Kaput!!

Main Entry: ka·put
Variant(s): also ka·putt
Function: adjective
Etymology: German kaputt, from French capot not having made a trick at piquet
Date: 1895
1 : utterly finished, defeated, or destroyed
2 : unable to function
3 : hopelessly outmoded


That pretty much sums up last weekend!

Saturday was a beautiful day for a ride; Sunny and warm, light breeze.

I decided that I should go for a ride on Sunday………The weather went Kaput on Sunday! High winds out of the southwest, cold and rain. Charlie went with me, we decided to ride north.

About sixty miles into our ride up in the mountains of Northeastern Washington, in the pouring rain and cold, Charlie pulled in his clutch as he was approaching a stop sign, in the middle of nowhere mind you, and his bike went Kaput! Charlie made a phone call (at least he had phone service up there) and was able to get in touch with a good friend who had a trailer to give Charlie and his bike a ride home.

Once the bike was loaded on the trailer, I jumped on my bike and rode south into a miserable headwind, fighting the rain and cold. At least I had my heated gear to keep me comfortable. That is until my heated vest……………went Kaput! The variable heat controller gave up the ghost about 90 miles from home.

I arrived home sometime later that evening, gave the dog a hug and then slumped down onto the couch; I was utterly finished, unable to function, yep! I was Kaput!

I contacted the maker of my vest on Monday and they are replacing the malfunctioning part of my vest, no questions asked. Good deal.

Charlie’s bike is in little pieces right now on the floor of his garage; it has been decided that a rebuild is in order. We don’t know exactly what happened to the engine just yet but the rebuild kit is on the way; his KLR650 is going to come back to him as a KLR685.

Charlie was planning on doing this sometime in the future, just not exactly under these circumstances.

As I sit here typing this, I am trying to think of an appropriate antonym for the word Kaput. Once I figure that out, I am going to concentrate really hard on making that word a reality.

Happy Easter and Ride Well


E.T.