Vegas Baby - Episode No. 1 - 30,000 Feet and No Olives
Ok. I got back from the CA, AZ, NV trip late last night. I wrote a few things on the way down and I've got a few ideas from the trip back. This might take a while but here is the first installment:
Vegas Baby (the Serialized Adventures of a Motorcycling Dork)
Episode No. 1 - 30,000 Feet and No Olives
Jamie told me to be good. I think I am. I've already got the head Stewardess talked into at least one free round and I'm NOT taking it. Is that good or stupid?
In Seattle, over Tanqueray martinis I figured out my Saturday and Sunday routes with weather and roadway alternatives. I see the next two days as a riding/working vacation or ride to work at the very least.
So, it's ride to work, the long way. Saturday's plan: North to the hills, Mulholland Drive; end to end. PCH 50 or 60 miles north (Solvang?) then inland through the desert and either the long way 'round or cut through Joshua Tree, otherwise it's straight to Palm Springs if the time (aka nightfall), weather (haw) or fatigue (no comment) don't permit.
Is it growing up in a state with only nine (9) highways that made me this way? Is it the motorcycle wanderlust gene (has that been mapped yet)? My parents, although they've got lots of miles on 'em, don't go anywhere NEW. Do people in states with lots of roads go down them JUST to see what's at the other end? I mean people "other than" motorcyclists. Do they? Do people get in cars and take the local twisty roads to get to Yosemite from Topeka or is it just the riders? Do other people fly 3,000 miles, ride a rented bike for a couple of days then fly home? Maybe it's just me.
Damn it's going to be good to see Doug tomorrow. It's been two years (almost to the day). Damnit! Doug and I should rent a Cadillac convertible, get all drugged up and dedicate the "trip" to the good Dr. (R.I.P.). Or not (see note 1 at the end).
I wish Jamie was along for the ride. I love riding with her. But I like being in front so I can straighten out my line and she can roll back and forth in the corners. She's been obsessing on the moon lately. Here is my attempt to capture it from the plane while my row mate was off to the bathroom.
I don't know what I am doing with a camera (and it shows). Oh yeah, there had been gin involved at some point.
I'm wondering about this bike. I'm not scared but Jamie's got me thinkin'. How heavy WILL it be? Harry's 3'22" and he rides one. Plus he's got a few years on me. Shreck's got one and Ira and Rick Peterson (but Rick's pretty tall). I shouldn't question. It's a Boxer. I dig Boxers. So, it's a GS. So what. If Mr. "I Can Defeat the Empire and Ride the Long Way Round AND whine about a 100 Day, All Expenses Paid Vacation" can ride a GS then so can I (without dumping it) for 2 days. I'm curious about the tread. Knobbys or slicks? If it's the Adventure model then it's barely DOT legal knobbies. If it's "just" a GS then it's those funky tires. I just hope they're broken in.
Oh. Now I'm bad. I took the free drink (the head Stewardess insisted). Is that compensation for the overpriced drinks at the Seattle airport? The martini in the Board Room in Anchorage was great (after I taught the woman how to make it; she insisted that she only works early in the day and all she ever makes is Bloody Marrys) but that one was reasonably priced.
Kinetic means possible, right (*see note 2 at the end)? Maps are kinetic to me. They have the potential to MEAN something.
Tangent: I've got to tell Brian that it's cool he's got the picture of me at the Madeleine, CA fire station up in his house. That was 16 miles before Termo. Fucking Termo (I'll post the story of Termo some day).
Maybe I'm going too deep with this. Maybe it's more Kindergarten than genetic. Maybe I'm playing a motorcycle driven adult game of connect the dots. The towns on the maps are dots and it's my job, my calling, to connect them. All of a sudden I feel like a Goldwinger hunting for a Dairy Queen (*see note 3 at the end). It's pretty much the same thing (just less fattening and a different cherry on top).
Dot to Dot, Bearded Jon style.
Fuck! I need a job that pays me to ride (more than one weekend a month for MSF/ABATE and actually go somewhere). Is there a Gonzo Motorcycle Adventure Novel in me? Can this be the seed?
The woman pacing the aisle is starting to freak me out. It's a fucking AIRPLANE. SIT THE FUCK DOWN.
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Note 1 - Hunter S. Thompson, 1937-2005, dead of a self inflicted shotgun blast to the head. I always got a sense from his writing that he was a trickster. I admired that. Too bad he had to Hemingway himself.
Note 2 - Kinetic:
1. Of, relating to, or produced by motion.
2. Relating to or exhibiting kinesis.
Kinesis: Movement or activity of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light.
Kinetic Energy: energy associated with motion
Ok, so maybe this is a stretch but maps DO produce motion. Maps are kinetic because they make me roam. So kinetic isn't exactly potential but when the headlight on the bike comes on it sure does make me want to move. I'll stick with kinesis as my word. Maps move me. That works.
All definitions from www.dictionary.com
Note 3 - The Joke. What's the difference between a 1%'er (it's has been suggested by the American Motorcycle Association that 1% of the motorcycle community is the lawless bunch that give motorcyclists a bad name) and a RUB (Rich Urban Biker - giving motorcyclists a different kind of bad name)? This really is a joke. The 1%'er says "the beer is flat; let's trash the joint." The RUB says, "my latte is luke warm; let's only tip 10%." But the Goldwingers. You know what the Goldwingers say? "They didn't put a cherry on my hot fudge sundae. Let's find another Dairy Queen and see how they do it." As Jamie always says, "hardee har har."
