The bike still isn’t back together.  Part of that is because Ben has been working mega overtime lately, and he just hasn’t had time to work on the bike.  Another part of that is the rain we’ve been hit with the last few days, and last but not least is the cost.

Once Ben tore into everything he found a few other things that need to be replaced, and that means I’ve got to come up with the money to do it all if we want to get the bike back on the road.  It’s not just a matter of having the bike to ride for fun.  Now that Ben works over an hour away from home it’s cheap transportation, too.  Our gas costs have been reduced drastically thanks to the bike, but it does not good sitting in a gazillion parts in the garage.

I thought about taking out a loan to have the money to pay for it all right now instead of buying 1 part at a time until we get it fixed, but we don’t need some huge amount of money.  A car title loan would provide just what we need to get the bike back on the road, and the Rodeo is the perfect candidate to use for the title loan.

I need to sit down and discuss it with Ben, but I have a feeling this is the way we’ll end up going.  I’ve been checking out raloan.com, and I think this is going to be the best way for us to go.  We’ll just have to see what Ben thinks.

As usual we’ve been having some beautiful riding weather, but riding hasn’t been an option.  The bike is currently torn down waiting for Ben to fix it because he stripped 2nd gear.  If he’s going to have to fix that he’s going to go ahead and do a complete replacement of all the gaskets and seals and fix the slight oil leak we’ve had for awhile before it gets any worse.

This is what the bike looks like right now and the little helper who thinks she’s just awesome because she’s helping Daddy fix the bike in her dress up heels!

Guest post written by Kayla Brandon

I’m not sure if it’s the proper name for it, but we’ve always referred to the room at the front of our home as the sitting room. I guess it’s because to us it can’t be the living room without a TV. But I would love for us to use it some more. I love to go in there and read. But I think that we should definitely do a little more entertaining in there. So I’m working on making it easier to entertain in there with some additional seating.

We can’t really fit buying some large pieces of furniture into our budget right now so instead I’m going to find some easy seating solutions. When I was looking up some DIY seating solutions I saw info regarding windows replacements and knew that our home could really use some. So we’re going to get our old ones replaced. That’s something I’ve considered doing for a while.

I’ve decided on using a few key ottomans in the room to serve as some extra foot stools when it’s just our family and extra seating when we have guests around.

By doug_wertman

The weather has been nice this week, and that’s why I felt it was time to throw out my annual motorcycle safety lesson.  We see a lot more motorcycle accidents this time of the year because seasonal riders are pulling their bikes out of storage, motorcycle dealerships are running promotions to entice new riders, and everyone is hitting the road.

Whether you’re a new or experienced rider it’s even more important to pay attention to the other drivers on the road right now.  In the last 2 weeks I’ve already heard of 4 different motorcycle riders killed or injured in our area because they collided with cars that pulled out in front of them.  You must remember to pay more attention to the car than the car is paying to you! Many drivers don’t look twice, may feel they are superior to motorcycles, or may just be a bit slack this time of the year because they haven’t had to be as cautious watching for motorcycles in the colder months.

When riding always treat each car as if the driver cannot see you.  One of the most important rules of safety is taking the steps to keep yourself and other drivers safe.

If you’re a new rider or you’re thinking about buying your first motorcycle please please please take a motorcycle safety course before you get on the road.  At the very least spend check out the Learn To Ride A Motorcycle ebook.

The book will teach you valuable information starting from the very beginning phase of getting a permit, how to choose the right bike, choosing safety gear, and all the way up to proper riding techniques.  The book also recommends taking an MSF course, and I truly believe this is one of the best ways to learn proper riding safety.

Ah! I am absolutely loving this beautiful day!  73 degrees in February?  I’ll take it!  I’d love to hang around and chat, but the little one is spending the day with Grandma, and I’m ready to dust off my gear for a ride.  Time to go break those new tires in!  Hope you’re having a great day and getting some riding in, too!