The
Squamidian Report – Feb. 11 / 12
Issue #507
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
It’s been hard, so very hard. Most of my riding friends in the Vancouver area have been out riding most of the winter. The only times they don’t get their bikes out have been when its too rainy, or during the few times the Lower Mainland got a brief, hardly noticeable touch of winter weather. We had a week of sunny mild days where the temperature has hit the low teens. And boy, have they rubbed it in my face. You see, my bike is still tucked away, under it’s cover in the back of the garage. Being this much further north, and up in the mountains makes quite a difference from a riding point of view. On clear mornings our roads are slippery with black ice, and regardless, there is so much sand and salt on our local roads that they are slippery because of all the grit. And, salt is not at all good for motorcycles, they don’t have rust protection like cars do. So, I’ve had to sit back and watch as they ride around grinning. Oh well, the rains came back and they have had to park their bikes. I’ll be getting mine out on the first nice weekend after I get back from visiting Ontario during the last week of Feb. (19th to 27th). I’ve always waited until the first nice day or so of March and that is what I will do again this year.
In preparation for this year’s riding season, I had ordered new tires for the bike. The current rear tire still has better than half it’s useful life left in it, so it won’t need replacing until about mid season. However, doesn’t hurt to have a replacement sitting here ready to go. The front tire needs replacing as soon as it’s convenient and I’ll have it replaced as soon as I can get the bike to where it will be replaced. The Harley’s come equipped with the Dunlop OEM Harley tires, and on the ’09 and up bikes, they are pretty good compared to the OEM’s on the previous years. The newer tires (they are bigger and wider) last much longer and handle well. However, the only way to get the OEM tires is through Harley dealers and you pay through the nose and then some. Its actually quite ridiculous what the dealers charge for those tires but they think they have us over the preverbal barrel. When I replaced the rear tire last spring, I switched to the Dunlop American Elite tire, which is what Dunlop has put out as the proper replacement for the stock tires. The difference is, the AE cost way less than the stock tire, mostly because you can purchase it on-line, or from most after market suppliers.
I order my tires through the ‘Motorcycle Super Store’, in the States somewhere, and they deliver them to a shipping depot just over the border in Sumas. Tires can not be shipped over the border, we must cross and pick them up there. So, ‘The Wife’ and I took a little ride out the Valley and popped over the border. We picked up the tires and headed back. Crossing over had been no problem and crossing back wasn’t either, but I did have an interesting conversation with the Canadian border guard. When he inspected what we were bringing back (the two tires), he told me that he orders a lot of stuff from the same place, including tires for his own motorcycle. However, instead of having them shipped to Sumas and picking them up himself, he has them shipped to a place called ‘Bikers Oasis’. That’s a small bike shop just over the Aldergrove border crossing that sells all sorts of after marked stuff, as well as selling and installing tires. He said he then simply books a time with them to come over and then goes out for a nice cross-border ride. That simple. When he gets home, he’s riding on new tires. No muss, no fuss. Now he tells me!
However, even if I’d been aware of that approach to getting new tires and having them installed, I think I like the idea of having replacement tires sitting here, where I can get them when I need them. But, its something to think about for next time.
Wow, you should have seen the night sky during those clear days, and therefore clear nights. Spectacular, with the moon and Jupiter and Venus in a big arching line across the sky. Mars was there too but she only rose above the eastern horizon after Venus sank below the western horizon. Or at least that was my view from here where our horizons are higher than they tend to be in flatter parts of the country. Those mountains can get in the way when trying to see lower objects. This time of year is good for sky watching, the winter constellations are still very visible, there are interesting planets to look at, and its warmer out than it was a month ago.
Speaking of sky stuff, my little model airplane is back together, again. It actually went back together easier than I thought it would, simply because I had purchased the proper kind of glue when I picked up spare parts. This glue is the type where you squeeze out equal amounts of the resin and hardener and mix them. You have just 5 minutes to spread the mixture and get the pieces together so it is important to test-fit them several times so you are comfortable. There is only one chance to get it right. Anyway, the plane looks pretty battered but it will fly again. There are some chunks out of the body where the propeller chopped into it when the fuselage broke and folded right back on itself. And the poor thing looks like it wants to go in circles, and the nose cowling is in taters, and the wings aren’t as straight as they once were, but it will fly again. I might not be getting any better at flying it, but I am getting good at putting it back together.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Wow! That week went by fast! It’s time for another column and I’m barely over the last one! Oh well, I guess I can handle it of you guys can read it!
The other day I was out and about and passed through Victoria Park here in Kitchener. The cities restructuring of the lake in Victoria Park is well under way and it’s looking amazing! The trucks of muck out of the lake bottom have been shuttling to and from the dumping site for several weeks now and the new bottom is pretty much in place. I do hope the city is going to cover the lake bottom with stone of some sort so it doesn’t just turn to goo all over again. They have at least been smart enough to place huge limestone rocks around the entire perimeter of the lake and the waterways leading into the park. This smart move will at least keep the lake shore intact and has already made it much more attractive. The main body of the lake is almost finished and once they get the patio on the boathouse completed it’s going to look incredible! The finished product will not only be a huge improvement over the original lake but it will be sure to raise the property values of the homes surrounding the lake. Let’s hope the 19 million of our tax dollars that council is spending on this project is worth it. I for one have been in this park a total of maybe 5 times in the past 40 years so I don’t think I’ll feel the crunch of the renovation other than in my tax bill! Nineteen million dollars is one heck of a lot of money and I know it’s important to keep our city and it’s facilities in good shape but just how many of the citizens of Kitchener will this big renovation affect in a positive way?
I hope the city invents ways of using this park that will attract more and more of our taxpayers to attend functions within it’s boundaries so the tax dollars spent on the update will seem more worthwhile once it’s completed. It would be cool if they reopened the lake to canoes and once again set up a city owned rental operation within the park. I’m sure that many of the people that spent lazy summer afternoons back in the 50’s and 60’s paddling around the lake would love to relive those days once the new lake is completed and reopened. At least if they capsized in the new lake they’d be able to recover without having 10 lbs of duck poo on their feet and legs! LOL! The park has been a very picturesque place in the past and hopefully it’ll be even lovelier when the work is done this time.
I wonder if the work crews found any interesting treasures on the bottom of the lake as they excavated it this time?
The statue of “The Kaiser” was supposed to have been dumped in the lake as a protest against the war with Germany during that time. I don’t think even the local historians know exactly what happened to the Kaiser’s bust or if it’s even still in existence. It would have been cool had the work crews found it in the lake as legend had stated over the years. Maybe some RECORD reporter will do an in depth article on the park rebuild and I’ll get some of my questions answered. I have a few things I’d like to ask city council once it’s completed but unless I schedule some time to address the council members at a Monday night meeting in the future I’ll be stuck never knowing the answers. What the heck, maybe the council members wouldn’t have the answers! They are notorious for being uninformed in the past, what would make me think they’d be any more informed when it comes to matters concerning Victoria Park’s restructuring! I guess I’ll just have to wait for the parks completion and see how that works out!
I’m going to make a point of visiting the park this coming summer and check out for my self the finished product!
I can’t wait!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
“I never drink water because of the disgusting things fish do in it!” … WC Fields
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Have a good one..
the doug
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