The Squamidian Report – Aug. 5 / 17
Issue #793
Including:
From Lorne
The Ontarion
Hi All,
At time throughout our lives we find ourselves having to do things we
don't really want to do but feel we have to do. Thats a situation I've
found myself in this summer. For some reason my 900 lb motorcycle seems
to be putting on weight, or thats how it feels to me. I've been
struggling with how heavy it is lately. Just pulling it off it's side
stand takes almost all the strength I have and maneuvers at slow speed,
and coming to a smooth stop are difficult. Mostly the real issue is my
shot shoulders and the reduced functionality of my arms that are
obviously attached to said shot shoulders. However, once rolling, that
old bike is as smooth as silk and a pure joy to ride. I like that bike.
But, the slow speed difficulties I've been having have given me cause
to at least think about something smaller and lighter. I certainly
don't want to but feel I should at least explore the possibilities and
options. To that end we test rode a nice new 2017 Harley Softail
Heritage, a bike that comes with windshield and side bags and a
passenger backrest, sits lower and weighs 200 lb less. Logically, this
should be a really nice replacement for the big old Electra Glide. We
braved the never ending traffic tie-ups and jams in the city, and rode
down to Burnaby to the Harley dealer for information etc about the new
bikes. Bike dealers are now like car dealers, the sales people try
their darnedest to talk you into a test drive so that you will want to
take the vehicle home with you. In the old days they didn't even want a
customer to sit on a bike before purchasing the machine. Now, heck,
they will tell you to take it home for the night and don't worry about
bringing it back until the next day.
We didn't want to do that, that would feel like too much of a
commitment on our part and besides, the thought of heading back out
onto the stop and go backed up clogged highway #1 on an
unfamiliar bike didn't appeal at all. Because we have no other choice
but to use that highway and the Second Narrows bridge (there simply is
no other route alternative) to get there and then get headed home, I
elected to simply ride some of the streets in that area. I should have
loved that bike, we should have loved it. But we didn't. My old Harley
is a 2009 and purrs like a kitten. This brand new 2017 was noisy. Yes,
it was a lot lighter and therefore more easily manhandled but the
ergonomics didn't work for me at all. With my shoulder problems I can't
reach up or out very well and those bikes come with quite high set
handle bars. By the time we'd put just a few clicks on it I was
hurting. There is no way I could have ridden it up the clogged highway
and out of the city and then on up to here. That was disappointing to
me, and very disappointing to the sales person. When we were ready to
head home we climbed aboard our Electra Glide and it felt great, like
an old shoe or glove and that was good. She got us through the backed
up traffic, around the car up ahead that blew its engine setting up a
smoke screen no one could see through, along the Upper Levels and then
up the Sea to Sky to home. Once she is moving she somehow looses a
whole lot of that 900 lb and become light and responsive, the way a
bike should be.
Perhaps the solution to my age induced and physical limitations is to
look at some of the options available that would make our bike a bit
easier to man handle such as lowering the suspension. Even an inch
would move the center of gravity down a bit and that would be a big
help as I'd have better leverage if my feet were better planted on the
ground, although I've heard that doing that can effect handling.
Anyway, I've probably dropped the idea of going to a smaller bike, for
now, although there is one other Harley model, the Dyna Low, I could
look at, at some point in the future, I guess. I know as my shoulders
continue to deteriorate I will have to do something if I want to
continue to ride but for now I think I'm sticking with the Glide. In
the bike world she is pretty high end when it comes to rider comfort
and its hard to beat that.
And then the heat wave and choking smoke hit us. Hard. Like a hammer.
The temperature started to crank up last weekend with forecasts of some
pretty scary numbers for mid to late week. Pretty well everywhere in
southern BC has now set new 'high' records. Thats not a good thing
because its already desperately dry around here. Then, by Monday
morning the wind direction had changed and the smoke from all those
interior fires began to invade the coastal areas and soon we couldn't
see across the valley. Out at the coast the smoke stayed up at about
the halfway point on the mountains for another day before mixing in
with the lower level air but my mid week everywhere was socked in.
Believe me, its not fun being out of breath just by climbing a single
set of stairs but thats what the smoke does to you, well, to me. We
have had to forgo our morning walks as thats just way to strenuous
under these conditions. Basically, we are hiding in the house until the
air clears out but given the forecast, that could be a while. And for
those record breaking high temperatures, yes, they got here but were
tempered just a bit by of all things the thick smoke which actually
helps to block the harsh rays of the sun. Go figure, our enemy is our
friend. Sounds a lot like politics, eh?
doug
****
East Coast Trip, Installment #1
On July 16, we, Carol, Al, Cindy and I flew to Deer Lake,
Newfoundland. Rented a car at the airport, then proceeded on a
really wonderful journey that took us up the Northern Peninsula, across
to Quebec and up into Labrador. The 1st night, thanks to a very
welcoming host, we shared a 2 bedroom cabin that had full kitchen and
bath plus a long deck overlooking the Bay of Islands, part of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. We would have made the place our home for the whole
time away if we could have. It was that inviting. However, our
plans called for further adventure, so we back tract through Corner
Brook and Deer Lake to pick up the Viking Trial, Hwy. 430, the only
road leading north. 2 nights at Rocky Harbour, Gros
Morne National Park, at a full suite with balcony and view across
Bonne Bay that included a light house that we visited. Enjoyed a
most spectacular sunset over the water, both nights (posted on
Facebook)
A long but thrilling drive north to Green Island Cove where we stayed
at Rosie's bed and breakfast. for 2 nights. Hwy 430 follows the shore
of the Gulf of ST. Lawrence until it becomes the Strait of Belle Isle.
