| Author | Message | ||
     Buellish |
Super sized tater tits,can you see the smile on that guy's face! | ||
| Etennuly |
The train has fallen off from the tracks. Tripped up by an auto correcter error. Please help to get the train back onto the tracks.  | ||
| Crusty |
A Couple Of Dry Runs Well; I just packed everything that I’ve been taking with me in the soft bags, and put it in the hard bags. I’ve got a lot of room left over. I could have gotten the 30 liter bags and been OK, I think; but it’s better to have too much room than not enough. The bags have a little sticker inside that specifies a maximum weight of 10 Kilos per bag. That’s 22 pounds That’s doable and acceptable. Where’s that kitchen sink? I’ve got the house buying bug again. I went and took a second look at that dump for 24 grand. Now, it’s a real dump, but for some reason I can’t fathom, I want to buy it. It needs a 10 wheeler’s worth of money dumped on it. It needs all new windows, a new front porch, a kitchen stove and a refrigerator, there’s a brick hearth in the living room where a stove of some sort was. There’s a shiny exhaust pipe going up through the ceiling. There’s a plastic bags taped to the bottom so that water doesn’t hit the floor under it. Oh; and there’s a plastic tarp covering the flat portion of the roof. If I bought it, I’d have to spend at least another 10 to 20 grand on it to make it habitable. I can see this without having set foot inside. I suspect that it needs a furnace, but I don’t know that. There’s a reason that it’s so cheap and still on the market. Yet it calls to me. And it doesn’t even have a garage. In that neighborhood, I’d really want a lockable garage. Well; the answer is no. I don’t care if it’s calling. I don’t have enough money to throw away. I’m going to hold off house hunting until I get back from the Great Circle ride, and maybe longer. I need to save up a reasonable amount for a down payment. I guess that looking at that place was a dry run for when I start looking in ernest. One thing I’ve learned over the past year and a half is that if you chase your dreams and keep a positive attitude, there’s a good chance you’ll achieve your goals. It may not be exactly as you envisioned it, but it can happen here. I just talked with Megan, and she reminded me that I have to renew my Passport. It expires in July. I’d better get on that first thing Monday morning. It would suck if I went to Canada and the (Message edited by Crusty on April 29, 2016) | ||
| Ourdee |
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Tent-Footpr int/ | ||
| Crusty |
Grrrrrrrrrr… I hate waiting for the welder. I talked to him a few weeks ago, and he wanted to wait until I had the bags before starting on the rack, which makes sense. I got the bags last week, and he was bust with another job, and told me to call this morning. I just called and he’s still busy. He won’t be finished with this job until tomorrow, so I should call Wednesday morning. If I didn’t talk to him and get such a good impression, I’d just say screw it and find another welder. Maybe that’s what I ought to do anyhow. I really don’t enjoy getting the run around. This project is not going nearly as smoothly as I would like. Grumble, grumble, grumble. Ah, well; into every rain a little life must fall; or somethin’. In the meantime, I’m pretty much set up, gear wise. I spent the dough and bought a footprint from REI. It’s two inches shorter than my tent floor width, and the same length. Last year, I was using a blue poly tarp that I had to fold, so I think I’m well ahead of the game. I just didn’t want to find a sheet of Tyvek and have to cut it to size, or use a piece of Visqueen (Contractor’s Poly) and do the same. I also bought a new stuff sack for my sleeping bag. The one that the bag came with was dying. The material was shredding along one stitched seam and it had a couple of small holes in the side. A new stuff sack was only ten bucks, so I figure it was money well spent. Hey; every so often, I like to splurge. I think I’ll make a couple of calls about getting some fabrication and welding done. Being dimed off is really bugging me. | ||
| Crusty |
Getting To The Route Of It All It’s raining. It’s been raining. It’s supposed to keep raining for the rest of this week. So what’s a mother to do? Well, choosey mothers may choose Jif, but I choose to look at maps and plan my route. I’m going to start out in the same direction as last year. I’m heading west. I’m going to go to New Lebanon, NY and get a cheeseburger at the Hitching Post Cafe. From there, I’m going go even more west into New York towards Binghamton. Using that wonderful Campground locator that Dusty Boots turned me on to last year: http://www.uscampgrounds.info/ , I’ve found what looks like a decent place to pitch my tent for the first night. After that, I’ll just see where my mood takes me. Lately, I’ve had a strong urge to get on my soapbox and start ranting. I refuse to discuss politics. Whether the Republicrats or the Democans will be the ruin of our Nation is a topic that’s been beaten into the ground the entire time there has been a Unites States of America, and it doesn’t need my opinions expressed in these Snippets. However, there are some things that bother me on a constant basis. I think it’s OK to