One more pic..

Tail pipe..

I fixed it..!

That's real smart ain't it?

I fixed it..!

Tasty, err.. maybe not.

I fixed it..!

Is that top made from what I think it is...?

I fixed it..!

Man, that's some neat patchin'..

I fixed it..!

Thought I'd share these pics that came into my inbox today..

Back east.. 6000 miles!

Hey England.. you're awful quiet!! Don't get all shy on me OK? ;-)

Weekend plans..

I decided today to make the ride out to Vegas this weekend with some friends I made a couple weeks ago at my cousin Tony's 'shop in Oceanside. We've hung out together over the last couple weeks and formed a kind of good friendship so I'm hangin' with the boys and we're going to make the trip with a few clothes and not a lot else.. I hope it'll be cool - except the weather which I KNOW will be hotter'n hell! I'm taking the camera of course.,,.

Back to food again.. ha!

Woah.. It seems like it's never the wrong time to order a breakfast burrito from Alejandro's Carlsbad: 12.20 a.m. in my case.. This puppy has eggs, ham, cheese and potato. About a pound weight too!

What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours..

Hey did I tell you how good Arizona Iced Tea tastes? No? OK , but enough to say - I'm addicted already.. While we're on the subject of culture shocks - nothing and I mean NOTHING in England can prepare you for the pure, simple, breathtaking joy of walking along the beach at night: bare feet in the warm ocean, looking across the breaks at a moon so big it takes your breath away! Better still if you happen to have a beautiful girl to share it all with.

Fucked up...

I just fucked up.. I was comin' along State, hung a left at Grand.. there's lights there, but I had a green.. looked left, made the turn slow-ish and a pedestrian appears in the road 10 foot in front of me, hit the front brake - yep down the bike goes! I replayed the scenario half hour after by hitting the button & yes sir, the "walk" sign lights but the main vehicle lights are at green - doh! Put that one down to experience then. Could've been somewhat worse in fact..

Admin..

Got the bike transfered into my name at the DMV in Vista today - a bit of a long wait but there were seats and when it was my turn I was impressed by the efficient processing. I also sorted the oil filler cap problem - hopefully! Seems the cap was faulty. Nearly done fettling now - I'm going to fit a new rear boot and probably change the tranny oil too. We have a few trips planned so I want to get the bike in good shape for those..

Saturday night..

One of my buddies - Rob over at the HAMC custom show & party, saturday night. Cool night..

Nice fab work..

Had a young guy come by the 'shop the other day by the name of Brian Sims.. He brought his new project over to give us a look. The welding and fabrication work really impressed me, looking forward to seeing the bike finished. Brian has some ambitious ideas and I think he deserves support in his endevours too. If you want to talk to Brian about this project or your own ideas call him at 619-578-9971

HAMC Dago show..

Well, we attended but got there a bit late to hear the bands, although I caught the end of the last band's set which was excellent. I had an eventful day - not ideal really as a problem manifested itself whilst haulin' ass on the freeways - the oil filler cap seal is shagged.. I may have slightly overfilled too. Basically my rear tire was gettin soaked in oil - not a great feelin' knowing your rear boot is slippery as fuck! Cut a longer story short I made it back safely - don't know how but I did..

Custom Bike Show..

Heading down to San Diego myself today with a few guys from cousin Tony's. We're going to call in and check out the custom show put on by Hells Angels, Dago. Should be a blast..

Gonna tell you a little story..

I been tuning up my new ride this week & the best thing about being at the 'shop is the stories you get to hear.. Hanging out at cousin Tony's the other day, I was chatting to some of the boys and the subject got onto jail time for some reason or other. One of the good old boys there told us he'd spent an overnighter someplace like the county slammer and been in with a really mad dude that was awaiting the judge for evading the law and worse. This guy had apparently decided to try and outrun the boys in blue in a car headed south. He was chased right down to San Diego where he crashed his car presumably downtown because he started legging it across the Coronado bridge (an impressive structure a couple hundred feet high) - a canine was sent after him and the guy jumped with the dog close behind. The police dog died from the fall into the water and the guy ended up get charged for killing an officer - as is the law here!

Wooah..

Got up this morning, bright & early as I wanted to get a coffee before scooting over to my cousin Tony's to finish off my bike tune up. Looked out of the apartment window and a Carlsbad cruiser rolled into the parking lot, followed by another two.. By the time I headed out for coffee at the 7-Eleven there were about four black & whites in front of my building including a K9 unit! Of course I'm thinking an I have only my half shell non-DOT helmet, the pipes are, well meaty souding to say the least.. Then I'm panicking because I had about 7 beers last night as me and some of the boys started shortly after Tony's 'shop shut at 6pm. Guilt's a bad thing! Or do I mean paranoia?

Tony's 'shop..

