Yesterday, I met up with a fellow Connie owner. There is a bunch of irony in this simple meeting. We met on the other forum and his signature caught my eye, seeing that we were both from the same town. I sent a PM to him and later that day he responded with his contact information. So we scheduled to meet yesterday at 0900 at the local McDonalds. We had a discussion covering employment and found out that we both are employed in the same type of work and that we also work for the same company. So for a quick recap of our similarities so far; same bikes, town, employment and employer. Wow! This just blew my little mind.
So we set off on a ride to Sebring to go get lunch, of course on all back roads. After lunch, we decided to take the long way home and ride around lake Okeechobee. We stopped in Okeechobee and he confirmed that I wanted to ride so much farther. We discussed how much gasoline we had and figured that we could make it to Clewiston. We made it to the south side of the lake and were going thru Moore Haven when he pulled up alongside and indicated he needed gas. Im assuming that he was tired of looking at the flashing dashboard. So he took the lead in a hunt for gas. Well Moore Haven is not a big town and we drove past the only gas station. We both figured that over the bridge would be another station, wrong! I could see him looking at his GPS, guessing that he was looking how far gas was away. Next town Clewiston, 9 miles. About 2 1/2 miles later, it happened. I was reducing my speed as I watched my new friend, who is also an experienced Iron Butt Rally rider, coast to a stop on the side of the road. We laughed for a few minutes and we discussed the importance of 227. That was how far you can ride before running out of gas.
I went down the road and found a Chevron gas station. Went inside for a gas can and quickly learned that they were sold out. So reluctantly I went next store to a Citgo and became a victim of price gouging. $17 for a 2 gallon can. OUCH!! I returned to the roadside to find him still sitting there. He informed me that 3 LEO's passed him and didnt bother stopping of offer assistance. Gotta love the service we pay for!
He filled up and down the road we went. At the next gas station, he walked over and slid his card in my gas pump, and told me it was hush money. His attempts to pay me off and not tell his story of running out. Did I mention he is an experienced Iron Butt Rally rider? Lol!
The rest of the ride home was uneventful, barely. I was leading and we passed 4 cars in a row. Of course we might have been slightly over the posed speed limit. But for some reason, we both backed down in time to have a LEO pass us. Still amazes me that he didnt want to have a discussion with us.
Back in out home town, we stopped in a parking lot to rehash our great day and to part ways. All was good and ready to leave and he said that he was going to invite me to have a beer, at his expense, in attempts seal up my lips to reduce any embarrassment for not purchasing the low fuel warning eliminator.
Being a weak individual, we shared in some libations and had wonderful discussions.
It was a 340 mile day for us. Met a great new friend, and we have identical riding habits. Looking forward to spending more time with him.