| Author |
Message |
    
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:47 pm: | 
|
FBRAT, Thu 9/8/05:
as was the norm on this trip, after about four hours sleep the FBRAT Traveling Circus pulled up stakes and blew out of town.
this is Dbird and Lori and Denise looking all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (well, two out of three ain't bad), doing a warm-up lap in the parking garage.
it's barely light outside.
um, any chance we could sleep a little bit longer??? 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 11, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:48 pm: |
|
gettin' out of town.
it's early enough, i.e. dark enough, that the camera is taking half-second exposures trying to make some sense of it all.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:49 pm: |
|
Lori at speed on I-70, kicked back and relaxed.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:49 pm: |
|
DBird at speed on I-70, kicked back and relaxed compact and condensed.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:50 pm: |
|
so long Colorado, it's been grand fun.
howdy Utah!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:51 pm: |
|
taken looking over my left shoulder from I-70. pretty, no?
thank goodness we were headed west. there was MASSIVE rain falling just east of Grand Junction, black, streaky and mean, filling most of the eastern sky.
this photo was taken well after we crossed into Utah, yet we were only now just clearing the western edge of the storm.
our path to the west appeared clear, but it was obvious that anyone headed east this morning was gonna get a whuppin'.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:51 pm: |
|
hey, finally, we're catchin' some rays!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:54 pm: |
|
in Green River, Utah for fuel, admiring a gorgeous chopper that was part of a large and eclectic group of bikes that had stopped.
the rider came out of the store, wearing little more than jeans and a t-shirt.
no jacket, no helmet, no discernable gear on-person other than a comb and a wallet.
cool, no worries, to each their own.
"Where y'all headed?" we asked good-naturedly.
"East, to Montrose and Gunnison."
"Wow, dude, there is some SERIOUS rain just over the horizon, and likely some serious cold."
"Yeah, well, it's all good," came the smiling reply.
his bike was so long, and the back tire so fat, that it was all he could do to get the thing turned around and pointed towards the street.
t-shirt, jeans, and a wallet. he wasn't even wearing gloves.
he's a lot tougher than ME.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:55 pm: |
|
these are some of the bugs i was whining about on the stretch between Gunnison and Montrose last night.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 05:59 pm: |
|
we had also stopped in Green River to wait for Mike "Littlebuggles" Bugby, who was in-bound on his Buell from Salt Lake City.
while we waited, two Greyhound buses pulled up right on top of us and disgorged several prisons' worth of convic...er, i mean passengers, who promptly invaded and infested and took over the place.
i'm not a huge fan of diesel exhaust, and i have yet to hear a logical explanation why every frikkin' diesel driver in the world feels it their God-given duty to leave the damn things running all the damn time, even when they're just sitting there.
second-hand smoke of the petroleum kind.
anyway, i figured i'd make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or something like that.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:00 pm: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:01 pm: |
|
Spidey, on this particular bus, on this particular day, you were headed to Denver.
where you are right now is ANYBODY'S guess.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:01 pm: |
|
Littlebuggles needed tools, which the "no name" parts store down the street wouldn't loan him even tho he bought some hardware there.
NAPA to the rescue. the gal working there cheerfully loaned Mike her own personal high-dollar tool set from her car.
shameless plug: in a past life i managed several NAPA stores, here in California and up in Washington, and they are the BEST in the business.
the woman working here today did nothing to disprove my bias.
anyway, Lori needed a repair, too...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:02 pm: |
|
LBird, you see, had a bad (good?) habit of undressing herself as she motored down the road, exciting yet distracting for all concerned.
DBird is shown here zip-tying her clothes back on.
several captions/comments come to mind, but as we had just met these two less than 12 hours earlier, i'll not go there.
yet...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:03 pm: |
|
southwest on Utah Hwy 24, in the general direction of Hanksville, Capitol Reef Nat'l Park and Torrey.
the sun is out, the temps are climbing, and if it wasn't for all the derned traffic (  ) we'd be sailing on smooth seas.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:04 pm: |
|
photo by DBird.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 11, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:05 pm: |
|
the plan, admittedly an optimistic one considering me 'n D had to be in Las Vegas tonight, was to hang a left in Torrey and enjoy Utah Highway 12.
if you take a moment to pull out your National Geographic/Quality Inn Road Atlas and study the lay of Hwy 12 (page 64), you'll quickly see that this road holds Great Promise.
alas, when we got to Torrey we knew the pooch had been duly screwed, as it was already late enough in the day to make the excursion logistically difficult, if not impossible.
over double mochas (sorry Kandie, not Starbucks, but it weren't all that bad!) we made the command decision to bypass Hwy 12 and take a more direct route out of the mountains to I-15.
this would be my third failed attempt in as many tries to ride Hwy 12, which i'm told is God's own gift to riders of yours and my kind.
yet more seeds.
in the meantime, our "backup plan" (UT Hwy's 24/62/89/20) did not suck, nope, did not suck at all said Sam Iyam.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:05 pm: |
|
as main highways go, this ain't bad. Utah has a lot of these, and i plan on spending some extended time there some time getting to know 'em all.
btw, the astute among us (which includes, i suppose, everyone but me) will have noticed that my co-rider is now handling the photography chores.
seems my one-handed ham-fisted circus monkey-ish attempts at moto-journalism are making Denise nervous, so i passed the Nikon back to her and concentrated on holding a good line.
i think she did GREAT!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 11, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:06 pm: |
|
 |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:06 pm: |
|
i'm not entirely sure what i'm doing with my left hand in this photo, perhaps letting Spidey know that his gloves are still, er, in good hands???
(speaking of which: Spidey, drop me a PM with your snail mail so i can get your gloves back to you, k?)
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:08 pm: |
|
sit on...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:08 pm: |
|
...a happy face.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:09 pm: |
|
&
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:10 pm: |
|
Spidey, back to you for a moment.
see what's on the tip of Denise's finger?
YOU are!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:11 pm: |
|
photo by Littlebuggles (me and DBird were busy at the time unhoisting Denise back to terra firma).
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:11 pm: |
|
this is, as DBird so eloquently put it...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:12 pm: |
|
...a Spider Beaver.
Mr. Barchok, some of your stickers may not last long i'm sorry to say (the one at the Loop in Manitou Springs, Colorado comes immediately to mind), but this one was tough to do, and will be even tougher to un-do.
when you and Jugallo ride out here next year, be sure to come poke around in Beaver.
i'm sure you'll feel right at home.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:13 pm: |
|
it's funny when you ask people to wave for a photo. the effect is always good, but the reactions are often comical.
men are the worst. nope, can't wave, i have to look all macho and serious. or, if i DO wave, i can only wave a little, just enough to acknowledge the request, but not enough to show i care.
women, as in many things, are the best. none of that "I gotta look all studly!" nonsense.
DBird, on the far right, has only hung with me for about a half a day so far, and looks a little sheepish. ( "Man, this Ferris dude is one whacked hombre." )
Mike is a LITTLE better (no worries, he comes around later in the day), but is still a little hesitent about showing the softer side of Sears.
LBird and Denise, on the other hand, have nothing to hide. Lori, especially, was livin' loud and large, with a broad smile and ready laugh that were always infectious.
anyway, i'm reading a lot into a little here. dangerous, that.
just like me.
do the wave.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 09, 2005 - 06:14 pm: |
|
folks, this is a grand group of people, and today had been sublime.
this is where we said goodbye to the Birds. 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 10, 2005) |
|