Bikertoberfest 2007

What started out as a trip from hell turned out to be a relaxing adventure through Florida during the 15th Annual Biketoberfest Celebration in Daytona. Plans were made, changed and re-made as far back as May of this year. What was a constant throughout the planning phase was that we needed to ride at least 1500 miles on the motorcycles while in Florida!

Remember I said trip from hell? Six hours into the boring state of Illinois we were alerted by a passing motorist who smelled a strange odor emitting from our vehicle. I thought to myself, “Does she smell Dan?” Then this stranger pointed towards the ground. We pulled off onto the shoulder of I-57 and to our surprise learned a terrible fate, both trailer bearings were shot! What this passer-bye smelled was the burning of the driver’s side trailer tire rubbing on the inside fender of the trailer. To make a long story short and get back onto why we went to Florida in the first place, after thirteen hours of sitting at a gas station somewhere off I-57 we were back on the road again from the help of two great friends in Wisconsin, we’ll call them Marc and Ralph. My trailer had seen better days and we tried to replace the bearings but the spindles were too worn dry as groves had made them worthless. The trailer as far as I know is still sitting by the dumpster at the gas station. By 5:00 am Sunday, October 14 we were back on the road heading to Biketoberfest. After a total of 1320 miles and 35 hours of being away from home, we arrived at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. Because we got there so late, after 10:30 pm, we decided to change our first night’s lodging and simply stay there. The next morning we loaded the Harley’s for what was going to be an adventure on the scoots for 5 days. Good thing the wives weren’t with us, don’t know where we would have fit their curling irons and hairdryers.

Prior to getting to my sister’s in Cape Coral, we made a few stops. Since we hadn’t eaten since about noon the previous day; a stop at Perkins for a mid morning breakfast was a must. After packing on some needed energy pounds, we continued on. We stopped at Ridge Harley-Davidson. Prior to going in, I made a few laps on the Skilled Rider’s Course and reminded Dan to keep his head and eyes up as he attempted the box. Ridge HD had just opened in November 2006! The next stop was at Fort Myers Harley-Davidson. Both Dan and I purchased t-shirts from here (mine though was for my daughter). Next we arrived at my sister’s in Cape Coral after 2:00 pm. After cleaning up, my brother-in-law fired up the twin V8 IO’s and we cruised on his 32 footer to Fort Myers Beach where we had, what else, Grouper Sandwiches!

The next morning (Tuesday) we saw the break of day while traveling down Highway 41 through the Florida Everglades on our way to Key West and Southern Most Hotel. Note to self, make sure you arrive and leave prior to Fantasy Fest in Key West! Ever since I was a child and traveled the Seven Mile long bridge, I’ve wanted to do it again on a motorcycle. Just before entering the Keys, Dan and I stopped at a Waffle House, yeah the same type of Restaurant that Kid Rock got arrested in, in Atlanta a few days ago! I figured every good Harley Rider must visit a Waffle House at least once during an excursion of this magnitude! The temperatures were into the 90’s at this time. After breakfast we hit the Keys and it was a magnificent ride! Bridge after bridge we traveled further into the Keys on our way to Jimmy Buffetville. To my surprise, the seven mile bridge I remembered was still there, but no longer being used for traffic. I think the old bridge was the same one they used in the movie True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. We finally arrived in Key West and went straight to the Southern Most marker. After waiting in line for a few minutes Dan and I took turns snapping pictures of us standing by this famous marker. Key West is a much laid back community; full of artists and strange, strange people. In one of the stores we met a man named Pete, who looked at Dan every time I asked him a question. I think maybe he was sweet on Dan!?

