A Weekend in the Garage

I've spent most of this weekend working on bikes.... well tires mostly. I put a set of Michelin PilotRoad 2s on the FJR. I've had them since I came back from Arkansas last June. I only got 6500 miles out of the Dunlop Roadsmarts. The roads in Arkansas must be very abrasive, and moving along at a spirited pace didn't help their life span!

A new set of PilotRoad 2s for the FJR...


I also replaced the tires on the Zx-14. It also got another set of PilotRoad 2s
Balancing the new rear tire...



Earlier this week, I spent some time refilling the wood supply in the garage. We burned everything that I had stored in there this winter. I found a couple more dead Oak trees out back, cut them up and split them. They tested between 8 and 15% moisture content. Ideal is 20% or less, so this stuff is ready to go! I also hauled in most of what I had drying in covered piles outside, it will be ready by fall. Another couple of logs, and it will be all full!


I read an article on line about using solar power to help speed the drying of firewood, I needed more space for wood storage anyways, so this is what I came up with. It's 2 4'x4' pallets bolted together, and some 2x4s I had in the garage... A little wood stain-sealer from the Re-store (cheap, $1.50 for the part of a gallon can!). I went all out and picked up 2 12' sheets of clear plastic roofing panel.... Not bad for an afternoons work.


The 4 sides will be lined with 4 mil plastic sheets. There's an open area under the high part in the back, and plenty of ventilation from the pallets. The sloped roof faces the south for maximum sun exposure. It's 4' x 8' x 4+', so it will hold a full cord of wood.... Filling it ought to keep me busy!

Playing with WLMM and a GoPro Hero3.

I finally mounted the camera that I got as a Christmas gift, so I went for a ride and shot lots of video. I'm still trying to figure out the editing and uploading. I posted some videos to YouTube, but some of them are pretty crappy.

It seems like in order for the quality to be there, I have to save the finished product in a larger size. It's a double edged sword, if I make them small, they look crappy... if I make them big, the quality is great, but it takes forever to upload to YouTube... I don't mind a 1440x1080 movie on my hard drive, it looks fantastic!. But, if I save the finished work in 320x240, so I can upload it to YouTube in less than a day, the small video looks really bad on YT.

I'm still experimenting.... my computer came with Windows Live Movie Maker and it's easy to use, any suggestions?



I know ride videos are not everyone's favorite, but here's a short 2 minute clip from Friday's ride. Even after rain and warm temps, there's still snow and ice all around me.






Here's the crappy, short clip with a deer at about 1:40..






And if you have time, a better quality long version of the above clip... The deer is at about 6:30 and a squirrel about 7:20? Hard to see on the YouTube videos, but clear as day on the raw, full sized clips in my computer.




Feel free to criticize or offer up better ways of doing this.. I'm still learning!


Thanks!


P.S. The smell of the fallen leaves and pine trees was amazingly strong. I wish this was smell-a-vision, I'd share it with you!

2013 Wisconsin Fishing Opener Weekend...

and every lake around is frozen....

Pictures from today.




2897 Acres of ice.....

Surprise!!!... now with more pictures..

What a wonderful thing to wake up to... And yes, they are from this morning, not January!




The chairs on the back patio...


The front sidewalk and steps...


The front yard...



I went out to clear the driveway. It's some heavy wet snow, and it;s still falling.

I measured 11" on the steps and 9 in a tree sheltered area of the driveway.



While I was outside, a bird took advantage of the shelter of the open garage.
Here he is in the window above the workbench.


And picking at some seed spilled on the floor...



While the rest of his buddies were outside entertaining the cats...


I finished the driveway and wanted nothing more to do with snow for a while. I just want to enjoy this....


More snow removal later, or I'll get smart and wait for the solar snow remover to come out...


Oh, for another motorcycle blog with a super ride report through Yosemite.. Check out...THIS.