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Woops - a failed journey.
So on Monday I was sitting in my apartment bored out of my mind and my friend Zack had come by to try some pipe tobacco I didn't quite like and had offered him. Well as we talked I all of a sudden decided I wanted to go to Los Angeles for a couple of days. He thought it was an excellent spur of the moment idea. Pure impulse of the best kind.
So after he left I packed up what I could get into my small top box. I fixed the issue with the Corbin seat not clearing the rear rack brackets using longer bolts to the mounting bracket - and 3 nuts on each side as spacers - to space the bracket from the seat. Worked like a charm!
Loaded my bike, got dressed in my Belstfaff pants and Barbour International - with liner - got gas, and hit the road. I-17S to I-10W.
Was a bit nippy out, and the wind, oh god the wind - not head on, that wasn't toooo bad, it was the side winds that were a bugger all. I had been on the road for 200 of my 500ish miles and had made it to California when it just started to rain.
Now now, I know any smart man checks the weather before a Spur of the Moment 500 mile ride.... but who said I was a smart man?
The rain was cold, and the wind heavier, and I was in sunglass's because there was no place to pull over and change into my regular glass's. So it continued for 100 miles. By the time I found a small cafe/gas station to pull into I was so wet, so cold, that I shook uncontrollably for about 15 minutes while fellow travelers looked at me with interest. A couple of truckers were quite nice in asking me how I was, and why I had been going so slow on the highway!
As I finally quit shaking in the cafe and ate SOME - the food was terrible. I contemplated my situation with some amount of worry. 300 miles from Phoenix. 200 miles from Los Angeles. My clothing soaked through, my spirits pretty low, it's dark, and the weather I was told was coming from my destination!
Damn!
So I asked a cop if there were any motels around. He told me about 25 miles west was the town of Indio California. There were motels there.
So I went back to my bike, did my little Steve McQueen move where you take the gas cap off and give the bike a shake to see the fuel - which I saw enough. Got back on the road in some drizzle.
As I was riding I saw a monstrous cloud up ahead and thought "Oh my..." and then I realized that the cloud was in fact sitting on the ground and that I was going to ride into it. The truck ahead of me vanished first. Then I was inside and could see maybe 2 car lengths ahead at best.
I rode for about half an hour before I saw the exit for a Comfort Inn.
Never found the Comfort Inn, found a Quality Inn though, and holed up there, again shaking so bad they thought maybe I needed a doctor, hahahahaha.
Yesterday was spent here mostly. I did ride up to a smoke shop in Palm Desert to collect a pipe and another tin of tobacco - I knew I forgot something!
Today, in about an hour I will be back on the bike and heading back to Phoenix. The weather.com says that it's going to be a nice warm day here and in Phoenix. So that is good news!
I am still kicking myself for not checking the weather! I should have. I rode cross country for god sakes, you'd think checking the weather would be second nature by now... but alas.
The Bonnie handles excellent in the rain. I knew it would, but you see I haven't ridden it in the rain before - it was Dad's and I just never got the chance. Actually the last bike I rode in the rain was a '05 Suzuki SV650S back in August and that was absolutely terrifying. It was the reason I sold that bike and bought another '73 Triumph.
Well that's the tale of my spur of the moment attempt at LA. This was my last week off until Thanksgiving. So we won't be doing THAT again. Maybe Tombstone next 3 day weekend I get.
Anyways I gotta get all set up to get back on the road.
Wahoo fellas.
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Currently have a heavily modified Royal Enfield that is going backwards, a fairly modified T100, and a Triton Special that I've been working on.
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