it.  It is big and is taking up space in the overhead storage in our garage, but I figured I'd just hang onto it, in case there comes a time when I want to sell or trade the Burgman (yes, I am over saying, "This will be my last bike... blah, blah"), I can put the stock seat back on it.  For absolute certain, I won't use that stock seat again as long as I own the bike.

I thought about it, and responded with a price... low enough to make it attractive, but not giving it away.  The guy said he wanted the seat and he lives just north of Phoenix.

I gave him a call last night - it was a pleasant conversation, we have decades of riding in common.  He recently bought a Burgman 200, but I think he keeps the scoot outside.  If that's the case, the seat will be the first thing that Mother Nature chews up and spits out.

The Burgman (and a Harley) are his conveyances - no car.  I offered to bring the seat to him when we are in north Phoenix for anything (rather than make a special trip)... and told him I won't be offering the seat to anyone else, so I consider it his, and we'll just work out the details on my getting it his direction.

He thanked me and told me he lives in Shangra La Ranch, a resort in New River.  And then told me he could get me a couple passes to use the resort.  I thanked him for the offer, but declined, not thinking much of it.  Later in the conversation, he told me, "Shangra La is a nudist resort, if you aren't familiar with it."

"No, can't say that I was aware of that.  I'm no prude, but I can tell you that you don't want to be putting your naked ass on this black vinyl seat if the bike has been sitting in the Arizona sun!"  He laughed and suggested I pull up the resort on the internet, just in case I want to check it out.

So much for "all the gear, all the time."  ;-)

You Can Tell It's A Full Moon...

 

"By that big round white thing in the night sky?"  Yeah, there is that.

The crazies come out.  Ask anyone who has worked with the public - it's a real thing.  And this morning, around our house, it is a real thing: Murphy Jones is a bundle of wild energy.

Joan was up around 5:00 this morning... I heard her.  Prior to that, I heard Murphy knocking around the shade on our patio door.  I rolled over, but sleep didn't really come back.  By the time I got up at 6:30, Joan had taken Murph outside to let him "blow some steam off", brought in one of his (many) toys on wire arms that he can bat around, fed him (that's usually my job), chased him off the counter (about 20 times) and told him, "No!" a time or twelve when he was clawing at the leather couch as he made laps through the house like a race car on a banked curve.  Joan was on her second cup of coffee.  It wore me out just hearing about it.

Murphy rarely has the "evening crazies"... he saves that for mornings.  And this morning, he was wilder than usual.

You can't tell what's going on there?  That's Murph moving between his many toys, mostly just a blur.

"Settle down, little man!" I tell him...

"I can't help it, Dad - the Devil made me do it!"

It has to be the full moon.

--------

The 4 of us...

"Um... 4?  Did you get another cat?"  OMG - did you read the above?  Music today with Mark and Ron... and Rosco, Ron's dog.  With the 3 of us (the humans) we can get down parts for any new songs before we get the bigger group together.  Part of our routine is a walk from Ron's place to lunch (usually a couple blocks); Rosco gets to go with us, because we intentionally go to a place that is dog friendly, with outside seating.

(photo courtesy of Ron)
 

We set up in Ron's living room, with mics, mixer, guitars, etc...

It's a nice atmosphere.

Only The Beginning...

 

If you said, "From the song by Chicago Transit Authority (later: Chicago), Beginning, 1969," you get 15 bonus points.

It got to 100º yesterday, will top that, since it is 100º at 2:30.  Yep, just the beginning of the summer heat.

I did get out for a ride this morning, before the heat really kicked in... didn't even need the cooling vest.  It is not a race or a timed event, but doing my "run" up the mountain, it generally takes me between and hour and 15 minutes to sometimes longer than an hour and a half.  This morning was a new world record: one hour and 5 minutes.  By leaving at 9:00, I missed all the school and work commuter traffic; didn't get stopped at any of the stoplights, and no traffic in front of me anywhere on the mountain.

And, yes, I did stop at the top parking lot to get a couple photos and re-hydrate.  Out on the Burgman today...

I have come to appreciate that backrest.  The seat is still comfortable without it, but it adds one more "support point" when I'm riding in a sporting manner.  ;-)  A "selfie" from the phone on the handlebars...

