Triumphrat

CityRide

It was a spur of the moment thing- I left San Diego at 2pm on the 23rd. Riding out into the desert, I was on a quest to avoid the merryhappybuythisnowseasonsgreetings crowd. I decided to take that 2-lane road south. I know my insurance policy is null and void in Mexico, but it had to be done.

I rolled past hovels and potholes. Little dogs chased me, little children smiled and waved. I bought gasoline of doubtful quality from beautiful people living in the middle of nowhere. I paid around 3 dollars a gallon to a smiling man who siphoned the fuel from his old pickup. His children had my Thunderbird surrounded, leaving fingerprints in the dusty paint. I gave them each a GenSoy bar from my tank bag.

North and East, the roads improve, the people are still friendly. My Spanish still brings some quizzical expressions from the fathers and giggles from their kids. I bought a Pepsi for a little boy who burned his hand on my muffler. He held the bottle to cool the burn while his brothers apologized for him touching the pipe. After his mother got there and took him home, I rolled North.

The sun dropped to the left, hiding behind low slung brown-black hills. The temperature dropped quickly. After I crossed into Arizona, the highway was empty. Two lanes of silky blacktop, twisting up to the plateaus, then running long and straight down the backsides. I scraped my pegs up the fronts then stretched it out to 130 on the straights. My chinbar tapping the monza gascap, knees freezing, giant grin hiding behind the dusky light and Arai metallic black. It's christmas eve, and i'm the only one on the road.

Gravel crunching in North Scottsdale, it's 9pm. I ease up the driveway, idling. No good- my father appears on the patio as the garage door opens. He's smiling and shaking his head. He points to the empty space next to his pristine Honda Rebel. Holding my helmet while I pull the tankbag, he says the toga pipes gave me away 2 minutes before i hit their street... (note to self, re: police) My mother is stunned- I haven't visited on christmas since I left home. She cried and laughed. I got hugged every 5 minutes.

Christmas morning, I watched my brothers kids open presents and relaxed in the warmth of belonging. That afternoon, I geared up and rolled north, destination- Las Vegas. Land of eternal christmas lights and all else that is tacky.

Another note to self- The desert southwest is colder than you think on winter nights. I camped out in an elegantly appointed hotel room, wifi equipped, courtesy of those Hilton honors points. The valets smiled when I tipped them each $20. The 'Bird would be safe tonight.

Morning. Shower, clean shorts and dirty jeans. 5 shot latte in hand, I idled the bird while strapping on the tankbag, zipping and velcroing myself into my jacket. Easing out to the highway, I fly along, eating miles and dodging cages. Everyone is going home to SoCal. Two lane backroads offer a little less congestion and more opportunity for excellent passes.

Tonight, I coast into my garage. Bugsplattered, bluer pipes, slightly squared off tires (***** straight roads) I'm sore and cold. My odometer shows a lot more miles. My camera is still sitting on the coffe table where i left it. Good planning! This has been the best christmas i've ever had. A shower and a shave, should I post the ride or not? It might be rude to the poor folks stuck in the grip of real winter. That's not my intent. I just want to to say that anyone that wants to come along next year is welcome.

Observations?
1. My FirstGear Timbuktu Jacket is awesome. From warm afternoon to freezing night, my torso was never too hot or cold.

2. Held Gloves with a pair of silk liners- heavenly for the long haul.

3. Time to suck it up and buy a pair of windproof pants... Jeans just don't cut it in the winter.

4. You can survive on what's packed in a tankbag and the many pockets of your jacket, but some hard luggage would be pretty handy.

5. That 04 Sprint ST at the dealer is looking pretty ***** sweet. 3 gallons of fuel doesn't go very far in the desert South West and a little more wind protection would have been nice.

6. Christmas on the road is the ONLY way to go.

-M

__________________
(Wonders if that was too much info. Lighting up, He shrugs and hits submit anyway...)

CityRide

It was a spur of the moment thing- I left San Diego at 2pm on the 23rd. Riding out into the desert, I was on a quest to avoid the merryhappybuythisnowseasonsgreetings crowd. I decided to take that 2-lane road south. I know my insurance policy is null and void in Mexico, but it had to be done.

I rolled past hovels and potholes. Little dogs chased me, little children smiled and waved. I bought gasoline of doubtful quality from beautiful people living in the middle of nowhere. I paid around 3 dollars a gallon to a smiling man who siphoned the fuel from his old pickup. His children had my Thunderbird surrounded, leaving fingerprints in the dusty paint. I gave them each a GenSoy bar from my tank bag.

