Why Nova Scotia?

Why not Nova Scotia might be the better question. It's one of those exotic sounding places that I've never been to and that's reason enough for me. I plan on leaving around the 8th of May and spending several weeks on the ride. Along the way I'll be camping out, visiting unsuspecting friends , and maybe getting to ride along with them for awhile. Let me know if you're up to either!

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Saturday, May 16, 2009

May 15 - The ride home – No problemo Mon….


This morning I woke at 5:45am and immediately thought I’d overslept. For what I don’t know but I got right up, did the shower/shave/teeth thing and headed back to the Black Bear next door. Not to be outdone by last night’s feeding frenzy I ate up my weight in homemade hash, drank a gallon of black coffee and topped off my bread quota for the rest of the year. Barely able to slip into Big Red I was on the road by 8:00am enjoying the early sunshine and lighter traffic.

It was kind of fun gliding along I-5 and watching Oregon’s finest aka State Police do their thing with unsuspecting visitors bearing California license plates. I’d noticed the folks south of the border paid little or no heed to construction zone reduced speed changes or the accompanying “Fines double in construction zones” signs. I saw at least 3 of them become acquainted with the realities of that during the first 10 miles into Oregon. I’m clueless how expensive the fines are and I’d sure hate to find out.

Home was around 235 miles away so it didn’t take long to get there. Both dogs were outside lying around and neither one bothered to bark at me although Chance the collie did raise one of his ears. Daisy waited until I dismounted before she acknowledged me, probably ticked off because I left and didn’t take her along. There’s nothing like a couple of vicious guard dogs to give you that feeling of personal security.
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So that was it, I’ll spend the next few days catching up on domestic duties and cleaning up the Ninja for part 3 of this exercise in futility. I’ve decided to do the Motel-6 thing i.e., no more hauling 200lbs of camping equipment along. I'll probably take the northern route when I set out again, tentatively scheduled for the week following Memorial Day. This is like taking 3 vacations back-to-back isn’t it? I’ll get it right real soon, I promise. Stay tuned.

3 comments:

  1. Bummer Larry...My old /5 has seatbelt looking latches and I have never trusted them. After seeing a friend lose one on his bike I starting using a tarp strap as a safety tie. Not very pretty but it works. Maybe by some chance an honest soul will pick up your bag and somehow get it back to you.
    I am always amazed at the bicycle touring guys who camp on the road. They carry all the essentials on a bicycle and seem to have about a tenth of the stuff I carry.(?)
    Good luck sorting out your situation and hope you are on the road soon. I hope we don't see a Blog heading ; "Novia Scotia in my Ford".

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  2. I lost one of the bags on my old R80/7 but as luck would have it a friend found it on the way over to my house. What are the odds of that? I'm not holding my breath on this one, but since publishing this post I've found out Aprilia still has them available - in sets of course - so I've ordered them.
    I've noticed the same thing about bicycle guys, I think maybe it's because they're not packing 2-burner stoves & cots.

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  3. You've had a hell of an adventure and you're still at home!

    Might be time for a totally new ride, something, say in the 21 century.

    Keep us posted, great blog despite the downer experiences.

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