Circles... (To be continued)
That mellow, unmistakably distinctive sound of pent-up power reached my ears and announced the expected arrival of a visitor. It would most likely be the senior member of the ‘Cilly Boys’, but there was a slight possibility it might be the junior member… One with whom I’d just spent a couple of memorable weeks traveling around out west. I was looking forward to this, no matter which one of those delightful folks it turned out to be. It was Terry, the senior…
I was just finishing a second slice of pizza inside the motel room after having concluded enduring hunger pangs was not a pleasant way at all to pass the time while awaiting the arrival and installation of a new item for our girl. I hadn’t eaten yet that day, so by late afternoon my condition had become noticeably uncomfortable… Temptation can only be resisted so long, ya know…
Josh had told me of some leather windshield pouches they had that might be suitable replacements for the aging, deteriorating Tourer windshield ones still in use on our girl… More than a quarter century of weather extremes and ultraviolet solar rays had reduced the fabric mountings for those current Hopnel pouches to crumbling entities on their very last legs! It had nearly but not quite reached the point where even a plastic Walmart bag would have been an upgrade…
NOTE: I didn’t think about taking any pictures of this as the activities unfolded. Not until the following day did that idea even cross my mind… I think I might have developed a pattern here…
Anyhow, I’d already removed the old pouches with their wretched, decayed parts, thinking I should at least contribute in some way. I’d be unable to aid my friend, as is almost always the case, with any serious work, even though I figured there couldn’t be much involved anyway. Naturally, things didn’t go exactly as planned…
The middle pouch on the Hopnel unit was smaller than the other two, so it could fit neatly between the two principal Tourer gauges without blocking either from view. The middle pouch on the new trio unit was larger than the other two, however, so it did indeed block the view of both gauges for the rider. Terry simply cut out the middle bag and then mounted the two remaining ones in their intended places. The large middle bag will now be stored aboard our girl until a mounting location and use can be found.
Terry was resolved to take advantage of the late afternoon cool to return to his home, so I watched as he faded from view. Man, what a nice thing! He’d insisted the pouches and installation had been a ‘birthday gift’ from the Cilly Boys. They had wanted to become even more of a part of the ongoing saga of an old, very ordinary guy, who has been blessed with the opportunity to live a most extraordinary life aboard a most amazing machine… Yep, I’m mighty proud indeed to be here!
The old pouches…
New pouches – trio unit
New pouches following modification and installation…
Traveling alone doesn't have to be lonely at all. Sure, there are lots of periods of solitude, and one does have to be comfortable with that to survive very long out here. However, the interesting characters one meets along the way, plus all the wonderful folks at large in our great land more than compensate, and all the special occasions just like this one that arise are immensely rewarding each in their own unique way. It's hard to imagine I almost gave all of this up to remain 'safe and secure' in my 'Lazy Boy' recliner and channel-surf... Sometimes I do wonder if we might be going in circles, though...
DDT (12)
