Digger and Wife Back at Home

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Made it home yesterday about 5 pm.     Had a great time,  I really like going to see restored old motorcycles.....most from my childhood days.  I was really impressed at all the antique motorcycles I saw that were in showroom condition.....manoman that must take a lot of work.  Even saw a Kawasaki Hi 500cc 3 cylinder 2 stroke road bike that  was just like the one I had in 1971 and took my first trip on from Houston to the Grand Canyon.   My favorite was a chromed out and just beautifull Honda CBX 900cc from the 80's.   Man I wanted one of those back in the day.......had kids and couldn't pay that kind of money so I rode a 71 model BMW 750 all over the west.   It did good. 

It was nice meeting you guys and girls and putting faces to the handles.    I didn't realize it but you all are real people.....ha.

Highlight of the trip was Sunday morning at the restaurant next to the Peach Tree Inn.   The wife and I came out and this guy came up to us, he was about 50 yrs old, had on  a really wide cowboy hat, and said he had been waiting in the parking lot for us to come out and the conversation went like this.

Him:   What to heck is that bike?
Me:  It's a Honda Valkyrie
Him:  Man, you got 73,000 miles on that thing and it is still just beautifull (I had just waxed it)
Me:  Well, I try to keep it really clean.....I'm gonna be driving it for the next 200,000 miles or so.
Him:   You're kidding me aint ya?
Me:  No, there are bikes in our club with over 400,000 miles .
Him:   Wow!!!  I had a Harley but man it just STAYED in the shop.  Broke down all the time.
Me:  Let me show you something you won't believe.   (searched my pockets for a nickel and couldn't find one so I went inside and got a nickel from Disco.)  Came back out and had trouble balancing the nikel on the valve cover but finally got it.    I reached over and turned on the key and the guy said "No.....no way.....I said watch this and hit the starter button.  Engine cranked and and I let it idle for a few seconds then slowly reved it up to a pretty high rpm and the good ole nickel just sat there and did the nickel dance.
Him:    Man, I got to have one of these, where can a guy git one?    I told him about the VRCC and he gave me his email so I could send him the website.......think soon we may have another member.

Only glitches was on the way there on I-10 I was cruising about 75 in the right lane and came up on a 18 wheeler and got over to pass and a BMW car got about 6 ft off my bumper......I hate that.   I slowly reduced speed till he backed off then got back behind the 18 wheeler till he was gone.   
Then on the way back we stopped at the Trade Days flea market on Hyway 290 for a while.    So by the time we got back on 290 headed home traffic had built up.    Man......I'll never come home again down 290.....geez......it was bumper to bumper traffic for miles.   Hard to manuver the bike with the wife on the back when inching along for over an hr.    From now on it's I 10 when headed to Fredricksburg.   

Anyways, we had a good ride, a little over 500 miles roundtrip. 

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One more neat thing happened.    We stopped at the trade days flea market on 290 just outside Frederciksburg for a while.    While there I came across a booth with a man about 85-90 yrs old with a WW2 hat on.    He had written a book about his experiences in the war that he was selling.
I stopped and talked with him for a few minutes and got out my $25 and bought his book.....that he personally autographed.......the name of it is "I MUST ESCAPE"

This man was shot out of the sky on a bombing raid in Germany and ended up in a German Concentration camp.     He escaped 4 times only to be caught again.   

After the talk and me buying his book I reached across the table and shook his hand and I told him "I personally want to thank you for your service."     He really seemed to like that.

I can't wait to find time to read the book.....just to read about all the experiences and hard times this man was put through.    Folks, WW2 vets are getting few and far between.  I'll give a report on the book later.

[Rocketman]

Only glitches was on the way there on I-10 I was cruising about 75 in the right lane and came up on a 18 wheeler and got over to pass and a BMW car got about 6 ft off my bumper......I hate that.   I slowly reduced speed till he backed off then got back behind the 18 wheeler till he was gone.   
Then on the way back we stopped at the Trade Days flea market on Hyway 290 for a while.    So by the time we got back on 290 headed home traffic had built up.    Man......I'll never come home again down 290.....geez......it was bumper to bumper traffic for miles.   Hard to manuver the bike with the wife on the back when inching along for over an hr.    From now on it's I 10 when headed to Fredricksburg.   

I don't recommend I-10 either.  We go that way a lot from Houston to Austin and back.  It seems that every Sunday afternoon, I-10 is jammed with traffic.  This weekend was no different, unless you call "even worse" different.  Head farther south to Hwy 90.  It's not an interstate, and it's usually wide open.  You have to slow down for little towns along the way, but it's better than stop and go on a superslab.

Mark

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I'll keep it in mind.......anything would have been better than an hr of stop and go.....with 2 up occasionally you get off balance.   Good to see you and the wife again.