It has begun...will you be a part?

Hello Planet folks! The first chunk of travel and video has been done and is now in post production. My first webisode for The Planet Tour will be up this week with another to follow soon.
I am working as a one many crew doing the shooting, shot logging, travel and live shows on my own....and loving it!
My editor is frantically piecing it all together (and, I hope, loving it!)

This first leg of the journey was a trip to the west coast of Canada in the beautiful (and sometimes screwy) province of British Columbia. It is the kind of place that makes you want to live there...until you find out all the weird rules and fees (read taxes).
There are many there that pretend to be green yet they allow their city to build poorly designed roads that increase congestion and idling. There are some that encourage eco-friendly transport like bicycles yet their pathway system is far behind places like Calgary, which is often touted as an evil oil city. Odd as Calgary has the most extensive pathway system in North America, a train that runs on wind generated power, sewage treatment plants that put out water cleaner than they took out of the river. In short I feel my city is greener than those that pretend to be green.
Either way, it is always fun to visit the left coast, laugh at their hypocrisy and enjoy the views...while cursing their traffic.

What is on the first episode? Rain, a bear, more rain, a party, a rear tire that almost blew...did I mention rain?

Stopping in the Okanagan Valley on my way back the sky finally found its sun and the heat was too nice to not take advantage of, so I stayed an extra day. Stay tuned some cool video from the bike with my new GoPro Hero cam donated by Fusion Race Cars

The next thing is to do some more modifications to Suzy B. It seems with all the gear I have to pack I am at my limit for storage space. A top case trunk is in the works.
Do you want to be a part of The Planet Tour? Right now we have a limited number of "I helped launch The Planet Tour" T-shirts.
BUY YOUR SHIRT HERE
Payment can be made by PayPal.
Stay safe, share the road and enjoy the planet.
Peace
Daryl

Duck Ass Awards

Are you a Duck Ass? I hope not but I am sure you have seen many. Every group has its rotten apples and I am going to purge them by having a weekly Duck Ass Award in each category. I will be looking for examples of bad drivers and to be fair bad motorcycle riders.

What is a Duck Ass? It’s the back end of a duck of course but the phrase was coined by my beloved mom, Doreen, who passed June 14/2007 after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer. I miss you mom. You were my main inspiration and support when I decided to enter this crazy business of comedy.

 Mom always encouraged humor and taught me to laugh at almost anything. During my early teen years, my dad’s company transferred us to Winnipeg Manitoba and mom was not impressed. She was an Alberta gal and really did not enjoy living in Winnipeg, Manitoba at all. No offense to the ‘peggers out there. We all have our own Edens and for mom, The ‘peg was not it. 

With her distaste against the city and province, anyone who did anything dumb was a (censored-not fit for printing). Of course she could not swear in front of us kids so she substituted with her own phrase “That stupid Manitoba Duck Ass!”. Try it some time, call someone a Duck Ass, its fun and empowering!

The phrase soon caught on with the neighborhood friends and soon it was shortened to “That stupid Duck Ass!” as the world has Duck Asses everywhere. Why be geographically specific? When it was time to move again (dad’s company did that a lot)  the neighbors held a going away party where they presented mom with an actual Manitoba Duck Ass. A real mallard hen’s rear proudly mounted on a plaque. It was a comical hit in our house for many years and was displayed on the wall.

About a decade back mom was going to toss it out during one of her spring cleaning rampages.  I told her I would take it, not wanting to see a family heirloom destroyed. I always thought is was funny on the wall of the den so I moved it to my place. It is a piece of family history after all and now its an award for any stupid driver or any stupid motorcycle rider I see. I will be presenting them with the title of Duck Ass. There will be no trophy for them, why would a Duck Ass deserve a trophy? Instead they will receive their much deserved public humiliation on The Planet Tour Web -TV show along with video of their Duck Ass move that earned them the spotlight.

If you have any recent video clip of a Duck Ass in traffic please contact us thru the website.

I'll be hitting the road soon folks. If you have not yet done so please subscribe to the Web show via the website. There will be prizes, discounts and other rewards for being a Planet Tour member.

Talk to you soon, and watch out for those Duck Asses out there.

Vancouver show coming June 17

Hey Planet People
We just  confirmeda show at Lafflines in Newestminster (Vancouver area) BC for June 17.
Come out for some laughs and support a worthy cause. We have teamed up with Mike Cole from
Radical Roads
Mike is a diabetic himself and road across Canada last year to raise awareness and money for diabetes research. Riding across this huge country is enough of a feat but Mike did it in winter!! On a motorcycle! Yes he is a bit nutty but I like that in a person.
If you know anyone in the lower mainland that enjoys comedy please pass on the info. Riders and non-riders are welcome.
There is a Facebook event page for it as well.

The weather in Calgary can't seem to read calendars and we are getting rain and wet snow this weekend. So much for that global warming myth.

I read about a few riders being killed on our highways this past week. Some were the result of careless car drivers but we also had some that were just plain stupid. People drinking and then riding. That is bad enough but add extra speed and sometimes the result is fatal. Remember folks booze and bikes don't miss. There is enough going on out there that slowing your reactions with alcohol is just not smart. Be careful out there and try a non alcoholic beverage if you are out for a ride.

