Saturday I met up with gordonmessmer, Morgan, cooncat and Grant at Ride West's parts and apparel swap. I didn't actually need any parts or apparel and had intended to just show up to hang out and eat BBQ brisket. Of course I ended up buying a bunch of stuff. The Haul:

• 70's BMW manual by Clymer.


• Busted up side case with a working locking mechanism to repair my case with a broken latch.


• A pair of Craven Golden Arrow Panniers in remarkably good shape.


• A Teknic 1 piece leather suit.

I wasn't sure about the Cravens until I talked to Kevin about them and he offered me a good deal on a rack that would attach them to the R50. They weren't my first choice mostly because I never thought that I'd be able to get a set so cheaply.

The suit was on the end of the rack where lots of people had been looking at it. It's labeled a '46 Euro' which I think confused people a bit. I'm a size 40, but it fits me great. It was a completely ridiculous deal. As far as I can tell it was something like 75% off retail price. I'm not sure what they cost originally since it's an old model and I can't find much info about it online. I have to say that I look pretty good in it.