The next morning we left Southern Most Hotel by 7:00 am and traveled to South Beach. Using my newly purchased Garmin Zumo 450 (thanks Bill of CCHD) we were on course for Miami. South Beach was very warm and the traffic was horrendous. After a few, very few photos we were back on the road on our way to Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. Both of us were glad to be away from Miami and the bumper-to-bumper traffic at 70+ mph. We stopped at Treasure Coast Harley-Davidson in Stuart. Once again, Dan purchased a t-shirt. After dinning on coffee and popcorn we continued our journey. Sometime prior to 5:00 pm we found ourselves at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. We originally got a room overlooking the parking lot, which the front desk graciously changed to a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the pool and Atlantic Ocean. We dined on local homemade pizza the next two evenings. When Dan wasn’t taking walks on the beach and collecting shells for Blondie, we had time to run to Space Coast Harley-Davidson. You guessed it, Dan purchased another t-shirt!

Friday morning we left around 9:00 am and headed straight towards Daytona and Main Street. Prior to arriving we stopped at The Last Resort and visited a tree opposite of Disney's Tree of Life, this tree we called Murder of the Metric Cruisers. When we arrived I was surprised to see how many bikes were there! I’ve been to Bike Week in March, which they say has somewhere around 500,000 visitors, but this felt every bit of a Bike Week celebration. I have read articles saying that Biketoberfest sees around 75.000 bikers; this day I bet there was every bit of 500,000 enthusiasts present! After leaving Main Street we headed to Daytona Speedway to pickup up the ever popular “Event Pin”. Dan saw of few gals dressed, or should I say in some stages of being undressed and ordered me to get a few pictures to capture the moment. Being a good friend I obliged. We next decided to take a run up to Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona on I-95 and Ormond Beach. This was a mistake, as everyone had the same idea. Once we arrived we drove around in a circle along with everyone else looking for a place to park. In either direct there were miles of bikes and vehicles waiting to turn into Bruce’s award winning dealership. After trying to find a spot to park (I still can’t figure out why they allow vehicles to park during this time, especially since one car takes the space of four motorcycles), we left and headed to Disney’s Old Key West Resort in Orlando for the last three nights of our vacation.

Saturday morning we were on I-4 headed to the Starlite Diner in Daytona for breakfast before sunrise. Somewhere around Deland we ran into ran and were forced to pull over and don our rain gear. We rode in the rain for about 45 minutes. We never made the Starlite Diner, but managed to find another Waffle House, using my GPS. The Waffle House was on International Drive and was crowed and bursting at the seams. Every biker who was out this morning in the rain decided that they too, needed a Waffle House! The service was fantastic! Afterwards a ride north from Daytona up A1a was something I had rode in previous years, but Dan had yet to experience. On the way back to Orlando, we stopped at Seminole Harley-Davidson, where Dan had to purchase a shirt! When we got back to Disney and after a few loads of laundry, we found ourselves sitting at a China Buffet.

Sunday we rode to Orlando Harley-Davidson to their 1st Annual Hogtoberfest. We got here so early that I think we were customer’s number 4 & 5! Guess what? Yep, Dan got another shirt! I forgot to mention that at almost every dealership, I purchased oil dip dots for my growing collection. Someone should tell Dan that the dip dots only cost $2 verses the $30 for t-shirts. At Orlando Harley-Davidson they served an all-you-can-eat brat, potato salad and German chocolate cake from noon to 4:00 pm for only $5! Some of the attractions at the dealership were the girls dressed in skimpy, small, tight lederhosen serving what else, bier! Customers could get free 4 ounce samples of foreign beer, while others purchased 16 ounce mugs for $10 and drank all day. Being a Rider’s Edge Coach and Police Officer, I just haven’t understood why dealerships continue to mix alcohol with riding. We left the dealership mid afternoon and headed back to Disney to start packing for our ride to Wisconsin on Monday. Dinner was at Olive Garden near Disney. When we got back from dinner, Dan informed me that we had reached 1502 miles on the baggers! Ah, another goal accomplished!

We talked about doing this same very trip in three years with our wives present. Enjoy some of the sites at Shutterfly of our travels and remember to type in the password “chrome”. Until our next v-twinventure, keep the rubber side down, bearings packed, chrome side up, knees into the wind and ride safe, sober and straight!

