Spring has sprung!

While I have not yet seen a robin, I went out to my back yard to survey the damage and see about pulling some weeds before they got a good foothold. To my delight, as I went up the hill behind my house, I found some tulip leaves peeking up out of the flower bed.


I righted a bird feeder that had fallen over in a recent windstorm, and set back toward the house, when to my further joy appeared the flower that is synonymous with early spring; Crocuses!!


Only a few sticking up through the leaves and stubble from last year, but enough to get me excited for a little gardening.

Close calls

Riding season is here in force, though delayed for a couple days due to rain, for casual riders at least. The temperatures have been in the 50's and 60's, making the riding much more fun.


Unfortunately, the idiot cagers are still out there. I've had more close calls in the last week than I had all winter. Early last week, for instance, I was riding the scoot home from work, traveling along 722 where it meets airport road just outside Neffsville, and watched as a light colored minivan blasted right through the stop sign, without slowing, and turned left in front of me (coming in from the right, on a corner).


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I was headed west, and the minivan came in from the north, right in front of me. I countersteered and laid on the horn all at once, but the only response I recieved was a blank stare. I can't believe how idiotic some people are.

I even had a close call in a 1997 Dodge 15 passenger van. It is one of the largest passenger vehicles on the road (short of a bus), and yet, an idiot pulled out in front of me, coming off 222 south onto 272 south. I had to brake hard to avoid him. Thankfully I had no residents in the vehicle with me.

So, to all my readers, happy riding, and stay safe. Remember, the guy in that SUV on the side road...He's out for blood.

Ephrata First Sunday Ride-In: March 2010

The riding season has started, and with it, the First Sunday Ride-Ins in Ephrata. I was there at about 9:00 am, and there were perhaps fifty other bikes there already. I took the Sabre since it was finally promising to be warm enough to ride it comfortably.

When I left my house, it was 32 degrees, and my right thumb was numb by the time I arrived in Ephrata. The promise of a warm day had not yet been realized, but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The Sabre Growled to life and rumbled off down the road without any complaint, itching to stretch her legs after a winter of innactivity.

I only saw three scooters this morning, one of which was the Vespa 300 Super belonging to Gerry from ScootLancaster. One rider had a Piaggio BV-250 that he had repainted a brilliant shade of blue. It was quite eye catching, though I'm not sure I would have used the same shade of blue myself.

The Sabre seemed to draw a lot of attention. I was somewhat surprized, but I had several people admiring her lines and asking questions about her. I knew, yet again, that I had chosen well when purchasing Natasha last September.

I hung out a bit with the CMA folks, and looked around a bit, and finally left for church around 10:15. It was refreshing to spend time with other motorcycles, and it felt good to see my bike getting lots of positive attention.

Here's the photos I took this morning:

Scooter Racing?

This was too good to pass up. I looked at my reading list this evening and saw that Gerry from Scootlancaster (See sidebar), had posted an item about the Mid-Atlantic Scooter Racing Commission. I think I'm going to have to check it out.

Looks like a lot of fun.

New perspective

I've heard for much of my life that if I have enough faith, I can do whatever God calls me to do. I've even heard some preachers say that if I have enough faith, I can be rich in earthly wealth, though that hasn't happened yet, so either I don't have enough faith or they are idiots.

In any event, this past weekend, at my church's men's retreat, we watched a video of Louie Giglio entitled "How Great is Our God." The content of the video is enough to give one pause to begin with, but beyond that, he quoted Isaiah 41:31, which says (quoted from the New Living Translation):

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."

He then went on to define the word "trust," which is rendered "hope" or "wait" in some other translations. He stated that the word has a deeper meaning of being in a time of deep need to the point of despair, and I imediately identified with that. He then went on to point out that the promise of scripture is not that I will find all my problems solved, nor will I necessarily be removed from the difficult situation I find myself in now, but rather, God will give me the strength to endure through these times, even though I cannot see the light.

My wife and I are struggling to keep our house. She has been unable to work for a while and is on medical leave from her work, and despite recieving some pay, it's not enough to meet all our financial needs. We recieved the first of the foreclosure warnings from the bank last week, and have a stack of bills that seems to get higher every day.

I struggle to get out of bed some days, but I was encouraged by this verse. "Those who wait for the Lord, will gain new strength."

I know that even if things get worse, which is a very real likelihood at this point, God will give me the strength to get through, if I trust in Him.