Tuesday, February 17, 2009

How To Choose A Riding Partner...

The bike in front of me snaked through the “S” curve like it was on a track, leaning low first one way, then snapping through the upright position to lean way over on the other. I mimicked the other rider’s moves, noting the skill displayed in maintaining a steady line through the curves. Matching that line improved my speed and stability. Each twist in the road changed the riding equation, causing the other rider to shift from side to side, and to hang slightly off the seat. The road straightened out for a bit, and I twisted on the gas, narrowing the gap between our machines.

You can learn a lot from riding with a seasoned veteran and I wanted a closer look at the other rider’s form. This makes a strong argument for choosing a riding partners with great style, good riding habits, and an inclination to share them. My riding partner for the day met this criteria, but he had left me in the dust hours before. The biker ahead of me was a stranger, an incredibly beautiful woman with a fantastic ass. Her Aerostitch riding gear accented the curves on her body like her BMW traced the curves in the road.

The road opened up to four lanes and I swung to her left, going yet another quarter inch on the throttle.

I imagined the conversation we could have. We already had several things in common. She had a bike and I had a bike. Hers was a BMW and mine was a BMW. She had a perfect physique and I had a line of bullshit three feet wide and a football field-long. She would tell me about her exotic rides and I would tell her whatever it took to peel that Aerostitch down to skin. The trick was to see if she could feel the tug of my animal magnetism as I passed her. I raised the external sun shield on my Nolan flip-face helmet, and prepared to blast her with my famous “battered baby seal look.”

This would be one for the books if it worked. Normally, the battered baby seal look combines eye expression and eye color, paired with the incomparable sincerity of a boyish smile to melt the frost off the hardest female heart. The emotional depth of this complex form of body language occurs only one other place in nature -- on the faces of baby harp seals when they are first clubbed by ruthless Canadian hunters. Yet under these conditions, she’d only get to see my eyes, and a fleeting glance at that.

It was almost as if my K75 understood the drama that was about to unfold. What little vibration I could feel in the handlebars disappeared. The bike seemed to hold its breath while slowly edging forward. Each quiver of the tach needle bought me another few inches in a pass that was nothing less than a pass in the classical sense. I glanced over my right shoulder as we paralleled each other, separated only by ten feet and six degrees of desire. I fired the battered baby seal look -- a micro-burst in a micro second.

The K75 continued to edge forward and I couldn’t tell if I’d hit the target. Suddenly, I heard the engine on her K1200GT change pitch and she accelerated into my peripheral vision. I looked right again, directly into her eyes. She raised her left arm in my direction, and fully extended the middle finger on her left hand. There was a nuclear whine, and the “KGT1200” faded into the horizon.

My riding buddy Pete Buchheit was waiting for me at a convenience store just twenty more miles up the road.

“Anything to report,” he asked, as I pulled my helmet off.

“Nope, just a nice uneventful ride through the countryside.”

“A woman on GT pulled through here a few minutes ago,” said Pete.

“She’s not still here, is she,” I asked, looking around.

“Naw... She kept going. Why?”

“I don’t feel like being bothered with the ‘spirit of the road’ bullshit today,” I said.

“Another one who gave you the finger, huh,” asked Pete, rhetorically.

And that’s the whole point of this story. If you are going to ride with people, you should choose partners who are intuitive, considerate, and willing to compromise. Ideally they should be able to show you something useful about riding, and bonus points are awarded if they are certified mechanics -- with years of experience working on your model bike. Pete has the intuitive part down pat.

Many bikers prefer to ride alone. One friend of mine, a woman from Chicago, insists on riding by herself with very few exceptions. She has very strong reasons for this, which she does not feel compelled to share. Another close friend of mine, Brian Curry -- the renown BMW K75 guru -- is another accomplished rider who prefers to go solo. To some, riding alone is a highly personal experience in which they face private challenges, think deep thoughts, or simply isolate themselves from anything that would intrude on the experience of the ride. Riding with someone else, and certainly a group of people, is always something of a compromise. Riding time is so precious to some people that they prefer not to compromise a minute of it.