5th Annual Ride - 2007 Silver Anniversary Ride

The 5th Annual Neidner Overnight HOG Themed Ride was a huge success! This year’s theme was “The Silver Anniversary Ride”. Thursday before the ride, Tanya dropped off four cases of special labeled water. Tanya had labeled each bottle with a 5th Annual Ride Label with Cathy and my picture on it along with the blog site quote “Ride Free, Ride Straight, Ride Sober, Ride Safe.” Fifteen couples counting Cathy and I left Saturday morning from Watertown on our way to New London. The ride took us through many small communities such as; Alto, Pickett, Waukau, Omro Winneconne and Readfield. Cathy and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in May and wanted to share it will our close riding friends, in fact many of these riding couples will be celebrating their 25th before this year comes to a close! On a side note, Joe and Deb celebrated their 5th Anniversary of being the only couple that has made every Neidner Overnight Ride!

Staying with the theme of this year’s ride, we decided to e-mail a few WELS Lutheran Churches in the New London area to see if one of them would be interested in helping Cathy and I renew our wedding vows and have a picnic lunch for our riders. We asked a few Churches if they had a youth group whereas money raised by our riders would be matched by Thrivent to help a particular cause. One of the churches that e-mailed us back was Emanuel Lutheran Church in New London. Jack VandeGuchte responded by saying they would love to have our group stop in and money raised would go towards an outreach ministry comprised of four teens and four chaperones from the church going to Grenada in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Jack added that Rev. William Heiges would be honored to have a short renewal of wedding vows service prior to the luncheon.

What Cathy and I had planned for was not nearly what Emanuel had shown us as we arrived! I cautioned Jack prior to our group arriving that we all would be dressed as “bad ass” bikers. We were welcomed into the church as if we were all members, and we were all strangers up until the time we arrived. After a brief welcoming, we were led into the church were Rev. Heiges held the service, along with flower arrangements and even a fresh flower bridal bouquet for Cathy! The service was brief as was planned.

After the service we were led into the commons area of the school and a wonderful meal took place. This was so much more than we ever dreamed of because they had taken the time to not only grill burgers and chicken, but decorated the tables with fresh flowers, confetti and candy bag favors. A sheet cake having the theme “Silver Anniversary Ride” had been ordered and a small motorcycle adorned the top! As I said previously, we were welcomed and felt like this was our “home church”. We were all so amazed at what the youth group had done for us; we wanted to thank them further so additional money was collected to help with their youth mission work to Grenada.

After lunch, a newly wed questionnaire was given to both the men and the women to complete. The results would be made known at dinner that night. Before leaving, a group photo was taken.

Our ride continued to Manitowoc by way of Freedom, Wrightstown, Mishicot and Two Rivers. At the next rest stop, Beth said “isn’t it funny that the first place you go to after renewing your vows is a town called Freedom!?”

Before reaching Manitowc and our hotel we rode through Point Beach State Forest and were greeted by cooling winds that brought much needed relief. After 200 miles we finally reached Best Western Lake Front Hotel. At check-in, each couple received an envelope containing an 8x10 photo collage. Each year we give the couples something to remember the ride by, this year we had collected wedding pictures of each couple without their knowledge. The collage consisted of 15 individual mini photos of all of our wedding days. Getting all these photos without their knowledge is a story of its’ own, especially after talking to Doll’s mom! Most of the riders quickly changed and met by the pool, others had other engagements (wink, wink)!

Dinner was at the hotel. A champagne toast was made and afterwards Cathy and I were presented with a card thanking us, from the entire group. Like last year, a collection was taken by the group and money was presented to us in appreciation for organizing the ride. The winner of the newly wed game was John and Tanya as they matched 9 of the 18 questions correctly! They were rewarded with a gift basket of Champagne, glasses, mints and massage oil. Each couple also received a one dollar scratch-off lottery card and Hershey kisses. After another piece of wedding cake, couples went back to their rooms, once again got their suits on and met by the pool.