Stops along the way included a very high look out at an old house, now
a museum surrounded by wild roses and the picture a mile or two below
was as perfect as a post card. Another stop on our way was a visit at a
fish ladder that funneld them through a glass channel giving us a show
of Salmon passing through that were at least 30 inches in length.
From Rosie's we did a day trip the rest of the way to St. Anthony that
included a visit to L'Anse aux Meadows where the Vikings established a
base over 1000 years ago. The weather, 8 cel with a wicked nor'easter
off the Alantic and pelting rain allowed only a visit to the well
displayed information center and to view a replica of the boats
used for their crossing. We however were able to see from a distance
the remains and rebuilt structures.
I will continue next time.
Lorne
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Here we are in the early stages of August and it looks like we’ll be in
for another wet month. Every day this coming week is supposed to have
at least some rain in it. At least the lawns will be perking up and
unlike the Prairie Provinces and BC we won’t have to worry about fires
of the natural kind. Waterloo is still hoping to catch up with their
firebug as they are now up to fire number 8. Maybe I jinxed them with
my firebug story in the Ontarion a couple of weeks ago, who knows? Oh
well, let’s hope they catch up with this guy before he hurts or kills
someone. I haven’t heard of any more fires in rural Wellington County
since my last write up, maybe the bug over there has moved to Waterloo?
On the other hand maybe he’s just been stalled with all the rain we’ve
been having lately. If he quits now, they may never catch up with him.
I’m sure that’s happened before where the bug just decides not to light
any more fires. They say old habits are hard to break so I seriously
doubt an habitual fire starter will discontinue his ways! At least the
bug in Waterloo is only lighting small structures so far. It sounds
like he’s someone who likes to light fires late in the evening and
could well be someone who does so while walking home from work after
his night shift! Persistence usually pays off so with Waterloo Fire and
the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office as well as the Regional Police all
on the search for this guy they will likely catch him eventually.
There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to his
timing other than he strikes during the night hours. I guess the
authorities will have to piece together any other pattern type evidence
to get closer to pinpointing this bug. The fact that he likes to set
his fires in the north end of Waterloo is another clue as to at least
what might be his place of residence. I’d be a little nervous if I
lived in the Lakeshore area of the city. The residents should all be
keeping their eyes and ears open in the evening hours to see if they
can spot this dude before he kills someone! They haven’t mentioned on
the news whether he’s been using an accelerant or not but that’s
usually something the authorities keep to themselves. They don’t like
to show their poker hand in case the bug is keeping his eye on the news
reports. Sounds like whoever is lighting the fires in Waterloo is
traveling on foot. The last fire reported had a neighbour who saw a man
running from the scene but they were unable to give a good description
to police. I’m sure the bug will slip up eventually and it’ll lead to
his downfall. They either make a mistake while committing the offence
or they open their mouth and tell someone what they’ve been doing,
thinking they can trust the person not to tell anyone else. WRONG! That
someone will always blab what they’ve heard and that usually leads to
the demise of the criminal lighting the fires. Tonight on the 6 o’clock
news the Regional Police released a video from the latest fire at a car
repair station on Glen Forest Blvd and it shows a guy in a white Tee
Shirt riding a bicycle near the scene at 4 o’clock in the morning.
Hmmm… might just be the culprit on his “get away” vehicle! Let’s hope
this dumbo keeps wearing the white more visible clothing while lighting
things up. It’ll make him much easier to spot in the dark of night!
Way back when I was still attending OFC
(Ontario Fire College) in Gravenhurst every year or so I had occasion
to spend a month long stretch taking an advanced arson course. It not
only taught us how to start fires but we also learned how to
investigate fire scenes and pinpoint the origin and cause of fires. I
was surprised at how many different and inventive ways there are to
start fires. Many of the ways included the use of household chemicals
such as swimming pool chlorine as well as the common light bulb.
If anybody wants to know how to start a fire in an unusual way, all
they have to do is go on line. I’m sure it’s no secret that Google will
supply any would be arsonist with any number of fire- starting methods.
Heck, if they can tell you how to build a bomb I have not doubt the
fire starting information is readily available as well! Let’s hope the
arsonist doesn’t discover this source and decide to improve on his
method of excitement. There’s no need for any would be or practicing
fire bug to carry a book of matches in this day and age. I won’t go
into any of the specifics I picked up during my fire service days but
I’m not the only source for such information that’s for sure! I just
don’t want to add to the line up of knowledge for arsonists.
I’ll leave off at this point for now and hope
this person is arrested soon. Think I’ll go watch the Local News and
see if he’s back in the spotlight again this evening. Sure hope not!
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>
Make sure your utility shed is locked up tight and your homes Smoke Alarms are in good working order!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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