Cortech Tank Bag

About a month ago I decided I needed to get a tank bag for my motorcycle, as I was tired of lugging a backpack every time I went somewhere. Wearing a backpack on a bike sucks, in my opinion. Your back and shoulders get tired and sore after wearing it for a prolonged period of time, and being that my bike has a center-up exhaust (exhaust comes straight out the back) everything in a backpack smells like exhaust fumes if you don't put stuff in Ziploc bags. So a tank bag was my best choice, and I went with the Cortech by Tour Master Super 14 Liter Strap Mount Tank Bag.

1680 Denier Ballistic Polyester construction

Removable and replaceable map pocket with a clear view window

External eyeglass case

Top flap internal organizer

Soft Tricot lined interior

Built in waterproof gate for headphone cords

Protective non slip / non scratch Neoprene mounting base

Hideaway backpack straps included

Rain cover included

Rubberized carrying handle

Scotchlite 3M reflective Cortech logos on both sides

Bag and tank pad.

Tank bag.

Neoprene tank pad.

Side.

Front.

Removable map pocket.

Inside.

Front compartment.

Pull out backpack straps.

Scale comparison (5 Red Bulls Long, 1 Red Rave High)

"Rain and Dust" cover.
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Song of the Night

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Kim Mitchell - Patio Lanterns

This is just one happy song... Most definitely the anthem for my weekend in BC.

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Just a Sec...

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I'll post something tomorrow if I get some time. Perhaps weekend shenanigans... I was going to do something tonight, but got sidetracked and now I want to go to bed.

So yeah... Come back later.


HAHA


Chris.

Song of the Night

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Taking Back Sunday - Bike Scene


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Riding Home

I decided to come back down to Shaunavon again for the long weekend, and I opted to take my bike instead of driving my Jeep. I can officially say that that trip was the worst ride I've ever had!

It started out pretty good. I picked my bike up from Honda right after work on Friday, and rode home. Before I left Honda, the guy told me that I was running pretty low on fuel and that I was "blinking" (My fuel gauge that is). I never thought too much about it and went on my way. So I got home, packed my stuff, and hoped on the RR and headed to the gas station. I'm about a block away from the pumps when I start loosing power. I rev it but nothing happens and the engine dies. I'm right out of gas! I'm so close that I could throw a rock to the pumps! So I shake the tank up a bit and get the bike started again and make it to the pumps.

So now I'm not in the best mood...

I head out of town and open it up. When I'm about 15 minutes out of Lethbridge I'm going about 150 or so when I see a car parked on the side of the road. By the time I register that it was a cop, it was too late. I grabbed as much brake as I could, but I was pretty sure he got me.

As I rolled past I was down to a very innocent and harmless 101 KPH...

I knew he hit me with radar before that speed (Kinda wishing I hadn't lost that eBay auction on that X50 radar detector at that moment) and soon after passing him, he was coming for me... There was a few seconds where the though of shifting down and going full throttle crossed my mind... but my conscience got the better of me... and I signaled right and pulled over.

I quickly parked the bike and removed my gloves and helmet (As I was pumping the iPod at the moment, and I wasn't completely sure of the legality of listening to music while operating a motorcycle) and shut off my music. He told me to get my license, registration, and proof of insurance out. I did. (Luckily enough I had JUST put my new insurance in my tail before I left the house) He then asked me if I knew that I was caught doing 139 KPH in a 100 zone. I responded with an educated "Uhh... yeah" He then told me that I could get a dangerous driving ticket and some other BLAH... I didn't really care to tell you the truth... I knew I was getting a speeding ticket, I was already running late, I was wearing full gear and boiling my ass off and just wanted to get it all over with and screw off...

He went back to his car and did his thing. He then came back and told me the following "Well Chris this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to cut you a break today, seeing how it is a Friday, and a long weekend, I am only going to say that you were doing 10 over. It's less demerits on your license, and it's less of a fine." He then told me what I did and how to pay and all that crap. Then he told me to ride safe and "slow down!"

I happily folded my $90.00 ticket in my wallet, suited back up, and rolled out. (Going 100 of course)

Ok, so now after running out of gas AND getting a speeding ticket I'm really not in the best mood. I am slightly edging about speeding (Did anyway... HAHA.) But I took it pretty easy and continued on my way to Shaunavon.

Everything was going fine until about 10 minutes outside of Medicine Hat...