vent a little. Just take my rant as a bit of venting my frustrations with welders and the weather and such. It’s worth exactly what you paid for it. Why does the price of gas go up every spring? I hear things like, The price goes up because the oil companies have to switch to the more expensive Summer Blend. But in the fall, the price goes up because the oil companies have to switch to the more expensive Winter Blend. Also; why is it that when the price of gas goes up, it does it in increments of .10 or .15 cents per gallon; but when the price comes down, it's usually in increments of .02 to .05 Cents? In the meantime, Oil companies are constantly showing record profits. Not just in dollar figures, but also in percentages. I have a credit card that I use pretty regularly. I use it to buy gas as I travel, so that if some smart scam artist gets hold of my number, I’m only liable for fifty bucks. The interest rate on purchases is 23.99%. I have a savings account with the same bank, the APY is .075%. Ten years ago, I had a card that charged 9.99%, and my savings account was paying 4.75%. What’s up with that? When I flew to Australia, I saw the changes the Airlines have made. I hadn’t flown since the late 90s, and boy, were my eyes opened. I bet that all the airlines are showing some nice numbers in their stockholders meetings. The song, Ain’t We Got Fun? was written in the early 1920s. It still applies today. Life today is immeasurably better that it has been ever before. I need to look at that whenever I start climbing up on the old soap box. But still. every once in a while, it’s good to vent. It looks like the rain has stopped. I thing I’ll go out for a ride. | ||
| Pwnzor |
That road is calling to you... I can see it in the words you write, which are more valuable than gold to me... Keep on chooglin' | ||
| Crusty |
Waiting In Limbo So I called the Welder a few minutes ago and I got the Voice Mail. I left a message asking if they want the job to call me back, and if they don’t want the job to call me back, so I can find someone else to do it. They called back about two minutes later. The guy on the phone wasn’t the one who I’d spoken to, but I explained what needed to be done, and that the “Younger guy” (I was talking with the “Older guy”) had said that he could do it in a few hours. The guy I talked with is going to talk to the other one, and if I call back in a couple of hours, they’ll let me know if I should bring the bike by either tomorrow morning or Friday morning. Looking at the stuff that was there, and the quality of the work, I have no doubts about his skills, but damn; it’s a pain in the butt waiting and calling and waiting and calling… Once it’s done, all the irritation will dissolve into a vague memory, but for now, it’s frustrating as all get out. Other than that, everything else is on hold. It’s less than three weeks until Kick off. I hope everything gets done fairly soon. After the brackets are done, I have to go by the shop and sand blast them, then get them to the Powder coater. While the brackets are off, I’ll put the new wheels and new drive belt on the bike. I just don’t want to feel rushed. Unexpected problems can always jump up at the most inconvenient times; and usually do. I got my new boots, but with the weather the way it been, I don’t want to wear them outside. They’re everything I was hoping they’d be. They look really nice and fit wonderfully. I know that after I’ve worn them a bit and they’re broken in, I’m really going to love them and I’ll wear them in all conditions. For now though, I want them to keep their New look. As hard as I am on boots, that look will be gone soon enough. Well; it’s time to head out. I need to go by Starbucks and get some Kenya beans. I’m out and it would suck if I couldn’t make a good cup of coffee. While I’m out, I’ll call the welder and find out if I’m bringing the bike over tomorrow morning or Friday morning. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Pictures of those boots please!! | ||
| Crusty |
They're Chippewa Rally Boots. Made in the USA, and look and feel like quality heavy duty boots. I've been wanting a pair of these for years. Now, I've got them. When my bike is wallowing through the twisties like a drunken Hippopotamus, I'll remind myself that I could have spent the money on suspension improvements, but instead, I bought boots. Hey; the bike's getting new wheels and tires; I deserve new boots. Fork and shock upgrades are on the list. I'll get to them as money allows.  (Message edited by Crusty on May 04, 2016) | ||
| Tootal |
You didn't look like you were "wallowing" when I was chasing you over 180!! It's never a boring ride having your 6!  | ||
| Pwnzor |
OK, I'm officially jealous of those boots. Crusty rides like a scalded dog, no doubt about it. | ||
| Greg_e |
Those hard bags will slow him down. The thing with the welder might be that your job will pay him about $50. The other jobs may be paying him thousands. Not trying to make excuses for putting you off, but it can be damn hard to run your own small business and have to make choices like this. I probably would have already moved to the butcher it to get it done stage. Hunk of metal, a drill, and some nuts and bolts. Probably a rattle can of primer and paint. Bend anything that looks like it can be made to fit if you bend it, etc. | ||
