Old Dogs on Hogs:  THE SEQUEL  (ie chapter 14)

Shipping the Geezer Glide from TO was seamless, in corporate speak, but delivery, on the other hand, was, well, it was letter worthy. Called the dealer - no bike. Called the shipper - in transit in Alberta. Did some stressing, waited patiently for the phone call from either the dealer or the shipper for another week.
 Recalled the dealer:

" Your bike is in the same place as last time you called."

" What, still on the truck ? Geez, I could walk from TO faster. I'll call the shipper right away."

"No, it's here like I told you last time you phoned. "

"Huh ?????"

By the time I picked up the bike, the dealer had been in possession for 2 weeks.
The rant is now over...................and belated hats off to the dealer - no charge at his end !! ( and one of the machanic's personal ride was not a Harley, but a  '74 Commando. Some people know the score.  Nirvana................)

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......flew into Kelowna on the 7th, and, as alighting from the taxi at Kane's , saw Al Steenbergen drive in on his 2012 orange (very orange) Fatboy. Al had left Sooke on the 6th, staying overnight in Hope.
Perfect timing. The boys at Kane's were aces in that no charge for storing the bike. I had a small over night bag thing with me, but had to unload the FL to find out what I had shiped in the bike ( couldn't remember after 3 weeks). In other words, it took an hour to unpack-repack. No extra room. When I then saw the size of Steenbergen's bag bungeed to the seat of his bike....well....it was a mite embarrassing.... awkward even.

Al and I drove south down #33 to Rock Creek, then #3 to Osoyoos (how's that spelt (spelled?) again ?)
Very hot, uncomfortably so. But after the spring, or lack of it, we had in Victoria, no complaints.
Keremeos, Headley, Bromley Rock, and into Princeton - calling it a day.  Failed to take a picture of the truck junk yard somewhere along that route. All trucks, all different types - old trucks - wrecked & worn trucks  -no cars ! What a tourist attraction. Also failed to take a pic of the pink house in Princeton.
Hotel check-in put me in the same room I stayed in when Don & I stayed there going the other way.
Since I had all the Toronto gear with me, dug out the bathing suit and went for a swim in the pool.
Instant heat relief.

                                                             same old same old

Rode up to Kamloops via 5a - awesome road - rolled into the HD dealer. Met 2 women on a tour - and I couldn't resist suggesting to one rider that she never sell her awesome ride, an '03 Heritage. Turns out she bought it used at Drane's in Victoria.
What ?? An '03 Heritage at Drane's ??

It was my ex '03! Oh how I rue the day I was so stupid as to trade that bike. I was elated to meet the new owner, but despaired at the same time seeing evidence right in front of me of my own stupidity. The new owner (Norma) was thrilled to met the previous owner, but was even more thrilled to own the bike.  (Al thought the whole thing was funny)
Thank goodness for distractions though........................... across the parking lot was a non-Harley. Most non-Harleys warrant no interest from the Harleys boys. But not this one ! A 1948 HRD. As in Vincent.
That's as in the legendary VINCENT !   

Side-tripped up to Berriere (sp) to visit a friend of Al's - Scotty, who lived 20 km up a side road in what can only be called an enchanted cottage lake side log home. Scotty built it himself, although Al also said something about building it. (As Al lives in Sooke (Victoria)... not too sure how that works...) The area around Berriere, though, is desolate due to the '03 fire that went out of control..  And, again, failed to capture Eden in film....

Continued on Hwy 1 to Sovana (sp?) where we hung a left on a road which, while indicated on the map,  had no signage, no centre line,  no markings, no "to _____".  Felt like adventure bikes (ers) .. Ok Ok .....


Took us past Logan Lake, which we didn't actually see, and then down to Hwy 8 at Merritt. The pine beetle devastation was sobering, to say the least, but there were a lot of 1-4 foot pine trees growing. Renewal, I hope. Stayed at Merritt:

Left Merritt for the Trans. Cda. via #8 to Spence's Bridge: in my opinion the best bike route in BC, especially considering the lack of traffic. Too bad it's so short. Spectacular ride down the canyon to Hope & then Van.
I won't dwell on the fiasco that existed on the Van. approaches (both a rant; nay, a RANT and a LETTER) other than to say Al & I made it home by 9 pm.

