How was your day

[lucydad]

Lannis,

Thanks for your kind reply and sharing advice and experience. I guess I am flapping my wings on the edge of the nest?

Wish I could have you over and split a Belgique Tripel and chat in the garage. 

I have talked a lot recently with retired peers all telling me what you are saying.  Having lunch this coming week with another peer who is retiring officially end of March.  Its a big step.

[Muzz]

This retirement thing must be contagious.  Last week I bounced off the boss that when my beloved hits the magic 65 on April 7th.  I want to drop down to a 4 day week, taking every Friday off.  I also said that at the end of the year I want to pull the plug completely,  which will give them time to train up someone new.
I also said that if he was interested I would be prepared to come in on a casual basis if they were short of manpower.  He thought that was just fine.

There is a bit of a reason for this.  It seems that my auto immune problems have not been siiting idly by,  but have started killing off the nerves in my extremities.  At the moment it is not too much of a problem as my neurologist has prescribed a drug that gets rid of most of the symptoms,  but of course does not fix the problem.  It may fix itself but probably will not.

In the meantime, we keep on keeping on.

Today however was a beauty.  My son and I went to the Sound of Thunder bike meet today, which was run as the John Britten tribute meet.  There was great racing, one of which was won by a Moto Guzzi roundfin which went like stink, revved like crazy, sounded brilliant and ridden by a guy who could really ride.  He did well even in the open events.  There were also seven Brittens  on display, four of the later type and three of his earlier prototypes.  Four of them did two quite long display rides, trying of course not to blow them up as parts are quite scarce I believe. ;D  However, on the final lap of the last ride Stroud popped a wheelie all the way down the main straight.  Just brilliant! ;-T ;-T ;-T

[balvenie]

              That sounded like a great day Muzz ;-T

[Muzz]

              That sounded like a great day Muzz ;-T

Was indeed.  Even the guy riding a California complete with running boards came in ahead of a large number of Buells! ;D ;D ;-T

[Muzz]

Another great day.

I had arranged with my ex-dentist mate that when he had finished off marrying off parts of his family etc that we should go for a ride.  This is the guy who ended up buying an immaculate K bike after I had posted on the site for info on it.  Today it was off to Akaroa for a quick blast. I had suggested the inland route to Kaikoura but he thought that as he was still getting used to the bike a shorter run would be better.  It was an absolutely perfect day; we were not even halfway there when the sky cleared to not a cloud in the sky, temp gauge said 79 deg and there weren't too many triffids on the road.  I let him lead the way and from the rear he looked as though he had been on the bike all his life. Had a nice coffee overlooking the bay and relaxed in the holiday atmosphere that Akaroa provides.  He was feeling more confident on the way back and we had a most enjoyable ride to finish off the afternoon.  This was his first decent ride on it with hills in the mix since he bought it.

Pretty sure he has decided the bike is a keeper now. ;-T

[lucydad]

Dusty,

Pretty great day with sunshine, bicycle ride with lots of resulting endorphins, poodle walk and such.  Grandpa Larry is here so the Alzheimer's clinic is open. He had a really bad day yesterday:  not getting up, then my wife finally rousing him, then he appears to be functioning, then thinks the day is over and undresses and goes back to bed.  When I got home from work my wife was pretty despondent and frustrated.  So it goes.  Seems one of the common results of Alz is sleeping a lot as it progresses.  Relentless.

Wife had doctor call:  uh abnormal cells from pap smear.  She goes to a gyno in six weeks.  I hope for the best, but I know it is stressful.  Her family has no cancer history and she is a clean lifestyle person, and in excellent physical condition.  But the combo of her dad here and the news stressed her out.  She seems to be bouncing back though.  She also needs to do a breast exam (high density issue) and the dreaded colonoscopy.  

Talked to mom and yep got her the binoculars.  Maybe they will work, but likely not.  She is still dreaming of moving back into her house.  Won't happen--at least with my help and cooperation.  I wish she would deal with reality, and stop living in the past.  This stuff gets my goat more than I admit.  My brother revealed today in a phone call he is completely done teaching college.  He said he is taking his accumulated medical leave, and this past week was spring break.  Huge change for him.  I suspect the college suggested the leave as his depression/anxiety/drugs prevent him from being effective.  Now what?  More isolation and being a hermit due to his issues, or getting healthier with the job stress gone?  Up to him.  

