I met this bloke named Mike. I was helping a friend get the mast installed on her boat and so was Mike. It was a disastrous comedy of errors that ended with no raised mast, a bent plate and one small bump on a lady’s head.
I had on a Triumph hat. Mike asked if I had a bike? I did. I do. Mike has a BMW RT1200.
So we chatted a bit about bikes and things, we talked some bollocks and had some laughs, it appears that Mike is alright.
A couple of months later, after a few failed attempts to get together for a ride, Mike told me about a trip he was planning and asked if I would like to join in? I said, “sure”. The trip was planned for mid May. As the date got a little closer I started to realize that the week long adventure was going to require time off work and I might not be able to get the vacation time. And then I remembered that I am the boss and I can do what I like and what I like is riding bikes with blokes. And then I got the XR.
The XR is made for this type of thing!
Mike has a mate called Kris (not to be confused with My Mate Chris). Kris has a BMW R1200.
We met up for beers (real or otherwise) to talk about the trip. Mike introduced me to Kris as “Paul with a Triumph”, having just that day sold my Sprint and purchased the XR I corrected him and let them know that now I also had a German motorcycle.
I didn’t actually say it like that though, did I? No I didn’t. Assuming a level of friendship and humor that I had no reason to believe was present, I went completely British and told my new mate that, “actually, I have gone full Nazi, like you guys”.
At this point, it may be worth pointing out that I have since learned not to joke about racially oppressive military regimes with complete strangers, but at this exact moment in our story, I had not grasped this. It is also fair to point out that pretty much everyone else on the planet appears to already know this. Very fair.
Kris, who it turns out is orthodox Jewish, replied in full Bulgarian accent, “what do you mean by this”?
A reasonable question I suppose. I responded with some mumbling comment about Germans, forced labor, prison camps, Mengler, Joseph Goebells…..Jesus, whatever you do don’t mention the war!
Despite my sense of humor (which my wife describes as “things she has to apologize for”) the evening went well and we agreed to get together the following week for a ride. Mike named this trip, The Three B’s, the Bulgarian, the Britt and the Berkeley.
Now, we have a group chat which is filled with discussions about the route, what gear we are bringing, what new gear we are buying. The planning and anticipation are half the fun.
I have bought a new helmet for this trip and the other B’s have convinced me to install an intercom device so we can chat while we ride and I can amuse them with my holocaust themed humor.
The planned route is basically to head East over the Sierra mountains, down to Death Valley, across Nevada to the North rim of the Grand Canyon, up to Zion National Park, West to Bryce Canyon and then back home through Yosemite. A cool 2000 miles in 8 days with six national parks.
I am now very, Very, VERY excited.
LOL Paul I have been reading your blog to Shepps who is currently rolling on the floor crying with laughter. He says he can actually visualise the words coming out of your mouth and the cringe awkwardness that would follow ?. Enjoy your trip x
Well….it is a family trait.