The Flagstaff 7 went to Cottonweird today. When we left Flagstaff it was 26 degrees. Below zero. I had on a turtleneck, a pullover shirt, my thick Harley sweater (thank you Linnea!)my leathers (with the fringe) and my leather coat. (Without fringe.) It was still cold. I was glad we were heading south, off the mountain. As the journey began I wondered if it would be worth the cold. It only took a few minutes on the freeway to make me know that it was. The feeling is just unexplainable. The only way to make a person know the feeling is to make them experience it. If you really want to know what it feels like come and take a ride.

I took both of my helmets with me; the full face and the 1/2 helmet. The full face covers all the way down past my chin. The 1/2 only to just above my ears. I keep my Ipod on full blast and scoot along to the likes of Steppenwolf and George Thorogood. Of course when I hear "Bad To The bone" I have to sing along. With the full face helmet I can hear myself sing. I've discovered that I'm a much better singer with the 1/2 helmet on.

We had to have an excuse to ride, so ostensibly we went down to Laurie's dad's house to talk to him about his trike. He and his wife Carrol, have been riding trikes for quite some time. Lin and I are thinking that maybe it would be more comfortable for her if we had a trike. I'm having trouble with the thought of giving up the two wheels. There are some alternatives but we don't know about the compromise it would take to do those. If I could afford it I would get Lin a Goldwing trike in a heartbeat but I can't. In any event, Lin and Lela both got a ride on Dan's nice machine. They loved it, to say the least. The picture at the top of this entry shows the rear of Dan's machine. As we are currently discussing it they both say that they would jump on a trike for trips to the store. I may have to give up both The Beast and Frankenbike to get a trike. As an aside but not of lesser importance: We weren't at Dan and Carrol's for more than 10 minutes when Carrol went into her house and returned with a really nice leather jacket for Lela. It was very nice of them to think of Lela as a recipient of the jacket and Lela is thrilled with it. She didn't want to take it off.

Sometimes the absurd just gets more absurd. Today I had a little time to stop at Burger King for a snack. I'd been having a good day and I thought a small chocolate shake would top things off. Before getting my shake I went in to the restroom to wash my hands. I walked in and turned right around and walked out. There's a guy in there taking a shower in the sink in the Burger King. I've worked in bus stations, camped, been deer hunting, had cars break down where there were no facilities for many miles around, but I've NEVER seen someone taking a shower in the sink at the Burger King. I've seen things in the restrooms at the bus station which were shocking, really shocking. But taking a shower? Not a sponge bath mind you, but a full blown shower. He was standing at the sink, filling a large spray bottle with water and then spraying himself all over. He had already soaped up and was in the rinse phase when I walked in. He didn't seem surprised or startled when I walked in; in fact he didn't even acknowledge me. I certainly didn't acknowledge him. I just backed out slowly and tried to erase the image from my mind. So far unsuccessful. I had to get on "The Beast" to help clear things.

Poor Gordon, Dead and Gone

Linda and I went to Phoenix Friday afternoon to see the concert mentioned in a previous post. (Anyone know how to make these posts go from first to last instead of last to first?) The concert was fun but not good. The picture of Gordon at the top of this post should show why. Mr. Lightfoot has been dead for quite some time but no one dares to tell him. The music and musicians were very good but Mr. Lightfoot's singing, while never good, has deteriorated considerably. Almost to the point of being un-listenable. I understand that I'm old now, and that the singers I liked when I was young have aged as well, but Grand Funk still sound like Grand Funk and 3 Dog Night still sound like 3 Dog Night. Those concerts were great. And The Moody Blues could still tour as a modern day rock band. They still have the energy and vigor of their youth. Gordon, on the other hand, sounds like Katherine Hepburn in her later days. Remember "On Golden Pond"? Horrible. We still had fun and enjoyed the music. It brought back separate memories; we didn't know each other when Gordon was popular.

Our trip to Phoenix was fun. We spent the night in a motel near the freeway. Near our houses in the valley actually. We drove by them. All looks well. One is coming off lease at the end of November but we have a renter already lined up. Lucky thing in these economic times.

