The good new days!

Getting some time in over Lake Pleasant on an ultra-lite

It was a wonderfully sunny day... my partner exclaimed loudly with gusto... "I LOVE IT"

Unless you began life as Benjamin Button or Merlyn the Magician... you and I live conventional lives.  That is to say, we began carried in our mother's womb for a suitable period, kicked out into the real world suddenly, some white ghost like human slapping our bottoms while we're helplessly inverted, spend years learning useless math skills and pretty soon, we are toiling away in the cotton fields. 

I remember clearly as a 'ute" how I wished to emulate Roy Rogers, Matt Dillon, Little Joe and then later on, Steve McQueen. How I couldn't wait to be 'older'...

Some baaad pards in this bunch lookin' at mebbe robbin' the bank.

So here I sit wondering where in the hell the time has gone?  ... and what have I done with it??

It's true that many of the people I have known throughout my life have done nothing more exciting than resetting the clock an hour ahead in the spring... then reversing the process six month later.

Or maybe downloading 'ring tones' on your smarteerthanyouare phones.  Not to say, this is wrong, bad or otherwise, but considering how short our human lives really are, like couldn't you come up with something daring and memorable just once?

Just tooling around the backcountry

I've often commented that if we make it to 50, the rest are bonus years!

Stone silence, not a cricket chirping.

I've never been the guy that books a week in the Bahama's to stay at a pink flamingo colored all inclusive hotel, except for the odd Yamaha travel trip I'd qualified for during my Freedom Cycle days, but really... where is the option marked "ADVENTURE"?

On the Adventure 150, somewhere in AZ

Kicking back sipping pina colada's on a concrete patio poolside, is not my idea of fun, or even a vacay.  On the other hand, riding a dirt bike off road in Baja California for 8 weeks and sipping a mucho fria Tecate at the end of the day as the sun drops over the Sierra Giganta's carries much more appeal to me.

YEARS ago I bought a vacation townhome in Arizona. Back in the day when I lived in Calgary, it was more or less a straight drive south on interstate highways.  I loved that drive down, 24 road hours and I'd cross the Rockies several times dodging big trucks cruising at 80 mph ( the trucks not me) watching the scenery turn from bland winter prairie to 35C heat in southern Utah and by the time I reached Mesquite Nevada, the palm trees were waving their welcome.

A left at Vegas, over the Colorado at Hoover Dam and pretty soon I was pulling into Wickenburg in preparation for arrival in the big city.

P 51 Tucson Air Museum/park

Flying was even less problematic.  Hop on the 737/A320 at 6 am in Cowtown and by noon my Adventure scooter was loaded with groceries in Glendale.

Since moving to the east coast requires flying all day and my medical insurance is climbing each year, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up.

A PEI back trail

Don't get me wrong... I love vacationing in Arizona.  I've ridden gentle back roads, freeways (Okay not real exciting but remember traffic is moving at 80+ mph while my single cylinder 350cc 'dirt bike' is struggling to reach 60!)  I've ridden every mountain range around the city, piling up countless miles during my adventures, getting lost, paddling through knee deep sand drenched in sweat, dropping the bike, picking it up again, thinking of the next hill ahead and maybe a cool Rolling Rock in my backyard tonight.

This last 18 months have been, ahem... less than satisfactory, the most exciting thing I've done is watch COP shows on hotel TV... my home down there is still not completely repaired.  Hopefully will be before I next arrive in April.

 

 

Just another Island day

BACK closer to home, I've been doing more riding locally.  It may not be death defying like the Mojave, but still I get to exercise my body and continue to chalk up the motorcycle miles.  Last years week at Lisa's home in N.B. gave me a great excuse to motor around the province's western wall, giving me lots more adventure miles and writing opportunities.  I even spent some time in Utopia (see CDN BIKER September/October 2017)  Brenda and I even managed to get an overnight ride along the back roads of Nova Scotia on the Citicom 300!

Can you think of a better way to spend a day?

One of the fabulouso things riding the maritime provinces is the close proximity to home. If I had to grab the highway... I could be home from virtually anywhere here in 5 hours or less.  Of course I prefer to meander along exploring colorful villages, back country and local history.

I made ambitious plans last season and won't be making that mistake again.  Riding here is best unplanned with no particular destination. As the three provinces connect on the narrow strip of land barely above water at Sussex and have more narrow paved or unpaved back roads, you don't have to travel on the Trans Canada unless you're dying to put on the miles.  Unlike Western Canada or the USA... it's not about clocking miles.  It's about exploring the back country.

Some where in southern NB Canada

I am pretty sure that this year I will be foraying into NS more often with the possibility of doing some riding in New England.  After all my passport expires in 2024 and I won't likely be renewing it.

So for now... I am enjoying a mild winter, reading, remembering past rides and adding memories for new ones.

To the Good New Days to come!