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Crusty
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 07, 2020 - 10:50 pm: | 
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Melia took this photo and sent it to me with the title, Lunch Time Cat Nap. The title says it all.
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Crusty
| | Posted on Monday, January 13, 2020 - 06:35 pm: |
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Counting Down Until Sunday
I’m kind of at a loss. There isn’t much to write about. Still, here’s the headlines.
We got some rain on Saturday night. It didn’t just rain; it freakin’ poured for about an hour. What’s amazing is how fast things got a lot greener. Not everything and not everywhere, but enough to make a noticeable improvement. There’s more rain in the forecast, but I think the Weather Prognosticators here are even less accurate than the ones at home (if that’s possible). Still, I hope they’re right for once. This is such a beautiful country when it’s green. I also would like to see more fields planted. There are a lot of plowed fields around here that have nothing growing in them. That means that food prices will be a lot higher soon. The Lockyer Valley is nicknamed Australia’s Salad Bowl, or so I’ve been told; it’ll be a pretty sparse salad, if things keep going the way they have been.
The Koalas keep coming and going. They had all disappeared for a week or so, but then a couple have been back. There’s one that’s distinctive; it has tan spots on its grey backside. It was in a tree close to the house the other day. The next day, it was in a tree about 100 yards (meters) away. There’s a bigger Koala that was way up in a tree, the other day. It also keeps moving around. A smaller Goanna ran across the road in front of the car, last weekend. It was about 18 inches (1/2 a Meter) long or so.
Like I said, there ain’t much to write about. Life has pretty much settled down to a routine here.
I’m writing this on Tuesday morning. It’s Monday evening back in Cincinnati. This Sunday, my flight back to the US takes off at 10:15 PM. I’ll arrive in Los Angeles at 5:15 PM – five hours before I left Brisbane. Then I hang around the airport until 10:50 PM and arrive in Cincinnati at 05:43 AM on Monday. When I get home, my head will be so jet lagged, I won’t know if I’m coming or going. I was hoping to pick up two months’ worth of mail on Monday, but it’s a holiday and the Postal Orifice will be closed. I’ll just have to do that on Tuesday.
I’m kind of surprised at how much I’ve been missing my little house in Cheviot. I’m really looking forward to getting home. I want to finally get the jungle around the back fence trimmed back, as well as do a couple of other improvements. The improvements will have to be really inexpensive for a while; at least until I get my finances sorted out and get back on track. But I have a few things that I can see coming in the not too distant future. Paint for the bedroom is one. A new mattress that’s comfortable and a recliner that works like it should also figure in. Once I’ve got my debt paid off and have the new Roadster, I want to replace the carpet and padding under it. Then go through the kitchen; that will probably be just a bit of paint. And finally, the bathroom. I’d like to replace the tub with a walk in shower with glass doors. I’d put plastic on the shower walls, and replace the tiles in the rest of the room. And I’d finally get rid of those damned cherubs. It’s a bit of work, and it’s going to take a bit of money, but if I just chip away at it, it’ll all happen.
One thing I want to do is keep exercising. I’ve lost about 15 pounds since I got here. I fit comfortably into my size 42 jeans. That’s due to all the swimming and riding the exercise bike. As long as I keep that up, I think I’ll continue to lose weight. I’m sick of being such a lard ball. I used to be thin; I can get back there.
As I said, I’m not feeling very Inspired. Writing this has taken more effort than it normally does and I don’t expect to find Inspiration over the next couple of days. So I want to stress that if any of you should come to Queensland, go to the Old Time Bakery in Fernvale and have lunch out in the garden. The Lorikeets are incredibly beautiful and sharing my lunch with them is a memory I’ll treasure. And if you want the best Fries (Chips) I’ve ever had, be sure to hit the RnB on Main in Gatton. And if you are lucky enough to be on a bike, take the route Scrivo posted. It’s a wonderful route, even in a car. And stop and get lunch at the Mount Glorious Café.
I ordered a book from the USA that was on fleaBay. I hope it gets here this week, so I have it to read on the plane. It’s supposed to be delivered between Jan. 8 and Jan 16, but I suspect that it’ll be delivered on Monday, the 20th. I’m still hoping for the best, though.
Well; it’s time to make another coffee. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 - 12:39 am: |
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Time's fun until you have flies. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - 11:06 pm: |
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It’s Raining!!!
