Tour de Clarence ... Part III ...

We said our farewells and departed Tucumcari at about 3:45pm, headed East on Old Route 66 to San Jon (pronounced "Hone"). At San Jon, we headed South on a road that climbed up the side of a mesa atop which there was a large wind farm. Once we had done that though, the roads got very boring and straight. One other thing I have to say about North Texas... ya'll shore got some STRAIGHT roads!

We then headed East through Belleview, New Mexico and into Texas. At about 7pm we loaded the Bonebike back into the truck at a tiny little town called "Bootleg Corner". We then drove into Amarillo and I tried to call Brian again, but again was not able to reach him. We headed back North and got back onto Highway 40 East. We drove all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma and stopped at about 1:45am Central time to overnight at a Motel 6 there. At breakfast at a local eatery we talked to a guy who was riding a Suzuki Burgman scooter. He had ridden it all the way from Albuquerque(SP?), NM to sell it. A future Clarence???

We left Tulsa at about 11am and arrived back in the St. Louis area at 4:30pm. In just over 49 hours we covered 1,750 miles!
This from Trainwreck:

" -total miles driven: 1750
-total time gone just over 49 hour
-total Karma banked-incalculable "

Thanks to all of you who made this possible. We did a good thing. I know Clarence was very moved, even though it was hard for him to express how much. Send me your mail addys and I'll let Clarence tell you himself. Figure about total money raised will be forthcoming. As soon as I can build up my nerve to get the calculator out. There is a reason I never became an accountant.
Thank you all again,

Bonedaddy & Trainwreck

Hope you all enjoyed reading this trip report. I sure had alot of fun following the saga.

Be Well,

-Scott

Tour de Clarence ... Part II ...

I had called ahead to the Kiva RV campground ahead of time to let them know we were coming, so they were ready for us when we arrived there at about 1:45pm (Mountain Time) on Saturday. As I rode into the back of the campground I saw skinny guy with gray hair tied in a pony tail next to a parked Harley Sportster waving me in. At first I thought Brian had come down from Amarillo himself, but it turns out this was Earl from Kansas, a snowbird who spends every winter at the campground. I don't even want to think about the significance of the fact that we were joking about the show "My Name is Earl" and karma before we headed down there and then there is Earl in the flesh! LOL



Cadillac Farm marker courtesy of Trainwreck


Bonedaddy getting in some saddle time entering New Mexico

Donna came out too and she and Earl said Clarence was in his camper and that he knew we were coming and had been "chomping at the bit" all day. I think he was a little nervous, because it took him a while to mosey out of the camper.

Brian had described him all too well. Quiet and unassuming, he emerged shortly from the camper dressed in simple blue mechanics overalls and a grungy ball cap.
We were a little concerned that after having driven an automatic moped, he wouldn't be comfortable with a clutch-operated motorcycle, but once I had started it and warmed it up for him, he hopped on it and took off like a bat outta hell! In fact, I was wondering if he was coming back at all for a while!

He did come back though and I presented him with the title to the bike. After shooting the breeze for a while, we asked him if he wanted to go have lunch with us. He did, so we left the campground for the restaurant up the street with Clarence leading on his new bike and me following on the Bonedbike, and Trainwreck bringing up the rear in his truck. Clarence left both of us in the dust travelling up Tucumcari Blvd. He was doing about 50mph on the boulevard where the speed limit was only 35mph. I had a few moments of anxiety as we passed a cop going the other way.

We had lunch at the restaurant and got to chat with Clarence while we ate and learn more about him. It is very sad that his family apparently wants nothing to do with him any more. I offered to hunt them down for him. I told him Trainwreck and I would go talk some sense into them for him, but he didn't seem too willing to take me up on the offer.

He was very grateful for the motorcycle. He kept saying he wished there was something he could do for all of us in return. He did say that he wanted to get everybody's addresses so he could mail out Christmas cards to everybody. So if you want a Christmas card from Clarence, e-mail me your snail mail address at (Bone's email appeared here) and I will forward all of them to Clarence. I know it would make him happy to be able to do that.

I am also going to send an invite to Donna from the RV campground so that she can join this site and she and Clarence can see the photos we have posted, etc.

After lunch we headed back to the campground with Clarence once again far ahead of us. He kept saying how much "zip" the bike has. He said he used to own a 350CC Honda years ago that did not have as much get-up-and-go as this bike did.

