The plan was for Carlton (brother) to hook up with Jason (friend) in Tulia, TX around lunch time and then ride together to my house in Colorado Springs. That was the longest workday I can remember in a long time. They were out riding, having a good time, enjoying life the universe and everything and I was at work… waiting.
The schedule for the evening was pretty tight for me as I was scheduled to work until five then I was to stop by Jennifer’s (daughter) house for a baby shower she was throwing for Michelle (son’s girlfriend). Carlton and Jason were scheduled to arrive around 6:30 and I was torn between telling them to let themselves in and we would be home after the shower or leaving the shower early enough to greet them on arrival. I had pretty much decided to leave the shower in time to be home by 6:30 (I had no fear Carlton would be early, I’ve ridden with him before).
– I need to interject here my absolute loathing for whoever not only decided, but made it a social expectation, that men should attend baby showers. This goes against all tradition and I’m against it.-
Back to the story.
At about 4:15PM I’m thinking Carlton and Jason are just crossing the Raton Pass on schedule for a 6:30 arrival and the phone rings. Its Carlton telling me that they are broke down on Hwy 87 just outside of Des Moines, NM. It seems Jason’s Beamer (97 F650 – recently aquired and inspected and given the thumbs up from the BMW dealer in Santa Fe) Will barely run. Jason was able to call the Dealership and the guy he talked to said it sounded like bad gas and suggested choking it a little and seeing if that would get him to Raton. When the catalytic converter got cherry red and melted the plastic panel under the seat they decided to rethink that. That’s when I got the call. Carlton figured out that the problem was electrical and not fuel related as inspection revealed that all the cells in the battery were dry. He said they had put water in the battery and push started it and that seemed to fix it so they were going to head on.
I thought that either the battery was low to start with or the charging system was over charging the battery and boiling off the acid. Either way I figured a new battery would be a good idea since we were heading off on a rather long trip. So at 4:30 on the Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend I find myself hunting frantically for a battery before everything shuts down for the holiday weekend in just over an hour. But hey, I’m a parts guy. That’s what I do. I thought if they had been running it choked long enough to melt the side panel the plugs are probably fouled also so I located a pair of those too. I also made contingency plans to rent a trailer in case I had to go to New Mexico to get them. I found a trailer and reserved it but they (U-Haul) didn’t close until 7 so I had plenty of time to get that if I needed it.
The problem was the only place that had the battery was Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza our local multi-bike dealer and they closed at 6:00…and there was the shower… and I still had to close the store… and it was already after 5:00…and the phone rang. Carlton again, this time they arrived in Raton and the bike was running good but there was a big storm moving in and they were going to grab a bite to eat and wait it out…oh, and by the way, my Walmart driving lights have quit and could you get me another set so I can replace them before we head out tomorrow?
While I was relieved to hear that the bike was running good. I still wanted the new battery and plugs before we headed out so I closed the store and headed to the shower because it was on the way to the bike store and I thought the least I could do was make an appearance. When I got there I discussed the situation with Brenda (my lovely wife) and headed on to the bike store. Greg, the parts guy at Rocky Mountain, was nice enough to have filled the battery for me and have it and the plugs and a charger all bagged up and waiting for me (Parts guys are awesome.) I secured my purchases in my new bags and since Carlton and Jason were not going to be here anytime soon I headed back to the shower.
I had forgotten about the driving lights so after I got home I went back out to Walmart to get the lights and I went by Big Lots because I had seen a set there earlier in the week for $12 that looked pretty cool.
I personally love to ride in the rain and I know Carlton has all the right gear so I assumed Jason’s gear was the hold up. I later found out that wasn’t the case.
Carlton’s bike/car thing has a wind screen the size of a barn door and he has to look through it because he can’t see over it. And it doesn’t have quite enough curve to shed the water as it hits so he can’t see where he’s going in the rain.
Carlton, two words: Rain-X
They finally came rolling in around 11:00 and after catching up for a little while we all went to bed in anticipation of the real beginning of the Third Annual Whitlock Brother’s Motorcycle Trip the following morning.
Sorry, not many pics for day 1. I wasn’t really there.
PS. Carlton's pictures are too big for Photobucket so I had to upload them to the blog. That means if you work for Phil Long you won't be able to see them or you'll have to try from home. Sorry.
2 comments:
I was hoping I could leave a rebuttal... let it be for the record, that I am green and wet behind the ears, (I really was on the drive to Colorado Springs), and even though we had a little road side adventure getting going, I felt pretty good that was all that happened given the fact that the "other" Whitlock brother wrecked his bike.....on the first day none the less....
Had to throw that in.... :) J-Dawg
Also for the record... Rain-X and motorcycle windshields is a big no no. Put it on all the glass you want, but the keep the stuff away from your windshield unless you want to replace it regularly. Special thanks to the 'parts guy' for taking such good care of us.
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