It’s raining! We’re getting scattered showers all over the area. Finally! Anyhow, we’ve been hearing the Green Tree Frogs singing all morning. They like to hang out in the drain pipes of the house and when they sing, it sounds like someone using a hacksaw in a metal tunnel. When it rains, it washes them down the pipes like a waterslide and they come out on the screen over the top of the water tank, I just got a picture of them. There were six frogs there, but the camera only caught three. In any event, here’s what they look like.
I don’t think we’ll he going to the pool today, but I don’t mind a bit. I’m really enjoying watching the rain and listening to the frogs.
Now; if only my book would get here… |
Crusty
| | Posted on Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 02:59 am: |
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Actually; if you look close, you can see all six frogs |
Crusty
| | Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020 - 06:16 pm: |
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Last Day Here
It’s Saturday morning. It rained most of last night and though the sky is grey, a lot of the brown dead grass in the paddock has turned green. There’s a huge puddle in the driveway and the humidity is at 90% and the temperature is 22 C (71.6 F) according to weather.com.au. It feels cold, but I have the fan on because high humidity makes me sweat, even when I’m cold.
I’m going through some very turbulent mixed feelings. I’m feeling sad that I’m leaving, but I’m happy that I’m going home. I’m going to be happy to be alone in my little home, but I’m going to miss being in a house with other people. I’ll really hate the cold temperatures, but it’ll be so nice to ride my bike again. There are a lot of things like that.
One thing I won’t miss are the freakin’ chickens. They’re loud, stupid, and annoying. It will be so nice to not be wake up at 2:30 in the morning because the roosters have all started crowing. They crow at all hours of the day and night. The chickens may be free range, but they would look better in a frying pan on a kitchen range.
Other things I won’t miss are speed cameras and automatic tolls. Not paying a toll within three days is an offence! Probably punished by a bigger toll plus penalties. I won’t stay up on my soapbox, but I really hate tolls.
However; I really like Australia a lot. I’m going to miss so many things about this place. The beauty of the landscape, the varied animals and the friendly people here. Australians seem to like American accents the same way Americans like Australian accents back home. I’m going to miss being in a T-shirt on Christmas Day. I’m really going to miss the Lorikeets that hang out in the garden of the Bakery in Fernvale. I’ll miss seeing the Koalas in the trees, here on the farm. And I’ll miss all the beautiful flowers and plants. Bougainvilleas, Poincianas, Bronze Bromeliads and all the ones whose names I don’t know that are so lovely to look at. I’ll especially miss eating dinner on the veranda and watching the kangaroos hopping through the paddocks or watching the horses out in those same paddocks. Or watching the gekkos come out of nowhere to sit high on the wall and eat bugs.
It’s very different here; but that’s a good thing. I really like the differences. Well; most of them. I already mentioned a couple of things I don’t like. I’m sure that if I stayed here longer, I’d find other things I don’t care for; but that’s true of anywhere I’ve lived. There are things I don’t like about Cincinnati, or Massachusetts, or Colorado. But there are some really good things about all those places, as well.
I’m going to really miss Melia, Tylana, Kala, Kristyn and Roni Ann (who I didn’t get to see). I’m hoping to see some of them in Cincinnati, though.
And I’m going to miss Ron. He and I were best friends for many years. To know that I’ll never see him again in this life is depressing. There were so many good times that we shared. There were also some not so good times; his alcoholism caused a lot of rough times for the people closest to him. Still, he was Ron; for all his flaws, he was my Brother from a different mother.
There’s a lot of reasons to be sad that I’m leaving, but I have a lot of great memories and I’m already making plans for when I return. I really want to ride that loop over Mount Mee, and I have a strong urge to ride up to Cairns again. And I still would like to ride across the Nullabor Plain and see what Perth looks like. And, if I time it right, I could see a Moto GP or World Superbike race at Phillips Island.
So long, Australia. For the time being. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020 - 06:33 pm: |
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Crusty's coming home.....
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86129squids
| | Posted on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 11:47 am: |
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Safe travels, Crusticle! |
Tootal
| | Posted on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 01:42 pm: |
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I hope you brought your warm coat buddy! Tomorrow Cincy has a high of 23 F!! |
Crusty
| | Posted on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 02:32 pm: |
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My brother is bringing my warm jacket when he comes to pick me up at the airport. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 02:33 pm: |
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Yalp, He is gonna freeze. I wonder if the moon will look upside down to the Crusty. |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Monday, January 20, 2020 - 06:30 am: |
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Are you home yet? |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Monday, January 20, 2020 - 10:38 am: |
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Crusty
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 05:51 pm: |
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I'm home. Got home yesterday morning, but didn't get Internet back up until a few minutes ago.
