Time for another decision...

Not that I know of they seem to have gone in to hiding

Well, I know a lot of folks are on Facebook and arrange meetups, status updates, etc. there. How about between the hedges? I know I have heard of that one, but what is the URL? The "official" IOMTT board? That was a wasteland last time I was there... But things change. Maybe I'll have a look around.

We wuz knocked back to the stone age for this last week! Woke up on Monday morning to a freezing rain storm with high winds and the sounds of trees breaking. Pictures to follow. Long story - short... no power for 4 days, no way even out of the house for 48 hours with our driveway completely blocked and the main roads not much better. It's all my fault really, I mocked Mother Nature the week before when a blizzard blew through and left no real damage. This time we felt it!
Stand by for a more detailed report, including the near delivery of the KLR...

... and now my dearly beloved SWMBO slipped on the ice entering my workshop, and ended up with a broken ankle! Going in for mechanics work tomorrow which involves screws and bolts and things... Seems as though it is going to be an eventful spring...

Oh don't like the sound of that , and I can't get the quiz too early for me ?? SWMBO ???

Awful stuff, and just when the weather is starting to get a bit better.  

She.Who.Must.Be.Obeyed.  

Out of the O.R. this afternoon with shiny new screws. Home tomorrow morning with new wheels! Wheelchair wheels, but it DOES qualify as a two-wheeler... sorta...

I should have known that one I have done enough Obeying in the last 48 years , and be careful pushing that wheelchair that can get you in to all sorts of trouble take it from one still bearing the scars to prove it

Grr!Grrr! Can't believe it! The 'good' insurance company just upped my insurance rate by THREE times when I went to register the KLR. First they said 'no' to sport bikes, so I change, and now they say 'We're not very competitive on bikes.' They say this AFTER I change all my car, van, and house insurance over. THAT year, they said "Hey! No problem-o! Bring on the motorcycle. We'll give you great rates on ANYTHING!".
Lying F%#@ing baste-wards!

In other news... Here are the shots of last week's little 'weather event'...



Sea drift ice to the horizon



Another few hours aught a do it... If I can get down through the bottom 6" ice layer



This tree survived. Hundreds of others snapped off under the weight.






Probably why there is no hot coffee this morning (and for the next 4 mornings!)



Probably should have skipped work this morning...

Yowza! You need a snow blower attachment for your truck. That one looks like a drop in the bucket.

Yeah, insurance companies will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes... etc. I've had nothing but bad experiences.

I insure the bikes with another company. My car company keeps sending me motorcycle flyers, but don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, the "discounts" for doing so quickly evaporate.

We just got over that little bit of weather, and it started clearing a bit... "Hey!" I thought. "Things are looking up!" That night it rained just like it rains in Florida. The water was coming down so hard and the wind was blowing so hard, that the rain falling off the roof of the garage was actually falling UP! The wind caught the drips and blew them back on to the roof. Amazing. Got out the next morning, but when I drove home that afternoon with SWMBO in the seat and the new wheelchair in the back, the front of the van disapeared into a sink hole!
That's never been CLOSE to happening before! It was some fun pushing the wheelchair up the rest of the driveway in the mud!
This evening (2 days later) I managed to get the van past the muck.
I'm supposed to go get the KLR tomorrow. I was going to put it off a little longer, but I might actually need it to get out!
In the meantime, I'm sitting here nursing a chill and fever and sore throat and dribbly nose... Sigh...  
Think I'll go find a nice blankie...
Oh yeah, on the plus side of today, the old insurance company from 2005 came to the rescue today and said... "Yeah... Gimmee $300 and we're good." Same rate as 2005, so I suppose I can't complain too loud!

Maybe you should play some lottery numbers or something. There has to be some luck around there somewhere!

Congrats on the insurance.

Test rode a new Ducati Monster a couple of weeks ago... Pretty cool! Been a while since I rode a street bike without bodywork. So, if the job stuff sorts itself out favorably, maybe on the list!