                                                  Al's light kit bag  ....

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That's pretty well it for the blog for this year. If there's some blogging for next year, we'll (whoever we is) be having pledge & membership drives before hand, and maybe a fundraiser ??  You know, support from viewers like you, that sort of thing.......................

Chapter 13

Don has done a superb write up on the holistic esoteric ( are these the right words ? ) side of the trip.  Contemplative and reflective stuff. A new millennium guy, 21st century, in touch with his feelings, sentimental, emotional, .... a Venus.  (but knowing Don, maybe he's just trying for a nomination to be in the running for a Literary Guild award thing )  Maybe a future blog could be a nostalgia thing: " Booze Broads & Rods ", the sixties..
Oh   -  Don ain't old enough...

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Wow, ...........the trip has been completed.  But now that interest is waning, readership is dropping, subscribers are abandoning, ratings are falling off ,and fans are reaching for the  remote, ............................................................... the old dogs  finally have their computer act together.

Version 3.1 of the blog has been miraculously updated to Windows 7. Hale has done a masterful job of resurrecting the missing photos, imbedding links that connect, and including vids. that work.

Redemption !  Except sort of feels a bit like RIM. The sun has already set. Past it's best before date. No chance of going viral......

Speaking of RIM, the BB 10 is due out in 2013. Investors have voiced their opinion via a crashing share price, but I recall something similar with APPLE some years ago ?

As my bike is in transit shipping to Kelowna, as opposed to Victoria, the possibility of continuing with the blog exists.. a big comeback is pending.  So just when you thought it was over..............

That's right....A SEQUEL !!!

How exciting is that ?

(the Dogs welcome any and all comments, positive or otherwise.  In other words, we're looking for some feedback, some praise, some atta boys ......for somebody who cares .............)  

Chapter 12

Lookin' Back ...

It's now been a couple of weeks of rest and relaxation and now some time for reflection.

People have asked do I feel a sense of accomplishment?  A little, but our little odyssey across the country was more about the camaraderie and being able to drink in the sights and smells of this great country we live in ... and all I want to do now is more travelling ... next year ... East Coast! 

I was very fortunate in 2003 to take 5 weeks holidays from my duties at "the Bank" and camp with my family across Western Canada and then return back to Ontario through the United States.  It was during this trip that we spent a week camping at Rathtrevor Provincial Park on Vancouver Island with the BIL (Brother-in-Law) and his LOL "life partner" Kim and my nephew and niece ... Geoff and Lauren. 

This was my first real "taste" of Western Canada and also the first (despite being married into my wife's family for 15 years at the time) opportunity to get to know my BIL and his family.

I know this is a bit of a digression, but it was 2003 which marked the 100th anniversary of Harley Davidson and JFK just so happened to have purchased a 100th anniversary Heritage Softtail.   It wasn't until about 5 or 6 years later that I first rode this bike, but the seed was planted that I wanted to get a motorcycle ... hearing of JFK's and Kim's adventures really made me feel I was missing out on something significant and I have a bit of a rule that if you want to do it and can afford it and it isn't going to hurt anyone ... to quote Nike ... "just do it".

To be able to complete this trip which JFK and I planned over of a bottle of scotch in Sooke in the fall of 2009 is truly rewarding and it was unfortunate that we could not complete it in 2010 and although I would have felt a little bit like the "4th wheel" last year, I would have loved to have heard the stories that Kerry, John and JFK would have shared about their 1973 adventure.   Likely the most entertaining part would be listening to three differing versions of the same event ... perhaps I would have adjudicated the discussion and passed judgement on the best or most likely story and I could have documented it for posterity sake.

Back to the most recent adventure ... I could not believe how tiring it is to do 600 kms a day on a bike!  Day in and day out!   LOL, we always had late starts which not surprisingly lead to rather late stops.   Bottom line is this is one big assed country ... it's quite shocking travelling eastwards from Van that at Winnipeg you still haven't hit the longitudinal centre of Canada!

