Gravity's Frog

[Gravity's Dog]

You know those days when you sneak into the kitchen before anyone’s up so you can empty the last coupla cups of milk down the drain? Perfectly good milk? Milk you wanna be out of so you have to go to the store to get some more?

“Hey, Honey! Looks like we’re outta milk. I’m gonna run to the store.”

And you bail to the garage before she can rattle off the list of things you’re out of but don’t have the patience to keep tabs on. Pouring milk’s easy… and effective… a necessary enough item to merit an immediate trip… err… ride.

See, that’s why you couldn’t stick around for the list. How the hell are you sposta carried two jumbo packs of Huggies, and about 27 other mysterious things you didn’t realize were ever in your house in the first place, and milk on your happy little motorcycle? The answer is – you’re not, except fer the milk… maybe. You’re just gonna ride. Even just a little bit. You have to like your kid needs milk. You have to ‘cause it’s one of those days.

This is the story of three of those days.


D-Minus One on the "way" to brudda jonasf's to do up DaiZy fer the ride.




Oh, and if you try the milk trick in your house, forget yer wallet on the first run.

[Flood]

[zzzak]

Great start.

[helikron]

Originally Posted by helikron

...with enough alacrity to make a milk run to Monmouth seem like a great way to spend your lunch hour.

Your milk runs are kinky as a linky.

[Gravity's Dog]

This story, while humble in its eventual form, did not have humble beginnings. Here's how it got started. On my days off G-Wife insists I take a day to myself to get my head straight. I'm one who needs a significant amount of nothing time, and she'd rather see me get it than watch me crater. I, on the other hand, have promised her she'll get the same. Well for the passed few months I have neglected to take any time to myself. Rather, I've been burning it with the Tribe and loving every minute of it. Still, I was getting a little anxious. So when a buddy of mine sent me a tee shirt he'd made for me after seeing my Retro Ride Report a coupla weeks ago - linky - I knew I had to ride to Glacier National Park to get a picture for him.

'Cept it turns out the park is closed, at least the road I needed to do. Time for Plan B. (Don't worry. There is a Glacier story comin' someday.)

Plan B was chapter one in the Dharma Tours. It's an idea I've been kicking around fer a while now. Seems the world has been a pretty good place to me of late, and I thought I'd come up with a way to deserve some of it. I ran the idea passed the boss, and she checked the credit card balances.

"OK, but the pup better get some scholarships."

"Scholarships?? Screw that. The world needs ditch diggers too."

And it was settled. I was gonna take $200 cash along. Find people who needed a break, and help them out. I'm pretty good at finding stories so I figured this would be a pretty cool ride. Plan B didn't quite work out, but that part comes later.

Another thing I wanted to do on this ride was burn miles. Yeah, I ride a little DRZ that weighs a little more than I do, but hell, its just vibrations... and cold... and pain... I could deal with that. I could go long.

Well that didn't work out either, but not for the reasons I've mentioned. Again, that part will come.

So, on the day before the trip and with lofty aspirations I scooted on over to my dear brudda jonasf's to change DaiZy'z oil and shoot the breeze.

[Gravity's Dog]

Now, brudda jonasf doesn't post a lot around here, but he is with out a doubt one of the coolest ADVriders out there. I met him quite by accident long before I found ADVrider. Since then we have become very good friends. When I was working from home g-pupette and I usta hang out at his shop to keep him from getting any work done. We have lotsa pics like these.








I told jonasf about what I wanted to do on my ride, and he almost insisted I take his GS. A finer GS I've never ridden. I told him DaiZy was part of my story, but asked if he might lend me his 'lectric jacket. He was yanking wires and soldering before I could kiss him.





and I was set to go long through anything.

[bosco]

[Gravity's Dog]

The rest of the day I spent running around the countryside with my girls - linky. By the time I put everyone to bed so I could start packing, which amounted to laying out my 'stich, it was kinda late... err... early.




But I wasn't sweatin' it. All's I had to do in the morning was ride. Well, that and wake up g-pup, get him ready for school, make his lunch, and, as it turns out, run him to school 'cause we talked about my ride until he missed his bus.

When I got home from dropping the pup off, I geared up, strapped my bike, and let the still half-sleeping G-Wife know my general route. Then I ran to the bank to get ready for the Dharma thing as it was still the purpose I had in mind.




And I was off.

Almost.

[JayD]

[andruboz]

another day late for work cause i had to get caught up on the 'dog. ehh. boss don't mind.

ride on, write on, right on. [ whats that in latin?]

[Gravity's Dog]

I'd told G-Wife I was gonna head to the coast, then south, then somewhere, but I'd call and let her know. Well, the beautiful sunny day which had escorted the pup and I to his school had suddenly become all northwesty. There was a 100-yard fog stealing my horizon. My visor hazed on the inside and traced droplet trails on the outside. Crap. Maybe I'll just head east and come back along the coast. I pulled my first of the many (easily triple digits) U-turns I would make in the subesquent 3 days.

Note - Remember that part about not making miles for reasons other than riding a DRZ, well U-turns kill your mileage. Then again, I pulled U-turns mostly because I was on a DRZ, but we'll get to that.

Now headed East, I rode back by the lovely Norman-Rockwellean neighborhood I call home, and a sudden wave of responsible-adult hit me. "Damn, I told G-Wife I was headed West. What if I dissappear, and she's looking for me in the wrong place?" And thus my second U-turn... which is exactly where I remembered g-pup had forgotten the lunch I made for him and I had forgotten to take it to him at school on my way out. I went home, got the lunch, rode to the school, and walked into the office in my gear looking like the bastard spawn of Darth Vader and a Wookie. Then I did what I always do when I'm a little stressed and I want to ride, I went to check in with brudda jonasf.

He took my first official "road" pic.

[Gravity's Dog]

Originally Posted by andruboz

ride on, write on, right on. [ whats that in latin?]

dogma

[Gravity's Dog]

My first mission.

Originally Posted by helikron

Jax,

Sneak up on the backside of Alsea Falls and snag a pic of flowing H2O in the pots, will ya?

Pretty please, with some Dave Brubeck on top?

To which I replied -

Originally Posted by Gravity's Dog

On it.

It made all the difference.




To be continued...

J

ps - It's October 23rd right now, my birthday (38), and I think I'll spend a little time with The Tribe.

[jorge]

Hey Gravity... love that daisey bike...i got one too (those DRZ's simply rock!) anyway ... some notes on the bike... Clarke 3.9 fuel tank? Corbin saddle? nice switch location and mount on the speedo what is that for? Can you power the vest on the Z? i figured it too weak in watt output? has that ever killed your battery?

Final thought... is that strip of metal from the skid plate to the Starter cover a case protector or something else? And where are your knobbies? Pirelli M21's do both well provided you get used to the lumpy slow speed sensation on the paved...

Jorge.

[Gravity's Dog]

Originally Posted by jorge

Hey Gravity... love that daisey bike...i got one too (those DRZ's simply rock!) anyway ... some notes on the bike... Clarke 3.9 fuel tank? Corbin saddle? nice switch location and mount on the speedo what is that for? Can you power the vest on the Z? i figured it too weak in watt output? has that ever killed your battery?

Final thought... is that strip of metal from the skid plate to the Starter cover a case protector or something else? And where are your knobbies? Pirelli M21's do both well provided you get used to the lumpy slow speed sensation on the paved...

Jorge.

I'll deal with you in the morning. Until then you can bombard Team Dennis with PM's. He set it up 'cept fer the tires, and he's a god.