Chairmen of the Politically Incorrect

[Sixgun]

Nobody buys them anymore….their quality control isn’t what it used to be……. The big farm machines still do good…I “think” they are made in Germany. Small garden tractors are on the decline …fast…..people are buying the zero turns and cutting their grass in half the time…..well, the people who still cut their lawn, me and about 4 other people in Pennsylvania south of the turnpike..the people on the north side still cut their grass

[Sixgun]

I won 262! I’ll take a $160 gift card for diesel/gas for the lawn cutting machines tomorrow.

[Old Savage]

You have to catch up on the earlier awards.

[OldWin]

Well......I still got it.

I hauled the trail bike to camp this morning and figured I'd ride from there.
There's an old fire tower back into Foss Mountain. I hadn't been there in 26 years and have wanted to go back. I wasn't sure the tower was still there. The trail up in there was bad 26 years ago. BAD. In places it was vertical ledge, big loose rocks, and plenty of mud to keep your tires slick.
I always put a small soft cooler on my back rack with 2 bottles of water and a couple granola bars. For some reason this morning, I put in one bottle of water and a beer. Must have known I was going to find that trail.
I left camp and went out the Stagecoach rd. from "downtown Brighton". After a bunch of miles i found the trailhead,, and boy......that trail didn't get no better in the last 26 years!
Pictures just don't convey how steep and rough this is. Plus, I couldn't just stop anywhere and take pics. I was some proud of myself when I made it to that tower. I popped that severely shaken beer and it tasted like victory. I was soaked with sweat and the deer flies were so bad it was all you could hear. I climbed up for the first time in 26 years and enjoyed the view. Again, Pictures don't cut it. Not too bad for an old man!
Once I got down outta there I rode a nice 60 mile loop. Checked out the old slate quarry over by our old camp, then took the trail behind Kingsbury pond back to Brighton.

[gamekeeper]

That's what I call an adventure I'd say the beer was well deserved

[OldWin]

Haha it sure seemed it. It tasted some good sitting there on top of that mountain.

[Sixgun]

Nice pics Jay….doing something like that is what makes life worthwhile…….the flies?…no Off?……..that’s a pretty deep in the woods drive to do by yourself…….those things worry me…..52 miles on a hard trail ain’t nuttin to sneeze at…….

I am a bit upset you didn’t call me and GK to go along……you could have put a side car on each side with me holding the beer….

One beer huh? You da man! ….but you ain’t old…….old is Joe Biden……

[OldWin]

I hardly ever use bug spray. I hate that stuff worse than the bugs. I would have sat up in the tower out of the bugs and had my beer, but it was all sun up there. I hate the sun beating on me. Especially my bald head when I took my helmet off.
But no kidding, that trail is insane. The pictures don't look like much, but it was so steep you couldn't walk up the ledge sections.

[Walt]

Nice pictures, Jay! And I like your bike. It must be about ideal for just poking around.

[OldWin]

Thanks Walt! Yeah, it's a Billy goat on wheels. It loves to climb. Even with the stock tires. I can't imagine a big ole IRC knob on front and a 4 wheeler tire conversion on back with a 70 tooth rear sprocket. It'd be a tractor.
It's so compact and light I can pick up on the bars, do a half snap on the clutch, and stand it up and pivot on the back wheel in place. It's made for tight woods and technical trails.

[Sixgun]

Jayster…if you were not worrying about the paint, could you do that trail in a Jeep…..looks wide enough….

[OldWin]

There were signs of attempts down at the lower part. And of course, me being me, I looked at that as I was going up. I guess with the right rig.......possibly.....?
Ive seen Jeeps do some incredible trails. I dont think mine would do it though. The trail is wide enough, especially for a TJ or older Jeep. However, it's narrow enough that you can't set over or offset obstacles. You'd pretty much have to run the track. I think I'd have to winch a good part of the way.

[Sixgun]

That’s what chainsaws are for…..make your own path…….if you get stuck, give me a call and I’ll have Slow Joe pick you up in Marine 1.

Could you imagine him trying to find you out in the middle of nowhere……he doesn’t even know which way to turn to get off the stage.

My BIL stopped over yesterday with 100 gold fish about 2” long and we released them in the pond. I’m thinking the Sunny’s and the snapper turtle will get them but like rotten people, you never get them all.

