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Issue #990
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From Nova Scotia Sus

From Russ

The Ontarion is not Available

Hi All,

For those somewhat interested in motorcycles, I’m slowly getting used to this new little Harley Sportster. That may sound a bit strange. How hard can it be to get comfortable on a smaller, lighter bike? The funny thing is, its harder than I expected. My muscle memory worked against me, being so used to the much bigger, much heavier bike. My hands must re-learn the clutch lever feel, and the throttle and front brake feel. My feet must re-learn the shifter feel and location and the rear brake feel and location. But, its all coming together. I’ve been riding over to a vacant section of street by the university where I can practice turns and other tight and slow speed maneuvers. Those are the things that can trip up a rider. The feel of the lean angles and center of gravity must be re-learned. But, its all good and I’m getting there. I guess a younger person would adapt a lot quicker but there’s not much I can do about that. And yes, this bike is proving to be a lot of fun.

I’ve had Sue on the back a few times now and the bike is surprisingly comfortable for two-up riding. The upgraded seats give sufficient cushion and the passenger backrest supports her back in the right place. Interestingly, the suspension on those bikes tends to be a bit harsh but with two-up, the extra weight seems to smooth that out nicely. Its quite a pleasant ride for us. As well, she can get on and off much easier than she could on the old, big bike because this new Harley is much lower and much narrower. So, its all good.

By the way, this bike is keyless, just like our car and truck. You don’t put a key in the ignition and turn it to turn the machine on. You just walk up to it, push the ‘on’ button and then hit the ‘start’ button. To turn it off you just hit the ‘on’ button agin which had become the ‘off’ button. Of course, starting it only works if you have the FOB in your pocket, just like in the car. On that line of thought, here is something Harley does very well that many of the other motorcycle makers don’t seem to bother with….each owner can set their own 5 digit PIN number. What that does is let you key in your secret number in order to start the engine and ride the bike. What good is that you might ask? I’m glad you did and I’ll tell you. Key FOBs for vehicles of all sorts have a little battery in them, those little 2032 batteries that are in all sorts of things. Those batteries can go dead, or, the FOB itself can be lost. That means without a working FOB you could find yourself stuck at the side of the road somewhere. By being able to key in a PIN number, you can over-ride the system and get back up and running.

That actually happened to us way back about 13 years ago on my first Harley, a big touring bike similar to the big blue one I sold this winter. We were on our first big road trip and had crossed western Canada eastbound with the intent of meeting up with Sue’s sister and brother-in-law near Nipigon Ontario with the intent on riding down into the States. Just outside of Thunder Bay we got stopped in road construction and I shut the bike off to wait for traffic to be flagged through. When I went to start the bike, it had a hissy fit. The lights flashed the security siren blared, and that was it. No starting. Cars behind us were starting to move forward and we were dead in the water. After a few seconds of confusion, we climbed off the bike and pushed it over to the side of the road. By the time it had settled down from its security system induced hissy fit, we had figured out, or at least hoped, that the problem was the battery in the FOB. So, having a card in my wallet with the over-ride instructions on it, which since then I’ve known by heart, we keyed in my PIN number and the bike happily fired up. Half an hour later we pulled into a variety store parking lot where we were greeted by our friends, and where I could purchase a new battery. With the new batter installed, the bike was happy and so were we. I learned two lessons from that, replace the FOB battery every spring, and always carry a spare. Oh, a third lesson, know how to input your PIN number, which is easy if you know the number and know how but impossible if you done’t and don’t. Because I now replace my FOB batteries every spring, I have not had that happen again but I have had to give my spare batteries to others who have had their FOB go dead, and hadn’t input or learned about using a PIN. So, there you go.

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Wow, are you guys ever lucky again this week, I’ve got another double header ready for you…. Two versions of the same song again. This song, called ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, proved to be surprisingly difficult to put together when I tried doing the audio recording. The rhythm is a constant rolling chord change that occasionally changes directions, making the vocal and instrumental accompaniments quite tricky. I thought it would be a rather basic, easy song but that turned out to be somewhat deceptive. However, I didn’t give up, I persevered and kept working at it until it came together. So, here you go, enjoy.

