Black Beauty Trouble

On the way to work the other day my clutch cable snapped while I was on N Druid Hills. I was able to ride slowly and pull over into the parking lot of a barbershop. I have a 24/7 help service through my BMW MOA membership which really comes in handy for these types of things and includes free towing for up to 100 miles. I had the bike towed to hourglass cycles. I'm really only putting this on my blog because I thought the small "tow" truck that came to get my bike was really cool and I wanted to post the photos. This was a good system and the bike was really secure. Check it out.

Hofftoberfest -2016

I've been really wanting to have an Oktoberfest party the last few years but never seem to be able to schedule it. Fall is my favorite time of year - perfect for riding motorcycles and outdoor gatherings. This year we finally planned an Oktoberfest (10/15/2016) which Michael Barringer then renamed Hofftoberfest which I loved. Hopefully Hofftoberfest will be a new annual tradition.

We had over a mix of friends in the neighborhood including close friends/neighbors, and friends from my or Drew's tennis teams including: Morgans, Barringers, Bryon and Amy Skinner, John and Patsy Evans, Sorokas, Lindsey and Wes Cameron, Shawn Lockhart, Heidi and Daniel Cowan, and Shana and her new boyfriend Ray (and son). I think that is about it. I think the only folks who couldn't make it were Blakes and Owens. I think it was about ~29 folks including our family.

So what did we do?

• All Hoffmasters wore our Hoffmaster beer shirts that my dad bought before he died
• Put together a Polka playlist on Spotify (thank you Emily). We alternated between this and Rammstein :)
• Ate lots of Brats and Mets (mettwurst I ordered from Cincinnati)
• Ate lots of great German themed side dishes folks brought
• Drank lots of great German lagers and wine

Drew, Alex, and Ben watching some TV away from the crowd

Food is served and more sausages are smoking on the Green Egg!

Hanging with Ray and Shana at the end of the night.

It was a great time and we almost had perfect weather. We had a few sprinkles that weren't in the forcast) but it wasn't enough to drive anybody inside.
Can't wait to do it again! The following weekend we went to the Cowans for what I call Oysterfest :)

Fall Motorcycle Camping

The family schedule just wasn't going to allow for any weekend camping anytime soon so I decided it was a good time to take a couple days off, load up the BMW, and head to the GA mountains for some riding and camping. I decided to head up on Thursday and go to a campground that didn't have electricity and didn't take reservations. I was looking for fellow tent campers and less RVs. I decided to look at Desoto Falls Camp ground first and managed to get a spot. I was lucky because cars were coming through most of Thursday and Friday looking for sites but it was full by Thursday afternoon.

Loaded and ready to head out

Unloaded after our ~ 2h trip north

My campsite....and Black Beauty hauling my firewood 

The campground location was beautiful and the campsite had everything I needed: pole for hanging garbage, picnic table, and fire pit/grill. The location was perfect in terms of riding - right in the middle of so many great roads. The only negative thing is that is right along side route 19/129 so you can really hear the traffic.

Stream running through the campground

On Thursday, I pretty much just road to camp via Dahlonega and enjoyed the campsite. Had to make a quick trip to a close by BBQ joint that also sells firewood. I love the image of my BMW loaded with firewood. I did the short hikes to the upper falls (3/4 mile) and lower falls (1/4 mile). Both were very pleasant and easy hikes. The falls weren't very impressive but I think the water flow was greatly reduced due to the lack of rain we've had this summer. It was pretty much just a trickle.

The upper falls

Grilling some spicy mettwurst for dinner

Friday morning I got up around 7:30 am and made some coffee. That is my favorite part of camping. Something about coffee at a campground after a horrible night sleep is just so perfect. And a horrible night of sleep it was. It was practically raining acorns and you wouldn't believe how much noise they make coming down. All that noise combined with all the signs I read about bear activity and properly storing food (still don't know what to do) had me plenty skittish the first couple hours in bed.

After coffee, I went for an hour ride. I headed down to Turners Corner and took a right back toward the princess rock pile. Then I headed north towards Suches and took a right onto 180 (Wolfpen gap) over towards Vogel park and then back down 19 to Desoto falls. It is a great loop. A fellow camper also suggested I try Russel-Brasstown skyway (?) toward Helen. I think that might be RT 348. I should try that next time. I got a little nervous when the gas station at the corner of 60 and 180 didn't have any gas but the little convenient store on 19 near Turners Corner had a single pump of 89. I was a little worried about it since I usually only use 93 octane but didn't seem to affect the bike at all. I enjoyed the curves so much more the 2nd day. Living and commuting in Atlanta does not give me much practice on curves. But after 2 days I got back in the groove and really started enjoying the curves again. I helped that there was nobody riding my ass waiting to pass.

Not sure if I'll get to do anymore motorcycle camping again this fall, but hopefully the wife and I can at least go up again for a day ride. It is so beautiful in the fall.

Anthrax Concert with Drew

Drew and I went to see Anthrax last Wednesday (Oct 5th, 2016) at the Tabernacle. It was Death Angel, Anthrax, and Slayer but we were really there to see Anthrax. I had seen them in the late 80's and was looking forward to seeing them again especially since I'm really loving their new album, For All Kings.


Waiting for Anthrax to start

I've been to a few metal shows with Drew that have had mosh pits but neither of us has had the guts to take the plunge. They just look so violent and there is some huge dudes in there. I don't know how I used to do it when I was in high school. But when Anthrax started playing Caught In A Mosh I just decided I had to jump in. The seas divided and I entered the fray. Within one step my cell phone snapped off my side holster. That was stupid - should have given that to Drew or put it in my pocked. Somehow I managed to quickly pick it up before someone stepped on. Then I started flying around the circle slamming into folks. I was probably only out there for a minute but when I came back to Drew my hands were on my knees and I was breathing HARD. What a blast! What a workout! I encouraged Drew to give it a try and finally convinced him. God bless his timid soul. He didn't stay out there long but he did it, didn't get hurt, and I think had fun! I could have never imagined that one day my son and I would mosh together at an Anthrax concert. What a blessed life.


This cross between Predator and Jason was in the mosh pit!

Got new shirts and CD after the show

Good night!

Rock on!

Slayer take the statge

Anthrax put on a great show and I think they played 4 songs off their new album in addition to some old classics. They definitely just aren't playing the old stuff. The fans are loving their new album and want to hear it. What a great show. The perfect show for Drew's first mosh!

Shambhala - Wisdom In Everyday Live

I just completed the 5th course in the "everyday life" series at the Atlanta Shambhala Center: Wisdom In Everyday Life (WIEL). Usually these course are over 5 weeks but his one was done over a weekend (Sept 30-Oct 2nd). It was a small class: only five students and our teacher - Shastri Janet. I always enjoy the classes but the small classes even made it nicer. This is the first time I've taken a picture of our class.  Here we are: Clark, myself and Stephen in the back. Janet, Marina, and Joy in the front.