Into the shop early for what was supposed to be an oil change on a bike we are having issues with. Chatting with the bike mechanic, who was at his other job, he called and walked me through diagnostic stuff he wanted checked – and from that determined an oil change would be a waste of time and money and that we needed to leave that bike set. So I checked all the other bikes for oil levels, lug nut tightness and made sure they were all topped of with gasoline and moved them over to the yard and ready for the day. FINALLY got everybody for the first tour ready – just in time for it to start raining…… yee-haw….. rain always adds a new dimension to a tour…. but off we went and put up with rain through ¾ of the tour. Rain also adds a whole new challenge trying to get decent pictures of everybody — but we made it back safely and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves – even though we were all soggy.
Got the bikes all moved around and ready for another full tour [4 bikes] and almost on cue – it started raining again……. nothing like being drenched before you even get out of town~! This rain was a lot more persistent….. in the middle of that, Jamal [guide] was having trouble with his bike…. and to keep the tour moving at a reasonable pace – asked me to lead the tour for a while – so I moved up to the front of the tour through a drenching down pour. For about 10 minutes – I was actually cold….. I mean, teeth chattering, shivering cold~! I don’t miss that at all~! I got us out to the trails and Jamal pulled up to resume the lead. I was good with that – as I get a lot better pictures from the back…. especially in that kind of weather. We had several incidents between the two tours, that required getting folks out of the weeds or helping unsure drivers get through some tough spots. The old fat boy got an additional workout as I helped one of the riders through 4 different places where I drove her machine through places she was scared of – then had to hump my big, fat tired old butt back up to my machine and catch back up with them…… That running stuff is way out of my pay grade 😉 But we finally got everybody back safe and sound [albeit soggy] and I think they all enjoyed themselves….. although the last tour I guess didn’t feel the need to express their gratitude. They were all ‘locals’ and it’s common knowledge – the locals are usually not the type to tip – for anything~! Life goes on……
Back from the second tour – I had to jump in the truck and take off for the airport to pick up the island kids returning from the states……. finally got them gathered up and delivered back to the shop and soon we were all on our way. So with the ‘rein’s’ of the business returned back to the kids – looks like we will return to our retired life style….. and we’re both good with that. Angie has her Wednesday job at Blues – and I have a new camera gig [diving] coming up…. so we’re not settling into our rocking chairs just yet.
Good Night Ya’ll > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thankx for stopping in~!
