Sunday

What a fantastic day!
I took Nellie out for a little spin and to gas her up.

The speedo was acting up a bit so I'm thinking that it needs a little TLC.
However she starts and runs good.

Next weekend it is the turn of the Triumph!

Acting on the suggestion of Aussie Glen I added a little Sta-Bil to the tank.


The front shocks were a bit rough so I found a book online "The Complete Book of the Ariel"
I added the correct amount of oil, so next time should be a bit smoother.

The fork oil has to be filled through the little hole where this screw fits. The hole is 3/16" diameter and the recommended level is 17 - 18 inches below the screw face. I went to Home Depot and bought some 3/16" dowel with which to make a dip stick. I then had to make a tiny funnel with the cap from a gear oil container and a regular funnel. Even then it was drop by drop.
The quantity stated is 1/3 of a pint, this is of course an Imperial Pint. So off I went to the grocery store an bought an Imperial Pint of a certain beverage. So I poured out the contents into a suitable container and filled the bottle 1/3 full.
No problem, except of course now what do I do with that Imperial Pint of beverage filling up my container.
Oh well I guess that I should just ensure that it is not going to be an environmental hazard. See picture at the end.



Current mileage, it should be increasing by at least 4 or 5 miles a week.
Here it is.




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Another One of Those Days!

As Jimmy Buffet said in one of his songs,
"I guess it's gonna be another one of those days"

We decided to ride to Long Beach for lunch, no big deal about 20 miles each way.

I needed to gas up the bike first, so I went out whilst Anne was out on her walk.

That awful sound hit me when I pressed the starter "ARRUFF ARRUFF'

Dead battery, OK, take the battery out and go to Westminster HD for a new one.

Take the left side hard bag off so that you can get to the bolt that holds the seat strap on.
Take the seat strap off, take the seat off, remove the battery terminals lift out the battery.

Easy!

Wrong!

I was able to get hold of the battery with my finger nails and lift it about an inch.

So I had to rethink the idea and came up with a design for a strap with which to lift it.

After a 15 minute strap manufacturing session the battery was out.

Off I went to Westminster HD, about 20 minutes and $184 later I was on my way home with a new battery.

The new battery was installed and solved the problem.

It was a great ride with perfect weather, about 85 degrees and clear.

We went to Tequila Jacks for lunch, one of our favorite spots down near the water.

This is the view from the restaurant patio.


As the day ended up well I guess it wasn't quite "One Of Those Days"

Sunday we will walk down to Neptune's in Sunset Beach.

The band is the George Fryer Combo who are celebrating their 10th year playing together.

Check it out.


http://www.jkingneptune.com/


https://sites.google.com/site/georgefryercombo/

It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it...

Stop Press

OOPS!

Spoke to soon.


Missy came up lame, she started limping and after a thorough check by Dr. Mom. it looks like she has broken a toe on her left rear foot.



Well the vet needs another payment for the kids college fund!

"I guess it's gonna be another one of those days"


I wish I could put the Jimmy Buffet track here, but copyright prevents it.
I could sing it myself and record it:
 nah!!!!!!

More soon.

Really!!!!!

Yes, I was only joking about the snow.
I took the picture from a restaurant menu.
The weather was fantastic the whole time.




The view from the cabin.

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Idyllwild Day 2

What a weekend!

 

We went to a little art and craft show.in the village / town this lady was spinning yarn from raw wool.

 

 

There were other "ART" types of stuff for sale but none of it was quite my idea of something I would want in the house.

 

 

Brent and Jake just hanging in the cabin.

 

 

 

 

Anne, Brent, Jake and Bob looking around town. 

 

 

We all had a great time with Brent and his friend Kathy, On Saturday evening we went over to the place where she lives and then on to the Gastrognome for dinner.




On Sunday morning the weather was a complete surprise!
We did not expect this...

However, we are seasoned travelers and nothing really fazes us, I put the chains on the truck and set off down the mountain.
I had to lift Bob into the truck as we had not brought his little snow booties.

We got home around 11:00 and just kicked back after a quick trip to Trader Joes.

 

 

Idyllwild

We came up to Idyllwild for the weekend with our friend Brent.
Brent brought his dog Jake and we brought Bobby, for a quiet weekend retreat.
We were all a little apprehensive because of the Silver fire spreading up the mountain from Banning.
We called the resort management and they were very reassuring.
The trip up here was very easy, the road up to Idyllwild from highway 74 has been recently repaved.

On Friday evening we walked around town and had a pleasant time at Jo Ann's restaurant. They had a band playing and they were very good, they played a mixture of stuff.




This is the town monument in Idyllwild, a fantastic wood carving.

We went out this morning and enjoyed a pleasant walk around town.




The surroundings are very relaxing, I think that the trees play a very important part in the sense of calm that the place exudes.


We decided to sit out on the porch this afternoon and kick back with a beer and playing Trivial Pursuit.
I must admit that it was something of a surprise that there was a AA meeting taking place in the little amphitheater across from our cabins.
These guys went on for hours about their virtues and counting down from 50
regarding how many years they had been sober.
They are only down to 17 right now and are yacking AD NAUSEAM about how good they feel.
I just wish Anne would come back from the liquor store with some more beer.






This is where we stayed, a really neat little place.


More tomorrow.

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Friday Staycation

Last Bike To The Barn

 

I decided that this is the year to get all of the bikes running at the same time.

 

Three out of four now.

 

So the Red Chopper was scheduled in for Friday for a physical and some minor transplant work.

 

 

Here it is on the back of the AAA truck.

 

The driver asked if I had ever loaded a bike before, HMMMMM! I said let me think about that one.

 

 

 

So we loaded it up and off we went to Huntington Beach Hogs and Choppers.

 

 

 



 

 

The crew there are going to check it out and send me the diagnosis later this week.

 

 

 

 

I'll give you an update once I get the info from them.



Staycation

Today was my first full day of staycation so I decided to take the Ariel out for spin.
I got it fired up and took it out into the street ready to go, then I found that my garage door opener did not work. The fact that I ran it through the washing machine in the pocket of my jeans may have had something to do with that problem.
I had to walk round to the front door to get back in. There I found a parcel from Northern Tool, OH! OH! I thought what have I bought now that I forgot about buying.
When I opened it up, it was a gift from Barb and Leon, actually GIFTS as there were two of them.

A new John Deere Hat 

 And a John Deere Tractor,

the one in the center.

 

A short trip over to Seal Beach was in order. I arrived at the Grill and met all kinds of people, some for the first time, some I have known for years.

We've know these guys for some time, left to right, Larry (Flint) I kid you not! Jerry and Steve.
All of them now retired and giving a me hard time (in a very friendly way) until I pointed out that as I was still working to pay their SS they had better be nice to me.

So they relented and suggested that I keep working for years to come.

Steve got his picture in the local paper, very aptly called  Sun, with a comment about the Seal Beach Blvd bridge reconstruction. He was being polite, the whole construction program in that area is a giant pain in the rear

It was like a veritable Who's Who of people I know. Our friend Tempe came driving by in her truck, then another guy, Ron, from the Grill showed up.
I met the owners of the Cold Stone Creamery on the corner of Main St.
They have now bought the Tropical Juice bar between them and the Grill.
It seemed kind of strange chatting with a guy who was wearing a suit and tie on Main St S.B.

The icing on the cake was that the Ariel performed well both ways.
A slight oil leak, but they did that when they were new and this one is almost sixty years old.

That is why the British were never able to import TVs into the USA, they couldn't figure out how to make them leak oil!