CanadianRider

Monty - thank you for your well wishes. 3 years a go I bought a power boat as I wanted to relive my childhood and do some more waterskiing. Last year I bought the bike as I wanted to reconnect with my 20's and 30's when I used to do a lot of riding (up to 50k miles in a year). I have been able to do those things once more that I found so important and enjoyable earlier in life. The Lord works in mysterious ways - the cancer was discovered in November and I will continue to ride till I can ride no longer. C U on open road,

A small house!! By the sounds of it some people want a full size barn for a ten!! For years I carried a MOSS Big Dipper for 4 - a great 4 season bomb shelter of a tent (the Mount Everest expeitions use this same tent). This tent will take 100 mph winds and several meters of snow - it was great for my wilderness canoe adventures in the far north and winter camping. However, I found this tent too big to carry on the bike. Last year I purchased an MEC Wanderer 2 Tent from Mountain Equipment Co-op. This is a small, very light and compact, yet very strong tent. My wife and I did a 17 day trip of the east coast of Canada last summer - two-up on my new bike - carrying all camping gear - tent, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, stove, dishes, pots & pans, food - plus all clothing including rain gear - on the bike - NO TRAILER. (By the way - I am not a small guy, I am 6'4" 250 lbs and I fit very well in the tent with the wife) Being an avid wilderness canoeist - who frequently portages further than I paddle - I know the value of light weight compact gear. I don't want a monster tent that takes me 20 minutes to put up, or blows over in the slightest breeze, or has all that wonderful roof and floor space to spring leaks. We camped on the Outer Banks of North Carolina last summer. Every tent in the place blew down - but not my little Wanderer - it stood fast. I highly recommend MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) for your camping needs - look them up online. 1. It is a Co-op, so it is non-profit and any money it does make goes back to the members, 2. membership is only $5.00 for life, 3. ALL products are guaranteed for life with a no hassle exchange policy 4. for our American friends the Co-op is Canadian so you are using Canadian vs American dollars, 5. they sell great gear not cheap Walmart crap - good gear is actually much cheaper in the long run. 6. they do sell a few barn size tents as well for those who insist on performing circus acts inside their tents

Now I was always one for getting the tickets when I was younger. My first car was a 1970 VW beetle built for the 1/4 mile track (it would pull high 10's). My older brother who gave me the car thought it was perfect for a 16 year old - duh!! Amazing I didn't kill myself and friends in that car. I remember one night after my summer job heading home racing my buddies new TA with me pulling away from him at 145 mph when we passed a cop with radar - the cop just stood there with his mouth open - never did chase us. I could see him later trying to explain that one. Later I moved onto bikes - a little XS400 for a year and then an XS1100. On the XS1100 I was again quickly getting tickets then I bought the XVZ1200 - the first Venture. It didn't take long and I had racked up 4 speeding tickets within a year and was called into the DOT (MTO in Canada) for an interview. The first thing the interviewer does is take your license from you then explains he doesn't have to give it back. So we go over my tickets - one by one. Everyone of them on a bike. The interviewer finally asks "did you get a new bike?" I told him yes that I got the new XVZ1200. So he asked me all about the bike. After a half hour of telling him about the bike - he says he understands, afterall he is an exbike cop - throws my license back at me and tells me to slow down and take it easy. I didn't lose my license that day but I did end up paying close to $5,000 per year for insurance (back in the early 80's). Well I never did slow down, just got a lot smarter and haven't had a speeding ticket now in over 20 years (knock on wood).

Fruit picker Worm picker (sometimes both at the same time) Bait business owner (10 years old and I had 4 others working for me) Door to door sales General labourer Tire repairman Stock control Lobster fisherman Irish moss harveter Towmotor operator Fireman Firechief Union Steward Homer Simpson (OK - Nuclear Operator) Restaurant Chain Owner Restaurant Construction General Contractor Special Events Promoter / Owner Catering company owner Frozen Foods company owner Student (back to school late in life) Change Management Consultant Process Improvement Manager Senior Technical Advisor (Guru) Certified Human Resources Professional Performance Management consultant Continuous Improvement Consultant Six Sigma Black Belt Presently, living to ride, riding to live - on permanent disability with terminal cancer.

Instead of wiring the GPS into the sound system, purchase a GPS that transmits over FM such as most Tomtoms. That way anytime you need to hear directions like in the city, just tune to that specific pre-set station and you can hear the commands loud and clear. That is what I did and it works great with no wiring hassles. Ron