tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56902512322828008832024-03-13T05:18:26.209-07:00Adventure KiwiTransplanted kiwi now living in Victoria Canada. Have discovered a passion to ride motorcycles and an even bigger passion to ensure riders safety on the roads. Follow me on twitter@Kiwi_Debkiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-88509963565760128742013-01-22T23:35:00.000-08:002013-01-22T23:35:01.038-08:00Well good evening - its time for me to get back into doing up my blog. I have had so many adventures over this past year - I dont know where to begin. Its late and so it will be a short blog tonight.<br />
As I look back over the year - and look down at my mileage I have done on my bike - I was surprised to see that my bike is at 39,500kms!! Which means I have ridden 30,500kms in the last 15months. Wow, I was surprised, pretty pleased with myself and also a little worried about my poor little bike! She is afterall still my first and only bike so far - a little dual sport Suzuki DR200. She has certainly done me proud - riding everywhere. She is my daily commuter, my weekend joy rides, my vacation road trips and also on occasion, my best friend and emotional therapy. <br />
Well there is a little blurb from me - I hope to keep up with this again and post some more recent photos.<br />
Good night for now<br />
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Debkiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-40442159859086134102012-05-17T23:49:00.001-07:002012-05-17T23:49:10.835-07:00First child getting married.Wow where does time go? My oldest daughter gets married on the 16th June. My first to get married. Wow - almost 27 years since she was born. I sometimes sit and think about all the water that has flowed under the bridge all these years. I have had so many adventures in my life, and now that I am in a new phase in my life, it will certainly be bringing me new adventures too. <br />
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The wedding alone brings many thoughts to mind, what to wear, who will be there, will it all go as planned. As we did with my wedding all those years ago - I certainly dont believe in the amounts of money that are spent on weddings these days. So we are doing a potluck reception and a very small guest list. Phew thank goodness.....by the way - would it be appropriate to show up on a motorbike as mother of the bride??? haha no I guess not! <br />
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Today I went back to work and did a half day. It was good to be back at work and then I spent the afternoon checking out a couple of bike shops. I managed to find a set of knee and elbow pads for my grandson, so now to find some pants that I can put these pads into. I really want to make sure he is as ATGATT as much as I am.<br />
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Since my daughter and her fiance dont blog and wont see this, I can give you a sneak peak at my daughter in her wedding dress. And my sweet little baby grand daughter.<br />
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Tonight I went out an joined in with our Alumni riding group for an evening ride. I was so nice to be out riding again, although the shingles have gone I still have a lot of nerve pain from the shingles virus. I hope it goes away soon, with this long weekend coming up I hope to get some new rides in. <br />
Here is our group from the ride this evening.<br />
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Well goodnight everyone - I have a terrible headache so its time to go to sleep. Ride safe everyone, especially since its a long weekend.<br />
<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-35570779792198690792012-05-14T16:08:00.001-07:002012-05-14T16:08:23.622-07:00I am back....Well it has been some time since I was on my blogg. It has seemed that when things happen in life, you - well at least I, tend to simplify life in order to get through and cope. Nothing has happened - its just I seemed to have so many things going on that by the time I got home at night, I was ready to just read relax eat and sleep. <br />
My riding has become an obsession for me - is that bad? I seem to gravitate to anything motorcycle oprientated and in the process the great thing is, I have made an entirely new set of friends. My life has totally changed and for once I feel like I am me!<br />
I think about why I didnt start riding earlier.....well basically, I never had time to think about what "I" wanted to do, let alone the fact that finances would not have allowed it.<br />
I think we all eventually get to a time in our lives where, its time to do something for yourself. Those of us who are mothers, parents, caregivers, we all put family and others ahead of ourselves.<br />
BUT now I feel like me again, I have put 10,500kms on my little bike in 6mths. Not bad considering that was through the winter months eh? I am actually pretty proud of myself for accomplishing this.<br />
My little Suzuki DR200 dual sport has been wonderful to me and putting up with all I have been putting her through. She is really designed more for gravel roads and trails, but I have ridden her exclusively on pavement.<br />
I finally tried my riding 2 up. My son needed a ride to a party one evening when his truck was in parts and my car engine had reacently blown while he had been driving it. He said I would be fine using him as the guinea pig for my first trail, 10pm at night! So I did - and I was fine! My son told me he was very impressed and that he had even more respect for me now that I rode a motorbike. :)<br />
So with that under my belt, my grandson said all he wanted for his birthday was a ride on grandmas motorbike, so the next day I granted his wish. Here we are....<br />
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Here is my camping and now riding buddy grandson Darren on his 7th birthday. This is the photo of when I asked him if he liked his ride. We were having date night also and stopped at his favourite restaurant "White Spot" after the ride for dinner.<br />
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I have been doing lots of rides with friends, alone and in group rides. I still have to take my first road trip and hope it will be soon now that the weather is so beautiful now. <br />
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And above I was able to participate in my first International Female Ride Day - what a great day we all had. We had many ladies riding so we broke into two groups. One did a rural west coast ride and the rest of us did a rural peninsula ride. I was asked to lead the rural peninsula ride since I had mapped the ride and pre ridden the ride. It was exciting to lead, but also stressful. I was worried the whole time about the riders behind me and was I doing everything right and was I doing the right speed and what was happening back there???? Yikes what did I get myself into?? Its harder than I thought. I had to balance looking in my mirrors, watching ahead, looking for obstacles and to signal them to the group. Phew, I enjoyed the ride, but I was glad to finish the ride and relax.....<br />
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With so many options available for roads trips - I feel at a loss as to what to do first. I have 3 weeks of holidays and Im scared to use them up in case something else comes along that I want to do hahaha...<br />
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I know that I have to go into the states and ride because I hate to admit this - I have lived in Canada for 24 years and I have only been into the states twice. Once for a day trip for work training to Seattle and the other time was across the border in White Rock for a couple of hours to buy an ice cream and back. Pretty sad eh?<br />
I have a passion to ride the Oregon coast and go down to California. The only thing holding me back right now is Im a little afraid to go alone as I am terribly directionally challenged and could end up totally lost never to be found again!! And Im waiting on a friend to get back from his vacation as he knows the states so well and is willing to be my guide. <br />
Well the reason I am able to sit down and write my blog and catch up is that I ave been housebound with a case of Shingles!!! Why why when the weather finally is beautiful???? I think I may go back to work tomorrow IF I can get my helmet on my head with out it hurting. I got the shingles on my head and around one eye.<br />
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So now that I have caught up a little, I hope you will all keep track with me again. A few photos follow of what I have been up to since we last chatted......enjoykiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-60122259959033189692012-03-17T11:47:00.001-07:002012-03-17T11:47:17.611-07:00FriendsWell I just realized that its been a while since I posted. Life has been happening and it just seems to take up your free time! <br />
I have been doing a lot of thinking in the past little while, I have a birthday coming up and I am trying to make some direction in my life by then so I can use the date as a measurement of time.<br />
I know that life is all about choices, choices we make, choices other people make and I have always lived by the motto to make the most of what you have and What will be will be. A couple of days ago I received a hand made gift from a best friend. She always seems to know when to send the right thing just when I need it.<br />
I want to share some of what she sent me....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have many gifts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">haha new friends are good. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didnt know Dr Seuss was so profound! I am who I am and I dont plan to change for anyone anymore, working on the speaking my thoughts - thats a little tough for me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dar and I - the Moto Mamas - we are both very strong diamonds!<br /></td></tr>
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So today I am headed out for a drive to the hair salon for a haircut. A drastic haircut - time for a change and also - to make it easier when putting a helmet on and off all the time.</div>
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Then after that I will come home and put my helmet on my new haircut and go for a ride. I think a photo hunt on RASCAL is indeed in order.</div>
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Its pretty awesome the way getting on your bike and just riding can clear the head, chase away negative thoughts and make you feel better eh?</div>
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Here is a picture from the moto mamas last ride before Dar injured her ankle.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dar shows how it is done, pull over, off road, turn off the bike and then you can Text.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OUR crazy me taking a picture of Dar taking a picture of me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bald eagle in nest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiwi bird buddy finds a perch in a tree.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is the kiwi bird done yet!!! lol<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
