HIT THE ROAD, JACK

Ok, so when I got to Mike Valenti's place there was a big pile of cardboard boxes in the lounge room. Santa had come early! Goodies left, right & centre, mostly from Touratech. It took about a day to unpack, sort & install all this stuff on the bike, & I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. But as I said earlier, the panniers are a bit wider than I thought they would be, but the whole arrangement looks fairly serious.


A few of Mike's mates called in to see at was happening, & it was arranged that we would get out for a ride the next morning. Being a Sunday, we went to "Church", which for these guys was a ride to a bar up in the hills behind San Diego for breakfast. I don't know why the last bit of text is blue & underlined, but this is a voyage of discovery! Anyway,when we got there, there was a bunch of boxer engined BMW of various ages in the car park, which was promising. I walked in the door & immediately saw .........absolutely nothing. When my eyes adjusted to the ambient light level, approximating that of a coalmine on the dark side of the moon, I saw a long row of guys sitting perched on stools at the bar, at least one wearing a cowboy hat. I immediately think they must play both kinds of music in this joint (you know, Country and Western). Actually it was a bit more raunchy, some Stevie Ray Vaughan, followed by some George Thoroughgood, but you get the idea. Over in one corner, there was a table full of bikers, which we immediately joined. I was about to meet the local Airhead (ie boxer engine fanciers, geddit?) chapter. And what a great bunch of guys! It was just like Ulysses, but with some young blokes & a lot more food, a real lot more! I was warmly welcomed, and we proceeded to talk about what bike riders everywhere talk about (that would be bikes, bikes, bike bits and past exploits, some of which might be true), and generally had a good time. We then hit the road, into some lovely stretches of twisties. This road turned out to be bike central, & it was a real good hoot, despite a lot of sports bike riders out to break the land speed record. Call me a chicken, but right about then, I decided I will not bother to ride the Tail of the Dragon when I get to the Appalachians, not if its infested with guys that ride that hard. I'd rather go to a track day, & that aint ever going to happen either. We finished up at another neat little cafe, before turning back to town on an equally good bike road. Yahoo. I had no idea Mike was running around busily taking photos, and of course, I forgot my camera altogether. Look at me, I'm an Airhead already! Thanks Mike.




So now the bike is all ready to go, packed with as much stuff as I could cram in the panniers. I just need to drain the fuel & its ready to be trucked to Charlotte, North Carolina. So I had a little spare time this afternoon, and took a walk along the shoreline opposite the downtown area. There is a maritime museum precinct along here, & there are a number of sailing ships on display, a cruise ship terminal with a humungous Dutch passenger liner in town, and further on the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway. I wanted a look but it was just closing, however, I am tempted to go back tomorrow to check the aircraft I could see on the flight deck.

I then detoured into the city, and it was all but deserted. Apart from a few tourists, the streets had been left to the homeless, and they were plentiful. Some lying inert on the footpath, a few under bridges & in vacant lots, some animatedly talking to the voices in their heads, and one guy standing with his hand down the front of his trousers playing pocket billiards with a spaced out grin on his dial. Well, as long as you're happy....but I noticed everyone was giving this guy a wide berth. Glad it wasn't dark, this would really be scary. Lots of shopping trolleys being pushed around and bins being cleaned out by those for whom the American dream has not come to fruition. Sadly this is commonplace these days in affluent societies, and that includes Australia. If I knew the answer, I'd tell people. There but for the grace of God....

So a couple more days here, then off to New Orleans while I wait for the bike to be shipped east. Did I mention that the security going through the airport in Dallas was the tightest I have ever experienced. Shoes off , belts off, pockets emptied, laptops & phones in the trays, no exceptions. Then through the metal detector then, & get this, into the full body scanner. Legs apart-stand on the big yellow footprints, sir-arms up in the air please sir. It was as though everyone in the crowd, one at a time, had just seen the light. Halleluia brother!! Either that or a very slow Mexican wave. Speaking of which, adios.