Go Grandriders Motorcycle Documentary Coming to Minneapolis

The trailer for this film was making the rounds on the Internet a while back and now the documentary is showing in Minneapolis next month. It is about a group of 17 Taiwanese with an average age of 81 who decide to ride around Taiwan on a thirteen day motorcycle trip. If you are not in Minneapolis, check the gograndriders.com website below to see where you can see it in your area. I plan on seeing it. See you there.

Watch the Trailer here: Go Grandriders Trailer

Event:2013 Taiwan Film Festival

Date: October 19, 2013, 12:00 P.M. ~ 5:00 P.M.

Location: St. Paul Student Center, 2017 Buford Avenue St. Paul, MN 55108 Map

About Taiwan Film Festival:

• Taiwan Film Festival expects to bring you and your friends to have a better understanding from different aspects to recognize and appreciate the beauty of Taiwan through Taiwan movies.

Sign-up: http://tolib.org/signup (FREE)

About this event(Taiwanese and Chinese pronunciation with English caption are provided):

• Go Grandriders 12:30 PM - 2:10 PM
• A Year in the Clouds 2:50 PM- 4:30 PM

 

Official Description of “Go Grandriders” from gograndriders.com

“On average, they are 81 years old but possess dreams only 18-year-olds would have. They would tell you, through life-long experience, “Miracles do happen as long as you continue to dream!”

In Go Grandriders, a group of 17 senior citizens, many of them learn how to ride a motorcycle for the first time, embark on what may be the most daring adventures of their lives: a 13-day-entirely-on-motorcycle tour around the island of Taiwan. Among these 17 Grandriders, two have had cancer, four need hearing aids, five suffer from high blood pressure, eight have coronary disease, and every one of them has symptoms of joint degeneration. However, at the youthful age of 80 plus, they dare to ride on scooters and feel the land they have lived all their lives.

Challenges officially begin when they decide to hop on their scooters: fighting objections from family members, taking driver license test at an old age, aching bodies and every possible poor weather and road conditions along the 1178-kilometer (732-mile) journey. The day prior to the start of the journey, the captain suffers from ulcer and declining red blood cell count, how will he lead these Grandriders to the goal they have aspired to achieve?

The trip brings harrowing escapes (riding on narrow coastal highway with gusty wind and a steep cliff on one side, and intimidating big trucks speeding by on the other), pure exhilaration (including a gleeful romp in the waves when riders reach Taiwan’s beautiful east coast), and somber reflection (as riders recall their youths fighting in the Sino-Japanese War).  Defying society’s expectation, the Grandriders’ journey will inspire and delight audiences both young and young at heart.”

*Image from gograndriders.com

Disability Plate on a Motorcycle

I saw the above scene a couple weeks ago and at first I thought “wow, what a rude scooter owner to park in a disabled spot.” Then I looked closer, and I saw it had a MN motorcycle disability plate. I was confused. In all my years looking at motorcycles, I’ve never seen one before.

I spent some time on the State website to learn a bit more about disability license plates in MN. According to Statue 168.021 a motorcycle can be licensed. If the owner already has a disability plate on another vehicle, they can apply and automatically get one for their motorcycle. Neat.

168.021 PLATES FOR PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSONS.

Subdivision 1.Disability plates; application.

(a) When a motor vehicle registered under section 168.017, a motorcycle as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 19, a one-ton pickup truck as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 21b, or a self-propelled recreational vehicle as defined in section 168.002, subdivision 27, is owned or primarily operated by a permanently physically disabled person or a custodial parent or guardian of a permanently physically disabled minor, the owner may apply for and secure from the commissioner (1) immediately, a temporary permit valid for 30 days if the applicant is eligible for the disability plates issued under this section and (2) two disability plates with attached emblems, one plate to be attached to the front, and one to the rear of the motor vehicle, truck, or recreational vehicle, or, in the case of a motorcycle, one disability plate the same size as a regular motorcycle plate.

I read further in Statute 169.345 to what qualifies as a disability to get the eligible plates. The list is pretty long, so if you’re interested check it out. There are several on the list I think could still permit someone to operate a motorcycle safely such as “because of disability cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest”.

I was glad I saw the plate and took a picture of it. It encouraged me to stop and learn more about options for disabled folks. I’m happy to see Minnesota offering the disabled parking privileges to those on a motorcycle who need them.

Have you seen a disability plate on a motorcycle before? Does your State offer them? Let me know in the comments below.

