Boomer's Back in town.

[wyntrout]

I moved this from the Technical discussion of the Malware Warning.

Freestyle rambling:

On a good note, after I emailed him late Friday, I just heard back from Eoin that my PM45 was sent on the 15th and delivered early afternoon on the 17th.

I was out of town Saturday on a shopping trip with my wife. We drove down to the Dayton Beach Flea Market to check that out. We drove all the way back to Jacksonville on A1A the coastal highway, and saw a lot of the ocean and the great waves from the hurricanes' influence. We did wander around in Saint Augustine and I ferried my wife around at the Outlet Stores there. The only thing she bought on the whole trip was her lunch!

Wow! The Daytona International Speedway is humongous! We saw it as we drove to the coast. That thing is to a football stadium what a Mom and Pop corner grocery is to the Mall of America... just huge! Okay, maybe a small strip mall vs. the MOA. :D

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_International_Speedway

It's great when you can just drive up to a spot on the beach and park... $5 a day down there in Daytona. $3 a day per vehicle up here at Huguenot Beach where we can drive. I hate schlepping stuff from a vehicle in the parking lot. The beach was just closing to new vehicles... ocean almost at high tide. We still got a lot of salt spray all the way home and after dinner, we went to an automatic car wash and got rid of the salt spray accumulation. It was a b!tch trying to drive home with the glare from the sun... and I accidentally hit the wiper control once, smearing and totally obscuring the windshield! :eek: I used the (filled up for the trip) window washer and it was cleared quickly.

I'll pick up Boomer tomorrow... dealer is closed on Mondays. I sure hope this is the last time we're separated. :)

Oh, I carried my PM9 in the horsehide Minituck... leaving the P380 at home. I "saved" money on it's Minituck with cow hide.... :rolleyes:

Hurricane driven surf and beach pictures from Daytona Beach below.

Wynn:D

[gb6491]

Thanks for the photos Wynn; it's been a long time since I've been near the Atlantic. I have some good memories of it, especially from when the Bluefish were running:)
Regards,
Greg

[wyntrout]

Hey, I like to share. The salt spray sure smelled good, and the surf looked great, but I've kind of given up getting into water over my ankles... too many fish mistake people for food, especially when there's sand churned up in the water. I still like to watch and listen to the surf and the birds, etc.
Wynn:)

[Bawanna]

Sure pretty blue sky and a nice looking beach. I've never been further east that Illinois myself and that was only to cross the bridge at Hannibal for catfish supper that my grandparents enjoyed so much.
I was on a really big boat once and I stayed in a motel once. I been around some.
We got beaches kind of like that on the coast here. Usually wet. The beach is actually considered a state highway I'm told. We took my kids little 4 wheeler last time so I could get around some with relatives from Missouri visiting. The fellas (boys with gunbelts and shiney badges) told me I couldn't ride it since it wasn't licensed and I didn't have a helmet. I told em my wheelchair didn't go good in sand but I'd ride the machine back to the van and leave it. They were really understanding and said to pretend they hadn't seen me and to carry on long as I wanted and I wouldn't be bothered again.
Must of been one of the good guys as opposed to the horses backside type mentioned earlier?

[wyntrout]

The Left Coast has some pretty coastlines and scenery, but I prefer the Right Coast. The water's warmer on this side and the people aren't so loony... and we don't have many earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires, or just general whackos and tree-huggers, etc.
The only thing I didn't experience in California were the wildfires.

The second time I was stationed in California, my very pregnant first wife and I were passing Bakersfield when we ran into a flood/mudslide. This was around October '72 and we were in my new '72 Plymouth Duster 340... Lemon Twist Yellow! We were sitting on the northbound two lanes watching the stopped traffic in front of us. Some of the big rigs just went on through the now rapid current of red, muddy water coming down the hill. I quickly realized that we would be stuck and the car ruined if we waited just another minute! I started forward and aimed for the next upramp while my wife was yelling from the back seat that we were sinking. The water was welling nearly up to the top of the windows on the right side, and we were floating a bit... but not as much as the VW we passed to my left! I got to the ramp and went into town and found a car wash. There I popped the hood and hosed down the engine and alternator, etc., which was full of debris and mud... the alternator, that is.
We were really fortunate that I didn't wait any longer than I did. It was a matter of seconds until our car would have been inundated and floated away, ruined and totalled... along with all of our possessions. Everything we owned and my future son were in that car. I had finished college, gone to Officers' Training School and been commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF and was on my way to Sacramento to enter navigator training at Mather AFB. That was one of my most memorable experiences in California... just one, though.
Who's next? Jump right in here.
Wynn:D

[Bawanna]

California and the rest of the Left Coast are two very different worlds. Most of the things you talk about are california things. We don't have much of those up north here. We got tree huggers and your run of the mill losers and more than our fair share of uneducated liberal democrats including the govenor but nothing to compare with california.