I had two and a half years to ride by myself as a re-entry rider, while my girlfriend gradually mastered the art of riding on the street as opposed to a parking lot -- only to have her give it up due to lingering problems with vertigo. I used to ride with a guy in the neighborhood, but he was a little different. He would ride all day, but not outside a 20-mile radius from home. I like getting out into the country. I also like getting up onto the slab every now and again, and letting the 71 horses out of the barn, so to speak.

I found it difficult to join riding groups in my area and so got involved with a number of on-line lists. I then hosted a couple of group rides. Thus was born the Annual Amish Horse-pile Swerve Ride. All kinds of people turned up for this, and I learned a great deal about riding in general, and riding with other people. These folks, now all friends of mine (and not necessarily of the Beemer persuasion), showed me endless consideration and helped me learn a few things about myself too.

I started to ride individually with some of the folks who participated in these runs and learned a lot about about riding technique and about people. Mack Harrell (Beemer rider) and Wayne Whitlock (Harley rider) taught me a great deal about leaning into curves and handling fast changing road conditions. But they were lessons learned over hundreds of miles. Pete Buchheit (Beemer rider) illustrated a number of ways to get the most out of a ride -- and boosting peformance -- without wearing myself out or taking undue risks. Again, over hundreds of miles. Chris Jacarrino (Honda Goldwing rider) showed me the proper way to both ride in and conduct a group ride. And Joe Sestrich (Beemer rider), David Hardgrove (Harley rider) and Jim Sterling (Beemer rider) all showed me the meaning of solidarity on a ride.

But above all, I learned a few things about choosing a riding partner. When you’re new at this, you’re happy to be riding with anybody.You become a bit choosier when you start to get the hang of things. Without realizing it, I began to look for someone who has a similar riding style, dietary appreciation, and bladder endurance. Riding style is the most important. The ideal riding partner not only prefers to ride at a similar speed, but will also have a parallel appreciation for the kind of roads you like. For example, there is a cadre of riders in the Mac-Pac (the BMW riding group I belong to) that feels every inch of a 400-mile ride should occur on a back road, with one peg or another carving the BMW roundel into the pavement, with the tach pegged at the red line. They have cordially invited me never to ride with them as long as I live.

I have accepted the invitation.

Attempting to ride with these guys either as a group, or paired off with a single rider, would just ruin everybody’s ride. They’d be miserable and I’d end up dead.

Dietary preference is another important consideration. My eating preferences are well known. Whenever possible, I prefer the exotic. This includes “authentic” Chinese, Indian, German, Vietnamese, Japanese and Italian. Note the emphasis on the word authentic. On one ride, I stopped into a recommended Chinese storefront eatery and had hacked rabbit cooked with dry chilis. Our group lunches routinely end up at the Himalayan Exotic Indian Restaurant, where goat is a big favorite with us. Riding with someone whose idea of exotic is the Olive Garden can be a bit tedious if you plan to be on the road for three days, or a week. I rode with a guy whose preference was Burger King for lunch and dinner. I got tired of this fast. Things may different if dictated by financial necessity, however, and it may be something I learn this summer (as all of the money in my industry has evaporated).

Bladder endurance is another serious point. Some guys like to ride until the gas warning light (BMWs) has burned a hole in the dashboard. Then they pull into a gas station, take a fast look around, and take a piss while they are gassing up the bike. They are on the road again in 30 seconds or less. I don’t mind stopping every 100 miles for a cold drink, a look around, and a bullshit summary of what we’ve just seen. On a day when my arthritis is screaming, that distance gets cut to 60 miles or an hour’s duration in the saddle. (And I may not be able to get off the bike.) It’s essential to find a rinding partner who shares this sense of timing.

Another point seldom considered is the reason for the trip. I like to to stop and read historical markers, take in the occasional view, or drop into an interesting country tavern for lunch to see what’s going on in somebody else’s world. This is not high on the agenda for a lot of people. Some folks want to get to the final destination and party as the bike cools for the next day. Others find the joy in the riding.

