Lucas County Choppers

Paul Sr is Singing the Blues

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:59:05 -0500

I saw this over at Cyril Huze Blog -

And OCC is pursuing a new one with today’s Tuesday October 27th official release date of classic rock compilation CD and MP3’s curated by OCC founder Paul Teutul Senior. On track # 3 Paul Teutul Senior is singing “Summertime Blues”.

To quote one of my now retired coworkers, "Oh Boy!" (It wasn't a good "Oh Boy" either.)

Halloween Spider

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:38:36 -0500

Over the last couple of weeks, I've decided to do more welding and fabrication in the shop. The health problems that I've mentioned previously have really put a stop to riding my bike, so welding has been a good stress reliever from the day job. I saw something similar to this spider on the Miller Electric website and figured that we could always use another Halloween decoration. I used the ring roller on some 1/4" hot rolled round bar to make the outside oval and inside circle of the web. I then rolled large rings of 1/8" round bar to make the webbing. The body of the spider is a 1/2" to 3/8" black pipe threaded reducer, two 1/2" washers, a 3/8" all thread rod coupling, and two 3/8" nuts. The legs are 1/8" cold rolled round bar. It was a fun project, and it looks great out front by our jack-o-lanterns. As Winter approaches, I'm going to be trying to do more and more welding projects. I just have to find an affordable local steel dealer. Buying this stuff at Lowe's is getting expensive! Full Albums Halloween Spider LCC's Projects Collection

Pumpkin Carving

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:28:29 -0500

It's pumpkin carving time!

Tiered Planter

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:27:59 -0500

One of the attorneys at Susan's office saw tiered planters when they were on vacation. They sent pictures and asked if I could replicate them. Having this project gave me an excuse to go to Harbor Freight to buy a ring roller. The ring roller is going to be a great addition to the shop.

In this picture, you can see the completed planter with another fabricated base in front of it. The planter is pretty simple overall. The base is placed in the bottom of the largest pot and the remaining pots are placed on the bias. Full Albums Tiered Planter LCC's Projects Collection

Mini Vacation (from a while ago)

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:27:43 -0500

This post has been sitting in the draft folder for way too long. Health problems stopped me from riding as much as I like, and because of that, I didn't have any ride reports for the site. Before the health hit, Susan and I took a few day trips around Northwest Ohio. Our first stop was the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton. It's a drive-through safari, so we couldn't take the bikes. Once inside the park, you roll your windows down and feed the alpacas, deer, buffalo, and African watuzis. For obvious reasons, it's a bad idea to take your good car.

If you are in the Toledo area, you have to take the Sandpiper river cruise. You will see a side of the city that most people never see (including Dolly Parton and her half sister.) You'll have to take the tour to get the joke. We took the sunset and city lights cruise. It was quiet, serene, and very relaxing.

We've been in Northwest Ohio for several years but have been out of town every year during the Fulton County Fair. This year, we finally made the drive out to Wauseon to check it out. The weather was threatening rain, but we were able to look at all of the vendors including one of my coworkers that runs a regional PetStop franchise in his off time and one of our friends that was working in her parents concession stand. Full Albums African Safari Wildlife Park Sandpiper River Cruise Fulton County Fair "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Rides Collection

Satellite Stand

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:17:31 -0500

We've been having a heck of a time with satellite reception at work for the longest time. After some investigating, we discovered that the Port Authority had erected a wall in front of our dish and didn't bother to tell us.

I'm still amazed that we had any signal at all!

That brings us to this project. With no budget to speak of, we decided to use what we had laying around. Brad provided 2 brake rotors and 2 brake drums to use for the weights on the legs of our new satellite tripod. All in all, it turned out well. We have a nice and strong signal, and only spent about 5 bucks in parts! Full Albums Satellite Stand LCC's Projects Collection

NW Ohio Riboff 2009

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:47:35 -0500

In what's becoming a yearly tradition, we rode to the NW Ohio Riboff at the Maumee Rec Center. The weather was great, the music was 50's and 60's doo wap, and the ribs were fantastic! The vendors were charging around $5 for a 3 bone sampler. We spent the better part of and hour making through all of the samples in order to decide which ones were our favorites. I picked Armadillo's, but Pigfoot was pretty good this year too. Full Albums NW Ohio Riboff 2009 "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Events Collection LCC's Photos