[OldLincoln]

Ah Wynn, you reminded me of another story.... I was honorably discharged from the USAF in Jacksonville Arkansas and driving home to Bakersfield at night. It was summer of 1965 and a clear night through the desert so I was humming along Route 66 (like I stole it -sorry Jocko). The road was mostly flat but every now and then would dip down following the land.

One of those dips was filled with raging water at least what I saw of it in my headlights. I had been in twilight stage where I could drive all night if undisturbed, and seeing the water just before plunging in was disturbing. By the time I got to my senses I was going up the other side so I kept going.

I don't know how deep it was but it was deep. Hitting it at 70+ probably should have killed me but I lived through worse stuff than that. I'm sure I just hydroplaned across and had another story to tell. Almost forgot that after I looked around and saw lightning far off in the mountains to the South.

That reminds me of another story but it'll wait. The premier of Castle is starting....

[Jeremiah/Az]

I have to cross a normally dry wash to get out or into my place twice. My girlfriend left here late when it had been raining. She called & said the wash was running so I drove down to check it out. It was only 6 - 8" deep, so I told her to cross it slowly & watched. I couldn't see the second crossing. She called back & said she was stuck in the middle of the water. I told her to put it in 4 wheel drive. She said that she didn't know how! I said look at the dash for a sign or word. She found how to do it & kept on the phone. She said that she made it out, but she was still shaking! The next day there was sand about 18" deep on the paved road & that is what she was stuck in.

[OldLincoln]

There's a video of a mud slide in a residential area where I think a dad and son were going when it broke loose. As they went down the hill and the slide was gaining on them until it petered out. It was pushing cars and torn stuff up pretty easily. Wynn was quick to get out of what was soon a real mess.

[wyntrout]

Yeah, I think I know what video you were talking about. That was unreal how fast the slide was. Those guys were hauling butt and it looked like they were going to be overtaken at times. The mud was bad enough, but it was pushing trees and vehicles at a good clip... as fast as they were driving!
I said mudslide because it was red, muddy water, but I didn't see that kind of slide... this was a downhill current and very red... and fast... and getting deeper by the second... more of a flash flood across a broader area.

In college I liked a motocross/enduro style of motorcycling. I was pretty "reckless" and like to cross streams and fallen trees etc., at speed. For the streams I would use throttle and jerk the handlebars to lift the front wheel and get across the water quickly by splashing some of it aside. I only had the Honda SL-125... 125cc... 4-stroke... but it had the 21" front wheel. I never did any competitive riding, but liked to "lead the pack" with my buddies. Hill climbing and jumping were fun, too, but I could have used a bigger bike.

I didn't let the weather stop me and one time I was out by myself and went to cross a flat area... oops... sank up to the seat in mud. I was surrounded by pitcher plants... carnivorous and creepy looking plants. It was a bog and you couldn't tell it was like quicksand from the look.
I had to slog through the mud and find tree limbs and branches to build an area next to the bike so I could get it up out of the mud... thick, sticky mud. It took me a while, but I managed to get it free and get the heck out of there. I had to really hose the bike down that day... and it was raining most of the time.
Wynn:D

[OldLincoln]

Man I hate that stuff! It sucks shoes right off your feet and boots weight 20 lbs from it hanging on. We have hard pan around here and the pre-hard pan is adobe clay. In fact one of the worlds largest producers of adobe bricks was 6 miles down the road from me.

[O'Dell]

Back in the 70's I use to run in "scrambles" on a Bultaco Matralla, a 250 thumper, through the woods. This was before anyone invented motocross. Then I got smarter and started riding on the pavement.

Currently I still ride the CBR600 Hurricane I bought in January, 1987, [in time for the Daytona races during bike week]. I raced it for 4 years, and then converted it back to street use, and have ridden it since. It's almost like new, and worth a lot more than the $3620 I paid for it.

[Bawanna]

I did mostly flat track (a local weekly race and a Canada race every two weeks for several years) but a few scrambles about that time too. I was on a souped up Hodaka Super Rat. Raced TT a few times on a Harley and a borrowed Triumph. Rode in the sidehack a few times when guys needed a rag doll. Now that was insaneness of youth right there I'll tell ya.
Actually raced few times against National # 1 Kenny Roberts. You could say we were real comparable in that we both raced. He was usually first and I was usually last.