Renters of mom's house have an issue.  He is a master plumber, and he re-injured his back.  I hope he heals up as they need both incomes to keep going in high priced Durango.   Good family.

Yeah strange day.  Mr. Boss called.  My first thought:  here it comes...uh you no longer have a job.  Yeah, that is the oil industry.  Nope, big surprise:  big bonus paid next Friday.  Really?  Dusty, it makes no sense at all, illogical.  Don't get it.  Told family and they are happy of course.  Now what?  The bonus could pay off the house and buy a new car.  Retirement is beckoning in 2015, and this bump makes crossing that bridge much easier.  First positive from Flubdub Energy, ever:  the place has been miserable.  Man, I need to meditate on this.  Will take Ms. Lucydad and grandpa out for Tex Mex and have a margarita I guess.  A Guzzi ride tomorrow will help too.  Just don't get some of this stuff sometimes.

Eldest daughter has brand new job in NYC:  dream for her.  We go see her end of March for her 25th birthday.  Youngest daughter graduates from college end of May.  More big changes, and I would not be surprised to see her snag a job pretty quickly.

Poodles have lots of ideas how to spend the bonus.  I might just get a triple.  Girls will have lots of other ideas.

Thanks for asking.

[Penderic]

Last week I had to go into town and endure the stress of the local driving conditions, and without losing my "cool"!  ::(

"Must, must behave"

[oldbike54]

 Hang in Greg , time will solve some of this . Get out and camp , meet up with some of the Guzzi clan , life will look better , I promise . Oh , and congrats on the bonus , large companies often make no sense  :D

  Dusty

[rodekyll]

Hi there.

Thought I'd drop a note to say the trike frame is painted and the engine, gearbox, and the frame upper/lowers should be assembled this PM.  Still shimming the differential, but it should be installed tomorrow.  Then it's some driveshafts and suspension, and we should have a rolling chassis.

[balvenie]

              Can't wait for the test report ;D rk.

[lucydad]

Dusty,

Just super intense series of weeks.  Packed activity, hours and such between Alzheimer's Clinic open (grandpa Larry), my wife fighting a cold/allergies for weeks, very busy work schedule with many deadlines, upcoming NYC vacation next week, planning college graduation event for youngest daughter end of May, spring change of season, allergies, did I mention allergies?  Then last weekend I bought a Trumpet.  Have not even had time to look at owner's manual.  Upcoming weekend looks like a complete heavy rain washout...well crap.  

News of Tunis, Tunisia terror attack really pissed me off.  We lived there for 3 years.  I know the Bardo Museum, culture, people and country.  Saddens me and frustrates me to see the violence. 

Just finished cleaning kitchen after feeding grandpa, finally got him settled down.  He will go back home this weekend, perhaps Monday.  After over 3 weeks the time sink, stress and frustration becomes a real grind.  We do our best.

The oil business is crashing into the rocks.  So many layoffs, cuts, delays, stress, angst and worry.  Another cycle, and I am fed up dealing with them.  Leaning over the edge of the Grand Canyon of retirement looking down, across and thinking of stepping onto the trail.  Biding my time until that young lady graduation.

Booking a week in Alaska early June also, to see an old friend.  It will be good to go "home", also show Ms. Lucydad the Great Land.  

Pretty worn out.  Day at a time.  Need a vacation.  I guess the STRX owner's manual can wait a day or so.  Want to order a tank bag, figure out the suspension, and learn to use trip odometers.  

Thanks for asking.  Really want to ride both bikes.

[oldbike54]

 Greg , I once asked a friend how he became a mail carrier , he replied , "Dusty , first I got a degree in geology... " . Hang in bud , just a few more months .

