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Cats' outta da bag...as a number of you either know or are highly suspicious...at any rate I went to NY to buy another vintage bike a 1979 XS1100Std...but not just any XS1100...one that has very special meaning to me and many others who are all too familiar with the old girl...none other than...Randy's SwampThing! Early on last year I knew Randy was planning to get a Wing...and he made mention in a thread of selling off all of his parts...at some point I PM'd him to give me a price if he was interested in selling SwampThing...My timing was impeccable as that very day he had picked up his Goldwing. So he gave me an offer i couldnt refuse...He wanted it gone ASAP and even if i hadnt paid him in full I could still take it..he just wanted it out of the garage he had it stored in along with his GF's bike and his GW...one bike too many so...
Was planning to do this in Oct last year...the week i was originally planning to go hurricane Sandy hit the NJ/NY area as we all know...Then the plan was to go 2 weeks later...but an early blizzard up there plus the area still reeling from sandy shelved any further plans until the Spring of this year...button her up for the winter pls...
Originally i was either gonna ride the train or fly up and ride the bike home...but given the NE corridor and the traffic and bad roads in and around NY/NJ made me rethink that strategy. I opted to drive my volvo wagon and bring along the trailer...glad I did it that way too...
The trip up was unexceptional...i went up early morning of Good Friday...Arrived at Randy's in LI around 9:30 a.m. I had driven all night. The traffic flow was constant all night long. Many folks getting an early start to the Easter weekend. Coming from NC...it felt like I had come back to that monster I call syphyllisation...with all of its urban decay and sprawl and traffic congestion and agressive maniacal drivers...geez it took me aback at first. But then something clicked and the I was in the grooove and my driving style became more agressive to compete on an even keel...lest you get run over...LOL
It was my first trip back to LI since 1985...I was born there and spent the first 15 yrs of my life there...I hadnt lived there since 1967 though...So it was a homecoming of sorts although this only became evident to me later...It has always been crowded on the Island but its has become even worse these days. Southern Long Island is really not a very friendly place to drive a car let alone a motorcycle...you gotta have some very big cajon'es to ride a bike here. On my way up i stopped in my old town in NJ to get some breakfast at my old favorite bagel shop...and OMG that was awesome..I went back on my return home and picked up a dozen to bring home along with some other goodies... Getting to Randy's at 9:30 am...I was tired..he had to meet some other people for some contracting work on his brother's home so i waited outside where theres an outdoor living area ...sat in the beautiful sunshine and took a short nap...
When Randy showed an hour later it was a big bear hug and greeting like the true friend and brother he is...He looked great with a beaming smile to boot. Really bouyed my spirits to see him and the bike too.
This had suddenly become more than jus picking up a bike and bringing it home...I was home and as crowded a place as it is...i felt that bit of nostalgia as many times I would flashback memories of my growing up in Huntington LI. Plus meeting Randy and his Girlfriend...it became a family affair so to say. I really got to know them and ofc we're family now. They were very gracious in welcoming me into their home. There also was something else on my mind...
I also wanted to visit NYC..specifically the 9-11 Memorial and the new WTC complex with the 1-WTC Bldg that will be the world's tallest @ 1776 feet when its completed later this year....
So Friday we spent the afternoon riding out to jones beach...abt 35 mile round trip..I rode SwampThing for the first time and ofc Randy rode his Wing...It was a clear sunny day but still quite cold out there...We rode on part of the Southern state Pkwy... a hellish road thats 4 lanes each way of agressive drivers all trying to find the open space to pass the next car ahead of them...somehow we survivied that...and wound up out on LI's southern shoreline...what used to be hundreds of yards wide beaches is all but gone now. Sandy has really destroyed them...very sad to see...many a childhood memory of Jones Beach and Fire Island.
Friday night we all had homemade pizza that Randy made and grilled...yes grilled on his gas grill... alot of work to make those 4 pizzas...but it was awesome...we all sat around the outdoor area with the sunset and a roaring fire going in the outdoor chiminea they had...quite a nice way to end the day...
Saturday Randy had arrainged for all 3 of us to have an entry ticket and set time to be at the 9-11 Memorial in Manhattan...YES!
We leave about 1.5 hrs before our appointed time..to drive the 30 some odd miles from LI back into NYC...plus some time to walk around the city and see some very interesting sites within walking distances of the WTC complex. We took it all in and afterwards when we got back to their place we took the bikes out again for a nother ride..to get a late seafood lunch that was awesome...
I had thought of returning on Easter sunday as the traffic would be very light getting out of NY/NJ and past Wash DC as well...but Randy and Diane invited me to stay for Easter sunday dinner with friends and family...so i did... also early on Sunday we went to the yearly car show and parade of the cars thru Garden City LI.. we stood and watched classic cars drive by for over an hour...hundreds of participants of all yrs makes and models...was cool to see...came back to the house and Diane was cooking up easter dinner...so I loade SwampThing onto my trailer and strapped her down...
i would leave early Monday morning and face the wrath of syphillisation driving back to the quietude and country of NC....Pics will follow in another post or 3...
