A Salute from Harley-Davidson and Supermodel Marisa Miller

How would you like to meet supermodel Marisa Miller? Or better yet, met Marisa Miller as she hands over the keys to your favorite model Harley motorcycle? Well, if you are on active duty in the military or a military veteran you have an opportunity to do just that.

With Veterans Day just around the corner, Harley-Davidson wants to salute our service men, women and veterans by giving away a brand new Harley. Follow this link for more details. Harley-Davidson’s rich heritage with the military is the brainstorm for this promotion. The winner will get the bike of their choice, a trip to Las Vegas (for four) and an opportunity to meet Marisa Miller.

For those of us who have no military background, there’s stuff for us as well. Stop by your participating Harley Dealer to purchase postcards and posters. If you are U.S. Active Military or Veterans with valid identification, stop by on November 11th for your free calendar.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you already know how I feel about our vets. While some may say this is strictly Harley taking advantage of our sensitivity for their own self promotion, I say bah! If the end result is to raise awareness, then it’s OK by me. After all, many large organizations raise millions of dollars a year for charities while promoting themselves. The end result however, is that the charity benefits too. In this case it turns our attention to veterans and our military personnel. To me they are true American Heroes who should not be forgotten or overlooked.

This Veterans Day, I plan to salute my favorite Navy Veteran from the Greatest Generation; my Dad!

Why Don’t Witches Wear Underwear? (And other things to talk about on Halloween)

Saturday, October 31st proved to be unseasonably warm in these parts. It may have made for great fall riding if not for the persistent drizzle that began late morning. So rather than chance slipping around on wet leaves, I took myself over to Dave’s for the afternoon. He, Lee and Deb had scheduled a photo shoot. With a few muscle man pictures being planned, how could anyone want to miss out on that? Off I went.

If you took a look at RoadRunner’s current issue, you already know that Dave takes great photos. He is working at perfecting his portrait shots and some of us have raised our hands to be practice models. Saturday was Lee and Deb’s day. Having heard what Lee had in mind, I was all about being a fly on the wall.

Dave had everything ready, and I thought for sure the ribbing would soon begin when I overheard comments about “man hair.” What? Did I miss the first zinger? But Dave was all business and would not be easily distracted. He did not even crack a smile with I offered up my Halloween joke. “Why don’t witches wear underwear?” Lee was all over the punch line, but Dave was ready with the snap snap snap to capture the grin on Lee’s face. Deb, as usual, anticipates Lee’s antics and is as gracious as ever.

I got my notepad out (as good writers will do) to be sure to jot down the one-liners. I had my camera ready too, as I wanted some behind the scenes photos of my own. Soon we were all business too, watching Dave do his thing and learning a few tid bits about photography as the day wore on. Dave adjusted his umbrella lights and the soft box to chase away the shadows from the backdrop. He added rim lighting for greater effect on some of Lee’s muscle man photos. He gave direction, adjusted his camera and worked up a real sweat as he got into his favorite hobby.

It turned out I was not that useless either. “Hold your hand here Pat” I was asked to dispel a bit of light. “Hold the reflector” so he could get a bit more light under the chin. I was impressed! Dave is on his way to perfecting his portrait shots. The afternoon zipped by. Dave has posted a few favorites on his Flickr site. Here you can enjoy a few behind the scene pictures I took.

Oh, and if you want the punch line to my Halloween joke, you will have to send me e-mail. Use the link in the menu bar to the right.

You can leave Dave comments about his photos at his Flickr site. If you have any words for Lee or Deb, I’ll be happy to pass them along.

Being a fly on the wall can be so enjoyable!

Will Electric Motorcycles Catch On?

I stumbled upon a news article in my local paper about two guys riding from Detroit to Washington on electric motorcycles. The two men were recreating the trip of auto industry leaders who converged on Washington to beg for billions in bail-out money. The two hope to convince the president to extend the Energy Department’s Grant Program to include two wheeled vehicles and also expand the Federal Tax credit already available to electric vehicle buyers under the Economic Stimulus law to include electric motorcycles.

The pair rode the Enertia, Brammo’s electric motorcycle, 700 miles in 45 mile increments to reach Washington. The motorcycle weighs 280 pounds, has no gears, shifting or clutch, has a top speed of 60 mph and plugs into any wall outlet. It takes four hours to fully charge the 6 Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries (made by Valence) for a cost of about 30 cents. Their target market is the commuter. You can buy one for $12,000 at Best Buy.

My first reaction while reading the article is that no one I know would buy one. Neither would I. First, I am not crazy about taking my travels in 42-45 mile increments. Then, where do I plug this baby into? If I have mechanical trouble (or in this case electrical trouble) where do I go? I felt I was being too harsh at the onset, so I dug further to find more answers.

The pair put up a website to promote their trip and asked for volunteers along the way for places to plug in the bikes. They would reimburse the cost of electricity if asked. Not many of us want to tap all our family and friends for electric hookup on our next trip. Nor do I think they want to entertain us for four hours while we get charged. As for repairs, call the Geek Squad at Best Buy. First, I NEVER shop Best Buy for personal reasons, so that is out. For all you others, I don’t remember seeing too many Best Buys along the rural routes of our great Nation. So you would certainly have to be a commuter within the city limits.

There are two other components to electric vehicles that I always wonder about, and that is the claim of reducing our individual carbon footprint. Isn’t the power supply I’m using provided in large part generated by fossil fuels? By using wall outlets powered by fossil fuels we are merely shifting carbon emissions from vehicle to power plant. Currently, only 11.1% of our power in the United States is generated by renewable energy.

Now let’s think about the batteries. A regular car has one battery. The Enertia is powered by six. The Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries are good for 2,000 charges. I may never need new ones, but help me get rid of them once I do. They are hazardous waste after all.

While the intent at reducing carbon emissions is a worthy fight, those who develop electric and hybrid vehicles will have to step it up. There is technology already at work by which the vehicle itself recharges the batteries. This technology is already at work in some hybrid busses around the country. The motorcycles in this instance need to have a longer range than 45 miles. Many people I know commute that distance one way each day. Will the company they work for let them plug in at work? My guess is “no.”

In Europe, where the electric motorcycle is already being used, the makers had to add “fake” engine noise to draw customers. Brammo understands this and has built in noise. However, I don’t think a little fake noise is going to make up for the lack of shifting, distance riding, and lack of power outlets available to the general public at this time. The riding season is short in northern climates too, limiting their use. The claim on their website that if you can ride a bike, you can ride the Enertia is a frightening claim. Take a look at a few statistics from random cities around the country of those who purchased scooters last summer when gasoline prices were sky high. If you’re on two wheels, you need riding training. Period.

Right now, the Enteria is too expensive, has limited range and limited use in Northern climates to save much energy or have much effect on your carbon footprint. Brammo is focused on too narrow a spectrum of the population in my opinion to be successful. Inner city and urban riding is scary enough in congested traffic on a motorcycle with limited profile even with louder noise levels. Do you want to try that on a smaller, very quiet electric motorcycle, without rider training? Now there’s a frightening thought.