Bump In The Road

There is a bump on Ray Road.  It has no hidden agenda.  It harbors no ill feelings toward anyone.  It doesn’t think about those passing over it day after day. It’s not doing anything differently today than it has for the past few years.  It’s just a bump, an aberration on the asphalt. This bump has changed lives.

May 14, 2007 and the 2002 Honda CBR hit the bump. The same bump that this same Honda had traveled over many times.  But May 14 was different. What was different?  I don’t know.  Same rider, same bike, same bump; different day. Front tire wobbling handlebars slamming back and forth. Bike tumbling.  Rider thrown.  The asphalt catching the rider. Slashed fingers, broken ribs, broken shoulder blade, fractured knee, skin torn.  Mom and child in stroller safe on sidewalk. Indian music playing on iPod. Panic, calm, confusion, wonder.  Rider off bike but now carried in a helicopter.

I wish I could have a chat with that bump in the road. I’d like to have a Q&A session with it.  I’d ask it what it had against my friend Bill. Why Bill, why not kick a bicyclist off his ride resulting in less damage, not the months of rehab Bill had after his crash.  Would the bump blame the front tire? Would the bump even care?  I doubt it.

I’d like to have a chat with the snow outside of Winter Park, Colorado. In 1988 my friend Davy and I were driving along a mountain pass and our car lost traction and we began sliding toward a steep decent.  Certainly we would have been injured if not killed.  But the tires and the snow had a conversation.  The snow let the tires grip and our car stopped.  We’d been given a reprieve.

I’d also like to have an interview with the cancer cells that killed my dog Sammy last year. I’d like to hurt those cells; beat them with a heavy phone book and make them suffer. Waterboard them. I’d get answers out of them.  But those cells are tough, I doubt they would give up any answers or tell me anything that the bump couldn’t.  Which is absolutely nothing. 

Maybe Sammy’s cancer cells would tell me to chat with the malaria that suddenly killed my friend Jan in 1992. Perhaps the Malaria would have me check in with the malaria pills Jan had stopped taking weeks after her return from Africa. The pills would cry that they could have saved her.  They would have done it if they could. If only…

These bumps in the road are frustrating.  They are out there everywhere.  You can’t see them coming until you’ve hit them.  Sure you’d do things differently if you could.  You’d drive a different route, you’d take the pills, you’d get a better vet, you’d slow down.  But you didn’t. And you can’t go back.  Damage done.

Last night we had another bump in life’s road. A trip to the emergency vet to see what was happening to Luka.  He was feverish, drooling constantly, eyes watering, discolored tongue, acting funny.  Renal failure? Valley fever?  What was the problem?  We did not know.  The vet told us to come right in and we did.

Luka had his checkup.  The vet checked his mouth, took his temperature, took blood.  We waited an hour for the verdict.  We were called into examining room no. 1 for the results.  This was the exact same room where Sammy had died just a year earlier.  Luka was sitting in the exact place where Sammy died when the vet entered the room to tell us the results.

We were fortunate. Luka is fine.  No internal problems.  He had a problem with his mouth that caused the tongue discoloration and drooling. The problem was minor.  On the way home I started thinking about the bump on Ray Road and decided that the bump does have something to say.  If it could talk it would tell us something.

Cherish life. Cherish those you love. Do those things you intend to do.  Don’t waste your time. Don’t get distracted. Pet your dog.

Thanks for the insight Bump.  Perhaps next time you could just give us a gentle reminder instead of tossing my friend over the handlebars or killing my dog.  Jerk.

Posted by Mark Wallace Posted in: Dogumentary, Events, Luka, Motorcycles, Random Stuff No Comments » December 2007

David Jeffries flies!

Posted by admin Posted in: Motorcycles No Comments » February 2007

Riding my bike in the cold…

The temperatures have dropped here in Arizona and it’s getting pretty chilly on the ride in to work, it was in the 30’s this morning.  My BMW heated vest stopped working last week and I thought I was going to have to buy a new one.  Luckily my warranty is still good and I’m headed to the BMW shop to get it replaced today.

A friend of mine rides a Honda and I was telling him about the Widder heated vests.  I think I would have bought a Widder system if I’d known about them when I bought my vest.  They are less expensive and get great reviews. They are compatible with BMWs as well as just about any bike made.

In other bike news… I’m starting to look at the new BMWK1200GT.  It’s a little larger than my current 2004 K1200RS and maybe the perfect commuter/touring bike.  I’ll wait until next year before seriously considering trading for a new bike, but it sure looks nice!

And my 2002 Buell X1 is still for sale.  Let me know if you’re interested in buying it.

Posted by admin Posted in: Motorcycles No Comments » December 2006

Mark’s world tour - prelude

I’m sitting in seat 5A, thousands of feet in the air, heading toward Nashville,TN.  This is just a prelude for my 2005 world tour.  OK, maybe it’s not a world tour, but I’ll be gone for a few weeks and make it half way around the globe.

Here’s the plan…This weekend I’ll be hanging out with my oldest friend, Davy.  I don’t mean to say that Davy is old, just that we’ve been friends for a long time. 20 years to be exact. OK, now I’m sounding old.

