Want to guess what I just got for Christmas? Oh come on I'll give you a hint...Now I can take lots of pictures on the trail, although I have to find a case for it first or it'll get the crap beat out of it everytime I fall on it. Yeah it's a new camera, one of those tiny little canon ones. :D
Now if I could just get my bike to start without me jump starting it, that would be real nice, and slightly less of a workout. Maybe it's finally time to take it in for some maintenance, I'm too lazy to do it myself.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Monday, September 12, 2005
Squirrel
I've been too lazy to take the bike anywhere other then down the road and it shows. Instead of pictures from biking trips i have a picture of the squirrel that was in the tree outside the front door on Sunday. If i had been faster this morning i might have gotten a picture of the red fox that was standing in the field this morning. Maybe next time.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Gas Prices
Alright, the gas prices just took another jump, it's getting way too expensive. At this rate it won't be long before it's too expensive for me to drive to work(180kms round trip).
What's my sollution? I think it's time that i found myself a long term illness: "Sorry i can't come into work for a while, i have the plague".
I've already prepared my speech for when they confront me on it: "Well my dentist told me it's really serious, how was i supposed to know it's not the same thing"
Maybe i'd better save that excuse for later, when the gas prices get a bit higher ;-)
What's my sollution? I think it's time that i found myself a long term illness: "Sorry i can't come into work for a while, i have the plague".
I've already prepared my speech for when they confront me on it: "Well my dentist told me it's really serious, how was i supposed to know it's not the same thing"
Maybe i'd better save that excuse for later, when the gas prices get a bit higher ;-)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
My Toy
This is a picture i took after the trip we took on August 20th. I think the last count i heard was 39 atvs, one dirt bike, and 60 people. It was a great crowd, lots of friendly people and nobody got hurt.
It really was spotless before i left, but after 87kms it had a little bit of mud on it...i must have hit a puddle somewhere along the way.
It really was spotless before i left, but after 87kms it had a little bit of mud on it...i must have hit a puddle somewhere along the way.
Welding Is Fun
Ok i tried welding the other day and it's a lot easier then i thought it would be. I did learn really quick that welding in shorts and sandals is a really bad idea. It was about 3 seconds of welding before a piece of molten metal burned a nice little spot in the bottom of my foot. So now my bare minimum attire for welding is pants, shirt and boots...of course i'm wearing the helmet and gloves too.
So now i'm trying to learn a little bit of welding, i said it was easy...but i didn't say i was doing it right. I've got to learn some technique, cause i can melt metal together, but that doesn't mean it's strong or that it's right. I'm thinking i should try to build a gokart, that would make a good project. I can burn myself and then if i survive that i'll be able to crash the gokart on the trial run...i wonder which will be more painful.
Anyone want to mail me some parts to use on the gokart? I'm not too proud to take donations. :-)
So now i'm trying to learn a little bit of welding, i said it was easy...but i didn't say i was doing it right. I've got to learn some technique, cause i can melt metal together, but that doesn't mean it's strong or that it's right. I'm thinking i should try to build a gokart, that would make a good project. I can burn myself and then if i survive that i'll be able to crash the gokart on the trial run...i wonder which will be more painful.
Anyone want to mail me some parts to use on the gokart? I'm not too proud to take donations. :-)
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Lazy
Have i been on the bike lately? yup. Have the trips been interesting? yup. So why no posts? Cause i'm too freakin lazy to type it all in. I think it's time to create posts by just thinking about what i did since the last post. Okay here goes ..... anything yet? Maybe i have to think harder ..... frig, still nothing. Well that sucks. That means i'll have to type it manually.
Summary:
-went biking
-came home
-went biking another time
-came home again
-went biking
-came home
Okay, i feel better now that i've covered all the important details.
Learned a few lessons since the last posts, if you're gonna use a chainsaw to cut trees in your ditch pay attention to where the chain is relative to your arm. If you're gonna play around on your dirt bike while wearing shorts pay attention to how close your bare leg gets to the exhaust. The last and most important one is to always curse at the engineers who design four wheelers with half-assed fixes to problems. Who puts a thin piece of plastic over a coolant hose to protect it from constant contact with a sharp piece of metal? Come on now, what kind of a stupid sollution is that? Move the hose, put metal over it, or take the edge off the metal.
Okay, that's probably enough venting frustrations for now, i don't want to waste all that anger, i have to save some of it for the drive home.
Summary:
-went biking
-came home
-went biking another time
-came home again
-went biking
-came home
Okay, i feel better now that i've covered all the important details.
Learned a few lessons since the last posts, if you're gonna use a chainsaw to cut trees in your ditch pay attention to where the chain is relative to your arm. If you're gonna play around on your dirt bike while wearing shorts pay attention to how close your bare leg gets to the exhaust. The last and most important one is to always curse at the engineers who design four wheelers with half-assed fixes to problems. Who puts a thin piece of plastic over a coolant hose to protect it from constant contact with a sharp piece of metal? Come on now, what kind of a stupid sollution is that? Move the hose, put metal over it, or take the edge off the metal.
Okay, that's probably enough venting frustrations for now, i don't want to waste all that anger, i have to save some of it for the drive home.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Suzuki on a Winch
Look at what we caught in the muddy water. Bob can kind of lay some of the blame for this one on me. Although, just cause i said it looked like a fun spot didn't mean that he had to go and get stuck in it.
This was a picture from Sunday, and i almost forgot to post it. I know he'll be happy to find out that i posted a picture of his bike being winched out of the mud by a polaris.
This was a picture from Sunday, and i almost forgot to post it. I know he'll be happy to find out that i posted a picture of his bike being winched out of the mud by a polaris.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Partridge
Well i finally made it out on the bike for a nice little trip. We left fairly late in the afternoon but we covered a quite a bit of ground while we were out. We even managed to see a bit of wildlife, the partridge, a hawk and a few rabbits.
Bob thought he was fast enough to catch one of the small rabbits. It was pretty funny to watch, he literally lept off the bike before it was completly stopped...then as the bike started rolling backwards down the hill he jumped back on the bike to put the brakes on.
