- We planned to leave our hometown of Caro at 1pm, but ended up about a half-hour late helping Dale get his new-to-him TomTom zip-tied semi-securely to his handlebars. I was a few minutes late because I stopped for gas on the way, but I guess I could have waited since we had to stop at the gas station on the way out of town at about 1:30pm anyway.
- We really didn't want to take the main highways to get there, but 1) none of us are real familiar with the roads more than 50 miles South of us, and 2) since we were starting late (after church), we didn't want to make a long drive too much longer. We did take a couple back routes where we were familiar, and to avoid freeways when possible, but mostly ended up on the straight-shot there.
- Other than the wind, it was a gorgeous day for what will probably be our last real ride of 2014 in Michigan. Unfortunately, the wind was just bitter enough to keep me from taking my gloves off to snap some occasional photos like I usually do. Plus, I forgot to take one before we left, and it was too dark for one when we got back, so I really only have one of our bikes in the lot when we arrived.
Ruby's Bodyguards Left-to-Right:
Josh's '97 Honda Shadow ACE 1100, my Ruby; '93 Yamaha XJ600S Seca II, Dale's '95 Honda Shadow ACE 1100 (with Josh's not-yet-repainted fairing they swapped)
- The whole trip was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing with the drivers around here. The only concern was that Dale's bike wasn't running quite right. When I was behind him, I thought it smelled pretty lean, it was popping occasionally, and he couldn't get it to go faster than 85mph all day. Plus, when we got there, he noticed a small oil drip that wasn't there before, so he's got to figure that out, but at least there were no actual breakdowns.
- Most of the trip is a straight drive down M-53, so that was easy. We tried to use Dale's TomTom once we got off 53, but it kept telling us to do u-turns. Literally. We u-turned on a divided highway thinking it needed us to turn somewhere on the other side, but then it just told us to u-turn again, sending us in circles. Then, when I pulled it up on my phone to see where we needed to go, I realized I could just plug it into my helmet headphones and let it talk me there. That worked, and got us there in just a few minutes with only one confusing "Turn left here" moment where I picked the wrong one of two possible "here"'s.
- The "swap meet" itself was the most disappointing part of the whole day. The Gibralter Trade Center is basically just this huge-by-huge open warehouse where vendors rent a space to sell their wares. It's basically a mix-mash of a shopping mall, a flea market, and a garage sale; shopping mall variety, flea market over-pricing, and garage sale quality merchandise...if you're lucky. It's the kind of place you go when you have some money to waste on cheap useless trinkets you buy just because you want to. There is some legitimate merchandise there, but very little, and it's way over-priced and usually used.
- Annoyance #1: The flyer that told us about the event said it was $5 admission to the swap meet. It didn't mention that we first had to pay $2 per vehicle just to get in the parking lot. Then, we walked into the place, and were surprised that we weren't charged the other $3. That was okay, though, because as far as the eye could see, there was just one vendor selling motorcycle gear (jackets, helmets, and saddlebags), and everything else was potpourri; used books, stereo equipment, cheap toys, fake handbags, etc. How in the world was this a motorcycle swap meet? Just for the record, here's the ad we saw:
- Well, we were here now, and junk or not, it still looked interesting, so we decided to walk around and see if we could find anything that was more interesting than scary. No, not really. There was this one vendor selling hundreds of '80's World Wrestling Federation action figures, but we somehow managed to restrain ourselves. Then, as we rounded a corner, we came to a dividing wall in the building, and through a window we saw the actual motorcycle/gun & knife swap meet. It apparently made too much sense for them to think of putting any signs up anywhere telling people where it was, but fortunately, we found it. Or, at least, we thought it was fortunate.
- Annoyance #2: To get in, we had to pay the $5 admission. We already paid $2 that wasn't mentioned on the flyer just to get in the parking lot, and the flyer says the swap meet is $5, so why do we have to pay $7 total? The drop-outs manning the cash registers didn't know, and obviously didn't care, so we just paid the extra $2. It's only $2, but it's a dishonest $2, so we were annoyed.