  Dusty

[balvenie]

            Would you believe that I have never drained the gearbox? No this is Not an oil thread. Rather, it is a thread about finding the drain plug. Others have always done this for me while my bike was in their various shops for different kinds of comprehensive procedures. Reckoned they could kill several birds with one stone for me, while they had it.
            A quick read of Guzziology told me to shove the exhaust system forward holus bolus, to effect access to the drain plug. This was never going to happen because the 02 sensor comes to a fullstop against a bolted-on frame cross-piece. Determined to finish what had been had started, I slackened the clamps at the front of the sensor. Desperate, I removed both mufflers which slid off easily but the sensor seemed to be welded on. No way was that box going to drain out the bottom plug and then, when all was lost. I espied a plug in the rear cover. Oh Happy Day ;D

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'd been jumping through hoops grafting Yamaha tach guts into the (beautiful) tits up MZ tach. Finally got it all done, plugged it in, started it up, and Nada.  ??? I resisted the very strong urge to throw that sucker, got out my meter, and found the problem.. so it was a good day after all. ;D

[stmike]

Great day every day for the past week as wife and I have been on a river cruise in Europe. Food, daily tours and accommodation have been top notch. Always look forward to getting back home and hopping on one of the bikes, though, and the SoCal weather beckons.

[Chuck in Indiana]

SoCal weather beckons.

Yep. Dorcia's ready and able to travel again. Coming out the 28th to visit the Scura grandkids.  ;D

[Grokked]

Yesterday was a good day: got the bike out from its winter hibernation  ;D
Filled the tires back to proper pressure, gave everything a good looking-over, and had a 45 minute ride around the neighborhood.
Sounded a bit rough and rattly as I let it idle and warm up, but by the time I returned home, it was making all the wonderful noises I remembered from last year.  ;-T

[stmike]

Yep. Dorcia's ready and able to travel again. Coming out the 28th to visit the Scura grandkids.  ;D

It'd be nice to meet you, Chuck. PM me if you'd like to take a ride up the Crest.

[Testarossa]

Fabulous week teaching skiing at Vail -- great clients who ski well and wanted to explore the back bowls in spring snow. About 140,000 vertical feet in all --

Then yesterday my daughter came up from Fort Collins and we tore around at a semi-furious pace until about 2pm, with an hour off for a leisurely lunch. About 23,000 vertical and more sun and fun than I deserve. Cleo skis with grace and genius.

Today I'm at home trying to figure out why the Guzzi's new battery won't charge on the new Electrosport regulator/rectifier.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Most excellent, Dusty, thanks for asking.  ;D
We're out in SoCal now, visiting the Mighty Scura grandkids. Lane split the 405 and Ventura freeway to the Topanga Canyon exit and met up with GuzziBob. Fueled up, and hooliganized the Santa Monica mountains until lunch at Neptune's net. While we were chowing down, a nice kid (Probably 30-40)  ::) came up and asked us if we could recommend a good way to get to the Rock Store.
Uh, yeah.  ;D Sit down. Where ya from? How long you been on the road? What you riding? "Seattle area, I'm in the middle of a planned 5 weeks. Thruxton" Kool. ;-T Told him places to go in this general area and south as far as San Diego.  ;D He took copious notes on his fone.  ;D As he was suiting up, Bob said, "We must have looked like grizzled veteran riders."  ;D Truth is, we probably did..
After that, Bob led me around the mountains some more. Ended up at the bottom of the world famous Latigo canyon before parting ways. 110 miles of *really fine* canyon running today in bright blue skies and 70 degree temps. Considerably better than Indiana... ~;
Then lane split my way back to the beach, and met up with an old friend, airline bus driver Larry. He had a layover in the LAX area, was walking down the street, and said, "Dorcia??" Small world.  ;D Haven't seen him for over a year. He said that he knew we came out to the LA area, but had no clue that we were within walking distance when we were in the same area.  ;D ;D Too funny. Had Margaritas and dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Remember now, Lar..
8 minutes between the bottle and the throttle.. or was that hours??  ;D
Life is good...

[oldbike54]

 Nice reports Seth and Chuckie , guessing SoCal is warmer than Colorado  :)

  Dusty

[balvenie]

                At home today, avoiding the Easter weekend crazies. Good opportunity to wash and polish............. ...my second favourite pastime ;D

[Testarossa]

Another great week. Man, I love retirement.

Drove six hours on Thursday to Telluride, and spent Friday making high-speed descents with my buddy Pete, perfect weather. Took this photo of the full moon rising:


Home yesterday and another severe-clear 75 degree day. We took the T out for an hour's shakedown of the new regulator/rectifier, floating up Left Hand Canyon, Olde Stage Road and Lee Hill Road in the foothills. Systems normal.

Off to Steamboat on Tuesday to ski through Saturday. This time Gail has time to make the trip. should be there in time to watch the sunset from the hot springs.