Back at the campground we exchanged e-mail addresses and I got Clarence to write down his P.O. Box number for me. We posed for a few pictures, and Brooklyn, a great kid who comes to the campground to visit his grandma took a picture of both Trainwreck and I with Clarence. I have attached that photo to this e-mail, but I will also post all of these in the "Clarence" photo folder.

We asked Earl and Donna whether there were any scenic roads that were not too far off from Highway 40 and we came up with a route back into Texas that wouldn’t add too much to the travel time.

This concludes the second installment...

-Scott

Tour de Clarence 2005 ... Part I ...

Here's the follow up as promised.

The full roadtrip report straight from Bonedaddy and Trainwreck. Sounds like Clarence was deeply touched by this gift from his friends here and abroad. This is a truely great thing...

Well, Trainwreck came over to my place Friday afternoon after I got home from work and we loaded Clarence's and the Bonebike into the back of his 4 cylinder Ford Ranger pickup truck. This is the same truck we used to get the bikes within striking distance of the Rocky Mountains this summer, so it has seen it's share of mileage and states this summer and fall.

We departed the St. Louis area at about 3:20pm central. We made it to Clare more, Oklahoma by about 8:50pm and got off the turnpike long enough to meet up with Chuck Miles, who got to sign the tank of Clarence's bike himself. It was good meeting you Chuck, and I'm glad that car didn't cream you when you stopped suddenly to make the turn to the parking area where we were waiting.

We got back on the road and by 1:40am we had made it to Elk City, Oklahoma and we stopped at the Bedford Inn to get some sleep before forging onward. We left Elk City at about 9:15am the next morning. We tried to get hold of Brian as we neared Amarillo, TX. He was the one who originally penned the Clarence saga and it was his story about the grizzled Korean War veteran that got this whole thing started, so it would have been great to get his actual signature on the bike. Alas, it was not to be. I couldn't get hold of Brian though I tried about 5 or 6 times. Sorry we missed you Brian. I hope everything is well with you.
Trainwreck wanted to stop and see the "Cadillac Ranch", just West of Amarillo, so we walked out into this desolate, windswept field to see the world famous Cadillacs planted in the ground. We added our signatures to those of travelers from all over the world. Trainwreck signed his "Tour De Clarence - 2005".

We offloaded the Bonebike at this point so that I could do some riding. One thing I can say about Northern Texas and Eastern New Mexico, it shor gits windy, ya'll! I was fighting some nasty crosswinds on the bike and when an 18 wheeler would pass, the air turbulence was nothing short of astonishing! Trainwreck pulled alongside and got some cool "underway" photos of me on the Bonebike................(pics in the next installment) This concludes Part I of the Tour de Clarence post...

More to follow....

-Scott

A Bike for Clarence ...

I've been completely remiss in posting this but better late than never..

This story is worth posting as it may show that there is still some glimmer of hope that the human spirit and some degree of selflessness actually exists. It's a long post as noted but well worth the read.. I'll follow up once the parties concerned have returned to their respective homes and share the experience of this weekends events...


This is the original post in one of my internet groups on Yahoo..

Bonedaddy, John Anderson and Trainwreck, Eric I believe, should have arrived in New Mexico last night but there haven't been any recent posts on the board.













Pretty interesting story and should get some coverage in the local newspapers and in Dixie Biker magazine's December issue. We'll see what happens.. Then we'll take up a collection so I can pay off my credit card debt. This job has to pick up. Martin is going to be out all of November as well and will be playing December by ear based on his doctors advice. I wouldn't mind a part time second job but I'd prefer it was a night shift. I hate getting up at 4am.

Enjoy

The story is kind of long, but our group has decided to reach out and help a veteran and fellow biker who is down on his luck. This forwarded letter was the start of the drive to help him.
(Steve)

--- Jim wrote:

Subject: [Yamaha Star Riders] Cool story about
Clarence.

Read this in a post in a Honda listserver. Cool story. You might even want to go visit Clarence after reading it. Enjoy.

I won't bore the collective with tales and woes of the Mother Road Rally in Tucumcari NM. What I do want to relate is the story of a fellow I met while at the rally. I pulled into my campsite, and next to me was an older fellow, sitting on a kids picnic table, with an assortment of belongings scattered around. Parked close by was a tiny blue yamaha moped. A brown sleeping bag lay on the bare ground kinda in a pile. No tent.

After we introduced ourselves, and he told me his name was Clarence, and the talk kinda flowed, it turns out he is a veteran with mostly nothing to his name. No home, and not much family anywhere. I dont know all the details,and wouldnt post them if I did,but it turns out he had spent some time in Las Vegas NV, and had most all his belongings stolen.






