An Incredible Weekend

What did you do this weekend?? Did you work? Maybe you did some gardening or reading, maybe just sat around watching tv? Or even dreamed of some Samsung product that you would like to have. I did not of the above.

On Friday, as I talked about in my last post, I took my motorcycle skills test and passed so am now legal to ride without a supervisor and at highway speeds. I had planned that if I passed, and I was sure I would, I was going to drive my trike to the Toastmaster Officer Training on Saturday. It was so cool to ride down there, I really enjoyed the ride. When I pulled in I didn't see anyone though there were a few cars there. It was 9:15am so I had lots of time and decided to ride back about 2 blocks to the Mac's store and get a tea. One cool thing about riding a trike instead of a bike is that I was able to carry my tea back to the College in the box on the back. When I got back to the College, Pat & Suzanne (form my Toastmasters club) saw me ride in and came to greet me, Pat with camera in hand telling me to stay put while she took a photo of me in full gear with my trike. It will be interesting to see the photo. Nell, from my old club also came over to greet me. It was awesome to see Nell again as I haven't seen her in some time and always liked her a lot. There were people there from a very long way away and it was a very interesting day. From 10-11 everyone was in the same room then split up into different groups in different rooms, depending on which workshops everyone was taking. 11-12 I was enjoyed a question & answer panel where 3 very long time, very 'high up' Toastmasters were on the panel being asked questions. It was very interesting. 12-1 was lunch break, lunch was included in our $20 fee for taking the training. The rest of the day I was in the President Training class as I am the incoming club President. Throughout the day I wrote around 12 pages of notes. It was shortly after 3pm when the training was over and Pat, Suzanne & I went to a local park to visit Pat's daughter, Kelly. After that we headed home, them in Pat's car and me on my trike.

Today, Sunday, I rode to town to Sunday Service at the Centre for Spiritual Living. It was nice to see people I hadn't seen in awhile and nice to get a really warm welcome. Many people took time to go see my trike and most were very impressed. After that, I had the feeling there was something I had wanted/meant to buy when next in town, though couldn't remember what that was so I just came home. I watered my raised bed gardens and gave Reba fresh water out in her run, then went to feed the birds and discovered what it was I needed to buy in town... I was totally out of bird food. I gave them all some spray millet and rode the trike to town to get a big bag of feed for them. It was such a beautiful day and I didn't want to just come home, so I decided to ride out to Tuggy's. He was happy to see me and while visiting we did some stuff on the trike, tightening bolts and such that had loosened with the vibrations of riding such a machine. My cell rang & was Don wanting to know if I wanted to go riding. I told him I was out at Tuggy's (they both live in the same small town, so only a few miles apart). Don (on his Harley) stopped at Tug's when he got that far, Tug's other friend Bucky came by on his Triumph motorcycle. After sitting around visiting awhile, we left Tug (his trike is broken down just now) and rode in to town where Don & I went to the bar for a bit (I drank my usual tea). Then we rode in to Vernon and had a bite to eat at a pub just outside town after which we rode in to town so I could fuel up my trike (was on my reserve tank at this point) then rode to my place. We just sat down in my back yard when it started to rain so Don left to make his 30 minute ride home. He called when he got home and said it was a wonderful ride home, the rain stopped just a couple kilometers from my place.

It was a really incredible weekend... my first as a true 'biker'.

Trike's Home

Last week it was finally time to bring my trike home. Now that he's finished (conversion from 2 wheels to 3 wheels) he needs to be here. The photos that follow are of him on the trailer. I chose to trailer him home due to the fact that I only had my learners license and one of the 4 restrictions was that I could only drive at a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour... not fast enough for driving on the highways here. He was well tied down and made the trip very well. Tuggy followed me on his trike and helped me to unload mine just down the road from my home. My yard is on a steep hillside and not safe for doing this kind of thing, so I felt it was better to do it where there was less hill to tend with. Once off the trailer, I parked & locked the truck then road the trike home. Tuggy met me at the bottom of my driveway and drove me back to my truck which I then brought home, backed the trailer into it's spot with Tuggy's help (directing me where I couldn't see well enough), unhooked the trailer and parked the truck in it's spot. Then.... yup, hopped onto the trike and we went riding. That was Friday. We also rode on Saturday and on Sunday. It was an awesome weekend, and was even sunny for a change which went well with riding.




On Wednesday I took the trike in to town to a motorcycle mechanic that works out of his own home. I had called the Yamaha dealership regarding getting a bit of work done that Tuggy couldn't do and they said they don't work on anything older than 1990. I asked what those of us with older bikes do then and they gave me Gene's name & phone number. I had him do an oil change (2 1/2 liters oil & new filter), put in a new air filter, and air up the forks.... including labour the bill came to $50. I was very impressed that it was so low. Just for the oil change alone, if they would work on my old bike, Yamaha dealership would have charged $105.

