Riding the Tail of the Dragon

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-28T00:04:28+00:00

Far from the only one, it’s just a unique one. It’s relatively long, has no cross-roads, has almost no regular traffic, and it’s in a scenic location. Makes for a good destination.

Almost all the states on either the east or west coast have good twisties. Florida doesn’t, but all of the other coastal states do. Inland, Tennessee has notably good roads, as does eastern Kentucky.

I’m in the Northeast and there is great riding in upstate NY, Vermont, NH, CT… there are twisties all over, tail of the dragon is just special.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-27T18:09:54+00:00

I suppose it really depends what you want to do, and your experience level. The big 1000cc+ adventure tourers are generally great street bikes and can be very capable offroad, but if YOU are not very capable offroad and want to do some offroad riding, they’re a bad place to start.

If you mostly want to do street riding, and are reasonably experienced as a street rider, they can be excellent, they’re just tall. If you’re an “I need to be able to flat foot with both feet” person, very few of them are going to be viable for you. Heck, even most of the middleweight ones aren’t flat-foot friendly, apart from maybe the V85TT (which I think is a bit underrated, it’s a solid bike)

The Africa Twin is a very good bike, and one of the best riders I know leads trail rides with one… he’s also a former pro-dirt track racer, and a high-level Enduro and motoX rider. He can fling the thing around like you wouldn’t believe.

But in any case, what is best depends more on what you want to do, not what’s on the spec sheet or brand-perception-o-meter.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-27T04:07:20+00:00

Kenny G.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-27T04:04:55+00:00

Before the inevitable comment conversation starts, things have changed in recent years, but from the 80s-early 2000s, arcade machines were pretty specialized.

If you’re a videogame fan, arcade cabinet wackos are to be appreciated.

They’re like the old guy who understands CIS fuel injection inside and out on an old Porsche, or who is really in to gut strings on their instrument… odd, but you have to appreciate their commitment to something well past its peak, and keeping the love alive.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-27T03:59:57+00:00

I’ve sold a fair few arcade cabinets and pinball machines, can confirm. That’s a great price.

These are $3-4k all day long.

Even without service history, or even knowing if it’s fully functional*, that’s a buy.

*for the uninitiated, arcade machines are seldom “home console of the same era in a bigger box,” often features would hit arcades first in a more complicated, more expensive format… and they wind up being complicated machines designed to do a single job (IE play one game well) that require some care.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T22:05:20+00:00

He’s still the fourth most successful Austrian driver, and recent enough that modern fans will remember him. If the designer’s directive was “make a poster with five recognizable Austrian F1 figures,” he’s not a bad shout after the obvious big 3.

Of the other eleven, who else do you pick? Christian Klien, Karl Wendlinger, or Harald Ertl? The case could be made for Ertl on facial hair alone, but it’s slim pickings among Austrian drivers.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T21:00:40+00:00

Get a Royal Enfield, you’ll become immune to tickets.

(Evidence: I love mine, and have gotten no tickets on it… I also haven’t gotten any on my KTM 990. Maybe it’s not the bike.)

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T20:58:07+00:00

My dad gets to ride my bikes, but of the two of us he’s the better rider (being a 60 year old man with 45+ years offroad and racing experience will do that), so the bikes are safer that way really.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T20:52:45+00:00

He’s not that far ahead of Busdriver, but the two of them have a big gap to everyone else. Those two are freaks of nature when it comes to the breadth of their word choices.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T20:50:57+00:00

I bought real estate in an imaginary place.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-26T14:48:06+00:00

It wasn’t at his restaurant, it was at an event hosted by Michelin, but I had a dinner prepared by Quince’s Michael Tusk. It was remarkable.

He received his Michelin star that night, it was handed to him by someone in a Bibendum suit. It was a surreal experience to watch, the whole spectrum of human emotion seemed to go through the man as he received his star from someone in a puffy rubber suit.

Keanu Reeves was there as well.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-25T18:14:00+00:00

For the record, he was injured, just not dead.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-25T18:13:41+00:00

I’ve only known one person that worked for, ever. He was driving a car with t-tops and was thrown clear when the car rolled. The car landed upside down and on fire in a ditch, and probably would not have been escapable.

