Welcome home! Yeah... right!

THIS was an epic journey brought on by 10 years of a part time home living in AZ. Even though I didn't live there full time, I had a full time home.

So much has changed in the 10 years I owned the southern condo.  First of all... things were especially depressed  in the USA.  The international mortgage scam had frozen growth, many went bust, people lost their homes the rich got richer.

Bike carrier turned out not be of use.

But, like always, someones misfortune created a vacuum that others could fill.  I wanted to live down there since my first visit in the winter of 1998, just could not afford it.

True... my opportunity was minor and I certainly didn't make anyone rich on me, but I, when asked entering the USA at Sweet Grass MT, answered the question "Purpose of your visit?"

I'd answer, "I'm here to support the US economy.  That wasn't a joke, although occasionally someone manning the booth took offence at my answer.

I did manage to drive some back roads like this one in New York State

For anyone that's ever moved from one place to the next, it can be a real headache , I had a life in AZ. As the saying says... "This too shall pass..." such was happening for me.

As I live in a small Island in Canada now, it's a million miles from Arizona.  Okay, I exaggerate a wee bit but the odometer did turn 11,000 plus kilometers  in my 3 weeks closing the place in preparation to listing.

Just one of hundreds of rest stations.

It's a huge country!

When I arrived at the border crossing in Calais Maine and St Stephen N.B. I wouldn't have guessed I would be treated like a criminal.  And that's how it felt. The guy at the gate/booth confused me with his questioning and had me step inside to hand the note to a young woman.  Her questioning was on the verge of an interrogation, about the only difference was I wasn't stripped searched in a brightly lit room!

Wouldn't do it again.

I had to be honest but how she questioned me annoyed me.  We were hung up on whether or not everything in my truck bed had been purchased in Canada and then transported to the US or had items been purchased in the US, which would have triggered some tax penalty I would presume.  She looked at me frowning, and after conferencing with a colleague, commanded me to "Unload the pick up sir."

Say what!!??

Well packed only to have it rummaged through entering Canada.

You want me to unload "here", so you can look for some kind of evidence of smuggling American bought goods. I mean... I even when asked at the booth, declared I had bought tires for the truck while down there, and told him I had 4 bottles of home made wine given to me as part payment for selling my scooter at a discount.

I looked forward to getting out of the Ford and stretch my tired body.

So... she and her cohort stood by while I began the ardus task of pulling off bungy cords, tie downs, straps and garbage bags from stuff at random. She told me to wait inside but thinking, they're going to plant something, I refused and stood back as they did they're thing. After about an hour of this, and after she had departed inside once again, the guy gave me a hand in tying things down as best I could.

That night while I slept over at Lisa's before my return to the Island, it rained, and it rained like an East India monsoon and of course much of my stuff got wet.  After all, things were packed for a 5000 trip! Only rain I had in 11,000 km.

Somewhere in New England

.   

The pressure is on!

Coal... a sometimes visitor in Glendale.

I understand the attraction to ocean beaches like those you'd find on the Med... but I like my travel and beaches uncluttered.  For 7$ a night... I'd sometimes stayed for 6 weeks or more!  

Of course, now I live on PEI Canada and my home is virtually all beach!

My last trip to Baja was with then g/f Barb in 2007, getting home into the snow bound North.

This is the Cortez, or the gulf of California depending which side of the border you're on.

IN the past, while living in Calgary Alberta, I would arrange my schedule to give me some extended time, get in the Blazer or F 150 with a kayak up top and towing which ever trailer I had at the time, south on I 15. Once I'd hit Montana and with a left at Vegas, I did many a road trip, sometimes  (sleep accounted for) through into once sleepy but now bustling Tecate, Baja Mexico.  My destination was 1000 km south to Conception Bay.




Look familiar?  Taken virtually in the same spot but 4 years apart.  And... touring is a state of mind.  I mean, if you can do this on a DT 50 right?

A Baja sunrise.

Depending on time, I'd camp out on an amazing beach, pedal, visit, eat... drink some ice cold 60c cerveza's at Berthe's right around the corner from Las Coco's.  If you like getaway holidays, you can't get any better than Baja.  On occasions I rode my DT 50, Serow 225, XT 600 and even my C 70 Passport I'd bought via E Bay in PHX (long before I lived there).
In 2009 I bought a home in Glendale AZ, went to ride Europe for 5 months and came back, bought furniture and grub and moved right in.