Today I took my Skills Test. That's where I had to drive between pylons without hitting them, go fast and hit the brakes when he told me to, stuff like that. I passed the test!! Now 2 of the 4 learner's restrictions have been lifted. I no longer need to have a supervisor watching me ride, and I now can go highway speeds. Oh, and I had to display a red "L" on my trike and now don't have to do that anymore. I still have 2 restrictions... ride only from dawn to dusk and no passengers. These will be lifted when I pass the Road Test which I am booked to take on July 5th. It feels wonderful to be riding by myself now, rather than having to depend on others to ride with me. As I drove around town today it was amazing how many people were waving, giving me thumbs up, coming to talk to me where I parked, etc. all because this is a one of a kind machine that really stands out in a crowd.

I look forward to being able to 'pack' Reba along with me.

Tomorrow I have a Toastmasters Officer Training to go to in the city south of us... about an hour drive from my place to the city... then across the city to the college where it is being held, at least another 15-30 minutes, thankfully I can do most of it on 'back roads', avoiding the main highway through which is always very busy. I could car pool with 2 others from our club that are going... but I want to ride, lol.

Reba's First Ride

After doing one last bit of work on the brakes yesterday, it was time for a run around the yard. The trike is now ready to come home!! After I did a few 'check out the brakes now' turns around the yard I let Reba come for a ride. She had no issues at all about hopping into the box. I got in and called her, she ran over and hopped right in. I got out and closed the tail gate then for safety tied her in... she will always wear a tie down, something like wearing a seat belt. She is never not secured into a moving vehicle. As I knew she would, Reba loved her ride and is not quite the Biker Dog!! She had a big smile on her face and was not at all afraid as some people thought she might be.

~Click on photos for a larger view~

The man that built customized my Yamaha XJ650 Maxim, changed it from 2 wheels to 3... and the dog the work was done for. I could have ridden it with 2 wheels, but Reba couldn't have.

During the process of 'triking' my bike, not only did Tuggy & I become good friends, Reba & Tuggy did too.

Reba is comfortable enough in the box that when she was waiting for me to finish taking photos and go for another ride, she even sat down to relax. I think if she could she would drive this thing herself. She is 'quite the dog' and so very well suited to me... always up for a new adventure. I can see a speech in this story... Yup, I am a Toastmaster!

Good News/Bad News

It was one of 'those' kind of days.... and I was determined to find Good News anywhere I found Bad News.

Bad News... I lost my sunglasses (real good 'biker' shades that fit over my prescription glasses and keep wind out of my eyes when I ride) last week.
Good News, Reba found them in the grass in my yard today. I must have dropped them when I got out of the truck with an armload of 'stuff'.

Good News... Tuggy & I have decided it's time to bring my trike home from his place. Because I'm not yet licensed to drive highway speeds I have to haul it home on my trailer.
Bad News... I can't find the license plate for my trailer (long story why it's not on trailer) so I spent a good part of today searching for it and never did find it. I searched in my truck and in my house.
Good News... my truck and kitchen are both cleaner than they were before.

Later in the afternoon I decided to go to Tuggy's anyway, at least I could help him set up the brakes one my trike now that he got the one adjuster working right.
Bad News... I had a flat tire on the way there.
Good News.... it went flat but didn't blow out suddenly (being a front tire this could have been really bad).
Bad News... I couldn't get the lug nuts undone, even though I was jumping on the tire iron.
Good News... a guy was sitting in his truck not far away, waiting for the school bus to bring his kid home, saw me jumping on the tire iron and came to help change my flat. This was especially good since once my lug nuts were broken loose we discovered that my jack wouldn't fit under the front end, so he got out his jack which worked wonderfully.
Bad News... the spare tire that came with the truck, that I have been hauling around for years, didn't fit. Oh, it would have if I had a flat on the back, but not on the front because my truck is a 4x4 and the hubs on the front wheels wouldn't fit through the too small holes in the center of the wheel.
Good News... I had my cell to call for help with this problem and the man was good enough to tell me where he lives so I could return the jack once finished with it as he had to go.
Bad News... Tuggy couldn't come help me as he doesn't have a car on the road, just his trike. Dan wasn't answering his cell which is really no big surprise as he usually turns the darn thing off. Wendy doesn't know where I live as I always go in to her place or other places in town.
Good News... I though about the guy that lives below me and called him... he was home. As we talked on our cells he walked up the hill and I told him "to the right of the travel trailer there is a lean-to and a white shed. Inside the white shed are 4 tires on rims, the summers off my truck." A couple minutes later he tells me he found some tires but they're flat. After my initial fear I realize what tires he's talking about, they are underneath the travel trailer. I repeat the instructions to go inside the white shed. "White shed? What white shed?" I explain again where the white shed is and that he is to go inside it. A couple minutes pass and he tells me there are no tires in there... oh, well there is one with only 4 holes in the rim and it's small. "Are you INSIDE THE WHITE SHED?" I ask. "No." I think he must have been inside the lean-to which is not white at all. "The white shed! GO INSIDE THE WHITE SHED!" By now I've repeated "White Shed" at least a half dozen times and am getting frustrated!!!
Good News... he finally found the white shed and managed to open the door and look inside. Voila!!!! There is the big stack of tires that even he can't miss. With talking him through the difference between the ones for the front and for the back he did manage to bring me the right wheel... and it only took him an hour to get there. It had only taken me less than 5 minutes to drive that far.
Good News... after thinking I'd not be surprised if he showed up with the wrong wheel I was delighted when he brought the right one... it went on easily and I was, as Willy Nelson says "On The Road Again".

