Traded the bike off today.

[John Schmidt]

I've been thinking about trading my bike for some time now and finally took the leap today. A local dealer was marking down(very little) all leftover 2010 models so I went out to see what's available. New one even has spoked wheels, looks kinda neat actually, very comfy....I even like the stock seat, that's a twist. I think I'll be happy with my choice.




I got $170 trade allowance for my five year old Raleigh toward a new Specialized Crosstrail....originally $500, less a 10% markdown on the 2010 model. It's still a 21 speed, in low gear you can darn near ride up a wall, rides great, has narrower tires than the old one and is easier to maintain speed. Like I said, I think I'll be happy with my choice.

BWAHAHAHA....SURELY YOU DIDN'T THINK I WAS GOING TO UNLOAD THE VALK? NOT ON YOUR LIFEBOUY! (that's a handsoap for you youngsters) 

[bogator]

  BOY,  I sure fell for that one.             

[JerryB]

 

[Tundra]

My blood pressure was escalating reading that John. I know the blood, sweat and tears you've got into that Valkyrie, darn sweat looking too.  I always really liked your Valk as my favorite Valkyrie ever. And TJ's Wing as my Favorite custom Wing ever. I'm glad you were joking, you'd regret that. I should have known when you said you liked the stock seat, Lord knows you love custom seats

[Robert]

You @@@@@ I really fell for that

[FLAVALK]

You had me going. I thought for a second there that you had lost your mind 

[R J]

John, ya had me going till I read the Raleigh, then I knew it was pedal power.

That is what my son-in-law rides back and forth to work, rain or shine, & at least 80% of the winter.   For Christmas we bought him a pair of studded ice/snow tires for it.

[John Schmidt]

Sent it to some friends, a couple believed I was nuts(probably) until I sent them a picture. One really railed at me for unloading the Valk without telling him....he wanted a shot at it. Told him it was a joke, then he really got PO'd.

Barring an accident that totals the Valk, this will most likely be my last bike so I have no intention of selling or trading it. Even when I have to give up riding somewhere down the road, I'll most likely keep it as a reminder of great times had and all the miles of asphalt that passed beneath the thunder at my command. And when that time comes, I'll sit back in my Lazy Boy and smile with fond memories of years past.....some which can't be shared here. Suffice it to say....youth is a time of adventure and new experiences.

If you'll allow me....the following is something I wrote many years ago following a rather long bike trip. My wife of 31 years had recently left with a man ten years her junior, and in an attempt to clear my mind at the end of the day, I would go flying. I had access to a number of small a/c, but my favorite was a simple C-150. I could throttle back, open the windows, trim it up and putt around central Florida for a couple hours until the sun went down.


COME, FLY WITH ME

Come, fly with me.
Oh, that magic number....two.
Two hearts, two wheels, two wings.
With the wind in your face,
your senses respond anew.
I can take you to that place.
Where the open road unfurls, yet disappears.
Like sentinels, the power poles come and go, standing guard 
yet marching out of sight and into oblivion.
It is the only place the future and the past can be seen at once.
Again on high, your wings are washed by the summer showers,
only to be blown dry by the wind that sings in the wires.
Experience this magic from new heights,
where the world unfolds far below
in a disheveled patchwork, like a quilt on an unmade bed.
As the sun completes yet another day’s work,
the boundaries come closer.
The road unfurls only within the grasp of your headlight.
The patchwork below is replaced by the
dying embers of a thousand campfires.
Yet as the blackness surrounds, the second act begins.
Bathing the earth in gold, softening the boundaries.
You press on, the force that moves you coming from without.
This I have done many times, often by myself.
            Never alone.

 Come, fly with me…..

[solo1]

 

[R J]

 

[Valkahuna]

John,

Excellent suspense on the first post. You had me going. I was looking forward to meeting up with you when I get down to Florida this winter, and when I read what I thought you were talking about, that all seemed to evaporate. Good one!!! 

As for the poem you wrote, I like it a lot! I can certainly see where your head was when you wrote it. My Dad (passed away in '86) was a pilot, and had a Cherokee Six, 300. Nice plane! He used to say there was no greater therapy than flying through the air! He was a motorcycle cop and racer in his younger days. It seems quite common for pilots to also be motorcycle afficionadoes as well!

So, now I still look forward to seeing that beautiful Valk of yours sometime this winter when I get down south.

[JimL]

Hook, line and sinker for me.  I was getting ready to search for the bike on the dealers website!

