The Art of Endurance - Gadjet's not so daily log

[Gadjet]

I'm just wondering where you're going to put the microwave......
and the 50 Cal. mount.....

camp stove will go in the top case, fuel bottle in one of the (current) tooltubes.

No .50 though. Too much weight. Just a pair of 9mm MP5K's mounted above the dash and firing through a port in the windshield. I'm also going to fit a grenade dispenser under the rear fender to take care of tailgaters.

[Sev]

I'm just wondering where you're going to put the microwave......
and the 50 Cal. mount.....

camp stove will go in the top case, fuel bottle in one of the (current) tooltubes.

No .50 though. Too much weight. Just a pair of 9mm MP5K's mounted above the dash and firing through a port in the windshield. I'm also going to fit a grenade dispenser under the rear fender to take care of tailgaters.

Wouldn't a kaltrop dispenser be a little more financially feasible? You can probably get BuzZz to manufacture them for you in your spare time. With the added bonus of no polic chase after deployment... OR with the added benefit of discouraging police pursuit after the same.

[Gadjet]

Motorcycle ride on Christmas day.

There are times when I really love living in Central Alberta, and this weekend is definitely one of them. While we can be cursed with some nasty winter weather, this weekend we have been blessed with daytime highs above freezing, fairly dry roads and not a whole heck of a lot of ice.

In other words, perfect riding weather.

So that's what I did. Went for a nice 40km ride on Thursday afternoon after work (December 22), then logged another 70km or so on Friday afternoon (December 23) and then today, Christmas day, put another 80km on the bike. Absolutely wonderful. Didn't even need the electric vest once, nor did I really need the full wind protection of my full face helmet, so I wore my MX helmet and goggles. Beautiful.

Took this picture today in front of my house



Have a very Merry Christmas everyone, and keep the rubber side down.

Owen Clark

[Gadjet]

Whoever said that winter in Central Alberta sucks obviously hasn't been around here this winter.

The weather here has been absolutely phenomenal this year, with lots of brown grass and very little snow to be seen. Oh, sure, side roads are a nightmare of ice and snow, but even that isn't very thick. Not good to try riding on, but that's why I've stuck to the main roads so far this winter.

This year, I'm going to try to get at least one ride in every month, so that come the end of the year I can say that I rode all twelve months of 2006. got a good start on that on January 2nd, managing to get out and put 60km on the bike. parked it for the rest of the month unfortunately, even though there were a couple good weekends suitable for riding. Wound up with just too much to do and never got out. At least I got one ride in in January.

Given that the weather forecast for this coming weekend hasn't been real hopeful, I decided that if I was going to get a February ride in, I'd better do it quick, just in case Old Man Winter finally decided to wake up and come down on us with a vengeance. Zipped home from work today and quickly threw on my riding gear, including polypro balaclava under full face helmet and electric vest. rolled the bike out of the garage and fired it up to give it a chance to warm up a little while I finished getting my gear on. The alleyway behind the driveway still has a good layer of hardpack snow and some serious ice at the top of it where it joins the street, so I knew this was going to be the trickiest bit to get past. Fortunately, there was a nice strip of brown grass next to the fence on the opposite side of the alley, so taking it nice and slow I eased myself over to that and went up the 30' to the street. Once I hit dry pavement though, I was off like a shot. Blasted from my house in Sylvan Lake into Red Deer on the old highway (11A), then through Red Deer to the new highway (11) and back home - 40km round trip all told.

When I got home, I carefully eased the bike down the grass strip and very carefully (almost) walked it across the slick alley and back into the driveway (this was actually trickier than going out of the driveway, as the alley slopes up towards the street - I was now angling downhill across the ice to get back into the driveway)

safe and sound and looking forward to getting my next 'fix' in.

[Gadjet]

Well, winter has finally started to set in around here, with lots of blowing snow and bone chilling temperatures. Or at least they feel bone-chilling when compared to the gorgeous weather that we had been having. This last weekend was especially nice, with double digit temperatures above freezing - perfect weather for getting the bike out and going for a ride.

Saturday was a little cooler than Sunday, with a high of only about 10C, but I got in my most enjoyable ride on that day. Packed my spare helmet with me and picked up a very dear friend who wanted to go for a ride with me. After giving her the rules about how to be a good passenger, I gave her my full face helmet to wear while I went with my mx helmet and goggles, then got her nicely settled on the back of the bike with her arms wrapped around me and rode off. It was only a short run, out of the city and down the highway for a few kilometers and back, but it felt absolutely wonderful. I really can't wait for another opportunity to take her for a ride again, and hopefully we'll have more than a measly half hour.

After I dropped her back off, I decided to head out for a longer ride before it got too late in the day. The ride was a little longer than the first one, but it was a little cooler. Decided to end it early as I was starting to get a headache, and those don't go so well with trying to control a motorcycle.

Covered about 130km on Saturday.