Clarence enjoying the show...






He took a bus to Albuquerque, stayed at the VA hospital for awhile, also spent some time in the free soup kitchens, and when he got his monthly very meager social (in)security check, he bought a few supplies, and an old 1984 yamaha moped,and hit the road. He carried all his remaining clothing and a few meager possesions, plus a sleeping bag, and a pair of used 'willie and max' saddle bags that he found at a garage sale, on this tiny, 49cc moped, and rode from Albuquerque to Gallup NM. Over 120 miles,in the summer heat, at speeds ranging from 20 to 30 miles an hour, depending on winds,and grades you have to climb. He didnt see much that was to his liking around Gallup, so....

He turned around and headed back east. He was originally from Missouri, so maybe thats the right way to go. Traveling along, getting about 90 to 100 miles per gallon, he told me that his coffee stops cost more than his gas stops. He rode back thru Albuquerque, past all the mountains, climbing grades with that little motor just whizzing along, and mostly coasting down hill when he could. I call this little bike a moped, cuz thats what he called it, but really, it was more of a little scooter, having regular pegs, and not pedals, like a true moped would have. Just so yall have the idea, no pedaling. Only that tiny little 49 cc 'weed eater' motor to flatten the mountain grades with. Traveling along on the shoulder of the interstate, and sometimes on frontage roads, he made reasonably good progress. Only once did an officer stop him. This was kinda in the middle of nowhere,and I suppose the officer was curious. "What the heck are you doing out HERE?" the officer inquired. Clarence said he was riding, sir. Where to? I dunno...east I guess. No tags on the bike huh? Dont need em sir, its a moped. Hmmm...how far you ride from? Albuquerque to Gallup, then back to here. "You got more balls than I do", said the State police officer. Clarence told me he said, and I quote, "No sir, just two of em, they're fuzzy and 72 years old.Can I go now?" After a couple of days on the road, and about 450 miles, the little moped carried him into Tucumcari New Mexico. He found the Kiva RV Park, which had a small grassy area, a few trees for shade, a shower, all for only one hundred dollars a month. He unpacked, rolled out his sleeping bagand set up his new home.

He had been there about a week when I rolled in for the rally. He was writing a letter to his family when I walked up and said hello. He has a coffee maker sitting on the picnic table that he bought cheap, and the owner of the park has run an extension out to the table. He gets the water to make coffee from a garden hose nearby. The hose is black, so in the afternoon the water coming out for 30 seconds or so is REALLY hot! He told me "Where else can ya get electricity and hot and cold running water, plus a place to sleep for a hundred bucks a month? I rode to a few places that day with Clarence. At the watering holes he only drank coffee. It was free, and besides, he said he didnt drink alchohol. That night we sat and talked, and I got to know the old guy. He said that living here in Tucumcari was as cheap as he had found anywhere. He planned to stay. Unless of course, plans changed.

There was a mosquito problem, not to mention all the various bugs buzzing and crawling around, and Clarence had no tent. In the morning, I saw him sprawled out across the bedroll, and I suppose the mosquitos had been having a feast all nite long. Later in the day,I said, "Hey you're a vet, and its fathers day weekend, if I get you a tent, will you sleep in it?" He nodded. That afternoon, I went to get us a couple of hamburgers. He had been eating frozen chicken that he kept in a cooler. I also stopped by the local Alco and bought him a 7 by 7 foot tent. We set it up that evening. He mentioned that it was big enough that he could roll his little putt-putt in there if it started to rain. He slept in it that nite....but never zipped up the door. Hmmm....guess he really likes nature.

I know that Clarence has some money, but he mentioned that he has to be very carefull with it, because if not, he has to eat in the soup kitchens the last week or so of the month, before he gets his check from social security.

We rode around, sometimes me following him at 20 mph, sometimes meeting him somewhere up the road. The town of Tucumcari is not very big, he got around on the moped just fine. I introduced him to several people that I know, who were attending the rally, and he got to tell some new (and old) stories to us all. Parked next to $30,000 customs, the little blue moped looked insignificant. But we told some bikers that he rode from Albuquerque to Gallup and back here to Tucumari, and those big hot shots had NOTHING but respect for the old man. They smiled and shook Clarences old tired but tough hands. I was proud.