We were very much amateurs with our blog / travel diary but enjoyed trying to piece things together each evening.  Regrettably our energy levels in the evenings did very little to assist whatever creative output we could muster.  Now that it's over, I think we have finally mastered the technology.  Albeit I tried to do all of this on an iPad vs a comp which posed numerous challenges.

So, in summary, here's what stands out:

- it was an awesome trip!

- how diverse this country really is ... topography, climate zones, cultures

- how unpopulated the country is ... it's simply amazing that a country the size of Canada has a much lower population than the combined populations of Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi in India

- how I really hate large cities

- how expensive it is to stay at travel motels along the way ... on average $120+ a night!  Where did the $50 Super 8 / Comfort Inn go? ... and why did that $100 hotel have a worm on my pillow ... sorry, but I'm used to chocolates ... what can I say?

- how bikers are a fraternity

- how being on a bike can turn some people who you know are likely introverted by nature into very sociable individuals.  There is this "comfort" for them to talk bikes to fellow bikers

- bikes are magnets for many who have always dreamt about doing what we were fortunate enough to be able to do

- the "chin wag" and how it dramatically adds to the travel time.   Conversations can start up anytime and anywhere

- how I don't want to be a "I used to ..." or "I wanted to" guy.   Many chin wags often opened with these 3 words and I know this is unfair but I don't want to be one of those guys ... I want to be the guy doing it.   I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford to do a trip like this, but I also realize that I know many people who can afford to chase their dreams but work is the most important thing in their life ... :(

DH

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Chapter 11

......for those viewers with inquiring minds.........check out:  "olddogsonhogs" on youtube. By Don Hale. The one with the railroad tracks.

Impressive. Academy award stuff.....

 Here'a a link ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MjQ49ekslU&feature=g-upl

Chapter 10

Here's a real disturbing vid. Hale was on the road for 8 days before revealing this. He knew, intuitively, that if this item made an appearance sooner, the ridicule and derision would be relentless and totally ruthless.. This is much more shocking then when he revealed  -  after the trip was over mind you  -  that he packed 10 T-shirts..  This admission was only made after a clothesline count occurred at the "POOL"....
Who is this guy ? Who does this ?
What does this mean  ?

One version of our trip across 4 provinces is "Timmies to Timmies". Kinda surprising as The Donald is a Starbucks sipper. I know he isn't converted to the blue-collar line, but he did imbibe on a regular basis .
Here's proof.....

Chapter 9

..been a few days, with many tech issues...

1) I had a draft of chapter 9 saved  -  it was ready to go except for pics/vids. - suddenly - it's gone !
2) where did chapter 7 go ?
3) what happened to our Princeton blog ?
4) how did all the pics disappear ??  Apparently they now reside on flickr.
5) trying to upload vids has proven to be beyond the capabilities of  some of us....can't teach on old dog new tricks......

These are weighty issues, with questions that at this point cannot be answered....

Ontario has so many PoPo. Saw more PoPo in 1 day in Ont. then in 6 days crossing the Parries. Of course, the key word here is saw. Hale was rewarded by a reminder in the mail from Medicine Hat's Finest that he didn't see their photo radar van .......................I must have been close ahead or behind, but in either case was law abiding...

Spent a week at the Hale's cottage, enjoying superb hosting ( it's called imposing - in the case of relatives, one's goal is to impose as much as possible according to The Daughter.) Did much eating, boating with Capt. Hale - the skipper, relaxing, and enjoying cottage life on The Pool. Nice family gathering with both sibs and b.i.l.s.  The other b.i.l. (Peter) arrived with his copy-cat SOC. (silly orange car) . Copy cat because I also have an SOC -( '07 'vette). Thought I was back home for a moment....

Reddi Fox at the cottage ... cameo appearance ...

Blue Heron in the weeds

Blue Heron in flight ... was about two seconds too slow on this one ....

On Severn River

Big Chute Marine Railway connecting Gloucester Pool with the Severn River ... google it!