In the decade since, I always wanted to do Baja on last time. but some how never could seem to find the time.  I did of course ride the US desert and mountain country extensively.  My XT 350 Yamaha once sorted out, was a very good choice, only let me down once in the back country as a result of a rear tire flat.  Luckily a passing Motorcyclist had a can of Slime and an air pump to boot. That got to the eastern suburbs of the giant city known collectively as Phoenix.

10 years riding the Superstitions, and the White and Bradshaw mountains and it was time to lock the doors one last time.

Fast forward... 

I was heading down with my FORD for the last time... I would try selling my three Phx bikes but if not, I could import the Ascot 500 or XT 350.  Not my best option, importing bikes has gotten complicated and costly.  That's why you see my bumper hitch rack in some photos.

With all the problems I had with the truck, some of it caused by the poor repairs in Gallup by Firestone, as I've indicated it was turning into a huge chore.



Having only about 10 days on the ground at my Phx home, I had to hustle and compromise more than I wanted to. Such is life right!




When it was all said and done, and having paid my last mechanical fix at Wilhelm Automotive in Peoria next door to me in Glendale, I took to the road with new found confidence  and fingers crossed with some trepidation.







On the southern trip, I was able to sleep in the sleeper in the extra cab, needing motels only on occasion.  With the Ford getting 19-20 miles per gallon, at a steady 100 kph, and with some trepidation giving the lateness of the year and the potential of snow or worse as I traversed the mid west... I landed late October, dead tired and sick to boot!

I'm traveling around 60 mph... passed by extra wide wind turbine blade in Texas

My odometer of the 1996 truck, passed through 150,000 km out bound and 161,000 km by the time I reached home without any major mishap.  Of course that didn't mention the tire imbalance on the entire 5,500 km caused by again shoddy work mounting the tires on the Ford at Wal Mart Glendale. I bought raised white letter Wrangler's and the bone heads even though we'd discussed several time, mounted them with the white lettering, on the inside!! 






Shorty... after 5 hours at WM, my serpentine belt went south again... resulting in the Wilhelm repair.  Seems the tensioner bolt was over tightened stripping the bolt but as Wilhelm's found... the bolt wasn't over tightened but not tightened at all!

Only 2-3 threads were holding the entire thing together.

Other than an annoying vibration coming from the improperly balanced tires, I had an uneventful trip driving through 14 (15?) states and including New Brunswick .




Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

New York















Pennsylvania

Ohio

Indiana

Missouri





New Mexico
and
finally... Arizona!

There was some incredible scenic driving even if it was mostly Interstate. Like freezing temperature passing through Flagstaff, fall foliage colors in the N.E. and fog lasting till noon outside CUBA!

No not that Cuba!

Leaving Cuba

Arkansas

Kansas

Oklahoma

Texas

In the coming months I'll refer back to some highlights of this grueling but invigorating drive.





My favorite... ?


Gotta be New England.  Forest, the Appalachians mountains, oldest range on the planet, forests, lakes and rivers and trout... cheap motels and extraordinary motorcycling roads.

Doesn't hurt that they are a short days ride from Lisa's home in St John N.B.




  

I'd sleep mostly in McDonalds parking lots having both dinner and breakfast.

Good old reliable McD's

Even if I no longer have a dedicated Touring bike... considering I am so close to some amazing riding places in my back yard... I can put my XT 600, Citicom 300 I, a swift CBR 300 R and even a longer distance mule... Piaggio MP3... to use!

               

Gas prices ranged from a low of 2.09usd/gal... to the highest 2.99usd/gal Most in between. 

PS... Did I happen to mention by return to Canada...?  That was a misadventure in itself...

For now, I'll load some pics and say good bye for now.... more soon.  

 

The nightmare begins.

Here I am , traveling a round trip total of 11,000km give or take, stuck in a hotel in Gallup NM, with a dead computer.  Fortunately I had my small tablet and a working cell phone.

Seems FS can replace some parts but not others.  Great... that means that another entire day would be lost. and even when they hand me the $500 some odd, paperwork I need a push across the alley to an old fashioned repair shop.


Problem after the FS repair is the damage inflicted by the broken belt has severed the auto trans to the cooler line from the tranny to the rad.

Can't go anywhere like that, can't even start the engine.

Takes several hefty dudes pushing and my "steering" to get into the jobber shop.  Good thing it was downgrade.  I suggested to the FS people that a re-enforced rubber line and a couple of hose clamps would do it, but they won't do that.

