I bought this 900 from a guy over in NH for $80. No title, no key, hadn't been started in many years and had spent those years sitting outside in the rain and the snow on the side of a shack that was across from the house. I figured if I could get it to run and there was nothing major wrong with it I would customize it.

Well, it needed new coils and a set of points and a condenser and after that...

I've decided to rebuild an old motorcycle that I bought new in 1978 but I realized that over the 20 or so years since I had ridden and subsequently took it apart...again, that I had misplaced some of the parts. In that time I had gotten married, moved to VT from CT, had two kids and generally just figured that motorcycling was not exactly a family activity, so I put it aside indefinitely. For reasons not entirely unbeknownst to me a resurgence of my desire to once again enter the world of motorcycles has been rekindled. I mean I always thought that it was totally me to move to a such a great motorcycling state like Vermont and not ride a motorcycle, but it's been okay and there really haven't been too many times that I really pined to get get back on the road. Slowly though, over time and through a coagulation of assorted happenings I've decided to rejoin the ranks.
 

I have to figure that this all emanates from my Route 100 project and my appreciation for life on this road and for the road itself and what it means to all of the different kinds people who tour up and down it's 200 plus miles searching for and finding what it is they came here for. Some are motorcyclists, cyclists, skiers, photographers, antiquers to mention a few of the most active travellers that I come in contact with daily.

Now, with the American flags flying from the telephone poles, I'm reminded of last year's decision to finally follow through with my website celebrating this most American Road and the people who live in and visit the surrounding towns. Last year, these avid recreationalists were unstoppable, even during the recession and this year it's no different. Scouring the internet forums you can see that this road is much loved and appreciated by many and my notion that it deserves an aura akin to that of the old Route 66 is not so far fetched. It has a quite a following already and I appreciate them as much as they appreciate the road and the activities it has to offer.

So much so that I've decided to rejoin the ranks of motorcycling and cycling and photography, all of which I used to be very much involved with more than a few years back. As far as what has changed as for family activities, well, my son will be 14 this year and I think it would be a kick for us to take a couple bikes for a little father and son trip ala Robert Persig and his son Chris in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintainence when he turns 16. Only instead of being a passenger (something I don't personally like to do) he can ride his own bike. And my daughter loves to ride her bicycle so we've been exploring the streams and other adventures on our bikes since I replaced the tires and tuned up mine.

These days go by so quick that I figure cramming more into them can have the same effect of slowing them down a bit.

We'll have to see if I can keep up.

But, it's a start.

I worked up the new header in the 3d modeling application Blender. Blender is such a cool program and to think it's available free for the download right over the web. There is a little investment in time required though, let's be clear about that. And time does equal money in a sense. The first time I used it I shelved it for I don't know how long. 

I think once I get the scale and the VT background and angle of the road right and get the lighting correct and add more bevel  to the Rt and the 100 it might have some potential. I'm also going to replace this pristine tarmac of the window body itself with the cracked all to hell of the asphalt that makes up the road where I live as a not so subtle reminder. I'll also deepen and darken the color and did I mention that my Evolt Olympus SLR camera came and that I was wrong about the price, it was only $349.00. It's more camera than this newb can handle but I really really like it.

I started posting scenes of Vermont to a gallery over on the left sidebar. Some of them are pretty heavily post-processed and I know I oversaturated that red barn a bit. At least on some monitors it seems as if I did. I figure if I take thousands and thousands of shots I should get at least a couple good ones. I'll add more galleries for Rt 100 and for people and sports and wildlife and trails and mountaintop views and whatever else I can find like the night sky even.

Update on Friday, May 21, 2010 at 11:26PM by Rob Mehner

Well, I made some changes to the banner and I like it better. I'll let it stay awhile and tweak it as I go along.

Wow... man.

I watched Easy Rider and I have to say for a movie released in 1969 it sure has some staying power. In the extra section of the disc some interviews with the cast and cameramen shed a lot of light as to some of the undercurrents of the film. I never knew that an "Easy Rider" was a man who essentially lived off of a woman.

It's not that this was the first time that I had seen it, but it was the first time I think I got the message it was trying to send. That Wyatt (Peter Fonda) figured out that he had sold out just to gain easy wealth and it didn't sit well with him to the point of letting himself get blown away by the guys in the truck that blew away Billy. After seeing Billy lying dead he knew it was all over. He could have sped away, but he didn't. He let it happen. He rode straight into it. Deliberately.

The bare metal Harley tank and fenders came and I'm excited about the commemorative paint scheme even more than I initially was. That movie was responsible for a lot of the trends that developed after it's release. You can't down play it's importance. Especially if you're Jack Nicholson. What an era, what a time to have lived through. There was so much happening.

It was so low a budget film that they financed it on Peter Fonda's Diner's Club card.