Ride to the Roadhouse and Headliners

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:33:34 -0500

Full Albums Ride to the Roadhouse and Headliners "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Rides Collection

Ride to Hell

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:22:51 -0500

Last month, I saw a special on the Travel Channel about Hell, Michigan. It just so happens that Hell is only about an hour and 20 minutes from my house, so I just had to check it out. The ride through the Michigan hillsides near the Irish Hills was beautiful. The town itself was interesting. To be honest, here wasn't much to it. There was a general store, souvenir and ice cream shop, a mini golf, and a bar. I bought my fair share of shirts and coffee mugs and was given an "exit visa" for safe passage out of Hell. Full Albums Ride to Hell "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Rides Collection

Busy Summer

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:52:30 -0500

So I haven't been doing a great job of keeping this site updated over the last couple of months. Truth be told, I haven't had the chance to get out and ride very much so far. I've been really busy with my duties as local NATCA president and facility representative at the air traffic control tower where I work. In 2006, the FAA threw out our contract and imposed their own set of working conditions. Thankfully, the Obama Administration came through on their promise to get us back to the table to negotiate a real collective bargaining agreement. The tentatively agreed upon articles were released late last month and the articles that were sent to binding arbitration were released this week. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time reading the materials, attending training, and educating our membership on the tentative pact. It is definitely time well spent, and the upcoming changes will be great for our bargaining unit. I have done a couple of rides over the last month and will post articles over the next day or so. (The photo at the top of this entry is from our local union meeting that we held at the 5/3 Field before watching a Mud Hens baseball game. It was the best meeting ever!) Full Albums NATCA Meeting at "The Coop"

Ride to Mull CB and Fremont Progress

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:30:18 -0500

I just realized that I never posted this ride. A few weeks ago, I rode down to Fremont, Ohio, to find the Mull Covered Bridge. The bridge is hidden away in a quiet county park.

On the way back home, the air traffic controller side of my brain made me stop at the Fremont Progress airport to check things out. Full Albums Ride to Mull Covered Bridge Ride to Fremont Progress Airport "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Rides Collection

Sad News about Alexandra

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:51:52 -0500

I am sitting in my garage at my welding table typing an update that I never wanted to type. This morning around 4am, Alexandra Courville passed away during surgery. Her transplanted heart had been damaged by rejection so badly that her only option was an artificial heart that would help her to get strong enough for another transplant. The surgery started at 3pm yesterday. A little after midnight, the artificial heart was in place; however, the surgeons could not control the bleeding. Just before 4am, Alex passed away from the complications. Obviously, everyone here is crushed. I am just glad that we were able to help Alex and her family in some small way, and we will continue to gather around the family during this time. She was a great person. Strong and mature beyond her years. Now she's in a better place and has a perfect heart. If you are in NW Ohio, we are having a memorial vigil tonight in our neighborhood park. Click here for information.

NW Ohio Riboff

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:47:51 -0500

From the LCC Calendar -

We're going to ride to the NW Ohio Riboff at the Lucas County Rec Center in Maumee. Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 6pm. RSVP here.

Detective Keith Dressel Memorial Ride

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:13:07 -0500

Almost 2 and a half years ago, Police Detective Keith Dressel was shot and killed in the line of duty. As a memorial, a couple hundred bikers get together annually for a police-escorted ride through NW Ohio.

One of our neighbors is an Oregon Police Officer and primary organizer of the event. All of the proceeds from the annual event benefit the Officer William Miscannon Scholarship Fund at Owens Communitiy College.

13abc has video of the ride on their site.

UPDATE: One of our friends, Shay, shot the above video from her car as we passed. You can see Susan, Mark & Janelle, and me from 22 seconds to 25 seconds.

Another UPDATE: Here's a video of the parking lot just as the ride was starting. More info on the ride is available at http://www.keithdresselmemorialride.com/. Full Albums Det. Keith Dressel Memorial Ride "LCC on the Go" - Photos from the road LCC's Rides Collection

The Next Generation

micah@mzwp.com (Lucas County Choppers) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:14:35 -0500

My dad and my nephew. That's how I got started with welding too.