[wyntrout]

I always liked motorcycles and grew up with Honda... the early 60's. In high school I couldn't afford a motorcycle. I used to read all of the magazines and keep up with the different kinds of racing and bikes. My best friend/neighbor had a CB150 and later the SuperHawk 305. I used to go riding with him and got to "drive" a few times.
While at the Presidio of Monterey and studying Arabic, I borrowed a buddy's whatever Honda called the scrambler 250cc... 4-stroke... street/dirt... and rode solo down the coastal Highway 1... Big Sur and all... what a ride!
When I went to nav school in '72'/'73 we "needed" a second vehicle, so I got a new XL-250... not sure of the model name, but it was a 4-stroke 4-valve single for road/off-road use. I loved it, but I still wanted a bit more power than that had... like a hot 2-stroke.
While visiting by brother once, he borrowed two fully tricked out... full-race Honda Elsinoe 125cc bikes... two-strokes... high-reving and narrow powerband for real power, but wow! I think it had six gears and I wheelied it through 4... woohoo!

My sugar level has calmed down and Wifey's hungry, so I had better get to cooking... still need to wash the Romaine lettuce and let it crisp in ice water!

later guys... can't even proof read this now. :D

Wynn:yo:

[OldLincoln]

He was usually first and I was usually last.Well, if were only the two of you you can say you came in second and he came in next to last!

[Bawanna]

Well, if were only the two of you you can say you came in second and he came in next to last!

Darn, wish I'd used that logic back in those days. My boss at the time always kidded me, said I was providing a public service by making it possible for everyone else in the race to say at least I didn't come in last.
Some guys were just born with a natural talent to race motorcycles, not me, I had to work at it. Didn't do much good but I had fun and never broke any body parts, broke a few motorcycles. Pretty lucky in that respect I guess.

[wyntrout]

We practiced enduro-type racing in woods and on dirt roads or logging trails... with mud and water usually involved.... Hey! It was southern Mississippi... lots of that stuff there. I liked doing some of the trials-type maneuvers... going very slow and climbing or getting over obstacles... standing up the whole time... doing lots stuff with throttle blips... really cool. I don't know if they do any of that stuff anymore... been out of touch with motorcycles since I went to Europe in early '83.
There are too many crazy drivers now and I prefer having a lot of steel and "crush space" around me these days. I wouldn't mind off-road biking, though.
I really love my big van.
Wynn:)

[Bawanna]

Trials riding is still alive and well and more amazing than ever. I see it once in awhile on tv. They do some pretty unbelievable things on those bikes. Very tough courses, I would have considered impossible back in the day and they probably were back in the day.

[O'Dell]

I did mostly flat track (a local weekly race and a Canada race every two weeks for several years) but a few scrambles about that time too. I was on a souped up Hodaka Super Rat. Raced TT a few times on a Harley and a borrowed Triumph. Rode in the sidehack a few times when guys needed a rag doll. Now that was insaneness of youth right there I'll tell ya.
Actually raced few times against National # 1 Kenny Roberts. You could say we were real comparable in that we both raced. He was usually first and I was usually last.

Back in the late eighties, I was at Road Atlanta for a SuperSport 600 race on Sunday. Saturday morning during practice I lowsided at turn 11 at about 100 MPH, and although I was OK, the bike was not. After arranging to get it to the shop, I wandered over to the factory Honda tent. I knew most of the guys from HRC in Torrance, CA from testing with them at Willow Springs several times. They had two RC30's superbikes there for the feature race Sunday.

Their #2 rider had become ill and couldn't ride, so they ask me, since I wasn't doing anything else, if I would like to ride in the superbike race. Well, Duh!! Obviously, I had never ridden a factory RC30, but I had raced a VF750F in 82 and 83, so I thought, "how different can it be"? The answer is a LOT! I got in 20 laps of practice that afternoon, but I couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground under acceleration - that made the turn in for corners tricky. Anyway, I rode the race and finished 8th behind Fred Merkel in 1st on the #1 Honda, [he won the world SB championship that year] and all the other factory bikes except one. I did pick up a few manufactures points for Honda, and it turned a disastrous weekend into a bright spot.

[jocko]

ol jocko justs loves those loooooong and well paved road to nowhere on his Harley. As they say it is not the destination but the ride and in my case that holds so true.

O'Dell, I have for the last 3 years went to the Moto Gran Prix races at Indy and those riders just amaze me, A shame the young boy got killed in the "sighting" lap. Kinda took the spirit out of the race and then the following week they lost anopther Gran Prix races in the Moto 250 class. It is extremely dangerous and I admire anyone who can lay a bike over like that and still keep the wheels on the road. Oh yes give me that nice looong and smooth ol pavement any day, but I sure do love to watch the gran Prix riders..

I read where Valentoni Rossi who races for Yamaha and is a 7 time world champion ship was making last year (are you sitting down) 35 million, and he is now leaving yamaha and going to ducati for year 2011. wonder what they had to offer him to leave..

[wyntrout]

Boomer's return at range test:

http://kahrtalk.com/kahr-tech/3452-trigger-pivot-pin-backed-out.html#post35779

Wynn:)