- Annoyance #3: After paying $5 to get into the swap meet, we walked in and found a total of 10 vendors on the motorcycle end, and maybe 15 for the gun & knife (which we weren't particularly interested in). Of those 10 vendors, only 3 were actually selling motorcycle parts, 2 had "accessories" (you know, the kind you don't want, like turn signal lenses with the Detroit Tigers "D" etched in them), 1 had plain black half-shell helmets, 1 was just a raffle for a Kawasaki Mule side-by-side, and the other 3 were clothing...of which only one was NOT straight-up we-stayed-away-from-them scary. The "GIGANTIC INDOOR SWAP MEET!" was a whopping 3.5 vendors...and we paid $7 for the opportunity to pay them more money for...apparently, nothing.
- Annoyance #4: After paying the full $5 charge for the swap meet, we walked in two (2) hours before closing time, and most of the vendors were already packing things up! When we got there, there was literally only 3 actual vehicles left in the entire place. One was the raffle Mule, one was a trike conversion-kit demo, and the other was a guy trying to sell his late-son's Valkyrie trike. We paid full price for the full swap meet, but got less than the already little that was ever there in the first place. Ripped. Off. $7 isn't much, but I can think of much better ways to waste $7.
- Annoyance #5: The Worst Part: It only took us about 5 minutes to realize that this was very much NOT a motorcycle swap meet. It was clearly a Harley swap meet. That guy selling the Valkyrie was the only non-Harley thing in the whole place. There were a few "universal" accessories, but even they were aimed for Harley owners. While Dale was checking out a "universal" sound system to see if he could fit it on his Shadow (it wouldn't...but it was a direct bolt-on for Harley's!), the vendor told me he had "cool" lenses, too.
I said, "Not for our bikes, you don't."
Him: "I bet I do. What do you ride?"
Me: "I ride a Yamaha, and they ride Honda's."
Him: "Yup, I have those, too."
Me: "Well, maybe for them, but not for me."
Him: "Sure I do. What bike do you ride?"
Me: "Yamaha XJ600...sport bike."
Him: "Oh. No, I don't." ...and walked away like I have the plague
- As a matter of fact, this place was so Harley, that one of the clothing vendors showed it proudly. As his display center piece, hanging from the very top/center of his booth, was a shirt that said, "Real bikes are built with wrenches, not chopsticks". It instantly garnered that, "I know when I'm not welcome" feeling. After driving all this way, and paying to get in, we found almost nothing that even could be useful to any of us, let alone not offensive. Waste.
- Annoyance #6: Aren't swap meets where you go to get good deals on things? It's been a few years since I've been to one, but that's what I remember. You go to swap meets to find good deals, things you can't find anywhere else, and hopefully good deals on things you can't find anywhere else. Not this one. There was absolutely nothing here that you couldn't easily find on ebay these days...except that guy's late son's Valkyrie trike. That won't go on ebay until next week after it doesn't sell here. Other than that, it was all the same-ol', same-ol' that gives you 200 pages of results on ebay that you flip through a page-at-a-time because you're tired of seeing it.
- The difference is, the prices were all over the place. The cheap stuff was cheap, but it was cheap stuff...people don't actually buy that stuff, do they? At one vendor, we checked out handlebar clamp-on phone mounts for Dale's TomTom, and I've been interested in one for my phone, too. He had the cheap ones that you squeeze the ratcheting sides down on your device to hold it in place. They were $15, and so cheap that when I put my index and middle finger in between the sides, I could defeat the ratchets and push it apart, meaning you can bet your phone will fall out on the first set of railroad tracks. Next to it, he had a much better design that used a thumb-screw to tighten instead of ratchets. Now that you can trust. Other than the screws, it was nearly identical to the other one (it's not like there's much else you really can do different with them). He came over when he saw us looking at it, and when I asked him the price, he said it was $60! I said, "Whooo!" He looked at me like I offended him; like he had designed and built it himself (though it said "Made in China"). He said, "How much did you pay for your phone? Buy one of the cheap ones and watch it fall out then." ...and walked away like I have the plague.
I must really look like I'm ill or something!
- Both Dale and Josh had that stunned look on their faces, and we instantly read each other's minds. Almost simultaneously, we took a step back, turned, and walked away calmly...and quickly.