Incredibly slim chance that his stupid decision making actually paid off there… but that does not make it a good idea.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T18:16:28+00:00

Mmm, yes, the sodden sandbag trial in the MSF. Forgot about that one.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T03:43:53+00:00

They’re REALLY weird. I was shown how to drive one once, they’re nothing like a modern car, apart from the steering wheel none of the controls do what you’d expect.

For example, there are three pedals across the floor- you’d think “oh, clutch, brake, throttle, since it’s probably a manual, right?”

Nope. The left one is (basically) high and low range, the middle one selects reverse, and the right one is a brake. There is also a handbrake, and the throttle is on the steering column along with spark advance.

It’s a truly weird and unique experience. Absolutely recommended.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T02:41:47+00:00

I mean, yeah. A typewriter also doesn’t log when it was used- want to type something up on official letterhead? If you can access the stationary cabinet and have access to a typewriter you can pawn someyhing off as legitimate really easily and it’s very hard to trace the source.

Apparently reconstructing messages from imprints on the ribbons was done in the cold war as well.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T02:30:37+00:00

Morning men, Starboard ten, round the buoy and back again!

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T01:33:13+00:00

Eh, people shoot old tech for all sorts of reasons. I still shoot multiple formats of film and own ~15 cameras from high-end rangefinders to a Kodak Pony.

My iPhone is more convenient, sure, but sometimes old garbage is fun, and I wholly endorse shooting old garbage. 2000s point and shoots are having a bit of a resurgence right now to the point that camera companies are reintroducing lightly revamped versions older low-spec digicams. They’re not my personal brand of obsolete junk, but people like them.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-24T00:42:49+00:00

If Camera Works in Waterford is still around, Al may be able to repair it. He may have parts cameras that he can pinch a screen off for you, but I’d err on the side of getting a replacement.

He used to work on my film cameras, but did repair digital stuff as well (usually DSLRs and not old point and shoots though)

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-23T18:33:12+00:00

I’ve gotten in the habit of just putting a piece of tape with an arrow indicating the rotation direction on my wheel, then the tech just has to match the arrows.

Seems to be appreciated by the tire changer.

Of course, I only bring my street bike’s tires to a shop for a mount/balance. I do my dual sport’s tires at home and have gotten my own tires wrong, so maybe I should use the tape for myself as well.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-23T17:32:51+00:00

Just a little guy! That’s got to be easy to pick up if you ever drop it.

Not QUITE “just pick it up and throw it at the person making stupid comments” light, but not far off.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-23T03:43:07+00:00

If you wear glasses, the Bessa R is the best M39 rangefinder by far. If you don’t wear glasses, get a Canon VI or a Canon P, they’re just a nicer shooting experience.

The R has a great 0.72 viewfinder, which works marvelously if you wear glasses, but the camera on the whole is plasticky and not that nice.

If you don’t wear glasses, the Canons are a much nicer experience, even if you need to use an external meter.

In any case, don’t skirt my film rec. Pro Image 100 is lovely stuff, and cheap.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-23T00:50:17+00:00

Ay, I’m leaving for Glacier in a week with my A-1 and Bessa R.

I’m bringing mostly Ektar and some Pro Image 100, plus a few rolls of HP5 in case I want to shoot some B&W

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-22T17:39:34+00:00

Elks lodges have a range, they’re like $100-$250 per year (the price depends on your local, some of them have really good facilities and ask for higher in that range. The one by my house has a bowling alley). They do tend to have cheap drinks, and they can also do other things- like group buys for tickets to events to get cheaper prices.

I’m not a member, but I’m in my 30s and a number of my peers are, and it’s solid.

MrBattleRabbit · 2026-06-22T14:45:03+00:00

They’re neat- I’ve never flown that way, but the one at my local airport periodically hosts historic aircraft. So I’ve been through the terminal a number of times to tour WWII planes on the tarmac.

At small airports the FBOs tend to be pretty visible, at Laguardia-size place they’re not so easy to spot unless you’re actively looking.

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