Wearing the new jacket, no cooling vest under it.  The white definitely makes a difference.  With the higher temperatures and no rain in a while, the desert landscape is changing - from green to brown...

Oh, there are still green plants out there, but the ground cover is rapidly changing.  Still, the ride is fun, and I am appreciating the views and the fun road.

Back home and breakfast on the griddle.  By the time we were done eating and I had the griddle cleaned, it was time to retreat indoors to the air conditioning.  It's a dry heat... 100º, but it only feels like 99º.  ;-)

--------

Happy Earth Day!  Let's take care of this planet of ours - it's the only one we have.  It does make me wonder: Do the other planets have their own celebration day?  Or, are we Earthlings just being egocentric, like us holding the Miss Universe Pageant? 

In The Shed...

 

Not the same as being taken behind the wood shed.  I'm guessing, since we've never had a wood shed.

Joan and Murphy were out enjoying the patio this morning.  When I joined them, I asked, "Where's Murphy?"

"He's in the shed... in his catio."

 We move his catio into the shed each evening, to keep it out of any overnight weather.  Then, bring it out onto the patio during the day.  The boy likes his catio - he went into it on his own while it was in the shed.

We have been letting Murphy have the run of the yard while we're out there to keep an eye on him.  Other times, we'll put him in his catio.  The photo above shes that he likes the catio, no matter where it is.  When it is out on the patio, we keep it under one of the umbrellas, to keep him out of the hot sun.

This morning, it is a glorious 67º, sunny, no breeze.  Feels pretty good; especially in the shade.

--------

It's official...

The temperature in Phoenix reached 100º today; first time this year.  That's not a record for the earliest day it has reached 100º - that happened in March in 2022 (according to the local weather).  I know this is just a preview for what is to come in the months ahead.

In the words of the philosopher Paris Hilton: "That's hot."

 

X Marks The Spot...

 

A treasure map?  No.  But we got a text yesterday that the storage facility is done with their work over our spot and they want us to move back.

We got out reasonably early this morning and got the coach and cargo trailer back into our site...

 Between that first and second shot, we put tire covers on.  Joan got those snazzy silver and blue covers from Vine... the price was right.  We closed up and locked everything and headed back home.

Joan has work to do with her new part-time "job": Vine reviewer... it takes time to "shop" on there, get stuff ordered, then photographed for a review.  Fortunately, she can do it at her own pace and sit out on the patio with the furry boy while she posts.

In the meantime, I'm taking her Xmax for a ride.  Yeah, that's the "X" for the title.  It was already into the 80s when I started gearing up around 10:30.  A good time for the cooling vest and the white mesh jacket (really, kind of a light silvery gray).

The Xmax is between my CTX and the B200 in most stats: size, weight, horsepower, acceleration, top speed.  But, it isn't an "in between" kinda ride.  The Yamaha engineers did a great job with this bike - I am impressed with it every time I ride it.  For the longest time, I felt the riding position wasn't a good fit for me, but I think I was basing that on having a couple Vespas.  After riding the Burgman with the stock seat, the riding position on this Xmax is a big step up in comfort and room... probably a closer match now that the Burgman is sporting the Corbin seat.

The Xmax feels narrower and sportier than the Burgman.  It handles urban riding as well as cruising through the twisties.  For comparison sake, the Burgman is lighter and that is noticeable going through the tight curves... but the Xmax has 50% more horsepower and only weighs 50 pounds more, so it comes out of the corners faster and with more authority.  The brakes take a bit more grip on the Xmax, but they slow that bike right down.  The stock seat is comfortable and gives you room to move around a bit, but it is comfortable when you push back and "lock" your hind end in for some fun maneuvering.  I have room for my feet on the flat and inclined parts of the floorboards.

It has a sporty, aggressive look to it...

I read one reviewer's description as "an angry Centurion."  Another view...

It has bigger wheels and a bit more wheelbase than the Burgman (15" front, 14" rear vs the B200's 13" and 12").  That means it needs a bit more effort to run it through the curves, but I would still classify it as fun, light, and agile.  It's a good combination of performance and handling, and inspires confidence.  It is easy to see why Joan likes this bike so much.

I've said I find myself "giggling in my helmet" when riding the Burgman; on the Xmax, I find myself smiling through the ride.  Nice bike!

