RV Adventures 8#, April 23 - April 24: Changing of the Guard: Goodbye, Gavin ... Hello, Jake!

Posted Thursday April 26th 2007

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Jake Buzianis takes over in San Francisco

Words and photos by Gavin Butler, from his desk, Homebase, Florida

First of all, I have to thank Alex and Jim for such a good trip. I haven't laughed so much since New Years, so "cheerio lads' … the ol' blighty will always be there and laugh some more along the way! Thanks to Best for making it all happen. The RV is a moving road sign day and night.

Jim and Alex at the airport, saying one last goodbye

THE RV DICTIONARY

1 argot, or cant

Main Entry: ar•got

Function: noun

Etymology: French

: a secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps, and vagabonds -Merriam Websters

:an esoteric language not immediately intelligible to the uninitiate. In England, the term "cant" still indicates the specialized speech of criminals, which, in the United States, is more often called argot -Encylopedia Britannica

Jake has the wheel now and I'm sure he'll get the RV back to the Velocity Games safe and sound. The ol' beast made it. I can't believe I didn't hit anything. Wow! 4071 miles and 4 weeks later! From the Gulf Coast to the desert to the snow to the Pacific Coast … it's seen it all!

Ok. Enough of the sentimental BS ...

Jake, and Alex

The last few days have been a struggle with the wind and the tides. We tried to ride the cliffs of Pacifica yesterday, but the wind was too light. A perfect day to surf, basically. JJ dropped by with the pugs for the afternoon but the wind just didn't pick up enough to shoot.

Alex and Jim tried to ride, with Alex road rashing his road rash. Hmmm ... Landboarding anyone? So it was back to the campground for an "I'm surprised we made it" last drink.

Alex, having used up all his injury cards, meets with his new Uniform Sponsor to select his wardrobe for the 2007 competition season

Tuesday was the transfer day with Jake arriving around midday to get the brief run down on the RV. We did discover the mystery smell, which was good news. Well, good news because we knew where it was coming from but bad news because we had no idea how to fix it. You see ... for the last 10 days or so, there has been this smell. Like a fragrant sewage-like sulfur plant smell that would waft through the bus around the windy roads of the Highway 1 cliffs. Jim finally tracked the culprit to the washing machine. For some reason the machine has been regurgitating its way back to life with devastating results along this coast road. Trust me ... it's an "all windows down no matter how cold it is" reaction when you get a taste of this stuff.

Back to OB for the afternoon as we squeezed in a few more shots before the tide got high. Slawek (pictured above in his robocop outfit) dropped by to ride, as did the Red Bull Team to hand out some bulls and give the kites a go. Thanks for the drinks!!

Then it was back to Java Beach to catch up, laugh and say goodbyes and get Jake behind the wheel for the first time. The keys were officially handed over and it was time to pack.

It's been an amazing trip. Seen it all along the way!! We had some trying moments but it's all laughter now. We met some of the most amazing, interesting people in doing so, which is really what makes it all so fun. Without the characters, then where are you?

So drive safe and keep having fun!!

Signing out ...

-Gavin

Special thanks to many people, places and things ... some of you have nicknames, some of you don't. See if you can guess who you are?

God, my family, my pet dog Buster … No, serious. Duct Tape, Erger Schmidt, Leroy, Windy Jim, 66 crew, the Kapurs, GI Joe and Jayne, Tie Dye, Man who walks with bears, Stupid Dave, Staff at Buffalo Bill,Duct Tape, Tyson, Kite and Candy, Groupies, Carmen, Gabes, Bucky, Larry the 427 300, Hippie Bouncer Dude, Duct Tape, Ozloners, Nursey boy, Biggest little city in the world, Nothing, Rocks, Red, JJ and the Pugs, American cheap gas and roads a plenty, Flying J gas stations, Jake and family, No left turns, Keri, Duct Tape, Jeff K, Evan, Java beach cafe, Tattoo Steve and Andrea, 3rd avenue crew, Crazy Filipino guy, The lady in the middle of nowhere (ribs), NABX, Happy Taco, Stacey, Beer, Wind.

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