Story I have to share.. My BMW Adventure!!

itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
Well I was going to meet everyone last night, from BMW Motorcycles of America internet forum... at the BMW International Rally in Lima OHIO.. this is a copy of what I poste in their fourms..

To start do ya know the difference between a fairy tale and a war story??

One starts "once upon a time..." and the other starts "you ain't going to belive this 'crap'...."

Well you ain't going to believe THIS.

I leave at 8AM figuring 5.5 hours to Oil City to see some friends, then from there to Lima OH.. 1:30 PM I should arrive in Oil City. I start by getting stuck in traffic on the beltway, not ONCE but twice!! I averaged just over 30 MPH almost the first two hours. Had my XM radio hooked up on the bike, cell phone charger working .. but after the first hour the earphones I bought were KILLING me, so off come the headphones, and in the pocket goes the XM Radio..

Riding to Ohio, I decide to leave the PA turnpike and head North up I-99/220 and stop in a and see from friends in Oil City, PA.. BAD choice..

Got caught in a rainstorm, and thought it will pass in 5 minutes, felt pretty good >90 degrees, a liitle rain won't hurt, didn't stop to put on rain gear.. the rain continued to get harder, cars were pulling off because they couldn't see, and I was squinting ahead to find an overpass.. I found one SOMEwhere near Altoona. Well, I found out my boots are waterproof from the INSIDE.. I stopped took off my boots, tipped them upside down and about 4 oz of water drained from each.. I sat on the rock wall, Squeezed out my socks, and my t-shirt, sat them all on the rock wall to air out, then returned to the bike to get my rain suit.. got it out, got the bottom half on, turned to get my t-shirt, and now me and my clothes are separated by a gurgling brook (more like a class II rapids) SO now I have to wade the creek to get my clothes back..

Anyways, I'm soaked, I have my rainsuit on sans socks, and am ready to head back out.. I give myself a deadline.. 12:30 (a little less then 1/2 hour) the rain lets up or not, I'm heading out!! 12:30 comes.. and about 12:45 I start back upon my journey...
I THINK this was SOuth of ALtoona.. could have been North. but definitely on I-99 (I think) Anyways, this little rain cloud I was driving through lasted from S0uth of Altoona up to Clearfiled on I-80(construction wasn't too bad, or at least not the worst of my problems), my five minute rain storm actually lasted more like an hour and a half.

So hear I am, hot, wet, and sticky, and decide to stop in Brookville to undress, and dry off little bit..
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
But to continue (We are already past 1:30 at this point) I take the exit for Brookville PA and head to a SHeetz... I pull in and start to "undress" in the parking lot when I notice the local Gendarme (poh Leece) pulling into the parking lot behind me.. he gets out of his car and asks.. "Do you know why I'm stopping you?" to which I replied, "I'm already stopped" (i'm half undressed at this point) so I have no idea what you are talking about." Well he apparently doesn't appreciate my wet humor and continues to write a 52 in a 35 ticket.. on a FOUR lane highway, the speed limit was 35!!! $$$$$

OK, so here I am, wet, getting a ticket, #####ing about my luck.. Thinking it can't get any worse then THIS!! WRONG~~~

Well, I get everything off.. drape everything over the bike to dry.. and go in the store while he's busy writing out my pledge to the local judge, and keep our cops employed fund raiser.. SO after a short while, he comes back to me with the ticket, I fold it put it in my wallet and start getting redressed, in my still wet, but somewhat refreshing clothes..

And I hit the road (NOT one of my designated gas stops, so no gas). I continue up the backroads (Rte 322) to get to Oil City and Franklin and get to my next gas stop. I pull in to the Sheetz in Cranberry (the Northen Cranberry, not the one by Pittsburgh) it's now 4:00, I am currently 2.5 hours behind and yet it gets better, I unlock my gas tank, and reach in my pocket to get my credit card.. NO WALLET!! SO here I am with 2 lines on my gas gauge, no wallet, no cash.. and I know where I left it.. on the ground when I was putting my boots back on in the Sheetz parking lot, in Brookville!! I call, no luck... I backtrack the 40 miles to see for myself.. no luck.. and of course NOW my yellow light has been on for awhile. And talk about a sad face.. wet, behind schedule.. BUT optimistic, "When I find my wallet, I'll continue straight to Lima, friends will haev to understand" NO luck. Call girlfriend, to wire me money.. Closest place to get to is 40 miles away.. NOT likely to make it.. AND I don't have any ID at all..