Three years ago, Pete Buchheit, Mack Harrell and I took a motorcycle tour of Gettysburg National Battlefield. Our bikes were whisper quiet and we felt reasonably sure we would not be annoying anyone. (This battlefield is an outdoor cathedral to the bravery and personal commitment of the American soldier. Everyone who died there was an American. It’s not a picnic grove.)The roads through the park meander through areas where skirmishes were fought and stands taken. Each key location is marked with a statue or monument to the unit that was there. There are dozens of them, some of which are quite impressive. Pete and I felt compelled to stop and view them. This was driving Mack Harrell crazy as his bike at the time (a Hirohito liter special) was hard to maneuver at slow speeds and was becoming a handful. We stopped at about 25 statues.

“Wasn’t that wonderful,” I said at the tour’s 2-hour conclusion.

“Yeah,” said Mack. “But why did they set up the same statue 25 times,” Note for the future: historical significance is not big with Mack Harrell.

The riding partner I have logged more miles with, hands down, is Dick Bregstein. As the saying goes: a friend will help you move. Dick Bregstein will help you move a body. Dick Bregstein is the perfect riding partner. He will never tell you to slow down, stop drinking, or tell you that the waitress to whom you’ve been offering your motel room key is actually a man. (Regarding this last qualification, Bregstein would rather wait until the morning then tell the other guys what happened.)

Dick will ride 100 miles or 400 miles, and be happy to call it a day either way. He will ride the back roads and the slab or anything in between with equal good grace. And he will patiently sit for hours in an emergency room, after riding 400 miles on the hottest day of the year, waiting to find out if you died. Dick also has the kind of face that many people don’t question. Rooting through the smoking wreckage of my motorcycle, Bregstein removed my Apple laptop from a shattered top case. A Virginia State Trooper shouted, “Hey, what do you think you're doing?” To which Bregstein replied...

“I’m going to send his girlfriend an e-mail.”

The cop had nothing to say to that. And when I was wheeled out of the emergency room, with the grill of a minivan sticking out of my ass, Dick was sitting there, after 10 hours in the saddle, holding my computer. I regret I was not able to return the favor the following year, when Dick insisted on riding with the big kids, and came to a bad end. (The advice in this column could have saved Dick a summer of pain and busted ribs.)

There are other considerations in choosing a riding partner too. These include political inclination, who reaches for the tab the slowest, and who can best keep his or her mouth shut regarding the details of a really outrageous ride. But this is the fine tuning after the initial cut. And trust me, there is no greater satisfaction than to have someone else call you, asking you to ride with them. It means you learned something.

Female riders looking to choose a male riding partner should select a candidate with spirit, and fire in his eyes. The specimen should move about freely without favoring one leg or the other. In certain cases, however, a candidate with a rapier-like wit will prove far more interesting than one with a great body but a limited repertoire.The ideal candidate should exhibit no sores, botts, nor boils in the saddle area, and remain calm though attentive as you examine his testicles for imperfections or previous marriages.

My Four-star riding partners;

Dick Bregstein (BMW) -- About 38,000 miles, almost all of it noteworthy, hysterical, or simply ribald.

Pete Buchheit (BMW) -- About 8,000 miles
David Hardgrove (Harley) -- Broke personal best of 325 miles in a day (second long ride as a re-entry rider)
Mack Harrell (BMW) -- Broke personal best of 425 miles in a day (third long ride as a re-entry rider)
Chris Jacarrino (Honda, Goldwing) -- Ride captain for one of my best rides and stories for the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America’s magazine
Clyde Jacobs (BMW) -- About 3,000 miles
Matt Piechota (BMW) -- Never has an unkind thing to say, always up for a ride.
Jim Sterling (BMW) -- Covered my ass by riding tail gun Charlie position on 325-mile personal best day
Joe Sestrich -- Covered my ass in a horizontal downpour for 40 miles, my first in 30 years.
Wayne Whitlock (Harley) -- Broke personal best of 275 miles in a day, first long ride as a re-entry rider

I am looking forward to spending saddle time with all of these guys between April and December.