I wish we had gotten a picture of the hawk that was out beside the trail, but Bethany had the camera and kept on going. We waited for her, but by the time she decided to come back the hawk had flown off...maybe next time.
Bob thought he was fast enough to catch one of the small rabbits. It was pretty funny to watch, he literally lept off the bike before it was completly stopped...then as the bike started rolling backwards down the hill he jumped back on the bike to put the brakes on.
I wish we had gotten a picture of the hawk that was out beside the trail, but Bethany had the camera and kept on going. We waited for her, but by the time she decided to come back the hawk had flown off...maybe next time.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Literally Twisted
I don't even drive a four wheeler anymore, but i'm getting lots of practice trying to straighten them out. First we were trying to straighten Bob's front rack out between a couple trees...which is kind of ironic since it was a couple of trees that made it crooked in the first place. Then last night we tried to straighten out Chris's bike a bit. He tiped it over and landed hard enough to push the back rack down on the right side, pull the right handle bar down and forward and twist the spindle on the right side. We managed to straighten out the rack and handle bar last night, we didn't even take them off the bike, we just used a 5 foot crow bar to get some leverage and pull things back into place....as for the spindle, i think he's going to price that before we attempt to straighten it. Personnally i think it should be replaced if at all possible, it is kind of important and will cause some serious tire wear if we don't get it right. Oh well i like getting the workout as long as it's not my own bike that i'm trying to fix :D
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
The "New" Car
Well i think it's official. This is the "new" car, it's a 2001 honda civic si-g. I'm hoping it lasts longer then my last car.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Well It's Official
Well today i went and picked up the 2001 Civic that i looked at a while back. They through in a trailer hitch and window tinting for me but it's still gold colored. Oh well, at least i won't have trouble finding it at here at work where the parking lot seems to be filled with either silver, black or red vehicles. I can live with having a car that looks a little different, maybe i'll even pretend i'm different too :D
I haven't even gotten the car home yet, but once i do i'll have to take some pictures of it out in the sun and post them...i'm really hoping that the colour in the next set of pictures looks better then the picture i posted before. Now i just have to try and sit here patiently waiting for 5pm so that i can drive it home. It's gonna be a long afternoon.
I haven't even gotten the car home yet, but once i do i'll have to take some pictures of it out in the sun and post them...i'm really hoping that the colour in the next set of pictures looks better then the picture i posted before. Now i just have to try and sit here patiently waiting for 5pm so that i can drive it home. It's gonna be a long afternoon.
Friday, June 17, 2005
That's Gold?
I've been looking at used cars to replace my golf and this was one of the cars in my price range. I can't say i'm crazy about the color, but it's cheap, good on gas and fun to drive. My biggest concern is how well it's going to do if i put a hitch on it and try to tow the 800 pound polaris atv and the 240 pound crf. Anybody ever tow 1500lbs with civic si?
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
For sale
For sale:One diesel powered mosquito repellant.
Yup, it's that season again, the mosquitos are out, but not to worry i've got just the sollution for you. It runs on diesel and can generate smoke for hours on one tank of fuel. The mosquitos won't bother you at all...then again you may not be able to stand the smoke either. The car does still move under it's own power but after you read the list of problems you'll understand why i make no guarantees on how long it'll last.
1993 golf diesel for parts:
-one working wiper(driver's side)
-wrinkled hood
-two chipped headlights
-no grill
-no radiator cooling fans
-injectors, lines and pump from a 1.6L(no this car is not a 1.6)
-stripped crank pulley
-crank shaft is damaged
-valves are likely damaged shape
i'll even throw in:
-the original injectors
-the original injector lines
-the original injector pump(it'll come in handy if you've been looking for a heavy bag of useless metal pieces)
Yup, it's that season again, the mosquitos are out, but not to worry i've got just the sollution for you. It runs on diesel and can generate smoke for hours on one tank of fuel. The mosquitos won't bother you at all...then again you may not be able to stand the smoke either. The car does still move under it's own power but after you read the list of problems you'll understand why i make no guarantees on how long it'll last.
1993 golf diesel for parts:
-one working wiper(driver's side)
-wrinkled hood
-two chipped headlights
-no grill
-no radiator cooling fans
-injectors, lines and pump from a 1.6L(no this car is not a 1.6)
-stripped crank pulley
-crank shaft is damaged
-valves are likely damaged shape
i'll even throw in:
-the original injectors
-the original injector lines
-the original injector pump(it'll come in handy if you've been looking for a heavy bag of useless metal pieces)
Monday, June 13, 2005
Nice Trip
Saturday i spent the day helping a friend build a shed...i know it sounds like it's not much work, but it was 10'x12' and 10' feet high. Seems like a simple task but by the time you build the floor the trusses, and the walls you've done a lot of cutting, a lot of nailing and almost as much swearing. It was a warm day so it seemed fairly long, but 11 hours after i started i headed for home. The rest of the day consisted pretty much of me showering, eating and watching tv. I know it sounds kind of lazy for a saturday night but i wanted to be able to lift the bike for sunday's trip.
So Sunday morning the alarm went off and i got out of bed...normally it takes a lot less effort to stand up. I guess 11 hours of standing with a lot of bending and squatting down to lift stuff takes it's toll. The muscles on the inside of my legs felt like they had been replaced with a nice pair of lead weights. My first thought was a warm shower, that's just what i need, that'll loosen them up a bit. Ok, got any more bright ideas, that didn't help at all...oh well, at least i smell better. So i had some toast while i put some chain lube on my chain and packed some tools.
The plan for the day was to meet up with another group at the store and go from there. So we left the house and headed for the store, a very common trip for us. So you would think that it would be the simplest part of the trip, not this time. Near the half way point i forgot about a spot where i had to make a 90 degree turn and did something i do a lot while on gravel. I pushed the back brake pedal down all the way and pulled in on the front brake a little bit. This is usually followed by a bit of back tire slide and me letting off on the brakes and hitting the throttle. Except this time the back tire never slid, instead the front tire dug in and i went down. Funny thing is before i hit the brakes it thought maybe i should just turn around up the road and come back. Funny how you rememember those split second decisions so much better after you made the wrong choice.