So my friends as this week comes to a close, </div>
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Friendships are the best gift we can give each other. </div>
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<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-61764945303625308892012-03-07T22:55:00.001-08:002012-03-07T22:55:15.907-08:00Beautiful Crisp Sunny day in VictoriaThis morning certainly started out very crisp, riding to work was nice. I was toasty warm in my riding gear and layers. I rode to work this morning with the sun in my face all the way in. <br />
After work the sun had stayed out and allowed Moto mamas to hit the road on another Scarlet & Rascal adventure.<br />
Today we took a little side trip to the top of Beacon Hill Rd.<br />
As usual, we were acting goofy with our photos and again got the usual shot of taking photos of each other taking a photo of each other!<br />
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Moto mamas in our day time riding vests! They sure make us more visible.<br />
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Aww Rascal and Scarlet missed each other and they couldnt keep their tires away from each other - its moto love!<br />
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This is how moto diva gets her photos.<br />
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I have my trusty little Kiwi along for the ride today, he will be joined by a certain little moose that belongs with Dar.<br />
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Kiwis will go how ever they can as long as they donts have to fly.<br />
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Well my friends, good night and ride safe.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-20240406998199419912012-03-06T21:51:00.001-08:002012-03-06T21:51:15.603-08:00Riding VacationSo I have been so looking forward to this year now that I have my motorbike, and I have vacation to take this year. But now that I have the opportunity, I cant decide what to do, where to go and should I go by myself? Besides I dont have anyone that can go with me. <br />
I think that there are so many options, that I cant figure out what to do first? Does anyone have any ideas to help me get my riding vacations sorted out? I havent done this before, so I dont know how long it takes to ride places, I dont know how far I can physically ride in a day. <br />
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Yesterday I finally came straight home from work because moto diva is in a lot of pain from her old injury on her scooter riding days. I hope she gets better soon and they figure out how to fix her up.<br />
So I can home and decided to wash my bike. Boy washing dual sport bikes are way harder than cruisers! There are more parts exposed that get covered in dirt! And trying to clean around the chain without getting black grease and oil all over your hands is impossible, but fun all the same. I have a gravel driveway and a very muddy path to my bike shed - sooo as you can guess, Rascal doesnt stay clean very long!<br />
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An old shower curtain underneath the bike was necessary as washing on the driveway isnt so great when the dirt splashes back up on the bike while Im trying to clean it.<br />
She certainly looks so much prettier when she is all clean and shiney!<br />
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So since poor moto diva is not up to riding, poor Scarlet couldnt come out to play. Rascal was very loney on our last little adventure.<br />
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So we tootled around taking roads we hadnt been on before, and low and behold, we found the part of the bridge that they removed and barged to this location. I think they should put it in the middle of a park and turn it into a extreme jungle gym!! haha<br />
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After this photo stop we went further along the waters edge and took some more photos.<br />
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A different perspective looking into Fishermans wharf.<br />
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After my photo searching, I decided it was time to start heading back home as the rain was starting to get a little on the cold side. But one last thing to mention, leaving this location I came across my nemesis, steep hill start from a stop at a red light, straight into a sharp right hand turn! Oh no, scary, one car behind me. BUT WOO HOO, I did the hill start and turn in one smooth movement!! I did it, my instructors would have been proud! I was.<br />
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So to all, its good night for now. kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-23674962864972409032012-03-01T22:07:00.001-08:002012-03-01T22:07:44.483-08:00Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy.Well the sun came out, then the clouds came over and hovered. Then this afternoon the rain came and came and came, BUT - it stopped so that Scarlet and Rascal could have another one of their adventures.<br />
But today I think it was moto diva and moto mama that had the adventure and the fun.<br />
I wanted to check out the local motorcycle coop, what a cool concept.<br />
Pay a membership and that buys discounts on gear, services and parts.<br />
There are bays available so you can work on your own bike, a place to wash your bikes, and some great owners to spend time with.<br />
I bought a membership and a new pair of gloves. I was looking for gloves that were not so bulky and a lot warmer and waterproof. Riding home afterwards the gloves were certainly warmer than my old pair.<br />
Moto mamas had fun checking out the gear and we found
Moto Diva the perfect jacket with red in it to go with Scarlet. We had some fun and shared jokes and bike information with the owners and some clients. What a cool place for motorcycle friends to hand out.<br />
So for today, I have no pictures to share as it was so interesting that I forgot all about getting my camera out.<br />
After the trip to the bike coop, Moto Diva and I rode together until we had to depart company to head home. I continued on around the waterfront, my favourite place to ride. Then I headed home trying out the new gloves and my fingers didnt get cold. Yay!!kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-55909790130198920292012-02-29T22:55:00.001-08:002012-02-29T22:55:39.600-08:00End all Bullying<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>Well today was anti bullying day. I am so happy to see that bullying is now getting the attention it deserves. It has gone on hidden for way too long.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>It breaks my heart to see how young it starts and seeing the kids who are bullied. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>I know first hand about bullying, I have gone through helping my son who was bullied in school. And why was he bullied? Because he suffers from ADHD, has an anxiety disorder and suffers from depression. As some kids in his class discovered this, they would tease and bully him about it.</b></span><br />
<b style="color: #e06666;">Also the last couple of years I was also bullied in my workplace. It became unbearable I was absolutely stressed. This in turn caused me enough stress and anxiety and depression that I went off work for a few months on a medical leave. I am not afraid to talk about what I went through. I am not ashamed of it. It happens to too many people and its brushed under the mat or hidden or just put up with. It is not right, it is not fair.</b><br />
<b style="color: #e06666;">Bullies are cowards, take away their power, stand up to them. Bullies have the problem not you.</b><br />
<b style="color: #e06666;">One of the hardest things I have gone through in my life besides my marriage of 24 years breaking down, was going through the bullying process. Lucky for me I had some great co-workers who stood by me and a union who also stood by me. Going back to work after my medical leave was so difficult to do. But slowly step by step, it improved at work. In the end I did get an apology and since then work has been so good, its how it should have been all along. </b><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><b>Today was a day that made me happy to see how much bullying is being bought into the media focus to help end bullying. But it was also a difficult day because it bought everything that happened to me right in focus with me again.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">So everyone - this is my story. I am not ashamed of what I went through and I have become a stronger person having gone through it.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Anti bullying is something I am very passionate about. I would like to have a ride to end Bullying one day.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"><b>If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I know this is not my best piece of writing but I just am writing what comes to mind.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">So if you see anyone being bullied or you are bullied help or seek help.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">Take care and goodnight everyone.</span></b>kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-54363367464240993682012-02-26T21:35:00.001-08:002012-02-26T21:35:06.128-08:00Weekend highlightsAhh its sunday night - where did the weekend go? How come they go so fast and the week so slow? Actually my work week isnt so bad and I do enjoy my job.<br />
But this weekend has been a good one too.<br />
Lets see, friday night my son - whom I hadnt seen all week since he is working and then so busy with his buddies, came to visit me and then went to Canadian Tire for me to pick up my first set of tools that I bought. I couldnt bring them home on the bike so he went and picked them up. I got a great deal on a socket/wrench set for 75% off the retail price. Yay I now have tools to learn to fix my bike with!<br />
After that he picked up Tim Hortons chili meals for us and he had dinner with me.<br />
Saturday was a fun day - the first sleep over with my 7 month old grand daughter. It was such a lazy day for me, sitting cuddling Heather, playing with her, feeding her and watching her sleep.<br />
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She cant sit up by herself yet but when I propped her up in the chair, she was able to stay sitting.<br />
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Heather really was excited with Gemini, my cat. Gemini is a good cat but is 7 yrs old and gets a little cranky, but with Heather tugging on her she totally took it all and didnt even move. This photo to the right made me laugh after I saw it on the computer - I guess Gemini was a little embarrassed with Heathers singing. LOL<br />
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Heather had a little heart to heart chat with Gemini and then after that they were best buddies.<br />