So I have had the good fortune to acquire a bike that has become a legend and the man who brought her back is nothing short of a Genius! My hats'off to you Randy...While i am changing a few things on her to suit me the bike is nearly perfect. She is as close to turnkey as you can get...with a few personal tweaks she will be 110% turnkey...
Its good to have a vintage ride...i pray i cn keep this one as long as i had my XJ...and she will always be taken care of...
So I guess y'all know what I'll be riding to XSEast... as i said..pics to follow...
Was planning to do this in Oct last year...the week i was originally planning to go hurricane Sandy hit the NJ/NY area as we all know...Then the plan was to go 2 weeks later...but an early blizzard up there plus the area still reeling from sandy shelved any further plans until the Spring of this year...button her up for the winter pls...
Originally i was either gonna ride the train or fly up and ride the bike home...but given the NE corridor and the traffic and bad roads in and around NY/NJ made me rethink that strategy. I opted to drive my volvo wagon and bring along the trailer...glad I did it that way too...
The trip up was unexceptional...i went up early morning of Good Friday...Arrived at Randy's in LI around 9:30 a.m. I had driven all night. The traffic flow was constant all night long. Many folks getting an early start to the Easter weekend. Coming from NC...it felt like I had come back to that monster I call syphyllisation...with all of its urban decay and sprawl and traffic congestion and agressive maniacal drivers...geez it took me aback at first. But then something clicked and the I was in the grooove and my driving style became more agressive to compete on an even keel...lest you get run over...LOL
It was my first trip back to LI since 1985...I was born there and spent the first 15 yrs of my life there...I hadnt lived there since 1967 though...So it was a homecoming of sorts although this only became evident to me later...It has always been crowded on the Island but its has become even worse these days. Southern Long Island is really not a very friendly place to drive a car let alone a motorcycle...you gotta have some very big cajon'es to ride a bike here. On my way up i stopped in my old town in NJ to get some breakfast at my old favorite bagel shop...and OMG that was awesome..I went back on my return home and picked up a dozen to bring home along with some other goodies... Getting to Randy's at 9:30 am...I was tired..he had to meet some other people for some contracting work on his brother's home so i waited outside where theres an outdoor living area ...sat in the beautiful sunshine and took a short nap...
When Randy showed an hour later it was a big bear hug and greeting like the true friend and brother he is...He looked great with a beaming smile to boot. Really bouyed my spirits to see him and the bike too.
This had suddenly become more than jus picking up a bike and bringing it home...I was home and as crowded a place as it is...i felt that bit of nostalgia as many times I would flashback memories of my growing up in Huntington LI. Plus meeting Randy and his Girlfriend...it became a family affair so to say. I really got to know them and ofc we're family now. They were very gracious in welcoming me into their home. There also was something else on my mind...
I also wanted to visit NYC..specifically the 9-11 Memorial and the new WTC complex with the 1-WTC Bldg that will be the world's tallest @ 1776 feet when its completed later this year....
So Friday we spent the afternoon riding out to jones beach...abt 35 mile round trip..I rode SwampThing for the first time and ofc Randy rode his Wing...It was a clear sunny day but still quite cold out there...We rode on part of the Southern state Pkwy... a hellish road thats 4 lanes each way of agressive drivers all trying to find the open space to pass the next car ahead of them...somehow we survivied that...and wound up out on LI's southern shoreline...what used to be hundreds of yards wide beaches is all but gone now. Sandy has really destroyed them...very sad to see...many a childhood memory of Jones Beach and Fire Island.
Friday night we all had homemade pizza that Randy made and grilled...yes grilled on his gas grill... alot of work to make those 4 pizzas...but it was awesome...we all sat around the outdoor area with the sunset and a roaring fire going in the outdoor chiminea they had...quite a nice way to end the day...
Saturday Randy had arrainged for all 3 of us to have an entry ticket and set time to be at the 9-11 Memorial in Manhattan...YES!
We leave about 1.5 hrs before our appointed time..to drive the 30 some odd miles from LI back into NYC...plus some time to walk around the city and see some very interesting sites within walking distances of the WTC complex. We took it all in and afterwards when we got back to their place we took the bikes out again for a nother ride..to get a late seafood lunch that was awesome...
I had thought of returning on Easter sunday as the traffic would be very light getting out of NY/NJ and past Wash DC as well...but Randy and Diane invited me to stay for Easter sunday dinner with friends and family...so i did... also early on Sunday we went to the yearly car show and parade of the cars thru Garden City LI.. we stood and watched classic cars drive by for over an hour...hundreds of participants of all yrs makes and models...was cool to see...came back to the house and Diane was cooking up easter dinner...so I loade SwampThing onto my trailer and strapped her down...
i would leave early Monday morning and face the wrath of syphillisation driving back to the quietude and country of NC....Pics will follow in another post or 3...
So I have had the good fortune to acquire a bike that has become a legend and the man who brought her back is nothing short of a Genius! My hats'off to you Randy...While i am changing a few things on her to suit me the bike is nearly perfect. She is as close to turnkey as you can get...with a few personal tweaks she will be 110% turnkey...
Its good to have a vintage ride...i pray i cn keep this one as long as i had my XJ...and she will always be taken care of... So I guess y'all know what I'll be riding to XSEast...
as i said..pics to follow...
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