Candidate for Riding Partner Indoctrination Program 2009:
Steve Asson (Kawasaki) -- Meet up in Dodge City

©Copyright Jack Riepe 2009
AKA The Lindbergh Baby (Mac-Pac)
AKA Vindak8r (Motorcycle Views)
AKA The Chamberlain -- PS (With a shrug)

37 comments:

BMW-Dick said...

Dear Jack:
We've only shared about 10,000 miles together on the road, but I agree that it clearly feels like 38,000.

fasthair said...

Mr. Jack: I’ve ridden many miles with a friend couple of mine. We’ve been coast to coast and a lot of places in between. There have even been rides where we don’t talk for a couple of weeks when we get home. That only happened once and that was only because the misses started her… well I’m sure you can figure it out and fully understand why at that point. Let’s just say the Utah desert wasn’t the only thing hot on that ride.

Never do we think of not doing it again. We like to ride the same way, have the same riding style and preferences. We even enjoy the same food even if the misses doesn’t think it’s funny when I make the trout head start talking at the breakfast table. We’ve helped nurse each others wounds of adventures gone awry. From laughing my ass off as I watch my friend tumble down the side of a mountain. To helping him up off the ground so we can go for beers to kill the pain. But not before I go back up and get his now trashed billfold that had spilled its guts all over the side of the mountain. I didn’t bother to grab the chunks of ass he had left.

But these women. I’d like to think I look good enough that I don’t need to use the “battered baby seal” look to get my way with them. But if it isn’t a pig with lipstick then she has that middle finger not in the air but squarely up her ass and it must be sideways from the purely painful look on their face. Whatever happen to “sorry not my type” instead of the “not even if you was the last man on earth” answers? Has the motorcycle given them I’m God now attitudes? It’s like they think they are a patch holder or something, when most of them don’t even have a patch to hold anymore. WTF?

Oh well, I’ll just go back to my riding alone 99.9% of the time and enjoy it just as much as I have for the last 35 years. That is of course until my friends want to ride to say oh, maybe Colorado for the week. At which time there maybe bumps and bruises I’m sure. But I also know their will be trout and beer a plenty along the way. Middle finger be damned.

fasthair

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Dick:

I looked at my book of mileages and there were damn few rides where you were not present. Pete called tonight. He's itchin' to go someplace and can't wait until the end of May. He says we need a warm-up ride, and that sounds good to me.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Mr. Fasthair:

You made the trout head start talking at the breakfast table? I did that with a bass head in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. The bass was supposed to be Bob Crandall from American Airlines, who had given a presentation earlier that day. I did not know that the table next to me was full of AA executives. They pulled their advertising from our magazine.

Well I'm glad you wrote it. It's always a pleasure to hear from the guys who like to riide alone. Thanks for rrading my blog.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Anonymous said...

What a nice tribute piece to your riding companions. You're either a hell of a rider, or hell on other riders. Either way, it has to be an adventure!

Be aware that Bugser may like sushi, but I am a steak and fries gal! We are meeting up with Steve Asson this weekend. Anything you want us to pass along?

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Tena:

I knew this was you the second I got to the part about Mr. Cupcake. When you guys meet Steve this weekend, have him call me on his cell phone and switch it to "Speaker." Thanks for writing in.

Fondest regards,
Jack

redlegsrides said...

Jack

another outstanding posting, thanks.

I think you'll have to get yourself a flip-up helmet if you intend of using the "battered baby seal" look on other female riders while riding.

I've been to Gettysburg back when I lived in Northern VA, watched a recreation of the actual battle...very cool to watch but since they re-enacted it at same time in July, it was very hot.

dom

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Charlie6:

I have a Nolan N-102 NCom Modular helmet, which is a flip-face unit. I roared off one day with the complete front piece still raised in the full open position. I hit a bump and the chin bar came down and covered my eyes! I never moved so fast to slam the front piece in the locked position.

