New Camera

i just bought a new camera that i think will be good for my coming trip to Australia outback.

Canon SX130 IS

test of new features on blogspot

My first BMW is a 1960 R50 with a Pop Dryer side car. 

Test of changed blog

4-7-06 Michigan to Montana

4-7-06

Sheila took me to the air museum near her place. It was a really fancy place and they sure had some nice planes there. Most of them were military planes but they had some really cool other stuff in there too.
T and Plane

Super X Henderson

MG

Indian 4

Ariel square 4

Solar car

Plane motor

Grasshopper

Texaco #13

Sheila lets Spice (the dog) live in the house in cold weather. Spice doesn’t have much of a coat and cant live outside in the winter. This is HER chair next to the wood stove. I had the stove cranked up so it was putting out some good heat and this dog was really getting into enjoying it. This is ‘her’ chair and it really seemed to piss her off when I sat in it.
Dog nap


4-9-06

Sheila wanted to burn off some old grass in a plot that she has a lot of different wild flowers planted. It was a nice fairly calm morning and we both got out there. She gave me a shovel to lean on and watch that it didn’t jump the line while she was ready with the hose.
Hose

Fire watch

Later in the afternoon I went over to Sheila’s friend Syd and Hank. Hank had invited me to come over and go for a canoe ride on a lake near their house. This area is covered with these little lakes and this time of year the water birds are beginning to nest. We saw an Osprey, Canadian honkers, wood ducks, other ducks and a swan that sure was trying to hide in the tall grass around the edge. All the photos I took out there came out terrible but we had a great time. I really like the pace of the canoe and the quiet.
Shore of pond

Hank and Canoe

Sheila and Syd were checking out the woodpile. Hank and Syd built a solar house but they do supplement that heat with a wood stove. This is some of that really high quality hard wood and they have a really nice wood splitter borrowed that will surly come in handy on some of those knarley hunks.
Woodpile

When I rode up to Michigan from Florida I knew I was going to be almost out of rear tire when I got there. The new rear tire I bought in Argentina was made in Brazil and it just didn’t have mileage in it. By the time I got to Sheila’s place I was almost down to the cords, which isn’t recommended especially traveling the rate I was going on the freeways headed north. When I got there, I ordered a tire and when I got back from the Upper Peninsula I went to town to get it. It was one of those rainy gray drab days that I guess are quite common in Michigan in the spring. The tire was there and I tied it on the back and headed for home. I made it to about ten miles from Sheila’s place when the trans stuck in fourth gear. There was nothing I could do about it so I rode it home not stopping at stop signs or slowing down much. When I got back I called my primary care mechanic, Bob Clement and visited with him about what happened and my options. A long distance diagnosis over the phone is always tough but Bob is a real knowledgeable guy on these bikes and the indications were that a small spring broke. There is a little spring in there that controls the shifter and it is possible when this breaks that a person can tip the bike over on its side and a little more and wiggle the shifter into a different gear, like third and ride home. The tranny needs to be taken out and the spring replaced. Bob said that these springs usually last a minimum of 75 K miles and he had replaced this spring when he had the trans apart when I had it upgraded last year. The bottom line was that the drive shaft and trans would have to be removed and the trans taken apart and fixed. Bummer, eh? I guess I was lucky in that this didn’t happened down when I was I the Amazon jungle where there are those Indians that shrink heads and shoot poison darts and such. I went through a 150-mile stretch there that you were not allowed to stop because of the indigenous Indians. Yikes, Rogers Saint Christopher medal working as well as all the prayers and best wishes of my friends, worked again.
Sheila called around to some of her motorcycle friends and found that there was a small shop down in Niles, Michigan that was started by some mechanics that relocated when a BMW shop shut down in South Bend, Indiana. She got their number and I called Bob back with that number as well as the BMW shop nearest to her house. Bob thought he would call them and see if they knew what they were doing and if he thought they would be able to fix the trans. I guess he gave them the third degree test and he passed (when I talked with Kurt, he said that it was almost like he was taking some sort of a test… I told him yup, Bob wouldn’t let just anybody work on my bike!!!). Bob called back to let me know that the Niles guys were OK. I called them and talked with Kurt and found out that he was coming up with a trailer and would pick up the bike and take it to his shop. What a deal that was. It was going to involve calling around and borrowing a pickup (unloading all the shit in it probably) and spending a good part of a day taking the bike down. Kurt showed up later that afternoon with a really cool little enclosed trailer and we easily loaded the bike up and I was impressed with his through methods I tying the bike down in the trailer. He sure seems knowledgeable about the bike and I liked him right away.
The news when I called was that it wasn’t the little spring but another part that ‘never’ breaks but did in this case. It was going to involve ordering the part and by the time the part came and they got it in, it was one week. I guess fortunately the weather was shitty and cold so I didn’t mind the wait. I checked the internet weather everyday and I was just hoping I was going to be able to find a hole in the storms that seemed to be coming one right after another.
I called Monday morning and found that the bike was ready to roll. I had already loaded the car with all my panniers, tank bag, tank panniers, waterproof camp gear bag and all the little stuff I needed. I did leave some stuff for Sheila to send on to me but mostly I carried everything but some maps, tour books and a couple of tee shirts I had picked up along the way. Oh yeah, a hand full of atomic fireballs for the trip (dang near burned out my mouth by the time I hit North Dakota.).
Kurt’s shop was easy to find as the big old yeller dog was parked out front next to a really cute little red head R75. That is the way some of those dogs are....
Dog and Redhead X

