800: Reasons To Be Grateful

[Zoar]

PC if you want to start a picture war I have pictures of my ex wife and that will curl your hair and take you off our feed for a few weeks.........

That's interesting. My first wife was beautiful and my second wife was gorgeous and very sexy. As the years go by and I get uglier I realize my chances of getting what I had will never happen again... "Acceptance": a reality check way to be.

Better than living delusionally.

So, grateful for not being delusional too is the morale of this post. 

[pcarrell]

I GIVE!!!!  I GIVE!!!!!

[CDNRatMan]

  PC if you want to start a picture war I have pictures of my ex wife and that will curl your hair and take you off our feed for a few weeks.........

[pcarrell]

Look, I've been riding for a long time.  I started riding in the '70's on a Suzuki TC90.  I graduated from there to a Suzuki 550SS, then to a Honda 750/4, and then to a Yamaha 850.  Through all of that, I managed to not kill myself, even though I was young and dumb.  I took the 90's and early 2000's off to raise a family.  In the late 2000's I couldn't take it anymore, and I bought the last bike I'd ever buy.......a Drifter.  My wife called my bike, named Nadine, my other girlfriend.

My girlfriend is now dead.

My face does not look like it used to.  My body does not work like it used to.  I'm still getting used to that.  It's OK though, because I'm still here, and that's what's important.

As for a sidehack, I'd love to, but there's more at stake then just me.  See, since my wife has Muscular Dystrophy, she's going to need me in later life, and I can't be there for her if I'm 6 feet under.  As such, my 2 or 3 wheel days must come to an end.

Could I ride a sidehack?  Sure, and I'd love to!  Would I do it?  No, because I love my wife so much that her needs outweigh my own.

As for my face, it's amazing what modern medicine can do!  I don't look exactly like I used to, but it's close!

As for your pics, bring 'em, on big boy!  I've been through hell and back!  Your pics are childsplay!

Besides, I have your email address too, and I have pics of my injuries BEFORE they fixed me up!  Hint: It's not pretty!

[CDNRatMan]

    Ok I have sat here quiet and polite long enough now let me understand this conversation......

as stated by PC = My face was repaired,

as stated by GB =  Well, that's debatable....

as stated by PC = You've got that right GB!

I had said nothing posted no pictures and Gb said your face was fixed is debatable and you agreed with him.......boy if I had said that you would have been offended.....

Have you thought about a Drifter with a sidehack? That is going to be the route I go shortly when I am no longer able to maintain my balance or have the leg strength to keep my bike upright........or live as long as a couple of our venerable and ancient members.
Bathing suit pictures for PC are next on my weekend to do list........lol..............

[pcarrell]

You've got that right GB!

[greenbarn]

.....My face was repaired

Well, that's debatable....

    JUST KIDDING!!!   

..... and my sense of humor in tact!

This is a good thing! 

PC: Having met you in person, I'm thankful you pulled through as good as you did - so many people have it worse.  I know it's been a really hard road, but I'm glad to hear you're up and walking with a cane.  Keep working on it, you'll be walking without it before you know it brother!!!   Our God is GOOD!!

[pcarrell]

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a downer.

God has been good to me and I praise Him every day!  (Not to get too religious on everyone)

I guess what I am really trying to get at is that life is precious.  Don't waste a single day!

You Rock Zoar!

[Zoar]

I'm thankful that my Drifter, Nadine, saved my life.

I really believe, that although my injuries from my accident were indeed extreme, my beautiful Nadine took the brunt of the force, and as such, allowed me to live another day.

They say that you should never ride faster then your guardian angel can fly, and I now know for certain that mine can do 50mph.  That was the speed I was doing when I parted ways with Nadine and took to the air, hoping to end up better then her.

In the end, it was a draw.  Nadine was destroyed.  I'm glad she'll help another Drifter live on, but she is gone.

I spent days in the ICU.  I was on a breathing machine for most of those days.  I wouldn't wish that hell on my worst enemy.

(Sorry....big tough biker crying here......)

They tell me that I died a number of times on the operating table.  My chest was completely collapsed, my nose broken in many places, my face shredded, broken teeth, and my left foot amputated......but God had another plan!

My face was repaired, my foot reattached, my lungs fixed, and my sense of humor in tact!

