Floribama Riders

Site members who are in the "site editor" role can enable or disable accounts for users. When a new user registers on the site, the account goes into a "blocked" state by default. The site sends an e-mail to the Webmaster and Treasurer, who can both enable the account to allow our new member access to special site features, like posting blog content.

Site editors can determine who has signed up but has not had their account enabled yet by visiting the Users page. (You might want to bookmark this in your web browser favorites.) Also, I made a change to the right menu navigation on FloribamaRiders.com to make this more obvious. If you're logged in with site editor permissions, you should see a "Users" link like the attached screen shot.

Once you're on the Users page, you can see who is still blocked by following these steps:

1. Click the Status radio button
2. Select "blocked" from the pulldown
3. Click the Filter button

 Then you can decide who should be unblocked.

[This is a work in progress. I need to add more details and tighten this up.]

I had a pretty horrible Thursday the 12th and a great Friday the 13th that almost made up for it. I left work at 10 PM, feeling pretty pleased with myself for finishing a project but a little tired and relieved to be heading home. I was traveling on I-20, in the second lane from the right, with a string of cars in the right lane. One car started to merge into the right lane from the entrance ramp, and another car decided he wanted to be in my lane, even though I was directly next to him.

Some people write their blog posts in Microsoft Word and then post them to this site. You'll get the best results if you use this web site's "paste from Word" feature. The attached image shows the steps to take, which are:

1. Click the "Paste from Word" button.
    
2. Make sure both check boxes are checked. The "Remove Styles definition" is not checked by default for some reason.
    
3. Paste your Word content into the big box and click the "Ok" button.

A couple of notes. First, the "Clean Up Box" button doesn't do anything but delete anything you've pasted into the big box. Don't use it. Sorry, it's a little confusing. Second, you might see images in Word, but pasting them into this box won't get them onto the site.

Good luck, and click my username to contact me if you encounter any problems.

-John "Ice" T

I dropped my VFR in a parking lot recently. The weather was cold, and I started 'er up, turned the bars to the right and let out the clutch too quickly. The motor died, and I plopped over on my right side. Yes, there were witnesses.

This is the first time I have dropped a bike in a parking lot in 10 years and 100K+ miles of riding. Kinda funny, considering I recently took the MSF course and practiced all those slow speed maneuvers.

Damage list

• Right peg: broke off
   
• Right mirror: broke off after I attempted to bend it back into position (sigh)
   
• Ego: Irrevocably shattered

The last riding day of my 2008 trip, en route to Antigua

[Written 8 October 2008
Antigua, Guatemala]

Guess what? Restaurant staffs in Latin America play loud, energetic Latin music for their amusement. It's not just in the U.S. I'm sitting close to the bar of El Arco Restaurante and Bar. The bar happens to be empty, except for employees, and I can hear the contrast in what they're playing for themselves, as compared to the tourists in the restaurant. From the bar side, I can hear interesting Latin music, but it's drowned out by the likes of Celine Dion singing the Titanic song. Oh, now it's Chicago from the Peter Cetera era. "You're the inspiration ... " Yuck.

10 October 2008
Atlanta, GA

I attended a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Experienced Ridercourse today, literally the day after my return flight from Guatemala. The main purpose was to knock some points off a speeding ticket I had received, but I'm also thinking of becoming an instructor. This offered a chance to experience the class again and make some connections in the program.

My first impression upon entering the range was the speeds were way too low, and the experience wouldn't be very challenging. After riding a KLR650 up mountain passes coated with slick mud, how much could I learn from riding over a 2x4? As the morning progressed, I realized I could push myself even at low speeds.

My first emergency stop resulted in the VFR800 hopping up and down as both wheels fought for traction, the suspension compressing and releasing with each hop. Whoops! "Use a little less rear brake, and be smoother on the controls" the ridercoach advised. Umm, yeah. Maybe it would help if I didn't attempt full-on stops on cold tires as well.

James and Sandy on Volcan Pacaya

[Written 3 October 2008
San Pedro de la Laguna, Guatemala]

Here's a quick synopsis to get you caught up with my Guatemala trip.

Tuesday, 31 September - 6 AM flight, arriving in Guatemala City at 11:30. Taxi ride to Antigua. Picked up motorcycle from CATours, got a room at the Black Cat hostel, attended a lecture on youth gangs in Guatemala.