North and East, the roads improve, the people are still friendly. My Spanish still brings some quizzical expressions from the fathers and giggles from their kids. I bought a Pepsi for a little boy who burned his hand on my muffler. He held the bottle to cool the burn while his brothers apologized for him touching the pipe. After his mother got there and took him home, I rolled North.

The sun dropped to the left, hiding behind low slung brown-black hills. The temperature dropped quickly. After I crossed into Arizona, the highway was empty. Two lanes of silky blacktop, twisting up to the plateaus, then running long and straight down the backsides. I scraped my pegs up the fronts then stretched it out to 130 on the straights. My chinbar tapping the monza gascap, knees freezing, giant grin hiding behind the dusky light and Arai metallic black. It's christmas eve, and i'm the only one on the road.

Gravel crunching in North Scottsdale, it's 9pm. I ease up the driveway, idling. No good- my father appears on the patio as the garage door opens. He's smiling and shaking his head. He points to the empty space next to his pristine Honda Rebel. Holding my helmet while I pull the tankbag, he says the toga pipes gave me away 2 minutes before i hit their street... (note to self, re: police) My mother is stunned- I haven't visited on christmas since I left home. She cried and laughed. I got hugged every 5 minutes.

Christmas morning, I watched my brothers kids open presents and relaxed in the warmth of belonging. That afternoon, I geared up and rolled north, destination- Las Vegas. Land of eternal christmas lights and all else that is tacky.

Another note to self- The desert southwest is colder than you think on winter nights. I camped out in an elegantly appointed hotel room, wifi equipped, courtesy of those Hilton honors points. The valets smiled when I tipped them each $20. The 'Bird would be safe tonight.

Morning. Shower, clean shorts and dirty jeans. 5 shot latte in hand, I idled the bird while strapping on the tankbag, zipping and velcroing myself into my jacket. Easing out to the highway, I fly along, eating miles and dodging cages. Everyone is going home to SoCal. Two lane backroads offer a little less congestion and more opportunity for excellent passes.

Tonight, I coast into my garage. Bugsplattered, bluer pipes, slightly squared off tires (***** straight roads) I'm sore and cold. My odometer shows a lot more miles. My camera is still sitting on the coffe table where i left it. Good planning! This has been the best christmas i've ever had. A shower and a shave, should I post the ride or not? It might be rude to the poor folks stuck in the grip of real winter. That's not my intent. I just want to to say that anyone that wants to come along next year is welcome.

Observations?
1. My FirstGear Timbuktu Jacket is awesome. From warm afternoon to freezing night, my torso was never too hot or cold.

2. Held Gloves with a pair of silk liners- heavenly for the long haul.

3. Time to suck it up and buy a pair of windproof pants... Jeans just don't cut it in the winter.

4. You can survive on what's packed in a tankbag and the many pockets of your jacket, but some hard luggage would be pretty handy.

5. That 04 Sprint ST at the dealer is looking pretty ***** sweet. 3 gallons of fuel doesn't go very far in the desert South West and a little more wind protection would have been nice.

6. Christmas on the road is the ONLY way to go.

-M

__________________
(Wonders if that was too much info. Lighting up, He shrugs and hits submit anyway...)

Jodel

M,

Lovely piece of writing - thanks for sharing it. Sounds like you had a great time. By all means get yourself that Sprint - but keep the Tbird too, as completing the kind of trip you described on a modern 'plastic' bike would be far less evocative.

:razz:

Jodel

M,

Lovely piece of writing - thanks for sharing it. Sounds like you had a great time. By all means get yourself that Sprint - but keep the Tbird too, as completing the kind of trip you described on a modern 'plastic' bike would be far less evocative.

:razz:

parrycm

Hear hear, writing worthy of Peter Egan himself.

__________________
Chris

"Panniers can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need."

parrycm

Hear hear, writing worthy of Peter Egan himself.

__________________
Chris

"Panniers can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need."

vonbonds

Excellent writing and all done with the spell check feature disbled :-g

__________________
My Photo Album
Pete's Baltimore RAT Pack

vonbonds

Excellent writing and all done with the spell check feature disbled :-g

__________________
My Photo Album
Pete's Baltimore RAT Pack

Bear

Great ride and story about it, felt like I was with you all the way....its good to read something like this, makes us all understand why we have motorcycles...Thanks for posting it.. :-D

__________________
so many roads--so little time
Noli Illegitimi Carborundum

Bear

Great ride and story about it, felt like I was with you all the way....its good to read something like this, makes us all understand why we have motorcycles...Thanks for posting it.. :-D

__________________
so many roads--so little time
Noli Illegitimi Carborundum