Today, I'm walking with a cane.  I know I'll never run again, but I'm OK with that.  As of now, I could never hold up a bike.  I'd love to ride again.....It's in my soul!  But I don't think I ever will again.  I'll just have to settle for dropping the top on a cage.

As for "Reasons To Be Grateful", I have so many!

I'm grateful to be alive!

I'm grateful to wake up every morning next to the most beautiful woman in the world.....my wife!

I'm grateful to walk on my own two feet, even if it is with a cane!  Modern medicine is amazing!

I'm grateful for the friends and family that I have.  Without them I don't think I would have made it.

I'm grateful for my God.  Without Him, I have no doubt at all.....I wouldn't have made it.

(OK.....Crying again..........)

I'm sorry....big boy's aren't supposed to cry......

It's been a VERY hard year!

But God has another plan!

In the mean time, even though I know Nadine is being parted out, and I'm glad she lives on to help other Drifters, I'll always prefer to remember her as she was........a bad to the bone bad girl!

FIRST PLACE!!!

Sorry, but I guess this wasn't really an 800 thing.  I didn't mean to intrude.........

Acknowledging your post for its intense message. I had such a year some time ago. Fortitude in kind.

You sound like your head and heart are in such a good place.

And grateful.

[pcarrell]

Wow, that was a tougher post to make then I thought it would be!

[pcarrell]

I'm thankful that my Drifter, Nadine, saved my life.

I really believe, that although my injuries from my accident were indeed extreme, my beautiful Nadine took the brunt of the force, and as such, allowed me to live another day.

They say that you should never ride faster then your guardian angel can fly, and I now know for certain that mine can do 50mph.  That was the speed I was doing when I parted ways with Nadine and took to the air, hoping to end up better then her.

In the end, it was a draw.  Nadine was destroyed.  I'm glad she'll help another Drifter live on, but she is gone.

I spent days in the ICU.  I was on a breathing machine for most of those days.  I wouldn't wish that hell on my worst enemy.  Memories......

(Sorry....big tough biker crying here......)

They tell me that I died a number of times on the operating table.  My chest was completely collapsed, my nose broken in many places, my face shredded, broken teeth, and my left foot amputated......but God had another plan!

My face was repaired, my foot reattached, my lungs fixed, and my sense of humor in tact!

Today, I'm walking with a cane.  I know I'll never run again, but I'm OK with that.  As of now, I could never hold up a bike.  I'd love to ride again.....It's in my soul!  But I don't think I ever will again.  I'll just have to settle for dropping the top on a cage.

As for "Reasons To Be Grateful", I have so many!

I'm grateful to be alive!

I'm grateful to wake up every morning next to the most beautiful woman in the world.....my wife!

I'm grateful to walk on my own two feet, even if it is with a cane!  Modern medicine is amazing!

I'm grateful for the friends and family that I have.  Without them I don't think I would have made it.

I'm grateful for my God.  Without Him, I have no doubt at all.....I wouldn't have made it.

(OK.....Crying again..........)

I'm sorry....big boy's aren't supposed to cry......

It's been a VERY hard year!

But God has another plan!

In the mean time, even though I know Nadine is being parted out, and I'm glad she lives on to help other Drifters, I'll always prefer to remember her as she was........a bad to the bone bad girl!

FIRST PLACE!!!

Sorry, but I guess this wasn't really an 800 thing.  I didn't mean to intrude.........

[Zoar]

So many people were running each other over with shopping carts or getting in fist fights over a dam on sale crock pot... me? I was out riding my Drifter, cutting sharp corners and throttling it up past the speed limit, safely of course. Day after Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my Drifter!  And a day in late November to ride!

[CDNRatMan]

  Good for you and go ahead and rub it in.....salt on the wound..........

[Zoar]

Reasons to be grateful:
The day after Thanksgiving. 50's temp. Took the 800 for a nice ride here in upstate NY! WOW!

[Zoar]

GB while we are filling our faces with the free pizza Sam can show you around and explain it all to you.........

We just have to keep an eye on  his face book page to find him as he seems to move around a lot, might be to keep people from finding him and asking for free food.......