[Muzz]

Well Dusty. today is my dearly beloved's 65th birthday,  so she is now officially a super annuitant.  We went up to Kaikoura yesterday, stayed in a serviced apartment that is (usually) outside my means in preparation to going on the whale watching tour.  The Kaikoura trench is not too far off shore and sperm whale live in the area  all year round and hunt for giant squid.  Supposed to be brilliant.

Unfortunately, the weather cut up rough out further, the wind and waves had evidently risen and the whales promptly moved out further than usual and outside the legal limits that the boats are allowed to go. :'(

So, we are now back home and somewhat disappointed.  However, we have decided that we will head back up on the first settled weekend, and it was really nice just to get away and relax anyway.

[Gliderjohn]

Today has started off really nice. Left home for my 33 mile run to work, all through the countryside, temps in the 60s. Beautiful sunrise was in progress. Saw two groups of deer but well away from the road. What more can one ask for before 8:00am? ;-T
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

 Steamboat Springs , a trip to the ocean , a nice ride to work with deer in the distance , all good stuff folks  ;-T

  Dusty

[Crusty]

A Bleak Morning


I sleep in a twin bed, so I can’t say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. The only way that would happen is if I fell out of bed onto the floor. My mood however, is as grey as the sky, and it looks like rain.

My jaw hurts. Not a lot, but it’s still pretty sore. I had a tooth pulled on Monday. That has a good bit to do with my poor attitude. I’m one step closer to having to use full dentures.  I’ve been wanting to dive into that leftover Roast Beef that we had for Easter Dinner, but I don’t dare to try it yet. I think I’ll be eating it for dinner tonight, though. It was so good on Sunday, that I want more of it. I’ll just have to be very careful.

My Norge isn’t selling. I’ve gotten the usual e-mails from scammers and a few legitimate queries, but nobody has even come to look at it. I’m probably asking too little for it. People are afraid of it. They think that there must be something really seriously wrong for it to be so cheap. Or maybe the mileage is too high. 65,000 miles isn’t a lot to me, but to many people, it is. Even on the Guzzi forum, where I’d think they’d know better. I just want it gone. I’m going to be hitting the road in a month or so, and don’t want to have to pay for storage. Plus, I want to get the loan on it paid off. Well; if it doesn’t sell, then I’ll just keep the flippin’ thing and pay for the extra storage.

Plus, the Accountant called yesterday. My Income Tax forms are ready. The bad news is that I owe both the State and Federal. The good news is that I don’t owe nearly as much as I did last year, and the accountant lowered his fee by 10%.  I don't have the dough to pay my taxes, but I'll figure something out.

I’ve been trying to count my blessings, and there are quite a few, but even so, my mood isn’t getting any better. I got my Self Tester. In a surprise move, the Insurance company showed some common sense and approved my getting one. Whoever made that decision had better be careful; if his (or her) superiors get word of it, their career will rapidly spiral downward. Anyway, I’ll be able to travel and take my own INR readings without having to stop at a hospital and have them stick a needle in my arm. That’s a major Good Thing.

My Sportster is really looking good. While waiting for the UPS Truck to arrive with my Self Tester, I put a four hour spit shine on it. It’s really looking pretty. Yesterday, I took my saddlebags out to the garage and figured out how I’m going to fit them to the bike. This Saturday, I’m going to load the bike the way I’ll load it when I hit the road and ride it to Stamford, Connecticut. I’m going to meet up with some friends from Badweb for lunch at the Dinosaur BBQ. This way, I’ll know how everything is going to work, or if I need to make some changes. I think I know how I want to set it up, but a nice ride will show any flaws in my plans. I’ll also get a feel for how the bike will handle. I plan to take Interstate down to Stamford, but I’ll ride all secondary roads home. I know that the bike won’t handle nearly as good as a Buell, but hopefully it’ll handle well enough that I’ll enjoy the ride over the Mohawk Trail.

There are a lot of details that have to get sorted out before I hit the road. Which of my possessions do I keep and what do I give/throw away?  I’ve been looking at everything I own (which really isn’t a lot) and trying to decide what’s really worth keeping and putting into storage. It’s mostly my tools and other garage stuff that I want to hang on to. All my furniture is pretty much old, worn out junk. I might keep a couple of kitchen chairs and maybe my bookcase, but I think that’s about it. I’ll keep all my kitchen stuff; pots & pans, plates, utensils, etc, and I’ll keep my Desktop computer and various software discs. My good suit and my winter coats and warmer shirts will get stored, but there’s a lot of other stuff that will have to go.