The trip home did a number on me.
here's a Snippet I wrote last night:
Jet Lag
I’m all balled up. I don’t know when I should be awake or asleep. I woke up at 5:00 AM on Sunday morning in Queensland. I intentionally stayed busy. We went to the pool and gym where I pushed my limits on the exercise bike and then swam for over an hour. I figured that if I was tired, I’d sleep better on the plane. I was wrong.
The plane left Brisbane at 10:15 PM on Sunday evening and after a 12 ½ hour flight, arrived in Los Angeles at 4:45 PM on Sunday. I think that if I totaled up the time I spent sleeping, I might have slept for 2 ½ hours. My connecting flight to Cincinnati didn’t depart until 10:50 PM. I spent the majority of that time sitting in the waiting area at Gate 27. That’s when I got sleepy. I didn’t dare to fall asleep because I knew that I was so tired, I’d probably sleep through my flight leaving, so I did things like get a coffee from Starbucks to help me stay awake.
I finally got on the plane, thinking that I’s sleep all the way to CVG, but once I was in my seat, I woke up again. I did sleep for a little while; maybe a half hour or so, but even though I was awake, my brain was on strike. I tried reading my book, but it made no sense to me. I was in that special Purgatory that I imagine the anteroom for Hell would be like. I couldn’t sleep, but I wasn’t awake.
David and Jack gave me a new recliner for Christmas. It was sitting in my living room and was a complete surprise. When David dropped me off around 8:00 AM, I decided to see how it felt, so I sat in it and reclined and instantly fell asleep and slept until almost noon. I had been looking forward to going to the Noon Meeting, but when I woke up, I was in that place where I really needed a cup of coffee and a shower, so I started a pot of coffee and went and got clean and put on clean clothes. I still felt like my brain was made of cotton candy.
David came by and took me to the supermarket where I bought a few items so I would have food to eat for a few days. When I got home from that, I slept for a little bit, then fixed dinner. Then I slept for about another half hour. Then I woke up. Wide awake again. It’s 10:30 PM and I would love to go to bed, but I’m not sleepy. I think I’ll go to bed anyway and hopefully, fall asleep.
Tomorrow, I’m going to get the Roadster up and running. It’s cold here, but I’ve ridden in much colder weather. I really miss the bike. It’ll be good to feel it under my butt again. I have to head over to the YMCA and make sure that I can exercise there on the Silver Sneakers program. I weighed myself, and I’m 15 pounds lighter than when I weighed myself just before I went to Australia. That’s a trend I want to continue.
My Internet will be back up tomorrow, so I’ll send this out then. For now, I’m going to try to get some more sleep and get my body used to being back in this time zone.
I hope I can think a bit more clearly tomorrow. |
Tootal
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 06:06 pm: |
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Great to see you made it back! Enjoy the ride! |
Buellish
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 06:33 pm: |
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Good to have you back,welcome home John! |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 06:45 pm: |
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Safely home after a grand adventure.
Glad you're back, sir. Looking forward to seeing you in the spring. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - 07:18 pm: |
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Whew, He made it. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 07:00 am: |
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Well; It’s Time
I was going to write about how I can’t sleep worth a damn since I got home, or the Migraine I had on Tuesday that was the worst I’ve had in years, but a realization came to me at about 2:30 this morning that it’s time to pretty much end the threads on the different forums about me traveling.
My travels for the next year or so are going to be pretty much local rides. I’ve decided to buckle down and do my best at getting my debt paid off and save up enough to buy and modify my next Roadster. I also want to funnel some money (and a bit of work) into transforming Chez Crusty (as Brad calls it) into what I’d like it to be. It’s hard to write about Crusty’s travels when the only places I’m traveling to are the Home Depot or the supermarket.
The thing is; I still enjoy writing and I plan to keep doing it. It may or may not include the topic of motorcycles, though and that’s why I’m going to let the threads fade away on both Badweb and the XL Forum. I’ll still continue to be active on the forums when I have something to say about motorcycles, but I’m not into doing a blow by blow description of This Old House there.
Now, I know that there are a few folks who enjoy my writing, though I’m not sure why and I realize that I love to hack these Snippets out, so I’m going to continue writing. The Snippets will only go out as E-mail, though; unless there’s something pertinent to a discussion on a forum thread. So here’s what I’m thinking.
I have a Snippets e-mail list that I’ve been sending these out to. I’m going to make up a new list. If you want to be on the new list, just let me know. Uh, make sure I’ve got your e-mail address. I’ll only sent to people who want to be on the list. If you’ve been getting them and have had enough, do nothing. I won’t send them. If you get on the list and get tired of them, just let me know and I’ll remove you name immediately.
