No, he's not tampering, it must be the "Great Stig" and parked next to me. Rumour is that no one knows who the Great Stig is for he always has his helmet on. He is also known as the "Man behind the Visor"
We have an excellent EDS: Early Detection System at work and our female radar system quickly relayed that a mystery man on a motorcycle had entered our Company Airspace. Of course, I knew that Chris was coming to my office so I grabbed my camera and quickly went outside to greet him
During our short time together I managed to "unmask" the Man behind the Mask and have the following, never before seen exclusive photos of the Man behind the Visor
Meet Chris Luhman, from MN on a 7 week Tour across the country from MN to San Diego (By way of Alaska)
I don't believe that after all these years we have finally had the chance to meet in person, and he is standing in my office. My only wish was that he were able to stay in town for another couple of days so I could show him some of our great roads & sights, and also to have a meal or two. But of course he has a much better companion flying into Seattle on the 25th, where he is headed later this afternoon
We decided to have a long coffee break and talk about this and that but as we parked our bikes, Chris noticed a problem with his sheared off licence plate, so thoughts turned to repairing this as soon as possible as it would have been a problem with border security later when he re-entered the United States. You can read Chris's comprehensive report HERE
Now, here we are in New Westminster wondering what to do. Chris thought that we could purchase some epoxy. We have nothing at work which could have been used to repair this, and I was an hour away from home & my meagre tools. It was like a vise squeezing my head to find a quick solution so Chris could be on his way to Seattle. I mean, Chris is thousands of miles away from home so it was up to me to find the solution.
Voila, Eureka . . . a brainstorm. I remembered that a fellow V-strom rider worked at a local body shop a couple of miles away. I quickly found the phone number and phoned Roger, explained the situation and asked if he could "drop everything" and fix it right now if we stopped by . . . and so we did
We spent much more time socializing and talking about Chris's trip than it took to do the actual repair. This is usually what happens when bikers get together, you form an almost instant bond with the other person.
Two thumbs up, and to Roger, thank you again for taking care of my friend Chris
Roger & Chris (unmasked)
Now that Chris's SV650 is ready for the road again, thoughts turned to our original plan of having a shorter coffee break, so it was back to the cafe for a table in the sun
Time goes too fast when you are having fun and so it was that it was nearly time to say our goodbyes
We suited up to go our separate ways. Myself to work and Chris to continue his adventure of a lifetime. I wished I were going with him. Our meeting was much too short, if only . . .
Chris, have a great time, continue with your excellent reporting, and safe travels
your friend, bob
Bob to the rescue! Maybe a worthy title for a reality TV show around two-wheelers?
ReplyDeleteI am glad you guys were able to hook up and meet ever so briefly.
Great to have friends like Roger.
Sonja:
DeleteI was scanning my memory cells for a quick solution, then I remembered Roger, who was only "down the street". He is a fellow Strommer. Some time is better than no time
A fun write-up. As far as "Chris to continue his adventure of a lifetime...", I wonder where his next trip is headed.
ReplyDeleteRichard:
DeleteI'm afraid Chris is more dareing than Moi . You've got a big trip comming up too, exciting and reluctant, both at the same time, a mere hop and a skip as compared to Chris' trip
Ahhhh Bobskoot. Did Chris realize he was going to get unmasked when he met you? It is hard to stay hidden with your cameras and tripod around. Ask me how I know? :-)
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you two were able to meet and go to the cafe and that you could come to the rescue with your connections to fix his license plate.
Trobairitz:
DeleteUsually when I start snapping I have a plan in my mind. Same as for videos. I have to review them when they are downloaded from the Memory Card and think about their presentation. Video is like being a composer and director, both at the same time. It's harder to do with digital, but in the film days, the trick was to snap without anyone noticing.
The repair did cut into our time together, but it had to be done before he crossed the border later in the day, sort of like Trobadour's zip tie repair after IMBC2010 in your driveway
Bob
ReplyDeleteSNAP! I noticed on the 3rd photo down a little Sony radio that looks like a ICF-76000D on top of the filing cabinet - I have one of these but the antenna was broken and I can't find a replacement - a great pity!
N
Nikos:
Deletesharp eyes you have there. I used to buy radios. That is an ICF-2003 with single touch tuning, digital display. I have a couple of them, and also a Panasonic SW one at home, can't remember the model number but I use it daily as a clock radio, instead of an alarm clock. I think the ICF-7600 had analogue tuning, while mine is digital, either that or an analogue linear display
Mine is digital tuning just like yours! Must have changed the model nos for UK...
Deletegood job getting Chris squared away Bob!
ReplyDeletedom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Dom:
DeleteI'm glad it all worked out, and that it was done fast so Chris could be on his way to Seattle.
Sounds like a most excellent coffee break! Quick thinking on your part getting the license fixed! Epoxy...really... Like it would stick to all that dirt! Hehe
ReplyDeleteLori;
DeleteWe were told by Roger that the epoxy would probably fail due to not enough curing time. His solution was more permanent. I'm glad it all worked out. I wished we had more time, or that Chris could have stayed another day or so.
Good to finally meet you Bob! Hopefully next time there won't be a crisis and we can spend more time together. thanks again for the help with the license plate.
ReplyDelete