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Then later on just before bed, I discovered my middle daughters teddy bear. Heather fell in love with teddy and even slept with him.<br />
And....Heather went to bed at 8pm woke at 2:15am, had a bottle and went back to sleep until 6:30am, I think she slept better for me than she does at home! Experience works all the time.<br />
Then sunday morning, my daughter came and picked Heather up and took her home and I couldnt wait to get into my riding gear and get Rascal out of the shed. The sun was shinning and it was beautiful outside. I messaged Dar and arranged a little tootle around.<br />
I got Rascal checked out and gave her a quick rinse, lubed the chain and checked the oil, then I finished getting on my gear. While doing my prep, then weather had clouded over!! I had Rascal running and went to put my Helmet on, I have to take my glasses off to put my helmet on, and so as I put it on I could vaguely see something fluttering in the air! Once I put my glasses back on, there were snowflakes falling!!! Aargh. So I decided to go to Dars anyways - I figured I could always have a coffee and come home again.<br />
So off I went, a few more flakes falling, then as I got off my road, the sun was shining again. Really!!<br />
By the time I got to Dars, as we were getting ready to go riding, moto daughter was very happy to tell us that it was snowing!! Nope dont believe it. But she was right. We sat and had coffee and chatted and next thing we knew it had stopped! I do believe it was because Moto Diva was so disappointed in the weather that it changed just for her. LOL <br />
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BUT moto mamas got out for our ride....<br />
a short one - but a good one. We stopped at the Oak Bay Marina. <br />
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Moto diva leaving moto mama for home.<br />
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Then moto mama and rascal made a few stops before heading for home too.<br />
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I stopped at Gyro Park and beach. Parked Rascal in a large puddle of water! She is a dual sport so was quite happy riding in the mud!<br />
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Beach at gyro park. <br />
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Then I headed to Brentwood Bay, the Ferry terminal.<br />
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The marina at Brentwood bay.<br />
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I liked the perspective of the loading ramp to the ferry and the sun behind me shining on the yellow bars against the dark storm clouds in the background.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d_YA9WptP5E/T0sTQhBVj_I/AAAAAAAAAPw/w-zu7RVxYOE/s1600/Gnomes+in+hail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d_YA9WptP5E/T0sTQhBVj_I/AAAAAAAAAPw/w-zu7RVxYOE/s320/Gnomes+in+hail.JPG" width="320" /></a> I rode around a little more and then headed to home. Got home, got my bike parked in her shed, went inside and got my riding gear off and turned around and looked outside and saw this hail storm.....which went on for about 5mins then turned to snow for about 5 minutes. The gnomes are used to this changeable weather on Vancouver Island. They just keep on doing what they always do.<br />
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In Victoria if you just wait 5 minutes the weather changes. That sun we were so excited about this morning was just a big tease!<br />
kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-50357313442271044822012-02-24T23:03:00.000-08:002012-02-24T23:03:32.639-08:00TGTWIH - Thank goodness the weekend is hereWell I havent written for a couple of days, hasnt the time been flying by lately? I know the drill - the older we get the faster time goes by.<br />
Well a couple of things to report, my dad is doing great on his recovery and is itching to get out to his beloved BSA bike again. But as to mum, her cancer has spread on her liver, maybe even the lung. Its not looking great for her - she is starting the next form of chemo and has losing her hair to look forward to. I really do wonder why my mum and dad have to have so many struggles in their lives. I am not sure what I will do if anything happens.... its very hard to pick up and head back to NZ when I have lived over half my life here in Canada. Its a huge struggle that I have. My mum and dad, one of my daughters and two brothers are in NZ, but here in Canada I have my other daughter and two grand children and my son. <br />
I have a quote from a Doris Day song that I tend to live by - "what will be will be" and then my personal mantra is to make the most of any given situation. So on that note hopefully a lot of good wishes and prayers will help my mum recover as well as dad is now.<br />
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Well like I said this week went by fairly quickly. Scarlet and Rascal had a couple of adventures this week, the last of which was a VERY WINDY ride down to the waterfront. We turned off our usual route after battling the wind was a little "more" adventurous than we wanted. Actually my bike is only 275lbs and so the gusts of wind literally were pushing me and my bike around a fair bit. Even Scarlet - and I am sorry to says this dear, is a LOT heavier than Rascal, and she was having trouble with the wind too. Even so we did get to see some awesome rough seas along the part of the waterfront we rode.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fVd2y79qvk/T0h-HBUx03I/AAAAAAAAAMY/8THrRWETS5w/s1600/Tire+pickup+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fVd2y79qvk/T0h-HBUx03I/AAAAAAAAAMY/8THrRWETS5w/s640/Tire+pickup+1.jpg" width="480" /></a>This week my tires arrived on the bus.....went to pick them up thinking - I will just put them over my head and shoulder and ride home! Ahh wrong, for a start they were way heavier than I realized, bigger than I imagined, so the dilemma, how to get them home! See below my solution. I love my cargo net - its awesome!<br />
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I think I am going to buy myself another cargo net too. They can be used in so many ways. I did just get given and older set of saddle bags that I need to do a couple of repairs on and then I will get them mounted on my bike too. I can wait to do a road trip and pack my bike. I have to start down sizing my camping gear too so it will all fit on my bike.<br />
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So earlier in the week we had a beautiful crisp sunny day and I bought my camera to work. I was at a University of Victoria BC. It is a beautiful campus and it has trees and flowers and birds and a beautiful setting and layout. I will share some of the photos I took this week. As the weather gets better I will venture out and get more photos of my work place.<br />
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The flag poles with the Canadian Flag, the British Columbia flag and the UVic flag.<br />
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Signs of spring!<br />
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My favourite picture - managed a not bad shot considering the wind was blowing.<br />
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Well its time to say goodnight and I am babysitting my 7 month old granddaughter tomorrow and over night for the first time. My daughter and her fiance are moving into a bigger place with 3 bedrooms. So for me babysitting is the best option. I do not enjoy packing and unpacking.<br />
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Well goodnight and I hope you all have a great weekend.<br />
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<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-63352590547805018552012-02-20T22:50:00.000-08:002012-02-20T22:50:06.038-08:00Just a plain old monday today.Well what can I say about today? Hmm, its monday, nothing out of the ordinary happened today. What can I tell you about tonight........<br />
I know - this might make you laugh a little. I just to teach square and round dancing! <br />
Ok so this goes back to when I was 16 yrs old. I had a friend and she got me to go to square dancing with her. Well I absolutely loved it. So much so that by the second night - I had already made myself a square dance dress, made myself a crinoline and was ready for the second learners night. I think I just loved the dresses and the big frilly petticoats. Well I kept this up for a couple of years, we formed a young group of dancers and we travelled all over the north island of New Zealand attending all kinds of dances. Mostly we would camp at local campsites and attend the dances, come back to the camp site and sit around drinking hot chocolate and talking most of the night. We always had an older couple with the group who had a "caravan" what we would call a motorhome here.<br />
So as I said this went on for a couple of years and through this time I started learning singing calls. I enjoyed singing. But after the two years the main caller of the club retired. There was no-one to take over so at 18 years old I was running a square dance club. I had a basic learners class to teach and a mainstream level class to run. I did this for a few years, then after meeting my then husband, he took up square dancing too and started to call as well. After a few more years of this together we moved back to Canada, where once again as soon as people heard we were callers, we were hooked right back into teaching a class here as well.<br />
And yes there really is a lot more to square dancing the the Do se do!! haha<br />
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Ok well time to say goodnight my friends and hopefully tomorrow night I can find something more inspiring to write about.<br />
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Oh I remember one funny little thing from today - as you may know, I work at a local University in the Security and Parking department. We also handle the "lost & Found" Today we had a young man call us and ask do we have a lots & found. To which we answered "yes we do - what have you lots" Simple question right? His answer was "well its kinda personal and I don't want to say, and our answer - well sir, if you dont tell us what you have lost we cant identify the item and let you know if we have it. "Oh" was his reply, then he said, well its kinda embarrassing. Well when you work in a university - nothing is ever dumb, stupid, dangerous or outright ridiculous enough to shock us, so we encourage him to tell us what he had lost and of course our imaginations were thinking all kinds of things that it could be. So his answer was.........<br />
"I lost the cover to my umbrella" Aargh!!! Really? Like Really? LOLkiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-60268282846700290742012-02-19T22:12:00.000-08:002012-02-19T22:12:51.178-08:00130kms sunday ride part IIOgden Point.<br />
I stopped along the ocean front and could see a large barge going through our waters. <br />
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The pilot boat was coming back into the harbor.<br />
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Looking out along the sea wall out to the light house.