Sunday morning many of us choose to have the buffet breakfast, which was very good and filling. John and Tanya were not able to ride back with us because of a slow leak in the front tire valve stem. The return trip to Watertown followed Lake Michigan and County Trunk Highway LS to Sheboygan, Lake Church, Port Washington and Mequon. A stop at a Culver’s Restaurant for ice cream was a must! Everyone commented on how well organized the ride was and the fun they had. The nine new couples that had never gone were asking when next year’s ride is. Cathy and I want to thank all of our riders, Emanuel Lutheran Church of New London, Rev. Heiges, Jack VandeGutche and the youth group, Best Western Lake Front (Sonya and their staff). For additional photos from the ride go to Shutterfly and type in the password "chrome".

To all those “new” to group riding, you guys were great! Now you can say, I’ve got group riding experience! Until next year, continue to be safe!

Click on photo to enlarge it.

Can-Am Spyder Ride

The Spyder by Can-Am is a newly created trike offering 2-wheels up front with a single wheel in back. This trike has been in production for 10 years and is currently working on the 5th generation bike. The power is gained through a v-twin 990cc liquid cooled, electronic fuel injection motor. The gear box is a 5-speed with an additional reverse gear. All this translates to 106 horsepower and 77 foot-pounds of torque! The Spyder also has Stability Control System (SCS), Traction Control System (TCS) and Anti-lock Brakes (ABS), this adds up to offer Vehicle Stability System (VSS). The VSS immediately detects any loss of traction and quickly takes steps to correct it. When cornering, should the computers detect one of the front tires is lifting, the motor will automatically be retarded, slowing the bike while maintaining maneuvering safety in the twisties. I almost forgot to mention the Power Steering and 7.13 gallon gas tank. The Spyder weighs in at a nimble 697 pounds. The nervous system of the Spyder consists of 5 individual on-board computers, Electronic Control Units (ECU) monitoring a range of functions, from wheel slippage to digitally encoded security information. These ECU send out 25 tests per second! Even Bill Gates hasn't designed a computer to react that fast! Performance times are 0-60 in well under 5 seconds! All this power equates to about 35mpg, which I feel isn't enough for the touring rider in me. Hopefully Can-Am will offer a 6-speed transmission for those highway speeds which might drop the rpm's in the range of the mid to low 3k. Price.....................($14,995) less than half the cost of a Boss Hoss and Harley-Davidson Trike. Orders are expected to delivered in mid to late September.

Rob's Performance Motor Sports in Johnson Creek, WI had an Open House demo day on Saturday, July 7 and I just had to take a Spyder out to see what all the hype was about. After only 15 miles I learned that this trike had loads of power! Yes it is very quick and the braking system was very good. There isn't a front hand brake. This took a little getting used to. The foot brake not only works the rear brake but the front as well. This is what manufacturers call "linked braking." As for steering in the corners, I still feel I had to muscle through the turns. Being a 2-wheel motorcycle rider, I like to lean into the turns. I noticed at highway speeds the tachometer was well over 4000rpm! I thought my Ultra Classic at 3000rpm was a lot! As for this being a touring machine, I don't think so. I need cruise control, a great sounding radio and lots of storage room. I'm sure it can be done, but as for me motoring the Spyder from Watertown, WI to Rapid City, SD not happening. It is a sport trike and one that can be had for an average price for the list of goodies that are standard features. For someone that is looking at getting a trike to ride, do yourself a favor.....drive one of these before going out and dropping $30,000+ on another manufacturer.

As for me, I'm sticking to my Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. We have been together for over 4 years and I have not been disappointed.