The great thing being over at my cousin Tony's 'shop is the characters you meet thru the day. Real nice old school biker guys a lot of them too. You can learn a lot just listening to some of those guys and their stories.

Motorcycle maintenance..

Today I did a little work on the new bike at my cousin Tony's 'shop. I'm going to finish up tomorrow, change the oil & filter and maybe a tweak or two to the carb settings.. It does sound nice thru those Vance & Hines pipes though, I must admit.

Speechless though yesterday..

Just remembered this happened yesterday.. OK I went out to a local hardware store which I won't name.. I walked in & looked around before seeking an assistant to ask: "excuse me, do you stock spark plug wrenches?" She looked blank & said "I'm sorry..?"
"Spark plug spanners.."
"Do you have an auto section ?"
"I'm sorry a what..?"
"A car section.."
"What is it you want..?"
"a spark plug wrench - they're for use on cars.."
"would that be in cleaning products..?"
I had to go.

Only in America..

I've been buying a lot of my grub over at Carl's Jr. I like the cali-mex flavor food there and of course a nice burger hits the spot sometimes too. OK, quite often actually.. I had a crazy and quite cute encounter there just now when the young lady serving asked me where I was from Italy or England - I told her England and she asked me how we would say "It's a beautiful day." over there.. but she is cute.

100% Biker issue #120..

It's a good read - 100% Biker magazine, so go out and beg, buy or borrow a copy and check my rantings out please!

100% Biker mag #120 - new article..

Got my copy mailed from England, which features an article I did a while back on my buddy Terry Slack's two super-cool Triumph bobbers..

Progress..

Going to try and buy a decent looking but safe open faced helmet today: did some research over the 'net & the Fulmer v2 helmet seems to be favorite. Fulmer's a maker been at it since back in the 60's and they have made the v2 as small as poss - like the originals but with some foam to meet DOT regs.. Also need a tune up kit for the sporty as I suspect it missed it's 15k service (by 500 miles)

Crazy.. (but true)

The weird shit you see when you don't have a camera with you... Early this morning, saw a Toyota pick up truck on the rails at Carlsbad - now somewhat blurry eyed, my first thought -was this the latest must have in truck accessories? "..end freeway commute hassle with the new George Foreman Linesman bogie wheel.. " but no! just track maintenance I guess..

Saturday nite..

It's saturday nite, and I did have a few Guinesses up the road in O'Sullivan's 'cause I'm stoked to get wheels here.. It's going to make a lot of difference, I'm sure of that. Man, I really dig Mex food too - it just tastes a whole lot better here for some reason. Tacos and then to bed earlier than last few nights, as frankly I'm knackered..

Got transport now..

I just now got back from picking up my Sportster from Tierrasanta, north San Diego city. I quite enjoyed my first taste of riding a motorcycle in America actually, which is just as well, I suppose.. I haven't got a good helmet yet so that's first on the list, plus I knew when I viewed this bike it was due a new rear boot pretty soon. So despite my eyes streaming a bit on the freeway due to no visor or goggles, the bike going pfut, pfut, lean due to low fuel RIGHT in the middle of the largest merging section on the 5 (found reserve easy, though) - everything went pretty nicely. The bike is a doddle to ride despite having forward controls, which take a bit of adjusting to. It's a modern bike basically so it should be easy! I must be getting old because I actually enjoyed having proper rear view mirrors.. Ha! It has Vance & Hines shorty pipes fitted and I actually had a ringing in my ears after the 45 mile hop. Cool!

Good day..

I even got out for a beer later & tried O'Sullivan's Irish Pub for a Guiness or three.. On the way back I saw this amazing Stingray - one of the most charismatic Chevys made IMO, being a 60's child. Aptly named car: doesn't it just seem to drift out of the night light like a fish from out of the gloom? Drool..

Good day..

..blasted back to Carlsbad on the last Coaster..

Good day..

Over in Tierrasanta, I checked the bike out and did a deal with the guy selling it. Seems a sweet little sporty (for a modern bike). Sold..

Good day..

I got my ass in gear today and headed over to SD to take a look at a bike to run around on here. Before the appointed hour I called in on buddy Todd at Nothing Sacred Tattoo on Market St., San Diego to talk shit and put the world to rights. We headed out to Todd's new neighborhood and hit the Chick fil A which for a fast food nut like myself was pretty cool..

Revealing..?

Butthead: "hey Beavis ha ha ha, is this uh, where the maid gets naked..?

Observations..

Maybe seeing a few Jags here isn't a big surprise but finding this beater down by the beach was a bit spooky - an old Mk2 Cortina! I bet that car could tell some stories..

Observations..

This 'shop on State Street keeps busy servicing British cars in the Carlsbad area - judging by the line of Jags waiting on the street nearby..

Food heaven..

