Farkle Garage Episode 8 New look, New Garage, New Stories!

Pull up a chair and join us in the garage for 30 minutes of motorcycle TV! The gang is hanging out at Bucky's Taphouse talking bike with other riders, and the Farkle Garage Band is rocking out. What does music and motorcycling have in common - therapy! Check out a Steve's  human farkle, and the muffpot brings a whole new meaning to the idea of take-out, Clive really brings to life the term Ride to Eat! Producer Ray takes us on a ride Adventure style!

Farkle Garage Episode 8

New Episode of Farkle Garage Ep7- A whole lot of riding going on!

The crew of Farkle Garage is a small dedicated group who create this amazing little motorcycle show through public access television at a local Victoria station Shaw TV. We are  guided through the process by Executive Producer Paul Beilstein, who is aided by technical producer Orlan Carillo and Co-host Kim Rock.  Co-host Dar Duncan, Steve Drane and Clive Brown are volunteer producers and hosts.  The show is put together with the many talents of volunteers, camera people Kelly F, Chris W and Daniel, sound Will and slate lady extraordinare Carolyn.  And of course the amazing sounds of The  Farkle Garage Band, Ken, Jack, and Scotty - Rock on!

Here is the jammed packed episode 7 which includes the FG crew riding 'The Loop' as the locals call it, or for those looking on a map The Pacific Circle Marine Loop. Next Meet Chantelle and Todd Powell who are riding Honda CT110 Posties the durable little work horses of the Australian Postal service. Then we meet Adventurers Brian and Deyanira Domingues who rode through South America, and Neale Bayly a moto journalist and writer and producer of MAV TV and founder of Neale Bayly Rides, a chartiable organization that helps children aound the world. Last but not least we see Canadian Motorcycle Hall Of Famer Steve Drane rippin' it on the track! 

So pull up a chair and hang out with us in Farkle Garage for about 30 minutes!

Day in the dirt - Princess Mud Puddle rides again

Friday was a cloudy warm spring day and  it was motoX day. We were shooting a segment for Farkle Garage at West Shore MotoX.  It rained during the night so I was gleefully hoping for mud and puddles. After all they say mud is good for the skin. 

I was riding a Honda CRF 150, I love how light and easy to manoeuvre this bike is and I can honestly say I probably wouldn't get a huge monster bike if I decided to do more of this. 

Jeff at West Shore MotoX  (far left) was awesome! He kitted us out and had bikes for us to ride and gave us a brief lesson.  This is a perfect family activity and you don't need bikes and gear they have it all there.  The Farkle Garage crew had a blast ripping it up in the mud. 

Co-host Steve on the left was having a blast! It was a good day in the dirt. I had a ton and f fun, even stood up on the pegs, but today I am definitely feeling the ouch, but at least I was having fun!

2016 Vancouver Motorcycle show

It was an early call this morning awake at 03:00am and out the door at 05:15am to catch the ferry to the Mainland for the Vancouver Motorcycle show.  I headed over with the Farkle Garage gang, we shot stories for an upcoming episode. Everyone was stoked to go and see what was new in the world of motorcycling and FARKLES!  We were running on coffee, excitement, and adrenalin!

We caught up with the early morning Victoria rider contingent.  

Probably about a dozen riders and there were lots of others who carpooled, all headed to Abbottsford to the Tradex.

The show was well organized and lots of bike dealers with a good cross section of the entire riding community; trials, motocross, street bikes, cruisers, tourers, adv bikes and more, even a few electric bikes and a  wheeled moto car. It was heavenly, there was definitely something for everyone!  Added bonus I bumped to an Oregon contingent of bloggers - Trobairitz, Troubadour, Sweetpea and Polarbear. Dang I didn't get a pic! It was good to see them just the same! 

Here's a look at some of the bikes and dealer displays.

Was loving this beautiful Honda Goldwing! 

Another Honda beauty!

I was besotted by this little beauty.  Gorgeous little CBR 300.

AND THEN THERE WAS THIS.....

THE LONG AWAITED AFRICA TWIN CRF1000

1000cc of sexy adventure riding power featuring Honda's Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT)

Gotta say if I could have gotten up on that faux rock I would have sat on that baby up there!

According to my fitbit I took about 12,000 steps about 8km, yesterday wandering around looking at all the beautiful bikes and farkle candy store.  Stay tuned for more! This is just a little taste of what I saw!

Farkle Garage 1st episode!

Very excited! The first episode of Farkle Garge is complete and available on Youtube. Come meet the cast acrew of this eclectic little show.   Pull up a chair and join me in the garage for 30 minutes of motorcycle chat, stories and adventure!  Click the link below.

http://youtu.be/2eV7u7TA_JU

Farkle Garage & moto zen

My life has changed so much in four years, all of it due to scootering and motorcycling. Who knew I would be an avid blogger, social media geek, learn to ride a motorcycle, become a motorcycle instructor, and now a tv show host. What a ride this had been! 

