November 2, 2026
It's now November second and the clocks are turned back to Standard Time. Where did the riding season go? I said to Linda "Can you believe that Americade was five months ago? It feels like it was just last week." They say that many older people, like us, feel like the time just flies by. This summer was certainly the case. It wasn't without its memorable moments though. We returned to Lake George in August to spend time with Linda's son and family. Bill and I got to ride together many more times than usual in a season. Both here and at Americade, besides getting together one more time that didn't involve riding.
I got to spend time with Marc and his sons in Lake George as we did more riding around the Adirondacks than usual. We had a good time eating lunches on those rides at small diners and restaurants. Except for the last day coming home, the weather was perfect for riding all week. We clocked over three hundred miles altogether on our rides up there. Not a bad time at all.
Besides all of that, my motorcycles and scooters served me well. Except for one starter motor replacement on the big scooter. I can't count the rear tire replacement on the Kawasaki. That's just routine. And after owning it for ten years I can't complain when a wear item needs replacing.
All in all, it was a great season. I got to be with friends and ride, Linda and I did Americade together, spend valuable time together hanging with Bill, Toni, Marc and his sons. It gives me a lot to look forward to next year.
Posted by Jim Zeiser.
September 21, 2026
Every year in September my brother Bill comes down from Monroe County in upstate New York to ride the St. Jude Ride in Kingston. We scheduled it in our calendar as a special event, awaiting their arrival for the weekend. Well Bill and my Sister-In-Law Toni came but there was one hangup. As the day of the St. Jude event got closer the possibility of rain rose. By a few days before the percentage of precipitation rose to about ninety-seven percent. Two days before that Sunday the ride was canc...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
September 4, 2026
This past Saturday an event that sounded like it was just up my alley was held at Woodstock Harley Davidson in, of course, Woodstock. The weather was perfect and I was pretty happy riding there which made the day start just right. After registering I found I had been handed a route sheet with directions for the ride. I hopped on the 250 Honda Nighthawk, my ride of choice for the day, and set forth.
This ride was a Poker Run wherein you stop at various checkpoints to pull one card out of a s...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
August 19, 2026
I should probably start this more grammatically correct but I can't so on I go. This year's Scoot and Shoot by the Red Knights was just great. I'll start from there. For those of you who might not know or remember the event involves riding around a route by following a direction sheet, stopping at checkpoints and performing skill tasks like horseshoe toss, Dice toss and Corn Hole toss among others. I could go on and say I did each of them with skill and precision but I won't lie to you. I ju...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
June 12, 2026
I have to start out by saying that I always have a great time at Americade. The area, the people and the atmosphere always leave me with memories that I won't soon forget. There was an additional element this year that made the memories unforgettable. In addition to the usual cast that I travel to Lake George with, we had my family along. I have for quite a while wanted my brother Bill to join us and to include our wives in the mix. My wife Linda and Bill's wife Toni get along famously and w...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
May 6, 2026
Finally...something to write about! The first organized event for me every year starts very close by in Poughkeepsie at a restaurant called PC's Paddock. When you get there in the morning there is always coffee and pastries to enjoy alongside seeing people not seen since last season. Among others it's a man named Clark. He and I both ride older Kawasaki's from the last century. While mine is a decade newer than his, as a 1983 model, his Kawasaki 900cc is from 1975 and is pristine. It glitter...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
April 18, 2026
As a general rule the Hudson Valley Biker Network holds a Bike Night around the middle of April. This year was no different. We enjoyed a few days of Summer-like weather this past week and it was a great time to hold the event. I pondered which motorcycle or scooter to take and decided to take the CF Moto 250cc scooter. It could use a run and was next on the list to be moved. It worked well.
It has pained me the last couple of weeks to fill the two wheeled vehicles, even at their small capac...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
April 13, 2026
The official start to the riding season was two weeks ago with Motorcycle Inspection Day. It's the one time in the Bike season that I get to ride all four of my fleet in one day. It allows me to do more than just start them and listen to the thunder in the garage.
First out of the blocks was the Kawasaki, my biggest bike. I do the Kawasaki first so I don't get thrown off by its size and power after riding something lighter and not as strong. It's always cool to experience the intensity of t...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
January 29, 2026
Here I sit looking out the window at twenty-one degrees and two feet of snow. It's even too cold in the garage to start the motorcycles. We are having below zero temperatures at night so thinking about riding is stifled. But looking forward to the coming season isn't. Rides for Spring are already being posted and the memory of when certain ride dates are is beginning to stir. Winter is one-third over so why not?
It's amazing to me that it's 2026. Not so much that the calendar moves on but th...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
January 11, 2026
After writing about the three rides previously I came to see that they were just a rehash at best. The past season was really so much more and deserved a better writeup. I'll try to do a better job this time around. There were many things that made the season stand out. For one, I was spending a lot more time on the Kawasaki, which it deserved.
In its day the Kawasaki was a hot rod. Quarter miles in twelve seconds, a top speed near one hundred and twenty miles an hour and real Touring capab...
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Posted by Jim Zeiser.
If you wish to comment my e-mail address is h1500e@hotmail.com. I'd like to hear anything-good or bad-that anyone would like to say. As they said in college, we're all lifelong learners.
