Coming to America...

[MikeO]

20th May

So I’ve been feeling crap. And I decided to take a few days off. And the Adv needed new tyres. And front discs & pads. And I needed to do my laundry.

If you put all these requirements into a computer, it will point you at Room 134 of the Motel 6 at Watsonville and suggest you stay there for a few days. I’m easily led, so here I am…

I did the laundry first, interspersed with a lot of sleeping.

Laundry TICK

Then I went to see a doctor – I eventually found a ‘Doc in a Box’ walk-in surgery, about a mile away. I had an hour’s consult with the very efficient & pleasant Dr dePana, during which time we discussed ailing parents, homesickness, the break-up of relationships, deadlines, ‘celebrity’, sleep patterns, routine, lack of routine, caffeine, alcohol, stress, depression, what a lucky bastard I was, how much he’d like to do what I’m doing and exhaustion.

Apparently I’m exhausted. The treatment is a mix of a lot of things. Riding less and meeting more people; switching to de-caff; avoiding regular alcohol; getting a minimum period of sleep per day; saying ‘no’ when I feel too tired to do something; take some happy pills; calling home regularly*; eating more fruit & veg; drinking more (non alcoholic )…

*The doc reckons that my lack of structured social support (in layman’s terms – friends & family) is a major factor in my exhaustion...

He’s also concerned about the stiffness I have in my finger joints in the morning. This is a problem I’ve had in the past when I’ve been in a high stress situation (I posted on it on UKGSer, thinking it was connected to the vibration of the Big Pig – it wasn’t – it was a result of a trapped nerve in my neck, caused by bad posture, in turn caused by a stress ’hunch’). He asks me to go to a lab and have a blood test to ensure I don’t have arthritis. This is the only piece of advice I decide to ignore. I argue the toss for a bit (the RAF medics did all this and drew a blank 2 yrs ago – I’m not wasting money on something I know will be negative).

Dr dePena is very cooperative and, kindly, charges me the minimum consult fee - $91. The prescription stuff he writes for me costs a further $60ish – really makes you appreciate the NHS…

Medical TICK

So I ride my bike up to Santa Clara and get the tyres I ordered yesterday fitted. I remove the wheels (easy as the panniers are empty) and I get the pair of tyres mounted & balanced for $266 – which is about $100 less than BMW Santa Cruz was going to charge. I must say the guy behind the counter was a bit offhand, though the youngster who did the fitting was a nice bloke. As an added bonus, I apparently miss meeting Fish, who had arranged an appointment to meet me at the tyre fitter – an appointment which only he knew about…:eek

Tyres TICK


I ride back to Watsonville (I had to take a picture of this bumper sticker )



and find an Email saying that my brake discs are in unexpectedly early and offering to fit them today, rather than tomorrow afternoon I drop the Adv off and have a mooch around the service department.

They have just assembled a red 1200GS – unlike the UK version, this one has a charcoal fuel canister – on the 1200 it’s behind the left footrest…



…this 1200 has had an unfortunate accident whilst in the crate…



BMW Santa Cruz look after Police bikes…



…I’ve seen the CHiPs on the freeway today – they really do ride about in pairs, alongside one another – they also wear short sleeved shirts :eek

Police riders aren’t immune to SMIDSY (for the benefit of our colonial viewers – Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You) – This guy was on a call when a woman talking on a cell-phone and driving a Suburban Assault Vehicle pulled directly into his path…



He broke an ankle & a few ribs.

I pay my $595 bill – not a cheap day today, then ride down to the jet-wash to finish the job off…

Brakes TICK

I’m going to spend tomorrow doing….nothing. Maybe I’ll go & see Shrek II or Troy, maybe not. I’ll see how the happy pills are affecting me and start travelling again on Saturday.

I’d just like to close by saying how much I appreciate the concern for my welfare expressed by so many people on both sides of the Atlantic. I have been very touched by all your messages and best wishes. It matters - thank you.

[gato88]

ola mike,
if you need a base look at your ride,after 50 techs messing
with your style.... your welcome to my shop in sf in the am
to have a look,just because,your welcome
free ,no nada $$$$$$$$,
check out your mix,tricky ricky suave,can direct you
to give you one less problem, no biggie....

[Road Rash]

Hope your feeling better, I have all kinds of advice but you've probably heard it all so do what's best for MikeO

[Rider]

Originally Posted by MikeO

I’m going to spend tomorrow doing….nothing.

Everybody needs those recharging days, Mike. Just go see a movie or do whatever you want to do and lay back.
Glad to hear you're feeling better, man.