National Motorcycle Museum

Anamosa, Iowa was an idea of Marc Schilling's for a weekend motorcycle ride because of the National Motorcycle Museum. I must admit, I have never heard of Anamosa, Iowa but after this weekend will never forget where it is and what a great time we all had. Not only is Anamosa famous for their museum, but 1 1/2 miles north houses the headquarters of J & P Cycles a business that sells not only Harley-Davidson aftermarket parts, but Metric Cruiser's as well. Each year J & P Cycles holds an annual open house and it get so happens, it was this week! Wow, a museum and J & P Cycles, not to mention Michelle Smith of American Thunder on the cable network Speed Channel was scheduled to be in attendance! Last year J & P Cycles had 10,000 motorcycles make the pilgrimage to the open house, with Michelle being there, who knows maybe a 1/2 million!

The four of us met at STH 26 and I-94 on Saturday morning at 5:00 AM. I wanted to leave early so as to NOT miss Michelle! The ride to J & P Cycles was okay, it was cloudy the entire time and we ran into a few rain drops as we entered Iowa. We took I-94 to STH 151 to J & P Cycles. The total mileage was around 180. We arrived at J & P Cycles around 8:45 AM, about 15 minutes prior to the official start of the open house. We weren't the first or the last bike to arrive. Rumor has it that 14,000 motorcycles were in attendance.

Marc and I made a immediately went looking for Michelle. After about 5 minutes we saw her and the line was short, only about 5 people! I got in line at least twice. Michelle was very personable. She signed autographs for those that wanted them and many photos were taken. I heard her say to Marc, as I waited patiently to take their picture, "Wait just a minute while I arrange the twins." After this I saw Michelle rearrange those famous assets of hers. Next, I had to wait for Marc to look up at the camera, since his attention was diverted downwards.

Chuck who rides a 2006 Victory 1600cc motorcycle built by Cory Ness had his photo taken with the builder. There were other custom bike builders at the open house. Every hour there was a stunt bike show and lunch was under the big top. Lunch was provided free of charge! Later we watched as someone had their bike in the traveling Dyno Trailer. I had never seen a bike on a dyno, so this was an experience too.

Since we had arrived very early, we decided to visit the national Motorcycle Museum on Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday. After we left J & P Cycle we headed south for about 2 miles and came to the small city of Anamosa, which looked more on the part of a town during Sturgis Bike Week then in the middle of Iowa! What J & P Cycles does for the small city of Anamosa and the money that is generated during this weekend must be a blessing for those business owners.

The National Motorcycle Museum is something that is a MUST do! For only $6 we toured two floors of vintage motorcycles from Harley-Davidson, Indian, Honda, BMW, Henderson, Vincent H-R-D, Evel Knievel's Harley, Thor, Curtiss, Norton, Indian Larry's Custom Bike, Peter Fonda's Easy Rider Bike and so much more including diecast toys, vintage racing clothing, women's motorcycle clubs and scooters!

We stayed Saturday evening at Holiday Inn Express on Collins Road in Cedar Rapids. On Sunday we left around 10:15 AM and headed east on SYH 64 to Savannah, Illinois. SYH 64 was very scenic. We drove through many small towns on the way that reminded me of "Mayberry RFD with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts." We received many a wave in these towns. We decided that lunch at Gobbies in Galena was a must, as we had eaten there before. Galena is always packed full of people and bikers. This is still a town meant for women who love to shop at quaint little shops full of "one-of-a-kind" merchandise that husbands don't really care about or fully understand.

We talked about making this an annual event, except maybe an entire weekend next year. J & P Cycles Open House is an annual event and one that needs to be experienced. For more photos of our weekend go to and more photos, don't forget to enter the word "Chrome" (capital "C") when it asks for a password. Thanks to Lou, Chuck, Marc, Michelle and Cory for making this another memorable riding experience for me.

Go HOG Wild Read!

PIE (Parents In Education) Night at Watertown High School, Thursday evening, May 30th was a night soon not forgotten by many children and motorcyclists! A few months back I was contacted by Gail Kottwitz, WUSD Title 1 Coordinator, she knew my friends and I were "born to ride" but now she wanted to know if we were "born to read". Gail initiated a summer reading program titled, "Go Hog Wild Read". If you are a true cyclist, any reason to ride is a good reason and this benefiting children I thought was a great reason to come together and support our young motorcycling enthusiasts.