Drove to down Oakville and was in awe of all the old brick farm houses, barns, and hardwood trees. It might be 'Beautiful B.C.',  but Ont. is every bit as beautiful. Passed through Creemore, who's motto is: "Creemore - one hundred years behind the times".    Now that's my kind of town - and motto. I could, am, living that.......................

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Ok, after 7 days on the road trying to get the vid. camera working, I had no choice but to resort to reading the manual. So, on the 8th day, success, and finally have some footage................(profound footage at that) It's taken 4 days to be able to upload ( had to employ a teen)  -  and  it would be prudent, considering, to either post, or provide a link, in a separate chapter - stay tuned.................

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 For some reason, which eludes at the moment, especially in view of the weather, the decision was made in Toronto to ship the bike back to BC, and Westjet home....................

I guess you could say that the old dog put his tail between his legs, and dog-legged it  for home..................

Chapter 8

Arrival........8 days ............4500 +/- km. Other than the big black cloud right down to the ground @ the Alta. border, perfect riding weather - no complaints. No issues. A couple of rants, a couple of letters to write, and, maybe by tomorrow, there might be some slight exaggerations made to the way the ride unfolded. No serious embellishments though............

Oh, there is an admission..... For the first time in over 40 years, I forgot to raise the kickstand when departing Espanola. Hale was gesturing wildly, but I thot he was having some type of seizure - disaster avoided only at the very last moment just before a hard left turn........hmmmmmm......

As I have no electronics for the return trip, this bloggin thing is a one way street...

There will be a 'post script' and an 'epilogue' added, with some really choice video clips (youtube worthy) added later..but for now..

Here endith the blog by the Dogs, on their hogs....


Some Pics ...

The Wawa Goose ... should have made an appearance in Chapter 7

Similarly, Batchawana Bay should have been in yesterday's blog with the only picture which was also of Batchawana Bay ..

From above ...

 On the beach ...



In Chapter 4b ... much was made of DH driving the wrong way on not only a one way street but also willing to tackle the eastbound Trans Canada while heading westbound. Anyhow, somehow the senior statesman in this group managed to go the wrong way on this road in Blind River. Obviously signage must have been an issue! Not only were there tow signs, but please note the size of the official One Way sign in proportion to the stop sign ... an easy mistake ... perhaps the name of the town was a contributing factor!

With butts dragging we finally made it to Port Severn and the Hale Cottage ... the good news is this was the morning view we were able to wake up to!

Location:Port Severn, ON

Chapter 7

Oh the memories....our timing was way off, actually off since leaving Victoria, caused by a 9 ferry start instead of 7 am start; and then Hale's continuous lolly gagging, and by my 11:00 am start one day (no comments please) , and by the strategically placed Timmies, along with highway signage. (and bolt stops) The result ? The Headley/ Marathon/ Sault Ste. Marie  3 day/ 3 stay  timetable was disrupted. Thus, we blasted past Marathon about mid day. Back in '73, Marathon was were the geezers (now) partied hardy. NOT. Hill wimped out and moteled it. Something about a pillow. Kerr & I - party animals - roughing it at the side of the road - a case of 24 each. Next morning only 8 of 48 beers had been consumed. Hmmmmmmm.  Had our timing been right, with Marathon as a stay over,  I'm sure that with enough time, I could have located the 40 abandoned bottles of Calgary Export Ale left at the side of the road 38 years ago. To this day, I don't know what OldHog49 was thinking. And I sure wasn't . But then again, the other old geezer (now)  doesn't know what he missed. (and just how do you pack a 2x4 on a Commando?)


Forgot to mention that we did some Harley shopping in Thunder Bay yesterday. Hale bought gloves. How I wish I had a pic. These gloves had little loops between the fingers - so that you can grab the loops with your fingers and pull the gloves off..............only The Donald ! )

DH: Paid $140 after discounts for a Comfort Inn in the Soo!   What is this world coming to ... the good news is the Timmies was virtually next door.   Speaking of next door we were out on our balconies have a brew and a smoke and the lady next door to Jim's room decided to have a conversation ... well, she was from Brantford, knew the Pates ... yada yada yada ... more farm stories ... yawn!   Oh well, she was a nice enough lady though she somehow thought to go from Vancouver to Toronto you had to do so via Nunavut ... I suppose you could but we'd likely still be on the road.   We tried to convince her otherwise, but she seemed pretty determined that we were wrong as her 8 year old son had done a project on Nunavut ... whatever!  I do believe she came about her blonde hair naturally.