Beautiful day…3 in a row…..sunny, 76, low humidity……..

[OldWin]

Chainsaw or not, it would be just as steep and rocky.

Hey, id lke to see Joe dropped off out there. Along with a bunch of his friends. Be the last we'd hear of them.

[Sixgun]

Some influential black woman said that the blacks will “tear the dem. party to pieces” if they pick a white man over Kamala……..oh no! We’re not racist.

On that trail it would be a job getting up it but getting down sure would be fun…..a case of beer in Ole Yeller and you driving Ole Red would be a blast. Bring pops along for the fun…… Like, who gives a s. if there’s a rollover……just bolt on an Army winch on a chunk of I beam and weld it to the frame. Air down to 8 pounds……..we can make our own trail just by running down those little trees…with YOU leading the way as you have vast more knowledge than me. After getting on a solid road we can cruise on down to Cornville, all big and mighty and when we walk in the t bar, everyone will hollar your name.

The dance hall girls will swarm us with drinks and gifts. The owner will borrow our winches to install new table tops with sanded down telephone poles for a gals, oh man, I’m thirty again. This s sucks being old…I live in the past……wishing.

[OldWin]

Haha there you go! That there's a hillbilly big ole time!

It was too warm to play in the woods yesterday, so I cranked up the Harley and headed for the hills. I left here about 10am and all the way up through Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley through the twisties there was no traffic. Fantastic riding and a beautiful day.
I usually don't stop, but on a whim I rode up Sugarloaf Mt. to the base lodge for a break. There was a guy there on a Kawasaki Versys 1000 doing the same, so I said hi and we shot the bull for an hour. Come to find out, he's from town and we know a bunch of the same people.
I rolled out of there and went "over the hump" to Stratton and hit rt.16 for the long, lonely stretch to Rangeley. Rangeley is a beautiful place, but it was FULL of people. All out of states (flatlanders). It's become a mountain version of Bar Harbor, and ruined, by the flatlander parasites. Incredible place though. I rolled on through and down rt.4 through more twisties and beautiful scenery. Stuck 4 down to Farmington, then rt.2 home. One of my favorite 150mi loops.
Here's a pic from the base lodge parking lot at Sugarloaf and one outside Rangeley at the rest area.

[Walt]

Looks like a great ride, Jay and thanks for the pictures.

I finally got the oil changed on my BMW but I haven't taken it for a ride yet. I'm among the worst of procrastinators.

[OldWin]

Don't procrastinate on the RIDING Walt!

[Sixgun]

Nice pics Jay…….i always picture Maine (never been there, or too many other places) as flat with lots of trees and lots of little lakes……you actually have mountains there…….you sure do have the Harley looking clean for all that riding. Don’t you ever worry about breaking down by yourself?

Yea, you have flatlanders messing things up, I have city folk/liberals doing the same thing here. They had the 4th of July parade today and yesterday I put my Trump banner at the end of the driveway for all to see. From the house 130 yards away I was looking at the paraders through binoculars and I didn’t see one person looking at it…they walked on past with a snub. They look at me like a low life hillbilly even though we own everything, keep everything very neat while everything they have is on paper with 3 rooms in their 20 room house with furniture. That’s how most people live today…..”image” is everything.

Very hot and humid today……I don’t have a Harley to cruise around to cool off on but I do have a Kubota tractor with a loader that goes 10 mph.

Think I’ll go outside and rip off a few 20 rd mags from the BAR……

[OldWin]

Yeah haha. The western part of the state is very mountainous, all the way up through. Foothills in the central part. The biggest mountain is Katahdin, but it's more towards the center.
No, I don't worry about it. Mostly cause I keep my stuff up, but I guess I'm just used to it haha. I rode by the Appalachian Trail where it crosses rt.27 between Sugarloaf and Rangeley. That's the section that woman who hiked all the way up from the start of the trail died a few years ago. She didn't turn up so they mounted a huge search but nobody found her. Like three years later somebody found the bones. They figure she died from exposure. Ain't a place to fool around. There's a place gridded off where they take the navy seals for wilderness survival training.

