Planning a trip to Birmingham

I am planning to ride the Guzzi Breva to the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama in October.

This will be the second year in a row I will attend the Barber Vintage Festival, a great event where a wealth of classic motorcycles and motorcycle racing are on display, as well as airshows, an awesome motorcycle museum and more.

Here's a tentative route plan.....

I see-food and I eat it

Tonight I ate some of our fine finned friend for dinner. Salmon to be precise. I used a seasoning named after myself, i.e. jerk seasoning, and cooked it in a pan to blacken the seasoning.

According to the packaging this was wild salmon, which I guess is a good thing, not produced in some fishery. I am guessing it was Atlantic salmon, or at least I like to think so, since I live near the Atlantic. Anyway, I enjoyed it :)

Alfa Spider steering check

This morning I spent a little time in the garage to check/adjust the steering on my 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider. I had been noticing some "slop" aka freeplay in the steering wheel lately, so decided to get the front end up off the ground and make an adjustment.

After jacking the front end of the car up, I removed the airbox to give myself a bit more room to work. The steering box on the car is located directly under the brake master cylinder.

First I checked the fluid in the steering box and found it to be low. This is done by popping a plastic cap off the top of the steering box and checking visually. I added some Spirax 80w90 gear oil to top it off.

Next I loosened the lock nut (19mm) which holds the steering box adjustment screw in place. I screwed the adjusting screw in all the way (flat bladed screw driver), which made the steering wheel very difficult to turn and then slowly backed it out, checking along the way to see how the steering felt. Eventually I got to a point where I thought the steering felt pretty good and much of the slop in the steering wheel was eliminated.

All that was left was to tighten down the lock nut, put everything back together and take it for a brief test ride. The steering feels tighter and better to me. I will have to perform a more lengthy test drive soon.

Here are some scintillating photos. Click to enlarge.

Verbal wanderings

This evening I suckled upon ale with friends. My weapon of choice? Hazed & Infused ale from the Boulder Brewing Company in Colorado. H & I lays the groundwork for what follows.....

Did you ever go shopping for shoelaces? My friend Scott the Canuck and I spent 3 lunch hours this week looking for shoelaces for his spent black shoes. He needed 36" dress laces and none of these god forsaken stores had what he needed. Target, WalMart, all kinds of gd mall stores. Nothing! 30" laces heck yes, by the bucketful! But you want 36" laces, you might as well rip out a kidney cause that's what it would take to get those.

I took my Alfa Spider to work today. Man oh friggin' man, I love that little car. It's not fast. It really does not handle too well because it is pretty old, but it is like a pair of comfortable shoes. It's predictable and it just feels good.

My friends Jerry, Jim, Andrew & I shared some ale and some good times this evening. These are good fellas. I enjoy the "wisdom" which Jim imparts, I like learning new phrases from Andrew (he's British) and I like Jerry's storytelling. Man it was a fun time.

My friends Dave and Julie in Tucson just had a new baby girl, Violet. What a perfect looking baby girl. Congrats Dave and Julie!

I got some cool stuff in the mail today. First, I got a new custom made oil dipstick for my 2006 Moto Guzzi Breva. It is SLICK!

I also received a new to me (aka USED) evaporator coil for my 1991 Alfa Romeo 164L. The one i have has a gd leak so my a/c is blowing warm air. I must replace the evaporator coil and then enlist the services of my pal Champ Pilot Jim to test and recharge the system. Cooling air awaits!

I miss some people I have not seen in a while.

Okay, I have rambled long enough. Here are some pics. Thanks for hanging in there and reading....

New shocks for the Spider - part 2

Well I received the "new" shocks for my Spider in the mail today. I was pretty disappointed as they appeared to be new old stock (NOS) and low end shocks. In fact I do not think they are the right shock for the application and I am sending them back.

So I put my old shock back in the Spider and will continue to look for something else which is correct for the car.

Here's a pic of one of the cheap grey Monroe shocks I was sent (in a box labeled as a made in Italy shock) next to one of the original shocks (black).

Grand Funk Tune O' The Day

Today's Grand Funk Railroad tune is "Hooked on Love", from the 1970 Closer to Home album.

This is a cool song, reflecting some of Grand Funk's rock, blues and gospel roots. Sit back and enjoy 7 minutes or so of some great Grand Funk.....

New shock absorbers for the Spider - Part One

Tonight I started working on removing the rear shock absorbers from my 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider. I anticipate the new shocks will arrive tomorrow from UPS so I wanted to start the removal process tonight to hasten things tomorrow.