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And after this my friends, I headed home. To do laundry, relax and have supper. I did hear from a friend who had been down in Mexico and had become seriously ill. He is now home safe and sound amongst this family. So that was a nice way to end my weekend.<br />
Good night everyone.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-91684414293528140762012-02-19T21:57:00.000-08:002012-02-19T21:57:55.078-08:00130kms for a sunday ride.Well today it wasnt as raining cats and dogs like yesterday, in fact I actually slept in this morning until 9am! Wow, it was so nice getting up when I felt like it and not having to get up because I had something I had to do. I think I am finally enjoying this living on my own now. For many years I had to get up early to make breakfast, get kids to school, drive for the paper route, drive to skating lessons, go to work! Then there were the weekends when I would just get up early and have a few minutes to clean up before everyone got up or just to have a cuppa tea. So since I got my motorbike whom I nicknamed "Rascal," I cant believe how much my life has changed. I have had a lot of things happen in my life, but taking the riding lessons and getting my bike was one of the things that "I" made happen for me. <br />
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So today, when I got up, I made a cuppa tea, sat down with my laptop and caught up with my friends on facebook and my blogs. Decided to go riding and visit a couple of friends.<br />
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Took my time, and finally started getting ready. I got my gear on, headed out to my shed to get Rascal out.<br />
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Checked her out, she needed more air in the tires, so headed out to fill her up with gas - all $6.61 worth. Put air in the tires and I was ready to go.<br />
I headed out along my road, its a great twisty road.<br />
The traffic wasnt too bad today being a sunday. Headed through town and out towards the highway.<br />
Rascal was doing really well today, she had no problem keeping up to the speed limit. It was interesting that when I approached the speed indicators, doing the speed limit of 80kms hr - the traffic passing me was doing 100kms hr. This is on a corner that has recently had two head on collisions due to speed!<br />
I continued on to the Malahat Summit where I stopped to take a couple of pictures.<br />
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While standing taking these photos a light frozen mist was falling.<br />
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I took a panoramic view from the malahat looking out towards the Saanich Peninsula, the airport and Sidney BC.<br />
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So after enjoying the view and taking some photos it was time to get back on the bike and continue our sunday ride. AFTER I figured out how to get back on the bike without it tipping! I always get myself into this situation. The slope away from the bike was a lot more than you can tell from this photo. Still something I have to learn.</div>
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On my way to had coffee with a friend and check out how much renovations he had done since the end of summer when I helped paint his japanese style fence.</div>
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The after coffee I headed back into Mill Bay to stop at Tim Hortons for another coffee!! haha I took a picture of Rascal outside timmies waiting for me to come back out. Doesnt she look lonely?</div>
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Well I headed on out and rode back into town. Once in Goldstream I thought, Im not done riding yet, so took the road off into Goldstream itself and took the route through a number of neighbourhoods and made my way down to the Inner harbour, Fishermans Wharf for more photos.</div>
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A panorama of part of Fisherman's Wharf.</div>
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Rascal was quite happy sitting here with her new friends while I snapped a few more photos.<br />
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Now on to part II of todays ride....................</div>
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<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-11064148146949884412012-02-19T00:10:00.000-08:002012-02-19T00:10:41.932-08:00Saturday in my lifeWell today started off raining cats and dogs!! So I thought no getting out to ride today because I had company coming over for a pot luck dinner and I had housework to get done. Shannon and my grandkids came over early to take me to the fabric store. Shannon is looking for fabric so I can make her wedding dress, we found some nice fabrics, but didnt decide on anything yet. By the time we finished looking, we narrowed it down to a couple of fabrics, but we want to check out some other stores to make sure we have something to compare.<br />
Later we went and picked up a few groceries so I could cook for our dinner.<br />
Got home and got most of my chores done and I looked out side and the sun was shining, and I couldnt resist the pull of my bike.<br />
Got geared up an took a little trip out to my friend Mikes house. He had an old pair of saddle bags that he was going to give me for my bike. They were in need of some repair, but Im sure I can fix them. So collected them and tucked them up on the seat behind me with the cargo net.<br />
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This evening was a wonderful night of laughter, Darlene and her hubby and her daughter were here as well as Cindy and her hubby. We all got along really well. I must say us riding woman are pretty adventurous, the men in this picture are going to need to try and keep up with us! lol<br />
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Well tomorrow I am going to try and get out on the bike and take some photos so that I have something to post with my blogs. Right now I have to head to bed as I am nodding off getting this typed and onto my blog.<br />
So good night for now my blogging friends and chat tomorrow.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-37491399735724040252012-02-16T22:45:00.001-08:002012-02-16T22:45:52.715-08:00Weigh in day!!Well today was the first weigh in on the weight loss challenge at work. I was down about 3lbs - not what I was hoping for, but of course, I did really well for 3 weeks and then this week ahhhh, kinda slipped. But at least it was down. Im in forth place at the moment, and with a $300 pot to win. I have to step it up because that would go towards a new bike. Im really hoping I get this VStrom from a friend of mine. Or I may use it to buy fabric for my daughters wedding dress. June 16th is the wedding day and I am making her wedding dress for her. It will be my first child to get married. Its going to be exciting, and interesting.....well actually I will say it, its going to be weird, hard breaking and heartwarming all in the same moment.<br />
Seeing my ex with my ex best friend, seeing the ex's family whom most chose to cast me aside. So its going to be a trying time for me. But maybe I will just arrive on my motorbike and that will give me the guts I need for the evening. haha oops that wont work, I will be taking care of my two grandchildren so the bike is out. Besides, helmet hair wouldnt do for mother of the bride now will it?<br />
I missed my ride tonight with Dar, I had to go and get my 2 year eye appointment done. Need new glasses again! Seems like my eyes just dont stop changing. But I am going to give contacts a try again. I want to use them just when I am riding so that I have better peripheral vision. Wearing glasses is a little harder wearing a helmet as it restricts your vision a little.<br />
So I wonder - last night coming home from my ride with Dar, it was dark and I had a truck behind me with his highbeams on, what do you do to get their attention to turn down their lights. I was on a road where it was unsafe to pull over as I was in a rural area. I tried hold my hand up and then covering one mirror hoping he would get it, then I tried flicking my headlight on and off highbeam. What else can you do? What I did to help was lean right fwd so the lights werent in my eyes, but thats a little hard to maintain. lol plus it probably looked funny. haha <br />
Well its time to put the computer away and get some sleep - YAY TGIF tomorrow!! Woo hoo Dar we have to go riding saturday morning.<br />
<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-15244185600767815392012-02-15T23:28:00.000-08:002012-02-15T23:28:35.304-08:00Scarlet and Rascal adventuresTonights post will be a little shorter I think. Im pretty tired, had a good day at work and then was happy to see the weather get better this afternoon that meant "another Rascal and Scarlet adventure".<br />
Todays riding was good - we met up after work and then headed for Dars place as usual when we would part ways and head home. Today we both decided we werent ready to head home and put the bikes away. Instead we donned on our safety vests and headed out. We did some night riding and highway riding. Since we are both directionally challenged, I let Dar & Scarlet lead the way since they knew this area better than me and Rascal. <br />
I did take issue with one cager tonight - I was riding through an intersection, put on my blinker and then pulled off the road into the gas station with Dar ahead of me when a stupid cager started laying on the horn at me??? I have no idea what it was about. But as we talked about it while filling our bikes with gas, a taxi driver called over to us and said we did nothing wrong. He said he must have had small man syndrome! haha That was good to have it confirmed.<br />
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Well Dar and I realized tonight, with riding together we were able to see that our safety vests werent as visible as we thought they were in the night. So this weekend I intend to sew reflective piping all around my vest and my riding pants. It was interesting, Dars TourMaster pants were very well reflecting in the lights, but my Joe Rocket pants have absolutely nothing refective on them at all. That is not good. I think that I may just write to Joe Rocket and mention this to them. The only bit that is reflective is the reflective strip I put around the hem of the pants.<br />
Well time to say goodnight, so happy riding dreams everyone.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-5824334039032596292012-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:002012-02-14T21:20:58.584-08:00The start to a new week.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yesterday when I got to work, Rascal was so excited because she got to park beside the bike of her dreams. The BMW F800, this is what she aspires to be when she grows up! lol I couldnt resist with all the empty motorcycle parking, I just had to park next to this lovely bike. I am so luck also that the brand new motor cycle covered parking was just built and right behind my department!</div>