[Sixgun]

Yea…you’re knowledgeable enough to be able to bypass anything broken. I once rode a 100% brakeless Corvair home about 6 miles. The slave cylinder in ole Yeller lost all of its fluid leaving me without a clutch but I was only 2 miles from home with no stop lights so I shifted with the rpm’s. …….I also have been known to walk a few times…..

The dogs are having a hard time with the boom booms…..I shot off a box of Remington 25 autos from the 60’s today into the pond. Recoil was a bit stiff……I ripped off two mags as fast as I could and that baby shoots. But….its a Colt from 1929.

[OldWin]

Yeah, I've lost my spot in bed cause the dogs are all huddled up. Almost 200lbs of dogs needing hugs while the 6lb poodle is just fine and dandy. Sounds about right.

Oh boy! Clutch cylinder in a YJ! Fun!

I broke a clutch cable in an old beater K car I used to drive to work back in 92. I drove it all the way in and all the way home with no clutch. A 110 miles. Least it was an easy fix haha.

I didn't shoot anything today. Kristy and I took a bike ride after supper.

[Sixgun]

That takes big T’s……100 miles without a clutch. I can see it now…..you and the dogs under the covers…..I bet you sneaked in a few beers.

Miserable here…95 with high humidity…..you know, I told you before we never had ac until I was in my mid to late twenties and I have no idea how we got along without it. My dad never had it…he could well afford it but it’s that depression era thinking.

I put THREE slave cylinders in the YJ…..I bet, with air tools I could swap one out in 2 hours. Like an idiot I was buying local auto parts stores products on the first 2 then the last one came from Quadratec.

Let’s see……jack up and insert jackstands…..remove trans cross member…. rear yoke….pull the driveshaft and insert an dummy……undo the linkage….pull trans and transfer case out in one unit….one wire for the back up light…….replace slave cylinder in the bell housing……put it all back together……pour brake fluid and bleed it…..remove jackstands and floor jack………..drive….

[OldWin]

Haha no. No beers in bed. I stayed downstairs till the digs got off the bed. Then I came up and took their place.

Yup. I try and tell my dad those parts store brands are all Chinese garbage. When it's something that matters, buy factory or a name you recognize. Spicer, Moog, etc.
If you get caught, Napa is about the best if then for me.
Those slave cylinders are miserable on a YJ. I had the transmission and transfer out of Old Red, but it was cause I put an new clutch, pressure plate, throw out, and pilot bearing in it.

Today we took the Jeep down to a buddy of ours place. Zoey rode along and was happy to be Jeepin. It was hot, but while the wives visited we did some wheeling on his trails on his property. Had a good time. I didn't get stuck or have to pull any cable, so it was a win. Old Zoey loves to wheel.

Had a good day.

[Sixgun]

Well, good for you on the good day…..I can’t say the same..not a bad day but a blah day. 95 outside and outside is where I prefer to be. Did play with the loader in the way back today moving some branches and cut grass into a pile. I found an old bathtub and a few refrigerators in the mess….

I got this idea…..the old well pressure tank I replaced a few weeks ago still has a good bladder. Has 50 pounds of pressure and holding so my ideas is to take out the valve stem, pour in some gas, put the stem back in and charge it to around 100 pounds. Take it out in the field and hit it with a 223 tracer….less I’d have to take to the junkyard….

[OldWin]

Cool idea! Make sure you video it when you do!

[Walt]

And a belated happy birthday to you, Dr Six.

[Old Savage]

It was cooler on the course I am sure.

[Sixgun]

And a belated happy birthday to you, Dr Six.

Why thank you Major General Walter von Motorcycle. Well, I’ll tell ya one thing, if someone thinks 60 is old, 70 puts 60 to shame…….ahhh, in reality, I feel pretty much the same as I did when I was 50……a little more joint issues, but not much.

That youngster in Maine is still in his fifties and is scooping up all the hard earned knowledge the rest of us 70’ers have gained……I truly never thought I’d get this old living a reckless life, somehow surviving 3 major concussions.

114 degrees…….I’m house ridden at 95……

OK Jay…..think I’m gonna change from gasoline to liquid propane…….i gots the tools baby! ——-0070

[Old Savage]

It’s a dry heat.

