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Went to my friend’s  Garry’s 50th birthday party last night.  On the way into Austin I got stuck in a killer of a traffic jamb.  It gave me plenty of time to think.  I did the math and as best as I can remember, I’ve known Garry for 28 years.  Lawdy, lawdy… where did the time go.  More to come later as it took me a bit longer to format these images and get them posted to all the right galleries.

Alrighty… back in from church and while the world braces for the Superbowl, I have few minutes while lunch is in the oven.  Mmmmm… lasagna.

I am a little ‘iffy‘ on the date of this image.  I believe this one was taken in March of 1986, although it could have been 1987.  There are a few things that lead me to believe this was ‘86.

Spring break of 1986 was the very first trip Garry and I made to backpack in west Texas.  Needless to say the trip was awesome.  However, we got our butts kicked most righteously in the Guadalupe Mountains.  Which to date is still the coldest and windiest place I have ever camped.  It was completely unrelenting… which was made even worse by the fact we were totally unprepared.  This picture was snapped in the recovery period of that trip.  After we morphed it into a road trip.  If memory serves, we made a impromptu trip down to Big Bend National Park.  Mostly just to see what was there.  So began my life long love affair with the Big Bend region.  Also during this time, I still had some access to a colour darkroom at Texas A&M University… where I was finishing my senior year.  This image has that grainy and scratchy feel like so many of those images I processed myself.  Had it been ‘87, more than likely the processing would appear a bit smoother.  Also… at this time, I was shooting with an absolutely ancient (even then) Pentax K1000 SLR 35mm.    That camera was a bit funky!  At the higher shutter speeds, at which this images was taken, the shutter was a little sticky, rendering the images somewhat over exposed on the left hand side of every frame.  I have compensated for that here as best as I am able with editing in Photoshop, but all these indications tend to suggest (rather strongly) that this images taken in March of 1987.

Garry and I were both 26 at the time.  So… there were are.  Parked outside the east entrance of Big Bend national park… standing next to Garry’s  Mercedes with the one black fender… smiling at the camera waving… totally clueless!

Finally… a motorcycle safety device worth owning.  I’ve ordered one and it is in the mail… whoo-hoo!  I can wait to zap cell phone yappers.  Hey that would be a terrific name… we could call it a “Yapper Zapper.”

More details and product reviews at www.aerostich.com!

I lost yesterday afternoon.  Because there was a parent report card pick up night… I had to stay at work till six.  This is what they call “other duties as assigned” in my teaching contract.  So I hung around for about 2 1/2 hours and spoke to 2  set of parents.  I teach about 150 students.  Needless to say, my time could have been better spent.

But this evening… I bucked it on home in the Ford and dry fitted the radiator cover on the wing.  It had a crack so I checked the price at Cyclemax… $75.00.  That’s a bit rich for my blood… maybe later.  So I have to repair it somehow.   I mixed epoxy and glued it.  We’ll see… at least the part is still available.  I can buy it if I have too… I’d just rather not.

Then the windshield went on… followed immediately by the chrome cowling in the front.  I had to fight with that a bit and I was able to adjust the height of the windsheild down about 2″.  I consider this a plus… I am not fond of overly high windshields.

Then I glued a new auxiliary circuit strip inside the left fairing pocket hole.  I am hoping this will help me to manage add-on electrical draws.  The LED lighting.  The forward driving lights.  The power feed for the air horn.

Of course I rode the beast… took it out for an evening prowl just at sunset…

Before...

Maltov lives!

I awoke at 7:07 AM.  I was in the garage by 7:15.  Like an aircraft, I eased the wing out into the cold, rose coloured light of dawn.  I started cleaning and bolting on parts.  I pulled wire.  I took things off… bent them just a little and put them back on again.  I just kept making trips back to my parts table and tearing open those little envelopes I use to keep all the fasteners and small parts straight.  I made two trips to Autozone.

Somewhere around 2:00 PM, I started to think, “Ya know, I might just be able to start this thing today.” By about 2:30 I was fitting my brand new A.G.M. (absorbed glass mat) battery into the right hand side panel.

I dropped it off the lift and pulled it onto the center stand.  I ran over my mental check list and said a “Hail Mary.”  I cranked it a bit.  Plenty of power in that snazzy new battery right outta the box.  I added some choke… it fired, revved and held RPMs.  I plugged in the air compressor.  I moved the truck while my ride idled on the center stand.  I checked the tire pressure.  The back was two pounds low and the front was dead on.  I backed that bad  old boy down the driveway and took a romp around the neighborhood with the plastic side panels off, no windshield and no seat. Hallelujah!

<!… insert soundbyte of the choral crescendo of Beethoven’s 9th symphony here …>

After!

I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to bolt on parts between occasional romps around the neighborhood.

Lawdy, lawdy… my beloved blue beast is alive again!

