After weeks of wet and chilly in the Northwest... we're startin' to complain 'bout; "Oh Geeze...another... beautiful... day!" :o) ... what a bunch of whiners, huh? :o) My sister saw my pictures of the Alaska ride... and the ones she wanted copies of... are the ones with RAIN in 'em! :o)
Fired up the red head Sunday for a ride up around Bartlett Reservoir, NE of Phoenix... up around Carefree.
Winters in Colorado... the weaker bikers put their rides in the Garage... down here on the desert... they park 'em for the summer! something 'bout it not bein' fun, when your tires are melting off the rims and the wind on your face feels like a blast furnace. :o)
So... it now bein' winter in the desert... there just wasn't any shortage of motorcycles with the same Idea we had... for a run through the desert... kind of nice to see more bikes then cars on a road! :o)
Anyhoo... we rolled out through the desert, with the thermometer bouncing around 80... Hell, I even had to take the liners out of my jacket and chaps!
...their speed suddenly increases as they roll along the twisting asphalt... hmmm...
But... tryin' to shake my red Raider is like trying to outrun the wind! :o)
And just so you know... I would never, ever, stoop to such childish, testosterone driven behaviour! Nope not me... I'm the picture of poh-lite cruising, when I'm astraddle that scooter!
uh huh... you bet...
... and if you want... I can stack those buffalo chips even higher! :o)
In truth though... I could get real used to this NOT feeling like a freezer burned steak in December... after I've been outside for a few minutes...
OH lordy, is it gonna be tough to go back into the frozen north in a couple of days!
But! ... I know it's only for a couple weeks, and then I retreat back to my Raider in the Desert!
So... after I dealt with 'biker behaviour'... and one goofball, goat haulin', girl in a pickup... who thought we'd look better sittin' on her hood, and invited us to climb up there... to which I... uh... politely? declined... we got up to the lake.
This is a place I've thought about boondocking for a while when we get back... Its' only real problem, for me, is that the campground is a couple miles up a dirt road... While dirt roads don't give me any special worries, this one goes down around the side of a mountain... and is fairly rocky and rutted.
With a pickup or motorhome... not an issue... but, the thought of havin' to negotiate that chunk of desert dirt, comin' and goin' any time I want to straddle the Raider... aw... I think I'll keep lookin'.
It's supposed to be a "Long Term" area... I just need to investigate a lil' more...
There might still be a possibility for picky whiners like me...
It's not the first time I've seen folks Boondocked on the banks of Bartlett reservoir... before I scratch it off my list of possibles... I need to talk to one of those ranger fellas... and find out the straight skinny on where and how you're allowed to squat by the water, like these folks did...
Now... back to that danged, never ending oil change/leak saga... hopefully it's' nearing its' conclusion... Went to NAPA... and bought a oil pan drain plug washer... that the book called for... not a big deal at $1.09 ... except of course... for the fact that it didn't fit...
So... what do you do? You give in and go to the dealer... to get the one that does fit... and for a lil' ring of fiberboard and neoprene... ya pay $9 bucks! :o) ... and the Dealers wonder why people resist doin' business with 'em?
Several people have recommended a ball valve, from an outfit called Lubrication Specialist LLC. It replaces the factory oil pan drain plug...and is designed to make changing the oil a simple deal... and I'm gonna put that in... with the next oil change... it just didn't fit into my dis-com-bobulated schedule this time. In the mean time... getting the correct washer in there seems to have retarded the trail of oil I've been leaving all over the Arizona Desert... from that leaky plug.
I know... that's nothing like fabrication work on a fifth wheel... but I thought with that experience... he might could be trusted with the extreme difficulty of this project. :o)
But... even though it was a real challenge... that Nuclear Welder stepped up and burned the cross bars in place.
We leave Thursday for the frozen North... not sure I'll be gettin' it buttoned up before then... but if I don't find any more excuses to Not Work... on it... I may get close to finishing the new Fifth Wheel Cargo Rack... before we leave....
But of course... that means I got to quit yakkin'... and start paintin' and boltin'... Oh yeah... and carvin' some leather to finish up a couple of Christmas projects...
I've decided... procrastination... just might not be a virture...
Workin' hard... at not workin' hard... in the Arizona Desert
Brian
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