Vegas Baby (the Serialized Adventures of a Motorcycling Dork)
Episode No. 1 - 30,000 Feet and No Olives
Jamie told me to be good. I think I am. I've already got the head Stewardess talked into at least one free round and I'm NOT taking it. Is that good or stupid?
In Seattle, over Tanqueray martinis I figured out my Saturday and Sunday routes with weather and roadway alternatives. I see the next two days as a riding/working vacation or ride to work at the very least.
So, it's ride to work, the long way. Saturday's plan: North to the hills, Mulholland Drive; end to end. PCH 50 or 60 miles north (Solvang?) then inland through the desert and either the long way 'round or cut through Joshua Tree, otherwise it's straight to Palm Springs if the time (aka nightfall), weather (haw) or fatigue (no comment) don't permit.
Is it growing up in a state with only nine (9) highways that made me this way? Is it the motorcycle wanderlust gene (has that been mapped yet)? My parents, although they've got lots of miles on 'em, don't go anywhere NEW. Do people in states with lots of roads go down them JUST to see what's at the other end? I mean people "other than" motorcyclists. Do they? Do people get in cars and take the local twisty roads to get to Yosemite from Topeka or is it just the riders? Do other people fly 3,000 miles, ride a rented bike for a couple of days then fly home? Maybe it's just me.
Damn it's going to be good to see Doug tomorrow. It's been two years (almost to the day). Damnit! Doug and I should rent a Cadillac convertible, get all drugged up and dedicate the "trip" to the good Dr. (R.I.P.). Or not (see note 1 at the end).
I wish Jamie was along for the ride. I love riding with her. But I like being in front so I can straighten out my line and she can roll back and forth in the corners. She's been obsessing on the moon lately. Here is my attempt to capture it from the plane while my row mate was off to the bathroom.
I don't know what I am doing with a camera (and it shows). Oh yeah, there had been gin involved at some point.
I'm wondering about this bike. I'm not scared but Jamie's got me thinkin'. How heavy WILL it be? Harry's 3'22" and he rides one. Plus he's got a few years on me. Shreck's got one and Ira and Rick Peterson (but Rick's pretty tall). I shouldn't question. It's a Boxer. I dig Boxers. So, it's a GS. So what. If Mr. "I Can Defeat the Empire and Ride the Long Way Round AND whine about a 100 Day, All Expenses Paid Vacation" can ride a GS then so can I (without dumping it) for 2 days. I'm curious about the tread. Knobbys or slicks? If it's the Adventure model then it's barely DOT legal knobbies. If it's "just" a GS then it's those funky tires. I just hope they're broken in.
Oh. Now I'm bad. I took the free drink (the head Stewardess insisted). Is that compensation for the overpriced drinks at the Seattle airport? The martini in the Board Room in Anchorage was great (after I taught the woman how to make it; she insisted that she only works early in the day and all she ever makes is Bloody Marrys) but that one was reasonably priced.
Kinetic means possible, right (*see note 2 at the end)? Maps are kinetic to me. They have the potential to MEAN something.
Tangent: I've got to tell Brian that it's cool he's got the picture of me at the Madeleine, CA fire station up in his house. That was 16 miles before Termo. Fucking Termo (I'll post the story of Termo some day).
Maybe I'm going too deep with this. Maybe it's more Kindergarten than genetic. Maybe I'm playing a motorcycle driven adult game of connect the dots. The towns on the maps are dots and it's my job, my calling, to connect them. All of a sudden I feel like a Goldwinger hunting for a Dairy Queen (*see note 3 at the end). It's pretty much the same thing (just less fattening and a different cherry on top).
Dot to Dot, Bearded Jon style.
Fuck! I need a job that pays me to ride (more than one weekend a month for MSF/ABATE and actually go somewhere). Is there a Gonzo Motorcycle Adventure Novel in me? Can this be the seed?
The woman pacing the aisle is starting to freak me out. It's a fucking AIRPLANE. SIT THE FUCK DOWN.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1 - Hunter S. Thompson, 1937-2005, dead of a self inflicted shotgun blast to the head. I always got a sense from his writing that he was a trickster. I admired that. Too bad he had to Hemingway himself.
Note 2 - Kinetic:
1. Of, relating to, or produced by motion.
2. Relating to or exhibiting kinesis.
Kinesis: Movement or activity of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light.
Kinetic Energy: energy associated with motion
Ok, so maybe this is a stretch but maps DO produce motion. Maps are kinetic because they make me roam. So kinetic isn't exactly potential but when the headlight on the bike comes on it sure does make me want to move. I'll stick with kinesis as my word. Maps move me. That works.
All definitions from www.dictionary.com
Note 3 - The Joke. What's the difference between a 1%'er (it's has been suggested by the American Motorcycle Association that 1% of the motorcycle community is the lawless bunch that give motorcyclists a bad name) and a RUB (Rich Urban Biker - giving motorcyclists a different kind of bad name)? This really is a joke. The 1%'er says "the beer is flat; let's trash the joint." The RUB says, "my latte is luke warm; let's only tip 10%." But the Goldwingers. You know what the Goldwingers say? "They didn't put a cherry on my hot fudge sundae. Let's find another Dairy Queen and see how they do it." As Jamie always says, "hardee har har."
posted by Bearded Jon at
9:59 PM