[Sixgun]

For being a doctor you’re not very bright…….(only kidding)…. heat is heat……mom has seen more dogs dying from the heat than anything else. As pets continue to rise in popularity along with lots of people having no common sense, pets continue to suffer at the hands of stupidity….

Even people leaving babies in a hot car…….

Another factor in pet deaths is many of the earlier and hardier breeds have been hybrid into “pretty” pets with many not having the physical traits of their roots…..a.hol owners decide to take off for a few days and leave their pets in a 6 x 6 enclosure with a bucket of hot water and some cheap Walmart food and then wonder why their pet is dead when they return.

When we had horses, I routinely hosed them down for 10 minutes every hour along with cover and a good sized fan running 24/7. There’s a huge mass of muscles, organs, bones and other things in a body that need to be cooled down.

It’s a safe bet to hypothesize that the majority of pet owners don’t know how to keep their animals comfortable and therefore happy and healthy…….people? F em.——0070 and one day.

[Sixgun]

I told mom what my mother used to say…….”if you want to and plan properly, you can have Christmas everyday”. Mom takes it literally.

[Walt]

Six, for whatever reason, 60 hit me harder than any other birthday. 70? Ho hum... just another birthday. They keep coming faster and faster though.....starting to worry me.

[gamekeeper]

My 76th is approaching just as I could do with a little less wisdom and a bit more vigor but at least I'm still enjoying what little bit of vigor I have left...

[Sixgun]

That’s somethin’ Walt……thinking back with thought in mind, 60 did hit me harder…….i figure it going to be my last decade as I don’t see too many people who are 80 and still somewhat thriving,,,,,,ahh, who gives a s. anyway. As long as I don’t get like Sleepy Joe and start messing myself I’ll be alright……

Did you hear about old guy who went to the doctors with his wife who waited in the waiting room? The old guy was in the examination room for 3 hours and when he came out the wife was mad and asked the doctor what took so long. The doctor explained that he needed to take a urine sample, stool sample, and a sperm sample. The wife told the doctor, “why didn’t you just say so, I would have given you his underwear.”——00

[Old Savage]

Little hotter today

[gamekeeper]

Still only 60f here but at least the wind has dropped, so far June and July have been the coolest I can ever remember, I don't mind as I prefer cool to baking hot but didn't expect to still be burning firewood.

Not as many Squirrels here as I thought, the guy who took over the trapping when my son left is doing a great job on the Greys so all I have shot so far is egg stealing Jackdaws.

Rooks-ravens-4.png

[Sixgun]

GK, you persevered through the b.s at the last place and now you’re in the kingdom of freedom…..good for you! On your new place how would the latitude compare here in the colonies? With the cool weather I’m thinking upper New York or even in the land of appliances near Jayster…….

Hey Fred…what is it with the tach on your 2 cylinder Jeep? Redlines at over 6,000? That baby must be fast! My guess is you’re driving around 65 with the tach at 1800.

115……I have a thermometer in our little barn which is next to the big barn. I keep it closed up and I walked in there the other day and it was 112. Felt like an oven so I baked a chicken with carrots and potatoes. (The potatoes were “throw aways” from my clubbing days)

[gamekeeper]

Good question Six, I had to look it up I am at 55.1 which puts me level with Moscow, Copenhagen, Thompson in Manitoba and Grande Prairie, Alberta. So I'm north of the land of appliances.
The UK does have the benefit of the Gulf Stream so we rarely get similar temperatures.

uk-lat-long.jpg

[Sixgun]

Well GK…..I may know old guns and how to fix an old dryer but I ain’t s with the intricacies of weather and how these things move around the globe. So I’m most likely accurately guessing your days in the winter are shorter than even in the land of bullet ridden appliances.

I just went outside to dump the bucket of water from our ac unit……I collect it to water the hydrangeas out front where the collection bucket is……..twice a day, about 3-4 gallons each time depending on how often and long mom leaves the door wide open.

So dang hot (96) that it takes the life right out of you…..

[OldWin]

Hot here too. It's 87 here now and that's insane. I took a ride with the trail bike this morning before it got hot. Rode about 50 miles of easy trails. The highlight was a little fawn playing on the old track bed in front of me not a great pic, but I dug out my phone and snapped it while I was moving.