Onto the fun part, assess the damage to the bike. The piece of plastic that i push to turn on the blinkers must have caught on my glove and got pulled off. Suprisingly i didn't break the brake lever off and the foot pegs did exactly as they were designed to do, they simply folded up and stayed intact. So the reservoir for the brake fluid has some scuffs, the brake lever has some scuffs, and the piece of rubber that covers the brake cable where it connects to the lever has a bit of a hole punctured in it. So i stuck the little piece of plastic for the blinkers back in place and the bike seems fine. Now to assess my damage, my right elbow and shoulder took the brunt of the punishment. Since i was only wearing a tshirt i've got a few scratches that will remind me of my little accident for the next week or so. My ankle feels a little stiff and my shin has a bit of a scrape on it, but other then that i think i'm good to go. So I tightened up the laces on my right boot, picked up my bike again and we headed to the store.
The rest of the trip to the store is fairly uneventful, although on the way there i start to doubt my back brake and test the theory on some level ground. Sure enough it's got no stopping power at all. Although i hate doing it i use my front brake sparingly until we get to the store, i don't want to repeat what i did on that turn again today. Now i know why the back tire never slid, the back brake wasn't working at all. So at the store i tighten up the back brake and it works great again.
There were five bikes at the store, bringing our numbers up to eight for the trip. The weather was good for biking although the roads were dry and dusty in some spots, but we made good time and covered a lot of ground. It was a good group to travel with and i got to see some new trails, along with a few famillar ones. The further we travelled the more i started to feel the effects of being on my feet all day saturday, my muscles kept telling me to lay down for a bit. So when we came to one washed out spot in the road i was definitely thankful to have someone there to help me pull the bike up the other side of the bank(thanks BajaX).
What else happened on the trip....oh yeah, Bethany almost rolled her bike. There was a tree cut off along the trail and somehow her bike caught on it and lifted both of the left wheels right off the ground. She said her right leg hit the ground before she managed to get the bike back on all fours. Today she said her hip is still pretty stiff so i'm starting to wonder if maybe she dislocated it...but i don't know much about that stuff so i'd just be guessing. Oh yeah and i blew a fuse at some point, i'm guessing it had something to do with all the wires i added for the headlight kit and the deep water i had just been through. But i went to start the bike and nothing worked, sure enough the fuse was a pretty black color, i'm so glad they include a spare fuse. I'm also very happy that i remembered to pack the tools before i left the house.
Lessons learned on this trip:
-check bike (including brakes) before leaving
-don't try to take turns too fast
-be physically prepared for a long trip
-be sure you have spare fuses
-pack any tools you may need
I think it was one of the best trips i've been on for a long time though, stops weren't too long, lots of nice scenery and a good group to travel with. I look forward to doing it again as soon as possible.
So Sunday morning the alarm went off and i got out of bed...normally it takes a lot less effort to stand up. I guess 11 hours of standing with a lot of bending and squatting down to lift stuff takes it's toll. The muscles on the inside of my legs felt like they had been replaced with a nice pair of lead weights. My first thought was a warm shower, that's just what i need, that'll loosen them up a bit. Ok, got any more bright ideas, that didn't help at all...oh well, at least i smell better. So i had some toast while i put some chain lube on my chain and packed some tools.
The plan for the day was to meet up with another group at the store and go from there. So we left the house and headed for the store, a very common trip for us. So you would think that it would be the simplest part of the trip, not this time. Near the half way point i forgot about a spot where i had to make a 90 degree turn and did something i do a lot while on gravel. I pushed the back brake pedal down all the way and pulled in on the front brake a little bit. This is usually followed by a bit of back tire slide and me letting off on the brakes and hitting the throttle. Except this time the back tire never slid, instead the front tire dug in and i went down. Funny thing is before i hit the brakes it thought maybe i should just turn around up the road and come back. Funny how you rememember those split second decisions so much better after you made the wrong choice.
Onto the fun part, assess the damage to the bike. The piece of plastic that i push to turn on the blinkers must have caught on my glove and got pulled off. Suprisingly i didn't break the brake lever off and the foot pegs did exactly as they were designed to do, they simply folded up and stayed intact. So the reservoir for the brake fluid has some scuffs, the brake lever has some scuffs, and the piece of rubber that covers the brake cable where it connects to the lever has a bit of a hole punctured in it. So i stuck the little piece of plastic for the blinkers back in place and the bike seems fine. Now to assess my damage, my right elbow and shoulder took the brunt of the punishment. Since i was only wearing a tshirt i've got a few scratches that will remind me of my little accident for the next week or so. My ankle feels a little stiff and my shin has a bit of a scrape on it, but other then that i think i'm good to go. So I tightened up the laces on my right boot, picked up my bike again and we headed to the store.
The rest of the trip to the store is fairly uneventful, although on the way there i start to doubt my back brake and test the theory on some level ground. Sure enough it's got no stopping power at all. Although i hate doing it i use my front brake sparingly until we get to the store, i don't want to repeat what i did on that turn again today. Now i know why the back tire never slid, the back brake wasn't working at all. So at the store i tighten up the back brake and it works great again.
There were five bikes at the store, bringing our numbers up to eight for the trip. The weather was good for biking although the roads were dry and dusty in some spots, but we made good time and covered a lot of ground. It was a good group to travel with and i got to see some new trails, along with a few famillar ones. The further we travelled the more i started to feel the effects of being on my feet all day saturday, my muscles kept telling me to lay down for a bit. So when we came to one washed out spot in the road i was definitely thankful to have someone there to help me pull the bike up the other side of the bank(thanks BajaX).
What else happened on the trip....oh yeah, Bethany almost rolled her bike. There was a tree cut off along the trail and somehow her bike caught on it and lifted both of the left wheels right off the ground. She said her right leg hit the ground before she managed to get the bike back on all fours. Today she said her hip is still pretty stiff so i'm starting to wonder if maybe she dislocated it...but i don't know much about that stuff so i'd just be guessing. Oh yeah and i blew a fuse at some point, i'm guessing it had something to do with all the wires i added for the headlight kit and the deep water i had just been through. But i went to start the bike and nothing worked, sure enough the fuse was a pretty black color, i'm so glad they include a spare fuse. I'm also very happy that i remembered to pack the tools before i left the house.