The first look in the shop I could tell this was a busy, very cool place.
First look

Kurt was somewhat ashamed to have me taking photos in the shop because he said it was exceptionally dirty at this point but I told him not to worry because anyone that was going to look at them would understand the busy time of year and how shops get at times. He has some really nice photos of a clean shop on his website and I really should grab them and post them but this is a real workshop and I liked it right away. There was a range of BMW bikes from the nice old airheads to the new fangled oil heads. Kurt is an oil head expert and prefers to work on them. He had other mechanics that specialize in airheads.
Oil head

Toaster tank

They also work on specialty car restoration and here he is showing me an engine that he thought Bob, my mechanic would like to identify….. know what it is Bob?
Engine ?

Well, here is the body that this engine goes in….
Car body

Kurt is doing a complete restoration on this car. It won the Lemans race in 1958.

OK, give up??


It is a Duestch Bonnet and the engine is an opposed two cylinder (like a BMW airhead) aircraft engine. He thought it was a French aircraft engine but not sure…
He had lots of cool stuff stuffed in the shop and everyone, as well as I, love this little 1958 Austin A35 panel van. Sorry the photo is so screwed up but to take the photo in those cramped quarters I had to take three photos and ‘stitch’ them together.
Van

Here is the 900 cc engine in it. Kurt says it is a blast to drive around town. I sort of knew what it is like because my dad had a 1959 Morris Minor pickup, which is much the same as this but with a 850 cc one carburetor engine. It looked like a showpiece but he says he drives it around some and yes it is always a big hit at shows.
Austin 900cc engine

Kurt was a busy guy while I was there and I wish I had more time to look around and visit with him and a guy named Brad that rolled in to get his oil changed.
Working

Kurt Przybysz Aint that a cool last name…………my spell check hates it….
BMW motorcycle service and restoration
Surrey Motorsports
Niles, MI
They have a website but cant find it right now.
The guy that worked on my bike, I never did get to meet, but his name is Ken Cornelis and he works part time as he is a crime scene investigator in Indiana. This wasn’t a crime scene but I guess it is sort of similar in that he to figure out what went wrong by looking at the evidence.
Good byes are always tough, and this one was no exception, but I really had to get the dogs rolling for home, as there was a little break in the weather. I said good-bye to the guys and got a nice kiss from Sheila and hit the road. Oh boy, was it ever good to be back up on two wheels. The weather started out not too bad but as I went along it got colder. The big worry for me was the huge cities that I would have to pass through on the way. I was very fortunate in that I hit them at non-peak times and just sailed through. All I had to do was follow the interstate 95 signs. Those big cities are sure impressive and scary to my eyes.
Chicago

When I got back in western North Dakota and into the National Grasslands area, I felt like I was back in ‘safe’ country and could really enjoy the ride. I have always liked this area when coming back from being back east.
Grasslands

This is the view in Montana and it just keeps getting better all the way home. This is the lest traveled freeway in the entire interstate freeway system and it was nice to be able to travel at 80 mph through North Dakota and Montana.
Montana