| Crusty |
Morning Song I like mornings. When I’m not on the road, my routine is to get up, shower and enjoy a cup or three of coffee while surfing the net and (sometimes) banging out a Snippet. There are lots of things happening on the forums I check out, this morning. One thing that I’m sensing is that some people would make the changes to the Roadster differently. So I guess I’ll try to explain my logic. I could just cobble up the mounts for the saddlebags. As solidly as I’ve got the mounts attached, they would work and probably be trouble free for the entire Great Circle ride. But they wouldn’t be Right. Not only do I want my bike to work well, I want it to look right as well. My bike is an expression of what I feel a motorcycle should be, I don’t want to do a half assed job. The suspension improvements I’m planning will be pretty expensive, but I really want the bike to handle well. Traction Dynamics was building the suspensions for the EBR (Erik Buell Racing) Superbikes. They come highly recommended by Mike (Buellish), who I respect and is a pretty fast rider down in Georgia. I sent an e-mail down and got a response that outlined my choices and gave recommendations. I’ll ride down and have them do the changes once I get enough money set aside. It won’t happen soon, but it will happen. Well, it’s time to go out and run some errands. I have to send off my Passport for renewal, take my new gloves to the cobbler to get the fingers shortened to fit my hand, and I have to find a welder who wants my business. | ||
| Crusty |
Just One Of Those Days It’s been just one of those days. You know, the days when I seem to have the magic touch. Everything I touch turns to sh*t. I left the house with specific goals in mind, and a definite plan to get everything accomplished. First I went to CVS to get a 2” by 2” picture taken for my passport renewal. Then I went to my Credit Union to get a check that had my full name and date of birth on it. I told the manager to make it payable to the US Treasury. While I was there, I discovered that I’d left my glasses at CVS. So I put the check in the saddlebag and went back. I couldn’t find my glasses. Then the lady said, “Hey; what’s that on your jacket?” It turned out that my glasses case had somehow gotten hooked to the waist belt on the back of the jacket. By then, I was running later than I had planned, so I went to the Loonie Noonie in Fitchburg. While on my way to the meeting, I started getting another Migraine. The meeting was especially out where the busses don’t run. There was an overabundance of fruits, nuts and flakes, and they were all being especially fruity, nutty and flakey. Then, I hit the post office. The clerk noticed the check and noticed that it was made out to the Treasury. He told me that if it wasn’t made out to the Department of State, the Passport office wouldn’t accept it. So, I didn’t mail the application. I went by Keosha Bros. Shoe Repair to have them shorten the fingers on my new gloves (I have wide hands with short fingers). However, when I got there, there was a note on the door that said “Will Return at 12:45”, and nobody was visible inside.It was almost 2:00. So I went to the cheap gas station and filled the bike. I went back by the cobbler’s, but the sign was still on the door, so I headed back to Hudson. I had checked the weather before setting out this morning. The radar showed no rain anywhere and the forecast was for it to be just overcast; so I decided to wear my new boots. On the way back to Hudson, it rained on me. My new boots are now baptized. I had hoped that it would be a while before they started getting mistreated, but it just fit in with the rest of the day. I went back to the Credit Union and got them to make out another check, this time to the Dept. of State, then went to the Post Office. My current passport, renewal form with the 2” x 2” photo of me vertically stapled in the proper location and check for a lot more than I expected are all on their way to Philadelphia to be expedited via a Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope. I talked with Johnny Donut about welding my saddlebag mounts. He says he can do it, so I’m going to bring the bike by his shop (he’s a mechanic). The welder I’ve been talking to doesn’t want the job. He keeps putting me off and won’t return phone calls, even when I called him at the time he specified. Oh; my bike has developed an oil leak. I can’t see where the oil is coming from, but it left a silver dollar sized puddle on the floor of the garage. Well, two positive things got accomplished today. My passport got mailed to be renewed and Johnny Donut says he’ll do the welding. The rest of the day flat sucked and I still have a splitting headache. I hope tomorrow is better. | ||
| Ourdee |
Hang in there Crusty. It's a new day. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Been a couple of days since I checked in here... John, I predict you will love the Chippewa, I'm on my 3rd pair. I really love the uppers, either inside jeans or outside leathers. Z | ||
| Crusty |