They are talking to me about dropping the tranny and replacing the broken line... a job quoted at over 10 hours labor.! After checking out Monday morning from the El Rancho, my old fashioned hands on mechanic Dave, splices in a rubber line secured with (you guessed it) hose clamps, and I'm good to go. My two day stop has cost me over a grand USD, and I'm not even in AZ yet!

I drive the FORD gingerly, worried about the repair the last few hundred miles to my home in Glendale.

That's when the real problems show up!

I'm planning on putting some Goodyear, *RWL Wranglers on at my neighborhood Wal Mart, for the trip back home in Canada.

I buy the tires, show up at 7 am, first in line, explain to the foreman who I am and what we are doing.

Three hours later, I'm called in to pay my bill and walk around to the bay, to find the  RWL are facing inwards!

 Say What?  I complain to the foreman and he says nobody "told him." him.  I am not giving in.  I bought the RWL tires and the RWL were going to be visible!  Another 2 hours goes by, before I get my truck back and in the mile and a half home... I notice my steering getting heavy.  At first I thought, "Flat tire" in my brand new tires, maybe something in the workmanship given the circumstances but then I see the needle on the coolant temperature gauge and I just make it into my parking spot before the rad blows and of course steam everywhere, coolant flowing freely and a broken down serpent belt.  Exact problem that was "repaired" in Gallup.

I find a tow service, Jose and I become friends we see each other so many times over the next few days.

I make arrangements at a nearby Firestone in Peoria where the diagnosis is... you ready... the serpentine belt has broken... I already knew that.  Unfortunately the idler/adjustment pully that tensions the belt in it's serpentine travel, is damaged.  They (Firestone) tells me the bolt holding the belt is bent and has now damaged the carrier arm. Work they are not equipped to do.

Jose, tows it to a huge automotive repair service called Wilhelm's Auto Machine shop in Peoria, where the tech is away on his honeymoon but would look at it Monday morning.  I'm thinking, buddy is going to be so worn out and hung over,  who know what will happen., haha.

Didn't need to worry after all, Kent and crew were very professional and they had me fixed up late Monday.  Turns out. they say, the bolt was not tightened too much... but in fact was not tightened at all.  A mere few threads were holding the thing together.  Thank goodness I didn't suffer the same failure from Gallup to Glendale!

In near 100 heat, I make use of they're courtesy shuttle and pay the bill (another near 400 US dollars) and head 'home.

I've now spent nearly $2000 usd!  Yikes!!

*Raised White Letters

Pandora's Box

The Dr ... has not forgotten about you!

However, I have been dealing with a plethora of problems that goes far beyond the definition of                                                                       "Misadventures…"

Let's hope my life gets a little less weird moving ahead.

I'm not even sure where to start, so I'm going to dispense with the formalities and dive in! 

If you are readers of this blog, and you've been so for some time, you'll know that I began writing about my adventures 10 years ago.

At that time I was traveling Europe on a bright Red Yamaha 600 Diversion,( that I named "Kis Piroska" which is Hungarian for Little Red Riding Hood) or as we knew them on this side of the pond... the Seca II

I was finding it difficult to hook up to email, sending a message that I was alive and in France or the Dolomites or the Alps or the Pyrenees or the Med or the Adriatic or the Bay of Biscayne or Switzerland or A Rua or Elba or Pisa or Budapest.

I'd sit in a bar or café staring at a keyboard that often was missing letters or of course was in the local language... or my pics wouldn't upload or some such thing.  And that was only getting connected. 

My eldest daughter Holly suggested I use a Blog to keep in touch rather than punching out a dozen or three emails.  She even gear it up and I have been filling pages regularly.  Until recently that is.

You see, back in my Alberta days, in 2008, I got serious about having a home down south.  After all, I had job flexibility, worked for myself as a licensed financial advisor, single and with trail bikes in my Calgary garage.  I bought a home down south, furnished it and it became my adventure central get away spot.

In the time I've owned it, I've had several Dr N Thusiast adventures published in CDN Biker and Motorcycle Mo Jo.  My specialty was riding trails that you wouldn't drive with the family sedan or even the SUV. 

I've covered a great deal of territory on the seat/pegs of my locally bought Yamaha XT 350 as well as my Adventure scooter.  

With the move to PEI* in 2012, I've used it less and less.  A long day's flight, limited travel insurance, travel cost and other priorities, like Lisa's family with their newborn also moving to the Maritime's  from Cow Town these last few years. 

The last couple years I've thought more about riding on the East coast and less of AZ.