When I got into the Yellowstone Valley just outside of Miles City, this guy was starting his fieldwork for the spring. They have had some good moisture but it has dried out enough for fieldwork to start. This is the first fieldwork I have seen in my travels from Michigan.
Fieldwork

I stopped by Charlie Gephart’s who is my neighbor and best friend to report in. Charlie is the guy that pulled me out of all the big jambs I got myself into on my trip. If it wasn’t for Charlie I would still be picking bananas trying to make enough money to get home after having my wallet stolen and the credit card companies not sure if I am really using the card in all those foreign countries. THANKS AGAIN CHARLIE!!!!!!!!
Charlie walked out and it was really good to shake his hand. He took a few photos of me, so this is what I looked like after going to the end of the world and back. Not a pretty sight.
Just back

I rode up to camp and took this photo of the odometer.
24,801

It had a couple of miles on this new speedometer when I left, but this is pretty close to the distance, plus the miles I went on the airplane from Panama City, Panama across the Darien Gap to Bogotá, Colombia, the barge ride up the Amazon River and the plane from Caracas, Venezuela to Miami, Florida. With those miles totaled in, I went more than the distance around the world. In 1969 I took my motorcycle and sidecar to just north of Fairbanks, Alaska so I figure I have done the western hemisphere. What next??
Camp

Dirty Yellow Dog

cold road from Florida to Michigan

3-18-06

Mike and I got on the highway and headed for Tova’s place in Panama City. We went a short way on a heavily traveled freeway.
Freeway traffic X

It wasn’t long before we made it to highway 27, which is the same highway I took to get to uncle Mike’s when I came north from Miami. Highway 27 runs up roughly the center of Florida. Mostly it runs though rural farmland with some large towns along the way. We went through a section that is mostly large expensive horse farms. It was just like the Kentucky horse farm area but maybe not as expensive.
Horse farms on HWY 27 X

Most of the highway was more rural and undeveloped and a more relaxed pace. I really enjoyed this ride through the heart land of Florida. I have never been to Florida before but have heard stories and was really glad to see it and on such a nice day.
Highway 27 X

Uncle Mike was ridding his K75, which is kept as clean and beautiful as his other bikes. This is him pulling out to get back on the road. The bike is unusual in that it is a white one and white ones were only made for police work and had several police related special features. This one is standard white but has been ‘dressed’ up with blue accents and striping.
Uncle Mike K75

We made it to Tova’s house with no problems. She has a really nice house on a huge lot in a quiet neighborhood. Her dogs were in great shape and I was pleased to see what a nice yard they had all nicely fenced and secure. Tova had a really nice supper made for us and she is one of the best cooks around. The next day we went out to the park that she used to live and work. This was an undeveloped park when she got there and she was instrumental in designing the interpretive trail we went on. She is a true biologist and identifies all plants by their scientific name just like my dad would. This area is very unusual in that it has a fresh water lake just the other side of the dunes from the ocean. We headed out on the trail and it was sort of a gentle sheep chute. It was explained to us very carefully that it was necessary for the sheep chute as the dunes were so fragile they could not handle human traffic.
Sheep chute X

This trail is really nice and the sand here is pure white. Tova said it is the remains of the mountains in the Appalachians that washed down here in a large river. What was really neat was that the sand squeaks when you walk on it. Even with my poor hearing, I could hear it.
Trail X

Quite a few of the trees and bushes were dead along the route and it was explained that this was the result of the hurricanes that came through last year. This is a natural progression for the area and the trees will rot and make homes for birds and bugs.
At the end of the loop in the trail there was an opening in the fence where we crossed into a piece of land set aside by some nature or historical society that looks after part of an old rocket experimental station. This was a place in World War II where they were working on developing rockets like the Germans were using (V-2 rockets). They were using the natural sand dunes with concrete and steel ramps to launch these rockets out into the bay. There wasn’t much left of the infrastructure but some of the old ramps and a bunker.
Ramp X


Bunker X

This was in an area where there were quite a few very up-scale homes being built. In this area we could be on the dunes and it sure is a special area. I really enjoyed walking around and checking them out as did uncle Mike. When you get uncle Mike out in the wild country he goes a little ‘wild’ himself.
On the dunes X

We all had a good time and Tova would stop every now and then to point out something unusual like these flowers and the little red plants under them that are some sort of fly trap.
Flower flytrap X

