Motorcycle ride to Bloomington, IL

This weekend my friend and I had a nice 200 mile round trip ride to Bloomington and we averaged 49mpg. Here's some pictures.

Done with finals

This week I had four finals in two days and it was exhausting. Now that this year is over I can start my summer plans, mostly just start doing video blogs on my motorcycle. I think I've decided on going with the Drift Innovation HD170 Stealth because of its thin profile and external microphone. The GoPro's are a bit bulky and mounting on a helmet doesn't look very appealing. So those are my plans, hopefully you all get to do yours this summer.

First motorcycle ride of 2012!

This weekend I went home to spend some much needed time with my family and I was able to sneak in a wonderful motorcycle ride today! I felt quite lucky to be able to go on an hour long ride in late February and not freeze to death so here are some pictures to keep you entertained, enjoy!

Sorry I lied....

So a few weeks ago I thought it would be my last opportunity for a nice motorcycle ride but today was beautiful and I got some pictures to prove it. Enjoy!

Chicago Marathon 2011

This Sunday was the Chicago Marathon and the course happened to pass right past my adjacent street which was quite exciting. My apartment was located near the 20th mile and I was able to roll out of bed early enough to watch the Kenyans run by which I have to say, those guys can run fast. I honestly think their normal stride is as fast as I can sprint, it was incredible to watch. More importantly this was my roommates first Marathon ever and even though he slacked a bit on training he still completed it which is very impressive. I don't think I will ever be able to run 26.2 miles, I'll just ride my motorcycle! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Last motorcycle ride of the year and bring on the winter.

Recently, the weather in Chicago has been absolutely beautiful and I plan on taking my last, long motorcycle ride of 2011 this Saturday. The weather forecast for this weekend looks phenomenal so I hope everyone in the Chicago land area enjoys it because this winter is apparently going to be a rough one. Also, the Chicago Marathon is this weekend and my roommate is running it so I wish the best of luck to him.

Earlier I read an article that predicts this winter will have a large amount of snow fall with multiple blizzards possible and extremely cold temperatures. The article also said this winter will make people what to move but I have a hard time believing that. People who live in Chicago love the weather extremes. I just wanted to say have a good weekend and enjoy yourselves!

Just a question for everyone and a long blog coming soon.

Hey everyone, I was wondering what everyone's thoughts would be about doing vlogs on my motorcycle? I can get a setup that will record video and audio while I go on rides. I would think about doing it next summer and plan some nice trips this year in preparation. Also, by Sunday-ish I will write a blog about my freshman year, sophomore year, electrical engineering and the whole "girlfriend" dilemma going into college. Have a good Friday night everyone!

Let's begin with my bike and getting a motorcycle license(for people interested in learning how to ride)

This summer I bought my first motorcycle, a Suzuki Katana. I've been riding dirtbikes and atvs since I was a little kid and the last few summers I would drive a little tw200 (street legal) around my small rural town with no problems. This summer I finally decided to take the msf class and get my license. The motorcycle class was quite amusing because the majority of the people had little to no experience with bikes so if was pretty fun watching people drop the bikes which made the 20hour course pass by fairly quickly. I would HIGHLY recommend taking the msf motorcycle course in your local area because by completing the course all you have to do is walk in the DMV, give them the completion card and you're on your way. Also, this class teaches the basic fundamentals of riding and the instructors are extremely forgiving/friendly (at least with my experience). Far too many people I have talked to want to get a sporty bike and they have never touched a bike before.... If you want to start riding a motorcycle take this course at your local community college and you will be fairly prepared for the rode. Let's get back to my bike though. Being that I already had experience riding I was pretty confident with getting a 600cc motorcycle. Of all the bikes I looked at, this was by far the most logical choice as it is a "sport touring" motorcycle, which basically means it has a powerful engine but it still has a comfortable ride(plus the insurence on sport touring bikes is much cheaper than say a "sport" bike). I am extremely happy with the bike, but if you don't have a lot of experience with motorcycles I wouldn't recommend it strictly because of it almost 500 pound weight. If you want a sporty first bike I would recommend a Kawasaki Ninja 500. So far I've put almost 1000 miles on the bike this month and I'm loving every minute of it.