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Ahh weekends dont last long do they - actually this week is already going by pretty fast considering that it is reading break at the university so the students are not around much right now. But best of all - the sun came out late this afternoon again just like yesterday. I think the weather is being nice to the Moto Mamas so that we can get out and ride after work. Really I have been pretty lucky. I got my little Rascal on Oct 13th 2011 and I have ridden every day except 8 days when it was too snowy and icy. <br />
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Both yesterday and today the Moto Mamas got out for a ride together in the sunlight - who says its still winter?? Although today's ride was a little shorter - but still a good ride through lots of traffic, over the Bay St bridge. We had a little hiccup in our ride home tonight because alas, Miss Scarlet had a flat battery. But never fear Motorcycle Man to the rescue - aww how sweet and on Valentines Day too! Dar you have a good man! A couple of runs down the parking garage ramp and motoycycle man had miss scarlet gently growling again ready to ride.<br />
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Tulips on my desk today.<br />
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The red rose from my son for valentines days.<br />
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Well today of course is valentines day - and you cant escape all the romantic things people are doing and also all the advertising. Amazing how flowers cost so much more at this time eh? But even though there isnt a significant other in my life right now....my son left me a red rose in my door for me to find when I got home from work today - he really is a great son. I also was lucky to have some tulips on my desk. One of the young men in the office was thoughtful and bought flowers for the two single unattached woman in the office. It was such a considerate thing to do. I did think the day would be kinda down because it is days like this that make me think about what has happened in the last few years. I am a hopeless romantic and it really does suck not having someone to lavish all the things I like to do for someone. lol Well I guess its my Rascal that I can lavish it all on now!<br />
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This is my grandson Darren my 6 yr old valentine, and below is Rascal my current beau! lol<br />
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So today I have realized that I really dont know a lot about what I can do if I have any problems out on the road. So for those that are reading this, what do you think I would need to learn before I hit the road on some road trips?kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-70911059865895515762012-02-12T19:35:00.000-08:002012-02-12T19:35:43.653-08:00A weekend with meWell I have told you all about my dad. He is now home and doing well. After many attempts at getting his surgery just right - the surgeon finally got it right and now he should be on the road to recovery. I did phone and talk to him the other day, he was happy to be home and looking forward to getting out on his BSA and riding around the airstrip again. <br />
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Mum isnt doing as well, the chemo she has been having has stopped working as well so the cancer on her liver has spread a bit and now the next chemo will start and this time she will be losing her hair. I am crossing my fingers that it will work this time.<br />
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Pictured above from left is my oldest daughter, then my son, then my little brother who at 44 still rides motoX and then me. My brother came out to visit me last summer for the first time ever. It was a wonderful visit.<br />
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So this weekend I spent a lot of time riding my motorbike. I have as you may know a small Suzuki DR200. I have finally settled on a name for her and she is called "Rascal" - very suiting for her and me. Yesterday I rode 150km. I took Rascal out on the highway and I found this time out on the highway I had not worries at all. Since I have been riding to work and back every day, I am gaining confidence on her. Wet roads dont scare me anymore, icy slippery roads still do of course, but not enough to stop me from riding. Now riding in the wind has been interesting for sure - since my bike is so light, 275lbs, we get blown around a fair bit on the exposed highways and close to the ocean on windy days.<br />
I am sure though that all my yucky weather days of riding are good experience for doing road trips later on. I do want to do some road trips and experiencing all the bad weather will mean I wont be surprised and scared of it when it happens. But I have to admit, I sure will enjoy the sunny weather riding when it comes. But getting back to riding Rascal and getting more confidence. I found this weekend being out on the highway and over the Malahat, a twisty windy road over some hills. I found I could keep her up to the speed limits and found that even though she is small, the confidence and the ability to relax meant that she was a lot more pleasurable to ride and felt a little less bumble beeish. haha I know thats not a word but you get my idea.<br />
I may have an opportunity to purchase a friends Vstrom if he decides not to ride it anymore. I am really glad that he is thinking of helping me out by selling it to me and at a good price. He knows of my struggles to finally get my very own very first motorbike. I have been on my own now for ......wow I can't believe it - its now going on 6 years!! I didnt realize so much time has gone by. Its taken me most of that time to adjust to the situation I found myself in after 24 years of marriage in a relationship that had been very trusting, no fights, no real arguments and great parenting to 3 great kids. But never ever be complacent because that is when the rug can be pulled out from under your feet and leave you reeling and in free fall. That is what happened to me and to say that I felt like a boat that lost its anchor in a stormy sea, was an understatement. But maybe another time I will share my story and what I learned from that situation. But today I am a happy person again, I feel free and found the excitement and freedom of owning my first motorcycle. <br />
I took the riding courses for basic and traffic, then got my motorcycle license. I discovered my passion for riding after a friend I met and dated for a while took me out on his motorbike. I was hooked! Wow, I will always remember that first ride. Always! And not just because I got to sit behind him and hold on to him! lol<br />
I had ridden a scooter when I was a teenager and remembered how I loved that too. So after that, I started looking into classes. Now being on my own changed a lot of things and the biggest thing it changed my my financial status. It was tough living on my own financially. But I managed to save up to take the two courses. The main reason I took them was because we rode their bikes and could use their bikes for the road test. So off I went, got my license, but had to wait just over another year before I could afford to by my bike. So October 13th 2011 was the day my little Rascal came into my life. She has been great. I met this friend of mine with the VStrom and have enjoyed his company and listening to his stories from his life and riding experiences. But he has unfortunately run into some medical issues that most likely has to end him riding the VStrom and sticking to his Bergman Scooter - which will make him stay on paved roads and not tempt him to take the gravel roads like he can with the bike. So with him knowing my struggles to get a bike, and the plans I have to do roads trips on my bike. He understands that I want to get another bigger bike so I can handle the road trips. But this is all dependent on the bike being able to be lowered enough for me to be able to handle the bike. I really hope this all works out because even though I love me little rascal, I really want a bike with some more power to be able to do longer trips on.<br />
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What I enjoy about riding is that, its expected and accepted that you can be out riding on your own as a single womanm but for me I find I feel more self conscious if I am out in my car or just walking by myself. But on a motorbike is absolutley awesome and accepted as being "cool". haha thats my story and Im sticking to it!<br />
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Time for dinner.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-82256759619008251112012-02-08T00:10:00.000-08:002012-02-08T00:10:09.199-08:00Dad is home!Well my daughter who is living in NZ tested me today to tell me that dad is now home from the hospital and she says he looks good. So I quickly called him on the phone and he sounded as cheery as ever. The first words out of my mouth were "its about time you were home, anyone would like you liked it there" and his response was, "well the nurses just wouldnt leave me alone and they couldn keep their hands off me"!! lol he is so funny. I think at some point I will get my daughter to read this blog to him. I think it will touch him very much - but also I know his response will be "who the heck are you talking about - you must be talking about someone else" he is a very humble man. Another of his admirable qualities.<br />
I will keep you posted on his progress, and by the way, he is rearing to get back out on his bike and ride around the private airstrip! haha of course without mum knowing about it until AFTER he has gone riding. <br />
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Well yesterday was a wonderful day for riding. My riding buddy Darlene - Princess Scooterpie, decided to meet up after work and ride around the outskirts and coastline from the University to down town Ogden point. What a beautiful ride. We are as she says, ying and yang or peanut butter and jelly or marmite and toast! haha had to throw in a kiwism with the marmite haha.<br />
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Here is my riding buddy Princess Sccoterpie on her wonderful Miss Scarlet - isnt Dar beautiful and look perfect sitting on Scarlet and I loved the way her reflective strips were just glowing in the sunlight. Yes I had to steal these pictures from her blog - oops! And the next one again from Dar's blog.....ME!! right beside her on my Little Rascal. That is what I settled on calling my bike. She is like a little rascal always getting up to mischief with me in tow. Very suiting name for her. And she is very adorable.<br />
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haha oh I just realized, I was smiling nicely for the camera when Dar was taking the picture - you cant see much with the helmet on!<br />
Boy - helmets give us big heads dont they? And all those layers we wear!! Ok who am I kidding, more exercise and keeping on with the diet. But weigh in is tomorrow, I know I has lost some weight this week so I will let you know my progress next time I blogg. <br />
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So any suggestions for clip on sunglasses? While I was riding yesterday, my visor was up and the wind actually flicked my sunglasses off! Luckily they were magnetic and they still held on enough for me to grab them. I guess keeping the visor down is the solution, but in the summer I am going to want to ride with the visor up. Another thing I have been thinking about - inventing something to make putting glasses on after your helmet is on, easier and less destructive to your glasses frames. <br />