I just realized that if you want to get in touch with me, you’ll need my e-mail. It’s: nmwprime*at*gmail*dot*com.
Thanks for reading.
John (Crusty) |
Buellish
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 08:46 am: |
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John,I always look forward your writing.I've never received your snippets via email,but have thoroughly enjoyed them on the Badweb.
I'd like to be included on your mailing list,you have my address.
Thanks,
Mike |
Crusty
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 09:13 am: |
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Mike; You're on it. |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 09:30 am: |
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Mailing list for me too, please.
Also, don't forget you camp for free at TWoS, so all you need is gas and lunch money. |
04buell
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 06:49 pm: |
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Hey John, sign me up Please!  |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2020 - 08:48 pm: |
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I got a small package in the mail today.
Thanks John! |
Crusty
| | Posted on Sunday, January 26, 2020 - 08:50 am: |
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OK; Just one more:
Riding The Range
Last night around 10:30, a bike came down Saint Martins Pl. and turned onto Mayfair St. It was a Harley Big Twin; he rides by here on a regular basis; but it hit me that I’m not the Die Hard rider that I used to be. I still can ride in less than ideal conditions, but I now tend to avoid them. I’ve gotten soft as I’ve aged and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I don’t need to prove to the world that I’m a serious rider, but sometimes, I think I need to prove it to myself.
It’s pretty obvious to me where the resistance to riding in uncomfortable weather comes from. My accident last year, the 400 mile ride from Suches, GA in a very cold downpour a couple of years ago and my increasing tendency to not go out at night all contribute to it. The interesting part is that difficult rides used to just be fodder for great stories. Now, they tend to make me not want to ride when the weather sucks.
And I do have some stories. The night in 1994 when Ron, Melia and I rode down the Burringbar Range during a Cyclone. That remains one of the most difficult and scary rides of my life.
The Burringbar Range was a very twisty pass that was a major route back then. It was two lanes in each direction separated by an Armco barrier and it was notoriously slippery in dry daylight due to all the trucks hauling livestock that used it. All the waste products of the animals would drain and fall off the trucks as they went up or down the range, and the engines of the trucks would drop a good bit of oil and other liquids on the road as they strained to pull their loads up the Range or had the liquids just drop to the pavement as they went down the incline. It was a very twisty route and the pavement wasn’t marked very well.
For those of you who don’t know; a Cyclone is not a tornado in the South Pacific. It’s a Hurricane. Very high winds and very heavy rain. We started down the Range somewhere around 2:00 AM. It was pitch black and we couldn’t see anything. We couldn’t see the road, lane markings, the Armco barrier of the divider (there was no median lane; just two feet after the outside of the lane, then Armco). We couldn’t see the cliff face on the other side of the road, either. There was a breakdown lane, I think, then a sheer rock wall. And the road twisted like a snake with a broken back. Our headlights were useless and the sky was pitch black. I never got above 20 MPH (30 KPH), and I was terrified that I would hit either the Armco or the rock wall the whole time. Except when a car passed us. Then, we could follow the tail lights of the car for a few seconds until it pulled away from us. I think two cars passed us the whole time. The pavement was very slick; I felt both of my tires break loose a number of times. I would have stopped, but that was inviting getting rear ended by a car coming down the Range. I had no choice but to ride it out. Strong winds, pitch dark and hellaciously heavy rain, poor lane markings and slick pavement with hard things to hit if we got it wrong all combined to make the ride Hell on earth.
However, we made it without crashing and without hitting anything. And we still talk about it 26 years later.
The next time I go to Australia, I’m bringing enough money to buy a bike. The Burringbar Range has been bypassed by a new limited access highway and the trucks don’t use it anymore, but I want to ride down the Range one more time on a sunny day and see how it feels.
As far as riding in crappy weather nowadays; I can and will, if I have to; but sometimes I’d rather just stay inside where it’s warm and dry and read a good book. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Sunday, January 26, 2020 - 09:06 am: |
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Since I retired the funds aren't there to just go pick out a new bike. I got Lil Red just before retirement and because it would be the bike I rode into retirement and I lived in the land of salted roads I pretty much stopped riding in the winter. I knew what 42,000 miles of year round did to the Uly. Trying to save wear on Lil Red made me soft. I've always wanted to park for the day after 400 miles. The 500 to Two's makes me push it on a bike that is not built for long trips. When I sit in the house on snowy days I miss riding the most. |
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