One of the main things that Tova was working on at this park was the protection of a little beach mouse.
Beach mouse sign X

We stopped in several different places to check out the possibility of beach mouse tracks. We found quite a few and Tova was very pleased.
Mouse tracks X

This park is surrounded by large developments and when I was talking about them I accidentally called them Condoms, which really seems to be a more descriptive name.
Condoms X

With these large condoms all along the beach, when a large storm comes through, the energy is directed to this park and it really gets a double whammy. Tova said that these dunes are very old and when they are gone they will be gone forever so they are doing every thing possible to protect them. It looks like a slow death deal to me.

3-22-06

I left Tova’s on a really cold day for Florida. A big cold front was sweeping through but there didn’t look like there would be any rain or snow on my trip up north to Michigan to visit a friend. It turned out to be a very cold ride all the way.
Snow bank X

I rode for three days and I had on almost all the clothes I had with me which were mainly tropical weather stuff but I did have my silk long johns with me and this was the first time I had worn them. I like them!!!! I rode through some little rain and snow showers but noting really very bad. When I got up in the morning I found that Michigan had welcomed me with a little spring snow shower when I woke up at my friend Sheila’s.
Spring welcome X

I decided to go on up and see my brother. My brother Dan and his wife Bette live in Hancock, Michigan which is on the Upper Peninsula, just across this very cool lift bridge. I have never had a chance to see it in operation and this trip was no exception as there was still ice in the channel.
Lift Bridge X

Sheila and I took a side trip up to Copper Harbor, which is the end of the peninsula. Along the way is a town called Calumet. We drove on into town to have a look around after I saw some really outstanding rock and stone buildings.
Brick-stone X


Brick-stone 2 X

There are some really fine buildings in this town. The downtown is still alive but it looks like they depend on the tourist trade to keep things rolling.
Fire hall X

Rockwork X

This is copper mining country and all these buildings are the result of the money that came in with the copper mines. This was a really nice building and there are quite a few of these around the country.
Mine building X

I had to take a photo of this rail car that must be pushed by a locomotive for snow removal on the railroad tracks way back when. It seems unusual in that it is made of wood.
Train plow X

This area gets what is known as the ‘lake effect’ snow. The storms come across the Lake Superior and pick up moisture and dump it as snow on the peninsula. They get ten feet of snow up there and the week before we went up they had 32 inches in one day. They said it was a nice wet spring snow. The main roads were open but the little side roads were still unplowed. A lot of the houses up there are only used in the summer.
Snow road X


This was a little village we went through and you can see the result of the snow plows throwing the snow off the highway.
Snow town X

We followed along the lake shore on part of the way home and stopped to walk around.
Lake shore X

Sheila was taking photos of the lichen in this photo and I was doing the same, as it was really soft and beautiful on the rocks.
Sheila photo X

Lichen X


4-1-06

On the way back to Sheila’s home we stopped by Harwick Pines State Park near Grayling, MI. This is a park set aside with a grove of old growth forest and it has a foot trail that runs through it. We took the dog (Spice) on a long leash and wandered among this wonderful place. I had always wondered what the country looked like before it was all logged off. One of the things that a little brochure said was that there was more value in timber taken off from Michigan than all the gold taken from California. I am used to seeing huge trees in the redwood forest as well as the old growth stuff in the Rocky Mountains, which make these trees look like peckerwood but when walking through here it is a really wonderful place. The big trees were maple, beech, hemlock and red and white pine with a few dogwoods in bloom every so often.
Old growth forest X
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There was still some snow here in spots and part of the trail we walked back on is a cross-country ski route.
Snow trail X

The ground was a blanket of fallen leaves.
Leaves X


4-5-06

Sheila lives out in a rural area and has a nice wood lot as well as a huge yard. She has planted crocus and this is the season they bloom.
The girls rolling in the flowers X

The weather has been really drab and gray here with some light rain and heavy frost in the morning. This day it was nice outside and she burned the burn barrel while the grass gets to thinking about growing in the sunshine.
Fire girl X

The hint of spring was so heavy that Sheila got all fired up and went out and planted the first snow peas in her garden.
Pea planter X

Sheila is a serious gardener and even though this garden has been downsized severely, it is much larger than most people care to take on.
Garden X