First, before anything else, I went to return the borrowed jack. He had said he lived up the road that went off to the left from the highway, 1 kilometer and his place is on the right, just leave the jack on the porch and not to worry about the dogs as they won't hurt me. Good. So I check my odometer and drive exactly one kilometer up the road and... Good News... right there is a small road off to the left. I drove down it... Bad News...and drove and drove and by the time I had driven 1 k. in I still saw no house and the road was not getting any better. I decided to turn around though there was not exactly anywhere to do that, just inch forward then back the forward then back until I got around. While doing this, with all the rain we've had (& I'd just sat through 2 big rain storms while waiting for my wheel) and being a dirt road, I got stuck in the mud. Good News... it's a 4x4, remember!! I got out and locked my hubs in, put it in 4wd and got unstuck easily. Once turned around I drove back out that 1 k., turned left and continued up the road where, nearly another k. later, I found a house on the left side, complete with 2 dogs that let me put the jack on the porch.

I drove home and had tea and a slice of bread with peanut butter and jam. It was nice to walk into an almost clean kitchen.


I am grateful that my tire didn't blow out and cause me to crash my truck.
I am grateful to the man that helped me with the tire as much as he could.
I am grateful that man let me keep his jack, trusting me to return it once finished the job.
I am grateful to Len for bringing me the tire/wheel I needed from home.
I am grateful I had a second set of wheels at home.
I am grateful I had my cell phone with me.
I am grateful I was inside my truck during the rain storms, a lot of water came down!
I am grateful all turned out well in the end.
I am grateful for peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

Stroke???

This morning, just before 7:30am I was getting ready to go to the Food Bank to do my volunteer work when Reba had something strange happen to her. She went to stand up and fell over on her side. A few minutes later, she walked the length of the bed and got a bit shaky then back legs went out from under her one way while front went the other way and down she went. She was breathing a bit hard though not severely. I sat there petting and talking to her for quite awhile then she finally managed to get up and walk though seemed a bit confused or maybe afraid it would happen again. I phoned the Food Bank and left a message that I couldn't come in today as my dog had some kind of seizure and I couldn't leave her alone. I think it may have been a small stroke, or 2 small strokes. It scared the heck out of me whatever is was.

I was just talking to Wendy on the phone and she said it sounds like a seizure, her other friend, Dianna, had a dog that had a mini stroke, then later another one, then a major stroke and had to be put down. Wendy said what I told her about Reba's incidence this morning sounds like what Dianna described about her dog.

Since then she has been appearing okay. She has eaten and has drank lots of fresh water, I think has drank more than usual in fact. She's gone outside to 'do her business' and has chased Mewsic. Hey, if she can chase the cat she must be feeling fairly good. I'm full of hope while I try to prepare myself for future episodes.

Some Extra Touches

Tug called one day recently and said he bought some jewelry. He then admitted it was for my trike and said I owe him $15 for it, yet he refused to tell me what he'd spent my money on. I would have to wait until I went out there to see it. When I next went out, a couple days later, I agreed the purchase was well worth the money he'd spent and I gave him his $15 that he'd spent.

Front view and close ups: (click on photos for larger view)

Back view & a close up of center panel:

Remember the side view I showed you in an earlier post? Here it is again. The horse shoes on each side were previously worn by my horse Whiplash. The shoes on the tailgate were previously worn by one of the other horses, I think likely Wonder. They are larger than Whiplash would wear.

I know the wheels don't look that good in these pics. Here is a photo of one of them as I was cleaning and painting. I also painted the center part. They look oh so much better with the black in those openings and the center.