Davy lives in Nashville, TN.  I’ll be landing there in a few hours and then we’ll be heading over to the local Harley Davidson dealer to pick up a rental bike.  Davy has a nice BMW that he’ll be riding.  I’ll be cruising on a Heritage Classic.  After we get the bike we’ll be hitting the road.  I’m not sure where we’re going, but the destination indefinitely not what’s important on this ride.  It’s all about the journey.

This is the third time we’ve done a weekend of wandering on motorcycles. It all started in 2002 after I bought my Buell X1.  Davy flew out to Phoenix and we rented him a fun BMW to ride.  We took off through the desert and embraced the wind and open road.  We’d stop at little diners and coffee shops to talk, laugh, and catch up.  We’d ride a bit more, think about the conversation,mull over questions, and then stop again to continue to conversation.

We found that the formula of ride, think, relax, converse was so great that we had to do it again.  Last year I bought a new BMW K1200RS and Davy flew out again for a repeat of the last adventure.  This time Davy rented a Harley Fat Boy. He loved it.  We took a different route, had different conversations, but had an equally fun and therapeutic weekend.

We had such a good time that we decided to make it an annual event; more frequent than that if possible.  So here I am on my way to the first ride this year. I can’t wait.

I get back to Phoenix on Monday.  I’ll be home for a few short days and one week from today I’ll be heading overseas.  My first stop will be Frankfurt,Germany.  I’ll be in Germany for a day then I’ll be heading to Paris,France.  I’ll be in Paris for a week.  I’ll be exploring Paris and other parts of France on my first official European vacation.  More on Paris in future posts…

After Paris I’ll head to Bangalore, India.  I’ll be in Bangalore for two and a half weeks.  Unlike Paris my time in Bangalore will be spent working. I will have two weekends to explore the city and get to know people.  I haven’t been to India in a few years, and I’ve never been to that part of the country,so I’m excited to see what adventures await me.

After I get back from India I’ll have a couple of weeks to settle in before I head up to Spokane, Washington for a family reunion.  Unfortunately that will be a short trip due to all the time (and expense) of the weeks of travel before it.

Diane will not be going to Europe or Asia with me.  It’s going to be a little weird being apart that long.  Since the day we met the longest we’ve ever been apart is 5 days.  In fact I think our total days apart might not add up to 15 days.  So this trip is going to be bittersweet.  One reason I’m not going to Italy is because I want to see that for the first time with Diane. Hopefully we’ll be able to afford it next year.

I will be taking my camera with me and plan to take a lot of pictures.  I’m going to try to update my photoblog regularly, and I’ll create a photo album for all of the “best of” pictures when I get back.

I’ll also be taking my iRiver H300 with me.  It has a built in MP3 recorder that I’m going to try to use to capture some of the sounds on the trip. Hopefully I’ll have enough to create a little podcast of my trip.  No promises,but I’ll give it a try.

On my little tour I’ll be spending 60+ hours on trains and planes, and that does not include lay-overs and time spent at airports and train stations. So I’ll have plenty of time to blog my journey.  Put on your reading glasses!

Please feel free to post comments to my entries as I travel the globe.  It will be great to hear from everyone as I zip around the world.

Until next time…

Posted by admin Posted in: Motorcycles, News No Comments » May 2005

BMW

Today was a great day.  I bought my dream bike, a BMWK1200 RSA.  It has a blue and white paint scheme, heated hand grips (whichI’m sure will come in handy in Arizona), cruise control, luggage rail, etc. It’s a killer bike.  I still have my trusty Buell X1, I have no plans to sellit.  I just really like the Buell for zipping around the corners and waking upmy neighbors.  But on a long haul the Buell is just too uncomfortable. It’s also not a great daily commuter bike.  It has no clock, no gas gauge, noluggage rack.  It’s made to be lean and mean.  The BMW is big and comfy.

I plan on buying some saddlebags and hitting the road next spring.  I’ll probablymake a couple trips to LA on this bike too.  It’s a great sport/touring bike.

I’ll keep you posted on my bike journeys, and take some pictures along the way.

Posted by admin Posted in: Motorcycles No Comments » July 2004

Broken Buell

 

Argh!  My Buell is broken.  Actuallyit’s not a big deal, one of the nuts that holds the header to the cylinder came off. I noticed that my bike started to sound very loud, then it started to run a littlerough.  By the time I got home my bike was sounding like a big twin Harley. The rear pipe, the one that has the oxygen sensor, was very loose.  It lookslike I’m just going to have to put a new nut on the bolt and I’ll be fine.  Justto make sure I’ll run it over the ChandlerHarley and see if they suggest anything else.  What a bummer.

 

Posted by admin Posted in: Motorcycles No Comments » October 2003

Ride to Payson, AZ

 Calling all Phoenix area bikers!  There is a ride Sunday morning, September 21st,  toPayson, AZ.  We will be meeting at the gas station by Fort McDowell Casino (it’son hiway 87 just north of Shea Blvd.) at 7:30 am.  The ride is good for beginnersand advance riders alike.  It’s about 45 miles of gently curving road. All bikes are welcome.The plan is to ride to Payson and have breakfast at The Small Cafe.  After somegood food and coffee we’ll return.  Some may choose to continue north to WoodsCanyon Lake or ChristopherCreek.Clickhere for a map of the meeting point.

Posted by admin Posted in: Events, Motorcycles No Comments » September 2003