I just got the Nolan kit to add Bluetooth to the helmet. It is not quite certain yet if it will work with my GPS. If not, I wll be really pissed.

The ride my friends and I are planning for West Virginia this season will put us close to Pennsylvania, Virgina, and Maryland. We are thinking of hitting the battlefields at Gettysburg, Antiedam. and Bull Run (Manasas) all in one day. Cool, huh?

Thanks for writing in.

Fondest regards,
Jack.

Steve Williams said...

Hmmm, no women responded to your post Jack. Maybe they're tried to figure out how to post a picture with the text.... *grin*

I chuckled when I was reading the buildup at the beginning. At least the finger is something. You could have gotten complete indifference.

As far as riding buddies I really only ride occasionally with one other guy. And that is seldom. Two or three times a year. I just like being alone with my thoughts. Having another person along gets in the way. Like television, or music.

Maybe if I didn't have some much noise in my head I would have time to have a few riding buddies.

Great post by the way. And I added you to my blog list. Something I have been meaning to do for a long time but never seem to get around to it.

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Steve:

Aren't you kind to add my blog to your list. I meant what I said yesterday, in that your writing had a profound influence in bringing mine to this medium. And I like the pictures that you take, with your scooter framed against the hardwoods and flowing water of Pennsylvania.

I have had some moderate success recently against the arthritis, and hope to have more pictures as I am better able to get on and off the bike.

As far as getting the finger from almost every woman I have ever smiled at, it just means that I'm number one.

Thank you for writing in.

Fondest regards,
Jack

John said...

I do enjoy sharing a good riding experience with someone. But choose carefully. For instance I rode with a guy that I had known for a while, but did not know his riding. We were halfway to Vermont when he started passing vehicles over double yellow lines, up hill and things like that. I just let him go. I saw him later in Vermont and he asked "Where did you go?" I just told him that I prefered to not ride that way. The solo ride home was much more enjoyable.

Anonymous said...

Jack,

Hey, nice to actually see the names of all the n'er-do-wells you associate with - that explains a lot! Just think how much more riding time you'll have after the travel industry collapses completely! Maybe I can join you on some more rides myself as the real estate industry appears to be on its way out, too!

Always good to read your drivel,

Doug

Unknown said...

A lot of wisdom in this post. I've been frustrated with those whose style of riding is very different from mine and I'm sure they were frustrated with me as well. On the other hand, sharing a riding experience with others can be a most gratifying experience, but sometimes a solo ride can cleanse the soul like nothing else.

motonomad said...

Rocket Riepe,

I found this to be the most thoughtful and inspiring of your recent blogs. It reinforces my desire to be back on the road with you guys, the sooner the better.

MotoNomad

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Mr. Bennet:

We never got to chase the haiggis around last year. But I am ressurecting the great crab house hunt for 2009.
I'm sure there are a few joints in Delaware, worthy of a trip. I expect to see you there. And I want to hit a place in North Bowers Beach. Right on the water and live music.

Thanks for writing in.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Terry:

Here is a tried and true method of determining when you should ride with someone, and when to ride alone. If it is their turn to buy, ride with someone. When it is your turn to buy, ride alone. This is the policy Mike Evans has used fgor years.

Thank you for writing in. This is your first post, I think!

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Motonomad:

The clock is ticking and we are making progress on the ride preparations for the end of May. I think we need to plan a really cheap trip,to get some practice in. And we should have yet another planning session in a bar someplace. Pick a day and a joint.

I am itching to ride again soon too.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Conchscooter said...

I ride alone. One highway one motorcycle one rider.

Anonymous said...

Jack, a great tribute to why we ride and to those who enhance our experiences.
Just makes me want to twist the throttle and enjoy the view.
The "battlefield ride" is another good idea.

Grandad 43 PS 14

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Conch:

You recently posted a ride in which you and another rider toured the mainland part of Monroe County. So it actually, "Mostly one highway... Mostly one motorcycle... And mostly one rider."

So there.

Thank you for writing in.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Grandad43:

The time is coming when the garage doors will go up and the beasts will be released. For me, it will be the last weekend in March as I am having thing done to my bike -- largely cosmetic.

