Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
Ride Report: HA! These are (temporarily, at least) a thing of the past. And by way of an update, I went to see an Ortho Doc after returning to MHK. My shoulders were killin me and making it hard to sleep. He says a combination of a minor degree of osteoarthritis (normal for my age) and having slightly separated both ACL joints (where the collar bone joins the shoulder) combined with 4200 miles of riding had pretty much everything in the vicinity of my shoulders inflamed. So, I'm on some anti-inflammatory stuff for up to a month and then if it's still bothering me he'll do a couple of cortisone injections. Riding will suffer until I get this all calmed down.
Birthday Report: Today is Susan's birthday. And no, I'm not telling. If you see this timely, call her or send a text...
Today's post concerns the long promised (and no doubt much anticipated) return trip to Albuquerque, NM to retrieve the Moto Guzzi motorcycle we bought there on the way thru while enroute to the Left coast to commence The Thin Blue Ride. Its previous owner held it in storage in his garage pending our return some 5 months later. What a good guy. Thanks Paul. I was excited, as the reader is likely well aware.
But we had to get there first. We drove 6.5 hours from Downs to Dalhart, TX (A sad but strategically located town) for a layover on Wednesday the 16th. Then did the additional 4 hours to ABQ on Thursday to load the bike - not to be confused with a bicycle - then returned to Dalhart. Then on Friday we returned to Downs. After spending a couple of days there we headed back to Manhattan with our newfound treasure still in tow. Here's what it looked like...
Two guesses where we encountered this guy - and the first one doesn't count. If you're clueless, zoom in on the belt buckle - it says "Tex". Also note the six shooter in his hand.
If I recollect correctly (and I probably do since my mind is like a steel trap) this little church made its first appearance on our initial foray to ABQ driving The Rig. To quell any unease on the part of the reader - it's still there.
Something else was still there as well - Clines Corner. Susan could hardly wait and informed me that THIS time we were stopping. Well then. With the largest restrooms on I-40, how could I refuse? Now I have something to look forward to. After all, I've always wanted to stand further away to do my business. I dunno where she gets these ideas.
Then we started seeing all these signs for the Flying C Ranch. Holy Cow - is there anything they don't sell at the Flying C? This, however, caused Susan some alarm. We weren't gonna stop at the Flying C and now she was afraid she was gonna miss out on the good stuff.
Apparently all the guy stuff is at the Flying C - not Clines Corner.
OMG! Same with all the girl stuff!
So we bypassed the Flying C and Susan's demeanour took a decided downturn.
Until we made it to Clines Corner - where they truly do have the good stuff...
As evidenced by this wall of fake longhorn...horns...I guess. And check out that guy in the glass box at the bottom of the pic. That's right - none other than...
Zoltar! Of Liberty Mutual commercial fame. It's not every day that a guy gets his picture with a prescient automaton. He predicted my re-entry to the Police world. I hadn't thought of it, but I guess if Zoltar says so...
And then there was this guy. I found him in his natural habitat.
AH-HA! So this is what Zoltar meant. I'll take two.
For some reason the good folks at Clines Corner asked us to leave right after that last pic. I guess they have some sort of time limit or something for being in the store. That was fine with me, cause I found this guy on the way out.
Then it was on to ABQ where we met with Paul and loaded the Moto Guzzi - now known as Jean. I think he'll make a fine addition to the stable. And don't start on me with the spelling of Jean thinking it's a girls name. The regular reader will know that I wanted one of these because it's like the one my Dad had in the late 70s. Jean was my Dad's middle name. Yes, with a "J".
On the way back we flashed past this White Castle. I knew they had White Castles in the South, but didn't realize they were this fancy.
There was also this - which is quite interesting if one takes the time to look closely. They're pouring concrete onto both ends of the middle column and working to the left/right simultaneously. That there, boys and girls, is some fancy engineering.
This old plane was near the entrance to the Dodge City, KS airport. I've assigned the California office of the Research Department to determine what model it is. Last time I named a model of plane, that yahoo running Research in California told me I was wrong.
And we found this jewel on the North edge of Russell, KS. That's right - a dually Ford limo. We're back in Kansas Toto.
As we worked our way farther North into Kansas we came across these snow capped peaks. Either that or it's gravel. I'm stickin with snow.
Remember when I complained about all the trees on the East coast blocking the view?
Yeah - we don't have that problem here. This is between Russell and Osborne, KS.
After a two day layover in Downs, we finally made it back to Manhattan. This would be White and Jean in front of our house. (Our other two vehicles are Red and Blue. What can I say - Susan is quite the patriot.) Note all the green grass. None of that nasty stuff in New Mexico.
And then there is this.
A high school classmate of mine named Jim Long had this old Moto Guzzin in storage in the barn on his family's farmstead - for 16 years. It's a 1975 model 850 T. A genuine barn find. He was out for a ride one day 16 years ago when the oil line ruptured and blew hot oil on his left leg. He shut it down immediately, brought it here and parked it. It's been here since. So naturally, I bought it. Susan is beside herself with something approximating joy. At least it looks like joy to me - and as the reader knows, I'm a keen observer of both her facial expressions and emotions...
This is it after a quick rinse. He currently resides in the shop at Susan's parent's farmstead and the disassembly process has begun. Once I get a clearer picture of how needy he is, I may try to get him running, or he may become a parts bike. Time will tell.
OK reader - I might (emphasis on might) have one more post in me. I've been considering doing a state by state report of the highs and lows for each state on The Thin Blue Ride. I'm not committed at this point. And if I decide to take the project on, it may be a while. I have to think long and hard about each of the states on the list - well, except for Kentucky.
So, for now, forget about The Thin Blue Ride, and if someday an e-mail shows up in your in-box alerting you to another insightful post from yours truly, count your blessings.
Till next time - (maybe).
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