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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:52 pm: | 
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Tom takes "Rest in Peace" to new heights. 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:53 pm: |
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on our way back to the bikes Russ asked me about Gordon Buhle, having seen the outpouring of emotion on BADWEB when Gordon died, but never having met the man.
it was tough to get the words out. i still choke up knowing he's gone.
"Gordon Buhle was exactly the same kind of man as Joe Boyd, near as I can tell," i said, "someone who everyone loved and admired and respected, and someone who gave all that adoration right back at you and more."
i doubt i said anything quite that eloquent that afternoon - i'm much better at the keyboard than i am face-to-face in real time - but that's the gist of it.
i had to be careful as i spoke, as i didn't want to cry. not here. not now.
this cheerful security guard visited us for a minute or so as we were suiting up to leave.
he was diggin' the bikes, and i jokingly suggested he climb on the Uly with me and i'd give him a ride.
"No way!" he exclaimed with a grin. "I'd start crying like a GIRL!"
he meant nothing by it, but i couldn't let it go unchallenged. my eyes were still moist from talking about Gordon just a moment earlier.
"Not all girls cry," i said as i looked at Vicki with a smile, "and not all men DON'T cry."
ride in peace, Mr. Gordon Buhle and Mr. Joe Boyd. you were both with us in spirit this afternoon.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:54 pm: |
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Sparky led us out of town - after a quick goodbye to our friends Russ and Vicki - and got us back in the good stuff. can't tell you exactly where we went, except that the roads (and the views) were very, very tasty.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:54 pm: |
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overlooking Uly's Leap.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:55 pm: |
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man, that Erik Buell feller sure gets around.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:55 pm: |
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an ugly photo, simply a quick souvenir from the rightfully legendary Mulholland Highway. you want tight and technical? come and get it!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 02, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:56 pm: |
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at the legendary Rock Store in SoCal.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:58 pm: |
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we got here late enough in the day (note the long shadows) that most of the commotion had died down (we missed Jay Leno by a mile), but there were still some cool bikes to be seen.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 08:59 pm: |
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one of the coolest mufflers to ever grace a motorcycle.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:00 pm: |
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Sparky tries on Madduck's Uly for size.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:01 pm: |
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here's another cool memento for my garage, Sparky's old Songdog Ranch key fob (he had a new one he was going to bring into service). this fob is now proudly displayed in my garage.
Sparky and the Songdog Ranch go WAY back. sadly, the ranch has had the snot beat out of them by Santa Barbara County bureaucracy in recent years.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:02 pm: |
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the obligatory group photo, including several new faces on the journey. left to right (not counting me behind the Uly) is Brett/Bertman, American Sport Bike Al, Jack/Rhinowerx, Eric/EBear, Tom/Reindog, Darryl/Sparky, Victor/Viros, and Jim/Jim_sb.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:03 pm: |
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as it was late and everyone had a long ways to go, we didn't hang at the Rock Store long. here Viros and Sparky are fired up and ready to aim their way back south.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:03 pm: |
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along with EBear, Reindog and Al. i was still headed north on the trip, but the SoCal boyz had gone as far "up" as they could, and now needed to go "down."
i was sad to see them go. it had been an amazing two days of riding, and i'm indebted for all the help and support that the gang had given to make the SoCal swing a good one.
these guys had some REALLY grinding riding ahead of them, right back into the teeth of Los Angeles, and you can see how late in the day it is. troopers all, they wanted to get me safely to the Rock Store where Santa Barbara Jim and Bertman would take over, and i appreciate the magnificent guide work and the sublime company over the past 36 hours.
thanks gents, our time together was truly marvelous.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:04 pm: |
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several more pix before we rolled out northbound (that's Bertman's Firebolt and SB_Jim's Thunderbolt in the background) of a custom chop that caught my eye.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:04 pm: |
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i like it.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:05 pm: |
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i REALLY like the swingarm.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:06 pm: |
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back on the road, in the last light of the day, at Neptune's Net, overlooking the Pacific. this photo was important to Jim - this place is a local landmark, i think - but all i could think of was how good the food smelled!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:06 pm: |
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another of my favorite pix from the trip, as SB_Jim rolls up the west coast of the continent on his gorgeous S2.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:07 pm: |
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we were on the prowl for a place to park Madduck's Uly on the beach and get a shot of it with the sun going down. we didn't have much time, as the sun was just minutes away from kissing the Pacific.
we tried here, but couldn't get to the beach. i grabbed a couple of pix anyway, and out of nowhere popped up Shawn, all wide-eyed at the Ulysess. it took absolutely NO prompting to get him up on the bike for a photo!
i tried to give him a hand, but he jumped up like was an old pro. turns out he has a YZ-80 that he rides the bejeebers out of, so is no stranger to scooters.
in a flash he was gone, and we were back to our mission of finding sand, saltwater, and a sunset. we had but minutes to search.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:08 pm: |
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well, here's the beach.
this is as far as i got.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:09 pm: |
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ALMOST didn't need the kickstand.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:09 pm: |
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the water is out there, past the lifeguard stand.
the Uly is HERE.
not to worry. first, i knew the Uly wasn't gonna make it thru the sand (absolutely no fault of the bike), so i didn't push my luck. you can't tell in the pix, but i'm only several feet off the hard-pack, and it was easy enough for the three of us to pull the bike back to terror firmer (after i took it out of gear, that is...)
second, i managed to get some decent pix of the bike on the beach TOMORROW.
Staintune'd.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:10 pm: |
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stuck bike or not, i wasn't going to pass up a perfectly grand sunset.
i brought in this day in the dry, arid desert, watching the sun come up, and now was sending off the day looking out over the Pacific Ocean, watching the very same sun go down.
what a day it had been!!!
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:11 pm: |
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going...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:12 pm: |
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...going...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:12 pm: |
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...going...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 09:13 pm: |
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going...
...GONE!
we had a chunk of riding yet to do tonight, in the cold and the dark, and i'm appreciative of SB_Jim's and Bertman's fine company as we pounded out the remaining miles.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2005) |
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