I'm minding my own business... just riding, when I get hit in the hand with a bug. Now, before I go on anymore I'd like to draw your attention to this small diagram. This is me, when I am wearing full riding gear. My full face helmet, leather jacket, armored gloves, reinforced riding jeans, and riding boots. There are only TWO places where skin is exposed. About an inch gap between my helmet and my jacket where my neck is showing, and a hole the size of a DIME where the Velcro strap comes across on my gloves.


Now it just so happens that this particular bug is so lucky to actually find and hit me in the tiny hole in my gloves and get inside my glove... Unlikely? I think so. However that is not the worst part. The impact itself hurt a bit, but the bug that hit me was in fact a bee. And what does a bee do? That's right, Bees string!

The bee hits me in the open hole, gets inside my gloves, and strings my hand! I start freaking out! My hand is on fire and the bee in still inside my glove! So I start punching my throttle hand with my free hand to try and kill the bee. I pull over as fast as I can so I don't crash trying to get shit under control. I whip off my gloves, grab the bee, SQUEEZE the life out of it then take a look at my hand. It's just throbbing! I pick the stringer out the best I could and just start swearing my head off. I am literally yelling "What the fuck! COME ON! Give me a break! AHHH!"

My hand hurts like crazy, and it starts swelling up pretty fast. After that it goes almost completely numb. So now I'm sitting on the side of the road with my hand that looks like a baseball mitt. As I sit there I'm thinking how ironic the whole situation is. I get a ticket for going too fast, and because of that, I slow down. Because I slowed down, the bee hit my hand. If I were to be going my regular speed, the bee would have just been another smear on my gear and the whole bee sting fiasco would have never happened!... Just what I think anyway... (By the way, it turns out I am allergic to bee strings. It took 4 and 1/2 days for the swelling and itching to go away. Here is what my hand looked like almost 3 days after that happened.)

I sit there for a bit more, then decide to keep going. I could barely get my glove back onto my giant monster hand, but managed to do so...

After the gas, ticket and bee incidents the rest of the trip was pretty good. After hitting Gull Lake I stop caring about police and ripped the rest of the way. I couldn't have gotten to Shaunavon any sooner. I wanted to get off that thing as fast as I could and just sit my ass down and try and forget about that trip from hell...

Song

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The Used - Smother Me

" Let me be the one who calls you baby all the time..."

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Little Known Facts...

Here is some stuff you may, or may not know about me...

• I can't fall asleep if my feet aren't covered up.
• I hate going to the bathroom at peoples houses. (#2)
• Every time I shift gears on my bike I clench my jaw... not sure why.
• I prefer Kraft Diner cooked, then put in the fridge and warmed up again.
• I am left handed, but I only write, and eat with my left hand. (Mostly)
  
• My friends are ridiculously important to me.
  
• I hate being alone. I'd much rather be with someone, or around people.
  
• I don't like wind, and I don't like bees.
• I hate being sticky.
• I like sleeping against something (Wall, pillows, someone...)
• I'm afraid of spending my life alone.
• Music is essential to my everyday life. If possible, I have music playing.
• If I'm making people laugh and have a good time, I'm happy.
• I don't have a lot of self confidence.
• I nod to every roadside cross I see.
  
• I really only have one secret. And only one person knows it. ( I hope)
  
• I am not happy with where I am at in my life right now.
• I love my motorcycle
  
• The fastest I've gone is 271 KPH (168.4 MPH)
• I am a jealous person (But am trying to change that)
• I don't like change
• I am horrible with money
• I miss a lot of my old friends
• I have the same wallet I've had since grade 3 (No Fear FTW!)
• Jared's Mom has a crush on me... HAHA
  
• I believe I am dyslexic
• I find reading a sequence of numbers/letters quite difficult (Ie: a CD Key)
• I have never gotten a traffic violation ticket (Though I should have many)
• I was born on Thanksgiving Monday
• If I could choose one super power, it'd be time travel.
• My full name is Christopher Bradley Charles Widdifield
• My name contains 34 letters
• Anthem of Our Dying Day by Story of the Year is my favorite song
• I HATE spiders!
  
• This is all I can think of right now...
  

Picture of the Day

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BC Visitor

As many of you may know, Kent took off and moved out to Kelowna BC last year after school. He's been working for his uncle doing plumbing and just doing his thing... Well once summer rolled around, he decided to give tree planting a try. So he did...and 3 months and 50,000 trees later he is done and over with that.

Now that's done, he decided to take a bike trip and hit up some people he knows that are spread across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, me being one of those people...

Yesterday at about 1, Kent rolled up at my house for a visit. (Couldn't have been worst timing however. I had JUST left to go out for a rip with a few guys I ride with) So he sat and chilled with my parents while I hauled ass (serious ass) to get back home from Picture Butte.

