New Orleans!!! or bust!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009: Shake down run for the new wHip. Or as I like to call it "Parrandiando con la otra mujer" ;) la mujer siendo la negrita que esta en la primera photo.

Here are some photos of the trip I took this last weekend. Since I bought the bike on Friday, and had the weekend off, I figured why not make a run out to New Orleans to visit some hasher friends. P.S. Knave and Spread'em.

Starting mileage, 16,018

After getting home and throwing a bag together, I decided to roll out and get some lunch in Lockhart, Tx. Home to some of the best barbecue in the world. hahahaha I love these small town courthouses....they are elaborate and historic in nature, as well as unique each town you visit. (M)SS told me to go to Smitty's bbq as it was one of the best.

Below is a photo of the bike in front of the courthouse, and then the old entrance to Smitty's.

I have to agree, that BBQ was unbelieavably good. The brisket was beyond tender and juicy, with just enough fat to add flavor.....I think this is the first time that I have eaten BBQ without adding any bbq sauce...because it didn't need it.

the fires on either side of the smokers, providing the heat for the slow cooking meat.

photo below, is where I pulled over on the side of the road to put on my sweatshirt...it started to get chilly

After a good lunch, I hit the back roads to 290 and then east to Houston...it was pretty late in the day, so I decided to go as far as Houston only....The Woodlands to be exact. :D After arriving around 6pm, and some cool riding, and watching the screen on my bike go to a light tone of blue.....I got together with DTR and his brother and we went out for food at some sushi place.

a final shot of DTR his brother and a friend of theirs...before I called it a night. hahaha

The next day (Saturday) I was going to book it to N.O. Knowing that my friend Virginia was in New Iberia for a high school reunion...I called her, and told her I was in Lafayette, La. on one of my fuel stops. She said to wait there, and was only 23 miles away...hahahha awesome. so we decided to go and get some food, and being that that is one of the reasons I was out here, I was game. Off to Poche's on Breaux Bridge for some authentic cracklin' and Boudain. Damn good stuff. From there we rolled to her sisters house and we made plans for the following day for lunch with them, since they were cooking up a storm the following day and watching the undefeated New Orleans Saint's (5-0) wtf?! hahahaha

After a while, I rode out to N.O., being only 45 miles away...since Knave and Spread were waiting for me. I arrived to a sunset sky, that looked like it was on fire, with blazing orange clouds.. Pretty spectacular as I haven't been to the south in a long time, and haven't been through the storms we're going through right now. I love it, and miss the heavy downpours a lot. So after getting ready, we headed out to a H3 benefit for some charitable organization. We just showed up for the free beer. LOL

Photo in the middle, is Kelly, Ryun and Myself. (Spread'em, P.S. Knave)

We had a good time, and it was at a funky Art Gallery (can't remember the name) but they had some creepy shit on the wall (although I liked a few of them :D) So knave and I went about impersonating the art pieces...and got spread, in on the action.

I can't remember that short ladies name, but she is a hasher, her dad was a horse jockey....and she was hilariously hammered. After a while we got bored, and the festivities were wrapping up, so we went out to a bar for some beer, where Knave and I serenated each other on a fabuloussssssssly sequined/bedazzled piano. LOLOL that last song was for Brownie. Then we needed to get all kinds of photos with weird shit across the city. So with beers in tow, we stopped by these eye statues. Pretty cool shit. And then Knave said we should scale a wall and go see this huge metal statue, and he convince Spread to go in first so I'd go too...hahahaha we got the above photo...again, I'm pointing at what Brownie likes the most. Cack!!

Then we found this head that's semi covered in bushes. climbed all over that, and then off for some Beniegts at Cafe du Mond!! Where Knave showed me how to eat them.....basically you put as much powdered sugar on them as you can. Goddam, were they good!!!!

I think I took that picture of Kelly to show how huge the guy sitting behind her was. hahahaha, I think it kinda scared her when he plopped down. :D

Above is a picture of Jackson square with some time delay shutter speed. Then I took a picture of this ginormous Clarinet on the side of the Holiday Inn. hahaha
We ended up in the quarter, and hoped around to some bars. Apparently police horses can take a piss wherever the hell they want. LOL We were at another bar, and a zombie kickball team came out and attacked Kelly on the sidewalk. ahahahaha, Then Knave convinced her that it was a good idea to climb up on the art piece for a photo. I happen to agree. Cool ass photos and a hilariously good time with these guys.

Being that we've been drinking pretty good, and it's now near 2am, it's time for food. Knave asked what I'd been wanting, and I said, on my list was a Fried Oyster Po'Boy....so off we go in search of a place that is open...and some other locals point us to Verti's Market on Royal St. That's me and Knave up there ordering food, ate the whole damned sandwich. so good.

P.S. Knave says, "how can I be drunk when my eyes are still open!! "LOL

The next morning, Kelly made us breakfast and I needed to head out.

Sunday morning:

This morning I had plans to cross Lake Ponchatrain north of New Orleans, and ride on the longest bridge in the world.....The Ponchatrain Causeway...

Here are a few self photos of myself riding across. It's crazy to be out in the middle of the lake, and nothing but water, and this one way road. If a crash happens out here, it can get backed up for hours upon hours. With this ride across the Causeway, I get to cross it off my list of things to do.