Within a few days after sending an e-mail out to our HOG friends, I had a commitment of ten motorcycles. Not all of these bikes were Harley-Davidson's, one was a Boss Hoss trike powered by a 350 cubic inch Corvette engine! Our job was to ride to the high school as a group, grab a piece of pie (Bikers will always eat when it's free), then read to groups of children. As we walked into the high school, each wearing their biker best leather, tattoos, earrings and boots, we were welcomed with mixed reviews. Once we started reading the children looked past our "biker image" and treated us like long lost friends. That's exactly what we were, friends.

Each of us were given a group of children and a book to read. We were asked by Gail to express to the children the importance of reading in their lives. After reading to the children, it was time to have pictures taken of them by and on our bikes. We spent a long time making sure every child who wanted a picture on a motorcycle got the opportunity. One my friends even tied a bandanna on a child's head so they really looked like a "biker." I really don't know who had more fun, the children or us bikers! As we left the high school, our engines were all started at the same time. Since we were parked so close to the auditorium wall, the sound reverberated and was louder then normal. I want to thank Gail for inviting us and all of our friends who participated; Brian, Ralph, Karen, Dan, Beth, Brian, Sherrie, Todd, Dan and my wife Cathy. An additional Harley rider joined us and helped with the children and photos!

1st BRC Lead

My 1st Beginner Rider Course Lead at Capital City Harley-Davidson Dealership in Madison, WI. My first step prior to the actual classroom teaching was to contact all eight of my students. As soon as I received the class roster, I began my phone calls. I was able to talk to only one student, however left messages for the other seven. The message was simple, introduce myself, ask them to call me with questions or concerns and encourage them to be prepared by answering all of the 126 questions contained in their Rider's Edge Handbook. Capital City Harley-Davidson mails out all the necessary materials long before the first class so that students can familiarize themselves with what is expected. A call from the Rider Coach prior to the first classroom session helps not only the student but the instructor as well. Being my very first lead in the classroom as well as on the range, I was nervous. I was reassured by the Program Manager Randy, to relax and that I would be fine.

When I walked into the classroom the first night, I began to feel comfortable immediately. All eight of the students had completed answering the 126 questions and we began our journey together in what will become their next hobby, the sport of motorcycling! Between watching videos and answering questions, I learned as much about my students as they learned about me. This group of students became my second family. Friday night started off with a Dealership Tour and the employee's at CCHD were great! The enthusiasm that was shown by these employees helped to emphasize, Harley-Davidson is more that just selling motorcycles, it builds memories and creates extended families that go beyond the borders!

All day Saturday and Sunday was spent on the range. Saturday riders were introduced to the Level I Exercises, consisting of nine riding lessons. These lessons taught the very basics and each one built from the previous exercise. Sunday consisted of Level II Exercises (six new exercises, a review and skills test) and helped riders fine tune what they had learned from Level I Exercises. Sunday afternoon riders were tested on four basic skills every rider needs to practice; turns, slow maneuvers, quick stops and swerves. I am happy to say all seven passed! Yes, seven of the original eight. Our eighth student showed up on Sunday over two hours late and the rest of the class had already started and were on the third exercise. Riders must be on time and be prepared. Our eighth rider was sent home, not being able to complete the course. After the skills testing, we went into the dealership and students wrote the knowledge test. As I had expected, everyone passed! I forgot to mention of the seven riders on the range, three received "perfect scores", Jeff, Jason and Jim! Way to go!

A celebration completed our 25 hours together. We all had cheesecake and shared thoughts of how the weekend went. I want to thank all of "my" students for being prepared and encouraging each other throughout both the classroom assignments and the range activities. As I mentioned the very first night, we will become a family and help each other through the BRC.