Also, I am sure we will be communicating and messaging here. No need to rely on the Pi Truck FB page. I am looking forward to seeing my Drifter Compadre's and want to make the trip out here well worth your while. Details. Details. I also highly recommend the Curtis Museum when you are coming out here. You will get to see the origins of the motorcycle and some amazing bikes at that museum as well as history of flying machines and flying boats and even motor homes that will astound you.

As indicated, you guys are welcome to stay at my place, overnighting for a few days, if you want. There is a lot to see how here and you don't want to try forcing it into one day or two.

[Zoar]

GB while we are filling our faces with the free pizza Sam can show you around and explain it all to you.........

We just have to keep an eye on  his face book page to find him as he seems to move around a lot, might be to keep people from finding him and asking for free food.......

Thankfully the only ones asking for free food are here. So I was able to survive year two of operations!

A solar and battery based electric system is really simple and is so superior to fossil fuel generators which is how 99.99% of all food trucks run now.  I love it that I do NOT have to fuel up constantly. The other food trucks I know have constant generator hassles. One is parked right now at my mechanics where the generator platform is getting a complete RE-DO because they have to constantly work on the generator and the old setup did not give them access, so now they are putting in on a big metal drawer so they can slide it out to work on it... meanwhile the owner of the food truck could have paid for a solar system for all the money she has dicked around and invested into her gasoline generator fiasco. But she is smarter than me and knows food trucks way better than me so she does it her way... meanwhile I make all my electricity for free and no stink and no noise and no costs to fuel up every week and no hassles! But she is the expert. I am just some crazy idealist.

[CDNRatMan]

  GB while we are filling our faces with the free pizza Sam can show you around and explain it all to you.........

We just have to keep an eye on  his face book page to find him as he seems to move around a lot, might be to keep people from finding him and asking for free food.......

[greenbarn]

Sounds awesome. Sitting on your big 'ole Drifter to watch a hockey game and TV!!! With popcorn! Man, what could be better??!

On the Pi Truck note, food trucks are made to make food, and every which is spoken for - for the task at hand of making food, not to house people, so it wouldn't work well at all to live in unless you want to sleep under (about 11 inches of clearance) or on top of the rounded dome of the wood fired oven, or on a sink, or on a food prep table. I wouldn't recommend it. I am sure many a chef has worked way too many hours or had too much to drink and ended up sleeping in his kitchen but I can almost guarantee they would say that really sucked and will never do that again. In a food truck that would be a sentiment magnified by about 25 times especially in the winter and since it is not set up to have heat other than what is generated in the truck while the wood stove is going and since it is highly insulated the heat going onto the truck is about nil.

If every thing went to shit the best bet would still be to stay in my house since I am off grid and make my own power and have no electric grid or utilities (I have a well for water and use my solar power to power the jet pump so I have pressure for the water.) The Pi Truck is parked in the driveway an since it is solar paneled up and has massive battery bank I can and have plugged my house into it and powered my house that was as well.  Essentially I have two separate power plants and battery storage facilities at my disposal, one is the system that is hardwired from a shed in my garden to the house with the solar panels and the shed roof and the other is the MOBILE system that is on and in the Pi Truck.

Heating the house is done with a separate solar heating system, it heats glycol and a tiny pump moves it through base boards and I also heat with a wood stove. In the Pi Truck heat would need to be by electric heaters that I do not own. I used heat lamps for one event once last winter to try to help keep the workers warm. It was about close to ZERO in terms of how effective it was. Of course, the 8 degree F air temps and 40 to 50 Mile Per Hour wind were no help in the matter. Miserable night. One I never want to repeat. Ever.

Yup I hope to ride my Drifter 800 tonight. I will be dressed warmly and thinking about some of the forum members here watching hockey and crunching on a big ole bowl of popcorn from the Drifter seat! Whata-way-to-go!

Zoar, I wouldn't mind checking out all of your solar panels and all that stuff if we get out there.   Sounds really interesting.

[CDNRatMan]

   Well I am not going to get caught with my bike in the shed for that "last" ride and wake up in the morning and have 2 ft of snow in the driveway, been there done that and had to leave the bike in the shed all winter, now I am not needing to be the hero who gets that last ride in.
1730 and it is dark outside, the puddles have a skim of ice on them, So I'll be sitting on my bike in the living room and thinking of you riding the Finger Lakes area, and hope you enjoy it........now to see if there is a game on or watch Ink Master tonight.......