Chapter 6

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Jeckle or Hyde ?
we're slowly making our way to Hog Town, Dog legging it km by km, and Hyde reappeared today. B.I.L. Started the day with a 6 am workout in the exercise room. A hard core road trip like this is all about Trans. Fats, cholesterol, greasy gut burgers, carbs. And junk food. Hale ordered a " fruity yogurt parfait" for breakie.....he's gone all corporate on me, and Dog gone it, we ain't no where near Bay St.

made 500 km today. I think the Dogs are panting a bit. Staying in the lowest rated motel in the town. Yikes.

After his corporate breakie this morning, Hyde scarfed down 8 slices of pizza for dinner. One strange stray Dog, this Hale. (B.I.L.-- brother in law)

Now then we have tried to keep this PG13 but may have to reclassify to R 18 . We do at least a rant a day, we just haven,t published prior rants. but today....


Rant 1:
Kakabeka Falls, $5.50 for a two minute visit. No avoiding as the ranger broad was there all happy raking in the dough.... A major Rip....

Rant 2:
the shell station pump in Thunder bay was the absolute worst. took 5 minutes to figure it out. No slot, lever to start it, but buttons had to pushed, info entered, and then the push to start button..... Brutal.

Rant 3:
the timmies line up at ( can,t remember) had no line up protocol whatever. A free for all ensued. I do believe it,s time to WRITE A LETTER.


Pics from today ...

Abandoned church in Upsala ...

Tourist shot and ripoff ... Kakabeka Falls

 Another vid ... this one of Northern Ontario not far east of the Manitoba border ... spectacular!

The Blog Meister hard at work ... It's 10pm and very light out ... R we north of the treeline?

Lot's of references to dogs in the blog ... old ones and it seems only fitting that a guest appearance be made by Super Dog ... aka Griz ... who seem to be missing the really old dog ..

DH: it's been kinda weird being back in Ontario and it was not off to a good start (but more on that later and the cause of one of my howlin' dog rants) but the change in geography is just amazing ... twisting roads cutting through the Canadian Shield and around every corner there seemed to be another blue sparkling late. Northern Ontario is stunningly beautiful. I've the bogs and spindly Black Spruce forests have their own charm. It's too bad that when many think of Ontario they think of Toronto, but this province too has much to offer and as far as large metropolitan cities go ... well even Toronto is pretty special. Having said all that there are hundreds of communities in interior of BC that I would love to retire to ... Rock Creek here i come in 10 years! Be prepared!

As JWK noted we've been holding back on our rants a little, but I'm afraid the flood gates are now open!

My biggest beef is entering Ontario from Manitoba ... there is the usual border sign and a small sign noting the Ontario Tourist Pavilion is a couple of kms down the road. We arrive at the rather substantial building only to find out that it is closed for the season ... WTF it's the end of June and our Tourist Information Building isn't open?!!!!! How hospitable is that? Is this yet another Dalton cutback? Not only do tourists welcome and need these information kiosks but so do the businesses along route who count on the almighty tourist dollar ... and what about the university and college students who "man" these buildings and provide invaluable support to travelers! On one hand the governments talk so much about the almighty Tourist Dollar and then this?!!!!

Okay, so I'm a little ticked and we hit the road again only to be confronted with a series of large signs telling me I can't speed, if I do here's a table of the potential fines ... another telling me seatbelts are mandatory ... another telling me that my car could be impounded for speeding more than 30 kms over the speed limit ... yet another telling me that "radar detectors" are illegal ... yada yada yada. Although all good rules in their own right ... all I could think of was "police state" ... not the least bit welcoming at all ... :(

I was going to rant a little about chin wags and wannabies ... maybe tomorrow ...