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Well it is now after midnight and I have to be up early for work, so best leave this for now and continue on tomorrow. Goodnight my friends.<br />
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<br />kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-49998025361576549722012-02-04T00:34:00.000-08:002012-02-04T00:34:59.331-08:00My dad is awesome and my inspiration!Well tonight I decided to get some more added to my blog since the weekend is going to be busy. Have to finish rearranging my furniture and the spring cleaning, and also the weather is supposed to be great for this time of year, so I am off for a ride in the morning.<br />
I found that the place where I am going to look at tyres for my bike, has a Suzuki Gladius for sale. Im excited but not sure that I can pull off buying a new bike just yet.<br />
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Since I started writing a little bit about myself and my family, I thought I just had an ordinary life if somewhat a little boring. But from the kinds words of those following my blog, I am inspired to write a little more. I wanted to tell you about my dad this time. Thinking about my dad brings a smile to my face. I miss my dad a lot, I left NZ to settle in Canada 24 yrs ago, and in that 24 yrs I managed to get back to NZ two times. Christmas 1999 for my brothers wedding with my kids & my then husband. And the second time Christmas of 2010, I won a trip home for
Christmas. My dad and I are very close and I am a lot like my dad in temperament. Calm and easy going.<br />
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My dads story starts a long time ago - before I was born and up until I was 5 yrs old. My dad at that point in life was in a band and travelled a lot around NZ. The band was called the Harmonikiwis. There was two brothers and my dad. My dad played a triple decker harmonica and a double harmonica that was about 3 feet long and also a regular sized one as well. They did very well, played on the radio and also cut a record. They were meant to move to Australia and tour around there as well, but they all decided to just stay in NZ and the band folded. I remember when I was 5yrs old coming home from school to hear my dads band playing on the radio! It was a cool experience.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jEUObNGrLDM/TyzC9wEV_OI/AAAAAAAAAHM/c-NS4qwl5LY/s1600/Fred+Stevens+house+in+Taupo+and+his+midget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jEUObNGrLDM/TyzC9wEV_OI/AAAAAAAAAHM/c-NS4qwl5LY/s400/Fred+Stevens+house+in+Taupo+and+his+midget.jpg" width="400" /></a>A few years later my dad decided to take up speedway racing and spent many years in the speedway organization as a racer & president of the Kihi Kihi speedway that is still running and racing today. Dad built his own cars. These cars were called TQ's or three quarter midgets. They used motorbike engines from Triumph, BSA, Norton & JAP to name a few.<br />
Every weekend mum would pack up a huge picnic lunch and dad would load the midget onto the trailer, then we all loaded into the car and we traveled hours every saturday to get to the speedway for racing. The first car dad built did not have the roll cage like this yellow one. They started off with a roll bar that was lower than your head! <br />
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Here to the left is the second stage before the roll cages. These roll bars where higher than the head.<br />
Then eventually they mandated roll cages as above.<br />
So after a number of years racing dad decided it was getting too expensive to continue on without a sponsor and for one season drove another car for a Suzuki Dealership.<br />
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Dad won many trophies as a driver and was very good at getting around that dirt track drifting in the corners.<br />
My dad was a mechanic, he could fix any kind of vehicle and worked on motorbikes right through to cattle trucks, from mechanical thru to electrical to actually making or creating parts.<br />
Since I was the only girl in the family, I could always get dad to fix my car or my scooter and of course my 3 brothers always thought it unfair as he wouldnt fix theirs. He always told them to learn and fix it themselves! haha of course I was spoilt by dad.<br />
After dad gave up speedway, he took up another hobby - building and flying scale model remote control airplanes. He love his planes and spent a lot of time with this hobby, we all used to pile in the car and go out with him and watch him fly his planes. It was great fun. The picture below here the plane had a little accident and went through the hedge leaving the wings on one side and the body through on the other side. haha<br />
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Dad kept up this hobby for a number of years until he unfortunately had eye sight problems, a speck of glaucoma in one eye right in his centre vision. Made flying planes a problem as he would lose sight of them which resulted in some crashes and had to give this hobby up.<br />
It was about this time in our lives that it was discovered that my mum had breast cancer. A very tough and traumatic time for my whole family. Dad was extremly stressed while this was happening and not knowing what could happen. Also during this time, the older of my three brothers used to ride trail bikes and was always out riding trails in the forests. During one of these rides with his buddies, he hit a wash out over the crest of a hill and went over that handle bars and broke his neck. He became a paraplegic this day. My brother had a bit of dad in him too and was so determined to get a car have it converted to hand controls, that he never had time to go through any of the "7 depression stages" that the doctor told us he would go through.<br />
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The next hobby dad got into was rebuilding and restoring motorbikes.<br />
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Ducatis.<br />
He started because he was always helping the boys with their motorX bikes as they were always going somewhere every weekend racing and then come home and need dad to help them get their bikes back in shape for their next races.<br />
Dad was also working as a Mazda and Suzuki dealership mechanic. Through out this period of time and up until he retired he was riding and restoring bikes at home after work and on weekends.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxVpyyrea9s/TyzITT5RrnI/AAAAAAAAAHU/qVzrQ_B9fnE/s1600/Old+Codgers+Parade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxVpyyrea9s/TyzITT5RrnI/AAAAAAAAAHU/qVzrQ_B9fnE/s640/Old+Codgers+Parade.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Above was a parade in my home town of Te Awamutu where they displayed the vintage bikes. Dad and his favourite BSA are in the lead here. <br />
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Throughout this later part in his working life my dad got pretty sick and in the end when finally given the right diagnosis, had colitis, which resulted in dad having a colostomy. This has been a disease that has given dad so much trouble in his life from many surgeries to get it right, to cross matching his blood in one surgery and almost killing him. Dad has been in and out of hospital so many time with this disease, that we have all lost track. <br />
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So in between hospital stays, dad has kept up his riding, kept working and always kept a fantastic attitude. No point worrying about it just keep on going.<br />
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While my dad worked as a mechanic at the dealership, he was lucky to be able to have his boss employ my middle brother to be dads apprentice mechanic. They worked very well together and my brother passed his exams and became a mechanic working with dad as well. <br />
One friday night just as work was ending, dads boss had some reason to get mad at my brother Wayne.<br />
That weekend, two of my brothers packed up their bikes and headed to Rotorua for motoX racing. When they got there, the racing had been cancelled because of the rain and the tracks were not rideable. The boys headed home. Unfortunatly, they didnt make it back. They were involved in a head on collison and my brother Wayne, dads apprentice mechanic, died instantly in that accident. <br />
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My dad had to identify him.......that must have been the hardest thing my dad ever had to do. I dont want to dwell on this, but from it - my dad told me he had a change of heart and they way he looked at life. He said to me, that after Wayne died, he realized theres not point being mad about things, you might as well enjoy life because you never know when it can be taken from you. He also told me that his boss, an old family friend, to this day was upset that he had lost his temper with my brother and that the last time he ever saw him, he had been yelling at him. This is something I have learned from - to remember that what you say or do to a person should always be kind because you never know if its the last thing you say or do with this person. I was not in NZ at this time and was not there to help my family. I had just had a baby and was not able to travel. <br />
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Dad continued his riding and restoring - making lots of friends and taking road trips with his buddies all the time. He joined vintage motorcycle groups and was having a good time. One day when he was out riding on his own, he was t boned by a car. Dad was in the right on the main road and as usual, a car driver didnt look and pulled out right into my dad. Below is the bike dad was riding when he was hit.<br />
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Dad was wearing full leathers and didnt get a scratch, but after he got up and called an ambulance and he walked to the ambulance to be taken to the hospital for a check up - they discovered from the xrays, that he too had broken his neck. Dad the ended up in surgery to put him in a halo - the sort that is screwed into your head. In fact his doctor told him he was extremely luck. He had the same kind of broken neck that Christopher Reeve had (Superman) and that kind of break goes either of two way, quadriplegic like Christopher or walk away like my dad. So his walking away left him in a halo for 9 months, then months of physical therapy.<br />
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My dad always kept up his humor, telling me how whenever he went near electrical things that he got a buzz in his head, how when it got cold he would drape a towel over the halo and create his own personal tent, because the cold air made the steel rods going into his head cold which travelled right into his head giving him headaches!! haha - yes he thought this was funny too.<br />
So of course during this year, he could ride his bikes, couldnt work on his bikes and totally missed being able to do anything. Mainly watched tv and he could get comfortable in bed, spent most of his time in his arm chair.<br />