Sidecar Rides for Kids

Kids love sidecars even more than dogs do. My friend Rick volunteers at a local block party giving free rides in his sidecar each year. He usually manages to find a few three-wheelin friends to join him. I had a fun time last year, so when he asked this time I was happy to accept.

The block party fills the entire parking lot of a local church. They have all kinds of family-oriented fun from ring toss, to fire trucks, hay rides, and the sidecar rides or as the kids like to call them “motorcycle rides”.

Last year, it was just me and my Ural since Rick’s FJ rig was down for repairs. You can see it up front in the above photo. You may remember me posting a video from riding in it back in 2011. You can watch it here: FJ1200 Sidecar Ride.

We were also joined by another Ural shown in the center of the pic two above and in front just above. It was much too clean. The owner joked that he thought it was dirty and had an urge to wash it before he came. I didn’t see any dirt on his. Mine still has mud on it. hehe.

The three of us loaded up with kids each trip, usually only taking one each, but could sometimes squeeze in two small kids. We had a couple helpers getting helmets and eye protection on each of the kids, so they were ready to go when we pulled in.

We rode in formation slowly around the neighborhood. It was a sight. The kids loved it; they were giggling and laughing the whole way. We all had a good time. Looking forward to next year.

Indianapolis MotoGP 2013 (and the ride home)

Last month I was in Indianapolis to watch the MotoGP races. I normally watch the races on MotoGP.com, but seeing them in person is a much richer experience as you would expect. My tickets let me into the event Friday, Saturday, and Sunday just like last year. You can read about my trip there last year here.

I like to get there early to avoid the crazy traffic later in the day. On both Saturday and Sunday it was pretty empty around 8am. Nice and easy to find a parking spot. Suzuki had the space near turn 2, so all Suzuki owners got free trackside parking. Nice! Sunday was pretty empty except for a nice Vstrom from Canada. I tried not to drool directly onto his bike.

Instead I made my way inside the Suzuki compound to drool on the demo models instead. I like the look of the adventure model, but wouldn’t buy it. I don’t like the bags. I have my own. I don’t need more cluttering up the garage. I thought for sure I would have bought a vstrom by now, but maybe next year.

Suzuki had a pro photographer taking photos of owners and their bikes for free. I really liked how this one of my SV650 turned out. Thanks Suzuki!

The moto midway is inside the track and filled with all kinds of events to keep you busy throughout the day. Lots of shows and vendors are setup. I already posted up the fun I had watching the stunt show.

Yamaha was giving free riding lessons to little kids. It was funny to watch them ride around their little track of hay bales.

In the Yamaha tent they had all their new bikes on display just like Suzuki, Ducati, and Honda. This Super Tenere had an interesting accessory… a winch where the topcase should be. Ride into a swamp and pull yourself out? Seems like it might be a bit hard to balance while using it. hmm.

One of my highlights for the weekend was watching the electric motorcycles. They put in lap times similar to Moto3, and were nearly silent. When they went by, you could hear the chain noise, and the tires rubbing on the track. A very neat experience. I want to ride one!

Here are some Moto3 riders practicing their launches at the end of a warm-up session on the back straight. It was very common after the session had ended for them to stop on the last lap and practice their starts.

This is where my MSF ticket had me sitting. It was a very nice view of turn 1 and the front straight. The shade was also nice. Not a lot of people yet for Moto3.

From the same spot turn 2,3,4 were easily visible. I watched the Moto3 and Moto2 races with the MSF RiderCoaches. We had nearly the whole section reserved.

In between the Moto2 and MotoGP races, I was able to meet up with @Reyzie. We’ve only interacted on Twitter, so it was nice to put a face with the name. Nice meeting you!

For the MotoGP race, I sat with @Todkapuz as I did last year. He had an extra ticket, and the views from the SW Vista are very nice. We had a fun time together on Saturday and Sunday. A shame he has to live so far away in FL.

A pic of MotoGP coming through turn 3 for the first time.

MotoGP riders coming through turn 4 for the first time. Amazing how loud they were as they accelerated into turns 5 and 6.

The races were a great time just like last year. I had fun with all the different events and meeting some new and old friends. I’m looking forward to going again in 2014.

After the races, I went straight back to my bike and prepared to leave to try and beat the mob of traffic out of the city. I was greeted with a new keychain holder stuck into my seat by Suzuki. Thanks! I’ve been using it since. I like it.

