THE MANY (MIS) ADVENTURES OF DR.N. THUSIAST

That after all is the basis for this ongoing saga...

A Rua was a perfect small city for a rest stop. I had been riding much of Europe for months now, between this year and last. It was proving to be quite the experience. Since my teens, buying the BMW R-60/5, I had dreamt of riding in Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. It had taken 38 years to get here. In that time I had been fortunate and gutsy enough to have embarked on many interim dreams. Motorcycle Instructor 18 years. Bike shop owner 10 yrs. MX/road racer 15 years, Baja Vet... 12 years. Father... ongoing!

Many of my friends (and I have a great many great friends) feel I lead some kind of "charmed" life. I hear constantly how fortunate I am, how "lucky" to have a great career, how "brave" I am to set out on these quests. Well, guess what? I do have a fabulous life! Great kids, lots of variety, many romances, owned hundreds of bikes, travelled a small part of this Earth, have had many new experiences (some I wish never to repeat, like the heart attacks) I am very appreciative.

Just this past week, thru the wonders of the Internet and Facebook (the CIA should have such a tool) I was contacted by a man, whom I shared a lot of those experiences with. Rob and I go back to our PEI days. He worked with me at my shops, going first from one to the other to the other. He was a good manager and a better friend. No need to get into details here, but he showed courage where other lesser men would have succumbed to temptation or fear. After nearly 15 years, he contacted me last week, and I'm glad he did. Rob mentioned like many have, how he has often wondered what it would be like to follow your dreams, live the life...

The thing is this... anyone can do this. The secret is to believe it. Think about it. It's certainly not Rocket Science. Let me give you guys a hint. Get an idea. Dream about it, anything at all. Then talk to yourself in the mirror. Telling yourself that you can do this. While waiting for the light to turn... Once you have the vision in ur head, let your very best and most trusted friends in on it, one at a time. They will encourage you. After awhile, it will be so rooted that even when you mention it to the naysayers, the non-believers (in themselves) it will be so deep, so real for you, that no one, not high tide, nor family, nor winter blizzard will deter you.

I have many capital T Truths that influence my life. Like for example: you are either a Happy person, or you are an unhappy person. You are either caring or uncaring by nature. You are either selfish or unselfish, you are either a lover or not. Can these traits be altered? Of course, every day we face situations that make us unhappy at the time, but... does this mean we are unhappy individuals? Of course not. The capital T truth of the matter is that happy people can feel unhappy at times. Unselfish people can feel selfish at times, you may love someone or something, yet at times feel like you hate it. (I've had a few bikes like that!!! Ha ha.) My point is this: We are who we are. We can choose and pick, we can have ideas and dreams and desires... Remember, once the decision is made, the doing becomes easy.

I was 20 kms West of A Rua heading for the Portuguese border. My trip meter was showing 190km travelled since my last fuel stop. The Divvie easily has a range of 300+km on it's 17 L fuel capacity, but I like to gas up around 200-220km. I was rounding one bend after another, on a perfect riding day (in reality anytime you're on a bike and feel your pulse, it's a pretty good day) when I came across a solitary gas station literally in the middle of nowhere. I rode by, then for some reason changed my mind and slowed, did a U turn and pulled up to the pump. I young man came over, and we filled my tank. He spoke no English, but once again, my rudimentary Baja Spanish was sufficient. I learned he rode a bike himself, what type, I didn't find out, an Aprilia though likely a 50 judging by his age. As I am getting ready to mount, he begins pointing at my engine. I walk around to the right side of the bike and see a gaping hole in the top of the crankcase! (gasps from the audience here.) I had neglected to replace my oil filler cap in A Rua that morning!!! The first thought thru my noggin was how I would find something to plug the filler until I could find a dealer that carried the part, and really... no one carries oil filler caps, so I knew right away, that whatever I did, would have to last until my rtn to HU. Squatting down for a closer look, I spot it! Wedged between the upper crankcase and the vent hose, it is sitting there grinning like a Chesire cat at me.

"Peekaboo..." it says! "Had you going didn't I."

I took a moment, thanked the Universe yet again, for sending me this good Kharma. It is times like these, the little moments in my life that I am the most appreciative. Make no mistake here gang, it is Kharma. You feel it too, good bad or very UGLY... it is something we put out there with every decision that we make, every action or inaction we take, with every thought we project. Never mind that slick piece of marketing labelled as the "Secret". Kharma is no secret, positive thought is NO secret.

I thanked this youngster that was likely only 16 or 17, dug out a Canadian pin from my pack and handed it to him. His good Kharma was rewarded with my good Kharma.

The region was mountainous, not like the Pyrenees, these were older more rounded, lower... experienced mountains. Valleys were reservoirs for sea blue lakes, held back by low dams. It was green, the Oceans' influence obvious here. No matter where the Ocean is, you will always find Earth's life in it's trees, it's greenery. It's multitude of color, the flowers, the bird life, the animals. God I wish we took better care of this Planet! It really is a "Garden of Eden"

I loved the undulating road I was on. Little traffic, what there was was local. My speed was low, sometimes reaching 100 kph. Most times I just was on Cruise mode, between 60 and 80k! Soaking up the air the atmosphere, the sunshine. Eyes in awe of what they had been witnessing thru the miles I had covered.

I couldn't help but think how fortunate I am, indeed.

The crossing into Portugal was like all EU countries, smooth and flawless, borders now 'non-existant' just a simple sign in blue, the country name, surrounded by gold stars. Gold Stars are good aren't they? Whether pasted to the top of your grade two assignment or ridden around a Vintage road race track, Gold Stars are welcome anytime. We never think bad about GS's.

Portugal is a long narrow country. I had so much wanted to come 'round the coast'. How come we never seem to have enough time to do even a fraction of what we set out to do, why is that?

I took the most obscure, sinewy, wiggly lines on my map. When I couldn't find these... I would ask other riders or local folk. They always knew where to send me. Today those lines wound my way thru the the Serra Do Geres and Serra Do Baroso's.

I could smell the Atlantic now. Salt air was teasing my nostrils... the temperature that had been in the high 90's, and low 100's was dropping with each passing kilometer. North of Porto, I ended up somehow on the Autostrada without anyway to get off. Never mind, it was only 50k now and I would have the Atlantic before me. Taking the off ramp from the IC1 for Viano do Castelo, I was both excited and very calm. Somehow, this would be the culmination of this journey. Both and ending and yet another beginning.

The terrain here is hilly and muscular. You can just sense what this land has lived thru during the millenia. Every meter the tires covered, my anticipation grew until at last, one more rise and then the long gradual descent. And, there it was...

Gray skies, cooling temperatures and waves that had come from Halifax. A long ass way as I like to say. I imagined what the sailors accompanying Columbus on the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria must have felt, sailing out THERE! Into that thundering, endless seeming, foreboding VOID...

There was nothing between me and that Ocean now except a rocky beach a hundred meters wide. My altimeter showed 20'. I had a look and thought, pretty dam close.

Parking Piroska on a wide new sidewalk in an obvious resort community, I dug out my Olympus camera and Panasonic video to record this moment in time. It was 5 15 in the afternoon, 72.8 degrees F, June 02, 2009. I had conquered Europe! From HU to Romania in the east, The streets and monuments of Berlin in the North, the splendor and ancient history of Athens in the south, now the Atlantic coast of Portugal in the very West of the Continent. It hadn't taken 3 weeks to get here... it had taken 38 years, a very different 600cc motorcycle beneath me, a whole lot of dreams in between, but here I now stood.

Can you imagine how I felt...?