Common Ground

Being a veteran of riding my motorcycle to out of state gatherings, getting on a computer to check things out is usually not done. However, in the spirit of the weekend activities, I'm going to discuss some of the best motorcycle roads in the area.

While the western side of the city has built up since I first moved here, west is still the direction of where to head when looking for good motorcycle roads. My first favorite was a quick ride in the dead of winter. Long enough to get the mufflers warm but short enough to satisfy the need to ride. I head out Northview from Grandview. A good ride in itself, it's been diminished by development and speed limits below the fun speed. 45 MPH. At Hwy G, turn left. If it's really a short ride you want, go straight to Hwy 18 and back home. Most of the time I turn on Bryn Road. Head to Hwy E and take it back south to Hwy 18. This is one of the nicest, curvy roads near the city. Development again has diminished it's charm but still worth taking a ride on.

In the dead of winter, I'd head home from there. In nicer weather head east back home on Hwy 18 but turn right on Hwy DT past Retzer Nature Center. At Sunset, continue west and join Hwy E. Take it down to North Prairie and then Hwy 59 into Eagle.

Once in Eagle, you have several good choices as to where to go. You are in the heart of the South Kettle Moraine State Forest. There isn't a bad motorcycle road in it! A sure bet is to head north on Hwy 67.  Watch the road snakes around Hwy ZZ! Tar strips for you cagers. (automobiles) You'll probably want to turn around near Dousman and do Hwy 67 at least one more time.

To the east of Hwy 67 is Waterville Road. Another can't miss motorcycle road. Hwy ZZ between it and Hwy 67 is another road that you'll want to do a second time or more. To the west is Hwy N. A favorite of mine at night.

If you have some more time to ride, ride north to Hwy 18 again and out west toward Sullivan. Catch Hwy F (the old 135) and take it north across I94 and into Ixonia. While it's been straighted out some since my beer drinking days there back in the early 70's, it still is a great road to cut some curves. While this is in Jefferson county, it might as well still be Waukesha county.

 From here it's either turn around, enjoy the road back to I94 and home or get on Hwy 16 and head into Oconomowoc and back home.

For my next ride we're heading into North Lake and going to get a little Funky.

News item is that Municipal Judge Joseph L. Cook is asking for a reduction in tickets being written by the police due to his workload, claiming the court is understaffed. My initial reaction is, "Welcome to the private sector"! In business it means do more with less, as in overtime. There's 24 hours in a day. Six or so hours to sleep should be enough. There's also the weekend. You did campaign for the position, didn't you Your Honor?

What ordinances should the police not enforce? Are they to consider who the violator is or who the complaining party is? As in some people are more equal than others? Does this mean that there are ordinances on the books that are not really worthy to be there other than for revenue or to be used for "Gotcha" situations?

Perhaps my kneejerk reaction is not fair to a situation that needs closer analysis but you have to wonder. In the meantime, I'll be careful not to give cause for being giving a citation. I might end up in front of Judge Cook!

Harley Davidson is unlike most any other motorcycle makers in that they market the same basic engine design that they started with 105 years ago. By today’s engineering standards it is archaic. But it is the centerpiece of the entire line of motorcycles because of one reason, the sound of the exhaust. Motorcycle magazines have tried to describe it as “potato potato potato….”  However you try to describe it, it is unique. To the untrained eye, many of the look-alike Japanese cruiser are identical in looks, but an attentive ear will notice that the sound is not the same.

I like the sound. I used to have one of Harley-Davidson’s biggest competitors back in the 50’s and 60’s, a Triumph Bonneville. Incidentally, with “The Fonz” being in the news, I will point out that he rode Triumphs in the show. Otherwise the statue might have him seated on a motorcycle down by the Milwaukee River. Putting him on a Sportster would have been nice but purists would have beleaguered the fact.

Triumph twin cylinder engines sounded neat too, but not the same as a Harley. I remember both my hands and my butt being numb on longer rides so I won’t make an issue of vibration of V-twins versus vertical twins. I also rode it with next to no mufflers. It was loud and I made sure everyone around knew I was there. I was also 18 years old at the time too. Often my rides would center around the Cutler Park area. Waukesha police never stopped me. Milwaukee did once when a Ford had the audacity to challenge me at the stoplight at 51st and Hampton. My choice was either a ticket for speeding or illegal/defective mufflers. Two days later I had factory mufflers on the Bonneville. Suddenly, the neighbors on 44^th street stopped frowning when I rode by. The Cutler Park area became quieter.

More than any brand of motorcycle, the sound of the engine exhaust is a “more is better” thing with many owners. As the Harley’s leave the factory, they are well muffled but have the rumble and syncopation that they are so famous for. Unfortunately it isn’t loud enough for many owners and the mufflers come off entirely or are replaced with something resembling the “glass packs” from the 1950’s.