I want to also thank Bill, another Rider Coach from Capital City, who was there for me and the students. Randy, our Program Manager, you made my first class run smoothly too by assuring me that I was ready. Finally, thanks to the dealership for having a Rider's Edge Program that offers others the skills to ride safely and learn what a wonderful hobby the world of motorcycling really is!

"Hi Phil, sorry it took so long but here's a picture of my bike. Picked it up Aug 4. I have a Little over 600 miles on it, and have two of my goals. took it to work and put it on the inter-state. Next week I will be taking it up to Rice lake for the 1000 mile service. I am remembering what I learned and it works. I really enjoy riding again, a lot more than what I remember. I will let you go with one last thought, what I learned in the course has made me more aware and has made me better behind the wheel too."

Thanks again, Paul.

This was a comment from one of my students from Wisconsin Harley-Davidson in Oconomowoc, WI. It's alway a pleasure to hear from past students who have not only learned a few things from the class, but practiced what was taught! Stay safe Paul!

Yin and Yang

Actually it is Yang and Yin or Bailey and Cloe because of the way they are sitting.

Yin (Chinese: 陰/阴; pinyin: yīn; literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast") is the darker element; it is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night.
Yang (陽/阳; yáng; "sunny place, south slope (hill), north bank (river); sunshine") is the brighter element; it is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day.

Yin is often symbolized by water or earth, while Yang is symbolized by fire, or wind. For those of you that know us, Bailey (Salt) has been with us for almost 11 years! Cathy recently saw a Scottish Terrier in our local newspaper and had to go see her. Cloe (Pepper) is a pure bred, 3 1/2 year old female. The mannerisms of the two is uncanny! We were allowed to test the waters for a week to see how the two would get along and we are happy to say, "it get's better every day!"

Everything can be described as both Yin and Yang.
1. Yin and Yang do not exclude each other.
Everything has its opposite: although this is never absolute, only relative. No one thing is completely Yin or completely Yang. Each contains the seed of its opposite. For example, winter can turn into summer; "what goes up must come down".

2. Yin and Yang are interdependent.
One cannot exist without the other. For example, day cannot exist without night. Light cannot exist without darkness. Death cannot exist without life.

3. Yin and Yang can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang.
Any Yin or Yang aspect can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang. For example, temperature can be seen as either hot or cold. However, hot can be further divided into warm or scorching; cold into cool or icy. Within each spectrum, there is a smaller spectrum; every beginning is a moment in time, and has a beginning and end, just as every hour has a beginning and end.

4. Yin and Yang consume and support each other.
Yin and Yang are usually held in balance: as one increases, the other decreases. However, imbalances can occur. There are four possible imbalances: excess Yin, excess Yang, Yin deficiency, and Yang deficiency. They can again be seen as a pair: by excess of Yin there is a Yang deficiency and vice versa. The imbalance is also a relative factor: the excess of Yang "forces" Yin to be more "concentrated".

5. Yin and Yang can transform into one another.
At a particular stage, Yin can transform into Yang and vice versa. For example, night changes into day; warmth cools; life changes to death. However this transformation is relative too. Night and day coexist on Earth at the same time when shown from space.

6. Part of Yin is in Yang and part of Yang is in Yin.
The dots in each serve:
as a reminder that there are always traces of one in the other. For example, there is always light within the dark (e.g., the stars at night); these qualities are never completely one or the other.
as a reminder that absolute extreme side transforms instantly into the opposite, or that the labels Yin and Yang are conditioned by an observer's point of view. For example, the hardest stone is easiest to break. This can show that absolute discrimination between the two is artificial.

7. Forces regain balance with yin-yang curves
Look at curves, where one thing is resolved with another. Our own bodies possess plenty of yin-yang curves, as do the bodies of all other organisms. Yin-yang curves can be internal (part of the physique) or external (part of the trajectory of motion). Select and adapt with curvature.

The above information was from Wikipedia.

Cathy remembers as a little girl her dad drinking Black & White Scotch Whisky. Every since that day many years ago, she has always wanted one of each.