Riding with Murph so he could join the "dark side"

Murph, rider and author of the blog: wherethehellismurph.blogspot.com, was staying at my home for the last couple of days as he resumes his riding about the USA.  He had a sojourn over the holidays in Florida and had left his 2004 R1150 GS Adventure Beemer cooling its heels in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Cooling its heels, by the way, is an understatement.  Murph returned from Florida at the end of last month to temperatures that plunged into the -40s.  Snow and the extreme cold forced his hiring a flatbed tow truck to take his GS over the several passes between Steamboat Springs and Denver but they made it down just fine, arriving at my place yesterday afternoon.

Murph is on a ride most of us motorcyclists dream about.  The plan is to ride the world, seeing what there is to see, at his own pace and on his own terms.  You must check out his postings in his blog, he's got a good eye for pictures.

Murph has also "seen the light" of the practicality of sidecar rigs and has plans in the long term to get himself one that will carry him and his gear across this planet of ours with minimal fuss.

Obviously, it won't be a Ural.  : )

Yesterday, the temperatures had soared into the high 30s and the main roads were clear but wet.  Murph's trusty old DELL laptop had recently had its screen malfunction and he had been searching for a replacement.

This is where his journey to the "dark side" begins.  By this I do not mean he went and got himself a K motorcycle, that is a different "dark side" within the Beemer Rider community.  No, it's far worse, he went Apple.

Murph had done his research and since it was so warm in my neighborhood today, we skipped the cage, and elected to ride to a nearby computer store.  We donned gear and rode our motorcycles out of my snow-packed neighborhood and onto the main roads which were clear but wet.  The way I figured it, if you're going to go to that particular "dark side", might as well do it in style right?

I led the way on Brigitta, my '87 R80 airhead, through wet streets and temperatures that ranged from 38-39°F degrees.  No issues with traction were encountered I am happy to report.  Murph just kept saying out loud at the traffic stops: "This is great riding weather!".  Mind you, at times it was lightly snowing on us but really, it was a pretty good Winter riding day....so long as you don't fret much about wet roads and temperatures under 38°F.

Why 38°F you ask?  Because the time I had a lowside crash, it was due to ice which had formed with temperature readings at 37°F.  Of course, I was at higher elevations at the time, but it was June, not February!

We made it to the computer store, and Murph did his comparison shopping but ended up with a Macbook Pro with a 15" screen and some really nice technical specs.  I must admit the display on the thing was gorgeous.

We got out of the store, Murph with a lighter wallet, and packed up all the purchases onto his GS and my system case.  The ride home was wet but uneventful, had to keep opening up my visor to see sometimes but all in all, a fun ride.

Murph is now "enjoying" the transition from being a Windows user to being a Mac Zealot in training.  I believe I hear cursing coming from his room, I must go check.

Here's Murph going through the joys of transferring all his data to the new laptop

Today, Saturday, it was time for Murph to move on to his next destination, he's riding over to Boulder before the snow starts again in the afternoon to visit with another friend of his.  It was great meeting you Murph!  You're welcome (in spite of the fruity laptop) anytime at Casa Chang. 

Oh and before you go and write spiteful commentary re why Apple OS is better than Windows OS, blah blah blah, I already admitted Murph bought a really nice machine.