830am and my alarm goes off, (after I just got to bed at 4am), but hey, its time to ride. Everybody else is still asleep, so by 9am, im out the door, the Kat glistening in the morning sun, (that new braada cowl and painted bodywork always makes me take a double look :wink: ) . So I start off down some nice twisties not too far from my house, just have a good old time, then onto I-83, one of the main interstates in PA, to fulfill that speed itch I had. AFter about another 30 minutes or so, I stop for gas, and get a breakfast sandwhich from Sheetz (local gas/mini mart) around here, and place alot of bikers hang out before they're rides. I talked to a couple ducati rides for about 10 minutes and then sit down to chill for alittle, get a drink, etc. And this lady starts walking away from the gas pumps to the pay phone, she calls 911 says her keys were locked in her car, and her child was in the back seat in a car seat!!! So a couple minutes later a cop comes, with his nifty little lock jock, and he's trying for about 15 minutes to open her door, he cant do it, so along comes another cop, who tries for another 10 minutes, he cant do it either, so guess what, yep, another cop comes along and by then, they seemed to have the situation well under control , and after I got done laughing to myself that these 3 cops couldnt get a basic car door open for a ford escort, I take off. And yes I did talk to the lady for a minute to make sure the baby was ok and all, before the cops got there, he was fast asleep in the car seat, so all was ok for the time being. And yes I know getting car doors open can be quite an ordeal, but still, it just struck me as funny.
So another 30 minutes or so later, Im coming back down 83, and low and behold this little young lady was pulled off the road trying to change a tire. I didnt have time to stop as I passed by initially because she was parked just around a bend, and by the time I saw what was going on, I was past her. So I think to myself, yeah, I'll go help her, ( and also thinking to myself "hey, the more people see a motorcycle rider, a sportbike rider at that, pulled off to help someone, well maybe that might just change their tune towards riders"...ok well the chances of that happeneing were remote I know, but either way, she needed help. So I go down another exit, and turn around, and get back on the opposite lane heading towards here..when I got there, she had literally atleast 50 tools laying on the ground trying to find a jack. So after digging thru what looked like Mr. Goodwrench's tool chest on crack!! I found a jack...then I couldnt find a tire iron, so that took another 5 minutes of searching her trunk.. This lady's tire was so bald I dont know how she made it out of her driveway, and yeah, it was blown, huge hole in the thing. She tells that its a rental car from a garage. The mechanic is fixing hers and she's going back down the maryland to pick it up now. What mechanic in their right mind that would let a car drive away w/ those severely worn tires is beyond me. The other 3 were pretty bald too, but not as bad as this one. This poor lady didnt know a tire iron from a pocket knife and had I not stopped, she'd probably still be standing there unless somebody else would have helped her. She didnt have AAA or anything was from out of state.
So I changed the tire, she offered me money, I told her, dont worry about, no problem. And away she went.
Another 20 minutes of some twisties and then it was time to head home so crunchie could go to work.
Some days, I think we're just meant to ride.
So another 30 minutes or so later, Im coming back down 83, and low and behold this little young lady was pulled off the road trying to change a tire. I didnt have time to stop as I passed by initially because she was parked just around a bend, and by the time I saw what was going on, I was past her. So I think to myself, yeah, I'll go help her, ( and also thinking to myself "hey, the more people see a motorcycle rider, a sportbike rider at that, pulled off to help someone, well maybe that might just change their tune towards riders"...ok well the chances of that happeneing were remote I know, but either way, she needed help. So I go down another exit, and turn around, and get back on the opposite lane heading towards here..when I got there, she had literally atleast 50 tools laying on the ground trying to find a jack. So after digging thru what looked like Mr. Goodwrench's tool chest on crack!! I found a jack...then I couldnt find a tire iron, so that took another 5 minutes of searching her trunk.. This lady's tire was so bald I dont know how she made it out of her driveway, and yeah, it was blown, huge hole in the thing. She tells that its a rental car from a garage. The mechanic is fixing hers and she's going back down the maryland to pick it up now. What mechanic in their right mind that would let a car drive away w/ those severely worn tires is beyond me. The other 3 were pretty bald too, but not as bad as this one. This poor lady didnt know a tire iron from a pocket knife and had I not stopped, she'd probably still be standing there unless somebody else would have helped her. She didnt have AAA or anything was from out of state.
So I changed the tire, she offered me money, I told her, dont worry about, no problem. And away she went.
Another 20 minutes of some twisties and then it was time to head home so crunchie could go to work.
Some days, I think we're just meant to ride.