It has been a very interesting process... the building of a trike. There are things yet to be done, some will be visible while some will be 'inner works' stuff, and I am sooooo enjoying riding it, even if just on back roads. Less than 2 weeks left in my wait for the Skills Test.

Some Random Thoughts

- as much fun as it is to go places, it's always good to come home
- I sure am glad I have a laptop computer. I get to lay on my bed and 'compute'.
- it's great to have good friends and to meet new ones.
- I love a good cup of tea... with Stevia and milk please.
- eczema, yuck.
- sad for those of us left behind that in the last week Gary Coleman, Dennis Hopper, and Rue McClanahan have all passed away. Nice for them to be free.
- 2 weeks from now my Skills Test for my motorcycle license will be behind me.
- I'm really looking forward to bringing my trike home.
- I need to clean up my yard, cut back the spreading juniper, and clean out my carport.
- I am enjoying putting in raised bed gardens, watching the plants grow, and sitting in my back yard for the first time in years.
- I'm going to get one last cup of tea, then get ready for bed.

Beautiful Day for a Ride.

This morning I got a call from Tug, asking what my plans were for the day. I said I was going to work at cleaning out my carport so I can put my trike in there when I bring it home. He said he'd come by before noon and help me, then maybe later we'd ride out to his place (on his trike) and go for a ride with both trikes. Shortly before 11am he shows up here in a bit of a 'fluff'. On his way here he'd seen several motorcycles and remembered that there was a HOG (Harley Owner's Group) ride today and decided we should go on it. In about 1o minutes I had changed my clothes, dressed to ride, and had fed all my animals. Off we went! There were over 100 motorcycles in this run. I couldn't count to know for sure how many, though I'd say easily over 100. So far as we saw, Tug's was the only trike. I forgot to take my camera so missed getting some very nice photos of the ride and the scenery along the way. We rode as far as Kamloops with them, then headed over to a small town nearby to visit his friend Al and his new girlfriend Angie. This was the first time I met them. Great people. I really enjoyed the visit. We had a really nice ride back from there, stopping along Montie Lake to enjoy a snack we picked up while fueling up the trike just east of Kamloops.

I really like my new helmet that I just bought. It's more comfortable than the old one I wore, though that was a good one too. This one has a visor to keep some sun out of your eyes, and it has 2 small vents to open and let air flow in when needed, as well as ear & neck protection that you zip out in the hot weather. Now I don't need to tie a scarf around to keep from getting ear aches from the cool wind blowing into my ears. I always wrap my long hair up and put it inside my helmet, or "lid" as it's nicknamed. This helps keep it from getting tangled and tied into knots, slows down the split ends and otherwise broken and damaged hair problems. Someone I once knew said to take prenatal vitamins to make healthier hair. I did buy & use a bottle of them, but there was no visible improvement. Maybe if I had used them for longer??

We went from a long drought to drowning, it has been raining so much and so heavily here lately. Yesterday I went out to ride my trike and we had to take short runs between down pours. I've ridden in back in rain before and it wasn't pleasant. This was my first time driving my own machine in the rain and it wasn't real fun. As you are driving down the road on a motorcycle the rain drops really sting when they hit the bare skin of your face. Ouch!! Today was rather iffy weather wise then turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride.

Weather and Yard...

I was beginning to think one might have to travel to Florida and rent one of those orlando timeshare places in order to get some decent weather, then today surprised us all (even the weatherman, I'm sure) when it was clear, sunny and fairly warm (high of 22 degrees Celcius) though it had been forecast to be raining again as most days have for some time now. The forecast for tomorrow keeps changing so I guess I will have to wait to see what it's like, though I am hoping for another day like today as my plans are to go to where my trike is and go for a ride. In 17 days I go to do my Skills Test, so guess I better get skillful.

Today I wasn't feeling quite as splendid as I like to feel, so I stayed home instead of going to my Aqua Therapy group. I really do need to go do the exercises in the water as they do help me a lot, though I don't seem to make it there every time. Oh well, there's always next week. Dan came by this morning and helped me move 2 more bathtubs into my back yard. We put one into place though the other one not yet. I need to do a bit of clean up work before putting the tub in place and filling it with rocks and soil. Now to find more rocks to haul home... hmmmm. My raised bed gardens will soon be all in place, filled, planted and growing. I also moved a rack to the back yard to hang plants on. It's coming along fairly nicely and I know I will enjoy it out there this year.

Now I'm off to get ready and go to Toastmasters. I am wearing several hats there this evening as many of our members are away. I will be the Grammarian/Ah Counter, the Table Topics Evaluator, a Speech Evaluator, and give the Closing Thought as well as supply the Snack for this evening. Tim Bits and Tea... yummmy.