Milwaukee has a small movement encouraging riders to keep the roar down. It will only lead to intentional throttle blips wherever a sign if seen. I’ll re-offer the solution that I’ve made before. My own favorite motorcycle rally is at Lake George New York.  All brands of motorcycles gather there and are welcomed by the town. But the unmuffled are not welcomed. The rally registration papers make this known and warn that Lake George police will ticket violators. I’ve seen riders pulled over many times for it.

The influx of motorcycles will be an economic shot in the arm for local gas stations, restaurants and taverns. This will be welcomed. But it is no reason for our police to look the other way when it comes to ordinance violations. The message must get out that you and your motorcycle are welcomed, but only if you have factory mufflers installed.

I continue to be open-minded about the Frame Park baseball issue. I'd like to think that there is a way to make it work in harmony with the other park users and the neighborhood but I can't think of one. My biggest objection is about where to park the cars, as it is with many other taxpayers. I've heard that there is plenty of parking within 15 minutes of the park. That's acceptable? "The church is going to rent out parking space." How about church events that coincide with games? Are the church members going to appreciate working around the ballgames?

A very valid concern is that ballgame people will take up parking spaces that park visitors would normally use. This point is voiced by many and needs to be addressed before proceeding with any binding vote.

It seems that no Waukesha resident has driven around State Fair Park during the State Fair. As it has been for as many years as it's been there, the neighborhood residents become entrepreneurs and have junior out by the curb with a flag, waving people to park on any piece of driveway or grass that they can fit a car on. Tolerable, at best, for the week that the Fair is held, but have that done during each of the baseball games and it will turn residential neighborhoods around Frame Park into a circus grounds.

Is it good for downtown? Any increase in business is good for the business, but are people going to leave their cars scattered around Frame Park and walk back and forth to get a snack, push the limits of intoxication, buy a book or critique fine art? Answer that for yourself.

Promises have been made by the promoters that they will be picking things up and so forth. Such promises are frequently broken by less than adequate fulfillment of them.

Already a popular writer within the city has called for people that don't like the soon to happen Harley Davidson party to leave the city for a few days if they don't like it. Is the council going to send a message to residents to give up Frame Park when there is a baseball game?

The signs of fall approaching have come. The lush green leaves have begun to show their age, green lawns have gone dormant and some cooler evenings have arrived. Make no mistake, some warm and humid weather is yet to come and there are some of us that will have air conditioner breakdowns and have to decide on buying a new air conditioner.

There have been big changes in air conditioning and huge changes yet to come. The recent federally mandate increase in air conditioning efficiency made air conditioners more expensive, but was largely invisible to the public. The next big change is coming in about one year and it is huge.

Air conditioners run on Freonâ, or so many people think. Details and facts about it are boring but lets call it refrigerant for this blog. Refrigerant comes in many types and what type is used depends on if we are cooling the air in your home, in your car, in your refrigerator or in a food store freezing things or cooling beer or making ice cubes. There is no one size fits all purposes type of “Freon”.

About ten years ago, in preparation for next year, a new refrigerant that is ozone friendly was introduced. It replaced the old favorite R22, and is called R410A. Some call it Puronâ. Call it anything you like but chemically it is R410A and air conditioners that use it are offered by all popular makers of furnaces and air conditioners.

What does this boring information mean to you? At the end of next year, air conditioners that use the old favorite refrigerant, R22, can no longer be made. R22 is also mandated to be produced less and less. This means that R22 to recharge your air conditioner will become more and more expensive! Supply and demand.

So we have a choice when we need to buy a new air conditioner now. Will it use the soon to be obsolete R22 or the refrigerant of the future, R410A? It’s like buying a car or truck and deciding if it runs on gasoline or diesel.

I work in the wholesale distribution end of heating and air conditioning. We sell several different brands of furnaces and air conditioners in many states so have a good idea of what’s going on out there. Some dealers are selling their customers only R410A air conditioners. Some still sell R22. Often this is because the price of the equipment is still a little less than R410A and because they are not comfortable with the new R410A.

So my first point is if you are going to buy a new air conditioner for your house, buy one that uses R410A. The only reason that I could see to buy R22 equipment is if you are selling your house soon or short-term cost is more important than long-term expense. But wait. There is more!

A recent blog encouraged new building codes to prepare for the increased use of electricity to heat our homes and fuel our future electric cars at home. When you buy a new air conditioner, you can go a step further into the future and buy a hybrid air conditioner that can also heat your home. This is called a heat pump.

Heat pumps have been around for many years but the notion that they are for warmer southern states have held back the popularity of them here, until recently. I won’t bore you with the technical stuff that excites guys like me. The facts are that heat pumps are air conditioners that don’t only work a few weeks in the summer but also work year around heating your house too!

Heat pumps can heat your house at times for less than the most efficient natural gas furnace. The savings can be greater if you heat with oil or propane. True, it won’t keep the house warm by itself at colder temperatures, typically below 30 to 40 degrees, but an often-overlooked fact makes them attractive even in places like Alaska. 

In our area, if you count the number of heating hours spent above the 30 to 40 degree range, you will find that it is around one half of our heating season! That means your furnace would run around half of what it otherwise would.

