A Couple Of Geeks Do NERDS

[Bustanut joker]

Andy my friend..... This has got to be one of the best reports I've ever seen.

I did the math and I'll need to replace my bushings in 2059.. Yep! the year I turn 100

I know it's cross posted. I'm drunk, Sue me.

Ya phuker.

 

[beemerdons]

Andy my friend..... This has got to be one of the best reports I've ever seen.

I did the math and I'll need to replace my bushings in 2059.. Yep! the year I turn 100

I know it's cross posted. I'm drunk, Sue me.

Ya phuker.

Come on now Bust, Cyndi and Chuy have repeatedly warned you about bad ice. You have to be damn careful, that fecking bad ice will kill ya!

When you drink vodka over ice, it can give you kidney failure.

When you drink rum over ice, it can give you liver failure.

When you drink whiskey over ice, it can give you heart problems.

When you drink gin over ice, it can give you brain problems.

Apparently, ice is really bad for you.

Warn all your friends.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Andy my friend..... This has got to be one of the best reports I've ever seen.

I did the math and I'll need to replace my bushings in 2059.. Yep! the year I turn 100

I know it's cross posted. I'm drunk, Sue me.

Ya phuker.

Come on now Bust, Cyndi and Chuy have repeatedly warned you about bad ice. You have to be damn careful, that fecking bad ice will kill ya!

When you drink vodka over ice, it can give you kidney failure.

When you drink rum over ice, it can give you liver failure.

When you drink whiskey over ice, it can give you heart problems.

When you drink gin over ice, it can give you brain problems.

Apparently, ice is really bad for you.

Warn all your friends.

Bah! I need ice right now.. Been planted to this chair since noon with nary a drink.

 

[Old Michael]

 

I shoulda backed away from the keyboard, but...

Andy, those are some damn beautiful "people shots"! Really great stuff.

They help display the camaraderie and brotherhood that seems to permeate most FJR gatherings.

In Geezer's words to me in Taos, (paraphrasing) "Those bastards (east coast and Canookians) really know how to enjoy themselves."

Since I hate to lead, ... I volunteered to ride sweep.

Yeah, Barry mentioned that you like it in the rear.

(Okay, sorry for that.)

Is that roast beast "spotting"?

 

[beemerdons]

I shoulda backed away from the keyboard, but...

Andy, those are some damn beautiful "people shots"! Really great stuff.

They help display the camaraderie and brotherhood that seems to permeate most FJR gatherings.

Brother BikerGeek99, I can speak Gaelic so please allow me to translate this for you. Old Michael said in our Native Old Irish Language: "Andy's photos suck moist ass cheese and his prose is the spewing dribble from a horse's arse; but all in all, considering what the lad has to work with, it tis indeed a fair attempt at a Ride Report!"

 

[beemerdons]

 

I shoulda backed away from the keyboard, but...

Andy, those are some damn beautiful "people shots"! Really great stuff.

They help display the camaraderie and brotherhood that seems to permeate most FJR gatherings.

In Geezer's words to me in Taos, (paraphrasing) "Those bastards (east coast and Canookians) really know how to enjoy themselves."

Since I hate to lead, ... I volunteered to ride sweep.

Yeah, Barry mentioned that you like it in the rear.

(Okay, sorry for that.)

Is that roast beast "spotting"?

Don't you think "roast beef spotting" remark was a bit too graphic? I mean, this is a "Family Values" Forum! Think for just a moment, what would our rushes have said!!!

 

[BikerGeek99]

Youz guyz 'r killing me here...

OM - thank you. As for the roast beast - hell if I can remember. That was like .... a month ago.

Bust - we'll be seeing you in aboot a month for the ensuing hilarity that will be Tech Day III.

Don - thanks for the translation. I may have been born at night, but it was not last night.

 

[BikerGeek99]

I’d volunteered to ride sweep, so all I really had to worry about was being mesmerized by Bust’s rear car tire as we went through the twisty stuff. His CT has a more flexible sidewall than Bungie’s did last year at NAFO, so I wasn’t as distracted watching the CT heave up as the bike cornered.

This sign should just say: “WARNING: Fun Times Ahead For Motorcycles!”

Just don’t screw up your line.

Good times. Good roads. Good people.

Yeah, the roads didn’t suck.

Hill climb, anyone?

