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For those of you that don't already know Chris 'the Stig' Luhman of the blog Everyday Riding is riding his Suzuki SV650 from Minnesota to San Diego by way of Alaska. He is on the home stretch to San Diego and on Day 34 Troubadour and I had the pleasure of hosting not only Chris but his lovely wife Mrs. Stig as well.
Because my boss is at a conference in Nashville I was able to set my own hours and took Thursday off to prepare for company. I did my weekly cleaning that I normally do on Fridays, made up the guest room, baked some snickerdoodles and prepared a roasted vegetable lasagna so that when it was time for dinner I just needed to bake it.
Chris and his misses arrive late afternoon and we were soon visiting like old friends. It is amazing how many things we have in common. The weather was beautiful so we moved our visiting outside to the deck.
Troubadour arrived home and dinner went in the oven. We had a nice leisurely dinner and for dessert Chris and Mrs. Stig had a surprise for us. They had brought some treats from a bakery they discovered in Portland as well as some homemade brownies from the B&B where they stayed. They made up little dessert plates that we took back outside to relax and unwind.
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| (The Stig & Mrs. Stig partaking in dessert) |
The desserts were so delicious. Thank you two for the treats.
After dessert we relaxed and visited some more. We retired inside and the guys decided to go for a quick ride. Of course I offered Max for a test ride. What better judge of Max's attributes than an owner of a first generation SV650, who just put well over 8,000 miles on it in 4 weeks.
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| (Chris' SV650, Lucy & Max) |
By the time they headed out it was close to 9 pm so Chris switched to a clear face shield. Smart move as it was dark by the time they returned.
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| (Heading out) |
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| (Chris on Max) |
It was interesting hearing Chris' report on Max. He confirmed that there is something wonky with my suspension and also that the angle of the bars also bothered his wrist even on the short ride. Hmmmm. This really makes me wonder about putting more money into Max. It makes me wonder if it will fix the issues or if I will have a bike that cost more money with the same issues. Troubadour thinks I need a Street Triple - it already comes with the upgrades.
We continued visiting and Chris suggested a picture of the three moto-bloggers all with helmets on. Laughter ensued. Mrs. Stig graciously took several pictures with both cameras.
On the first try we had a plant in the way and I didn't have my legs out and feet up like the others.
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| (The three amigos.... and a begonia) |
Time for another try. Move the plant, legs out, feet up.......
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| (Trobairitz, The Stig, & Troubadour) |
My only regret is that we should have set up the self timer and taken one more picture with Mrs. Stig. We'll do that next time we see each other.
We were having such a great time we didn't get to bed until after 1:00 am Friday morning. Luckily Troubadour was able to go in late so we didn't have to be up at 6:00 am.
Friday morning we visited, drank coffee and tea and got them hopped up on organic sugar and cinnamon via a Dave's Killer Bread Sin Dawg. Gooey cinnamon and sugar goodness wrapped in an organic whole wheat shell rolled in seeds and grains. Sorry, I forgot to get a picture.
Troubadour headed to work and soon after Chris and Mrs. Stig were on their way. They had places to go and more people to see. We gave them directions to take Highway 34 to Waldport instead of Highway 20 to Newport. A much nicer road with a lot less traffic. It is one of the roads favored by local motorcyclists.
We had an awesome visit, but it was over all too soon. I am glad that we had the chance to meet two such wonderful people and I think our lives are richer for it.
If you have not checked out Chris' blog please take a peek at Everyday Riding and watch as he progresses on his epic adventure. Here is a link ----> Everyday Riding.
- Au Revoir mes amis
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" If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair." - Samuel Johnson
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