Removing the rear shocks involves removing two nuts (one of which is a locknut) from the bottom of the shock where it attaches to the trailing arm on the car. After that two bolts need to be removed from the shock where it attaches inside the trunk of the car.

To get the shock out, the rear upholstery in the cabin of the car needs to be removed, followed by a metal access panel, which when removed reveals the top of the shock and allows extraction through the access panel hole.

Tonight I just removed one shock and will put the new one in its place tomorrow when it arrive. Then it is on to the other side of the car. Following are a few pics from this most exciting endeavor.

Tune in again tomorrow night for more pics and more enchanting verbiage.

Grand Funk Tune O' the Day

Winter and My Soul - released 1969 on the album "Grand Funk". Great tune loaded with a bunch of individual jams sessions.

Back from the Shack!

I met my friends Bob and Andrew this morning for a motorcycle ride down to Mims, Florida, destination Louis' BBQ Shack. The ride down was nice, if a bit HOT and HUMID. Even riding along the heat and humidity was noticeable and I think it must have been pert near 90 degrees in the late morning.

We arrived at Louis' BBQ, just south of SR 46 on US Hwy 1 in Mims. It's a decent sized place, with probably 30 tables or so and a very casual environment, befitting of a place which calls itself a "shack" :=)

All three of us ordered one of the daily special, sliced pork accompanied with 2 side items of our choosing and accompanied by an ice cold glass of "unsweet" iced tea. They call it "sweet" or "unsweet" down here in Florida.

The food was excellent, pork piled high on my garlic toast, accompanied by corn bread muffins and sweet potatoes. Mmmmmm good!

After lunch, we decided to take a circuitous route back home. This decision turned into a VERY exciting ride back. We headed north on US Hwy 1 north, running alongside the Canaveral Nation Seashore Wildlife Refuge. Then we headed east on SR 4164 (aka Maytown Road). A few miles on this road and we noticed the skies becoming very dark ahead. We decided to proceed on, as we are manly men, and take whatever Mother Nature was going to dish out.

It started with some sprinkles but soon we were ENGULFED in heavy wind and rain. Gusts of winds were whipping tree branches about, knocking leaves, pine needles, twigs and branches off trees and threatening to push our motorsickles off the roadway. In short order all three of us were soaked to the bone and the rain and wind continued for probably 10 miles or so.

Finally we made our way to the other side of the storm, none the worse for wear except for some added moisture in our clothes and boots. I have ridden through a lot of rain and wind and it's not often I get concerned while on the bike but this little bout with the weather did unnerve me for a moment or two.

The rest of the ride back was uneventful and nice. Louis BBQ Shack gets a big THUMBS UP from Kid Guzzi!

Here are a few pics from the ride. For the sake of reference, the black bike is Andrew's Triumph Tiger, the Maroon bike is Bob's Harley Davidson Heritage Softail and the grey bike is my Moto Guzzi Breva.

CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE!

Another motorsickle ride planned for Saturday

Tomorrow a few of us here in central Florida are planning to get on the bikes and ride over to the Atlantic coast. We are heading to the Titusville area, south and east of Orlando.

The destination? A little place called Louis' B-B-Q Shack!

At this point it looks like just three of us will be attacking Louis' for lunch, Bob on his HD, Andrew on one of his Ducati's or Triumph and yours truly on the Moto Guzzi.

"A" below marks the spot of Louis BBQ Shack.

Sunday morning activity

This Sunday morning was a nice on e to spend a bit of time cleaning up the 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Graduate. In 1986 the Spider came in three different trim levels. I don't know all the differences but here are a few:

Graduate - the lowest trim level. No power windows or seats or locks. Vinyl interior. 5 speed manual transmission.

Veloce - Medium trim level. Leather interior. Choice of automatic transmission. A/C. Power seats and windows.

Quadrifoglio - Top trim level. Leather interior. Automatic transmission. A/C. Power seats and windows. Special body kit.

PHOTOBUCKET GALLERY OF MY 1986 SPIDER

Saturday morning Breva ride

This morning I met up with my friends Bob (HD Heritage Softail) and Alan (Ducati Monster S4RS) for a motorcycle ride. Bob has lived in Florida most of his life and he has obviously spent some of that time riding the roads of central Florida as he took us on a great route with some really nice roads and scenery.

