Easton's Run

I know I haven't posted in a while, but this will be worth it. Saturday, we rode with BACA on The First Annual Easton's Run. Easton was an 8-month-old baby who was badly beaten and killed and then put in the bathtub to make it look like an accidental drowning. The perpetrator was the father. Yes, he's in jail. BACA and it's supporters had agreed to help set up the run stops, registration and the end-party at the last stop. The plan was for Jeff and Jenn and Austin and his woman of the day to meet at our house at 6:00 a.m. (It's a long ride to the east valley from here). I had just gotten out of the shower at 5:10 a.m., and heard a knock on our front door. WTF? It was Austin and Missy. Apparently Jeff told Austin the meet time was 5:00 a.m. So I told him to make some coffee and sit tight. I can never remember Austin's name, but I knew it had something to do with Texas, so all day I called him Dallas...good thing he's got a sense of humor! :) After the coffee hour, we get bundled up (yes, it's cold at 6:00 a.m.) and hit the road. We got out to Mesa pretty quickly. No real traffic at that hour on a Saturday. We did stop once on the side of the freeway because our bike was acting up a bit, but Caveman saw no issues, so we kept on. Once we got to Smokey's in Mesa, it was all about the bloody mary's and registration. Signing people up for the run, selling t-shirts, getting everyone settled with breakfast (included in the cost of the run). Then we finally get to go on the run! The first stop was Victory of Mesa. When we stopped, one of the BACA members (I think it was the state VP) bikes was leaking fuel. They all just kind of stood around saying, "Yup, that's fuel." So Caveman stepped in and started tearing the bike apart. He fixed the fuel leak and he was my hero. I heard someone say, "Man, I'd ride with him any day!" Second stop was a Mexican restaurant and bar somewhere out in the Superstition Mountains. It was a gorgeous ride. But this is when we noticed that the bike was really starting to run shitty. Caveman topped off at the gas station, and did a quick once-over. He was thinking that he just needed a new carb, which he does. So, we thought nothing of it and kept on. It was not a pleasant ride to stop 3. Our group got lost. Nobody had any idea where the fuck we were going. And our bike was close to dying. We finally found stop 3. Captains Food and Fun. Fun? Not so much. Caveman pulled up and said, "Get off." So I did. He said he'd be right back and took off. I figured he was going to the HD dealership we passed about a half-mile back. But then I remembered that we're broke, so I had no clue where he went! I went inside and had a beer and waited. We got there so late that the people with the cards had already left! DAMN! I had a good hand, too! Caveman returned and we could all hear the bike was still not right. He had bought an L-shaped bracket. Apparently his bracket broke, and the carb had wiggled itself out of the sleeve. (I'm not very saavy, but I'm sure you guys can figure it out!) So there's Caveman with a huge hammer, banging on this bracket on a cement parking block! Some guy walked out of the bar to see what the noise was and he said, "Man, I love old Harleys! The only bikes in the world you can still fix with a damn hammer!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that Caveman has also fixed his old Triumph in this manner. He was so happy! :) There were some more issues after the bracket was in and I won't bore you with all the details, because I don't remember a lot of them. By this point in the run, I was pretty numb. The beer was tasting good! I do recall Jeff holding the spark plug wire, and Dallas (aka Austin) pushing the start button. That was pretty comical. I don't think Jeff thought so, though. :) When the bike finally started, Caveman got a standing ovation from our BACA group. We had been at this stop for approximately 1.5 hours. It was getting cold again. We decided to skip stop 4 and head straight to the last stop and end party at Chuy's. They had 6 bands playing, raffles, food (included in the registration fee) and lots of cold beer. The bike ran great all the way there, and no issues after that. Even with all the issues, it was a great day, and a great run. Now I'm taking up a collection for Caveman's new Super E carb. If I don't get him one, I'll never stop hearing about it! Enjoy the slideshow!

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