Lessons learned on this trip:
-check bike (including brakes) before leaving
-don't try to take turns too fast
-be physically prepared for a long trip
-be sure you have spare fuses
-pack any tools you may need
I think it was one of the best trips i've been on for a long time though, stops weren't too long, lots of nice scenery and a good group to travel with. I look forward to doing it again as soon as possible.
Friday, June 10, 2005
I Hope it was Painless
Well i got the call this morning, they took my golf apart to check the timing. What they found is definitely bad news for my little car. The bolt to hold the crank pulley was loose and this stripped my crank pulley, and ruined the crank shaft. Since this would definitely throw the timing off, and the diesel is an interference engine, it's pretty safe to say that the pistons have probably done a pretty good job of mashing the valves. That may explain why the car has been smoking non stop lately. They estimated that if the valves are gone it would be about 8-10 hours of labour with a total of about $2500 for parts and labour.
Now if this were a brand new ferrari it would be a much simpler choice, fix 'er up she's a hot little red sports car. But nope, we are talking about a 1993 VW Golf with a wrinkled hood, no grill, no radiator fan, two chipped headlights, one working wiper, and a heater that spits pine needles. So even if i spend $2500 on the car to get it working again i doubt that it would be worth the $2500. Which is bad news for the golf...i think her time has passed, may she rest in peace.
Official time of death 12:35PM June 10th, 2005
Now if this were a brand new ferrari it would be a much simpler choice, fix 'er up she's a hot little red sports car. But nope, we are talking about a 1993 VW Golf with a wrinkled hood, no grill, no radiator fan, two chipped headlights, one working wiper, and a heater that spits pine needles. So even if i spend $2500 on the car to get it working again i doubt that it would be worth the $2500. Which is bad news for the golf...i think her time has passed, may she rest in peace.
Official time of death 12:35PM June 10th, 2005
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Overdue Trip
I was definitely more then overdue for a trip out with the bike. I had the bike out for a bit on the weekend when my sister was out with her family, but only around the yard.
So tonight we went out to see if we could find some new trails. We managed to find a few dead ends and some mud. On that note, it's way too easy to dig a rut in the mud with my back tire. Next time i'm going to be sure that i don't pick a soupy spot to turn the bike around...i could have dug myself quite the hole there, although I will admit that the mud is fun.
This trip was a nice slow one so we even managed to see a bit of wildlife. A camera with a nice zoom lense sure would have come in handy. But i'd snap a picture move closer, snap another one and keep hoping that i could get a bit closer. No perfect pictures, but they turned out half decent.
I can't believe i waited this long to go for a bike trip, i really enjoy being on the bike. It's so easy to drive, even on rough trails, i'm looking forward to the weekend so that i can take it out again.
So tonight we went out to see if we could find some new trails. We managed to find a few dead ends and some mud. On that note, it's way too easy to dig a rut in the mud with my back tire. Next time i'm going to be sure that i don't pick a soupy spot to turn the bike around...i could have dug myself quite the hole there, although I will admit that the mud is fun.
This trip was a nice slow one so we even managed to see a bit of wildlife. A camera with a nice zoom lense sure would have come in handy. But i'd snap a picture move closer, snap another one and keep hoping that i could get a bit closer. No perfect pictures, but they turned out half decent.
I can't believe i waited this long to go for a bike trip, i really enjoy being on the bike. It's so easy to drive, even on rough trails, i'm looking forward to the weekend so that i can take it out again.
Rabbit
This is a rabbit that ran across the trail when we were out biking, we shut off the bikes and he wandered back onto the trail long enough to pose for some pictures.
Owl
This owl was watching us from a tree and flew across the trail right in front of us. He was pretty timid, but he let me get close enough for this picture to turn out fairly well.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Just my Chain
Can you tell i was bored, i took the last of the building supplies out of the garage so that they can be picked up tomorrow and didn't feel like doing much else. So i tried to snap a picture of my chain, the picture didn't turn out great. But when i looked at it i did realize my bike could really use a wash. Maybe this time i'll actually use some soap instead of just hosing it down.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Is That Sunshine?
It's been raining so much lately that i was really starting to wonder if i'd ever see the sunshine again. So of course when i saw the sun today i didn't hesitate to go for a quick trip. We made a run up to one of the local beaver damns and played in the mud. I don't know if it's the weather or not, but i'd swear my bike is working better then ever before, maybe it's finally broken in.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Waiting Patiently
She's been waiting very patiently for me to finish with the bike, she even followed me around the yard while i took the bike out for a bit. So yeah i took her for a walk, i know she sure didn't mind the rain.
Top Speed
Well i've been wondering for a while just how fast the crf230f can go. Since there's no speedometer i came up with a great idea a while back. I grabbed the gps and took a quick trip up the road and downloaded the track log. Well since i forgot it only records the points every 30 seconds i missed the top speed.
So today i decided to strap it to the handle bars and put it on the display screen that shows the current speed. If i lean forward onto the tank the bike will do 115km/h...not bad for stock. Trying this on pavement on a rainy day probably wasn't my smartest move so i'm not going to push it today. Now if only the rain would stop for a couple hours so that i could go for a nice trip.
So today i decided to strap it to the handle bars and put it on the display screen that shows the current speed. If i lean forward onto the tank the bike will do 115km/h...not bad for stock. Trying this on pavement on a rainy day probably wasn't my smartest move so i'm not going to push it today. Now if only the rain would stop for a couple hours so that i could go for a nice trip.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Exactly What I Need
I just figured out exactly what i need, i should buy a big bucket of lego. Then i could put it on my desk and dig for a 'specific' piece that's always at the bottom of the bucket. How long do you think it would take for someone to complain about all the noise i'm making? I'm thinking of trying it just to see how long i can have it on my desk before someone hides it on me :D
Rain, Rain and More Rain
Wow, it feels like it's been raining all month...and according to the weather forcast for next week it looks like the month of june will start out the same. I definitely need to invest in some good rain gear, cause if i don't it looks like i won't be getting much time on the bike this summer. Or maybe it'll be so warm this summer that i won't even notice that i'm drenched from the rain...lol, yeah right, this is Canada :D
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Not Fun
You ever have one of those days at work where nothing is working quite right. Well up until about 10AM this wasn't one of those days. But then one thing after another it all started falling apart on me. So now i'm at the point i was at about a week ago, sitting here wondering what's wrong and wishing i was somewhere else. Anybody out there want to trade jobs for a while? Or maybe give me their winning lottery ticket?