 

When I got back from the ride, Murphy had had lunch, and Joan and I had a light snack to hold us 'till supper.  She decided to finish up her Vine reviews in air conditioned comfort.  When Murphy was done playing with his favorite toys, he joined her in his favorite relaxing spot...

 And, nap time...

The boy plays enthusiastically, then needs his rest.  Me, too.

That's a good idea!

 

This morning, while in our morning routine, Joan asked me, "Are you going for a ride this morning, or do you want to test out your cooling vest some more this afternoon when it's hot?"

"I hadn't thought about it, but a ride right now sounds good - thanks for suggesting it!"  I geared up to head out... without the cooling vest.  It was 56º when I got up - already up to 75º an hour and a half later.

With the current arrangement of bikes in the garage, I can easily take out my choice... and my choice this morning is the Burgman.  I considered Joan's Xmax - another day.  Riding down the street, there are new houses going up on both sides - workers' vehicles line both curbs, allowing room for only one vehicle to pass down the middle; no problem with a scoot.  One worker blew through a stop sign without looking just as I was about to go by on the street without a stop sign - he didn't know I was there.  I saw him, and could see that he was going too fast to stop, so I was already covering my brakes.  Yes, I hollered - he just looked bewildered.

With that out of the way, I can get on with enjoying my ride.  And, I did.  The only other traffic I encountered was... wildlife on the twisties: lots of quail, other birds (sadly, no roadrunners), a couple lizards (these are bigger than the friendly little geckos we had in the Tropical Tip), and a snake.  First snake I've seen since we've been here; he was moving along smartly, right across the road.  These critters seem "street smart"... or is that "desert road smart"?  There are a couple places where hiking trails cross the road, so I keep an eye out for hikers; saw a dozen or so, but not on the road.  Two other motorcyclists going the other way - I can't say for sure, since they were each wearing a full-face helmet, but I'm guessing they were smiling as much as I was.

In the grand scheme of things, the twisty roads that are reasonably close to us are a pleasure to ride.  Are they as good as the roads in the Black Hills?  No, but thanks for asking.  Well, not all the roads in the Black Hills, but most of them there have a decent road surface.  I am glad to have a more comfortable seat now on the Burgman - it helps with the occasionally rough road surface.  And as much as I like the right curves, I have been enjoying the views: the desert is still pretty green, but I expect that will tend to go more brown soon.  I like the "cliff on one side, drop-off on the other side" views here, too.

The riding is supremely better than anything we had in south Texas.  Even when I have to ride on the freeways, it feels less dangerous here than in Texas.

And what about the Burgman?  Goofy name, great bike!  Here's the scoop on how that name came about...

"Burgh, burg, berg etc means “town” or “city”in many European languages." The story from a Suzuki spokesperson is that Suzuki hired a German marketing firm to name the bike. "Burg" = "castle" in German. It's prestigious to own a castle, therefore, it's prestigious to own a Burgman.

Not sure I buy that.  But, I am enjoying the heck out of the B200, especially with the Corbin seat.  It is an interesting combination of peppy, maneuverable, comfort (great food/leg positions), good storage, and surprisingly good fuel economy.  Decent wind/weather protection.  It does not have the sexy Italian style of a Vespa, but that is a personal taste thing... when I first considered buying one of these in 2018, I thought it was better looking than the Vespa.  My tastes have matured somewhat, but I think it's still a decent looking bike.

As much as I like the CTX, the Burgman is getting more riding time.  Could be it is still the "honeymoon stage" with it being the new bike, or more likely the fact that it is lighter and easier.  The CTX is bigger, faster, and more "planted" at highway speeds.  Both are fun bikes to ride, offering different riding experiences.

Biffed it...

 

Where did the term biffed it come from?

 

It is believed that the term originated in the early 1990s in Europe. At the time, the sport of mountain biking was picking up popularity and people were starting to use the term 'biff' to describe a crash or fall while riding.

 

No, I didn't "biff it."  I did get out on the CTX this afternoon,  wanting to try out the "cooling vest" that Joan ordered (from Vine) that arrived last night.  First order of business, though: putting down a garage floor liner.  We moved bikes out of the garage...

While I was moving bikes around, Joan got the liner put in place...