I got across the Ponchatrain and hooked a left on IH-12 and headed to Baton Rouge to meet up with Virginia again since they were in the middle of cooking up and watching the game, and that means....home made gumbo, and jambalaya and other southern treats.

after a long lunch, I rode off into the sunset......and got hit with food coma bad....hahahaha, so I had to pull over and get a Monster Energy drink before I ran into a car or something.

I was getting close to Houston, and the sun was about gone (photo below) .....I'm now racing to make it to Austin for the Tragically Hip concert that my buddy invited me to, and I have a ticket for.

Funny, this was a really good photo that I took on my camera phone...and it really defines how the night was going to be. It got dark quick, and IH-10 is dark and lonely. hahaha After riding through some heavy and fast Houston traffic (feels like an all out assault of adrenaline and gasoline as I twisted the throttle and skirted cars at near a buck through the city center), outside the city I linked up with some fast movers, and we cruised at about 85-90. I was running really late, and had almost resigned myself to not making the concert, and after turning on Hwy 183 north, it was really late. I figured I was out for the concert.....so I rolled into the house, and txtd Marcus. I get an immediate text back, "they're still playing, get down here", I look at Chris, and say "I'm outta here" hahahahaha, I made it down to La Zona Rosa and saw a whole hour of the show...they played for 3 hours, including the encore. Holy shit, that is a long time to play.

Some parting shots of myself, with Heather and Marcus before they headed home at 1am. Also a shot of Gord, lead singer for the Tragically Hip.

one last addendum, I heard today from Marcus, that they had a blow out on the way home in the middle of the night, and he's in a parking lot, changing the tire, when the sprinkler system along the side turned on, and water is cascading down on him as he lays under the mini-van trying to take out the tire. HAHAHAHAHAHAHALOLHAHAHAHAHAHA and Heather, who was "done" earlier...I think was of no help. :D

end miles: 17,192 (total of 1,174)

The Doobie Brothers...

...at the Filmore. Ha! I forgot to put up this little gem, as I was going through my photos in my phone, I found these. September 10th, 2009

Went to the Filmore back in September, and caught this show. Killer music.

Lovejoys!!! Austin, Texas

Is my kind of bar (@ 6th and Neches). 2 days into being in Austin, and I had to head over for some beer. There is usually a bunch of old bikes outside, mostly old BMW airheads. Very cool and grungy bikes. hahaha

Funny enough, a bunch of hashers were having some drinks there after work. Weird, since I thought they didn't hang out there at all. So I talked (M)SS into walking down there with me, as it's only 1.2 miles away, and mostly downhill. hahahaha besides, it was glass night, so for 4 bucks, you got the stein that you drank your beer in. :D I need some new glasses anyway.

I am obviously not very impressed with Gagger..hahahaha Net, that photo is for you. ;)

We arrived, and had a bunch of beer, before going and grubbing on some food.

the new wHip!!

Yep, went ahead with the purchase. Good price and a great bike. Picked her up on Friday about noon, and by 2pm, was on the road for New Orleans. it's a 2005 Ducati Multistrada, 1000S Ds model. With the adjustable Ohlins rear and front shocks. :D

Black on black on black (body, frame and wheels) I like.

She runs smooth, fast, nimble, and powers on when I need it. I have a few things to deal with. but it's the same for any new bike.

Pros: Fast, nimble, smooth, and comfotable seating.
cons: seat is too hard (easy upgrade), fuel indicator is whack (I go off miles anyway), shifting is a bit clunky (but might just need maintenance on the clutch) which I'm able to do. So nothing out of the ordinary, or non-fixable. Overall, I'm thoroughly impressed by it and look forward to lots of miles on her in the future.

Went for a little ride this weekend, I'll put up the photos in a bit. :)

1st day (night)........

...well, it's been about 4 years since I work in the E.R., and last night was my first night back. I'm in Austin, working the peds e.r. for a quick contract.
Honestly, it felt like the first day of school.....LOL anticipating things, what it's going to be like, and if I can fit in (remember enough to work there).

It went very well, started slow, most of the time, it's just getting the paperwork/computerwork in order for charting and the hospitals procedures for charting, etc....

as for patient care, that came back easy, like riding a bicycle. It's different, and that's what I wanted....a break from the ICU.

The staff is really cool....and there are quite a few people there that I worked with before. which means, there will be all kinds of shenanigans going on. I just had my schedule modified so that I could have one day off to go to a concert...GOGOL BORDELLO!

one more just for good measure....hahaha, this show should be rockin crazy. I expect to have a bloody nose by the end of it. :D

RIP EA235

shitty situation on the race track at the beginning of the year, led to a severly injured racer...and many months later, after a long battle with the injuries (becoming paraplegic), he had been released from the hospital and rehab and was home. EA235 posted one last time a few weeks ago.

Unfotunately he committed suicide yesterday. sad, but it seems to bring a thought to my brain of how I would deal with the same situation, and if I wouldn't be hard pressed to make the same decision.

His last blog post is chilling and hard to read for some. but he was a fellow racer and great guy in the moto community. many will miss him.

I'll reserve my thoughts and ideas about suicide.

I hope he at least found peace over this situation.