Location:Nipigon, Ontario

Chapter 5

The dawdling Dogs.

Don & I can't seem to sync our dawdles. Someone let the sleeping Dogs lie. "Wheels in the well" (air force) by 11:00 am. Twilight Zone stuff, as four hours seemed to have just disappeared on us.

Uneventfull, pleasant run to-day. Hale had a cigar going (Cuban @ $20.00) at 120 km.
Sort of inappropriate, I'd say. On the other hand, that transgretion pales to insignificance............
I caught Hale driving distracted. Head down, hands not on the handlebars but in his lap doing something electronic at 120 km. Worthy of a youtube clip ???
(Al: that's 120 km from the BC to the Ont. border)

There was much talk and discussion of CVO / Screaming Eagles because at 110 Km/Hr uphill with the throttle FULL ... lots of noise but very little Ummmph with the 'little motor'. We both want to run with the Big Dogs ...


Some Pics from today ...

The Thumbnail doesn't do it justice ... this is plain ol' butt ugly ...

Jim "BSA" Knight is totally mystified about it all ..

The Portage la Prairie water tower ... a thing of natural beauty ... lol

Location:Dryden, Ontario

Chapter 4b

perfect day..perfect ride
well almost...... the donald .....
1) just a little razz, and the donald goes all hen-pecked & caves- the goat is gone and he' s all cleaned up and pristine again. hardly fitting for a road trip.
2) the donald committed a sin. drove up the wrong way on a one way street. A BIG DEAL. the one way street was the off-ramp from the Trans Canada Hwy - speed limit 110 km where everyone does 130 + . he missed "wrong way" "do not enter" Could have been catastrophic. but he did recover nicely, and quickly, but then promptly drove up a normal one way street the wrong way.
TORONTO guys.......

I'm going to beat Don to the punch here, fess up, and let's just let sleeping dogs lie please.
Ordered "Mac & Cheese" at a bar.
Paid 12.00 for Kraft Dinner

Chapter 4a

We've entitled this one 4a because we had a very long ride yesterday ... nearly 800 kms and were out of gas to post .. more to follow but here are some pics ...



Some ghost town along the Trans Canada ... kept waiting for "Skeeter" or "Jim-Bob" to come out to assist ... is that Dueling Banjos I hear in the background? Yikes!

Same spot ... different guy ...

Another fixer upper ....

 Holy Hole in the donut Batman ... what the hell is this?

Tourist stop in Indian Head ....

and it's called Indian Head because ...

The Swing bridge in Wolseley, Saskatchewan we weren't impressed with this guy taking his mountain bike across so we rode our Harley's across ... much more impressive ... they were very dirty and needed a wash anyhow ...

Here's a clip of the Jimbo Rambo on his hog ... turn the sound down ... just garbled wind noise and some music in the background ... my first video ... all credit to my HTC 1X .. awesome phone ... not $15 a month like Jim's tho ... :)

Here's the link ... you may need to cut and paste it into your browser .. http://db.tt/m4bhwppP

Location:Portage la Prarie

Chapter 3

Not what you would call a quick start to the day, but what the hell we only had a mountain range and a province standing in the way of our destination .. Swift Current, Saskatchewan!

Motored quickly to Fernie and onwards to the Crow's Nest Pass. Lot's of ugly looking clouds ... grrrrrr. Well the grrrr turned into a brrrrr as the pass was freakin' cold ... not as cold as in 2004 when it was zero degrees Celcius so said the older man I was traveling with as he stroked his beard ... jeeeesh, all that was missing was the corn cob pipe!

Anyhow, the weather turned for the worse and it started to rain as we approached Pincher Creek and mother nature decided to throw a little thunder and lightning into the mix. It was interesting as we sped along towards Fort Macleod as we were actually speeding into the worse part of this storm. But there is no refuge so what the hell you may as well spend as little time in it!

