Saturday, October 21, 2006

Chased by Bikers, Captured By Friends

Well, the ride down to langley was a cold one, but the jacket was fantastic. My brother gave me a send off as we rode the last few Km out of town. Thanks Man, that was cool, just what i needed to get started. I fueled up in merrit and hope, as per usual, making my stops to coincide with a bit of a need to walk around.
And then on I went toward chilliwack. Well i have to say it was not uneventfull. As per my usual fare, I wave to the guys (or gals) riding similar bikes, but this time when i waved, I noticed there was a chap with exactly the same bike (older model). I thought it was cool that he waved back and was content in the fact that bike guys are pretty social creatures. No sooner had i forgotten about my passing, but I noticed a square single headlight in my rear view mirror. Moments later, the same bike i passed, zoomed pass me, waved and then signaled to stop by the side of the road. So in the adventurous spirit of the trip, i pried myself away from the 'time table' and stopped to chat.
Well, the excited, (and super informative) gentleman that dismounted, was quick to introduce himself as Norm. And moments later, I had every modification known to man about the KLR passed on to me as he inspected my bike for anything that I had done that he had not done to his. Upon my inspection of his bike, I noted that the only thing that was not customized was the gas tank. There were remounted fuses, modified seats, electrical accessory attachments, headlight toggles, and various things that I am not even qualified to understand, attached, bolted, and refit on his mount.
Truly this was a man with some knowledge. I hope that over the life time of using my bike I can get a few modifications in, but never as close to as much as this man has. He appears to live on his bike, and knows it well.
Moments later, myself and the man who is the repository for all things KLR, went our seperate ways, and I felt better knowing that there were guys out there willing to pull over on the coqu, for a chat about a bike.
A few hours later, through abbotsford and into langley, i stopped at my friends, and spent the evening catching up. My weekend promises to be one filled with activitied and good food. I a truly blessed with this good company.
Monday I will be leaving for oregon, making a quick pass through washington. Onward Ho...