Time flies when you’re having fun…

A set of different topics this morning, folks.  Some moto-related, others not, and all interesting (at least in my opinion!), so here goes…

We’re up to 11 riders for the March Baja expedition, which leaves 4 slots open.  It you want to ride with us, let me know at info@cscmotorcycles.com.   It’s going to be another grand adventure.  I can’t wait to get down there again.

We’re back to having wacky weather here in La La Land.   It was bitter cold and wet for us all last week (with the emphasis on “for us,” which means it was down in the mid 30-degree range), and the forecast was for clear weather on Saturday.  That was supposed to be the day of our ride on Angeles Crest Highway.   I was going to change the route to Glendora Ridge Road because the Crest was blocked due to the snow we had on Thursday and Friday.   But it was not to be.   It was pouring katz and dawgs Saturday morning (and it was cold).  So, no ride, but by noon the sun was out and by Sunday, we had sunshine and the more normal 70-degree weather we’re used to here in So Cal.   I would have gone for a motorcycle ride on Sunday, but this Sunday was our monthly shooting get-together, and the boys and I all converged on the West End Gun Club to send steel downrange.   That was grand fun.   It’s always great getting together with the guys for a few hours at the range and a Mexican lunch afterwards.   Several of my shooting buddies ride CSC motorcycles, so there’s always plenty of good conversation.

After Sunday’s beautiful weather, it turned cold and wet again, which brings us to this week.   When I arrived at the plant this morning, I saw a bunch of non-CSC motorcycles in the service area (we work on all bikes), with BMW being the dominant marque.  Our Gerry has a reputation for excellence in the BMW community (as he has earned in the CSC community), and we see a lot of Beemers here.

Steve’s good buddy Paul (our Pro-One rep; Pro-One is our sister company) was in the plant this morning.

I’d heard of Paul before, but today was the first day I actually met him.  Being a watch guy (one of my many weaknesses), I immediately noticed Paul’s really cool wristwatch.  You’ll notice he’s not wearing it in the above photo.   That’s because I asked about it and Paul took it off so I could see it.   Check this out…

It’s a Nicky Hayden commemorative watch and Paul received it because of his connection to the industry.   It’s very cool, including the disk-brake-inspired bezel.  I like orange on a watch, and that one really stands out.  I like it.

Okay, one more watch story…40+ years ago when I was a young second lieutenant in Korea, some of the guys purchased Japanese Orient watches.   Orient was the brand name.   That would have been in the mid 1970s, and those were the good old days when you could buy a Rolex at the Post Exchange for $300.  Who in their right mind, I remember thinking back then, would spend $300 for a watch?  Anyway, I never heard of the Orient brand again until somebody posted a photo of a really cool Orient diver’s watch on the ADVRider.com “Shiny Things” thread.   That lit up a long-lost memory neuron or two, and I looked for Orient watches on Google.  I didn’t want another diver’s watch, but I saw another really cool Orient watch on the OrientUSA website.  I sent an email to Orient, they responded to my question and included a discount code in case I decided to order a watch, one thing led to another, and my new Orient arrived via UPS last night.   I really like it…

It’s a self winding mechanical watch (as a mechanical engineer, that appeals greatly to me), it’s rose gold (which I like a lot), and it’s just cool.  It’s beautiful, actually.  It’s even got a feature that tells me whether the sun or the moon is out.   A short while ago when I shot the above photo, it told me the sun was out (it’s not, because it’s raining bigly out here, but you get the idea).

Keep an eye on the blog, folks.   I’ll have more info up shortly about our rescheduled Saturday ride.   Several of you have asked about the ride I mentioned up the Pacific Coast Highway from Cambria to Carmel, and I’ll have more info about that one, too.

That’s all for now.  Ride safe and stay warm!