I look forward to riding with you again, ain about six weeks.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Anonymous said...

Dear John, a very thoughtful post and one where you've finally given credit where it is due.
You are a better writer than speller however and here are the four proofs:

...tach pegged at 'read' line...
...Things may'( )' different...
...finding a 'rinding' partner...
...commitment 'to' the American soldier...

The offer to proof read stands! Ihor

Anonymous said...

Hi Jack,

You mentioned ''Solidarity' in your piece, what ever happened to that, when I first started riding at age 17 it was one of the unwritten laws, biker code, you always stay together and look out for one another.This is something I find hard to convey to the new, younger generation of bikers, or perhaps I'm rapidly becoming a grumpy old git !!


Cheers

Dave..

Anonymous said...

Candidate for Riding Partner Indoctrination Program 2009:
Steve Asson (Kawasaki) -- Meet up in Dodge City

I'm there Jack. My schedule is fluid. Dodge City to Deadwood, is that what we were talking about once? We'll see if my speaker phone works on Saturday...
(psst...its a Honda)

cpa3485 said...

Dodge city Kansas?
If you go, please let me know. We could compare beasts. Not sure If there is a strip joint out there, but they are building a new casino.

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Ihor:

Every major publication employs proofreaders and fact checkers to make sure statistics, spelling quotes, and other data are as correct as possible. This is because it is a well-known fact that the author is very often reading from an image in his head and not what is actually on the page.

Dr. Charles Angoff, one of my professors in college and the personal assistant of H.L. Mencken, once told a story of how he and a committee of other learned officials worked on a commemorative edition of the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe, to be commissioned in a leather-bound set. According to Angoff, they poured over the proofs for weeks. And when the first book came out, there it was embossed on every leather cover: "The Complete Works of Edgar Allen POLE."

They were horrified. And when they checked the blueline, there it was as plain as day.

I generally write these pieces after sitting at my keyboard for a good ten hours, writing the kind of shit that would break a man's heart. Two different spell checkers, one of which I detest, work over the text. They cannot tell me when the wrong word is used. For example, I used the word "one" when I meant "won" in a story.

When I went back to find the errors you had pointed out, I could only find three out of the four, but found three others that you missed. It generally takes me about 4 to 6 hours to write one of these pieces, and two hours to place the photographs and links. This story had no photographs nor links because I was too utterly tired to fuck with them.

I generally post these pieces at 3am in the morning.

My responses in the comments section have a gazillion errors in them because the typeface on the screen in the comments box is so fucking small, and my eyes are so bad.

Here's a point for you: The first thing I do after posting a piece is to reread it 6 hours later, and make about 40 changes before anyone else sees it.

I regret the process of producing these pieces -- with the amount of text that I generate -- is almost like a second full-time job that is very gratifying, but taxing. And believe me, when I am done with a story, I am generally sick of looking at it.

I appreciate your offer, but you would find my schedule very peculiar.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dave:

You bring up a good point, but one that is sometimes in conflict with another great motorcycle philosophy, "Ride your own ride."

When two of us pair off on a run, as Dick Bregstein and I often do, we are never out of eyeshot of each other. The same holds true for paired runs with Pete Buchheit and Clyde Jacobs. But when we ride as a threesome, I'm delighted to let the other guys go. They are more interested in the technical aspects of the ride, while I prefer to dawdle. I wouldn't think of holding them up. Like me, they have been thinking of carving through the twisties months before we actually take the trip.

We all have each others numbers on our cells. They boys often get a good 20 or 30 mile lead on me... But they wait at the first turn intersection. And if I was longer than 30 minutes... They'd come back to loot the wreckage.

On my first 350-mile day ride, David Hardgrove and Jim Sterling placed me between them. I was very new at the game. It was a foggy day. We rode like this the whole day, and stopped often. But the purpose of that ride was to help me get my feet wet.