I have had so many blessings come into my life after discovering the love of riding. They say four wheels move the body, but two wheels move the soul. It is so true!    

I have found many moments of zen on the back of my scooter or motorcycle; riding with my hub, friends, and teaching new riders the art of riding. I have also been very fortunate to make new friends through riding and blogging, as well as the opportunity to be involved in great projects.

Today we were putting the finishing touches on Episode 1 of Farkle Garage, which is a show about motorcycling and the people who ride them. The world of motorcycling is diverse and unique, it has been quite an experience discovering the stories and telling them. 

This is one of my wonderful cohosts Steve Drane who is a avid racer, motorcycle builder & restorer, Harley Davidson shop owner for many years. Steve recently retired to jump back into racing. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame and is a motorcycle legend. Steve was instrumental in the creation of the riding school I teach for and helped create, guide, and support the Vancouver Island Safety Coucil which has been teaching new riders since the 1970's. 

We have a lot of fun in the studio, the garage rings with laughter, at times it's hard to get focussed, but it all comes together in the end. 

Cohost Clive having fun on set.

I am considering doing an iron butt ride in the coming weeks and am looking forward to that adventure after being inspired by iron butt rider Clive Brown. Clive changes more tires in a year because of the kilometres he logs, almost 100,000km a year! If your butt wasn't iron before all that riding, I'm sure after hanging out with Clive for awhile  and doing the Island 1600km it definitely will be! 

(Of course you know I'd have to throw a leg over)

Today we did a segment with a member of the Victoria Police Department with Const Steve who is a police riding instructor and active duty member. Last year I was lucky to see him and his team members running the cones at NAMOA competition (North American Motor Officers Association) They are truly the 'top gun' of motorcyclists. It was pretty spectacular watching the officers run cone exercises and slow racing while their bikes are tethered together.  

Steve rides a Victory motorcycle, it weighs 985 pounds, he flicks it around like it's a 250cc bike. Oh to have those mad skills!

The other motochick cohost is Kim Robinson affectionately known as Kim Rock. We are trouble with a capital T, when we get together in studio.  Kim rides a beautiful red Ducati, she's an avid rocker. Together we are like Thelma and Louise, we could probably cause a little mayhem if they let us out of the garage!

Our technical director Orlando is a magician with graphics & editing. He rides a scooter, and is now thinking about venturing into motorcycling. Who knows maybe he'll be one of my students. 

We have an amazing crew of camera operators and assistants, they are the behind the scenes peeps who help glue the show together and without them there would be no show. (Sorry for the blurry pic - those lights are bright)

Paul B is executive producer/ videographer he is the driving force of Farkle Garage. Paul is motorcyclist who is a newly minted iron butt rider having just ridden to Sturgis and logging about 6300 kilometres for the trip. He is the creative mentor who keeps us on track with our stories and brings the show to fruition. His love of motorcycling radiantly shines through when he tells stories with video.

Farkle Garage is a show by motorcyclists about everything moto. It's fun, creative, and an amazing project to be a part of. So yes, I've been blessed by riding, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be doing stuff like this! 

Check out Farkle Garage on Facebook or on Twitter @FarkleGarage. 

Our first episode airs August 27th 3:00pm and 5:00pm on Shaw TV South Island - channel 4. 

Farkle Garage will be on YouTube and I will post the link for those not in our immediate viewing area.

Farkle Garage tv show segment - Riding with the Moto Mama's & Shaw TV South Island Victoria

Here is my first story for Farkle Garage on Shaw TV and Go Island.  Thank you to all the great women riders who are the Moto Mama's.  More importantly a huge thank you to the Producer/shooter/editor and rider Paul B, our technical director/shooter Orlando and Kim Rock cohost/moto mama and badass ducati rider! 

http://youtu.be/6zOprJsCuNw

Call me Adventure Diva - Dual Sport Riding Diva Style!

BMW GS650 

Never in the world would I have thought that I'd be riding a motorcycle, be a motorcycle instructor, tv co-host, or adventurer.  My life has changed so much in the last 4 years. WOW! is all I can say.

Today I was shooting a segment about off road riding for  Farkle Garage  a tv show I am a co-host on. I tried dual sport riding for the first time on a  BMW GS650. It was a whole different world to me, one where you're standing up on the pegs and shifting your weight. This style of riding seemed so foreign to the way I normally approach riding and very far removed from street riding. I have to say it was physically challenging, but very enjoyable.

It shares some of the common principles of street riding, utilizing your friction zone and good solid slow speed skills. There is no going fast involved in this type if riding, good slow speed skills are king. 

Shiz happens

Looking where you want to go to avoid target fixation is a key component to this type of riding, just as it is in street riding, so the basic skills are the same. You need to have your head up and eyes looking way down the trail, so you can avoid objects and fixating on them. Unfortunately I fixated on a cow pie in the field, yup, I rode through the squishy glob of poop.  I think cow pies would be excellent cone replacements because of the definite avoidance and ick factor. 

