Grapevine, TX- Christmas Capitol of the !@#$% World!

I interrupted my relaxing and sleeping at Jen's to round up all the kids and head out to Grapevine, TX, heralded locally as the Christmas Capitol of Texas. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad Association puts on a little "Polar Express" train ride.

Hello, Frisco TX!

I'm a little surprised at myself, but I love the feel of Dallas and Texas! Who'd have guessed? And it's very good to see my sister and nephew and get off the bike.

Yamaha XS750

Leaving Hope, AR in the predawn at 22 degrees was an experience, but now that it's 35 degrees, sunny and warming, riding feels absolutely cozy. I can keep both hands on the handlebars for a while if I want to! It feels like I'm sitting in the sun on a beach with my toes in hot sand. It's all about what you're used to, I guess. Good toughening for ski season.

It took 5000 miles and 6 months, but I finally am starting to like this motorcycle. It definitely has its issues and an attitude; I think the only reason it's still running is because I have my dirty, greasy hand shoved up its ass to my elbow, and can give a fistful of its warm guts a squeeze the second it thinks about giving any trouble. Actually, that's mostly just an allegorical description of the relationship. In reality, I haven't been working much on the bike at all. I just keep a screwdriver and some spare fuses in my pocket and stare at it in a commanding fashion when I walk up to it. But it's still about control and imposing my will. That bike won't stop or break because I won't let it; it doesn't have my permission. Yet. It can break in Texas if it wants. But not Arkansas. Definitely not in Arkansas. God.

Nashville to Hope, Arkansas

Not much to see in AR. It wouldn't have mattered much, because 455 miles and 26 degrees F meant the only thing I could see was the ice crystals forming inside my corneas. In my aqueous humor. Except not funny.

The motorcycle is acting out and protesting very earnestly, but so far in fairly civil ways that I can tolerate or deal with. It really doesn't like cold starts in the morning; it took two trips up and down the hill near Jim's apartment to get it started this AM in Nashville. (No daily Crossfit needed after that!) I was a little nervous about being in the middle of Arkansas with a hard-starting bike, so I got a new battery, fiddled with the carbs, and tried to redo the ignition system(*). Seems much better now, but given the low tonight is expected to be a tingly 22 degF, and there isn't a hill or friendly help within 150 miles, I'm taking extra precautions:



I don't expect any trouble starting it tomorrow morning.

(*) I bought all the parts and tools I'd need to redo the points and caps and set the timing, figuring that would freshen things up, fix the bike's high-rpm stumble and probably make it start easier. When I pulled things apart, it has a completely eletronic ignition! WTF? In 1978?! This thing was as high tech as the F-16s just starting to roll off the assembly line at the time. Well, no maintenance or rebuilding possible. Guess I'm living with a weak spark.

Motorcycle Started

After a couple days in Nashville, I finally got around to tracking down the motorcycle and visiting it to see if it would start. It took some extended cranking, one push down a small hill, and a tiny shot of starting fluid, but it did finally shake off its slumber and start. It appears no worse for the extended sitting.

I leave tomorrow for Little Rock. Everyone in Nashville is alarmed, bordering on horrified, that I would stay or even stop anywhere in Arkansas. It's the kind of reaction I'd give a visitor to Seattle if they told me they were going to walk across Alaska with just a tarp and a couple juice boxes. Maurice Clemmons, the West Memphis 3, and the rape/murder of Daisy Bates were all cited as exact examples of what would happen to me at the end of the first Arkansas exit offramp I took.

We'll see. This isn't 1987 Columbia for God's sake. This is America. Talk to you tomorrow.

TN to TX

I've been in Nashville for two days now, to continue my $600 motorycycle's trip around/across/through the Country. I haven't yet checked on the bike, but there's rumors floating around that it wouldn't start again after I left it in October. I'll check on the bike tomorrow, after more important Nashville priorities and traditions are taken care of. Like making a music video and putting it on youtube.

Unlike previous Nashville music videos, this is perfectly tasteful and serves a grand purpose- to add some pop and flash to the Jim's craigslist ad and help him sell his conversion van. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TXwSZgpecE