Broken Ribs and Busted Pride

I mentioned before how my father's beloved Roadrunner was totaled on a rainy day when another driver hydroplaned and railed into him. He was busted up pretty good but managed to get out of the car and scream like hell at the other guy. He went to the hospital for some broken ribs.



When these pictures were taken, a passer by said something to the affect of "Wow! Did the guy driving that survive!?" To which my Dad replied, "You're looking at him!"



The impact forced the Roadrunner into the curb, breaking its rear wheel off.









And above is "the other guy's" car. After my father screamed and shouted, the man replied, "Well, if I can help you at all, I'm a priest." My father being a good Catholic was shocked to realize that he had just unwittingly cursed out a priest.

International Motorcycle Show, 2011 pt.III

Since when did Captain America have a front brake and a 3" belt drive?!

International Motorcycle Show, 2011 pt.II

Again, I apologize for the blurry pics. All I had was my phone. Stay tuned, I have more pics to post!

International Motorcycle Show, Javits Center, NYC, 2011

This above bike is from 1917. They were letting people sit on it and climb into the side car and everything.
















More pics to come...

Cold Night at the Garage

It's dark. It's cold. It's my garage.



My very first bike, a '75 Yamaha XS650.





My project for the night; install a headlight and remove the front fender of my Uncle's '82 FXR Shovelhead.



So far, so good.



And we're done. Shiny new headlight. I successfully removed the front fender but not without the bike falling off the jack. Yeah, it was pretty frightening. Lucky for me, the kickstand was out and saved it from landing flat on its side and I was able to grab a handlebar, get the jack out of the way and save the bike. Don't tell my uncle.

Two Up

This one is dedicated to my fiance.

More Old Pics

I know the above pic is a repeat but it is one of my all time favorite photos of my Dad's friends and his Roadrunner.



Dad at work.



That's Mom leaning on my father's second Roadrunner. The first (and fastest) one was totaled when another car hydroplaned on a rainy day and t-boned him cracking his ribs and his pride. He planned to build this one up like the previous one but lost patience with it and bought a Charger. I will be searching the photo albums and old shoeboxes on my next visit to my parents' house in hopes of finding some shots of the Charger.

I've been inspired by American Wind to dig up more old family pics. It's just good to know and remember where you're from.