Good Times, Bad Times… The sun is out. The rain finally quit yesterday afternoon and I saw blue sky for the first time in a couple of weeks. So I jumped on the bike and rode over to Leominster and cleaned the bike at the quarter car wash. It’s got a bit of an oil leak, and with the rain, I couldn’t locate just where it’s leaking from. I’m hoping that I’ll discover it, now that the bike is clean. While I was cleaning, I noticed that my highway peg bar is loose, so I’ll have to get out there this morning and tighten it. I also noticed that my ignition switch needs tightening. Suddenly, things seem to be loosening; what’s up with that? There’s a little farm I ride past in Lancaster that has a pond. Every spring, there are geese that fly in and nest by that pond. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of little greyish yellow gooselets intermingled with the proud parents. On many of the jobs I held over the years, I would take that same road to and from work each day, and watch the process of baby geese becoming adults. I still really enjoy seeing that each spring. I saw Johnny Donut yesterday morning. When I first talked to him about the welding, he said probably this weekend. Yesterday, he said he was busy with a car job, and probably on Thursday. I was talking to Jackie (a mutual friend) and she said that if I’m waiting for him, I should be prepared for a long wait. That put a damper on my spirits. Now, I’m starting to worry a bit. I’m having some bad luck trying to find a welder. I have a few ideas, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to implement them. Today, I have to go have another Cystoscopy. I won’t be up for doing a whole lot afterwards. I went back by Keosa Bros. in Fitchburg on Friday to get the fingers shortened on my gloves. The cobbler said that he could’t do what I wanted. So I said, OK and went back to the place in Waltham where I had the last two pairs done. That guy told me the same thing. When I told him that I’d had two other pairs done there, he said that it must have been one of the sub contractors he uses. He took the gloves and a $20.00 deposit and told me to call him this Saturday. Suddenly, it seems like every little project is turning into a Major Deal. The welding isn’t that big a job, and neither is shortening the gloves. I swear I’m going to find a welding course in the fall; this is getting ridiculous. Oh well; I guess I’ll go out and see if I can tighten a couple of bolts before I go have a camera pushed up my urethra. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Oh, man... cytoscopy sucks. I'll say a prayer that it goes smoothly and with as little discomfort as possible. | ||
| Tootal |
Crusty, when you go out to tighten those nut/bolts you might want to remove them and put a little blue loctite on them. I mean, it is a Harley, they all do that!  | ||
| 86129squids |
"Good Times, Bad Times…" Yeah. I just worked a Mudder's Day double shift that was hellishly bad for innumerable reasons, none of them my fault, and I made the same money as I did on a single shift Saturday. Gonna start shopping myself around to new employers. Crusticle, both you and I are gonna need to expand our searches to achieve the results we desire. Simple as that.   | ||
| Damnut |
Crusty I have a welder if needed. You're more than welcome to it or have me weld it. | ||
| Greg_e |
Can you figure out what you want to do to the brackets, make the cuts with a hacksaw, and then bring them to any welder to finish. If you had the pieces I could probably put them all together with my little flux core welder, but this won't produce the best quality. I'm looking at it and trying to decide what needs to be done. Is it mostly the back brace that needs to be lengthened? Does that brace bolt onto the side brackets or is it welded? If it's welded could it be bolted back at the bags and a new brace made by bending some flat stock or tube stock? Just thinking that being able to remove that brace would let you store it "flat". And bolting it up by the bags would hide the bolts. Again, there is probably more than one way to skin this cat, and have it look good too. And in moving this from requiring a welder to requiring a hand drill and bending some stock (common tools and brute force). | ||
| Crusty |
I’m Positive About The Negative Yesterday, I had my bi-annual Cystoscopy. I was diagnosed with Bladder Cancer a few years ago, and underwent treatment to get rid of it. The treatments worked, but I have to have a Cystoscopy every six months to be sure it isn’t returning. It used to be every three months, but after a year, the frequency was stretched out. It’s an uncomfortable procedure, and I don’t think I’ll ever look forward to having it done, but it’s necessary. Anyway, to cut to the chase, There’s no sign of cancer. I’m still a bit sore today, so I don’t think I’ll get much accomplished, but I’m pretty buoyed by the Negative results. Just thought I’d share some good news. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
That is good news!  | ||
| Buellish |
No sign of cancer is always good news! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Praise the Lord, my friend John is cancer free! That is literally the best news I've heard all day, maybe even all year! Gretchen and I are very glad to hear this, thank you for keeping us up to date. | ||
| Greg_e |
Yes that is good news. | ||
| 1313 |
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| Ourdee |
Oh Ya! |
