Do you have those, too? We all do, I reckon, so there's not much point in spending any time describing them here. Still… I never thought of myself so much as being one of those, but… who knew? Certainly I do have some friends who could justifiably count me as a very 'needy' person, indeed!
I'm now on another road trip… I was to meet-up with Troutdude and cruise on out to Calgary, AB, where we're to then join-up with Water Bug, who is flying up from Louisiana. Dennis wants to show Shelia (his dearly beloved) the Canadian Rockies, in particular the Icefields Parkway, and I was invited along to share the adventure.
Naturally, Dennis had a lengthy list of honey-dos, an even longer list of obligations and commitments, and even a few dozen personal items all requiring attention before he could head out. I had none of those! I was ready to pack a bag as soon as he made the invite!
Alas, I forced myself to patiently wait for a time closer to a realistic departure window for Dennis… before heading out myself. Another matrimonially impaired friend of mine, Big Wolf, seemed interested in getting out for a couple of days of riding, … however… he had to get over the obvious hurdles in his path, too… Spousal objections, honey-dos, projects, yadda, yadda… Still, a time did finally come, so off I rode to hook-up with Jerry in Eufaula, AL.
Now, before anybody starts to raise doubts concerning my ability to exercise patience or anything, let me remind everyone about Hurricane Barry. Not a biggie like powerful Katrina, mercifully, but one still very heavily laden with moisture (read rain!!!). Yep, once again Jerry and I found ourselves having to plan, change plans, re-plan… all that drudgery stuff to try to figure out what Mother Nature was clearly steering us towards… and away from!
As if all that rain wasn't enough to contend with, a monster heat wave followed closely behind Barry… Dang! Could it be possible this road trip just wasn't supposed to be? Nah… Good old Mother Nature was probably just giving us a little 'spice' to help us embellish future tales we'll surely be telling to all of our other pals who remained home-bound and didn't make it out… our less fortunate brethren and sistren…
I departed my land-lady's house around 4am to get a major jump on the heat sure to envelop my travel route once the solar orb had gained some altitude. A solid plan that worked to near perfection… Perfection would have been arriving in Eufaula an hour or so earlier. Nope, I didn't entirely miss the heat! However, I did miss the worst of it, and most of the ride was actually rather pleasant.
I arrived early enough to have plenty of time for a power nap and some serious relaxation before Jerry rolled in. He'd managed the heat rather well, all things considered. Since his last really 'hot ride', he'd come up with several innovations to ease the unpleasantness, but the primary thing, he speculated, was the adjustment he and his doctor had made to his medications. He had a surprise for me, too…
On our ride to IZ beginning in mid-May, he'd observed my constant struggle with all the baggage I carry (a long story), and worse, he'd daily witnessed the problem I was having with the duffle-type bag I strapped to the 'luggage rack', and in particular how the bag drooped down on the ends and made opening the saddle bags a royal pain… reminiscent of trying to extract one's hand from a cookie-jar with a very small opening, while attempting to remove way too many cookies…
Jerry is another of those types who don't just see a problem, bellyache about it, but then just put up with it… Nope, he ponders, stews, and frets on it, then comes up with a solution to remedy the issue. He'd made a 'plate' the size of that bag out of some sheet aluminum he had back at his house, and he'd designed it so that it would easily hold my bag, yet allow easy access to the saddle bags during the day. I call it my new 'shelf'.
The shelf
Three bolts/nuts and two aluminum 'straps/bars' secure the appendage… No holes to drill, nothing permanent to the attachment at all.
Dennis calls it 'the whale tail'; and, it does resemble one, I suppose… However, for now I think I'll stick with 'the shelf'. A variation of several we've seen by other riders, many made of wood and all apparently functional and not unattractive… So far I really like it, and it has proven its worth already! I had a need, my friend Big Wolf provided a solution.
Jerry and I pulled out early to avoid some of the heat (yeah, that heatwave was still cranking!), and we headed for Montgomery, AL. I have several buds there, and a party had been mentioned for that evening… We arrived ahead of normal check-in time, so we sat in the motel lobby… Jerry watched TV, and I caught a power nap. Soon, we were checked in, so it was now time to settle in our room and… take a more serious nap! Then, we got ready for the evening and waited for our ride to arrive…
DDT