I started reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (for the second time also) and it's every bit as compelling for me now as it was back when I was in my early twenties, back when I was a king but didn't realize it. Like the movie, I'm sure I'll gain something more from because it's that good, that well conceived and that well written. The author, Robert Persig, and I have similar trains of thought and it seems that he also has had difficulty with people wondering "where he gets some of his ideas from". He's a man who questions what is or believed to be and I pretty much do the same thing. He has a gift for writing about the small things that often go by unheralded and it's a gift that I'd love to be able to cultivate further because I know that the desire to be able to express one's self better, resides in me as well. He was responsible for my interest in philosophical thinking and to a lesser degree back then, prose. But that was the hook - that ws what kept me reading. I know this because I've read painfully little. This time, during this read , I am studying more the prose. How things change over time. They say that "All art is learned through emulation and I would love to sit around with Robert Persig and discuss things. Til then, I'll be content to read and watch and learn from those that care enough to question what is and have the creativity to express it with the amount of love and passion that they do.

And maybe one day soon I'll look back to today and realize that I was a king on this day too, but just as back then, didn't necessarily appreciate it all that much at the time, who knows.

And even if I don't, even if I'm not feeling all that regal, maybe I will just take comfort in not ever have contemplated selling out.

Soon, I'm going to repurpose the Rt100VT site.

As the grey mountains begin to turn back into the green that make this "The Green Mountain State", everything is coming alive again and it's wonderful to watch and be a part of. Believe it or not, there are still a few piles of snow here and there even though temps have reached well into the 80's on some days. Still I see some snow in the forecast in the upcoming days and I personally have seen flurries in very early June although only once and on the higher elevations. For me, there's something about the transition that seems earned or well deserved and the restless energy that emanates from within must simply be what is termed "spring fever," an ailment that I always succumb to.

I've been anxious to get started here and lend this place a little structure and I do mean a little. The blog will move stage left and an online magazine will spring forth. Route 100 is a road that can support it's very own magazine because of the many dimensions that it travels through. And it's not all about the road in reality, it's about the people that travel or live on or near it as well.

The motorcycle will be my "Zen and the Art of" as well as being the perfect vehicle for someone looking to snap away some digital pictures to chronicle Route 100. Too many times it's just been too inconvenient to stop abruptly and pull over to take a great shot so I just drive by. I've had a lot of experience "pulling over" during my years spent on a bike so I can put that to good use now.

I've decided to rebuild an old Kawasaki KZ650 that I bought new in 1978 that is sitting in my barn across the road. I had customized it by turning it into a cafe racer and it really is still a sharp looking bike. It needs to be put back together with some new paint and maybe a few new parts and I'll be good to go exploring Route 100. It's hard to believe it's 32 years old though. I mean, it's easier for me to believe that I'm 53 than that the bike is 32 yo. It's to the point where these bikes are becoming collectable and the prices for bikes in decent shape are rising.

I've settled on an Evolt 520 Olympus digital SLR (discontinued) at Dell for $399.00 that comes with a 14 -40mm and also will allow me to use all of my old OM2 35mm lenses, a 24mm, 55mm, and an 80-120 zoom. (geez those date back to that era too, I'm starting to like this)

People who want to download pics of the most beautiful place in the US (which is Vermont, according to National Geographic in 2009) and #7 in the world can come and download any of my pics as per the Creative Commons guidelines below as to no commercial use.

For video I will use my Sony camcorder but I am also looking at a Kodak Zi8 hd pocket jobby for ease of use and convenience.

Slowly, (my m.o.) I am making good solid progress in garnering Google juice. Compiling keyword data for the last few months I'm seeing hits on my construction site with people downloading many of the pics for reference. No calls yet but that's okay because the ball is not only rolling but it's snowballing.

Technology here in small town America is way underutilized and most folks' level of understanding for it's potential is most likely the reason they look at me like I am speaking Chinese when I go into my diatribe intended to enlist some help for the project with limited success. I call it limited because it takes too much effort to keep rallying people all the time instead of just doing it myself. I suppose it's a lot like herding sheep at it's best.  It's all very understandable really and has served to not only know more about human nature but also more about myself as well.

For the last little while I keep thinking about some imagery from the past, maybe "Wide World of Sports" or whatever it was. I was watching Carl Lewis competing in a foot race and for most of the race he just ran with the pack, but then, when he hit a certain point it was like he just hit a switch and said "see'ya" to the rest of the field.

Carl Lewis has continued to inspire me for over 35 years and now I think it's time to hit my own switch. In this you tube video the competition is tougher but still, even still...

Route 100 in Vermont is the perfect road and just like it, I travel in many different dimensions too. This week I've started yet another business by ordering a set of tank and fenders for a Harley Davidson Sportster to be painted in the color scheme of Dennis Hopper's motorcycle in "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda.

Initially, it was my thought to paint the "Captain America" colors of Fonda's bike but given Dennis Hopper's current health status that will come later. This is more important, to honor a cultural icon like Dennis Hopper.

I want a fringe leather jacket too and possibly flip some farmers "the bird" as I ride by.

"Born to Be Wild"  by Steppenwolf you tube video, Easy Rider

I've every intention of weaving the past in with the present and travel through the different dimensions that exist on this road.

Route 100 in Vermont is the American road, a destination in itself. It offers "a new type of "R & R" of not "rest and relaxation" but of "recreation and relaxation". Two distinctly different pastimes that here bleed into each other profusely and become indiscernible from the other.

At last, I'm excited to get started, really started.

See'ya!