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All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
Blatherings From The Editor All dressed up and no place to go! That’s how I felt when what have been described as “epic” storms came through Southern Arizona the third week of January. I lost count of the number of weather fronts that came through on their way east; each successive one was stronger than the last. More rain and snow got dumped that week than we had all last year. Any mountain top higher than 3 to 4 thousand feet got a dusting of snow. Skiers got pretty excited and left in droves for the Ski Resorts only to get trapped there or on the way. For the first time that I can remember there was even a tornado warning for central Arizona. It was not a good time for a motorcyclist to be out on the road, for sure. That meant there wasn’t going to be a Big Bend Texas January Ride. After all the planning and coordinating, the idea of riding in winds predicted to be 35 miles per hour with gusts in the 40s and 50s just didn’t bring happy thoughts. Our hotel reservation was cancelled Wednesday, we held off as long as we could. The plan had been to leave Thursday morning. Good thing we cancelled early as the worst front of them all came through Wednesday night and was still going strong Thursday morning. Dinner reservations for Friday and Saturday night were also cancelled Wednesday, or so we thought. Someone at the Alpine City Limits didn’t pass the word and the owner of the restaurant called Friday afternoon checking on how many folks did we expect. None…darn it. After riding out to Death Valley in January for the last 10 years or so, our ’08 K1200GT got the full treatment in anticipation of wind, rain, snow, fog…you know, normal crossing the desert in winter weather. After a nice loop around the San Pedro River to get everything warmed up the GT got fresh oil, oil filter and rear drive grease. Then off with the body work and the radiator for a valve check and new spark plugs. A fresh air filter went in before all was zipped back up. Even new tires were strapped on to insure maximum adhesion to a possibly slippery road. Another hundred mile loop or so to make sure all was well and she was ready to go…no where, darn it. We didn’t forget our riding gear either. Our Beemer boots and leather pants were given a Saddle Soap bath to clean off several thousand miles worth of bugs and gunk. Then came a rub down with Doc Baileys to put back in some color and keep the leather soft. Lastly they got a brushing of mink oil to help keep the water out. Our Gerbing gloves got the same treatment so all the gear was ready to go…back in the closet, darn it. And there the GT sits in the garage…bags on, tank bag loaded…just needs five days of clothes and toiletries and color her gone. Deryle & Wanda, all dressed up and no place to go!
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