A while ago, Ernie said that things would seem to crawl until the time for departure neared, then everything would really accelerate. That seems to be happening. Everything is falling into place, but it sure requires more work than I expected. Or maybe I’m just making it more work than necessary. Either way, there’s a good bit of work ahead of me before I set out.

Well, after typing out the above, I feel a little less down. I’m not exactly feeling chipper, but things don’t look quite so crappy. Maybe writing about it helped. Then again, maybe it was the four cups of coffee I’ve drunk while typing that did the trick. Probably, it was a combination of both.

Anyhow, that’s where I’m at today.

[lucydad]

Dusty,

How kind to ask.  Well it seems Spring is my high energy month.  Something significant happened today at work:  a reorganization.  We have a newly promoted SR VP.  Old legacy VP now reports to him.  VP is the same guy that slammed me about 1.5 years ago, does ambush meetings and generally has the leadership and interpersonal skills of an Obersturmfuhrer in the SS.  Seriously though, I have a bit of hope the organization just might, maybe work better.  Mr. Boss might be held accountable?  Maybe some real leadership and communication?  Time will tell.  Might delay my retirement?  Dunno.

Also found out one of my exploration prospects is being worked by partner company: maybe,  just maybe they will drill the prospect.  This is a $100 MM exploration test, and its my idea and project.  Would love to see a well go down.  Hell of a prospect.

Ms. LD seems to have breezed thru breast exam.  Next week is exam and sampling of abnormal cells revealed by pap smear.  Fingers are crossed for clearance.
We have been considering an empty nester house and will go look on Friday afternoon.  We have a superb agent, and neighbor.  3 car garage is one of my dreams, and we would stay put for maybe 5 years?  Dunno what will happen.

Mary Anne received her new side tank grip pads tonight...will install this weekend.  Need some dry weather.  We are in a weekend washout pattern...and after a very wet and cold spring..ugh.  Never got my camping trip.  Dang it.  Mosquitoes also hatched, more dang it.  In about 3 weeks the hellish summer heat and humidity kick in.  Will do a big brawling Alaska trip with Ms. LD if she checks out physically...

Youngest daughter graduates end of May, bit event there.  Eldest daughter thriving in NYC.

Poodles are happy.  And the Belgique Tripel was superb...with burgers off the grill.

Life is good and I am grateful.

Did I tell you Mary Anne is fast?  Dang...wow....be careful out there.  Fun.

[balvenie]

               Yesterday, the engine conked out twice when shifting from neutral to low at rest with the SS retracted. Lucky it wasn't in an overtaking manoeuvre. At home that afternoon, the contact between switch and stand looked OK.
               Bit the bullet this am, after sleeping on it and disconnected the switch. Read about the fix on this forum ;D Seems to work ;-T

[krglorioso]

Rode the '03 Stone Touring for half an hour, with its new 7/33 rear drive replacing the OEM 8/33 rear drive.  I'm very pleased with the results.  The lower gearing seems a lot more usable than the tall OEM gearing.  Only concern is that I have to remember that now my speedometer is reading about 1/8 faster than the bike actually is going.  I like to cruise at 65 true, so that means I need to show about 75 on the speedometer, allowing for the gearing change and the 5% optimistic reading from the OEM speedometer.  Kinda wish the speedometer drive was off the front wheel, not the gearbox output shaft.   Eventually, I'll put the 7/33 rear drive on the '04 Stone Touring at my other home.  That bike has a Sigma bicycle speedometer fitted.  The sensor reads front wheel revolutions so will show the bike's true speed even with a substantial change in overall gearing. 

I also completed fastening my 2003 Suzuki SV-1000 sport bike's alternator magnets to the rotor with J-B Weld.  This model and a few others from Suzuki have a discouraging habit of their magnet adhesive softening, allowing the magnets to "migrate" around in the engine, with predictable results.  I checked mine at 42K miles, not at all loose, but secured them better with the J-B Weld, a standard fix for the problem.  Tho this was a nuisance,  the bike has had no failures in 42K miles.  Original spark plugs were fine at 40K, but I felt guilty about leaving them in any longer so changed them.  I saved the old ones, expecting to put them back at 80K miles. 

Ralph