So, Saturday, I am laying on the couch watching Bubba get ready to leave for his Movie House Job, when my cell phoe suddenly lights up. The screen says "Gulf Coast BMW".
I quickly mute the television, while picking up, and answering the phone. It is one of hte service guys at Gulf Coast, and they are calling to tell me that the bike is ready to be picked up.
I was stunned. I could not speak. In fact, the guy that as calling said "hello, are you there?" as if the line had dropped. I quickly recovered, and asked when the place closed, and they replied five o'clock.
Now, I have a dilemma. Bubba is just moments from leaving, and after he goes, my ability to leave the house is nearly nil. First, I tried to call Squirmy, but, her line went straight to voice mail. Then, I tried again, just to be sure, and yes, straight to voice mail. Then I tried to call Number One, but remembered as the line started to ring that she had worked a double he night before, and was probably still asleep. I hung up without leaving a message.
Meanwhile, Bubba is asking me questions about how long it would take to get there, and I told him that I did not want him to be late for work for me, because I could just pick it up on Tuesday, if push came to shove.
Then he picked up the phone, and called his boss, and asked if i would be okay to come in a little late. They said yes. I was shocked.
So, I grabbed my riding gear, and put on a pair of pants, and we flew down the highway. Bubba dropped me off, and I walked in. The place was fairly empty, in fact, except for employees, no one was there. Walking into service to get my ticket so that I could pay, I asked the question about the part coming in early, because I had been told that it would not ship from Germany until the following Monday. All they would reveal is that the part had come in Friday afternoon, and that they had jumped right on getting the bike put back together.
I walked out, and there She was. they had cleaned her up, and she looked great.
Walking around her, checking her out, I found myself talking to her, not really realizing it, until the service manager came out, and heard me. There was a funny grin on his face, and I was a little embarrassed, but, said to him, "I Really Missed Her", to which he replied, "no need to explain, I understand."
After not riding her for a month, and riding that Trimph Speed Triple for 2 weeks, I was a little out of sorts with her at the beginning. The pegs were in a weird place, and the shifter felt wrong. I thought maybe the shop had adjusted it. I even went back in, and asked the service manager about it, and he said they did not even work on that side of the bike at all. But, after a few minutes, I decided that the problem was just me, and I put my helmet on, and off I went.
Getting on the freeway, there were a few butterflies, mostly because it had been a while, and some because I was a little unsure of She. Was she all fixed? Was there something hiding, that didn't get fixed correctly, or any of a dozen other questions.
All those questions were answered in the run through the gears, listening to She sing her song. I let her play out second and third gears, shifting as I passed 7000 RPM, and just having fun. Through traffic I flew. I realized that today, I was one of the crazy motorcycle guys, zipping through traffic, and going entirely too fast for my own good. The speedometer was hovering around 85 any time that I had a second to look down, but, for the most part, I rode by feel.
It was a very great ride, and I got home about 30 minutes after leaving the shop.
I am very glad that everything appears to be find with her. I rode into work today, in the dark and the cool, and the temperature needle, which has been a problem for 2.5 months was right back where it belonged again. Perhaps a weekend ride to lunch is in order.
But, not this weekend, I have late night work at work, and a baby shower on Saturday afternoon.
But, it is very cool to ride again.
Shalom.
Namaste, My Friends.
See You On The Other Side.