YAOGBB

Short update; internet on this tub costs 75 cents minute, so cheapskate me won't be doing a lot of posting. Today (21st) was the worst day for weather yet. So bad they diverted my mother, brother, and sister in law's plane to LA. The ship departs in 2 hours, and they are not here, so this may be a solo voyage. So now I have lost, in order, my drivers license, visa card, nephew, mother, brother, and sister in law :-) They tell me that if they miss the boat today they can join the cruise in Hawaii, which basically means they will miss 5 days of open ocean with nothing to look at but horizon, water water everywhere, etc. etc.. My DL and visa did arrive at my brothers, so no worries there, and I won't be needing them for the next 15 days anyway. Bon Voyage, see you all in February! -- Erik S

The last few days I have been hanging out in San Diego, waiting for the other family members and cruise ship.  I got here about the same time as a massive rain storm that is raising havoc all over Southern California.  There are many attractions within walking distance, so the KTM is getting a rest, and a wash as it turns out.  It is expected that the rain that will fall this week will be the equivalent of a year's worth of rain for San Diego.  They have been in a four year drought, so the rain is welcome.  Welcome it may be, but it is also wet, very wet.  I got soaked yesterday walking home, and right now it is hosing down again. Yesterday evening I got together with 'CW' a fellow subscriber to the oldscoolcz yahoo group dedicated to CZ motocrossers.  We had beers and burgers at Whiskeygirl (yes, she was cute).   We had a pleasant visit, another example of how connected we can be through internet and mutual interests.   Peopl...

I have been in San Diego for a few days now.  San Diego will experience what will likely be its worst week for weather all year.  Temperatures in the sixties and and rain all week. What an Edmontonian could expect for the first weeks of autumn.  I am tough, I can take it. On Thursday I will be boarding the cruise ship Zaandam with my mother and brother and his wife.  Zaandam is the name of the town in Holland where my father, brothers and yours truly were born, along with many ancestors, so this is kind of cool.  I have arranged to deposit the KTM in a storage facility, 29.95 for the first month, I doubt I could get parking for that, and it will be locked in its own little compartment. San Diego is a very nice city, Canadian clean, lots of trees (green leafy trees), and it does not look like it just came out of a crate.  There is a good mixture of old and new buildings, most of the new buildings are as attractive as the old.  My cheap motel is wi...

 As I roll into Las Vegas, I pull into a parking lot to get my bearings, I put down the side stand to get off the bike, and crash!, I am on the ground with the bike on top of me.  The sidestand bolts have broken.  I need to fix this, as it is very difficult to get off the KTM without it.  The seat height is 37" and my ass is 3" closer to the ground than the seat.  I have been dismounting the same way you get off a horse, and the strain finally got to the sidestand.  No worries, Sportsman Cycle Sales is nearby, and technician Steve Gabbert is able to drill out the busted bolts and get the stand back on.  Meanwhile I practice dismounting without using the side stand until I get it right.  While Steve fixes the stand I use the opportunity to change my rear tire for an OEM Bridgestone (OEM for a Suzuki), I am hoping this tires lives up to its crappy tire that lasts forever reputation, as quantity (as in distance) over quality will be more important....

I am locked in a timewarp in Laughlin Nevada for the next three days. This place is unbelievable. My otherwise excellent room does not have any kind of internet access, the TV has 13 channels, I just finished watching Adam 12. It is costing me 25 bux a night. Even the furniture is old, er, retro. SCORE off road racing starts tomorrow. I got some good pix in Vegas, I will post later. I found Las Vegas a little disappointing. It is like a much bigger, better version of West Edmonton Mall, but the edginess that I remember from 1969 (my last visit) is gone. Tamed, or neutered if you prefer. Ran into a NAIT instructor who will remain nameless :-) I guess it was inevitable that I would meet someone I know in Las Vegas. Laughlin Nevada seems more interesting, but in a different way. John Irwin told me I would be the youngest guy in town, and he wasn't exagerating. It looks like the old Las Vegas, a cluster of high rise neon hotels in the middle of the desert. Mo...

Ever since the bike was unloaded I was having trouble with one of my mirrors, trying to fix it with my limited tools I managed to strip the mounting threads.  Fortunately, Antelope Valley Kawasaki Yamaha also sells KTMs and was able to repair my mirror, so here is a plug, if you are ever in Lancaster CA with a busted KTM (or Yamaha or Kawasaki) these guys are great. On Saturday my plan was to head for Needles.  I had stopped at the spaceport just to get a few more photos.  While I was there this guy zooms in on a BMW and we start to talk.  It turns out he is meeting with a group of BMW riders coming from One Thousand Oaks CA.  My new friend Rick says, 'Come in to the restaurant and have some breakfast'.  So in I go for a coffee, and next thing you know the rest show up, and I accept their invitation to join them on a ride to Tonopah Nevada. Now Needles is south, and Tonopa is north,  but I figure, what the heck, these guys are from around here, the...

I decide to become a resident of Mohave for the next three days.  The Desert Inn has no stars, but it is economical, and it suits me.   Mohave's claim to fame is that it is a spaceport.  I never been to a spaceport before. Mohave airport, er spaceport, is where spaceship one was launched.  Space ship one,  for those who have forgotten, won the X prize in 2004, for being the first successful private enterprise space craft.  See the details on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Ship_One   There is also this weird rocket nose thing beside it, 'rotary rocket' a less successful wannabe spaceship, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_Rocket#The_Atmospheric_Test_Vehicle_.28ATV.29 A (defunct)  KTM shop, a victim of rerouting the highway around town. And desert, lots of desert. Edwards air force base is a few miles down the road.  I try to get on, but no dice, there is a tour for Friday, but it is all booked.  At the ...