[Zoar]

Consider it done.........lol....

And I hope to be riding my 800 outside while yours is parked in front of the TV set! (as long as the temps don't tumble and the rain start pouring). Cold night rain is not my preference for a mid November ride.

[CDNRatMan]

  Consider it done.........lol....

[Zoar]

of course I would post a picture to prove it but I watch TV in my underwear and for some reason that just gets poor old PC wound right up and he can  not get any rest for days on end........

I think I speak for all of us when we express our utmost gratitude to you for not posting you clad only in your underwears riding your Drifter in the house.

That said, can you get a picture of your bike in the room with the TV on and the TV showing hockey??? That alone would be worth a lot! You do not need be in the pic. Just the big ole Drifter and the TV tuned to Hockey!

[CDNRatMan]

  of course I would post a picture to prove it but I watch TV in my underwear and for some reason that just gets poor old PC wound right up and he can  not get any rest for days on end........

[Zoar]

Well glad to know that if your are living in the Food Truck at least you will be out of the weather, and the whole family can live in there with you. Move to 0hi0.
I got lots of Drifter Time in last night, I used this product I bought last year at the bike show, so about 10 pm went upstairs and washed it, cleaned it all up, started to take the old stereo off, and yesterday I received in the mail from the East coast of Canada a solo bobber seat with springs, so another project I can tinker with, today off to Canadian Tire to check out some mini LED drive lights. Yup lots of quality time with the Drifter.
Tonight might even eat my supper upstairs with her, and see if there is a hockey game on to watch...bowl of popcorn, sit back on the bike and watch TV..........

Sounds awesome. Sitting on your big 'ole Drifter to watch a hockey game and TV!!! With popcorn! Man, what could be better??!

On the Pi Truck note, food trucks are made to make food, and every which is spoken for - for the task at hand of making food, not to house people, so it wouldn't work well at all to live in unless you want to sleep under (about 11 inches of clearance) or on top of the rounded dome of the wood fired oven, or on a sink, or on a food prep table. I wouldn't recommend it. I am sure many a chef has worked way too many hours or had too much to drink and ended up sleeping in his kitchen but I can almost guarantee they would say that really sucked and will never do that again. In a food truck that would be a sentiment magnified by about 25 times especially in the winter and since it is not set up to have heat other than what is generated in the truck while the wood stove is going and since it is highly insulated the heat going onto the truck is about nil.

If every thing went to shit the best bet would still be to stay in my house since I am off grid and make my own power and have no electric grid or utilities (I have a well for water and use my solar power to power the jet pump so I have pressure for the water.) The Pi Truck is parked in the driveway an since it is solar paneled up and has massive battery bank I can and have plugged my house into it and powered my house that was as well.  Essentially I have two separate power plants and battery storage facilities at my disposal, one is the system that is hardwired from a shed in my garden to the house with the solar panels and the shed roof and the other is the MOBILE system that is on and in the Pi Truck.

Heating the house is done with a separate solar heating system, it heats glycol and a tiny pump moves it through base boards and I also heat with a wood stove. In the Pi Truck heat would need to be by electric heaters that I do not own. I used heat lamps for one event once last winter to try to help keep the workers warm. It was about close to ZERO in terms of how effective it was. Of course, the 8 degree F air temps and 40 to 50 Mile Per Hour wind were no help in the matter. Miserable night. One I never want to repeat. Ever.

Yup I hope to ride my Drifter 800 tonight. I will be dressed warmly and thinking about some of the forum members here watching hockey and crunching on a big ole bowl of popcorn from the Drifter seat! Whata-way-to-go!

[CDNRatMan]

    Well glad to know that if your are living in the Food Truck at least you will be out of the weather, and the whole family can live in there with you. Move to 0hi0.
I got lots of Drifter Time in last night, I used this product I bought last year at the bike show, so about 10 pm went upstairs and washed it, cleaned it all up, started to take the old stereo off, and yesterday I received in the mail from the East coast of Canada a solo bobber seat with springs, so another project I can tinker with, today off to Canadian Tire to check out some mini LED drive lights. Yup lots of quality time with the Drifter.
Tonight might even eat my supper upstairs with her, and see if there is a hockey game on to watch...bowl of popcorn, sit back on the bike and watch TV..........