Well I suppose on a good note the weekend is only about a day and a half away...is it too early to start counting down the hours? :-)
Well I suppose on a good note the weekend is only about a day and a half away...is it too early to start counting down the hours? :-)
Back Together
I know i should have done it all the other day, but i finished putting the bike back together last night. I just had to put the wire ties back on, make sure everything still worked, and put the side panels back on. I should have took the bike out for a little ride last night too, but instead i spent the time cleaning up the garage. I hate having a messy garage, so i picked up everyone's junk, put it on their bikes and swept the floor. Since the tent was dry i took it down from the ceiling and rolled it up too. The garage looks much better now, i just need to build some benches for my tools and i'll be all set.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Blinkers
Well Bob picked up a couple nuts for me, so now the blinkers are actually attached to the fender. I noticed that the one that fell down in front of the muffler got cooked a little bit. But hopefully a little bit of black electrical tape should keep it from leaking. Don't worry, black tape on your blinkers looks very professional. :-)
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Missing Nuts
Now isn't that a subject line that's open for misinterpretation. When i installed my dual-sport kit i couldn't find any nuts or washers to go on the rear blinkers and they didn't mention any. So i hoped that they were just meant to screw into the holes i had drilled in the fender, although i had a feeling the plastic wouldn't hold them for long. For anyone else whose installing the same kit, make sure you go and buy yourself some nuts if they aren't included. By the end of our trip on saturday one blinkers was hanging from my fender by the wires and the other blinker had gone from a nice 90 degree angle to a very odd 45 degree angle. Oh well, i'd say overall i'm still impressed with the baja designs kit, as long as something else doesn't go wrong.
Monday, May 23, 2005
147 Bikes and 80 Kilometers
The original plan: Adair's poker run for saturday, sleep in the tent saturday night, quick run sunday and home for sunday night. What actually happened: poker run on saturday, slept in a slightly damp tent saturday night, and packed up the bikes in the pouring rain on sunday. So maybe things didn't go as smoothly as we had planned but it was still a fun weekend.
We were pulling out of the driveway at 7:30AM on saturday, and yes that is early. I was actually out of bed earlier on a saturday then on a work day, that just seems so wrong. But we were there before 9AM and registered with lots of time, especially since the group we were travelling with wasn't ready to leave for the trails until around 10:30AM.
The signs posted along the trail were great, and the fact that we were the last group meant the trail was beaten down and very easy to follow. There was a great mix of terrain, between loose rock, thick wooded sections, deep mud and running water, there was a little bit of something for everyone. If the trail came to a dirt road it was never long before the signs would send us off into the woods or up a rocky slope. About midway through the trip i realized that i was going to get my feet very wet or have some very stiff arms...or maybe both. Because keeping my feet up out of the water meant that i had to try to keep the bike under control with my arms and shoulders. Now if it was shallow water or a smooth bottom that would probably have worked. But this was some of the rockiest terrain i've ever seen, and the water was stirred up just enough to hide all of those big rocks just below the surface of the water. Hitting those in second or third gear meant most of my time was spent wrestling with the bike to keep it pointed in the right direction...and without my knees tucked against the tank it got considerably harder.
I almost forgot about this, if you're following four wheelers you may want to wait for them at the bottom of any steep hills if you think there is any chance they won't make it, and give them some space. I was following Bethany and usually i'll wait for her to cross brooks before i get into them just in case she doesn't make it, that way i don't have to put my feet down in the water. Well this one little brook was at the bottom of a steep muddy hill, so after she crossed the brook and started up the hill she got caught on a rock and started rolling backwards towards the brook. Of course i had already crossed the brook, i got stopped in time to keep from hitting her, but she rolled back just far enough to park her 800 pound polaris on my front fender and tire. I couldn't even pull the bike out without her moving, it was wedged in there pretty good, at least it wedged itself in there while the bike was still upright. So i learned a small but important lesson there, not only should i give them space to cross water, but i should make sure i don't park too close when they are going up muddy hills :D
We had planned to cook some hot dogs when we got back, but after nearly a full day on the trail we ended up eating at Adair's instead...i don't remember the last time it felt so good to sit down. We debated packing up and heading for home that night, but if we had done that it never would have rained. So instead we slept in a tent that leaked, and ended up loading the bikes and gear in the pouring rain.
Overall the weekend was a blast, i know that if i want to make my drive easier i need to invest in some waterproof boots. The work boots are giving me great ankle support, but when that front tire starts cutting the water it does a great job of pushing the water right into my boots. So next thing on my agenda is to find myself a pair of boots to keep the water off my feet and and still give me a bit of ankle support.
We were pulling out of the driveway at 7:30AM on saturday, and yes that is early. I was actually out of bed earlier on a saturday then on a work day, that just seems so wrong. But we were there before 9AM and registered with lots of time, especially since the group we were travelling with wasn't ready to leave for the trails until around 10:30AM.
The signs posted along the trail were great, and the fact that we were the last group meant the trail was beaten down and very easy to follow. There was a great mix of terrain, between loose rock, thick wooded sections, deep mud and running water, there was a little bit of something for everyone. If the trail came to a dirt road it was never long before the signs would send us off into the woods or up a rocky slope. About midway through the trip i realized that i was going to get my feet very wet or have some very stiff arms...or maybe both. Because keeping my feet up out of the water meant that i had to try to keep the bike under control with my arms and shoulders. Now if it was shallow water or a smooth bottom that would probably have worked. But this was some of the rockiest terrain i've ever seen, and the water was stirred up just enough to hide all of those big rocks just below the surface of the water. Hitting those in second or third gear meant most of my time was spent wrestling with the bike to keep it pointed in the right direction...and without my knees tucked against the tank it got considerably harder.