[Rider]

Originally Posted by MikeO

As an added bonus, I apparently miss meeting Fish, who had arranged an appointment to meet me at the tyre fitter – an appointment which only he knew about…

We've all had those kind of meetings with Fish. He operates on a different schedule than the rest of us.

[Krautbikeman]

Wow, Mike!

I've had a lot of reading to catch up on and it looks like I am a little late.

Good onya for taking a break and letting the batteries recharge, so to speak. Those who have met you know that this is not a piece of cake emotionally or physically, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for you.

I suspected it was just you carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders that caused you so much fatigue!

As always, if there is anything that we can do, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to seeing you soon, whether it's in person, or virtual.

Cheers!

[Rogue 1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarveyMushman
Interesting. I hope he recovers quickly.

Whenever I've been on a roadtrip (which have never continued for the length of time MikeO's been at it) I've felt more energetic and confident as the trip progressed. Perhaps that was just me ridding myself of the crap attendant with the working world and I would have noticed something akin to MikeO's symptoms as the trip progressed.

Damn! I should have thought to mention this to Mike as soon as I saw he was feeling under the weather.

When I "Took a little ride..." I brought a massive supply of vitamins with me... The most important of these I considered to be Eccinachea... I took one tablet a day for the entire length of the trip. You all can imagine the variances of weather I encountered and the continuous massive and instant climate changes... I never sneezed once!

Upon returning home I stopped taking the Eccinachea... 4 days later I was laid up with a high temerature, aching, dizzy, delerius affliction that knocked me down for almost a week.

I firmly believe that the Eccinachea was instrumental in my uninterupted good health during my journey.

(i'm gonna copy this to his thread as a recomendation)

[Rogue 1]

By the way Mike... You have nothing to lose by trying it...

[Rogue 1]

hmmm... well... still can't hurt...

(one stubborn bastard here)

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by Rogue 1

.... 4 days later I was laid up with a high temerature, aching, dizzy, delerius affliction that knocked me down for almost a week.

Sounds like you caught a dose...a large dose...of reality, with the prospect of returning to work(sucks)

[green ghost]

Hi mike,

I saw a link posted on a Mustang enthusiast board, so I clicked on it and I have been following you ever since. I would give anything to take a cross country trip like that, some of the pictures you have posted are....well I wish I could be there (I don't have the word to describe the feeling). I went ahead and posted the same link on my clubs board a couple weeks back (www.socalhorsepower.com) so some of the guys there can follow you as well.

From all the guys at SCHP we wish you well and many great adventures to ya!

Carlos.

[Paul E]

Mike,

I have been enjoying this thread from the beginning of your trip! You're an inspiration to all riders and I enjoy the excellent ride report! You've inspired me to take my torture rack of a bike for a (relatively) long distance ride up the coast. Hopefully I'll be able to give you a wave if we cross paths.

Rest up and I'll be following this thread, if you need anything in Southern California I'll do my best to help.

[KillerPriller]

Hey Mike,

Great ride report, thanks for the briliant entertainment.

If you do make it down to SoCal, try and swing by Bravo Burger on any Wednesday night. There is a bike night that shouldnt be missed. Shoot me a pm if you need directions.

nk

[Kokopelli]

…this 1200 has had an unfortunate accident whilst in the crate…



Are you sure it wasn't those new linked evo integrated power assisted brakes that caused that on the first test ride?

Keep up the good work Mike, hope you're feeling better already.

[pierce]

Well, Mike was feeling better this morning after 3 days of R&R... and a new set of tires needed scrubbing in, and new brakes needed bedding, so we met at his motel around 11:30am this morning, and I led him on a little steeplechase all over the goat trails of Santa Cruz County....

First, we headed northwest of Watsonville on 152/East Lake to get out of town. Cut over on Casserly to pick up Mt Madonna Rd to Hazel Dell Rd to Browns Valley Rd to Corralitos. Up Eureka Canyon Rd, Highland, Summit, then down East Zayante Rd (a seriously narrow road down a heavily forested canyon), cut over to Ben Lomond, up Alba, Empire, down Jamison Creek, up 236, up China Grade (narrow *steep* piece of barely paved forest trail), back on 236 to 9 to the top of the hill where all the sportbikers hang out... Mike took some pictures of this guy's brand new MV Brutale. gorgeous machine, 750cc inline 4 that weighed like 300 lbs in a naked sportbike format.

after that, we took a lazy ride down highway 9 back into santa cruz, where we went our own ways after he declined my offer to buy him a beer.

here's most of the route we took...