Blog report 5-10-2005
Wow, it’s been a hectic last several weeks around here!
On April 23rd and 24th the lovely Ms. Deborah and I saddled up the Phantom Cruiser, met up with a friend of ours and fellow BMW K1200LT rider Gary Williamson, and headed down to the Leesburg Bike Festival. With a quick stop into the Cheyenne Saloon in Palatka for lunch we had a great ride through the Ocala National Forest and on down to Leesburg, Florida. Alas, the skies opened up soon after our arrival and while it was great fun hanging out at various biker-friendly and book-worthy bars (this was, after all, supposedly a working trip) we eventually had to beat an early retreat from Leesburg. Sum total of the days activities: many miles ridden, one very expensive camera badly damaged, one other digital camera wounded, and not a lot of decent photos unless you like to see folks huddled underneath awnings. So this was a tough trip. I guess the one positive thing is that no one got electrocuted; at one point, as we were hiding from the rain, and someone pointed out that we were all standing in water beyond our ankles and there were power lines running along the ground and through the water. Ye-haw
The next weekend my first saleable copies of the 2005 edition of PirateJohn’s Most Unique Guide to Motorcycling In Northeastern Florida (www.BuccaneerPress.com) arrived. They finally showed up at 10AM the day before we were scheduled to do a book signing at the Riding Into History charity. Not like the printer was cutting things close or anything.
Riding Into History (www.RidingIntoHistory.org) went well, with Dennis Cage of the Speed Channel in attendance. Last year’s speaker Craig Vetter (of Vetter Fairings fame) flew in on his own dime since he enjoyed the event so much last year. RIH draw more people this year than in any previous year, and 250 motorcycles were on display, up from 150 last year. This event is doing well and I’m proud of my work on it in years past, although currently I’m more than happy to limit my attendance to signing books.
We did have some great moments with some Tallahassee motor officers who were attending the show who were kind enough to pose for some joke photos. I’m sure that the photos of Yours Truly being handcuffed and traffic stopped will turn up again and again.
Following a successful book signing ol’ John did what any other Pirate would do. Have a few drinks, go home, and head out on the road for a few days.
John found himself wandering for several days as far south as Marathon, Florida and basically checking out the (very congested) roads throughout Miami and that “Greater Miami” mess that extends for about 80 miles from Ft. Lauderdale down to the beginning of the Florida Keys. Yours Truly found himself hitting pubs, gentlemen’s clubs, and touristy sights as diverse as Edward Leedskalnin’s Coral Castle in Homestead. Like I always say, it’s a tough gig but someone has to do it.
Departing from my last haunt, a great place called the Nuthin’ Fancy in the southern part of West Palm Beach, ol’ John rode a hard and fast 175 or so miles through driving rain to Mims, Florida where I was really, really impressed that I was having trouble standing up as I refueled the bike. Christ, my foot hurt.
The next morning the experience in Mims was somewhat academic, since I was having some genuine problems walking around, and my right ankle was red, warm and swollen. This didn’t look right.
Moral of the story is that PirateJohn had a blood clot in his right leg. I guess that I should consider myself lucky, because my dad had the same condition – phlebitis – and I’m developing this 15 years later in life than Dad did. And there is no way that Dad abused his body as thoroughly as ol’ John does ;)
Lesson to the wise here: If you have similar symptoms (red, swollen, tender area that feels warm to the touch) then head to your closest MD or hospital emergency room. A large blood clot that gets loose and lodges in something vital can kill you. Dead. And as we get older more and more of us will be developing these conditions.
A week later I’m fine, even if my ankle is still a bit tender. I expect to be back on the road in another week or two.
Take care, y’all!