The local poop contributors.

Just as a novice street rider learns basic riding skills with exercises that promote good observation skills and friction zone development, it was that same build on skills approach that I am familiar with that was used to teach dual sport riding technique. We started out slow with getting the feel for standing on the pegs and body positioning on the bike. Once I got the hang of riding standing up and the fear factor abated a little it became more productive and easier.  The more I rode and was paying attention to my body position, it felt like the bike sort of melded with me, we developed a commonality and oneness. Eventually I was doing a cone weave standing up! Holy cow pie! It was wild surrendering everything you have learned and being more open minded to riding a different style than what you are accustomed to.

Ry showing me how it's done!

I was definitely a novice rider all over again. It was an absolute blast, but I think I would have to do some pretty hardcore fitness training due to the physicality of this type of riding. It definitely brings home to me how my novice students feel when learning a new skill. My interest is definitely piqued and I would like to learn more about dual sport riding.  Unfortunately  there aren't any pics of me standing on the pegs. I was too busy riding, and there wasn't anyone extra to take pics, but they will be in the Farkle Garage segment when it goes to air, so you'll have to stop by the Farkle Garage FaceBook page and check the episode out.

The Instructor Ry was great and very encouraging and walked me through the process step by step. We discussed riding gear and the different aspects of dual sport gear compared to street riding gear where you are more concerned about asphalt/pavement with sliding and abrasion. In dual sport off road riding you are going slower, so are more concerned about impact and wearing good body armour and comfortable lighter weight all purpose gear.  So again there is a good element of farkles to purchase! 

Safety is definitely a key factor and important to being successful in all aspects of motorcycling. I learned today that there is more to off road riding than just buying a dual sport bike and going for a rip on the trails. It truly is a different type of riding and riders will be better served if they are well prepared and take a course and have a good solid basic skill foundation. As with everything moto, you have the potential to get yourself into a whole lot of trouble in a big hurry. Riding off road can be unpredictable, particularly as most rides are in out of the way places, which may not be as accessible to help should you need it. So if you are going out, go with a buddy and if you can't make sure you tell someone where you're going and expected arrival at your destination and arrival home. There is also fabulous technology available for all motorcyclist who travel in the form of spot trackers which are satellite driven, they work where cellphones don't. You activate them and they let people you know you are okay or can trigger them to send help. These are amazing tech tools for motorcyclists or anyone who likes to wander.  I barely scratched the surface of the training during our short segment, I definitely see the value of learning from a professional. Who knows there may be a dual sport adventure or two in my future, but that also might entail a new bike, which due to my newest ride edition probably isn't in the cards any time in the very near future. 

The hub better make more room in our garage!

Another element to this style of riding is that women are embracing it! As with the basic rider course I teach, we have noticed that a significant amount of riders enrolling are women, it is roughly 40% . This speaks to women falling helmet over heels in love with motorcycling and that they are entering the sport at all levels of motorcycling, street, offroad, track, supermoto, motoX, touring, and scootering, nothing is off limits. 

One of the things I loved the most about today's adventure, was talking about what makes riding dual sports special. Seeing Ry's face light up when talking about the zen and magic of being intimately engaged in his surroundings and the passion for this and all forms of motorcycling. It was pure joy connecting on that level. It is the common bond all motorcyclists share, whether it be street, dual purpose, off road, track, weekend hobbyist, daily commuter or year rounder. We all love the feeling of oneness, the melding of mind, soul, and body with the machine. 

Ryan Austin is a professional riding instructor and police motor officer. 

what I'm up to!

Wow, it has been an exciting busy couple of days! I've been working with the Farkle Garage crew shooting stories for our upcoming episodes. We did an awesome shoot with a local riding school Vancouver Island Safety Council.  It was a great day interviewing instructors and students.  Its so exciting watching novice motorcyclists learn how to ride and knowing that they are getting a great skill foundation to build on.  

Its pretty cool seeing how a show comes together from a story concept to the actual segment being developed and shot.  Its a lot more work than I imagined it to be, but in the end its worth it because its something that is tangible and pretty cool knowing you had input into the creative process and I get to work with talented cool people. I also get to indulge in my passion for everything motorcycle! 

Orlando Farkle Garage's technical director/shooter making the magic happen. 

Paul Farkle Garage Producer testing out a Honda Grom 125cc bike.

Cool little Honda Grom 125cc motorcycle.  This is an awesome little moto beastie, its small, but mighty, very nimble and was a hoot to ride.  I couldn't resist parking my Honda NC700S next to it. if my bike hatched a moto baby, I think this is what it would look like! Notice the yellow on the 'mommy' bike :) 

I wonder if I watered it if it would grow up to be an NC.

So if you want to find out more about Farkle Garage give us a like on Facebook and can find us on Twitter at @FarkleGarage.  The show will be airing soon, we are working on some great stories and the show will be available on Youtube and Facebook.  

Keep your knees in the breeze and farkles shiny side up!