Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/595884
26 UCW NOVEMBER 4-10, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 4624 BRAGG BLVD. REGISTRATION 11AM FIRST BIKE OUT @ NOON 11.07.15 NOVEMBER 7 • OYSTER ROAST AND FTCC STUDENT NURSES ASSOCIATION POKER RUN at Legends Pub to fund programs in the community for Christmas. Registration at 11 a.m. First bike out at noon. $7-$20 Call 867-2364 for information. NOVEMBER 8 • 15TH ANNUAL RED SPRINGS TOY RUN Red Springs Fire Department, 127 N Main St, Red Springs. Registration 9 a.m. Kickstands up 11 a.m. Bring a new unwrapped toy or cash donation. Call 624-0067 or 910- 734-3903 for information. NOVEMBER 14 • 16TH ANNUAL RED SPRINGS TOY RUN Escorted ride. Registration at 9 a.m., Kickstands up 11 a.m. Bring one new toy or cash donation. Food and door prizes. Raffle for Harley- Davison riding jacket and 50-50. Call 624-0067 for information. NOVEMBER 21 • HOLLY'S 60TH BIRTHDAY PARTY Wear your best 50s outfit. DJ, food and drink specials. 8 p.m., start. Call 867- 2364 for information. NOVEMBER 21 • STEELE ANGELS 12TH ANNUAL TOY RUN at Legends Pub. Registration at noon. Call 867-2364 for information. PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse group of patriots from every state that come together to honor fallen soldiers at funeral services across the country. Visit www.patriotguard.org for more information about the group. I recently took a trip up to Washington, D.C. I really dislike driving up I-95, but it is the fastest way to consume miles. Just north of the North Carolina border is the area of Emporia, Virginia. It is known for being a speed trap area. Radar detectors are illegal in Virginia. Even though I watch my speed down to the mile there, I was wishing I had a radar detector on my motorcycle. Like a lunatic hearing voices, Waze popped into my head. A few years ago, my friend Tom and I were on the road and he showed me this app called Waze. Since that time, I've used it on a few trips but never thought about using on a motorcycle. Waze is a traffic and navigational app which is updated by millions of users a day. This is a community-based app that allows fellow travelers to provide real- time updates on highway conditions. Using my Bluetooth headset, I was hearing comments like, "object reported on the road ahead." Sure enough, a half mile up, there was a recapped tire just off the road. To a motorcyclist, highway debris is one of the scariest things we can come upon. At that point, I was hooked. As a navigation tool, Waze has its own navigation and routing software. Enter your destination and Waze will help you navigate there. Waze alerts drivers about police, accidents, traffic cameras and traffic jams up a head. If you are able to see the screen, you can see other user's locations. This feature allows you to message them so you can ask them what is going on. This feature of the app was very popular last month with the South Carolina floods as roads closed and were impassable. Users were able to update the road conditions faster than any website or news agencies. Users input new information as information changes. For example, Waze will tell you, "police reported ahead." When you get there, the app will prompt you to confirm them being there or not. The app entices you to participate by rewarding with you points for being interactive. In my car, this duty is handed over to the person in the passenger seat. On a motorcycle, I do not even try. Another feature that is becoming more popular is advertisements. The app is free to use but Waze stays in business by advertisements in the form of small pop-ups. Unlike most pop-ups, when you pass a store, the app knows you are near there because of the GPS function and it will display a pop-up ad for that store. Although I am not a fan of the pop-ups, this feature is kind of handy when they offer you a discount or coupon. Soon, I hope they will be doing price wars at off ramps for the best gas and cheapest food. Although the app is great, there are some drawbacks. First, it is aimed at drivers. You should never be fiddling with a phone while driving! It uses your phone data to keep the information up-to-date. It also drains your battery. If you are on long rides, you may need to have your phone wired for power on your bike. It uses your phone's location for reporting information. If the reporter is slow to report this information, the distance may be off and it may be little too late to react. As other users report in, the information becomes more accurate. I think that Waze is a revolutionary app. It provides good information at no cost to a user. The ad pop-ups are unobtrusive and relevant. Also, I predict that it will not be long before the police will have software to watch you as you motor up a highway. If there is a topic that you would like to discuss, please send your comments and suggestions to motorcycle4fun@aol. com. RIDE SAFE! What's Ahead? by JIM JONES JIM JONES, Motorcycle Enthusiast, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 Now online! Flip our pages for news, views art and entertainment! www.upandcomingweekly.com Call and ask one of our marketing representatives to help you grow your business. 484-6200