I had hoped to hop directly on the freeway near the race track, but the local PD had other ideas. Instead of letting vehicles go directly to the freeway like last year, they refused to let us turn that direction and forced us into the city center. Ugh! My GPS wasn’t very useful since it kept telling me to turn around. For miles, they had the road blocked off. I just kept riding until I recognized a major street. I easily wasted 30 minutes trying to get back to I-74.

I had entered the waypoint for my house into the GPS, and I had intended on riding until I was tired and then stopping for the night. That didn’t happen.

Around 8pm, I had talked to my wife and mentioned to her the GPS thought I could get home before midnight. She was excited and said she’d wait up for me. I took the most direct way home instead of the slow fun route I had originally planned.

Around 10pm, I started getting sleepy and cold. I stopped to put on some more clothes, and to take a quick nap at a rest stop along I-94. After 15 minutes, I was ready to go again. I still thought I could make it. I was wrong.

I-94 across Wisconsin is a dark and relatively cold place at night. The traffic really thins out after midnight as well. My little headlight wasn’t enough, so my speed was reduced until other vehicles caught up to me and there was more light. It was rather scary seeing deer stand right on the side of the road.

The pattern of stopping for a quick nap and to put on more clothes continued all the way home. At the last stop I had already put on everything I had to wear: two pairs of pants, two t-shirts, a long sleeve shirt, and my fleece. The last thing I had was a Suzuki magazine which I opened up and put inside the chest area to cut the cold breeze.

It was in the 90s after all during the day, so I was dressed for heat. The little valleys were quite chilly and damp to ride through. With no sun for warmth it was a cold dark ride. The fact I was so sleepy probably wasn’t helping keep me warm either. A windshield would have been nice.

I arrived home just after 2am CST. I had called my wife hours before and told her not to wait up. I had ridden 665 miles in just over 12 hours. A new record for me most miles in one day beating my previous 613. It was a long, fun day.

 

Full Flickr Album of 65 pictures here.

Motorcycle First Thursday–September 2013

This past First Thursday at Dulono’s Pizza in Minneapolis was the first I’ve been able to attend in several months. Between teaching BRCs and other events, I was not able to make it. It was nice to see all the motorcycles and feel the buzz of the crowd.

There were several thousand people in attendance. I would have expected a bit more given the near perfect weather.

One of the strangest “bikes” I’ve seen in a while was the photo above and below. It looked like it had a sidecar chair on the front and a goldwing on the back for a total of three wheels. The front also had a shifter and a steering wheel. I couldn’t locate the owner to ask more questions, but it was a bit weird. Several of us gawking at it started to discuss whether we’d rather ride in the front or on the back. I had a hard time deciding. Where would you rather be?

A well placed helmet on this beautiful old bike.

A couple other old bikes for the gawking.

MV Agusta.

A nine inch rally light on this converted dirt bike. I bet that thing is bright! They are normally used for rallies like Dakar and Baja.

A spare spark plug on this engine. Strange. I think it’d foul sitting in there.

Line of Ducatis

Like the cookie monster helmet!

Not a huge fan of the camo KLR.

Disney edition Harley? lol.

The ugliest windshield I have ever seen, and it was on a Ninja. Just a giant hunk of plastic taped to the bike.

A 1970s Rokon. Cool. I’d like to ride one of these sometime. Love the 2WD.

A close-up of the driveshaft coming out of the frame into the sprocket setup on the front wheel.

Some more old bikes.

I like the dragon paint job on this bike.

This month, there was a parking cop writing a LOT of tickets. This is the first time I’ve seen them at this event. Be careful where you park!

Motorcycle Stunt Show at Indianapolis MotoGP 2013

A few weeks ago, I was in Indianapolis for the MSF IRETS conference and to watch the MotoGP race on Sunday. Besides the main event on Sunday, there are lots of other things going on in the infield throughout the weekend. One of them was a stunt show from XDL.

XDL is the stunt riding championship of the world much the same way MotoGP is the premier racing series for motorcycles. I’ve seen lots of stunt shows, and these guys were quite good. It wasn’t a competition, so the two riders (Aaron Twite and Kyle Sliger) just had fun showing off various freestyle moves.

They ran three shows a day over the weekend. I enjoyed watching them a couple times. It was quite the scene with them stunting and in the background race bikes flying by at high-speed on the back straight.

Enjoy some of my favorite photos from the weekend stunt shows.

 

Full Flickr Album here: 63 photos.