Accessory Overkill

I've always like the idea of a motorcycle road trip across the country. Something about the open air and riding off into the sunset across middle America is very appealing to me. Harley Davidsons (it has to be a Harley, by the way, no crotch-rockets for me) have been romanticized for years in the movies. However, I also enjoy leg room, reclining and not getting wet if it rains. As a result, I stick to cars (Oh yeah, one more thing - I also have no idea how to ride a motorcycle). Besides, living in Massachusetts means that you only have so many days to ride, which puts motorcycles among the items that it's better to know someone that has one and will let you use theirs instead of you actually having to own it yourself (other items on the list include pools, convertibles, boats and country club memberships). Still, I get why people would like to bike their way across the country.

Today when I was at a red light I was next to a slightly older couple, probably in their mid-50's, sitting on the husband's bike. Now, they were not a small pair, so their bike was already a bit larger than standard. But, the thing that caught my eye was that they had every accessory you can buy for a cruiser: windshield, full back on the seat for the person riding in back (complete with seatbelts), MP3 player controls on the handlebars, GPS with video display, individual drink systems in addition to the multiple cup holders the bike already had, extra large luggage bags on each side and a communication system that allows them to speak directly into each other's helmets without having to shout. My point to these people is this: buy a damn car already.

-Is it wrong that, in reading this article about a body being found on Atanta Braves player Chipper Jones's ranch in Texas, the main thing that stuck with me was not the tragedy of someone losing their life, but that there have been over 80 straight days in Texas in which the temperature has topped 100 degrees? Is this ranch near San Antonio or the surface of the sun?