July 14, 2008
2008 Ride for Kids Fund Raising Plea
Click to listen, right-click to save -> 2008 Ride for Kids Fund Raising Plea - 2.8MB - 1:58
Hey remaining die-hard listeners, it's Oblivion with a short edition of EbloTheWeblog.com. Last summer, as you may remember, I raised over $1600 for the Chicagoland Ride for Kids charity motorcycle ride benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Chicago event set a new record and raised over $400,000 to fund research to treat and cure bother cancerous and non-cancerous brain tumors in children. Last year, due to my fund raising efforts, I got to meet some of the children who have benefited from this research and I have to tell you they really motivated me to ride again this year.
My goal for this year has been to match my funds raised last year, but unfortunately I'm falling short and the ride is THIS Sunday, July 20th. If you'd like to donate, any amount would be appreciated not only by me, but more importantly by the children and families of children with brain tumors. You can donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/markmatula .
If you happen to get this message AFTER July 20th, you can still donate - the money will still go to a great cause and any amount will be credited towards my fund raising efforts for next year's ride. You can bet I'll be riding again.
Thank you for supporting me and this great charity and thank you for staying subscribed. I hope to have a real show out shortly discussing my recent adventures. Have a wonderful day.
Contact info:
- email: eblo at ratula dot net
- My voicemail line is dead from neglect.
- skype: oblivion9999
- Subscribe to my podcasts via RSS: 
- My banners and promos
July 01, 2008
Yoga for the Road
Sometimes I write offhand comments in message boards or whatnot and then reread them later and am honestly impressed with myself (yes, I know how egotistical that sounds). Here is one such bit in response to the question of why motorcycling stirs the soul in a way driving a car does not:
As for the allure of the bike, part of it for me is how fluid the experience is. In a cage, the kids could be jumping on the back seat (in the good ol' days before car seats) with little to no effect on the direction of the ride. On a bike, every little movement does SOMETHING. Take an ignorant pillion for a ride if you don't believe that. You can flow like water on a bike. Sometimes that water is quiet and still, other times it's a rushing, burbling torrent.Riding (well) is all about the flow. Yoga for the road.
That is all.
June 15, 2008
Father's Day Weekend
Yay for Father's Day. You know, I never really 'got' Father's or Mother's Day until I became a father. That's too bad.
Saturday, Emily and I hung out at Kenosha Regional Airport watching planes while an EAA Young Eagles rally was going on.
Someone had brought a pedal-plane which she adored.
Then we went to a "farkle-fest"/tech day a few blocks from our hose and got my new motorcycle tires (Bridgestone Spitfie S11s) mounted on the rims. I met up with these guys through Sport-Touring.Net and their generosity saved me $75+ as opposed to getting the tires mounted in a shop.
Emily got a little bored/tired.
Afterwards, we went to Pep Boys and the motorcycle shop for tools and brake parts. When we got home, we went swimming for the first time of the year.
On Sunday, I got a bunch of nice work shirts and shorts and a great Gerber multi-tool (think Leatherman but different brand) and after my ladies took me out to breakfast, I spent 7 hours with my Seca replacing the brake pads/shoes and getting the freshly shod wheels on.
I got back from my test-ride (Oh, the new tires are fantastic) in time to watch a few videos with Em and put her to bed. I finished off the evening with a Guinness or two and a few episodes of Long Way Round.
It was a GREAT weekend!
Unfortunately I had to settle for a phone conversation with my dad instead of hanging out in person. Maybe next year we can spend it together.
April 11, 2008
Olympia Phantom Riding Suit Review
Olympia Phantom One-piece Suit Review - 18.6MB - 26:25
Official web site for Olympia Phantom suit.
Contact info:
- email: eblo at ratula dot net
- My voicemail line is dead from neglect.
- skype: oblivion9999
- Subscribe to my podcasts via RSS:
- My banners and promos
July 19, 2007
Ride to Work Followup
I DID ride to work yesterday for Ride to Work Day. Sadly, I only saw one other bike on the road during my round trip. Sure the weather was a bit threatening, but I made it with only damp shins (and grimed up chrome :( - just enough rain to ruin last weekend's polish job).
The AMA had this post about Michigan congresscritter Tim Walberg (R) riding up to the steps of the Capitol as part of his Wednesday commute to work.
And it seems like a lot of fellow XJ riders made the commute astride their rides.
So maybe the weather was to blame, but it was really lonely out there.