I almost forgot about this, if you're following four wheelers you may want to wait for them at the bottom of any steep hills if you think there is any chance they won't make it, and give them some space. I was following Bethany and usually i'll wait for her to cross brooks before i get into them just in case she doesn't make it, that way i don't have to put my feet down in the water. Well this one little brook was at the bottom of a steep muddy hill, so after she crossed the brook and started up the hill she got caught on a rock and started rolling backwards towards the brook. Of course i had already crossed the brook, i got stopped in time to keep from hitting her, but she rolled back just far enough to park her 800 pound polaris on my front fender and tire. I couldn't even pull the bike out without her moving, it was wedged in there pretty good, at least it wedged itself in there while the bike was still upright. So i learned a small but important lesson there, not only should i give them space to cross water, but i should make sure i don't park too close when they are going up muddy hills :D
We had planned to cook some hot dogs when we got back, but after nearly a full day on the trail we ended up eating at Adair's instead...i don't remember the last time it felt so good to sit down. We debated packing up and heading for home that night, but if we had done that it never would have rained. So instead we slept in a tent that leaked, and ended up loading the bikes and gear in the pouring rain.
Overall the weekend was a blast, i know that if i want to make my drive easier i need to invest in some waterproof boots. The work boots are giving me great ankle support, but when that front tire starts cutting the water it does a great job of pushing the water right into my boots. So next thing on my agenda is to find myself a pair of boots to keep the water off my feet and and still give me a bit of ankle support.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Let the Countdown Begin
Less then 24 hours until the big trip to adairs...am i ready? Not even close, but i'm not too worried. All that's left to get ready is the small stuff, like everything. The bike is almost ready, only thing i need to do to get the bike ready is clean the chain. It wouldn't hurt to put a few more wire tires at the front around the wires for the headlight, but since those wires are right behind the headlight and fairly well protected i'd say that it's more cosmetic then anything else. Oh yeah and i should do something with the spring for the brake switch, it feels really stiff, almost to the point where the brake takes a lot of force before it engages. That should probably be fixed, i don't want to go and run into someone on the trail...although if it's someone on a big 600cc 4wheeler i doubt they'll even feel my little bike bouncing off of them.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Let There be Light
Wooo hooo, my bike now has lights. I put the wire ties on last night and tested the lights one more time before putting the plastic back on. What do you think does it look good or what? Actually it was pretty hard for me to go wrong with this kit, everything was easy to follow. Almost to the point where i started thinking that it was going too easy, i kept waiting for something to go wrong.
Well this is the final product, i know it really needs a wash, but i was lazy last night. Maybe if i get ambitious tonight i'll wash the bike and put some more chain lube on. I don't know why i use so much of the stuff, i think i'm just paranoid...if that chain breaks in the woods i could end up with a very long walk.
Now all i need is a speedometer, oh and i should probably find some place to put the license plate...maybe i'll just use wire ties until i find a permanent spot for it.
Well this is the final product, i know it really needs a wash, but i was lazy last night. Maybe if i get ambitious tonight i'll wash the bike and put some more chain lube on. I don't know why i use so much of the stuff, i think i'm just paranoid...if that chain breaks in the woods i could end up with a very long walk.
Now all i need is a speedometer, oh and i should probably find some place to put the license plate...maybe i'll just use wire ties until i find a permanent spot for it.
Is it Clean Enough?
This is Bethany's toy, she's been getting ready for the long weekend and decided to wash her bike. My opinion is that she just wanted to be out in the garage with me while i'm out there putting the lights on my bike. Although she did start working on it before i got home so that kind of eliminates that theory. Darn, for a second there i actually started to feel important. :D
She's getting to be quite the little mechanic, she had the rear tire off her bike and even took the caliper off the rotor to clean the brakes. Are you impressed? Well you should be, i know that i am.
She's getting to be quite the little mechanic, she had the rear tire off her bike and even took the caliper off the rotor to clean the brakes. Are you impressed? Well you should be, i know that i am.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
How's it Look?
Ok so i didn't get the bike back together last night, but all the wires are connected and everything seems to work great. Tonight's job will be to secure all the wires and clean up the bike a bit before i put everything back together.
I spent a lot of time messing with the rear fender trying to get it just right, and it's still not perfect but it's on there straight enough for me. Turns out if i used the template they supplied for drilling my fender i would have ended up with two holes in my tail light. The only other issue i had was with the rear blinkers, i'm not sure if there's supposed to be a nut to hold them to the fender or not. There wasn't any supplied for it, so i think i'll just make a quick run to the hardware store at lunch time and pick up a pair of lock nuts.
For anyone thinking of putting a dual-sport kit on their bike i highly recommend the baja designs kit. The instructions went step by step through the entire process, which was very helpful, especially when it came to connecting all the wires together.
Tonight's challenge will be to put the bike back together without having too many spare parts.
I spent a lot of time messing with the rear fender trying to get it just right, and it's still not perfect but it's on there straight enough for me. Turns out if i used the template they supplied for drilling my fender i would have ended up with two holes in my tail light. The only other issue i had was with the rear blinkers, i'm not sure if there's supposed to be a nut to hold them to the fender or not. There wasn't any supplied for it, so i think i'll just make a quick run to the hardware store at lunch time and pick up a pair of lock nuts.
For anyone thinking of putting a dual-sport kit on their bike i highly recommend the baja designs kit. The instructions went step by step through the entire process, which was very helpful, especially when it came to connecting all the wires together.
Tonight's challenge will be to put the bike back together without having too many spare parts.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The Baja Designs Kit has Arrived
So last night i drove to moncton and picked up my dual sport kit from baja designs (http://www.bajadesigns.com). Anyone want to guess what i've got planned for after work tonight?
Now my next post will either be a very long post about how i shouldn't be allowed to work on my bike because i messed up big time or it'll be about how easy the lights are to install. Personnally i'm really hoping for the latter of the two, although i think the first one would be more entertaining to read about. But the directions they've included with the kit look very thorough, i think even i will be able to follow these.