True, heat pumps don’t create heat for free, but the trend is for fossil fuels to increase in price greater than that for electricity. An air conditioner that you buy now will be there on average for fifteen or twenty years. So think about fuel cost trends and a heat pump installed now makes good sense.

How much will a heat pump save you? Many dealers don’t like to sell them because many customers want a figure written down on this. Energy prices are very dynamic and there is no crystal ball to assure what your savings will be. However, experts agree that buying a heat pump now is a forward-looking choice.

Whatever you decide, make sure it uses R410A instead of R22 refrigerant!

News item; Cornfield raises hackles in Wales. 

I'm not going to argue zoning. I'm going to get a bit religious here and say that land was intended by it's maker to grow things more than it was to build and pave over, no matter what a politician may deem.

Too often I'll see a farm field lay dormant and weedy while a sign is raised exclaimed "Utopia Estates" is coming soon. The loss of farmland is usually permanent yet the government is mandating more corn be used for fuel rather than food. So it would seem that any patch of land that a planter and picker can manuever around on should be planted with some useful crop rather than sprouting lumber and cement.

If tilling the land reduces tax income, tough! A field of corn doesn't need much in the way of police and fire protection or water and sewer. Nor does it diminish water from our deep wells.

On a lighter note than I've been blogging about lately, read on if you have a dog. If you are not already aware, and a surprising amount of people are not, Waukesha kicked in some money to create a dog park within Minooka County Park about a year ago. Read more information here. Somebody has placed a number of official park comment cards by the exit gate of the dog park, with an example of one suggesting that the "seasonal pond" be filled in. If you are the person that put these cards there, please send me an email. We have a common interest!

I noticed that another doggie bag dispenser was put at the garbage container at the far end of the old campground. It's one less excuse for not picking up after Fido.

The more people that speak up, the better our dog park can be. In the mean time the county park system does what they think best. I'm sure improvements will come along but most will count on people's suggestions, donations and stepping up helping to provide these. We need a cool water source for the dogs and for people for that matter. A bulletin board for dog related matters would be nice too. A few improvements to the restrooms that would require the addition of electricity would be welcomed. As the parking lot and entrance to the dog park are at a high point in the area, I suggest a wind turbine would be a good way to get the electricity and showcase some examples of pollution free energy to people. With the energy available, I believe I could get some infrared snow melt and warming devices for the entrance.

A single voice does not carry the weight that many do. Stop by the park and fill out a card!

Since my daughter-in-law and granddaughters were killed by a convicted drunk driver, the flurry of action has diminished. Where I used to pass over news about another death from a drunk driver, I now carefully read it and empathize with the innocent person's survivors. My family's life has changed.

A committee meeting in Madison regarding stiffer penalties for drunk driving was canceled. There were not enough members to form a quorum. The excuse was they had things to do because of the flood. Really? Or was it an excuse to procrastinate and hope that the outrage would subside and they wouldn't have to deal with the matter?

It seems to me that we are like animals watching as one of the herd is taken down by a wolf or bullet or car. We don't understand what happened and continue in our life cycle of existence. As we concern ourselves with what's happening on TV and in Hollywood, sports and business, the drunks continue to kill brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. They not only take away from unknown victims, they ruin the lives of their own family and loved ones.

Hundreds of people have read my blogs about possible solutions including cheap, disposable breath analyzers. Yet nothing is discussed. Not so much as if it's a dumb idea or a good one. Train horns and the mayor's wardrobe seem to be more important to people. Never the less, my son Mike, his family and in-laws will continue to cry out. Even if it continues to fall on deaf ears.

I do want to praise Fox New Six and Ted Perry for not forgetting and doing a wonderful follow-up recently. Mike has spoken to many reporters, but Ted was concerned about Mike as a person rather than a news item. So much so that he called Mike during a break on the news just to see if he was doing OK after seeing the story. The lead-in to Mike's story was the report of another drunk driver that killed a pedestrian. The drunk was released on bail and ordered not to drive or drink alcohol. Yeah, like that will stop them. Insanity is performing an act over and over but expecting different results. Will judges ever learn that?

All the wriggling and squirming in city hall about who is responsible for the horns blaring from the railroad crossings is almost laughable, but only because I live on the northwest side of the city, far from the railroads. However, when I have the windows open at night, I hear the horns blowing too, so I greatly sympathize with the residents near the affected sections of town. I know that to them, this is far from a laughing matter. Enough with excuses from city hall.

It is clear that the residents in the area are furious. Many calls for the person responsible to be identified and fired have been made. City administrator Lori Luther claims that even if the paperwork would have been done properly, the horns would be blaring. That, would require a temporary suspension of disbelief, I believe is the quote. Democrats make a big thing about accountability and it would seem clear that this current administration has made what is supposed to be a non-partisan government very much an arm of the Democrat party. So it only seems right that someone be held accountable and submit their resignation.

The salary savings might help pay for that survey...and a little road patch!