So the Friday is reasonably warm and a lot of the snow melts away. "Let's get the bike tomorrow!" I think. Dealer wants it gone, no room for the new bikes.
Saturday dawns overcast, but not too bad. Next door neighbour drives me the 30 miles to the dealer. By the time we get the gates open (I'm early), find the thing buried in the back of the shop, and move a half dozen ATVs out to get at it, the weather has perceptively changed.
By the time I get suited up, put the plate on, and get away, it is now lightly drizzling. Did I mention the temperature had dropped from 10 to 0 +1? For you non-metric types, that's freezing territory!
Perfect ride home for an 'adventure' bike I suppose!



Feels like riding behind an 'office' with the seating position and various weather shields. The roads had glazed over by the time I got to the seashore, but nothing troublesome for the 1/2 hour ride. Toes of my boots were a little wet, and light mist on my jacket.
I get to take it apart this weekend just to look at the bits and pieces. I think this one will be a keeper!

Kind of a miserable "first ride". If you still like it after that, it's a good sign!

Hope I know what I'm doing! Cleaned them both up a bit, and stood back to look (as far as I could without tripping over winter junk).



Quite a bit different for them both being Kawasaki 650s! The Ninja sounds like an air compressor on steroids, and the KLR sounds like a gravel truck.

Oh well... Too late now. Can't realistically keep 'em both.

Dual Purpose life here we come!

Besides, Armageddon is coming soon, and I think the KLR has been voted most likely to survive!

Wow, you have everything there but the kitchen sink... Wait a minute...   

  Forgot about the sink! Did some renovation for the next door neighbour and it was a throw out. Too good to REALLY throw out though! Figure it can be a wash up sink in the garage at some point. Maybe...
As a side note, that blue box behind it? In front of the KLR? It's an IBM main frame computer wiring loom box from the 1980's. I've had it since we changed our high tech IBM370 main frame computer at the computer center where I was a 'console operator'. Wow! You don't hear that term anymore, eh?
Anyways... It was worth thousands at the time, but I got it for free and turned it in to one of the best tool cabinet you could possibly ask for. Moved it 4 times since then. Damn thing weighs about 300 lbs!!

OK, the IBM mainframe bits trump the kitchen sink, I guess. I bet that does make a great cabinet. Back when I worked for a vendor (not IBM), I wish I had taken the time to pick up a bit of scrap myself. We used to retire nice cases that the service guys would use for specific parts. Sometimes they needed a bit of repair, but you could scavenge handles and latches off of another one. Never bothered at the time, would be kind of cool to have now!

I sent that picture to a friend in Vancouver and there were all sorts of comments about my pack-ratting! There is no respect for the pro quality 'collector' anymore! All those containers and stuff are there for a reason! I may have FORGOTTEN the reason right now, but at the time, there was a perfectly good reason not to throw it out.
I may need a 1/2 ounce of Ford transmission fluid sometime. Haven't owned a Ford for 10 years... but you never know...
This is an expanded view taken during the ice storm. Water leaking in under the doors, mud dribbling up from somewhere, straw bale bits from the chicken palace supply, bags, boxes, ... stuff... Temporary floor covering because... because... Oh I don't know why! Just BECAUSE!



Geriatric Honda Big Red ATC circa 1980. I think it still has the original oil from 1980. Not sure why I don't have a Honda motorcycle anymore...
Oh, and don't forget, this is the NEW garage. The other one attached is bigger.

Cranky cat. Just for fun.

Wow, don't see three-wheelers 'round these parts much anymore, what with all our US lawsuits and whatnot.

Going back to the first picture, I noticed that the KLR has a big enough rack on the back to be an extra garage itself!

Also, a big tub of something... construction-y... and a beer.

Yeah... The full tank bag for the Ninja fits perfectly on that rack. I was going to get a solid trunk thing... But I'm just not ready for baggage stuff yet... The beer is a particular favorite of mine. Local Canadian brew, Rickard's Red. They have a variety pack I usually pick up, with a dark lager, a red, a clear pilsener type, and a 'brown' ale. I just blindly reach into the fridge and get a surprise every time! The many, many boxes on that shelf are mostly full of oil stuff, but you never know what you might find! ... and that ATC REALLY hurt me many years ago when I flipped it upside down and it jumped up and down on my supine body and then ran off into the bush.   It took me a long time to forgive it!