Bus Pro Blesses January 16-17 Sports Car Bus Work Party

Robbie Benson came by the bus yesterday. And with him came Magic.  In a big way! After he and I  talked about the fun and  competitive Saturday Football league we are in that I am foregoing this year so I  can keep myself focused on this upcoming summer's ride, he and I talked about how we can build out the inside of the bus with scrap that he has available at the job site he runs. An under utilized architect with an esteemed degree from one of this nation's foremost design colleges (I can't recall the name), he is working well below his capacity because of the bad economy. And as such he is itching to get his hands on a project like ours. And Robbie is all about action! It wasn't long before he was under the bus taking  measurements. Of the compartment below the bus which used to house its computer. He said that he will outfit it with a floor so we can start using what is a 40 square foot area (two feet tall) for storage (probably of my books).  This as he and Ron figure out how they are going to work together. We seemed to think that Ron  Bishop (he had sent me a CAD file of what he foresaw  for the inside of the bus  for Robbie just before Robbie arrived), could determine a way for Robbie to do all the framing for  the rooms in wood so that Ron could then wall them off in whatever material (creative use of bike frames, etc) he felt was best. Robbie says he can get us all the wood and sheet metal we need from his job site. And will ask other people there who are also working other sites if they can provide us with things like sinks and skylights, etc. Robbie has one skylight that he thinks might become available but we have three places where they could be used. And here is the punch line that he delivered. He offered us a weekend adjacent to his job site! There we can make noise, have a/c power and make a party of the work. We can bring in food and drink and do a lion's share of the work that will need to be done Ron can even bring his artist friends down from Oakland so we can get the words National  Bicycle Greenway and BikeRoute.com painted on to the side of it. We seemed to think two weekends was enough time for he and Ron to come up with a design as well as all the materials. Wow!! January 16-17 who can be here!! Old Middlefield Rd at 101 MTV at the Palo Alto border Robbie is also going to create a 3D model I can use to sell sponsorships with. That could be ready in a few weeks too! If all that wasn't enough David Lageschulte, who was taking a walk several hundred yards away on the other side of the freeway spotted our bus and became curious. A supervisor for the Valley Transportation Authority, he has just finished work and wanted to know more about our handsome bus, a vehicle like what he used to drive two decades ago.  He was excited. We were excited. Soon we asked him if he wanted to drive it. He got even more fired up. When then John E asked him if he could drive us to the gas station about a mile away, David didn't bat an eye when he answered YES!! He was like a little kid getting a new bike for Christmas. And off we went. As David drove Robbie, John E and I all stood there hanging on as we watched him drive it like it was a little sports car.  David was having a blast. And so were we!! John E was so excited that he decided that 75 dollars was not enough for gas. He did 75 twice !  And when we got back David said he would love to drive us up to San Francisco some weekend day soon. He wants to bring his two kids, 6 and 10 too! What's more is he took a bunch of flyers and plans to try to drum up support at his bus agency. He's even going to try to locate an owner's manual. Like Hermido who drove the bus over from Newark, David thought it was an excellent running machine. So much so that he say he'll be happy to drive it for as much as he can. Few people have ever driven a bus like ours without rows and rows of heavy chairs made even heavier by all the people sitting in them. A real performance machine it is!! \What an amazing way to begin the New Year!! THX 4 all of U!!             Martin Krieg   "Awake Again" Author '79 & '86 TransCon cyclist 2010 on Eagle w/Busycle & Book http://www.BikeRoute.com/HBGR Coma, Paralysis, Clinical Death Survivor. NBG Founding Director        HiWheel Cyclist    HiWheeler@gmail.com

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