a one week update

What a busy week it's been. I was happy to have Friday evening off from my restaurant job-it takes a lot out of you to teach all day, then go and run around a restaurant until 11 at night! I took advantage of it by taking some time to relax. What better way to do so then firing up a moto and going for a spin? It was perfect weather, so I took a nice jaunt around town on the 996. I feel a bit rusty in the cockpit after only dreaming of it for a few months, and I'm a bit worried because I'm already bored and used to all the same routes I've always taken around town. I'm going to have to put some useful miles on some bike this summer doing some good exploring of new roads. Riding around in circles downtown just doesn't cut it.
I was able to get some worky stuff done as well. I brought my 82 Suzuki GS550 out of storage to prepare it for a (hopefully) soon springtime sale. Much thanks to Kelsey for letting shack up in her garage for the last 5 or 6 months...there's a severe lack of storage space for motorcycles at my house. And if I thought it was cramped in there in the fall, you should see it now (or at least a few days ago.) It made my eyes glitter with joy to open the side door and look at 5 motorcycles staring me right back in the face (dad also brought his 79 Suzuki 750 home-a wonderful bike that I should dedicate a post to at some point.) Taking up residence were his bike, my 86 XR200R, 82 Suzuki, 2000 Ducati 996 and 2001 Ducati 748.
I had an interesting even occur on Sunday (or was it Saturday? It's a little blurry-you'll understand). I was asleep after a long hosting shift at Margarita's, having a few drinks for a friend's 21st and just not getting caught up after a long week of business, peacefully minding my own unconscious business at around 330 in the morning, when my slumber was brought to a screeching halt by what might as well have been a slap right across my mouth. My phone rang. Cloudy eyes. Can't see. I am so not teaching today, why is my alarm ringing? I think this all went through my head, probably in a salad of different languages, as my mind often operates when I'm groggy. I finally realized I was getting a call from an unknown number-it was "Tony." "Hey, did you just get out of work?"
"No, I'm sleeping..."
"Oh, I thought you told me you got out of work at midnight"
"That was three hours ago. What the hell are you doing up?"
"Oh you know man, I just lef da club."
Right. Here we go. I'd spoken with him a day (a week? who can remember at that time in the morning.) before as he was interested in buying the 748. He was located in Lowell, Mass., had a strong accent that I couldn't place (or understand for that matter) and was mostly interested in kicking my tires until I dropped the price to what he wouldn't mind paying for the bike. This went on for 20 minutes. Why did I talk to this ass hole for 20 minutes? I essentially hung up on him when I told him that I wasn't interested in negotiation with him anymore.
The next morning I was awoken in a similar fashion by the same ass hole. What did this guy want? To fight some more, and drive my price down. I said no and hung up.
I was supposed to driive to Portland and drop off an engine and pick up a tire mounter/balancer (successful trip, by the way) so I loaded everything and set off. 5 Minutes down the road he said he'd take it, delievered, today for my asking price. Good god. I turned around loaded it up and was home at 1030 that night, somewhere between 500 and 600 miles later. I drove another hour home to MDI and crashed, exhausted but happy after a long day of hard work. "This is what it's like," I told myself. "Tony" was sketchy, but I never was afraid. I was just said for the motorcycle-such a perfect bike, and I knew that as I rolled it up the mud trail to the concrete walkway infront of his apt. building in the rain, where it would sit in every rain storm, that that moment was the end of that beautiful motorcycle's days as a great condition piece. Adieu, cherie.

New projects to come: An old 2 stroke on/off road dirtbike and (fingers crossed) a crashed 2009 Triumph Daytona 675! I'm VERY excited to get my hands on that one. Pictures still to follow!

I've been contemplating starting a blog for quite some time. My purpose is simple, but multi-faceted. In an effort to get my new lessons learned in a (somewhat) concrete form, as well as save my friends and family from a bit of what it means to spend more than a few moments with me; and by this I mean the inevitable switch of conversation topic to something related to motorcycles, this space is my attempt at making that an optional part of my life to learn about.

Born out of a simple lack of anything better to do with my time, and matured to adolescence at best as the waining moments of summer breathed their last cool, crisp breaths in fall, my boyish obsession with motorcycles has become ripe and exploding. I've given up trying to figure out why, I just feed it; and well fed it is. But the obsession has turned its shoulder on the immature curiosity of my former 10 year old self and has turned a (very) curious eye towards the inquisitive mind I've developed about the processes that make these machines tick. I have learned at the very least one thing from each motorcycle I have owned, and that is a number that is constantly growing. Each one has its own personality, its own flaws, its own way of speaking to you, and its own way of teaching you. Although the running machine is but a culmination of precisely timed miracles in engineering and science happening at once, it is hard not to feel as though it literally comes to life when you flick the key, wake it up, and kick it over, be it with a snap of your heel or a minute push of the thumb.

Although my interests often wax and wain slightly less seldom than the moon itself does, I've been riding this proverbial two wheeled wave for a while now, and am looking forward to doing so for a long time to come. Just as our species itself does, my interests do evolve, but you can probably count on the fact that all entries here will have something to do with motorcycling or mechanics in one way or another.

As a busy spring approaches I want to thank all who take the interest in my interests, but more importantly I want to thank all of you who DON'T take interest in my interests, and have been relentlessly subjected to them time after time! This is my attempt to relieve you! If you do subscribe to this obsessive subculture as I do, then read on and enjoy. Most importantly, ride safe.

Garrett