We saw a place called Sugarloaf Mountain. It's not a mountain nor does it resemble a loaf made of sugar. But that's what it is called for some reason. Sugarloaf Mountain is the highest point in the Florida peninsula at 312 feet (95 meters) above sea level. It overlooks Lake Apopka, the second largest lake in Florida. This is one of the few areas in Florida I have been to which has some decent hills/elevation changes.

Our destination was a great country bakery called Yalaha Bakery. We stopped there for a coffee and danish. There was a good sized crowd there, including members of some sort of Corvette club.

After breakfast we rode a while longer and then headed off in our own directions toward home. I then took a ride north to Ormond Beach to visit the Moto Guzzi dealer there. They have a swell selection of new Moto Guzzis in stock.

All in all a fun day of riding :=)

PHOTOBUCKET PIC SLIDESHOW CLICK HERE!

Grand Funk Railroad Tune O' the Day - Feelin Alright

Today's Grand Funk tune is "Feelin' Alright", a cover of the tune from the English band Traffic.

Grand Funk's version was released on the "Survival" album in 1971. I think the Grand Funk version is great. Crank it up, give it a listen and see what you think....

Grand Funk Railroad Tune O' the Day

Today's Grand Funk tune is "To Get Back In" from the 1974 Shinin' On album.

This album was unique in that it was done in 3-D and contained a set of 3-D glasses built into the front of the album (the glasses popped out so you could view the album cover and inside in 3-D).

This was a very good selling album for Grand Funk, reaching #5 on the charts and GOLD (greater than 500,000 sales) record status.

Sit back and enjoy yet another great Mark Farner-penned tune from Grand Funk Railroad.

Incredible NASCAR finish

Check out the video of this amazing NASCAR finish to the Coke Zero 400 on July 4th.

Back from Buckeye land

I am back from my trip to Ohio to visit my old college pal Paul and his family. The flights there and back were pretty much great, as I flew out of Daytona Beach airport to Akron via Charlotte, NC. What a treat to not have to deal with the size and traffic of Orlando airport.

My pal Paul and I went to an LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf) event in Toledo, Ohio Friday morning. I am not an avid follower of women's golf like Paul is but it was a great time. Excellent players, good crowds and a beautiful course. We followed two different threesomes through the 18 hole course, including Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis. Great players. I was able to get within a few feet of all of them so I guess I will consider it a brush with greatness :) Unfortunately I have no pics from the event because you are not supposed to take pics on the course.

After the golf we found our hotel, a fairly disgusting Comfort Inn, and changed and headed to downtown Toledo for a AAA baseball game between the Toledo Mudhens (Cleveland Indians farm club) and the Columbus Clippers (Detroit Tigers farm club).

Fifth Third Field where the Mudhens play is a really nice stadium in downtown Toledo. We had great seats and saw a good game.

Saturday we headed back to North Canton to get Paul's son John as he was going to the Cleveland Indians game with us Saturday afternoon. We headed up early in the afternoon and hung around downtown Cleveland near the lakefront (Lake Erie) for a while awaiting the 4:00 game.

Around 3:30 we started walking toward the stadium but noticed very little traffic or people for the game. I know the Indians stink but this is ridiculous. We got to the stadium and found it was empty. Turns out they had changed the game time to start a little after 7:00 Saturday night. Paul said he never got an email informing him of the change in start time. Yeah, sure Paul.

Anyway, we decided just to have Paul exchange the tickets for a future game and he will be taking his boys John and Luke to see the Indians later in July. We pretty much just headed back to Paul's place after a couple little stops and called it a day.

'Twas a great time in Ohio seeing my old pal and his family.

PHOTOBUCKET PICS CLICK HERE!

Off to the Buckeye State

Soon I will be heading off to Ohio to visit my old college pal Paul Miller and his family in the Akron area.

Paul is a golfer and a fan of golf in general so on Friday we are going to go watch an LPGA golf event in Toledo, Ohio, the Jamie Farr Classic. You prolly remember Jamie Farr as Klinger on MASH.

After watching some of that tourney, we are going to see the Toledo Mudhens minor league baseball team Friday night.

Saturday we are going to head to Cleveland to catch an MLB Cleveland Indians game. Looking forward to seeing a game at Progressive Field(formerly Jacobs Field), in downtown Cleveland.

Grand Funk Railroad Tune O' The Day

Today's Grand Funk tune is Rock N' Roll Soul, released in 1972 on the "Phoenix" album.

Rock N Roll Soul was a Top 40 hit at #29.