[Old Savage]

Well, you may think heat is heat but get a wet bulb thermometer and put it next to a regular one. You may change your mind.

[Sixgun]

87 is insane? It’s not the heat so much as it is the black flies that come out in the heat like in upstate Pa……..those suckers will chew you up. We get green flies that bite but I haven’t seen any since our last horse passed over the Great Divide…….

Never saw those black flies around here. They know not to fly in these parts……we choot dem….

We got up to 96 yesterday and it’s about 92 now…..stifling……don’t hardly even see any cars on the road.

The grass in the spring went from soggy green mush to brown to green again after a few days of thunderstorms and now it’s brown again. Reminds me of my underwear.

[OldWin]

It's 87 again today. I just got home from a 250 mile ride with he Harley. Rode up rt.11 to Millinocket, cut across rt.157 to Mattawamkeag, then down rt.2 to Old Town, and back across to home. The ride up was nice, but started to get warm about Lincoln on the way back. Not too bad, but if you stopped it was hot. I only stopped long enough to refuel and take a leak in Millinocket. I may be getting a little old for riding like that.
Stopping for lunch or something may be the way to go on thise 250 mile days.

[Sixgun]

250 miles??!! You da man! That equals what I put on the Rubicon last year (257) but mine were long trips to the post office (300 yards) and to the WaWa, …(1.85 miles) the inspection center (2.3 miles) and a few times to my in-laws (200 yards). I tell ya Jay, I get around!

The trip you took shows you still have enthusiasm and stamina…..

Did you stop off at the Cornville T bar?…..or maybe to see some hotties up in West Athens?

[Sixgun]

I noticed Athens has a nice “wine and dine” uppity ballroom. It’s no different 10 miles down the road from here and it also looks like standard housing upstate.

[OldWin]

Well there! After supper I gassed it back up and rode another 53 miles. Rode up to Solon and took the River rd back through Madison and down to Norridgewalk. Then ripped it down rt201, crossed the bridge at Hinckley, and back up the East River rd and home. Now I'm sitting out in the driveway sipping a cold brew.

Haha oh yeah! That place with the car with the hood up is on the corner just over the bridge in Athens. Used to be a gas station. Right across the road is the Athens Corner Store. We call it "the mall", cause they got everything.
Gas, propane, diesel, a sort of grocery and liquor store, some automotive stuff, ammo, you name it.

[Sixgun]

Oh man…the “mall”……..funny thing, the stuff you mentioned is about all I use….propane, gas etc…..I told you, I believe I’d fit in there better than you. I like and prefer a simple life where money is talked about but rates low on the priority list….just enough to live comfy.

I drove the Rubicon today to pick up some cheese steaks and the engine light came on…first time in over 19 years……….ran the code with the key switch and it came up “PO122” which is a throttle position sensor which is cheap……pick one up tomorrow, maybe, maybe next year or the year after……

[OldWin]

Yeah haha. There ain't a lot of cash money in Athens.

Your Jeep gets a lot of short trips, plus it's humid. Od check the connection and hit it with a little dielectric grease. Without a real high dollar analyzer, it's hard to say if it's actually bad.

[Sixgun]

Thanks bro but I don’t understand your big words, “dielectric”. Come on man! (Joe Biden)

I did look at the wires and everything looks super, there’s this plug in thing with a red lock on it………kinda off the subject but when you get old and don’t need something, you let it rot but at the same time you don’t want to part with it…. In years past I’ve seen old 80 something guys that look like they ain’t living high on the hog but have a ‘40 Ford coupe in the barn with 25K miles on it but won’t part with it for all the money in the world…….i feel like that with ole Yeller and the Rubi….

Case in point…my wife’s cousin died a few months ago at like 88. I’ve known the family longer than I knew mom’s family. I’ve been over their farm 50 times from high school days on and after he died there was an argument on his Ford…..I never saw it or knew he had it..yep, a low milage all original 1940 Ford Coupe that he kept undercover…..original paint that still shined…

Thanks again buddy…I’ll double check the wires then take it down the expressway for 60 miles in 4th, maybe 5th gear. I have to go about 65 to get it in 6th gear…….at 3K r’s….that should clear it out on the way to Tractor Supply in Oxford, Pa….