Computer virus

Yep - I got one.

Let me explain. One of the blogs that I follow is Mankato Bob's "What are they up to now?". Recently both Bob and his wife Sue got sick. I read their blog and now I'm sick.

It's all Bob's fault.

"Let's play two"

I visited Hohokam Park in Mesa today. I don't follow the Cubs, but I always liked Lou Pinella. That's him leaning on the batting cage - #41. I'm sure real baseball nuts would know some of the other in the picture, but I can't tell them apart. I tried to ask Lou what he thought about Griffey signing with the Mariners, but he was too busy talking to reporters asking real questions about the Cubs.

Hohokam Park is the oldest spring training facility in the valley. A man with foresight named Patterson convinced the Cubs to move their spring training to Mesa back in 1950 or so. That was the start of the Cactus League.

I'll make it over to the other side of the valley and visit the Mariner/Padres field soon. Erica has mentioned coming down for a long weekend and Ken and Juliet had plans for a trip south that may or may not happen. Dean wants to meet for lunch and take in a game some time. He and Sue are buying a house over there in Sun City.

Pictures for Rob

I washed it and took some pictures for Rob.

The Wave

I wave.

I wave to other motorcyclist as we pass on the highways and byways. It doesn't matter if I know them - I am wishing them a safe ride.

I wave to everyone in the RV park. It doesn't matter if I know them, it doesn't matter if I was just talking to them five minutes ago - we all wave to each other as we pass. I'm not sure why we wave - we just like to wave.

We rode to Coolidge yesterday for brunch. Excellent food and excellent service at Tag's Cafe.

Quite often on our rides we need a break on the return leg and we have found a few favorite places to pause for refreshment. I've mentioned a few of these places before - Tortilla Flat, Greasewood Flat and a new one - Santan Flat. They are all bars frequented by bikers and tourists. Most have barstools topped with old saddles. All have large outdoor party areas, live music on the weekends, lots of firepits, cold beer and good food. They have websites - check them out.

Here we are at Santan Flat last Wednesday - Nancy and Harry on the left, Dave standing, Jerry, Menno's back, Wrongway Jim, Larry hiding and John leaning. We had eleven bikes that day, but a few cut the day short.

Withdrawals

We had a power outage in the rv park on Sunday night. Power was out for only about 45 minutes, but the effects lasted until about 8 last night. The power spike zapped the wireless internet router and my little world was disrupted.

I had the shakes, saw pink laptops - I was having withdrawals.

You, dear readers, didn't even notice, did you?

Life continued at the park. To stay busy I played pool with the boys, went for a hike and ate a lot of snacks.

Everything except clean house. I have only about 88 square feet of usable living space but I still abhor cleaning it. On the other hand, I love clean sheets, but I hate making this bed. I have to lay across the mattress while I'm tucking in sheet corners. They always come untucked as I slide off of the bed.

Planning for Spud Run '09 is well underway. Steve came up with three viable options for our ride. One includes Yellowstone and Beartooth Pass, another includes a ride on The Road to the Sun in Glacier Park. It's hard to find 2,000 miles of motorcycle worthy road in Idaho. Most of our miles will be within the state boundaries. I've heard some say that Hiway 21 over Lolo Pass is the most beautiful ride in the country, I'll find out come the last week of July. Most motorcycle riders say the last road they were on is the most beautiful road they've ridden.

I'm looking forward to bike swap day when all of us will take turns thrashing Rob's new BMW through the curves. His brand spanking new 2008 R1200RT gets delivered soon (at the cost of a small house), it's sharp looking bike. Be careful in those first two-tenths of a mile Rob.

We're off to Gila Bend today I think. Our weekly rides are really just lunch runs - ride 100 miles, eat, turn around and head home.

Have a GR8 day!!

Heart Attack Grill

A few of us drove to Chandler for lunch today at the Heart Attack Grill http://www.heartattackgrill.com/

Half pound patties, endless fries, everything cooked in real lard. Don't ask for a diet Coke - they import real Cokes from Mexico where they are still made with cane sugar. No light beers, nothing healthy.

I survived the "double bypass", fries and a Corona.

On the road to Tucson

Nine of us threw a leg over our saddles and rode to Tucson. The main goal was to ride, some of us went to the Air and Space Museum. I'm sure Dave will post pics of the museum on his blog (weenerbagotales). Five of us took the opportunity to explore the side streets of Tucson in search of the new Harley shop. Somebody should tell Google that they moved. I led the group to where they used to be. Jim knew I was in the wrong place. We stopped for gas and learned that they had moved just six months ago. We stared at bikes, bought tee shirts and talked bikes (our favorite subject on these rides). Our portion of the group headed for our rendezvous point in Oracle, one of our favorite barbecue places in the valley - Bubb's Grubb "Cold brew. Nice racks. Great butts."

The ride between Apache Junction and Tucson on Hiway 79 is flat and straight.

Naval Air boneyard.

Bubb's Grub.