On this day...

[Projekt]

On this day, I thought it wise to take a ride around the south bay here in beautiful California on this sunny warm day.

My plan was to ride over the San Mateo Bridge and onto Skyline Drive (35) for it's scenic and twisty qualities and for a stop at Alice's restaurant for a bite to eat.

The ride went well and all was good until shortly after I paid for the meal at Alice's. While finishing the last of my drink, a rider approached the parking lot in an older R1100RT and maneuvered to park but erroneously chose to aim between my new Busa and a pristine K1300GT. He bumped my Busa's right exhaust can with his left hard bag and that was enough to knock my new Shoei Neotec helmet off the mirror. I jumped to my feet and rushed to pick up my still rolling helmet and stabilize my bike since the rider of the R1100GT looked a bit confused and seemed to be struggling to make a decision about what to do next.

As I got to the bike, I looked it over and saw no outward damage then I went for my helmet that another rider had picked up. It was scratched a bit with a couple chips out of the paint on the back. As I scrutinized my helmet, the wayward rider managed to say :1zhelp: "help I can't..." as his bike leaned to the right on the uneven pavement so I went to try and stabilize him but it was too late. He lost balance and was not able to keep the bike upright so it toppled over, right onto the pristine K1300GT next to it which toppled over onto the BMW enduro next to it, which toppled over onto the bike next to it and that one onto the cruiser next to it and that toppled over into the car next to it with a bunch of crunching and shattering noises. :duh:

All in all, the guy's leg was caught under his bike with the rest of the busted formerly nice bikes laying to his side. I moved my bike up to make room so as to avoid more bloodshed and slowly everyone came out to pick things up one by one. I couldn't bring myself to take a snapshot with my iPhone and I thought the guy had enough problems on his conscience so I didn't even give him a hard time about my helmet. So, sorry no pics..

The scenario reminded me of Pee Wee's big adventure but luckily everyone remained level headed and kept their cool. I decided to get out of there and enjoy the rest of my day.

Later on after enjoying the hell out of Skyline Drive in all its goat path ending glory with a stop for espresso in Boulder Creek, I headed to San Jose to pick up my lady.. Destination Mt Hamilton's Lick Observatory. Heading down the freeway, I noticed the bike felt a loose as I meandered through the lane's direction changes and made a point to stop and check it out at the exit.

As I slowed to a stop, the bike refused to lean and I knew I had a flat....

Luckily, a gas station was immediately to the right of the exit. A good Samaritan named Arnaldo (originally from Mazatlan, MX) and his two kids gave me a lift to the Autozone for a plug kit and even brought me back to the gas station. The guy was so motivated that he inserted the plug and saw me on my way. Having had good experiences with plugs in the past, I decided to continue the trip up to Lick Observatory. The ride up is pure twisties and I felt confident all the way up even with my passenger two up. At the top, the tire was firm and we headed back down.

At about mile six of 24 back to the city, the bike again felt loose so I stopped to check and it was low but I thought I could make it down which was not the case because it became so unstable that I stopped at the next turnout and contemplated things. No cellular signal and 18 miles from the nearest gas station was pretty dire. My faith in humanity was restored when a friendly couple (Muztara and Adeeta originally from Pakistan and India) stopped and gave us a lift down the mountain.

My girl's brother responded to a phone call and brought a can of fix a flat with him to take us back up for the bike which I re-plugged correctly.

There are still good people out there and you'd be surprised how helpful folks can be with no expectation of financial reward. These folks refused to accept any compensation for their kindness. I am glad I have helped so many troubled motorists in my life and those acts have paid back today..

 

[dadofthree]

 

[VaBusa]

Wow, quite an adventurous day! I feel for the guy that knocked over every damn bike there but yours...that had to feel just horrible

 

[MO-BUSA]

uh wow

 

[rubbersidedown]

AWesome post. I absolutely love being the good samaritan. Its rewarding in so many ways,but the best part is the fun I get to have. When ugly ol' Rubbah roles up on his scary lookin' harley,all decked out with "weekend warrior" gear on,the stranded females I have helped usually all do the same thing.

They roll up the windows and lock the fricken doors. I love it. They also pretend to call someone on the cell phone,that or they actually have the cops on the other end. hahaha.

I usually just ask what the car is doing or what happened before it died. All thru a locked window of course. hahaha. I get them to pop the hood hehehe and have had huge success getting folks back on the road.

It's very rewarding to give them the feeling that bikers can be very cool. In fact way more cool than the hundreds of cagers that race by while I'm conducting repairs. If there is kids in the car....EXTRA BIG FUN for Rubbah.

Sometimes I get the ol'..."NO thanks,auto club on the way". I look at that 1982 POS mini van and think to myself... she cant afford a used car battery,how can she afford "The Auto-Club." ??? O'well,throw a leg over,flash up,and on with the ride.


Sometimes curiousity gets the best of them,and they step out to watch. I then give them a little road side instruction on how to get themselves out of a jam. You know,cigarette pack tinfoil becomes fuse. Duct tape becomes patch on rad hose.All the drinks in the car become coolant.Have even used parts off my bike or truck. I really have fun doing it.


Maybe only one time I was dissapointed. Biker with shiddy sporster on side of hi-way. I know nobody will stop for this guy,he looks like charles manson. Wife and I unload all our camping gear outa the back of our van,tie it all on the roof,load his POS,drive him to his buddies place(miles in opposite direction for us) and....


Barely get a thank-you. unch:

Can't win 'em....but it is fun trying.

Rubb.

 

[Projekt]

I feel you Rub... Been there and done that. Some thank you profusely and others are more nonchalant about things. I once and only once ever had a male passenger on the Busa. He was a fellow rider who's Yamaha R1 had run out of fuel off a highway in Germany. Using miming and pigeon German/English, I told him to hop on and took him to the Petrol Station to get fuel and returned him to his bike.

Once while still living in Virginia, I bought a pair of college kids a used tire so that they could make it home to New York when their father refused to send money. They were extremely thankful and seemed flabbergasted that someone like me could just pull over and run them around to get them back on the road. I could see that they were in trouble and short on cash so it was nothing to spend 30 bucks and send them on their way.

The only negative experience I can recall was some blond older lady who refused my offer of pushing her off the road when her late model MB E350 broke down. She flat out said "you are not going to tough my car" in a gruff tone. The woman was blocking the left turn lane on the highway at a major intersection in rush hour traffic and couldn't care less about the people she would cause to be home late.

You win some, you lose some.