You pull into a parking spot at your office, at the parking lot or garage you have monthly parking at, the grocery store, the drug store, the place where you pick up your cat’s food. You head in, get things done, and come back out minutes or hours later to find a nasty note about […]
Gaijin on Super Cubs!
Rest assured, a full trip report will be forthcoming, even though this particular trip hasn’t been a true motorbike trip. Today, we’re in Sendai, and I rented a Honda Super Cub 110 for a few hours from Rental819 here in Sendai. An online reservation system (in English, even!) made the process really easy from our […]
What the heck’s been going on lately?
So it’s been longer than I’d have liked to post a good update. Here’s a quick recap of my two wheeled summer: Lots of commuting. More of that than anything else, if I’m being honest. New tires! I’m on my second set of Metzeler Roadtec 01s now and I just absolutely love them. Great in […]
Video: Helite Turtle 2 Airbag Vest
We were fortunate to receive the brand new Helite Turtle 2 on loan from Helite to test. It was too big for me, so I didn’t ride-test it, but I did get to try out detonating (is that the right word?) a cartridge while wearing it. It really does provide nearly instant neck stabilization and […]
Gear Review: Icon Airflite Inky Helmet
For the first time in a long time, I have two brand new lids. One was a planned replacement of my 5 year old Shoei GT Air, and one was a purely spontaneous purchase because, well, tentacles. Introducing the Icon Airflite Inky! General fit I’ve been commuting with this lid for about a week now. […]
Ooooh, tentacles…
It’s not too much of a secret that I really like octopi. I missed out on getting Icon’s Airmada Colossal lid a few years back, and I’ve regretted it often. I don’t think I’ll make the same mistake with their new Airflite Inky Blue. It’s a lot of graphic. More than I usually like. But […]
Defying Diagnosis…
That feeling when you get a status update from the shop on your motorbike and that status update is that your bike is defying diagnosis. Ugh. And of course my backup bike has a dead battery and is also in need of some TLC like an oil change. I have two motorbikes, and neither of […]
2019 Mileage Maniacs!
It’s Mileage Maniacs time again! Mileage Maniacs is a really fun rally that’s simple – any motorcyclist can do it. The goal is to just ride as many miles as you can between March 1 and November 30. Documentation is a snap – once you’ve registered all you need to do is post a photo […]
New Gear Inbound: Shoei GT-Air II Redux!
It’s time to replace my trusty Shoei GT-Air (just checked the label, and it rolled off the production line in February 2014). I’m a bit of a data nerd, and over the life of my lid, I’ve worn it at least 843 days. With an initial purchase price of $610, that works out to a […]
200 Miles Before Breakfast
Hey would ya look at that? I’m on another podcast! Check out episode 6 of 200 Miles Before Breakfast for a discussion with me! I’m almost getting used to these now. The official description from the BMW MOA: Join us for a discussion with Liz Howe, MOA member since 2016, solo Euro-traveller, blogger and year-round […]