Gone but never forgotten

I break today from my usual motorcycle related posts.

It is a sad sad time in our household. Our grand Newfoundland dog Bella has left us. She was only 2 years old but had suffered through many joint related problems. First last year she had an operation on a knee and during the operation it was discovered that she suffered from severe hip displacia. But she recovered and then in May of this year the other knee went and yet another operation. Finally this week her hips gave out completely and she was unable to walk anymore.

She was my companion and my friend and I loved her so. One does not know contentment in any greater form than when this majestic dog rested her massive head on your knee and looked up at you with the most beautiful brown eyes. I would have given anything I owned to have been able to save her but it was not to be. My wife and I took her for her last Vet visit and as we layed on the floor with her she quietly licked our hands and looked up as if to say "It is okay, I will be better now". Then she went to sleep and quietly passed. I miss her so much and my tears will not stop.

So goodbye my "Lady Isabella" your time was too short here with us but wait and some day when it is our time we will come and you will greet us and we will run and then lay under the afternoon sun....together.

Been a long while

Since December you say, well at least no one can accuse me of rambling on.

A lot has happened since last Christmas. I have endured another brutal winter in this god-forsaken land and am glad that there are only 6 or so more to go until blissful retirement in North Carolina.

This Spring my most lovely wife Jennifer happened to be in the Dealership with me and I convinced her to sit on a 1200 Sportster Low, 105th Anniversary edition. Within 30 minutes we had closed the deal and the bike was hers. Well not really, this all happened in February and if you reference my view on winter you will understand why we didn't pick it up until the end of April.

She has taken the riding course and as this is her first ever motorcycle we are taking it slow. A lot of neighbourhood jaunts so far but today we headed out for the first time down the highway. A little 20 mile trip down to a little town called Alfred "The French-fry capital of Eastern Ontario" so that she could visit a craft store there. She rode beautifully and we stopped and ate lunch (poutine....my favourite). On the way back I pulled a bonehead move by doing a last minute stop at a light that was controlling traffic over a bridge that had one lane closed. I shoulda kept going and she assumed I was. She made an expert avoidance move around my bike to the left but did manage to clip my mirror and bend my clutch lever forward. More importantly she went on past and came to a very controlled stop. No damage to her bike cept a scratch on the end of the brake lever and she has a very sore finger which unforunately will probably get sorer before long.

I don't care about my mirror but I am chastising myself for being such an idiot and putting a new rider in that kinda position. But as i said she did marvelously.

Myself I have been looking for ways to improve the old Road King and have decided this month to replace the seat with a new Mustang and next year change exhaust to V&H true duals with Monster oval mufflers. I want a little more tone to the exhaust but don't want it sounding like some refugee from an OCC build. I don't get these morons who want the open pipes. Doesn't improve performance cause usually that is all they do and they sound like s**t. Lets face it boys and girls, a Harley is never going to be fast (unless you spend mega dollars) and I got all of that out of my system long ago with my old Kawisaki ZX11.