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

Posted by oblivion at 08:59 PM

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.

Posted by oblivion at 10:10 AM

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.

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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.

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Emily got a little bored/tired.

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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.

123/365 - Daddy Daughter Day

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.

Posted by oblivion at 09:38 PM

April 11, 2008

Olympia Phantom Riding Suit Review

Olympia Phantom One-piece Suit Review - 18.6MB - 26:25

43/365 - Go Go Power Ranger!!!

Official web site for Olympia Phantom suit.

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ADVrider.

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MotoLiberty.

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Aerostitch Roadcrafter.

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Please note: Comments are not being accepted by the web server at this time. I'm working on that. Please use one of the other contact methods below. Thank you.

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

Posted by oblivion at 10:45 PM

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.

Posted by oblivion at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2007

2007 "Chicagoland Ride for Kids"/Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Ride Report - Part 1

Executive Summary: 1,400 motorcycles 2,600 riders and passengers 50 miles $400,050 raised to help the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Photos, video, and/or audio will be forthcoming There are no words to describe the feelings of being involved in an event...
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Posted by oblivion at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2007

Get Yer Motors Runnin' and RIDE TO WORK!

Next Wednesday, July 18th, is Ride to Work Day. I ride to work just about every day currently (on average about 4 days a week) so making it out on Wednesday shouldn't be a problem. In fact unless I...
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Posted by oblivion at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2007

Woot! Fundraising goal reached!

Today, three and a half days before the ride, I reached my $1,000 fundraising goal I had set for myself for the "Chicagoland Ride for Kids". Sweet!!! A big thank you to all who donated. I am especially buoyed by...
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Posted by oblivion at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2007

Sponsor Me (for charity, not to quit my day job)!

050_ride_4_kids_fundraiser - 8.9MB - 12:58 A few years ago I heard about the Chicagoland Ride for Kids charity ride when some of the organizers stopped by my office and asked permission to set up a camera on our property to...
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Posted by oblivion at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2007

Riding With Oblivion Some More

049_riding_with_oblivion_002 - 11.3MB - 16:32 Another show recorded while riding - this one is a bit shorter due to parts being unusable due to excess wind noise (or quiet speaking). 00:00 - Intro 03:54 - My First Father's Day 05:10...
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Posted by oblivion at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2007

Riding With Oblivion

048_riding_with_oblivion_001 - 23.2MB - 33:54 No specific show notes. This was more an experiment in recording while riding my motorcycle on my morning commute after other attempts had failed. I finally figured out a way to keep the wind noise...
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Posted by oblivion at 06:41 AM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

Out for a ride.

Cripes, I remember when it used to cost me about $4 to fill up my motorcycle. I just spent $13.50!!! I just rode for almost 2 hours, first to. Meeting that didn't occur in Grayslake, then up into Wisconsin and...
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Posted by oblivion at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2006

She's ALIVE!!!!

039_shes_alive.mp3 - 20MB - 28:37 I got the motorcycle running like a champ. BFR (two-year flight review) and Cessna 172SP checkout is today if weather holds - don't expect audio from that. 7 weeks to baby! Thanks for staying tuned....
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Posted by oblivion at 07:45 AM | Comments (2)

September 21, 2003

Motorcycle Man

We had a great day today. Motorcycle ride. Apple picking. Lunch/dinner at the Irish Mill. Then I took Amy to the airport where I'm taking lessons. Just as we got there, A Robinson R44 helocopter was taking off. It was...
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Posted by oblivion at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)

September 02, 2003

Back In the Saddle

I finally got my motorcycle ('81 Yamaha XJ750rh Seca) out of storage (my friend's shed). It's been, like two years since I've ridden. Luckily a) the bike started right up with a new battery and b) riding a motorcycle...
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Posted by oblivion at 10:08 PM | Comments (4)