Wish me luck, i may still need it :D
Now my next post will either be a very long post about how i shouldn't be allowed to work on my bike because i messed up big time or it'll be about how easy the lights are to install. Personnally i'm really hoping for the latter of the two, although i think the first one would be more entertaining to read about. But the directions they've included with the kit look very thorough, i think even i will be able to follow these.
Wish me luck, i may still need it :D
Monday, May 16, 2005
This is why Passenger's are Important
So saturday's big plan was to have a nice long run with the usual crowd and a few guys who were bringing their atvs out on a trailer. Well at least that was the plan...how come things never go quite as planned? :-)
So they got to my place around 1pm and i could have swore one of them had a walking barbie doll for a girlfriend. She looked more like she was going to the clubs then on an atv, but why complain about scenery, it helps to keep the guys entertained. But after a few long stops and only about 12kms covered they decided they were gonna head back and do some drinking. So a few of us headed back with them while the rest of the guys headed off to play in some mud and head to the sunken bridge.
Well we dropped them off at my place and headed back...and sure enough we caught up to the rest of the guys before we got to the bridge. Looks like this weekends trend for long stops was continuing. So we moved on to the sunken bridge and had a little fire and cooked some hot dogs. Of course there were a few bikes playing in the water, and before we got out of there one of them went for a nice swim and took on some water.
To make sure things didn't get any easier two of the guys were a bit beyond what you would call a good state for driving. Of course this would have to be a weekend where we don't have any passengers, so one guy stayed with our two slightly intoxicated drivers while we towed bob's bike and drove two others up to amy's and brought two bikes back...now we have enough drivers for all the bikes and head for home.
Luckily we didn't take any longer getting home, because by the time we got home it was 9:30pm and i was having some serious trouble seeing where i was driving. Overall i'd say this was a good weekend, maybe it's because it wasn't my bike that drowned, or maybe it's because headlight finally came in today, i can't wait to instal it. I'm driving out to my sister's to pick it up tonight, yay :D
So they got to my place around 1pm and i could have swore one of them had a walking barbie doll for a girlfriend. She looked more like she was going to the clubs then on an atv, but why complain about scenery, it helps to keep the guys entertained. But after a few long stops and only about 12kms covered they decided they were gonna head back and do some drinking. So a few of us headed back with them while the rest of the guys headed off to play in some mud and head to the sunken bridge.
Well we dropped them off at my place and headed back...and sure enough we caught up to the rest of the guys before we got to the bridge. Looks like this weekends trend for long stops was continuing. So we moved on to the sunken bridge and had a little fire and cooked some hot dogs. Of course there were a few bikes playing in the water, and before we got out of there one of them went for a nice swim and took on some water.
To make sure things didn't get any easier two of the guys were a bit beyond what you would call a good state for driving. Of course this would have to be a weekend where we don't have any passengers, so one guy stayed with our two slightly intoxicated drivers while we towed bob's bike and drove two others up to amy's and brought two bikes back...now we have enough drivers for all the bikes and head for home.
Luckily we didn't take any longer getting home, because by the time we got home it was 9:30pm and i was having some serious trouble seeing where i was driving. Overall i'd say this was a good weekend, maybe it's because it wasn't my bike that drowned, or maybe it's because headlight finally came in today, i can't wait to instal it. I'm driving out to my sister's to pick it up tonight, yay :D
Thursday, May 12, 2005
The Golf is Reborn
I know this is two posts in a row that have nothing at all to do with any sort of off-roading, but i don't care. I picked up my car this morning, and it's working pretty good so far. I only drove it from the garage to my work, which is about 15 minutes, but i'm hopeful. It seems to have a little bit of a stutter at high rpms, but the pump that's on there has been sitting for four years, so maybe it'll get better after i've been driving it a bit. Just thought i'd share my good news. If anyone in fredericton wants a good vw mechanic just let me know and i'll give you this guys name, he does really good work.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Well it is Sunny out
The car that i usually drive to work is a little 1993 golf diesel, no it's not the tdi. It's a small little car but it's a lot of fun to drive and it's fairly cheap on fuel. I bought it used in fredericton last fall, and i now understand why the guy was selling it. A few months after i bought it i noticed it was getting harder and harder to start in the mornings. Since i know very little about cars and even less about diesels i thought it was just because some water had made it's way into the fuel filter, which looked old enough to be the original. So i replaced the fuel filter and every time the car would die on me i'd drain the water out of the fuel filter and eventually the car would start again. I knew something else had to be wrong with it but being the optimist that i am i hoped it was just the cold weather. Well it's now May and the warmer weather didn't help, the car actually got worse. The car was getting to the point where it would shut right off if the engine rpms got down to an idle. So i took it in to the mechanic and he's been working on it off and on for me. Today's call was a mix of good and bad news, bad news being that they couldn't rebuild my fuel injector pump without it costing more then the price of a brand new pump, good news being that he hasn't given up on my car yet. He's taking the fuel injector pump off a 1992 and he's been putting it on my car in his spare time. Now for those of you who know your volkswagens you'll know that the 1992 pump is not the same part as the 1993 pump, but he's trying it with the hope that changing the fuel lines and injectors could be enough to get it going. He's not the only one that's hopeful, cause i'd really like to have my car back. Back to the waiting game, hopefully thursday's call will be good news. :-)
Of course my headlight kit hasn't come in yet, anyone want to take bets on how late in the summer it will be before i get it? At least it's sunny out, i went over to the park at lunch time, it's nice to be outside in the sun once in a while...although i'd sure like to stay out there on days like this.
Of course my headlight kit hasn't come in yet, anyone want to take bets on how late in the summer it will be before i get it? At least it's sunny out, i went over to the park at lunch time, it's nice to be outside in the sun once in a while...although i'd sure like to stay out there on days like this.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Still no lights
I think it's pretty clear to anyone that knows me, but just in case you didn't notice, i can be difficult when it comes to parting with my money, yeah i mean that i'm cheap. So if i decide that i'm gonna spend money on something that means i want it pretty bad, yesterday would usually be the best delivery date. The light kit for my bike was supposed to show up on the 6th of May. Now you may be thinking "but it's only the 9th, that's just two business days". Normally i wouldn't complain about something being a few days late, but after three weeks of waiting my patience is getting very hard to find. Well i think i feel a bit better now...i think i just need to vent some of my frustrations. Otherwise i'm sure that the people at http://www.gbourque.com/ are going to get very tired of telling me why my light kit isn't in yet....is calling every day a bit too much?