- At this point, we were pretty fed up with the waste of time and money just coming to this useless Harley swap meet. FORTUNATELY, we were buddies who got to ride here on our bikes on what's probably the last gorgeous day of the year. As soon as we stepped outside and saw our babies waiting for us, we forgot all about the meet (well, Josh and I did...Dale still simmered for awhile). It was a bit nippy in the wind, but still 60F and sunny...let's ride! We got our gear on, and headed out planning to stop at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lapeer for dinner. (Josh had never been to B-Dub's before! ...a pretty popular sports-themed restaurant here in MI, with good burgers, too.)
- Listening to the voices in my head (the GPS talking in my helmet), I led the way out of the city, and on to Lapeer. I was surprised when we had to stop at just over 100 miles because Josh was on reserve, and Dale was just about there. I still had enough to make it back home, and to work the next day. For being lower power and a lot slower, those nearly-twice-as-big 1100 twins are not very efficient...that, and they weigh about 100 pounds more than Ruby. But they are as comfy as a new couch!
- From the gas station, the GPS wanted us to take I-69, but we decided to take Old M-21 instead, to avoid the freeway and keep it a bit more interesting. It really is a pretty nice stretch of road, and not too busy at around 7pm. It was on that stretch, though, that I decided old western movies are stupid. What even semi-intelligent hero in his right mind would actually "ride off into the sunset"? Man, was it hard to see! I had to hold my hand up to just barely block the sun so I could see a stop light as we approached it hoping it was green; all the while hoping that my trusty steed and I weren't about to plummet into the Grand Canyon.
- B-Dub's was pretty good, but we all decided that it wasn't worth the price. My meal alone, a "gourmet" burger, regular fries, and soda, cost $14.xx, and it was good, but not $14 good. Plus, they had to remake it. It came on a pretzel bun, but the first one was a pretzel rod bun. It was so hard, the guys laughed as I whacked it with a fork in front of the waitress, and she looked appalled when it didn't give at all. After a wait, and a lot longer for it to cool, they were nearly done as I started eating. Fortunately, it was worth the wait...it was good. Still, it wasn't $14 good, and a courtesy discount would have been nice. I dunno, I guess I'm kind of a jerk, always expecting people to do their jobs and give me what I paid for. Must be the plague doing things to my brain. I even still left a tip. I must be sick; sick, I tell ya.
- Josh and Dale thought the same of their meals; not quite worth the price, but the place has an enjoyable atmosphere (after we convinced them to turn the music down), and we had fun talking, debating, and laughing, so I have no regrets; we enjoyed it...until we stepped outside, that is!
- The sun went down while we were in the restaurant, and MAN did it get cold! It was 59F when we went in, and 47F one hour later! Yowza! I put my thermal undershirt on, jacket with liner, over-pants (essentially just windbreakers) over my jeans, and wished I had my winter gloves with me as I shivered all the way home.
- Oy! It was cold...and I still had a blast.
- About halfway home, we finally found that real "free" feeling; that moment when the whole world melts away, and all there is to care about is you, your bike, and others like you. Everything else is a blur...and it's total bliss! I don't remember a single vehicle from that whole stretch of the ride. I don't even remember noticing the landmarks I know very well from driving that stretch many many times before. But, I do remember every detail of the road, every odd blur of trees in the dark as our headlights fade away, every blip of the throttle, every time we change positions. I can still hear the loud brap from their pipes; the way the two of them side-by-side and out-of-sync as they accelerate sounds and feels like standing next to an idling top-fuel dragster, and the racey buzz from my XJ as I stealthily weave between those slow behemoths to retake the lead. I can still smell the fresh air, and feel the difference in the high I get as I smell the exhausts from each bike; as similar and distinguishable as twin sisters you've known your whole life. Out of the whole 180 mile day, those last 5-10 miles were 95% of the enjoyment, and the entire reason for the whole trip. It was so transcendent!
- We made it back to Dale's house about 8:45, talked about the fun for awhile, and parted ways to head for home. Oh, thank God for that last 15 minutes! As you read this, you're probably thinking it was a lousy day, but it ended up as one of the best I've had in awhile. I'm buzzing again as I sit here writing about it. All I can think of is "Dash" from the movie "The Incredibles", near the end of the movie in the limo as he describes a horrible day, then collapses on the seat saying, "Best. Vacation. EVER!"
<SIGH!>
- Anyway, there's a few thousand words (okay, a few thousand characters) trying to make up for the lack of pictures from our last hurrah ride yesterday. Hopefully, I'm wrong and we'll get another one before the snow flies.