If I am diligent about continuing to work and the weather holds I might be able to ride to work on Monday… whoo-hoo!

I know that I appear to be a bit obsessed about this machine… but my Wing, pleaseth me!

Many moons ago… far longer than I care to admit, I once took a mindless corporate trip to Boston.  What I find odd is two fold:

1:  For the life of me, I cannot remember exactly why I went to Boston.

2:  In light of that fact, I find it rather odd that I remember so many other aspects of that trip.

Right before Christmas, when I was feeling like total k-rap, a student of mine brought me a container full of homemade holiday cookies.  Unlike the elementary schools, at the high school level, this sort of thing doesn’t happen too much.  My family and I most assuredly enjoyed them… all… everyone.

However, there was this one type that was just awesome.  I became an instant addict.  These cookies are wickedly good!  They seem to consist of two Ritz crackers spread with peanut butter and then assembled into little sandwiches.  They are then dipped into dark chocolate and allowed to congeal while lying on wax paper.  I have arrived at the personal conclusion these particular cookies should be outlawed.  I’m talking about a superhighway injection of neuro-chemical “feel good” chemicals boiling directly into the pleasure centers of my brain.  Upon my return to the classroom in January, this student of mine brought me even more.  I confess… I would willingly commit a serious crime for a continued supply of these devilishly good confections.

As this would be cumbersome and obviously impossible… as well as disastrous to the continued arterial flow of my life blood, I have decided I must hoard my remaining treats away and attempt to limit my consumption to one per day.

This required extra special storage methods.  So I washed my lock-down lid box and stored the things away in my hermetically sealed chocolate vault.  This way they can be properly enjoyed in a variety of ways even without eating one.

First, because the box is clear, I can roll it around without opening it, Meanwhile, I can lovingly examine each one as it falls past my gaze.  Secretly, I can long for each as I fantasize about how it might taste.  Hummmmm…. yummy!

Secondly, because it is an air tight container, I can occasionally open it and take a monstrous nose hit of the deep chocolate goodness contained within.  That alone should account for about 200 calories per olfactory overdose.  As an added bonus, this effect will probably last for weeks after the cookies are finally gone.

And Thirdly, because the box is sealed and we are deep in the Texas winter, they should keep rather well out in the Culley cave.  If I am careful and limit myself to just one every now and again I should be able to make these last till Valentines day.  At that point, it will probably be necessary to admit myself into the Betty Ford Center or start making a few Cookies Anonymous meetings, where I can hopefully complete a 12-step program to help me come to terms with my obvious addiction to these cookies of chocolate & peanut buttery damnation.

Does this look like $132.75 worth of paint?  To me it does!  My package arrived from ColorRite.

Garry!

Click on the tab in the header above called “About.”  Scroll to the bottom.  Viola… my email address.

Thinkin’ Boutcha…

You’ll enjoy this!

Send me a ping!

Travis

It seems that within the last few days I am feeling the effects of Maltov’s incapacitation a bit more than I would like.  This could be due in part to the fact that I am feeling a good deal better than I did before the Christmas break.  I have been back in the gym here lately and today, reeling from the workout high, I came home and changed the oil in Carrie’s car.  Always fun!  Really, it doesn’t take that long and for the most part, I enjoy doing it.  The worst part is disposing of the used oil… but Green Guy Recycling is only about 300 yards from my rear driveway so even that isn’t too bad.  It does seem to afford me an opportunity to check out what’s happening with her car.  It’s up on the ramps and that usually means I’ll roll around under there for awhile… looking at stuff… checking all the filters and fluids, the steering components, the CV joints and the rear suspension.

Once that was done, I took a few whacks at the Goldwing… literally!  I covered the front forks with a towel and went at the mounting yoke of the front fairing with a three-pound sledgehammer.  To some degree, I seem to have bent the things back into position.  I dry fitted fairing and the shelter as best I was able to see how it all fits.  Man… my digital camera has really become a valued reference tool for me.  See the before and after picks below:

Yet… I am not satisfied.  After my arms rest awhile, I am going to have another go at the front end. What have I got to loose, except maybe the gap between the ignition panel and the dash?  What I am doing is obviously working… I just need to do more of it!  Besides… I have over $100 worth of colour-matched paint on order.  I am going to do my best at repainting the front fairing.

You will also note, I have glued that lower dash panel and re-enforced it with a custom thermo-formed ABS plastic rib for added strength.  You can’t see it… but it’s there.  I must admit I have enjoyed working with those plastic band-aids through the break.

None-the-less, it is nice to see the fairing back on the bike again… even if it is just a first dry fit.  This means things are starting to go back together and this is an encouraging thought.  I am jonesin’ for a ride big time! I figure it will take me three times as long to re-assemble everything as it did to take it apart.  If I’m lucky… the wing will be roadworthy by spring break… whoo-hoo!