Been there, Done that

Bill used to own a motorcycle, back in his earlier days, late 70's early 80's. It was a 1980 650 Yamaha.  I don't have a picture of him with it so posted this one instead. Vavavoom! The point of this is that apparently, once you have owned/rode

a two wheeler with this kind of power, you can't go back to life fully, without an itch to ride again. It was always in the back of his mind that he'd like another bike some day.

I had only ridden on the back of one (maybe two) in my life and they weren't that memorable for me. There was no real itch for me until................on the side of the road one day in 2005, on a co-worker's front lawn sat a nice looking blue Honda Goldwing 1000, 1979. Asking price $1200. Hmmmm. I told Bill about it and lo and behold he started scratching the itch. It was certainly a price that we could afford and once we discovered that this bike was considered a classic, and that the insurance was a mere $240/year, we bought it.

This was a new experience for me and so I was a bit fearful and stiff for the first few rides. After all, this was a big honkin' bike! 750 lbs without us on it. It didn't take me long to trust that my husband knew what he was doing and could handle the Wing very capably and professionally. I relaxed and soon we were taking short trips in cool evenings and longer trips on hot summer days. Our first year, without official bike gear, we had helmets, regular winter gloves, snow pants and winter coats. We must have looked a sight! I discovered early on that I did not enjoy riding when it was cool because I would freeze and come home an unhappy rider, chilled to the bone.

Not only did we like to ride, but our cockapoo was small enough that he got to tag along with us. His crate very easily fit onto the trunk and he was secured down but good! 

Clemson didn't care where he was basically, as long as he was going where we were going............so we put on his goggles and into the crate he eagerly went. Our first and only big trip was to Montgomery, New York for a week during the hottest June week in 2007. Or maybe it was remembered so easily because we were decked out in leather chaps, jackets, gloves, boots and of course helmets. Yes, we had decided that we were going to do this bike thing right and safe!

The home of  OCC (Orange County Choppers)

As we rode through Letchworth State Park in 32C weather, we changed our tune. Still safe, but without the chaps and jackets. Clemson was the cool cat, in all aspects of the word. Look at him! He never touched the goggles as long as he was in his crate but the minute we stopped and set him on the ground, he pawed and pawed and slipped them off easily. Too cute! My son just had to buy him a leather collar with spikes after that!

At Letchworth.

Below is our ride to Port Dover in 2007. Riding with friends, before our bike broke down in Simcoe. We weren't all smiles then. We had to leave the Wing parked for the day and we hopped aboard their bikes to take in the experience. Sad, but sadder still when we discovered on our return trip that it was a mere electrical shortage. Anyway, it was a fun day and our first day in the crazy town on Friday the 13th!

Since it was an old bike, things broke down on it. We were caught a few times in the heat in a stall (once was our NY trip just lined up at the border) and had to push the monster to get it to turn over. Another time it was a flat tire and a couple of other things that I don't remember......which guaranteed a trip home in a tow truck. Oh yah, I remember that gorgeous young man whom I sat beside in the truck......didn't have an eligible daughter at the time though. Shucks!

We even joined the London Chapter of the Goldwing Club but after a few years of attending meetings, the thrill was gone for me. We couldn't go on the big trips they always talked about and although Bill got a lot of 'free' riding tips and we took in a few evening ice cream runs, we decided to let it lag. Again, the rv'ing had grabbed hold of us and that's what we wanted to be doing instead of riding. 

Bill had taken the time one winter to strip it down, remove all the paint able pieces and take them into a shop for a new paint job. What a great job they did on it and the Honda looked like new! We found a bike radio and a fearing on ebay and had them shipped over from California for Bill to install. Since the bike had tumbled a few times by one or more of the 9 previous owners, the fearing was all banged up and the windshield a bit of a mess. We didn't spend a lot of money on the parts but still we kept an eye on just how much it was costing us. Once we got back into our camping with the new Cougar, the bike was pretty much neglected except as a cheap means of transportation for Bill to go back and forth to work. Filling a tank for $15 was great!

A few years ago, 2011 maybe, something major went on the bike. Bill could tell you exactly what it was but to me it didn't matter. With a repair cost of $1200.........the decision was easy, sad but easy all the same. We posted it on Kijiji and watched a bike enthusiast for older model Goldwings come around with his son and load it on the trailer. They are happy, hence the smiles on their faces!

 We have days that we miss riding, a hot summer day down to Port Stanley along Dexter Line to Port Bruce and even to Long Point was a fun afternoon. But if there was a chill in the air and we had a 30 min. ride ahead of us, you couldn't talk me into going for a spin. We still thought maybe someday we'd get another one.........but now I'm not so sure. 