Sunday's temps were far better than Saturday, with the temp hitting 17C at one point in my ride. I just could not believe how nice out it was, especially for the middle of February in Central Alberta. Decided to explore some backroads that I had never been on before, so I hit the road at about noon and headed East and then South, stopping in Three Hills for a late lunch, then headed back West to Olds for fuel. Saw quite a few bikes that afternoon, but the highlight was seeing another red KLR crossing my path on highway 2A between Bowden and Innisfail. I decided to turn around to try and catch up with him, but he was long gone. I headed off west down a township road that headed towards Glennifer Lake, and followed that with the intention of turning North again at the first paved crossroad that I got to. Decided to turn around though when I got past the lake and the pavement ran out. Wasn't really in the mood to tackle a gravel road that afternoon, especially not with my current street oriented tires on the bike. Got back to the main highway and turned for home. Still had things to do at home, and while the ride was quite enjoyable, it wasn't getting things accomplished (other than a nice mental health break )

By the time I got home late in the afternoon, I had covered a distance of 336km.

If only I could have taken my lady friend with me on that ride. It would have made the day even better.

[Gadjet]

Hallelujah! Weather this month finally decided to cooperate with me for a brief couple hours, enough so that I could get the bike out of the garage and hit the road.

A couple inches of slushy snow in the alley made that the diciest part of the ride, but I managed to make it out and onto the pavement, which was only wet and not icy. Once I got onto the highway, it was clear, albeit wet, sailing and I was able to wick it up into the triple digits easily enough - topped out at about 140kph on one of the nice dry stretches of Highway 2 south. Got lots of looks from the cagers, who likely were not expecting to see a bike out this month. Given that the forecast is calling for more snow over the next couple of days, I'm glad I got a ride in today, even if it was only about 80km.

3 months down, 9 to go (my goal this year, other than racking up as many miles as I can on the bike, is to be able to get at least one ride in in every month - so far so good)

[Gadjet]

Well, it's been awhile since I last updated this thing, and today finally qualified as a blog-worthy day.

Sitting in my garage for the last several months has been a pair of brand new Maxxis C6006 DoT knobby tires for my KLR, just waiting for the right time to get installed. I had originally intended to put them on before I went on my trip to Washington, but I've managed to rack up enough miles on the bike so far this year that my current rear tire was starting to look a little tired. My original intention was to take the bike and new tires in to the dealership and get them to swap the tires out, but I decided against that as it was going to cost me ~$180.

Then I thought, well, I'll just take the wheels off and take them in with the new tires; that will only cost me ~$100.

hmm. Maybe I'll just swap the tires over myself and then just take them in for balancing. that will only cost me $7.50 per wheel

yeah, that's the trick.

So I decided to tackle changing out the rear tire myself tonight.

roughly an hour and three cigarettes later, I finally had the old tire off of the rim, and the tube was undamaged. Now comes the fun part of putting the new tire on the rim.

Half an hour, a couple ounces of dish soap, lots of swearing and sweating later, I had the new tire on the rim. Now to break out the compressor and get the bead seated.

apply air hose to valve stem.

sssssssssssssssssss.

hmm, maybe I didn't get the valve core in all the way.

nope.

puck!

toasted the valve stem on the tube, so now I need a new tube.

screw this nonsense. Tossed the wheel with the new tire on it in the back of the car, where it will get dropped off at the dealership tomorrow to have the tire popped off, a new tube installed, tire remounted on the rim and balanced.

should only cost me about $80 (for ONE tire)

I think I'll leave the front alone for now and get it into the dealership for changing at a later date. I'm not up to dicking around with changing my tires myself again.

today's moral? by deciding to do it myself, it's now going to cost me more money to get the tire properly set up on the rim and balanced.

[Gadjet]

Interesting question that one.

I've always thought that immortality would be nice, as long as you had at least one special person to share it with. After several months of happiness and joy, however, I once again find myself without that special person. I know that this person was the one for me, and maybe someday our souls will once again bond together in love. For now, though, and for the foreseeable future, that will not happen.

Again, I find myself alone in this world, without that special someone to share my dreams and desires with, to hold hands, to laugh and to cry with.


Drawing back
Angel holds Demon by the hand
"I must leave" says she
"What we have, cannot be"
Retreating
From uncertainty
Angel drifts off to take comfort
In the known
Safe from the risk.

Demon cries
His new found heart
Torn asunder
His hopes, his dreams
Scatter like ash in the wind

For the first time
Demon knows of Pain
worse than death

As Angel drifts away
into the light of her past
Demon collects the remains
of his immortal soul.
Clutching them to his chest,
He gazes upon his lost love
through a shroud of burning tears.

He starts to wander off
through the wasteland of Limbo
lost
directionless
without hope

A touch of white in the grey ash
catches his eye
He bends to pick up
the single
scortched
feather
My only memory
of what once was.

Demon Lost
July 23, 2006

copywrite Owen Clark

[Gadjet]

Got a new toy for my bike today, so I zipped home from work and got it all mounted up wired for play.



now I can't get lost.

well, I can still get lost, but at least I'll know exactly where I am when I do.

[KarateChick]

Ahhhh, more gadgets for the Gadjet Master...