Long story short (this is a Blog after all right) I made the decision to sell in Glendale and pack up my few things and close that chapter.

 I had three motorcycles in Phx.  My first was a 150 cc two person 60 mph scooter made in China, a Honda Ascot 500, and a Yamaha XT 350.  No car.  My scooter became my "mule" and what a great dependable partner she was.

With a year closing and my 65 birthday only a month or so away, I've put my condo on the block.

As I had a full house in Phx, I prepped my listing and departure for a late years sale and reducing  my American footprint.  After prepping my Ford F 150 for it's longest trip even, I prepped for my departure by driving diagonally across the continent across more that a dozen states and loading up what I felt I wanted to keep, I intended on selling the bikes but was equipped to bring back my Ascot or Yamaha two machines that could be imported across the border if not.

As it turned out, all three bikes sold locally, and that cleared the way for loading up boxes of clothing, riding gear, a few mementoes and tools.  I set aside an entire month for this.  My target date was mid September to mid October, "camping" in the sleeper of the truck and hopefully doing this before the weather turned.  

Things went 'bang' the other side of Albuquerque, first I saw a gray rabbit chomping on a carrot and not too much after he says to me...

 "What's up Doc..."

I found myself facing a long tow into Gallup New Mexico, the cause... a broken serpentine belt on a Saturday morning.  

The tow guy unhitched at the Firestone shop and went to work. 

Having no choice, I got a room at the El Rancho hotel and hunkered down for some forced sleep.  

No sooner than powering up my laptop, there was a bang and smoke, well no smoke, but a very dead computer.  Great... what do you do when your computer drops dead in front of you. 

I know what you 'don't do'... you don't do blogs!

P.S.

Entering the "freeway"

THE entire definition of a "mis" adventure is that something planned, however well, goes off the rail.  Or possibly "highway."

Since my last post, which by the way, was not untended to be as long in between, I have had a plethora of mis adventures.




Now a wrong turn in Albuquerque may work okay for Bugs Bunny, but me... I'm not so lucky.  For me it meant an early morning break-down on I-40, the subsequent failure of my laptop and an unplanned and somewhat costly and boring stay in Gallup NM. With nary a smart alec gray rabbit in sight!

Passing through Albuquerque NM... not a gray rabbit in sight?

Saw a lot of this... blacktop in various colors.

This is one HUGE continent! My trip covered more than 11,000 km

Like domino's, a broken serpentine belt under the hood of my FORD F 150, caused a chain reaction that would end up costing a small fortune and lots of grief at my end. And that wasn't the worst of it.

You see, I was on the road from my PEI home to make plans in AZ for selling my southern home, bikes and whatever I could prior to a planned listing of my long time Glendale home and closing the chapter of the last 11 years.

On that note, nothing stays the same or as it's officially known, "the only thing constant, is change."

Somewhere on the road.

I am writing this blog from my home office on my ancient little EeePC, net book.  Over the next few weeks I will endeavor to fill you in and provide a few photos just so you know I'm not making this stuff up!

After an 11,000 km road trip that I managed to complete in barely 3 weeks and... spending 2 of those weeks behind the wheel, I am absolutely bonkers, completely burnt out and hardly aware which end is "UP."

For now, I am doing the absolutely minimum here at home, unpacking the FORD, arguing with bank staff, and trying to get reimbursed for mechanical work that was poorly and very slowly completed by a well known US chain tire and mechanical enterprise.

So... like Awnold... "All be back"  I'm downloading photos and trying to get my BP down to normal.

Ciao for the moment, stay tuned and I will be back.

Doc

Mother Nature

NOT to take anything away from the disaster's farther down south, but we're not used to this type of weather.  PEI is somewhat shielded from Atlantic storms by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  We get the odd winter blow out and have been cut off from power for as long as 3 days snowed in... but the Island is going into its 7th day and there are still many people without the basic needs.  Food has spoiled, fishing boats swamped, massive trees uprooted, homes destroyed, cars under blown down trees, and the beat goes on.  Officials say it may take a year to rebuild. 

Winds approaching 150 kph were recorded, still well short of what an Atlantic hurricane can produce, but more than enough to take out 90% of the homes and business' on the Island.

Mother Nature was mad.

She shows us humans once every while, that think as we do... we are not the rulers of the planet, she is. 

I've had to go into Summerside and use the library facility as we have not had internet at home for a week.

Today I will have a drive and perhaps take a few more photo's and maybe had a hot breakfast, check on the apartment and otherwise try and be normal.

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