Open Road Biker

Friday and Saturday I spent most of the day taking the BRC (Basic Rider Course). In the military if you ride you have to take it or the ERC once every three years. I wish now I would have waited for the Experienced Rider Course but they weren’t doing it soon enough. The BRC was fairly long but all in all it was ok. It is designed for people who have never been on a bike. If you have never ridden I recommend you take it. Now if you have been riding or just getting back into it you should probably take the ERC. There is a lot of useful techniques that even someone who has been riding for a while will learn. The extra practice on those good habits doesn’t hurt either. One thing though that made me think a little was the motorcycle inspection. How many of you inspect your motorcycle before every ride? It is a very quick process that could save your life. Just remember TCLOCS.
Tires, Controls, Lights, Oil and other fluids, Chassis, Side stand.

We headed up to Brussels today and had some Chi Chi’s (something is just wrong with that). Maybe next time we will find the all you can eat rib place Amadeus and eat there. After the meal we went to the Grande Place and enjoyed the scenery. There had to be at least 10,000 kids there, it looked like a European boy and girl scout convention had turned loose on Brussels, there were kids all over the place. I walked around for a little while and took a couple of pictures. It was just too crowded to take many good pictures. Today was probably the shortest ride we have been on in a while and it was over around 4 in the afternoon so it doesn’t give me much to talk about so until next time be safe and keep the shiny side up.

I was riding along today thinking and a thought crossed my mind about organized motorcycle groups and riding. Most people that I know, that have bikes usually seem to ride more if they are part of a group of riders. You rarely see the lone guy out riding on a Saturday or Sunday. I guess for the most part we are social creatures and need that interaction and it makes us more likely to get out and ride if we have people to ride with. Now I know not everyone cares to ride with others, there are the lone wolfs and I will probably ride by myself a whole lot when I move to Clarksville (probably Dover, TN) but while I am here in Belgium I am enjoying the camaraderie that comes with being in some type of motorcycle group or club. Hell, before coming here I could probably count the number of people that I considered friends on one hand but now that number seems to have almost tripled just by being a part of something. I am not talking about acquaintances either; we are talking about those who would give you the shirt off of their back. So far in the biker world I haven’t met anyone who was just unsociable and hard to be around. I mean there are the protocols in the biker world but as long as you don’t breach those you will find most riders fairly good people. I still have 3 more months left here and maybe only 2 with my bike but in that time we will probably have at least three events and about twelve more organized rides. I am really looking forward to the rides and events and almost dreading leaving it. Hopefully those friendships that have formed here will continue even when I leave here and move on. That is usually the true test. Well until next time, get out and ride because you never know when the rains will come again.

Be sure to check out the forums @ www.openroadbiker.com

I thought I would say a quick word about the colorful ads that you may have noticed this past month on the site.
I have tried to allow appropriate companies that are somehow related to motorcycles to advertise here. I have personally ordered stuff online from J&P Cycles and found the service to be quick and hassle free. I have friends who have ordered from Fox Creek Leather and Eastwood tools and they had no complaints. As time goes by I plan on ordering from JC Whitney, Helmet Audio, and Mr. Beer and trying out their products. If any one has problems with ordering from any of these vendors please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will see what I can do for you with the contacts that I have. Last but not least, when ordering from these companies please click on the ads from here. That is the only way they can tell that this site is sending them customers. That is the way I keep this site running.

Thanks,
James

(I have posted this in the forums also, just trying to pay some of the sites bills and promote some good companies)

Okay, here it is. Open Road Biker is hosting a contest to see who does the most miles for the rest of this year. The contest begins today and ends January 1, 2008 at 0001 in the morning Eastern Standard Time (that would be 12:01 AM).
Here are the rules;
1. You must be an active poster on the forum from the time you join the site or right now (whichever is later). Active poster is someone who posts an average of 2 post per week. The posts should be quality post and not just quick replies to other peoples topics or posts.
2. You must submit atleast one story of a road trip you took during the year 2007 (with pictures is prefered).
3. You have to post your starting mileage here using a photo, with your screen name somewhere in the photo  (example below).
4. You will have to submit your ending mileage the same way.
5. Your must have a photo of yourself with your bike here .
6. This has to be with your Motorcycle, no cars allowed and only one motorcycle at a time. If you change bikes you need an ending mileage picture taken of your odometer before your beginning of the next bike.

Now for the prizes;
1st Place will receive $50.00 U.S.
2nd Place will receive a T-shirt with the Open Road Biker logo
3rd Place will receive a coffee mug with Open Road Biker logo