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So when the day finally came that the halo was off and the therapy was done so he could turn his head properly, and the doctor reluctantly gave him permission to ride again, he did. He had a wonderful week or two of riding, and the worst happened. He came home from a ride, sat down to watch some tv and thought that the tv was broken. But no...my dad had had a little spot of macular degeneration, and this day it had suddenly sprung a leak and he became blind just like that. What a devastating blow to dad, after all this and he then became blind. <br />
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But once again, my dad is not to be kept down for long, once he became comfortable with his legal blindness, he had a slight amount of vision in the lower quadrant of his eyes. He also told me its like looking into a thick fog where everything is gone. He got right back into working with his hands, he kept restoring and fixing motorbikes by feel and with his hands.<br />
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Above here is dad replacing something in the starter motor???? on the bike he had kept there just for me to ride when I went back there in December 2010.<br />
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And another note to shock you all - my dad keeps his baby - his fully restored BSA motorbike out at a friends private grassed airstrip. He knows that airstrip like the back of his hand. Yes you guessed it. He gets taken out there and he rides his BSA around the airstrip as often as he can when mum doesnt know!! haha. If you would like to see my dad riding his bsa while blind, I am inserting a link to my youtube page.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwMwnxCk-k&list=UU_v_Ayn-Dm-pFizn9NAkAEw&index=1&feature=plcp">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwMwnxCk-k&list=UU_v_Ayn-Dm-pFizn9NAkAEw&index=1&feature=plcp</a>
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Let me know if the link doesnt work for you - I hope it does. And yes he got in a lot of trouble from mum when she saw this video I took because he didnt have his helmet on. Oh dear....he just said he likes to feel the wind through his hair. :) haha<br />
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So everyone, this is the story of my dad, my hero whom I love very much and miss so much. I have lived more than half my life in Canada now and even though my kids have all left home and one daughter lives in New Zealand in the town of Te Awamutu where mum and dad live, I cant just move back there to live as my adult life has been here. I feel guilty and wish there was a way to be able to be in two places, but I cant. But I have discovered my love of motorbikes and riding. And I have made some wonderful new friends that I know are only going to become better and better friends as we start sharing the motorcycle parts of our lives.<br />
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My dad does have a tiny bit of vision that he manages to be able to use a computer with a special program on it. He loves getting emails, he has a youtube account and a facebook page. I email him and I send the text a little bigger than normal and white text on black, then he manages to read it. Yes he has learnt to use the computer, use a video camera, and to skype. He amazes me more and more.<br />
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In December 2011 dad finally got into hospital again after waiting 3 yrs for a hernia operation. The hernia came about from all his surgeries he has had over the years. Surgery went well, but afterwards lots of issues with healing. He got home mid january, was home a few days, back in hospital because some thing was closing up the shouldnt, so more surgery, back home, then back to hospital because the surgery site was leaking - yup back into hospital for massive amounts of antibiotics. He is still there now, mum says he is getting better.<br />
I hope that he is finally on the mend so that he can get home and start to enjoy life as much as he can.<br />
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Now just another note, I will of course start writing some more about me and then onto my daily trials and tribulations of a kiwi transplanted in Canada and of my riding adventures - mum and dad are also dealing with the fact that last year mum discovered that she has cancer again - a different on to last time but similar. While dad is in hospital she is visiting him every day and also going for chemotherapy.<br />
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And to conclude this book long blog...........throughout all this adventure in my dads part of life - he inspires me because you cant keep him down. He says to me that he has changed since my brother was killed, but I always tell him - he was always my inspiration and was always a tough old buggar - this is what he calls himself. The human spirit is undefeatable in my dad - I just wish for him that the rest of his retirement, can be uneventful so he can relax.<br />
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Thank you all for reading this and if there is anyone who would like to get to know dad or even email him - let me know. I hope no one is feeling down after reading this because please be inspired by him. I am. Dad is only 76 yrs old. He has a sharp mind and a quick wit - makes me laugh all the time.<br />
Take care everyone and good night. Thanks for reading.<br />
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I hope this blog wasnt too long, but I just couldnt stop once I got started.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-12682911976567278602012-02-01T23:27:00.000-08:002012-02-01T23:27:14.581-08:00A new resolution and a bit more about me.Ok here is is February 1st 2012. Today I gave myself a challenge, actually a friend of mine spurred me on to make this challenge with myself, and also to prove something to him, that starting tomorrow the 2nd February, up until (and forever afterwards) he leaves and gets back from a motorcycle trip to Alaska. I am starting a weight loss and fitness challenge. In part its because I need to and have to and finally want to. Second its because I want to be more agile on my motorbike and because I want to be able to do some trail riding. And thirdly, because I want to be a hot motorcycling grandma!! haha No not really the third one.<br />
For me, from that first time a friend gave me a ride on the back of his bike - I was hooked. My family has ridden for years.<br />
My dad and his beloved Beeza (his restored BSA) here he is ready to ride around the grassed private airstrip. By the way - my dad is legally blind. You cant keep a good biker down!<br />
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Then there are my brothers, the youngest who owns a Yamaha dealership in NZ. But he only deals with farming bikes and motorX.<br />
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Then my other brother - the oldest of the 3 boys, used to ride bikes, did lots of trail riding until the accident that left him a paraplegic at the age of 21. A few years ago he built himself a 4 wheel drive hand controlled car to be able to get off road again.</div>
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My middle brother used to ride motoX as well but unfortunatly a the age of 24, was killed in a car accident when the two brothers were on their way to a motox race. Here he is riding. RIP Wayne.</div>
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So when you see all this, its a wonder I didnt start riding earlier eh? Well when I was younger I did start with a scooter before I got my car. I rode that scooter ever where! But until my kids had grown up, a marriage break down and a new begining for me......the timing was finally right for me to do something for me, and it was to take the motorcycle basic and traffic riding courses. I fell in love with riding even more.</div>
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It took me a year after getting my license, to finally be able to afford to buy my very first motorbike, and here she is.</div>
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I am thinking, thanks to a friend, of calling my bike Joey. haha its a funny story for another post. </div>
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I am hoping that this isnt too boring to read, but I will bring you up to date more as time goes by. </div>
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Here is my parents and my two brothers and my middle daughter who is living in NZ in the same town as my parents. I was lucky to win a trip to NZ for the christmas of 2010 - another story to fill you in with some time.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfmcHJWgpiw/TyowS6hA7TI/AAAAAAAAAGU/KZeXdbWGhCc/s1600/family+in+NZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfmcHJWgpiw/TyowS6hA7TI/AAAAAAAAAGU/KZeXdbWGhCc/s640/family+in+NZ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-55880889842933278662012-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:002012-01-29T19:33:11.753-08:00Did I get my spring cleaning done?NO!! haha motorcycling is sure reducing my spring cleaning time! haha<br />
I decided to go out riding in the rain today. I figured, best to choose to ride in the rain to check out my gear and how long I could ride before it soaked through or not. The gear was ok the boots not so much. Boots only lasted about an hour. The decorative stitching on the instep of the boots leaks. In fact when I pushed down on the boot at this point, water squished through from inside the boot. Well I guess I could try the rubber booties over top of the boots, but I think I will try the tent seam sealer first over top of all the seams on the boots.<br />
Stopped by to say hi to Princess Scooter Pie, then rode to the other side of town to visit with a friend for a cuppa tea.<br />
So after riding around and visiting it was time to head home to reorganize my house. Oops no not again, babysitting grandkids....fun times of course. So here I sit this evening eating my french onion soup my place still in disarray from starting the reorganization that never got finished. Oh well tomorrow night? And I have company this weekend so I have to get it done.<br />
Good night.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-60318113771286325032012-01-28T21:09:00.000-08:002012-01-28T21:09:11.836-08:00My saturdayWell today was a little drizzly outside, of course its saturday! But first thing this morning I had to get my "ex" to help me out with his truck to go and pick up and big tv and entertainment centre that a friend was giving me. We went and picked it up thinking that I would be able to give it to my daughter, but it was the same as what they already had. Ok now I have to get rid of it too. I am sure I can find someone who would like to have them. <br />
But now my place is pretty crowded which has me thinking spring cleaning and a major rearranging of furniture. I know its not spring, but a change would be good at this time of year. I actually like to regularly change things around at home.<br />
Well even though today was grey and drizzly I still got out for a ride. Went over to one motorcycle shop, met a couple of riders there, sat on a couple of bikes and perused all the "stuff" I would like! But just window shopping though.<br />
It was so funny today, Princess Scooterpie was going to meet me at the bike shop because she had seen me riding by when she was out. So messaged me to say she would meet me at the bike shop. It was strange, I was downstairs, she was upstairs and we couldnt find each other until I realized we were at different bike shops! Oops! haha<br />
