Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Snow Day For Billy Boy



Man, am I glad that I didn't have to work today. This split day off schedule isn't so bad after all. Schools were on a two hour late start due to snowy road conditions, so I had the time to chain up the old beater and get Billy to school without having to hurry.

Yesterday's weather was, as Johnny Carson used to say "Some weird, wild stuff", with Port Angeles winning the high wind title with a whopping 64 mph gust that brought more trees down, and turned the power off for lots of wind-weary folks again. My neighbor across the street lost a big cedar tree that made front page news.

The photo above was taken in my back yard at 11:00 a.m. as another front was coming through. In all, we have gotten about 3" of snow this morning. Tonight is supposed to get down to 23 degrees and the temps should stay below freezing till Friday afternoon.

I did, however, try to get out on Mule this morning, but ended up sittin' and spinnin'. Somehow I need to find a way to get a ride in while these conditions are in place. Folks may think of this as foolish behavior, and it probably is, but I bungy jumped off a 140' bridge and got over people calling me foolish. If I don't try, then I'll keep wishing that I did.

I'm taking this down time from being able to ride every day to put some ideas together for a little scooter club that some of guys at work and I have put together. We've named it the "Geezers Motoscooter Club". The only criteria at this point in time is that you own a scooter or motorbike, that you ride the doggone thing, and that you take some time to participate in the forming of this club. Oh, and that you dig Johnny Cash and his music.

As I am a cartoonist, and do quite a bit of graphic artwork, I created a club logo that will be on club tee shirts soon. We also came up with a small service station style name patch that has "Geezers" in royal blue on white, in the Ford style font. "Ford" written like you would see on a Model "A" Ford.

The whole deal on this club is that we are just in it for a good time. We have 4 members within our company and a couple other people that want in, so in all we may have 6 or 7 riders coming to our first official meeting. Putting it together is what I'm doing now.

What I mean by "a good time" is that we get together on a regular basis and maybe do a little tire kicking, tell some lies, and spend some time hanging out and being around scoots. Nothing too heavy or full of rules and fools. There's nothing like blasting over to a buddies shop to help him wrench on his bike, or get a call to ride out to the river to fish for a while on a summer evening. These types of things are what I mean by a good time.

But that is all down the road a ways. And hopefully the road will be clear of tree limbs, snow and ice so I can enjoy it again.

Have fun,

Bill

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Bill,

I drove again today for 2 days in a row and I'm starting to experience PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) Tomorrow should be nice and sunny but cold. I'm tempted to ride to work but if all these snow stick around I would opt to ride my Limo again (Plymouth Voyager). The forecast for the rest of the week and next week look promising let's hope it's true otherwise I'll have a chronic PMS....


Art

PS. 80% of Camano Island is out of power last night when I came home except for us since I generate my own electricity. My family is on Solar Power and we have 25,000 watt diesel generator if we want to use the Jacuzzi to relieve our stress with this type of weather we are having. lol

5:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like Minnesota out there, Bill. Only Minnesota is brown right now. This is one crazy weather pattern.

They say we are supposed to get more "seasonal" temperatures, starting next week. Lows in the single digits, highs in the teens. Very little snow is predicted, however.

When the temps go below 10° F, I'm going to leave Scarlet in the garage and drive the truck this year. I have nothing to prove, and nothing to gain by riding when it's that cold.

Hope things get better for you out there.

Stay warm,
=gc=

4:28 AM  
Blogger Combatscoot said...

I like your club idea. That's pretty-much where Scooter Mania is for us, pretty loosely associated. After being a rebel for so long, I'm not about to tie myself into any organization with alot of rules.
One of the reasons I bought a vintage Russian sidecar bike when I was in Kodiak was so I could still ride even when there was snow and ice about. I must say, used carefully, it was a bit of fun. A fairly new one will be more reliable than an old one, and if you keep the speeds under 55MPH, a well cared-for example is safe and trustworthy. Just something to think about.
John

5:41 AM  
Blogger Bill Sommers said...

Art,
I'm actually glad that I drove today. When I took my son to school this morning, we were held up in an 8 car standstill as people tried to get up a hill without sliding back down sideways. Since I was chained up, I was able to cruise around the mess and get to the school on time.

You have solar power? Nice setup! How many powerless neighbors were hanging around when you got home from work?

Gary,
In the beginning, I was hoping for a real Minnesota type of winter. I wanted to try to ride everyday, but it hasn't panned out the way that I had hoped.

We really don't have the resources as far as road clearing and de-icing as you folks do, so we end up with poor road surfaces for quite a while. The main streets get the attention, but side streets are on their own.

You did prove it last year, and my wool hat is still off to you for that.

John,
Yeah, the whole club idea is supposed to be about fun. I did the real hardcore thing and don't care to go back there, so this is going to be kept simple. Having friends involved is what makes it what it is.

I've thought about the sidehack route before. I have a friend that owns a Ural Tourist model, and he rides it in some sloppy stuff. I just need to find a way to fund a rig like this. My choice would be the military model.

Have fun,
Bill

7:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps your club could have a monthly newsletter. You could call it "Geezer World".

We have had the snow down here in Oregon, too. Today it is clear, cold, and sunny. As soon as I submit this comment I am on the bike and out of here!

Geez, Art. A Jacuzzi? I hope the diesel fumes leave a film on your fancy mineral water!

10:46 AM  
Blogger Bill Sommers said...

Dan,
I hope to resume my scooter quest on Monday. The side roads were still nice and shiny when I came home tonight, and a nice chunk of my putt home are on these streets.
I make a little test run on Sunday.

Yeah, a jacuzzi! How cool is that? We don't even have a birdbath. Let alone a diesel generator heated one.
I'll need to tool on up to Camano Island to check it out. Art has it figured out.

Have fun,
Bill

7:35 PM  
Blogger Steve Williams said...

Wow. I haven't seen weather like that in a long long time. We are having a South Carolina winter here. My grass is growing and spring plants are already coming up.

I couldn't belong to a Geezer Club because I'm more of an old coot....

7:53 PM  
Blogger Bill Sommers said...

Steve,
I have icicles growing. My spring plants will have to wait till spring. It looks like with the cold, that the snow will be around for a week or so. At least now it's sunny.

The weatherman said that this is the first time since the end of October that we've had sunshine in the forecast for more than 2 days in a row.

You can still be a Geezer and an old coot at the same time. Check out my Father in-Law.

I'd send you a patch anytime.

Have fun,
Bill

8:10 PM  

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