Saturday–Sunday, 27–28 Aug 2005
Marc writes:
Glenn gets the boot
Lots of people, some who hadn’t been seen in over a decade, joined the group for dinner at the JT Bar and Basque Restaurant in Gardnerville, Nevada. The boot went to Glenn Fritz because anyone who’s been riding with the group for as long as he has (35 years) is certain to deserve it!
Here are a few snapshots taken during the dinner. More to follow.
- Dan’s verse and pictures
- Dave B’s pictures (included a great shot of Glenn getting the boot).
Sunday
The ride back from the annual dinner and awarding of the boot was almost perfect. I awoke much earlier than expected, early enough to join the “let’s leave at 7:00 AM” contingent. However, I stayed in bed until I heard them leave the motel, only then giving up on the idea of rolling over for another hour or so of sleep. I got up, dressed, and packed the bike. All looked well with the world.
I understand some of the 7 AM riders were going to Woodettes for a monster sized breakfast. The others were going to go directly over the hill to Jackson, trying to beat the central valley heat. What to do? I decided to do what I usually do, ride to Kirkwood for breakfast. I did. The ride was warm enough to leave my liner packed, but I did swap the summer gloves for something a bit heavier for the ride over Carson pass.
After breakfast I headed down the hill to Jackson for a rest stop and gas. I hadn’t gassed in Gardnerville, wanting to see what my range was when I get the R1200GS on the open road. Results were pretty good. I stopped for gas at 199.6 miles and the bike hadn’t gone into its “you have xx miles before you run out of gas” warning mode yet. That tells me I could have easily gotten 240-250 miles on that tankful.
I changed back to the summer gloves in Jackson and opened all the vents on my Darien jacket. I also got out my evaporative cooling vest and loaded it up with water for a test. It works. I was certainly cooler leaving Jackson than when I entered.
From Jackson to my house is about 140 miles. Tracy is about in the middle, making it a nice place to stop for a break and something cool to drink. I took 88 to 99, jogged over to I5, then got on 205. A few miles before I pulled off for my rest break a car pulled along side of me with the driver gesturing and saying something that I couldn’t make out. I wonder what that was all about. I pulled into the slow lane and exited into Tracy, pulling into a fast food place for a glass of lemonade and a chance to stretch my legs. About 20 minutes later I walked back out to the bike and finally noticed: my left side case was missing!
case cover
bits of plastic
Ahh, so that’s what that driver on 205 was trying to tell me. It only took me 30 minutes or so to figure it out. I headed east on 205, planning on looping back to 205 westbound to look for lost luggage. I kept my eyes open when heading east and noticed a CHP motor officer stopped in the west bound lane, getting on his bike to take off.
I rode across the 50 feet or so of grass median up to the concrete divider that separates eastbound and westbound traffic. The CHP either didn’t seem me or didn’t care. He rode off. I got off the bike and looked over the concrete divider. Lying on the westbound shoulder are the remains of my left side case. By this time it’s been maybe 45 minutes since I lost it. I suspect that it was banged around by traffic as well as whatever damage occurred falling off the bike.
recovered liner
Looking around I found the bag liner containing most of the stuff that I had in that case. This is good. I used the straps that were in my tank bag to lash the liner to my luggage rack. At this point it looks like the only thing I lost, other than the side case itself, is my bike cover. I get back onto 205 east, getting off at the first exit after it turns onto I5, and manage to get back on 205 going west.
I keep my eyes open, just in case, and sure enough see my cover and the cover case on the shoulder of the road. Another quick stop and it is recovered no worse for the wear. Then it’s back on the road for an uneventful ride home.
All was well the day before
I do not know why the case fell off. About 10 miles before it fell off I ran over something that jolted the bike hard – a common hazard on I5. I also had my bike cover jammed into the curved space at the back of the case, held in tightly (too tight?) by the bag liner. Maybe it was a combination of things. It’s frustrating not to know.
I’ll replace the case. Hope I can get one, and get it keyed to my key, before the camping trip in two weeks.