Saturday, May 07, 2005
A Little Rain
It's been calling for rain for a while now, but for some reason i thought it wouldn't happen. So we went for groceries in the morning and sat around the house for a couple hours and made plans to leave here at 1pm. So what happens at 1pm? You know it, the rain started coming down. It was only a little bit at start, so being an optimist i figured it would stop soon enough. So we figured a short trip to the gas station on the bikes would be a good start. It started out alright, but the closer we got to the gas station the harder the rain came down.
So i filled my bike up for $3.18...nice compared to the $8.80 it took for the polaris. I'd be happier if i wasn't paying the gas bill for both of them. Although i won't complain because the crf is a lot more fun then the atv. So by now the water is starting to soak through my jacket and it's been through my jeans for quite a while now. This is about the time i start thinking that just maybe i should consider wearing some clothes that repel the water a bit. Especially since my work boots seem to soak the water up like a sponge lately.
Well anyway we're close to the half way point of the return trip when everyone stops in the middle of a thick wooded section. All that i could see was a long line of atvs blocking the road with a pile of smoke at the front of the line. My first thought was a bike on fire or at the very least overheating too much, but i was way off. This group of atv riders decided to block the trail to have a little fire so that they could warm up on the way home. After standing in the rain for half an hour or so i figure i might as well dry off since the fire sure doesn't look to be dying down. After what was probably a couple hours they decided that it was time to move on so we put the fire out and everyone started moving again.
You know what's the best thing about following a dozen atvs through a very rough trail on a rainy day? The mud they create on the trail. The mud on the trail coming back was a lot thicker then when we left for the gas station. Belive me i'm not complaining, the mud when you are on two wheels is a lot of fun, i love the feeling of coming onto the throttle and throwing the mud at anyone 'lucky' enough to be following me. So the trip back was lots of fun, even if it was a little bit of a wet trip, which seems to be a pattern for me lately.
What about the lessons learned on this trip? Rain gear, i definitely need to start wearing some rain gear for days like this. In the summer being wet isn't too bad because you tend to dry pretty fast in the sun, but when it's only about 10 degrees it sure doesn't feel that warm once your clothes are soggy. So i think my next investment will be a set of water proof pants, maybe even a rain jacket. Or what will probably end up happening is i'll put it off for a couple weeks and it'll be warm enough that i don't really 'need' a rainsuit. Yeah, actually i'm sure that's what i'll end up doing :D
So i filled my bike up for $3.18...nice compared to the $8.80 it took for the polaris. I'd be happier if i wasn't paying the gas bill for both of them. Although i won't complain because the crf is a lot more fun then the atv. So by now the water is starting to soak through my jacket and it's been through my jeans for quite a while now. This is about the time i start thinking that just maybe i should consider wearing some clothes that repel the water a bit. Especially since my work boots seem to soak the water up like a sponge lately.
Well anyway we're close to the half way point of the return trip when everyone stops in the middle of a thick wooded section. All that i could see was a long line of atvs blocking the road with a pile of smoke at the front of the line. My first thought was a bike on fire or at the very least overheating too much, but i was way off. This group of atv riders decided to block the trail to have a little fire so that they could warm up on the way home. After standing in the rain for half an hour or so i figure i might as well dry off since the fire sure doesn't look to be dying down. After what was probably a couple hours they decided that it was time to move on so we put the fire out and everyone started moving again.
You know what's the best thing about following a dozen atvs through a very rough trail on a rainy day? The mud they create on the trail. The mud on the trail coming back was a lot thicker then when we left for the gas station. Belive me i'm not complaining, the mud when you are on two wheels is a lot of fun, i love the feeling of coming onto the throttle and throwing the mud at anyone 'lucky' enough to be following me. So the trip back was lots of fun, even if it was a little bit of a wet trip, which seems to be a pattern for me lately.
What about the lessons learned on this trip? Rain gear, i definitely need to start wearing some rain gear for days like this. In the summer being wet isn't too bad because you tend to dry pretty fast in the sun, but when it's only about 10 degrees it sure doesn't feel that warm once your clothes are soggy. So i think my next investment will be a set of water proof pants, maybe even a rain jacket. Or what will probably end up happening is i'll put it off for a couple weeks and it'll be warm enough that i don't really 'need' a rainsuit. Yeah, actually i'm sure that's what i'll end up doing :D
Friday, May 06, 2005
So how deep was that puddle?
Last weekend(30/04/05) I had lots of fun playing in the water and the more I played the braver I got.
The last deep 'puddle' I went through didn't look so bad. But as you can imagine I was wrong yet again. I got half way into the 'puddle' before the water started coming over my seat. For those of you who've never had the seat off of a crf230f the intake for the air box is under the seat. Too late to turn around my boots are already full of water. Now I know the water is in the air box, cause it really sounds like it's gurggling it. Well i'm wet anyway, might as well push the bike out, so I let off on the throttle and it stalls right away. Now i'm up to my nuts pushing the bike at a run. You can tell the water is cold cause I pushed it for ten feet before I realized i'm still in first, pull in the clutch and finish pushing it out. I drained the water out of the air box and changed my socks. Now i'm not sure why I changed the socks but they felt fairly dry for about ten minutes before the water from my soggy boots soaked through. A little bit of choke and a couple turns of the starter and the bike comes to life. After that little swim the rest of the ride seemed pretty easy.
Last night I finally got around to doing some work on the bike. The oil looked fine to me, but it never hurts to be safe, it's only $5 for a litre of oil anyway. So while the oil is draining I take the side off the air box to clean the filter. Judging by the dust in there i'd say the air box was half full of water, more then enough for my taste. Well after a little time in the garage the oil is changed, the air filter washed and oiled, and the chain is lubed.
Lessons learned on this trip? Oh yeah, I either need to get myself a snorkle kit for my bike or start tucking in close behind the atvs so that they can give me an extra inch or so as they create a wave in front of their bikes.
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