The next evening my riding buddies arrived from Amarillo. I introduced them to Clarence. Stories were told, and bonds were formed. Three big expensive Harleys, and one tiny little rattley old moped hit the streets of Tucumcari. We went to the Expo Center where all the festivites were taking place. My freind and I split the fifteen dollar gate fee so Clarence could attend. I think he really enjoyed the Arena show.
They had motorcycle tractor pulls, barstool races, a motorcycle demolition derby, even a wall of fire ride for the final event. I could tell that Clarence enjoyed it all. The rally came and went, and Sunday my buddies and I were breaking camp. As we packed up, Clarence came to each of us with his tattered old notebook, and had us write down our names and addresses. He promised he'd send a postcard now and then and tell us how things are going. During the hot afternoons, as we had enjoyed
what little shade we could find, I once asked him, what are ya gonna do in the winter? He pointed at a really old motorhome that the owners had said didnt run, and theyd sell him for 500 bucks. Maybe one day he'll have a decent little place to stay in. We all rode out to the Expo center for the Sunday morning worship and bike blessing. We all said our goodbyes. We rode off. I felt sad. Like I left a good friend behind. Clarence served our country, and now he's living on the road. He has a picnic table for his furniture, a donated tent for a house, and his ticket to freedom, in the shape of a little blue moped. I thank him and wish him good luck.


--------------------------------------------
The main reason I wanted to tell this story, is so if anyone on the digest is riding I-40 this summer, please think about stopping by and visiting Clarence.
He is staying at the KIVA RV park in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He is at the very back of that park, near the brown mobile home. This park is on the main road, Tucumcari Blvd, that runs east and west. Its on the east end of town, about 1/2 mile WEST
of the K-MART store. Big green sign. Tell him Brian said "Hi".

Thanks for letting me tell Clarences story.

---Brian
Republic of Texas

Steve again here. The follow up is, a storm (or
age)hurt his moped, and he was without wheels and far
from any veterans affairs center for help. His Social
Security $$ was not coming in, and he was living in a
tent. Jodi went the extra 300 miles and went to visit
Clarence and see his situation. She has posted
pictures, and there are others posted also.

The group has looked for a long time to find a ride
that would fill his needs, reliable and light enough
for someone of his age or stature.

Bonedaddy has located a bike, and now we are looking
for those who pledged, and anyone else who wishes to
help to donate any amount to finish the deal and get
this bike to Clarence. The bike seems a great fit,
small, a 250 Honda, with low miles.



Delivered! Saturday 10/29/2005

More to come once the Yamaha Star Riders fill everyone in and the press gets through with Clarence.. This is just great!


Thank you all.
Scott (Another Scott)

-Scott

Paper Craft ...

Ran across this whilst surfing the net today. Very Impressive. Might take a stab at the Cruiser someday.

Cheers,

-Scott

Yawn...

Nothing terribly eventful to report this weekend. Hooked up with Robert who has an amazing workbench in his garage and a boatload of spare parts in an attempt to resurrect Winnie’s computer.

No.. Not that Winnie...

Plugged it in, hooked up all the basic input devices and pushed the button. Zilch!!! Nada !!! Nothing!! Opened her up and pulled the power supply. Robert knew just where to go. Into his magic cabinet and Voila… A slightly used power supply which by chance came from my old Compaq that was retired. Mounted it plugged in all the Molex connectors and tried again. Good news… we have juice and everything appears to be running. Optical drive trays etc. Bad news.. No viddy.. Couldn’t get anything to pop up on the monitor. Gotta’ feeling that in the course of the power supply getting chazzed the motherboard also self destructed. Tried a separate video card and still nothing. It’s out of our hands at this point as we don’t have another motherboard lying around. Morbid curiosity inspired us to run the system recovery disc in hopes that it might restore the video drivers.. NOT!!!

We did what we set out to do by pulling the hard drive, jumpering it as a slave and hooking it up to another functioning system. Worked like a charm. From there we ended up copying all of her vital information to disc for installation on her new box.. That’s about all we could do at that point.

Tried to limber up for Monday night league by tossing a few games Sunday afternoon. Experimented quite a bit with angles and releases which wasn’t going well. Made some adjustments to my delivery and started doing much better towards the end. I think I have to get down, bend my knees more and get the ball on the lane a little sooner. We’ll see what happens tonight.

Hope everyone had a good weekend…

-Scott

Ass Handing...

Sheets up from Week 5... Jason's on fire!

Possible Connection?

Watching some of the DVD collection again this weekend and this popped into my mind.
There has to be some reason I throw the occasional 200+ game. I think I've figured it out. LOL!!!



Nah.. Can't be anything to it..

-Scott