A Carl's Jr. "loaded" breakfast burrito I'm talking about!! Btw this blog has no affiliations with Carl's Jr. I'm just a fast food junkie..

Labor Day..

Went down to the beach today, luckily it wasn't super-crowded like I thought it might be on the Holiday. Temperature today was just beautiful as far as I'm concerned; being a Brit we're not so used to the higher temps. Just plain old perfect today. It's so nice to be at the coast..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

All in all, a nice show.

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

This lil bike really caught my eye, super-skinny and a frame I didn't recognise so it might be a one-off? I totally dug it and even though it had an Evo motor, it had a 4 speed jockey shift tranny. The tank paint was bitchin. I love the front end on it too.. Love to know the maker of that front end but I didn't get the chance to ask anyone.. Oh well.

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

Ditto this bike, not my cuppa tea exactly but awesome quality work in the tank.. respect!

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

I wasn't so mad on the bike itself but you gotta love the tank and paint..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

ditto this original EL (which picked up a prize) and hey, sat there behind it, a bored looking Paul Yaffe..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

Mellow, shall we say..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

This old fella caught my eye immediately amoungst the shinier stuff present..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

..and the paint on this Cadillac was as smoooth as silk..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

Lovely chrome..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

This Caddy got my vote for best car..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

This 'vette had to be worth a pretty penny..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

I liked this..

Boar's Nest Custom Show..

I'll get onto the bikes in a sec but there were some nice cars there too..

Boar's Nest 7th Annual Custom Show Oceanside..

..was a good event, well attended under sunny blue skies.. although given it's early sept and SoCal that's less of a surprise!

Sunday Car & Bike Show..

I had a good time last night in Hensley's Flying Elephant Pub which had been recommended to me - I met a nice couple, he of SoCal, she of Liverpool England but married 18 years.. I left just as the band got playing but it was all good: went the wrong way home and added a couple miles to my walk but in doing so got to see the ocean and the surfer community along it at night. Cool!
Today I'm off to Oceanside to a Car & Bike show on spec., but I'm sure it will be worth the trip over.. Pics to follow.

Muscle..

I found this lurking on State Street. It looks umm, mean..

Correction...

I stated earlier that my burger was a Carl's Jr - it was in fact a Big Carl.. glad I cleared that up! Burp.

Food!

It's not ALL fast food for me - wait a minute this is the original fast food isn't it?

Cool runnings..

Biatch! let's get blown..

Cool runnings..

More interesting yet.. this Chevy truck carried some serious quarter-mile equipment - hey but whadda I know?

Cool runnings..

Carlsbad Boulevard: the local coastal cruising strip I imagine. Nice paint on this baby for sure..

Cool runnings..

I saw a good handful of cool rides cruise by today - when my camera was off.. But this modern 250 was compact and neat in a bland kinda way. He or she likes to smoke that rear, me thinks!

Cool runnings..

..this dinosaur station wagon was just too wide to get into my lens! 8 or 10 mpg..? Mind you gas is back down to $3 per gallon here in CA. Harumph!

Cool runnings..

Think big. This thing is parked across the street.. I took a stroll about 4 miles this afternoon as I'm getting used to the climate. Turned into quite a little car show; I didn't have my camera ready all the time so I missed a few sights but..

Weather Report..

Btw it's 29 degrees Celsius here: warm but you get used to it surprisingly quickly..

God bless Murka..

So here I am, and my brief today is find the perfect burger.. OK I'm kidding but I needed a fix of ground beef so I hit the Carls Jr. nearby. This fast food chain is unheard of in the UK but so far I've already tasted a burger in Vista from the In 'n' Out & those are widely favored in CA. But there isn't an In 'n' Out locally so I ordered a Carl's Jr burger - $2.70 inc tax.. Boy that was a sound move because it was some burger! Imagine a cross between a McD's quarterpounder and a BurgerKing.. only better, with almost a thousand island-type dressing and of course BIGGER!!

Mmmm!! 9.95/10

Carlsbad ESA..

I just had a little swim in the pool around back..

First things first..

Went to Albertson's store and got a little balance in the refridge: it was mostly beer after all. An Englishman marches on his stomach.. even in California!

Day 1 in Carlsbad..

Carlsbad State Beach looking north with Oceanside Pier just about visible there roughly 3 miles off in the distance. It's 9 a.m. and 70 degrees F..

Day 1 in Carlsbad..

..and this is the view 10 easy minutes walking from my digs..

Day 1 in Carlsbad..

A little Cali kitsch but hell, it's an Irish pub so that's about par for the course.. Worth a visit!

Day 1 in Carlsbad..

It was time to do a recce.. First off I came to this little local bar right down the street. This has to be checked out later on. Much vintage neon in the window.

Day 1 in Carlsbad..

This is the building I'm at whilst in Carlsbad..