Rv'ing is the life for me! I don't have to ride behind Bill and peek over his shoulder to see what's going on.  Instead I sit right up there in the front of our truck cab beside my sweetie, holding his hand and watching the view.

Thanks for peeking in today, keep wheelin' no matter how you do it!

The Thrill is Gone - Back to work

All good things come to an end............and likewise with my 2 week vacation. I have no complaints, it was glorious (yes, glorious!) while it lasted and I still have that relaxed feeling today even with the knowledge that I am returning to work at 7 am tomorrow. Did you say alarm??

I accomplished a lot of small tasks, some not so small, and some reading which I don't do a lot of while working 5 days a week. My lunch hour is only 30 min. and break periods are not enough to settle into a book with my tea. 

I finished a book that my daughter recommended to me, The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. A different type of story about the author's version of a flu epidemic which brought about a semi-world demise. It was very personable, fun, and adorable. The character was a pilot and his best friend was his dog so since I have a dog and a husband who loves airplanes and flies his own remote controlled models, I felt right at home. A great read which brought a tear more than once. I like those kinds of books. I think Bill would enjoy it too if it wasn't due back on Wednesday! He doesn't read a lot other than magazine articles but does enjoy a good story once in a while. I'll have to try and get it on my kobo for him.

Speaking of books.....I belong to a book club at my library. I've only been a member for a year and really wasn't sure what I was getting into. I'm not a 'joiner' of sorts, not very outspoken at all and tend to be shy in a group of people I don't know. I can be intimidated easily..........hmmm, should I be telling you all this? Just for the record, I am almost 60 and I refuse to be bullied and also choose very wisely how I will spend my time. If something is too boring, someone is too obnoxious or I am feeling uncomfortable, I will stop attending. 

The club has approximately 14 members, give or take a couple. I've never seen everyone altogether at one time, but this is the number I came up with over the term. One gentleman was there when I joined and seems to attend every Wednesday night meeting (once a month). I, on the other hand, do not. If I haven't finished a book and am enjoying it, I won't go. I'll renew if possible and/or cram to get it done by the due date. I don't like the ending spoiled on anything. I repeat, anything! Glenn is a quiet, very intelligent 60+ man who doesn't shoot down anyones opinion of the book. I know this, because he chuckles when I comment on a 'chic' story about how I loved the romance of it all, when he will very openly say....."it was too mushy for me, but it was a good story". Once in a story the female character refused to go shopping for new clothes even when offered money to do so. I commented how frustrating that is to a person like myself who loves to shop.........Glenn laughed out loud. He will often comment about how his wife would enjoy this type as well.

There is a second gentleman also, who attends sporadically. He is a nice man too, I'm sure, but comes off as the brown-nose, a bit arrogant and has friendships with some local authors. I don't like listening to him, so I'm secretly glad that he isn't there every month. The rest of us are female and of varying ages. Mostly in our 50's, a few older, and maybe three younger we create an interesting group. Some talk too much, some not enough and me, I try to stay right in the middle. It is an enjoyable hour out of the house when I go.

I had a lot of books in my house, over the years having belonged to the Doubleday Book Club. Wow, is that even still around? I used to love ordering books and having them arrive at my door, all hardcovers. I don't have time for the small paperbacks. I will pick up the large soft cover books at the library or at a garage sale because I can fool myself into believing they are 'just like a hardcover'. Silly, I know, but again it is all about age and choices. :)

I've emptied shelves, offered books to my daughter who has a house full,  found some of my favourites on a free books site Tuebl.com and downloaded them into my kobo and put the remainder into boxes for a garage sale in the fall or spring. 

 Of course I have others that will go with me when we sell and move into our Jayco fulltime. Just a handful that I know I will read again and can't find them online. I refuse to pay for online books and know from a fellow blogger that there are many options for trading reading materials in the travel world. This I'm counting on!

This was a big accomplishment for me................................I've sorted out my recipe books and clippings! I went from a full crammed 3' wide x 2' deep shelf to this. I can't believe what 40 yrs of clipping magazines and buying second hand cookbooks, many of them diet recipes has come down to. Like how could I possibly think I would make all those wonderful meals??? LOL, I'm so proud of this endeavour that I vow to minimize even more or at the very least, stop adding to it. Add one discard one, that's my motto for clothes and recipes.

This has been fun, thank you for stopping in for a READ.

Any or all comments are welcome!