It wasn't long before the Rockies and foothills were behind us and we were not traveling through the grasslands of Southern Alberta. What an amazing change in topography and climate in only a few hours! In the morning we were blasting through valleys, then climbing the Crow's Nest Pass, then seeing the devastating power of the mountains as witnessed by the Frank Slide, then marveling at the positive power of nature and the hundreds of huge wind turbines in the Pincher Creek area, then getting scared shitless by Mother Nature who was throwing these lightning bolts around, then the temperature warmed dramatically as we entered the rolling grasslands of Southern Alberta soon to be followed by the wheat fields and the ever present CPR by the road.




Some Pics from today ...

Jim ... putting his skirt on! Rain was in the forecast ... and I got a little wet ... but man on!

From the Timmies (imagine that!) parking lot ... note the clouds in the distance ... cold and rainy in the forecast!

via Crow's Nest ... all pics taken speeding along en route ... so to speak ...

The Infamous "Frank Slide" ... google it ... I'm tired ...

Good ol' CPR with a functioning ol' Grain Elevator in the distance  ... the real deal wood, not concrete or steel

 Ah, a close-up of the said grain elevator ...

We made it to Saskatchewan! From Cranbrook BC, to Swift Current, Saskatchewan in one day ... 725 kms ... not bad!

Finally, the old Dogs found their legs, and ran 725 k to Swift Current. Not too shabby.
Now, there has been a bit of slag tossed around. Works both ways...

The Donald has a little kid goat happening on his chin. Fair enough. But add to that a day or two of stubble. Multicoloured at that. Then, add in some yellow riding glasses to this picture, sit him on his bike with both feet splayed out on highway pegs, and..................it is not a pretty picture. Considering that the old Donald was wool suit, silk tie, leather shoes, silly little silver car (Porsche) then this Jekyll/ Hyde thing is rather disturbing.

Meanwhile, I have pictorial evidence to back up the following:
The Donald is standing in the middle of the Trans. Can. Hwy. ,as in, on the double yellow line, taking pictures.
Plus, despite spending half his life on the GO- TRAIN, he then stands in the middle of the train tracks (main CPR tracks) and takes more pics.

This man needs watching ............

Location:Swift Current

Chapter 2

Interesting evening @Princeton. 3 rough hard core bikers from Calif. next to us. Stripped down Hogs with ape hangers etc. Real men !! Wait. In the morning, from inside their rooms, out came the windshields, the racks, the sissy bars, the packs, and the duffel bags. Just a bunch of old dudes. Had a continental breakie, with a hard boiled egg. Cracked her open - not hard boiled - raw ! Don was very embarrassed. The ride from Princeton through Headley, Bromley Rock all the way to Keremeos was incredible - not one vehicle in front of or behind us the entire way. The Hogs ran strong, but the Dogs were panting a bit. Actually, the Hogs were panting...on some of the passes, out to pass, the throttle WFO, lots of loud symphony type noise (to HD lovers)- - but nothing happened !! Al  Steenbergen insists the only way to go is 110 CI. There was admittedly much talk of stage 1, stage 2, hot cams, bigger engines (103/110), and Screaming Eagle stuff.............. Speaking of passes, @ the Kooteney, there was ice on the lake. And we were looking down at the lake !

Saw 2 dudes on Silverwings outside of Osooyoos (who can spell that ??) Classics are the way to go - for short trips; or, with a chase vehicle)

Ran into 2 Indians in 1 day (the new ones, not the originals) (as an aside, the originals were: Indian Motocycle - not Indian Motorcycle)

Ran into a group of fellow bikers checking into the same hotel in Cranbrook. Losers - they had reservations, and were at the correct hotel chain - but were in the wrong city.  No joy there..........

Osoyoos ... love this place!

A couple of 'Interior' dudes on their old Hondas ...

Lost Creek

Also "Lost Creek" ... I mean ... really!   I was travelling with this guy! 

Don't you think he kinda looks like a retired Minnesota Governor? Is it Jim or Jesse?

To my family, you owe me for keeping my shirt on!

An 'Indian' in Creston ... or do I have to say an "Indigenous"

Our lodging for the night in Yahk Prov Park ..