Hi there PCb <-- YIKES! That sounds like a drug. Cocaine or something. LOL!!

Anyway my friend, 1stly the post was done by "CanadianRocky". <-- That alone means he is fair game to zing when you can. CanadianRocky "CR" is 1 of those chaps here who is bike knowledgeable, light hearted, fun chap, who u can easily joke around with. CR can send a zing right back so be aware. Nvr harshly of course, just a FUN guy to know and joke around with.

So when I saw CR's post, my immediately line of thinkging........is that it is Open Season (always) on CR to joke with. You can't do that with everyone here.

So............in his post above #445, he (CR) stated going to Yellowstone on his sisters 400 Yamaha and he (CRs friend) took his Wing. <-- Since this is basically a HD forum and a Wing is a Honda make, I thought I would joke with CR. Saying his friend went to Yellowstone with his Wing and left it there. (Not a bike worthy of bringing back home.)

Make sense now? Maybe it is not 1 of my better jokes.

You know PBc, when it comes to CR, I could have.:

1. Made fun of his being Canadian, bcs, you know....... or

2. He took his sister's bike which means CR rode a "girl bike". <--

3. Or as stated in his post #445 above he starts off with, "A buddy of mine....", but we all know he has no friends. And the hand puppet under his bed does not count as a friend.

Truth be told, CR own a large successful trucking company (teaches you how to drive those BIG BIG BIG RIGs that is) and has done incredibly well for himself. Add that to the copious friends he made from teaching so many guys how to drive those big rig's, he likely has more friends than anyone else on the planet. <-- But that does not mean u can't sting him. As long as you run away fast so he can't catch you like this............ Can't catch me. Peeeeoooooooowwww..........


P.S.: I came back special to say, let's get back on track with this thread and here is a very special spoiler for CR if he is reading this. Hey CR, I made this special for you.......
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You know the joke isn't that good if you had to write a paragraph to explain it... (just sayin')
Should have gone with #2 about the "girls bike" maybe...

Anyway, yes, back on track... ​​​​​​​

 

Paragraph??… Buzz has never responded to anything without it qualifying is a short story… And maybe even a couple of times a novella…

 

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Cosmic Razorback aka Mark has been married to Carolina Girl for a blissful 32 years and happily counting. Mark has two grown children, a son and a daughter. And if that is not wonderful enough, he also has one grandson.

He is one of those fortunate people who has worked over 30 years in the same field. The Bearings & Mechanical Power Transmissions Industry. If that was not good enough, get this……..Mark was sought out 4 years ago and asked to join the WORLD’S LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF PNEUMATIC COMPONENTS as a factory sales representative! A factory sales rep! WOW!!! THAT IS AWESOME!!!

Not only is that like the BEST compliment you can receive, that someone wants to give you prestigious job, but it’s proved to be a GREAT move and a blessing.

By accepting this FANTASTIC job offer, it greatly expanded his knowledge and expertise as well as opening a world of Automation and the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most amazing people in the industry.

Ok, I am getting all kinds of excited here so let’s back it on down and back up a wee bit.

Cosmic started riding at the tender age of 13 years old and rode until he was 20. Growing up in Arkansas you could get a motorcycle license when you turn 13, as long as your bike was governed to 10HP or less. Then Mark started to ride again at 50 years of age for what is a combined 20 years of riding.

In total, Mark has had 12 motorcycles.

In the 1970’s he had four Hondas.

A Honda CL100, Honda CL350, Honda CL450, Honda CB450, then later……. a Honda CRF125 (Dirt Bike), Honda CRF230 (Dirt Bike). Then moving on from Hondas….. a Buell 500, ’08 Harley-Davidson Street Glide, followed by a ’10 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, ’10 Harley-Davidson FXDWG Dyna wide glide, ’16 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited, and a ’17 Harley-Davidson CVO Limited. Phew……and more coming soon.

Asking a biker what their favorite bike is, is a bit of an unfair question. I know. This is Mark’s reply….

“At age 13 my CL100 Honda was a very special gift. My father won it in a sales contest with his company and gave it to me. Being able to ride legally on the street at that young age was amazing. I had three friends from school that also had bikes and their licenses. It felt like we rode a MILLION miles together. Later with my wife we started our long-distance riding with our 2010 Ultra and put 65K miles on it in 16 states. We had a great time on that bike. All have been fun, and we have fond memories on each.”

Mark’s current bike is his ’17 Harley-Davidson CVO Limited. And get this …(if THIS is not a sign of a wife who is a “KEEPER” then I don’t know what is.) AND this is likely part of why they have had such a GREAT marriage for 32 (and counting) wonderful years…….. When Mark was out of state on business, his wife, the Carolina Girl found a ’17 CVO Ltd, fell in love with it and BOUGHT IT! BOUGHT IT! I said she BOUGHT IT and it was totally unknown to Mark. HAH!!!! Is THAT a KEEPER or WHAT?!?!?! WHEN do you EVER hear of THIS happening??
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Carolina Girl used to go to “The Man Cave” daily to admire the CVO. It is “…spiked olive…” color. They never received so many compliments on any other bike. Ever. Carolina Girl was behind the exhaust upgrade, followed by the Stage III upgrade. Then she handed Mark the Title for the bike in August, paid off early as she promised!

As of this writing, they racked up 35,000 FANTASTIC miles on this CVO with wonderful memories “…and God willing will continue adding many more.”

Mark & Carolina Girl never (as in never, ever) trailer their bikes. This bike has seen sunny Florida seven times, from Florida’s Panhandle to the Everglades, and all the way down, down, down, down to the southernmost point in the USA, Key West.
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Twice the CVO carried them to Daytona Bike Week and twice they went to Biketoberfest.