In case ya couldn’t tell, we were heading through Smuggler’s Notch again, albeit without a dumb-ass trying to back his semi out this time. Although this time we had to dodge 2-wheelers powered by human power. I’d consider trying this, but I think the hard-core weirdoes would frown on my doing it while trying to balance a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other.

Tree. Rock. Truck. Kinda like rock, paper, scissors, only different.

NOT a turn to blow your line to the inside, ‘cause there was this large immovable object ‘n whatnot.

Outta Smugglers Notch … road construction, which happens to be my personal fave!

NOT!!

 

[BikerGeek99]

Our first stop brought us to a rather unique church.

I think it’s pretty cool, and it has some history to it.

There be some wildlife nearby…

The white meat. Native.

Speaking of ‘cool’… PapaG making me look cool.

After some group conversation about the pace, Vermont double-yellow passing law, and, in general, Group Dynamics 101, we were back on the road.

Not a whole lot to say that the pictures aren’t saying.

Ya know?

 

[BikerGeek99]

The roads were fun, the pace good for us. The road conditions were not pristine, so running a comfortable pace for us was good for me. I hate the mid-turn pavement cracks that send the front end chattering.

Next stop: the App Gap.

See that gray ribbon coming over the hill with the twist to the left? Yep – that’s the road!

Here’s a zoomed-in shot.

The pull-off where we stopped was scenic in and of itself.

No, really – it was.

Buncha idjuts.

Speaking of an idjut.

Sooze and Karen.

Me ‘n Sooze with the road in the background. (Thanks, Bust, for taking this one!)

 

[BikerGeek99]

VeeJer the FeeJer, patienty awaiting us to get back on the road.

Our group.

Our group, taking by the idjut up on the rocks.

The road we’d come up.

Time to load up and mosey on.

So that’s what we did.

Vermont is not a sucky place to ride, if you like stuff like this.

Or this.

Or, well, you know….

 

[BikerGeek99]

Sooze’s pictures can do the talking right now.

99% of the time, I can’t even tell she’s taking a picture. She’s an excellent pillion!

Lets me focus on driving the bike.

So you fellow 2-up riders out there: get your pillion a camera and a lanyard and do some test rides. No way in hell I could get this pic while riding.

Just up the road was our lunch stop at an A&W Root Beer stand. We used to have these at home - I remember, as a kid, riding in back of my brothers El Camino to one back home.

2 of our riding buddies and friends: Rayzerman and BustanutJoker.

Don and Karen were gonna split off from our group and were conferring with Ray on where to go next. I struck a pose and tried to offer something kinda intelligent to the conversation. All I really did was struck a pose.

A bunch of Harleys rolled in while we were getting our food. The folks were nice enough, but not like my HERD HD buds. Hell – nobody tried to .. well, ya gotta know Hobo, but that’s in another ride report. Weirdo.

Anyway.

At this point Sooze and I had been on the road for enough time to where it was time to warsh some ‘essentials,’ if ya know what I mean. We had decided that this would be the point for us to peel off and head back to Stowe to do the domestic shit that needed to be done, and Bust decided to peel off and ride back with us so he could take a nap.

Old weirdo.

As we were gearing up, the skies were rumbling a bit, but we were going the other way and didn’t get wet.

Reminds of a ‘teal sheep’ reference from Back In The Day. If any of you were on the Progress Email Group – Fun List in the mid-to-late-90’s you’d understand. Otherwise …. Well … Ask me about it sometime.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Sorry we didn’t take any pictures of our INCREDIBLY fascinating trips to the Laundromat and post office.

Deal with it, mm-kay?

Once back at the Commodores Inn, folks were coming back in from their rides.

Being an FJR gathering, we were where we would be expected to be.

Don & Karen. NERDS was their first FJR gathering. Good peeps – I hope that NERDS will be their first of many FJR gatherings. Good peeps right here.

And then there’s … our fat-chick friend BustanutJoker. Weirdo. <sigh> But he’s still our friend.

Good times. Good people. Sound redundant? If ya weren’t there, well … you know.

Peter and Charlie.

Charlie and Ross. Ross’ FJR (not the bike in the picture) was running ‘weird’ at NERDS, and has since got ‘er running right.

Me ‘n Carver. After meeting that twit while out west last year, it was nice to ride with him and get to know him a bit. Good times, Don. Good times.

FJRs lined up.

No, dude, really – they are FJRs.

