Old Blue Update

Just talked to the mechanic.  Old Blue only needed a new battery.  So with that and a general tune up, she'll be up and running by tomorrow!  I never thought I'd miss having her around this much.

On a side note, here is a good youtube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKcFPnS9r8Y&feature=player_embedded

Old Blue

Old Blue is down and out and is in the shop right now.  Nick and I finally decided to take her in last thursday to fix the starter.  So far, the only thing we know is the battery needed to be replaced.  Hopefully after she is fixed, we wont have to embarrass ourselves by push starting her every time we want to go somewhere.

We miss you Old Blue!

Floods

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013216072_apasvietnamfloodsbus.html

No need to worry. We'll be on motorcycles, not buses.

In all seriousness, we're probably going to stay in southern Vietnam and avoid monsoon season in the central and northern regions of the country.

1 Month to go (and counting)

The countdown to the trip has officially started!

Clear skies + full moon = awesome

Just had a great ride.  Went from Nicks to Lake Washington Blvd to Seward Park then back to my place.  The moon illuminated the sky and reflected off the lake.  The air also had a nice, crisp feeling to it. 

Tonight was definitely my most enjoyable ride yet.  Can't wait to get out there again....

Snake Wine

I definitely plan on trying this stuff....I wonder if its legal in the US?

"Snake wine and Scorpion wine are asian beverages that can be found in some Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos Cambodia, but also in Korea, and Japan.

To prepare this incredible beverage a cobra snake or some scorpions are put into a bottle fulfilled with transparent rice wine liquor and some herbs are added before the drink is left to ferment for months. The venomous cobra snake used to make Snake wine is preserved to have the snake poison dissolved in the rice wine, but because snake venoms are protein-based they are inactivated by the denaturing effects of ethanol, and no more dangerous, but this makes a healthy liquor with many health benefits.

Many types of snake drinks can be found all across Asia, but the most famous one and the only original one is the one found in Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos."

We've hit a milestone

We just hit 1,000 page views! 

I'm guessing 600 of these are from me, 300 are from Nick, and 50 are from Charlie.

Movie Night!

The three of us got together for a movie night last night!  The movie choice was the American classic "Easy Rider."  If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it.

I think the jury is still out to which one of us is most like each character.  I'm not sure we'll ever be able to decide that, but we might try to sport some of the looks from the movie.  Charlie is going to grow a mustache just like Dennis Hopper, Nick will wear Peter Fonda's super cool glasses, and I'll fashion Jack Nicholson's helmet.  We're going to be the coolest Americans in Cambodia/Vietnam (or at least feel that way). 

250 cc's of fury

With 400 miles under my belt on Old Blue, I decided it was time to take it to the next level. Tonight around 11:45 pm, after a night of studying at Starbucks and salsa dancing at SCT, I entered the I5 on-ramp off of NE 50th street. I had second thoughts as I saw a semi fly past me halfway down the ramp, but I took solace in knowing that if I was going down, I was taking the ASM study manual with me. Old Blue didn't let me down. She sped up to 70 in a hurry and smoothly sailed all 5 miles on her maiden I5 voyage. I live to study another day.

Riding in the rain

You know all those times that you are driving comfortably in your car in the rain, you come across a motorcyclist who is soaking wet and you say, "man, I feel bad for that idiot."

Well, I'm officially one of those idiots.  I pushed my luck tonight and got caught in a nice little downpour.  Fortunately, I was only in Ballard, but I still got pretty wet.  Riding wet and in the rain is about as much fun as it sounds.  Its also a little more scary because we do not have windshield wipers on our helmets, so the water beads up on the visor and limits the vision a bit.

I think I learned a lesson tonight, but I have a feeling that this is going to happen again pretty soon.