For Father’s Day, they wanted to deliver a cake to Mark’s father living in Arkansas. With Mark and the Carolina Girl living just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC, this turned out to be their longest weekend trip on this bike (1,850 miles) over 3 days of riding. One day alone they knocked off a 701 mile ride. Mind you readers…….this is 2 on a bike……701 miles. THAT is a lot for 2 up in 1 day.

The greatest number of miles they racked up together in one ride was 3,250.

This ’17 CVO Ltd was also the bike when Mark knocked off his first Iron Butt Association ride, staying in the saddle for 1,046 miles in 19 hours. He got back home at 10 PM, just to leave the next morning at 8 AM to head to Myrtle Beach with his Carolina Girl.
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They have ridden to York, PA for the Harley Open house and one of their most memorial destinations was the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA.
This bike has seen Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, and back to North Carolina for a one-day 550-mile, five-state ride which was a challenge they set for themselves.

It has seen the Tail of The Dragon, the Back of The Dragon, the Snake, Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiner 28 and many other great motorcycle roads in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Living just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, they get to ride the Parkway at least once a month. Including an amazing ride to Little Switzerland via BRP in January 2020!

For the fun of it, they rode the entire Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive.

Whether it is a short dinner ride on “… date night…” Or a nine-day Florida trip over Christmas, Mark said, “I love having my wife sitting right behind me. She is smiling bigger than me when we fire up the 117 Stage III with Reinhart DBX45’s.”
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If everything Cosmic Razorback has said above is not impressive enough by its own right, let’s toss on a really cool story……

Cosmic had a Harley that was a 2008 Street Glide with Crimson Red Sunglow paint. They loved the bike for sure but something really cool happened.

Cosmic was running a Donzi factory 38ZR boat with then President of Donzi, Craig Barrie. This boat had an amazing one-color paint job. It was an orange metallic that would change in the sunlight according to the angle you were viewing it.
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In his offshore boating days, Mark developed a friendship with a guy who painted many of the best go fast boats in the industry.

Mark called him about a certain color paint and this painter knew exactly what it was. It was PPG “Oh So Orange” paint color. Mark asked if he would paint the tins on his bike and the painter said sure.

Mark then purchased a new take off set of Harley Pearl White tins. They created a design and added the “Oh So Orange” color. He then rode this bike to York, PA for the Harley-Davidson open house with a couple of his buddies.

They parked their bikes and went inside. When they came back out to their bikes, there were three Harley employees standing, staring at, admiring the paint job. The employees asked what that orange color was.
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Cosmic shared all the details with them. The next model year, Harley-Davidson introduced the CVO Street Glide with a very, very, similar color.

Over the next few years, variations of the color were offered on different models.

But wait…. there is more. This story does not end yet.

When Mark was sharing this story with a guy at the Harley booth in Daytona, the guy in Daytona said, “You are that guy”! Cool!!!
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Likely of all of Mark’s rides, his most epic ride was in 2018. Cosmic and his Carolina Girl gave each other a 9-day ride to the Florida Keys, spending Christmas in Key West. For a full account of this ride, you can find it in the “The Open Road” thread in the “Road Trips” forum.
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Though never (regretfully) being in the military, he LOVES our military and veterans and supports them both.

Mark joined the Civil Air Patrol at the age of 16 because of his fascination with flying. This led him to the local Air Force base where his father served with weekend CAP missions. This resulted, years later, in his joining Rolling Thunder.

They have been members of Rolling Thunder for several years. Cosmic has attended 9 of the last 12 Rolling Thunder protest rides in DC and currently serves as a board member for the local chapter.
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Prior to our present COVID times, they would both go to the local VA Hospital twice a month with their Rolling Thunder chapter to host Bingo games for the patients.That was “…a true Blessing for all.”

Mark and Carolina Girl were active in the local HOG Chapter for 7 years. He served as a Road Captain, Activities Director, Safety Officer, Assistant Director & HOG Chapter Director. He has many great memories and loved planning and leading group rides. He credits the HOG Chapter for opening up so many new riding experiences. Many friendships were forged.

Cosmic started a local group called the “Wild Hogs” with a few friends and they typically take a 3-5 day ride together every year. These have included trips to Everglades between Christmas & New Years. For 2020 the group rode the Western Carolina mountains and Eastern Tennessee during Hurricane Sally. The theme was “Ride Sally Ride”!
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Mark enjoys HDF Forums, sharing his travel experiences and general motorcycle knowledge when he has something of value to offer.

He also enjoys reading about other riders’ stories who “… have taken rides I am only dreaming about.”

Mark adds, “The good Lord has blessed me my entire life. Usually more than I deserved. Without him, I am nothing.”
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Congrats Cosmic...
Looks like great memories with great people. You are definitely located in a perfect spot for some spectacular riding.

Be well and ride on,
pc

 

Congrats MoM

 

Congrats Mark!

 

Mark - I have enjoyed your Adventures in the Road Trips forum and always look forward to seeing more of you and your Carolina Girl. You are a great addition to the MoM. Congratulations.

 

Great story of your life, Mark. I’m sure thats just a small portion of it.

I don’t know you but I felt the Lord wanted you to know how pleased he was with you for always caring for others wherever you and your wife go. Not just on road trips but in the workplace as well. Bless you!

 

Congratulations, Mark; you are a true blessing to HDF. You have a great demeanor and you make many helpful posts. It's my pleasure to offer my highest respect and congratulations for a well earned recognition!