Johnny Panther Quests. Ecotours

I'd like to share a little taste of the 2013 Hangover National ice ride in Michigan with some friends. Every year on New Years Day we get together and ride. Some years are bigger than others. This year, because of the climate change, we were forced to drive north to Houghton Lake. Only a fraction of some years riders drove up, but for those who did, it was big fun. Click the link to see what some the best motorcycle riders in the nation did for fun the first day of 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAnyTXZ3Dp4

My friends know me as “Laidback Lenny”, but some have seen my “Uptight Wilfrid” side too- unfortunately. I used to have a job supplying electronics to Delphi. It was a good job and I prided myself in providing excellent customer service. Occasionally it would become stressful and I would imagine myself in New Hampshire next to a creek with moss covered rocks. I could hear the sounds of the water splashing and falling into still pools. I worked with younger people and I told them of my relaxation technique. They thought it was funny. I always told them to practice “Dale Carnegie”, if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it. “Moss covered rocks” became synonymous with “I am getting stressed” as “leaving the Dale Carnegie Zone” was with saying something we probably shouldn’t. An example would be; “I was trying to visualize moss covered rocks when I left the Dale Carnegie zone.” Sometimes I get real wound up and emotional. I can use that energy or passion to get something accomplished or “leave the Dale Carnegie” zone. As I get older the mortality and stress of life sometimes builds up, maybe I take things too personally. About once a year I’ll get psyched up for a race and ride aggressively- maybe even get a good finish. If I don’t finish well it can make the ride home terrible. So here comes a big race, I finished terrible last year and was starting to get all wadded up about it this year. And then it came to me- “moss covered rocks”. I now have a new attitude towards this weekend and I am hopeful I can see it through to the end. I will enjoy the days, and hopefully they’ll be safe, fun, and fast!

I know this must happen for all of us. You are doing something you love and everything is perfect. The air is sweet, the grass is green, the sky is blue, or the ice is hard. You feel like you can see molecules. Surrounded by nature, a flowing river, eagles over head, and beaver coming out to play- you are one with your surroundings. I don’t get to see myself like that very often; usually I’m on the other side of the lens pulling the trigger. Yesterday I was blessed with the opportunity to go up and ride with some friends. With the climate change our ice season has seemed fickle the last few years. If we want to ride, sometimes we have to chase it. We left my house in a snow squall and didn’t drive out of it until Bridgeport. By the time we got to Sanford the sky was blue, the track was plowed, and they were going fast. We unloaded, rode a tank of gas, and reveled in how much fun, and how sore we were. It was one of those days for me, I clearly wasn’t the fastest, but I had some fun. I felt like I was one with the bike (see the bike, be the bike nuhnuhnuhnuhnuh…). Wherever I pointed it I went. The track was big and wide, and if I got it set right, it was wide open fourth gear all the way around the corner. Coming out of the turn where this image was taken, contact with the snow bank seemed imminent. Every lap I’d stand on the outside peg and push the handle bars into the ice and around we’d go. Wide opened down the straight until the motor ran out of pull, drag the brake, hammer the throttle and do it again! Yup, it was one of those magical days. My friend was exhausted, but all teeth. It was his first ride of the year, and he was amazed at how tired and sore he was. I have been out a few times and am slowly working my way back into it. I was dizzy from the energy and adrenaline I burned up. I was in the zone, feeling pretty dog gone racy. Luckily for me, someone was standing there who knew how to make good pictures and caught me in the act- the act of believing momentarily that I was the “fastest man on the planet”.

We went riding yesterday on Sanford Lake. There was a LOT of talent there. Here is a link to some poor video and images of some big fun. It was a pretty spectacular afternoon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2mlVTxXR04