04-07-2026, 02:33 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-07-2026, 02:36 AM by Gone in 60.)
On Saturday morning, I woke up at dawn. It was a museum shift morning. No need to be up that early, but when I am up super early on a museum shift Saturday I frequently get an early start and swing by Donut Derelicts in Huntington Beach to check out the cars and bikes, and chat with people before I head to the museum.
This Saturday, some of my favorite Detroit Iron had shown up. I had a '69 Eldorado so the quirky early GM front-drivers are still favorites. And the '71 Road Runner is one of my "I'd probably kill a guy for one of these" cars.
But the thing that stopped me in my tracks was this BMW R71 with a side car. It was exquisitely restored. The owner had just received it, and said there's a guy in Germany who will find them and restore them to any spec you'd like. A WW2-era clone is popular, but this one was in grey, and he said it is more representative of an immediate post-war German military bike.
Simply awesome.
From there, I headed up to the museum, and proved that going to a car show can keep you from getting stuck in heavy traffic. See, normally, if I left from home for the museum, I'd shoot directly up the 5, take the 10 through the middle of Downtown LA, and get off for the museum on the west side of the city. But, coming from Donuts in Huntington Beach, I was on the 405 to the 110 North. The cool part here is that a motorcycle can take the elevated toll lane on the 110, putting you up high, and on a very clear morning, you get an awesome view of downtown, with the local mountains in the background. And, you pass other fun stuff, like the new stainless spire that is the soon-to-open Space Shuttle Endeavor museum. The view was spectacular.
From here, I wrapped around the 270-degree ramp to the 10 West, and as I looked across to the normal part of the 10 that I would have been on if I came straight from home, the freeway was closed. There were three badly smashed cars ahead of the closure, scattered all over the freeway that must have ricochet off of each other at very high speed. Had I not come from the car show, I would have been stuck in the closure. So there ya go. Attend a car show early in the morning, and you will avoid bad traffic.
Sunday, I cleaned and prepped the newly acquired 2015 RTP for application of the bright yellow decal kit that I will apply this week as I have time after daily deliveries. Rode the bike on today's run in her natural black-and-white colors, save for the yellow box on the back. So, from the front it still looks like a cop bike, and it was a bit aggravating to have cars in front of me on the freeway slow down and weave back and forth as the drivers were glued to their mirrors trying to figure out if I was CHP or not. In my yellow jacket, I'm sure it was confusing.
One thing that I have found that happens from time-to-time is that although we have pickups scheduled by our clients, the times can vary based on patients who show up late to their appointments. I have scoped out parks nearest to the pickups, so that I don't have to wait in hospital lobbies, but can still get back quickly. Today, while laying on a park bench waiting for a late patient, I was enjoying watching the clouds pass by, when one of them looked a lot like our cat Sterling's head....
This Saturday, some of my favorite Detroit Iron had shown up. I had a '69 Eldorado so the quirky early GM front-drivers are still favorites. And the '71 Road Runner is one of my "I'd probably kill a guy for one of these" cars.
But the thing that stopped me in my tracks was this BMW R71 with a side car. It was exquisitely restored. The owner had just received it, and said there's a guy in Germany who will find them and restore them to any spec you'd like. A WW2-era clone is popular, but this one was in grey, and he said it is more representative of an immediate post-war German military bike.
Simply awesome.
From there, I headed up to the museum, and proved that going to a car show can keep you from getting stuck in heavy traffic. See, normally, if I left from home for the museum, I'd shoot directly up the 5, take the 10 through the middle of Downtown LA, and get off for the museum on the west side of the city. But, coming from Donuts in Huntington Beach, I was on the 405 to the 110 North. The cool part here is that a motorcycle can take the elevated toll lane on the 110, putting you up high, and on a very clear morning, you get an awesome view of downtown, with the local mountains in the background. And, you pass other fun stuff, like the new stainless spire that is the soon-to-open Space Shuttle Endeavor museum. The view was spectacular.
From here, I wrapped around the 270-degree ramp to the 10 West, and as I looked across to the normal part of the 10 that I would have been on if I came straight from home, the freeway was closed. There were three badly smashed cars ahead of the closure, scattered all over the freeway that must have ricochet off of each other at very high speed. Had I not come from the car show, I would have been stuck in the closure. So there ya go. Attend a car show early in the morning, and you will avoid bad traffic.
Sunday, I cleaned and prepped the newly acquired 2015 RTP for application of the bright yellow decal kit that I will apply this week as I have time after daily deliveries. Rode the bike on today's run in her natural black-and-white colors, save for the yellow box on the back. So, from the front it still looks like a cop bike, and it was a bit aggravating to have cars in front of me on the freeway slow down and weave back and forth as the drivers were glued to their mirrors trying to figure out if I was CHP or not. In my yellow jacket, I'm sure it was confusing.
One thing that I have found that happens from time-to-time is that although we have pickups scheduled by our clients, the times can vary based on patients who show up late to their appointments. I have scoped out parks nearest to the pickups, so that I don't have to wait in hospital lobbies, but can still get back quickly. Today, while laying on a park bench waiting for a late patient, I was enjoying watching the clouds pass by, when one of them looked a lot like our cat Sterling's head....
You know what? I actually would like a pickle.