MacDuff is NOT a happy dog... Thursday, I received a call from the Texas Sidecar Company: could I bring the Nighthawk down so that they could work on the fittings? There is much about the sidecar project that makes absolutely no sense; very few people want to ruin a perfectly fine motorcycle by taking away its ability to lean. Those that do rarely put a sidecar on a bike where the cost of the hack…

Dad here; public disclaimer: before you get all spun up, let me assure that this post is NOT currently relevant at the Casa del Whackos. But on the other hand, it does apply, as we all know that the time we are allotted with our dogs is finite and way too short even at that. I've been dreading this post for years, but I'm the dad of the Casa del Whackos and sometimes the dad…

Dad here; it occurred to me this weekend that it has been TWO WHOLE YEARS since my last motorcycle trip out west. And that one was strictly business, as it was to spread Marty's cremains(Marty's particles, or "Marticles")from atop Ophir Pass in Colorado. How does this just happen? This is not the me that I used to know, as traveling, preferably by motorcycle, is what has always been what Charlie is all about. But the…

Part II of the story: People often think that loneliness is one of the hardest things about traveling solo; they couldn't be farther from the truth. The real difficulty occurs when you cross paths with a "random" someone at just the right time and place on the journey; then you must go your seperate ways. The pain of that seperation is in some ways to the loss of a favorite dog. You know that it's…

Can I tell you a story? This is one of many stories that, for many reasons, I had decided to keep under wraps for years. They are many of my absolute favorites, but due to my particular location on life's road at the time they occurred, work wise/church wise, etc, I thought it wise to let the statute of limitations expire before "telling off" on myself. I have been known to do some pretty ridiculous…

There is a place west of Taos, NM that is one of the most special places on the planet. Its a barren place with no amenities save the rocky ground to set up a tent, where the desert abruptly vanishes south, (straight down), into the vast Rio Grande Gorge. It's a fantastic place, with a steep, rocky trail that descends almost a thousand feet down to a series of hot springs on the banks of…

Happy Charlie Bravo Day! Words mean things; but sometimes it's hearing a word used in a different way that makes perfect sense as well. A buddy of mine was telling me of an old truck he had bought on a whim, and he was hoping that the vehicle wouldn't swarm him with too many problems. "Swarm". I had never heard the word used that way, but it described such a feeling perfectly, just as when…