[PharmBoy]

John, I can so identify with your poem.  It takes me back to all the places that I have gone and all the time spent in the left seat of my old airplane.  Sometimes, after tucking "Old Blue" away in the hanger, I'll break out a beer from the hanger frig and just sit in an easy chair and admire that old airplane for its timeless lines and unfailing reliability over these thirty five years that I have had the privilege of owning it.  Flying that old airplane has meant many things to me.  It has been a swift mode of transportation, an escape from the every day stress of life, and the exhilarating feeling of the freedom of three dimensional travel through the sky.  Many are the times while flying on a clear moonlit night that I have said a little "Thank You Prayer" to God for all the blessings of life that he has bestowed upon me and for watching over me all these years, for I know that He has...JTL

[John Schmidt]

John, I can so identify with your poem.  It takes me back to all the places that I have gone and all the time spent in the left seat of my old airplane.  Sometimes, after tucking "Old Blue" away in the hanger, I'll break out a beer from the hanger frig and just sit in an easy chair and admire that old airplane for its timeless lines and unfailing reliability over these thirty five years that I have had the privilege of owning it.  Flying that old airplane has meant many things to me.  It has been a swift mode of transportation, an escape from the every day stress of life, and the exhilarating feeling of the freedom of three dimensional travel through the sky.  Many are the times while flying on a clear moonlit night that I have said a little "Thank You Prayer" to God for all the blessings of life that he has bestowed upon me and for watching over me all these years, for I know that He has...JTL

You mentioned moonlit nights.....one of the planes I used to fly was a C-172 formerly owned by Embry Riddle and came with a skylight in the top. Loved flying that one on a full moon night. The moon would be so bright I used to turn down the panel lights and just let the glow of the instruments shine through. You could read the charts by moonlight if the moon was high enough in the sky. My former wife was also licensed and we would trade off time at the controls when vacationing....lots of fun back then. At night looking down from our 6-7,000 ft. perch, I never tired of watching the small towns pass underneath....looking like dying embers of a campfire. I do miss it, but Rita is so susceptible to motion sickness(her whole family is) that I just gave it up about 15 yrs. ago.

[RP#62]

PharmBoy, thats a good lookin Beechcraft.  I never fooled with those much, but I dabbled with the forktailed doctor killers.  The first airplane I ever changed an engine on was a T-34B.  It was structurally similar to yours. It was built like a tank.
-RP

[stevelp]

---LONG---
I just met John a few days ago.  I have been having problems with my 01 interstate and John was kind enough to come to my house and look at the problem.  Well, after talking with each other for a while, we looked at the bike John checked a few things and it was only a short time before he had dscovered the problem.  The new stock jets  I had just purchased and installed were clogged up.  I ordered new .38 jets and John suggested I bring the carb bank and new jets to his house and he would help me do a couple of things to make it easier to work on the bike.  When the jets arrived I eargerly went to John's house.   When he opened the garage, the first thing I saw was that beautiful bike.  I was overcome with both awe and envy.  We spent quite a while talking about his beauty I can't imagine the blood sweat and tears that went into putting that beauty together. He must spend several hours a week just keeping it clean and maintained.  After talking some more and completing the mods to the carbs, we finished putting them back together. John had given me several tips as well as some guages to sync the carbs.  John went back to my house with me and helped me put the bike back togther.  It started right up but was leaking fuel on top of the engine.  At this point John had spent seeral hours working on my bike with me.  He had to leave and I took the carb bank out of the bike again.  After speaking to John on the phone, he suggested that I bring the carbs back to his house the next morning on my way to work. He worked on them all day, went to the hardward and bought stainless steel allen head carb bowl bolts because I had only been able to find enough for part of the bowls,  and came to the conclusion that I needed new float needles and offered to let me leave the carbs at his house until they came, then he would help me install them and test the results. Right now we are waiting on the float needles to arrive.

The whole purpose of this long story is to show that here is a guy I just met who goes out of his way to help a stranger.  THis man has a heart larger than life.  In the short time I have known him I have discovered someone I could admire, respect and trust. He is an original great guy.

[PharmBoy]

RP, with only minor differences here and there, the basic structure of all the 35 series Beechcraft airframes are basically the same from 1947 to the last one built.  I am not sure when that was, but I know that they built over 10,000 V-tailed Bonanza, not to mention the 33 & 36 series.  They started building the strait tailed version in 1960 and mine is a 35-33B Debonair (1963).  I bought it in 1975, not knowing how I was ever going to get it paid for.  After a three year restoration in the late 90's, it won Grand Champion Contemporary at Oshkosh in 2001.  Yes, it has been quite useful and a lot of fun, but quite a financial strain at times also.  It is a good thing that the wife is a pilot also and has been very understanding...JTL

[PharmBoy]

Ditto on John being a great guy.  I have "known" him on the computer for a couple of years now and we have one mutual close friend that we both think a lot of.  I only met him face to face for the first time at Inzane X.  He has helped me with wiring problems a couple of times and so far, all I have been able to do for him is say "Thank You"...JTL

[John Schmidt]

I feel I'm just "Paying it forward." That's something I've come to know the members of this organization are willing to do, and not for just bikers....it's for anyone needing a hand. As a young lad during the war, I watched as my father would go miles out of his way(and out of his wallet) to lend a hand, never once asking for anything in return. It was in his heart to be of service wherever and whenever needed. I can only hope I learned my lesson well.

Thanks again.....and remember, if you have benefited, just Pay It Forward.