I gave him the grand tour of the house, then we went and I showed him the town. Where I ride, work, houses I've done, places I go out to, etc. And after that tour, we hit up Shark Club for some supper and drinks.

Being that we were in the LB, there isn't a lot to do on a Sunday night, so we decided on hitting up a movie. We checked out The Simpsons Movie (which was surprisingly good) then planned on a visit to the peelers...but that never panned out... HAHA, and we just hung out.

The next morning was pretty mellow, and Kent took off after lunch, but not before a rip on the RR!

It was a short lived visit, but a good one. Hadn't seen him since... New Years in Calgary I believe? (Correct me if I'm wrong...) Whenever it was, it's been awhile. And if work would have...worked out better we were planning on riding down to Shaunavon together, but I will just have to settle with riding down solo on Friday for the long weekend (rkn)

So to sum it all up: Vista sucks, I rule, and Spider-man running on a treadmill is funny...

Done.

Lazy

Why haven't I posted anything in so long? Well, like the title states, I am lazy. I work all day in stupid hot weather, and when I get home I am beat. And sitting down and using my brain to try to string a comprehensive sentence together is just too much work. Just getting ready and going for dinner last night was a task...

In all honestly, I don't have that much stuff to talk about even if I felt like posting something. I have only just started being able to stuff normally again, so my life has been rather uneventful the past month or so.

But, I will cook something up tonight, or tomorrow sometime. I plan on doing a little photo shoot with the RR sometime here pretty soon... so at least you 3 will have something to look at.

So yeah, That's it... just lazy and have nothing interesting to say.

Keep posted... something will come. My blog stats have been dropping like mad lately. So either the 3 people that come here (1 being myself) have contracted some illness, or they just don't care anymore. Whatever.


Peace be with you.

Chris.

I (L) Music

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The Used - Earthquake

"Cause baby, I'm not alright when you go.
I'm not fine, please be all mine.
I never want you to go because I am all yours.
So please be all mine."

I am really enjoying their new album. This is one of my favorites right now.

Song of the Night

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Story of the Year - The Heart of Polka is Still Beating

"This love is something that will never die.
And this blood still running through our veins.
But your words you know never came from the fucking heart
And I will be there to watch you fall apart."
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Steet Wheelers Car Show

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Here are a couple of pictures from the Street Wheelers car parade that was last night. A lot of nice cars came out. It was a good turn out. My camera died (again) before the show was over but I got a few anyway. I'll have to be careful out today, because I think some of these could smoke the RR. HAHA










































After hanging around with some of the guys with these cars, I found out that they are exactly like guys who ride Harleys... They think everything else sucks except for what they drive. If you're driving an exotic or tuner, you might as well be riding a dead horse... Nothing you say is right about a car, and unless you have one you know nothing. However the going consensus is that all Corvettes suck, if you have decals on your car, you're a poser (Even is that twin turbo Supra would slaugher that assbags DADS Mustang) and whatever car they are driving is the fastest in Alberta and they are going to clean up at the races today...

Whatever, 2 wheels will beat 4 anyday! BAHAHA!

Memories

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This song brings back some of the best memories I could ask for. It brings back late nights and riding around... pedal bike style. Easier times with no worries or concerns. Getting that lawn cut was the biggest problem in sight...

Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue


I love it.
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PSA

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I'm pissed off I'm not going to Warped Tour. I look forward to going to it every year, however, clearly, nobody else does. I realize everyone has jobs and shit... but It just sucks. I have dick all to do for the rest of the week/weekend. I seriously need to meet more new people in Lethbridge... I'm just going to ride the whole time, and only get off my bike when I need to go to the bathroom, sleep, or eat.

So in closing, Fuck.

That is all.

New TSL :D

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The Starting Line - 21

This new album made my Day, and gave me something to look forward to tomorrow! However hearing it live would have been so awesome...
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Great Words

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Came across this article about success, and life goals earlier tonight. It had a lot of great words, and put a couple of things into perspective for me. The following really jumped out at me...

"Take whatever time you need to discover what matters to you most.
Success isn’t simply a matter of money, power, or prestige. You could gain all of those and still feel that you have fallen short of what you wanted; or you could gain none of them and be blissfully happy and fulfilled. What constitutes personal success is mostly in your mind. It has much less to do with finding the best career in other peoples’ eyes, creating a killer business, or holding down a fancy job with a big salarythan with achieving what really matters to you. Many people find this out too late. They struggle for years to get where other people said they should go, only to find it does little or nothing for them. Sadly, it’s often too late by then to do anything else."

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