Don't forget to subscribe to the show if you have not already.
Talk to you all soon, Have a great weekend.

Suzy is out of the hospital for a day pass. Not all the work is complete but I had to start scrubbing the new front tire before my refresher course tomorrow.
For those of you who don't ride you may not know this but a motorcycle tire has to be broken in or more correctly, scrubbed in. The tire is covered with a coating from the injection moulding used during manufacturing. This coating makes the tire a bit slippery until it is scrubbed off which takes about 200 km to be safe. Until that time it is best to not lean too hard in corners. Car tires have it too but since a car tire does not have to lean in a turn it is not a problem.
So today I took off for a spin and wracked up about 100 km. Tomorrow I will add another 100 in time for my 6pm class.

We are about to add a new staff member who will handle sales for the tour. This person will work directly with all sponsors and advertisers. Anyone looking for some great exposure should take advantage of the early rates.
Get a hold of us
info@theplanettour.com
We'd be happy to work with you in a win win situation.
I'll get some pics of the class up soon. Video may take a bit longer.
Cheers

The surgery

Hey planet folks
Suzy B is in the shop so of course Ma Nature rubs it in with some of the best weather yet this year!!
ARRGGHHHH
If you live in Calgary....YOU"RE WELCOME!! Enjoy your warm and sunny weekend.
I should have washed the bike and made it snow again. I swear I have that power at times.

Here are some of the things we are doing to prep Suzy:
1-New front tire
2-Brake pads
3-New battery (due to my busy schedule  I neglected to remove it and it froze during our non-global warming deep freeze)
4- New foot pegs. Due to my long legs I find the factory pegs a bit cramped. Thanks to a set of pegs from  (the now defunct) Buell I will increase my leg room by over an inch, which according to some posts I read on forums, does wonders for us leggy riders.
5- Handle bar risers to give me a bit more arm room. I may have to look into a deflector for the top of the wind screen too. Send me suggestions of which ones you have had success with.
6- Regular maintenance such as air filter, spark plugs checking valve clearance plus clean and lubricate the chain.
7- new LED signal lights to replace the cheap ones I bought on line. You get what you pay for I suppose.

Some exciting news in our next newsletter so Subscribe now so you will not miss out. We have a new sponsor that has a great offer for you.
Also, my new comedy album has been recorded and is in the final editing stage. Stay tuned for the release of There is no gray soon.
If you want a fix of my stand-up my first Herding the sheeple is available on iTunes for only 11 bucks
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/daryl-makk/id337985308
Or from my site where you get the full CD, artwork and bonus track
Daddy Makk Store
While I don't usually listen to my own stuff (hey I wrote it so I know it), these guys here said they liked it.
Review of Herding the sheeple


This coming week stay tuned for some video we will shoot as I get some riding skill upgrades from Too Cool Motorcycle School as I do their upgrading course.
Don't forget to check out Draggin Jeans from Universal Cycle. Road rash protection with style.
Don't forget about our online sponsor page that can get YOU mentioned on The Planet Tour.
Thanks for following along.
Cheers
Daryl

Suzy B goes to hospital.

Hey folks
This week my beloved Suzy B (my bike) goes into the hospital for some much needed parts to get ready for this year's riding season. She is due for a front tire, new brake pads and to check the valve clearance. All routine stuff.
I have secured a local shop with an expert mechanic, Don Fergin and Universal Cycle will be doing the work on her to ensure she is ready to take on Canada and The Planet Tour

Universal Cycle

 The exclusive Canadian Distributor for Draggin Jeans (what's covering your butt?)

We have a few new sponsors to announce as soon as we have our agreements in place. If you want your company mentioned on the pilot video (which will be turned into 4 webisodes) just contact us through 

The Planet Tour website

You  can also sign up through our  Sponsor link and get mentioned.

Help make me homeless on 2 wheels!

Its been a busy Monday so I have to keep this short. 

Cheers

Daryl

Hi folks
Things are heating up!! I would like to introduce our newest sponsor's offer.
Too Cool Motorcycle School is giving a 10% discount to all Planet Tour subscribers for its motorcycle training courses. To receive this discount you must be on our subscriber list
Subscribe to The Planet Tour
May 21/2010 I will be taking Too Cool's refresher course to brush up on my skills and make sure I have not developed any bad habits. We all slip a little over the years in our skill level no matter what the activity so upgrades of skills are always a good idea. Even if you are an old vet of the road I encourage you to get a refresher in your area.

Would you like to be a part of The Planet Tour and be mentioned on our production?

We have set up a page on IndieGoGo for this project.
Help fund The Planet Tour
We will be making a 1 hour DVD of the first leg of the journey and it will include all the wonderful things to see within a short day ride of my home city of Calgary Alberta. I am blessed to live in such a great area that has stunning scenic beauty. I'll show you some of the hidden gems that the brochures won't show you as well as some of the 'must see' attractions.

I do hope you will take advantage of this offer. How often can you appear in a video and its credits?
Thanks for following along. Please share the road and give the 2 wheeled crowd the safe distance they need from your vehicle.
See you out on the road soon
Cheers
Daryl (soon to be homeless biker)