Joan suggested we put bikes in their diagonally, to, perhaps, make them easier to get one bike out.  Great idea!  Let's see how that works...

We tried a couple different arrangements before we agreed on the one immediately above.  Easy in and out with any of the three bikes.  Her bike has been to the back of the garage, since I ride more often than she does - No need to move any of the other bikes to take out any particular choice.

 

One other chore to get done today: take the Equinox for an oil change - I went to a Valvoline Instant Oil Change at the retail area a couple miles from our place.  Not quite "instant," but I didn't have to wait to get into a bay, didn't have to get out of the car, and I was done in less than 15 minutes.  Close enough.

With that done, I started gearing up to take the CTX out.  It was already 90º - this would be a good test of the cooling vest.  I wet down the vest, wrung it out, slipped it on, then put the new white jacket on over it.  Yep, it feels cool.  In a damp sorta way.

The manufacturer says it won't leak water on you, as long as you have thoroughly wrung it out.  Heading out, I could feel the cool on my torso... still a hot breeze coming at you everywhere else.  Hey, it is the freakin' desert.  I stopped for gas a couple miles from home - normally, in this kind of heat, I would be a sweatball when not moving.  I was in the shade of the overhead at the gas station, and... it wasn't bad.  65mpg, in case you were interested... not the 86.5mpg I got on the last tank on the Burgman, but still acceptable.

Some surface roads, stop & go, and then off to the mountain.  I was just about to the high point when I came across an accident that had just happened: a guy on what looked like an older YZ 125 had gone off the road, slid on the rocks and sand, and went for a tumble.  I got there as he was just starting to get to his feet.  A guy in a car had already stopped on the road with his flashers on, and was helping the downed guy up.  Another motorcyclist with the guy that "biffed it" had turned around and was just getting off his bike.

I asked the guy, "Does anything feel broken?"  (I don't think so.)  "Can you move your arms and legs?  And turn your head?"  (Yeah, I think so)  About that time, the guys legs got a little wobbly.  "That's the adrenaline backing off."  We moved him to a big rock to sit on.  Looking at the guy, there were scratches across the front of his helmet and face-shield (good thing he was wearing a full-face helmet) and his long sleeve t-shirt was torn at the elbows and full of desert plant debris - he obviously slid a bit.

His friend picked up the bike - the seat was torn off, the plastics on the right side were cracked, and the handlebars looked a bit tweaked.  I talked with the guy to make sure he had his wits about him.  "Do you want me to call you an ambulance?"  (No!  I'm fine - just a bit achy!)  "Yeah, you're going to be a lot more achy tomorrow.  What do you want to do?"  (If my bike is rideable, I think I just want to go home.)  It took his friend a half dozen tries to get the bike to fire up.  The guy seemed steady on his feet.  Heading down the mountain, I took the front, the guy behind me, his friend behind him, and the couple in the car behind them.  I kept an eye on him in my mirror, and he seemed to be riding OK.  He is lucky he didn't hit a big rock (boulder) when he went off the road.

We parted company at the first main drag out of the park, me heading west, the two guys going north.  Not sure how the guy wound up on the wrong side of the road, since it wasn't on a tight curve.  This road is not forgiving of any inattention.  He's lucky he "low sided" and didn't hit a boulder or a car coming the other way.  I didn't take a camera along, and didn't get my phone off the bike... so, no photos.

Back home for me.  I got out of my riding gear and Joan took a photo of me wearing the cooling vest...

It did the job - still giving me some cooling a couple hours after I first put it on.  While I felt clammy, my shirt (under the vest) wasn't wet.  It is one more option for riding in the heat.  (It was 93º when I got home.)  Not exactly stylish, but it serves a purpose.

 

Look how tall I am!

 

The furry boy had a lot of energy this morning.  That would make one of us.  After getting him his breakfast and chasing him off the kitchen counter a couple dozen times, I thought maybe some outdoor time would give him the chance to work off some of that excess energy.

"Hey, Dad - look how tall I am!"

 "Look, Dad - I'm eating a cactus!"

"Well, that didn't taste good!"

We walked around in the yard.  It helped with the excess energy... well, mine.  Yes, I'm kidding: I didn't have any excess.

Back inside, and he's still a wild boy.