But I did have a good talk to the bike shop salesman. It appears they all know me well there since I bought my first bike off them. Now it appears I may buy my second bike off them if things go right and another client wants to trade his bike in. Im looking at a a Suzuki Gladius as my next bike....very pretty bike and it feels really good. Just the right size.<br />
Well time to get onto some knitting tonight, still trying to make myself a sweater, I wonder if I will get it finished before summer?? Tomorrow is going to be busy with rearranging all my furniture.<br />
Just to finish this blog I want to share one of my favourite sayings<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>"The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement."</i></span>kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-82497262244610863472012-01-22T23:32:00.000-08:002012-01-22T23:32:33.051-08:002012 Motorcycle Show at the Tradex!Woo hoo - I made it to the show, my blog alas will not be as well written to my esteemed riding buddy Ms <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">Princess </span></span><span style="color: magenta;">Scooterpie! </span><span style="color: red;">She is such an awesome friend. We are certainly going to be getting into mischief as the year rolls on by. </span><br />
Wow awakening at 4:30AM on a saturday is a rude awakening....but once awake, showered, dressed and packed my back pack for the day. I was told by a friend to take a back pack to put all the stuff in you collect through the day......boy was Mike right!! It weighed a ton by the end of the day.<br />
The plan for the day was to enter all the competitions I could find, pick up all the brochures I could find and sit on as many bikes as I could. Check, check and check. We three moto divas sure did that.<br />
So as the day started, hopped into my little car and drove down to the meeting place, and of course as usual, I am always the first to arrive anywhere, and always by a good amount of time, so I sat and waited.<br />
Soon my riding buddies arrived and after getting out of the cars, jumping around with excitement we awaited the scared Martin and Kevin to arrive. Oh and while waiting, we still couldnt figure out why the fire ambulance across the road starting beeping his siren?? Was it at the 3 mature woman jumping around at 5:15am in the morning?<br />
The guys arrived and after the hugs and screams we got into Kevins NICE escalade with the cream leather seats and so many lights inside that it looked like a christmas tree. We pulled out of the parking lot to a cheer from us girls of "woo we are on our way"!!<br />
It wasnt long before the guys were hearing "are we there yet" and then we got to Swartz Bay and boarded the ferry. <br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcuf3nVeny8/Tx0BwJafkUI/AAAAAAAAADE/_ClHzmt_nko/s1600/DSCF6277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcuf3nVeny8/Tx0BwJafkUI/AAAAAAAAADE/_ClHzmt_nko/s640/DSCF6277.JPG" width="640" /></a>Now dont think the ride onto the ferry was uneventful, cause it wasnt. Amidst the girls cheering , our lane started to move and we were directed up the ramp.....now BC Ferry staff...note here that you need to space cones so that it is actually possible for a vehicle to make it around the curves, and not dead end a lane into another lane! Oh and then to the young man who was waving us onto the ramp, if you want us to stop, use the right signals!! Poor Kevin got glared at by the young man and yelled at to stop....<br />
BUT did we care - no not at all cause we was a heading to the motorcycle show.....<br />
We ended up with the best parking spot in the house - right up front with a view. That is as long as the ferry didnt have a HARD landing again. haha We met up with another rider friend Richard who came over and spoke with us.<br />
We got into the line up for the yummy ferry white spot breakfasts, after getting our food and sitting down, I had to go and purchase a second cup of coffee. The first one was a little on the spicy side, I had mistakenly put salt and pepper in my coffee instead of the sweetner! Oops what can I say - excitement and the early hour contributed to that oopsy. lol<br />
The trip sure didnt seem to take too long with all the excitement and the window shopping in the gift store! Its sure expensive on the ferry.<br />
It was time to get back in the van and get reading to get off the ferry.<br />
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It was a pretty good docking - once the captien finally docked the ferry, it was the slowest docking I have ever had - I guess they have to try and improve their dockings without crashing eh? Oh that wasnt nice to say hehe<br />
Then we were off and heading out to the show....now you would think, Kevin had a pretty nice GPS on board, yet still asked for directions. Darlene was getting directions from her blogging friend Bob, Cindy was messaging her hubby for directions, Martin was using the GPS on his phone and Martin was looking at the GPS in his car and also directions that were given to him.....they all had different directions - BUT we made it. <br />
No potty breaks were had from the ferry to the show and so we had two highly caffeinated and doing the potty dance in the line up waiting for the doors to open, cracking jokes and trying not to laugh. Finally we got in and everyone immediately disappeared to the closest bathrooms. <br />
AND NOW the show began. I was absolutely overwhelmed by how much was there and how many people! Holy cow it was HUGE. I didnt know where to start so the plan was to methodically work out way around the building in quarters.............that kind worked but Princess Scooterpie, like me, is very easily sidetracked, like kids in a candy store!<br />
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My favourite colour is yellow so of course this attracted me, I like Kawasakis too. I realized that these sport bikes arent so bad afterall - this one I could pretty much sit upright which is what I want.<br />
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Here is Darlene on her favourite bike. Doesnt she look cool on this bike?<br />
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Again here is another bike - I have lost track of the bike model but Im pretty sure this was a Ninja? I have to work more on learning the looks of the different model of bikes.<br />
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Now here is my dream bike - the BMW650GS!! Sigh....and its a great fit, I could handle this bike. But I am thinking this is not a possibility because its so expensive.<br />
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Well this was a great start to the day, but its late and I have to go to work in the morning, I might just ride depending on what the weather report says in the morning. I want to try out my new helmet and tank bag, its so cool getting all this bike stuff and outfitting my bike. I will carry on my blog tomorrow evening. Good night for now ..... sleep well.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5690251232282800883.post-37339508364015475212012-01-19T23:06:00.000-08:002012-01-19T23:06:39.416-08:00Snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wednesday evening above, thursday morning below.<br />
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Well the last few days have been quite the event in Victoria. Yesterday woke up to a dump of snow - yes for Victoria it was a lot. I did not want to have to dig my car out and all the way "UP" to the road. Besides I have 2 inclines to go up to get onto the road. My little car is front wheel drive and pretty good in the snow, but I knew there was black ice under that snow so I was a little hesitant to drive. Dont get me wrong I have a lot of experience driving in winter weather since living in Northern BC just like my riding buddy Princess Scooterpie! But my son came to the rescue in his 4x4 truck and drove me to work and back. I work at the University of Victoria and they decided to be the only school NOT to close for the day due to snow. Yay for my son who saved the day! I got to work just an hour later than usual, so didnt have to take a holiday day if I had stayed home. haha as usual I have diversed from where I was going with my blog today.<br />
So yesterday when my son picked me up from work, we were driving home down Mackenzie when to my utter surprise, a UVic student was riding his scooter, with a terrified look on his face, in the centre lane, towards the university. Because of the weather conditions, he was of course riding slower than the traffic and was holding up traffice with a line up behind him. This was not the worst, he had a helmet on which was great, not a full face, an open face helmet. He had a jacket and jeans on, but on his feet he had runners on.....AND he had both feet on the ground on both sides of the scooter, sliding them along as he rode using his feet to keep his balance while he rode on the snow and ice! I really believe that we need to have licensing for scooters and that since they share the road with cars, trucks and motorcycles, they should have some kind of guidelines and be treated the same as motorcycles. <br />
But I was sad to have to put my motorbike away in her shed. I have a nice little heater in there to keep her warm and dry. I still havent come up with a good name for her yet. She is like me, shorter and smaller than most other bikes, she doesnt have as many cc's as all her friends, but what she lacks in size she makes up in enthusiasm. She is adventurous, daring and lots of fun. So lets see what would fit as a name for her.........<br />
Hmm now that description matches a mischievous little New Zealand bird called the Kea, its a very personable bird, likes to be around people, loves to chew anything that has rubber on it and has been know to wreak tyres, wiper blades and peck at anything on your vehicle or motorbike.... how does Kea sound? Check out this video of the Kea... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKWCz0YhmcY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKWCz0YhmcY</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0DNaVQ-P4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0DNaVQ-P4</a>
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Well saturday is coming up fast and a group of us want to get over to the Motorcycle show in Abbotsford. A yearly event that I have never been to before and Im so excited to go. Problem is "the SNOW" I wish that the sun would come out and melt everything and keep it from freezing for the next few days - then I dont mind if we get more snow, I just want to go to the motorcycle show! <br />
There are a few of us that are car pooling - but of course we want to be smart and if the road conditions are not safe, then of course we wont go. I want to check out the bikes for size, check out the womans section of the show and maybe purchase some heated gloves or a new helmet. I also want to enter in all the competitions that I can, I would love to win the motorbikes that are being put up as door prizes!<br />
Well its that time of night that I should be sleeping so goodnight and lets hope for a nice warm day tomorrow.kiwi_debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15096434794158809216noreply@blogger.com1