 

[Fred W]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but:

 

Awesome RR Andy and Sooze!! :clapping: :yahoo: :clapping:

 

And good thing you got it done. Just in time to start a new one for EOM!!

 

[beemerdons]

Truly a Great Ride Report and Outstanding Photographs Andy and Sooze, Thank You!

 

[snikr]

You have some great photos Geek. :yahoo:

Tom

 

[BikerGeek99]

A BMW or two infiltrated this gathering.

I have to say that the Commodores Inn was very accommodating to our group.

Cat herding 101: gathering all the Ladies Of NERDS for their own group picture.

“Everyone count off.”

“ONE!!”

They got it figured out and we got the picture.

After that, it was back to … well, you know.

Carver may have told a lie.

Ray was hard at work inside working on … something. Hell if I know what.

I had a nice chat with Karl. I think the last time we saw him was out in California last year. He’d had a little ‘incident’ and his arm was in a sling back then. He’s doing fine now.

Fun times.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Carver, Geezer and moi.

We had a nice dinner with the group. Ed (not Fred) and Fred (not Ed) did some give-aways and were generally very entertaining. We were too busy being entertained by our dining companions Carver and Bust to bother with pictures. Deal with it.

One of the gals at the gathering was riding a BMW GS. She let me sit on it. Me likey… That’s Charlie, by the way – not the bike’s owner.

As the evening was winding down, Dolly made an appearance and a plan was hatched.

Sleeping Beauty (AKA Bust) had turned in early because … well, he’s old. That’s why. And, he and Ray were gonna leave at the ass-crack of dawn and heaven knows the man needs his beauty sleep.

Aww… They’re sooooo cute together.

And that puts a wrap on August 19. Some riders were going to hang around and do more riding, but we had decided to start heading for home in the morning, so this put a wrap on NERDS for us.

Good times. We’re hoping that our schedules will allow us to come to NERDS 2012!

 

[BikerGeek99]

August 20, 2011.

My oldest brother’s birthday!

Today we’d start our way towards home. I had a kinda-sorta route-ish general idea of how we were gonna get to our destination for the evening of Rochester, NY. We had figured on getting up and on the road fairly early (for us), but when I got up and peeked out the window, it was pretty foggy. So, we decided to chill a bit and let the fog burn off.

By the time we got around to going outside to load up, the parking lot was pretty desolate. Carver’s bike was there, as he was laying low this day in preparation of turning around and heading back towards his home on the left coast.

Leaving the Commodores Inn, I pointed the bike towards Burlington. Ish. Which meant another run through Smuggler’s Notch. Darn!!

Thankfully, the idjut in the semi wasn’t stuck in here again, so it was pretty smooth sailing.

Nothing like a nice blind turn to make sure you’re paying attention.

After the fog and gloom burned off, it was a very nice morning.

Look familiar?

I believe this was a war memorial of some sort. Makes ya think sometimes…

I really like this part of the country.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Rolling into Burlington. The University of Vermont is in Burlington. As we rolled through, it looked like some students were on campus. We think it was freshman orientation, or whatever they call it. Ahhh, being a freshman in college…

If you ever have the chance, check out the “Aerial America” series on the Smithsonian Channel. They basically fly around and take video of a state and talk about the history of it. The Vermont show is pretty good – it’s a VERY scenic state. Still haven’t seen the Ohio episode yet. What’s up with that?!?

On our way home from CFR last year, we spent the night in Burlington and took the ferry across Lake Champlain. I decided what the hell – let’s do that again! There was a bicycle race or a marathon or something going on in Burlington, so traffic was all hosed up. Eventually we made it down to the ferry. Of course, we’d missed the previous ferry by about 10 minutes, so we had an hour-ish wait for the next one. Oh, well…

Loch Ness has their monster. The Himalayas have their yeti. The pacific northwest has their sasquatch. Lake Champlain has Champy!

I love oddball stuff like this, so out came the tripod. People were giving us weird looks. Screw ‘em.

Good stuff.

As we fiddle-farted around waiting, a few other bikes rolled in. There was a couple 2-up on an old, FULLY loaded Harley bagger, and a couple on his-and-hers Deluxes. The ferry arrived, those passengers rolled / walked off, and we rolled / walked on.

And it wasn’t long before we were under way.

I wonder if you can just pick a sailboat and go… Yeah, I know – probably not, but sometimes ya gotta wonder.