Steamed Vegetables

Yesterday started off inauspiciously. I headed off to work not knowing what would lie in store but then again, I never really do. When I got out to Little Antelope I got word of a scene I needed to go take pictures of. Down around milepost 302 on northbound I17 a couple of truck drivers decided to stop and steam some vegetables. Seems that they were driving from California to Montana with a load of various types of vegetables. They decided to set their load on fire, call the fire department who would then come and steam their vegetables for them while the fire was put out. I suppose that a truck load of steamed vegetables might be just some restaurants would need, but most prefer to do their own steaming. Fresher that way. Somewhere south of MP299 the refrigeration unit on the truck caught fire. It burned the trailer and truck to the point that when the wrecker pulled the tractor away from the trailer several feet of the front stayed with the tractor. It took six hours, two tow trucks, three dump trucks and one fire truck to get the mess straightened out. Oh, and five ADOT workers. I've got pictures but they aren't available to me right now. I'll get them up later.

My darling wife's birthday was celebrated in the evening. The Flagstaff six plus Mary Lynne and Lela all went to Outback for some beef. Good friends good family and good food. I surprised Linda with some tickets to one of her favorite singer/songwriters; Gordon Lightfoot. Well at least I thought he was one of her favorites. She likes him, but not better than anyone else. Last year was supposed to be Andy Williams for Christmas. I bought the tickets and was all set to go but then it snowed. Dang I hate that stuff. Want to know the first day of significant snow this year? I'm sure it'll be October 24th, the day of the Lightfoot concert.

Just a quick update on the last two weeks of recuperation. I'm still a little sore but doing well. My skin is still pretty sensitive where the stitches were. When Barkley decides to sit on me he has to sit on my right side or bad stuff happens. Fortunately I've been given some assignments at work which haven't taxed me too much. I rode The Beast to work a couple of days this week. Felt good.

Frankenbike is at a doctor's office getting some much needed attention. Fork seals, carb tune, and most importantly, brake cylinder rebuilds. I'm old enough that stopping has become as important as going fast. And at my age going fast includes less actual speed than it used to. Truth be told, I'm at the stage where the flash is more important than the substance. But regardless, I'm anxious to ride the Honda. The next day or two should include an update on Linda's latest challenge: Stan wanting a sidecar for Frankenbike.

Stupidcide

Well I tried to commit stupidcide yesterday. Lela and I went to Phoenix to attend a memorial service. It was outside, in Phoenix, in September. It was HOT. Not as hot as it could be but when you compare it to Flagstaff, it was HOT. I was standing up outside of the tent when I started to feel faint. I leaned over and put my hands on the back of the chair my mom was sitting in but that didn't seem to help. I worked my way over to where my sister Loretta was sitting and demanded her chair. Actually she graciously offered me her chair. I sat down and my lovely sister-in-law Rose told me to put my head between my knees. Have you seen me? Put my head between my knees? I haven't been able to do that since 1931. But regardless, I took her advice to the point that I could and put my head down. After a few minutes I began to get my wits about me again. This surgery thing has made me dehydrated and it caught up with me yesterday. Needless to say I'm drinking lots more water now.

The Flagstaff Six, possibly minus Linda, who is attending a conference, are hoping to go out for a bite to eat this evening. I haven't been on the bike for almost three weeks now and I think that is the real cause of yesterday's event; motorcycle withdrawal. Well, could be.

I'm at home after getting some surgery done. Minor, but dang I'm sore! I'll leave it to the reader's imagination as to the nature of the procedure. I'll just say that the pain killer and antibiotic taste horrible. And Linda is making sure I get every ounce that I'm supposed to. Relates to the question of which is worse; the disease or the cure. I will be better later but right now the irritation is irritating.

I'm well enough to go downtown and look at the cars lined up on the streets. It's the Route 66 Car Club's annual show. They shut down registration at 366 but I don't know if I'll have enough strength to see them all. Pictures may follow.