More Time To Enjoy The Trip

I had a dream last night that while inspecting my bike before the upcoming trip to Maryland, I found a nail in my rear tubeless tire. For some reason, my vehicles are attracted to nails. I lost count how many nails keep getting in my Jeep Grand Cherokee tires. I hate to deal with flat tires. 

Yesterday, I spent a few hours charging the batteries of my cameras, the Nikon D7000 DSLR, the GoPro Hero 9, and making sure my camera and personal stuff fits in my bike tail bag. 

I am leaving my tripod and laptop at home for the first time. Less heavy stuff to carry, and less time spending hours in front of the computer editing photographs. That action alone should give me more time to enjoy the trip.

Me Voy Pal Carajo

Este fin de semana si Dios quiere me voy pal carajo a dar una vuelta en la motora. Finalmente vamos a tener unos dias soleados, sin aviso de lluvia. 

Eventualmente, las vueltas pal carajo en la motora van a ser compartiendo en los chinchorros de Puerto Rico. Pero en lo que el hacha va y viene, me tengo que conformar con pasar el fin de semana en Maryland. Veremos a ver que les comparto cuando regrese el proximo lunes.

Spiderman Drag Racing in Maple Grove Raceway

I am planning to attend a motorcycle drag race in Reading, Pennsilvania in two weeks. Larry "Spiderman" McBride will be participating. "Spiderman" is the quickest and fastest Top Fuel motorcycle rider in the world. Currently holds records over 260 mph and 5.50 second quarter mile. 

This event should allow me to practice using the Sigma MF 400mm F5.6 telephoto lens that I purchased last year to photograph motorsports events. I am looking forward to it!

A Tangled Confusing Mess of Camera Mounts & Accessories

I didn't realize how incredibly easy for photography and videography mounts and adapters to accumulate over time, leaving people like me with a tangled, confusing mess. 

I have so many mounts that I lost count. I think that eventually I am going to need an extra room in my apartment to use as storage just for my Nikon DSLR and GoPro action cameras adapters. My main problem is that when I travel, I usually carry more mounts and adapters than I need. For that reason, lately I've been leaving my tripod at home, and carrying instead my miniature Platypod tripod. 

I just finished inspecting my gear, and for this coming weekend I am planning to bring two cameras, and only a handful of accessories. Including my clothes, they should all fit in my motorcycle tail bag, without any issues. We'll see. 

Motorcycle E-ZPass Update

This morning I contacted the people at customer service of E-ZPass to update my credit card information, and to confirm my motorcycle E-ZPass transponder was still active. It's been a while since the transponder was last used.

The E-ZPass update took less than 10 minutes to complete. I was informed to expect a new transponder by mail in less than 7 days, and in the meantime to continue using the old one since it has been activated. That means that I am ready to travel to Maryland this coming weekend to attend the Classic Motorcycle Day event. Woo Hoo Yeah !!!!

Classic Motorcycle Day in Maryland

It's been 9 years since the last time I attended the Classic Motorcycle Day event in Mt. Airy, in Maryland. Weather permitting, I am planning to attend this year on May 17, 2026, in Mt. Airy.  I am looking forward to it.

Bitten by The Tail of the Dragon

Last night I've read the story of a biker on a Harley Davidson motorcycle that went down riding the Tail of the Dragon. He spent three weeks in the hospital after completing several surgeries. 

In 2018, I rode 11 hours on my bike from Philly to get to Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort in North Carolina. During preparations for the trip to the motorcycle resort, I remember thinking that I needed to be extra careful riding Tail of the Dragon to avoid getting into an accident. I felt the need to make sure my bike was in one piece, so she could take me home at the end of the week. 

The same day I arrived at the motorcycle resort, a kid from Canada unloaded a motorcycle from his pick-up truck. Less than ten minutes later crashed his bike in one of the 318 curves that are notorious for accidents if riders are not careful. 

An average of 1.5 to 4 riders die annually on the Tail of the Dragon. I tried my darndest not to become part of the Deals Gap statistics.