Audio recording….
When You Say Nothing At All

Video recording….
When You Say Nothing At All

doug

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From Nova Scotia Sus

Here we are the middle of May and still putting on a fire most days to keep the house a comfortable temperature. We have had some days here and there that were nice and sunny but that's spring in Nova Scotia. Not that we are complaining we have been able to get the yard and gardens in shape for planting and our seedlings indoors are growing rapidly. Some will be transplanted soon into the greenhouse and others will wait for the garden. Something I've been interested in growing is Luffa. We tried last year with very little success so hopefully this year will be different. The Luffa sponge makes for an amazing scrubbing brush for bathing or dish washing. In most gift stores it is an expensive item although I actually found it in the Dollar store for very cheap. So I'm not sure now if it is worth the trouble of growing it. Our garlic is coming up nicely and it's great that the deer aren't interested in biting it off. Also the asparagus is showing here and there and that's another plant the deer won't touch. Last year our potato tops were eaten off so they didn't have a chance. We discovered at the Whistleberry store (run by the Zehr's family of Ontario) we could buy a 50 lbs bag of potatoes for $20.00. No point us growing them.

As of April 29th our province has been in total lockdown and again I am out of work for who knows how long. Our numbers of cases have grown much faster than last year at this time so drastic measures had to be taken. It actually gives us lots of time to do our projects at home and I consider it my holidays. Most of the cases are in the Halifax area where our biggest population is so us in the North are in good shape. May 1st also brings on the lobster season for the north shore that lasts until the end of June. I am not a lobster eater and am a rare person in this area that does not go crazy at this time. So nothing stops the lobster season except the odd stormy sea. Everywhere there are lobster stands cooking or selling live lobster. Apparently this year, the lobster factories are required now to shock the lobster before putting it in the boiling pot to cook. New laws and regulations that make everything more expensive.

Just wanted to thank all those contributing to the Squamidian. It's been great reading.

Also good to have Uncle Russell back entertaining us and I wish Greg a speedy recovery from the shingles. Keep up the good work everyone.

Sus

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From Russ

POW!

Out on my 2nd bike ride, coming up a steep little hill on Lakeside Trail, just past the Boat Club, when:

POW!! Someone fired a gun very close to me! Several people standing nearby, must have heard the shot too – we all looked at one-another – where did the shot come from? One young lady suggested, “Maybe you got a flat?” Sure enough – the left-rear tire had blown. This was the same damned tire that went flat last week, and Martin had put a spare inner-tube in it at that time.

(Hmm – how do I get the bike back home? Can’t push it the 6 to 8 blocks to my place, nor should I – would certainly ruin the tire, rim, or me!)

People (strangers) are so kind these days – they offered me all sorts of assistance, but I said my son could come and pick up my bike with his truck.

“We have a truck” said one.

“I can drive you home” said another. He was a large man standing about 30 feet from me.

“That would be great”, said I happily “could I have your shoulder to lean on?”. He promptly provided, and we walked over to a late model, black car parked along-side the road. It was a “JAGUAR”. Never set-foot into one in my life! He drove me home, and helped me to my ramp. What a quiet, smooth ride!

“Thanks-a-million”, I said.

“See you later when you pick up your bike”, he replied. He was a nice guy. He told me his name, and that he never owned a ‘Jag’ before.

Phoned Greg. No answer. Phoned my nephew, same luck. Phoned Martin.

“Where is it? I’ll pick it up today”. Martin is going out of business and moving to the East Coast. His house is now on the market. $900,000, if your interested in moving to Point Clark. It will likely sell for his price in a few days – property’s are selling like ‘crazy’, and at inflated prices!

Thought I’d be without a bike for a few days, but martin brought it back the very next day!

“Good new/bad news”, said martin, “had to put on all new rubber – and tires are very expensive for your model”.

“You had to change ALL THREE?”

“Yes, the wall on the tire that blew was cracking, and looking at the other two, I found they were cracking as well”. (My heart is pounding. I’m thinking the job will cost $200 - $300, or more!)

“What do I owe you?”

Martin, a former cop, and about 5’ 30” tall, looks at me and sadly says,

“One hundred twenty-five dollars”

This ‘old guy’ is VERY relieved. Now, I’ll be able to ride safely for another 10 years! (Who am I kidding? I don’t have another 10 years. That would mean I’d still be riding when going on 103!!) I’ll let you know.

Your old Uncle Russ.

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Unavailable

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Take Care And Be Safe
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