On trips we would take now, the purpose would be a little different. I used to think it was cool to ride in a long line of motorcycles. Now, I find it to be more of a pain in the ass. The biggest group I would ride in today would be 12 -- divided into 6 subgroups of two.

Did you ever notice in a larger group there is always one asshole with an empty tank? And his reason is, "He didn't like the brand of gas where everybody else stopped before." Well, that gets old fast. Riding to the lowest skill level is an unnecessary purgatory to enforce on everyone. That's why I always ask for volunteers to ride with me.

Wayne Whitlock accompanied me (to make sure I didn't kill myself) down to Maggie Valley for a rally. He told me his wife Lucy was riding pillion with him, and liked to stop. I thought, "Swell." My arthritis was hurting me and I'd be able to put my feet down a lot. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Lucy could hold her water and ride my ass into the ground. Her idea of a lot of stops and mine were two different things. (I'd love to do that trip over again now. Wayne and Lucy were the best company.)

That's why I say it is critical to know a lot about those you ride with, and to pick them carefully.
It's a challenge to be all things to all people, and to ride your own ride as well."

Thanks for writng in, Dave.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Steel (Steve);

Honda, Kawasaki... They're all the same in the dark.

I will be at a tailgate party until about 4:30pm (EST) on Saturday. My phone will be set to loud and buzz. I'll email you my cell number.

I'm thinking Doge City, and then a run up to Deadwood. The decidig factor will be how well my weight loss, arthritis treatment, and new bike seat all work together. Of course, I could be sucking eggs if my job heads west.

It will be great to talk to you guys.

Better still, it wll be a pisser to ride along the old cattle trails.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear CPA3485:

I'll keep you posted of our plans. Not only would it be fun to compare bikes, but we could do a ride together too.

Fondest regards,
Jack

redlegsrides said...

Deadwood? Dodge City? Hey that's within riding range of my piece of the empire!

Can I ride along if you make it out that ways?

or is there a Dodge City out in PA?

dom

Anonymous said...

I see it forming Jack...

Shootout at the Twisted Roads Corral.

If I had to guess right now, your phone will ring sometime between 6:30 and 7:00 Eastern time Saturday evening, give or take an hour. By that time you might be passed out underneath the tailgate...

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Charlie6 (Dom):

Why not? It would be really cool. What I would ask you to do is to reread this blog on choosing a riding partner and sign a waiver acknowledging how badly you are about to get hosed. And if this trip comes off, you may find yourself getting tortured in my stories like Bregstein.

Actually, I think it would be fun riding with you. I have no idea how long this arthritis is going to let me have fun. I want to do this trip this smmer. And Steve Asson is a real pisser too.

Fondest regards,
Jack

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Steel (Steve):

I gave up drinking to help lose weight. I just went cold turkey. I was assisted in this achievement by a number of hangovers, that lasted two days owing to the fact that I can no longer take aspirin or Advil for the pain.

I will be back at the house by 6pm easy. I'll send you my contact numbers for the call.

Fondest regards,
Jack

redlegsrides said...

Jack,

consider the waiver signed, it should be fun, not to mention I could abandon you as the rest are apparently in the habit of doing if necessary for my sanity. :)

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Charlie6 (Dom):

It would be the ultimate pisser to see my bike posed with Gina Lola Brigetta, or whatever your bike is called, with Cacti and buttes in the background -- ON YOUR BLOG! Hah!

(See, it is starting already!)

Fondest regards,
Jck

redlegsrides said...

Gina Lolobrigida would be a good name if I rode a Ducati.....

But being the good Teutonic motorcycle that she is, Brigitta fits just fine.

All part of the "Sound of Music" theme I follow with my vehicles....

irondad said...

You are lucky to have a list of good and trusted friends.

There are two men I will ride with in a heartbeat. Both are fellow professionals. We trust each other enough we could ride handlebar to handlebar. Often we do, actually. They're also good friends and we are in synch otherwise. Except for Ray who never has to pee, of course.

Otherwise I ride alone. By popular demand, I think. However, I salve my wounded pride by quoting Groucho.

"I'd never belong to a club that would have me as a member!"