WELL, all this to tell you the important part of the story. I received in the mail maybe a WEEK before all this the BMW Anonymous book, **members of BMW MOA get this as part of their membership, and is an anonyomus listing of all members worldwide, with ONLY Phone numbers, that are willing to offer help, and what kind of help they are willing to offer** and I immediately put it in a zip-Loc bag in one of my side cases.. THANK GOD.. of course it took me almost TWO hours to remember that I had it, but I DID.. I called Two numbers, got an answering machine at the first, and thought "WHODAHELL am I kidding, this close by they are ALL at the Rally". ** I'm only 150 miles outide of Lima, at this point**
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
7 PM WEll, the second person answers.. and he's a godsend.. I tell him my predicament.. ON the way to the Rally, almost 400 miles into the trip, 400 miles away from home, and NO way to get any money to get back home. Without Hesitation, he replies, "I'm over an hour away, but I'll get there as soon as I can. What can I do to help." Without beating around the bush, I tell him, "I just need gas money, $20 to get me home." And he replies that I need more then gas to get home, he'll bring a little more then that..

I hang up, he's on his way... and the FIRST person I called shows up.. He was out on the scaffold working on his house, and heard the call but couldn’t get to the phone, he ran down to Sheetz to see what he could do. Told him the other person was on the way, and I didn't want to leave and have my rescuer show up to an empty parking lot, and think it was a prank.. after a few kind words of encouragement, my he left to continue his day, meetings for the rest of the afternoon for him.. followed in about 15 seconds by a call from my 'on the way' rescuer, saying this is my cell phone number if someone shows up, call me so I don't have to drive all the way there for nothing.. (I didn't have the heart to tell him).. so I said I would, and hung up.

They show up, him and his wife, with enough money for the trip home, and to get something to eat and drink along the way.. GOD bless him..


To finish the story, I left Brookville PA, headed for Dameron MD.. The furthest away from Brookville I could get and still be in MD.. at 8:30.. I made it all the way to Hagerstown before the 'Z' Monster, running for all he was worth, caught up to me.. Found a Rest Area in between H-Town and Frederick, pulled in and slept for 1.5 - 2 hours on a concrete picnic table.. I slept on the bench and my arms kept slipping off and waking me up, so I velcroed my (velcro closures) two gloves together, and I woke up around 1:30 AM when the Velcro gave in, and my hand slid off my chest. OFF to the races.. at speeds with-in the posted limit of course.. and I FINALLY pulled into my driveway a little past 4AM.. so I went from 8AM yesterday, to 4 AM today, put 800 miles on my little RS, and I didn't get anywhere.

I called my brother (a K1200LT owner out of Boise) to tell him all was OK.. OH I forgot about that part.. He calls at 11:30 to see how much fun I was having at the Rally, pissed that I could go and he couldn't. and I get to tell them this whole story.. He was pretty amused at the justice.

ANYWAYS. he tells me I should have continued through, then asked for help to get home after getting to the Rally (I think I was within 150 miles of Lima).. he was sure everyone would have enjoyed the story, and taken up a fund, "Quarter in the bucket to get Bob home" and if I had already met most of you, I would have, but thought that kind of strange to do the first time meeting a group of people. So anyways, I understand next year is VT!?? Count me in! I'm going to do the short bus, tie my wallet around my neck solution next year..

Lessons Learned.. Always carry an emergency credit card / cash either on your bike, or as I was told in the past, carry one credit card in your sock.

NEVER leave home without the BMW MOA anonymous book.. What a life saver it turned out to be.. AND thank god for MOA to even think of publishing it in the first place..

Now if you excuse me I have a check to write and get in the mail Post-Haste!!
 
K_Jo

K_Jo

Pea Brain
PREMO Member
May I have the short version please? I'd like to know what happened, but that's way too much to read. :dead:
 
aps45819

aps45819

24/7 Single Dad
K_Jo said:
May I have the short version please? I'd like to know what happened, but that's way too much to read. :dead:
Click to expand...
Bob went for a ride, over came obstacles, survived nature's rath, met some nice people and then came home with a good story to tell.
 
K_Jo

K_Jo

Pea Brain
PREMO Member
aps45819 said:
Bob went for a ride, over came obstacles, survived nature's rath, met some nice people and then came home with a good story to tell.
Click to expand...
Ahh...My shirt is off to you. :cheers:
 
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