[ST] Actual RIDE report and temperature update

["Andrew F. Kay, Jr. " <captainquack@xxxxxxxxxx>]

85 degrees, phooie.  It was a gentle 68 when I left the house yesterday
aboard the Thruxton, my fleece vest warm against my manly chest under
the perfed leather jacket.  104 miles and 2 hours later I pulled into
Bryant Park in Lake Worth and the temp was up to 73.

There I was surrounded by numerous examples of British machinery of all
ages.  The local Brit car club was putting on a show and the RotLE had
about 15 members show up on their bikes.  Thru the generosity of member
John (Iron Man) Murphy we had a space in the show to display our bikes.
Iron Man's generosity being limited, we had to pay him back for the
parking privileges.

It was a glorious February day in SoFla, the temperature got up to the
mid 70's and the sun shown brightly on the  multi-colored vehicles in
the park.  There was row of MGB's with everything from stock 1800's with
their side-draft carbs to supercharged examples and the occasional Rover
V-8, stuffed in like the horde of old clothes and children's artifacts
that Judy has wedged into the guestroom closet.  Healeys of all kinds,
Mini's, Iso-Griffiths, Jag's (the real ones, not this Ford shite they
expel today), Morris Minors and other examples of the Garage's work
abounded.  For those not in the know, MG stood for Morris Garage,
onceaponceatime.

Not to be outdone, the RotLE had several vintage Bonneville's on
display, numerous Hinckley's including my Thruxton and the star of the
show, Don Bradley's 1952 Vincent Black Shadow.  The Shadow is like a
small amusement park, providing a playground for the ignorant as well as
the knowledgeable.  "Why does it have a sprocket on the left side of the
rear wheel, but no chain?"  Don explains that the extra sprocket is for
racing, to make it faster if you hook up two chains.  Those of us in the
know stifle our amusement.  The wheel is made to be reversed, providing
a different final drive ratio at a moments notice.  The Jaguar owners
eat it up.

Eating it up being one of my favorite amusements, I amble over to the
Fish-n-chips stand, recommended by Iron Man Murphy, a connoisseur of
Irish birth, Scot's upbringing and US citizenship.  As usual, his taste
in Fish-n-chips in not mine, but at least the grease is hot and the
Ginger Beer is cold.  Ah, well, I can't understand his speech, either.
As I eat my lunch, John Zura, formerly of JZ's Brit Bikes, enjoys a
cigarette while he explains his heart condition to the audience.  Herb
Lozott dozes in the sun, while Craig Freeman explains his new sissy-bar
to the admirers of his T-bird.

The quality of this show caught us by surprise, next year we will drive
down in the pick-up, a few older bikes in the back and scads of Don's
and Hector Cademartori's tee-shirt designs for sale.  That means I won't
get to ride in the beautiful weather, but I can get the Beautiful Judy
to come with me and help fill out membership forms.

I got back to Fellsmere about 5:00, the only downside being that most of
the ride was on I-95, a road of which I am all too familiar.  The
temperature was back in the low 70's by then, the fleece vest in the
courier bag on my back, but it was too late for the dead hog at
mile-marker 143.  He needs to be dragged off to the Harley shop for a
rebuild, he's starting to stink pretty bad.

Andrew F. Kay, Jr.
Riders of the Lost Empire, LC,  13355 79th Street, Fellsmere, FL 32948
www.lostempire.com   andy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
"Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife, throughout the sensual world
proclaim, one crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a
name." Thomas Osbert Mordaunt, 1730-1809



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
STeve Duncan
From: "Denis Liakos" <denoose@xxxxxxx>
>
>Thanks for the ride report, STeve.  


Oh, I guess I did not mention what the actual temp was here yesterday,
did 
I?  It was 85f   :-)

eL Donut
jinete en la tormenta

STeve Duncan
'00-Sprint-ST




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