Exhausting Work

I know, its been really quiet on my blog for a while now...

But truth be told, Ive not been doing much of interest... Just going to work and doing the hum-drum 9-5 thing that most of us get by with for the better part of our lives :)

And its been too dark, cold and rainy when I get home after work to be able to do any work on the bike project... I cant even work on the painting of body pannels (too cold outside and too many toxic fumes to work inside).

But, I did manage to hunt around and find an exhaust system solution that I liked...

First off, I found a couple of cylindrical carbon-fibre mufflers at a motorbike wreckers that I really liked the look of.

They were too long but I figured with some cutting, I could get them to fit up under the tail section of the bike... So, I bought them and then got them "cut down" to a size I liked (who knows what they will sound like now?).

The next (and more challenging) problem is the exhaust pipe routing to connect them to the engine!

This was going to take two different sizes of stainles steel pipe and all sorts of precission cuts/bends/welds...

So, first off I decided that I should "model" the pipe I needed in plastic before trying to get it made in steel.

So I bought some cheap plastic plumbing pipe and some bends. I then spent an afternoon on a weekend cutting up the plastic and fitting it in under the bike and taping the mufflers and pipes into position. I got it pretty close... To the point where I was sure it would all work :)

Next problem was to get the steel pipe to use for the real version.

It turns out that thin-wall stainles steel pipe is very hard to find... In fact there is basically none of it available in Vancouver (a city of more than three million people)... I did find some pipe at a couple of auto-exhaust places but it was very thick-walled and heavy... Not what I wanted to use.

After lots more seeking and not finding, I had to resort to mail ordering some sections and then waiting for it to arrive.

It eventually did arive, and so I then called my mechanic/machinist friend Mark and the bike and the bits were collected and taken out to his workshop where hes gonna cut and fit and weld it all together for me.

It is however holiday season here, and it'll take a while before its all done... which is just fine with me since I cant do anything without a workshop in this weather anyway ... Its an over-winter project and Im happy for it to progress at its own rate :)

And thats where things stand at present.

Here are a couple of pictures of how the new exhaust is going and I think its gonna look really good when its done...

Cant wait till Spring  :))

Rear view of the proposed exhaust location

Side view of the proposed exhaust location...

And after more than a month of other activities, I have the bike back and the exhaust system is installed as expected. Mark did a great job of mounting the exhausts, pollishing the header pipes and also making a nice number plate mount with light for beneath the mufflers :))

Bike Update Number 2

OK, the swing arm came back and it all fits and works like it should   :)

But just for fun, lets review that swing-arm plan...
My initial plan was a simple "cut and weld". The picture below was what the swing-arm looked like before the cutting and welding:

And here is what I "imagined" it might look like when done...

But, after consulting with and letting the mechanic/welder guy "do his thing", this is what it actually looks like...

 

So, it looks a bit different yes, but Its definitely stronger (due to that welded-in spacer tube) and just as functional. The only down side is that I need to remove the exhaust system if I want to take the swing-arm off again... Thats no big deal though because I shouldnt ever need to do that :)

And Im also very happy about the welding quality which is good because there is significantly more welding in the job than I had planned... We effectively extended the swing-arm by about 25mm by adding in pieces of aluminum plate, in order to make the suspension linkage work properly.

 

So, the swing-arm welding work is done now and all I have to do to it is get the plastic bits for the chain guard etc. back on and aligned with the new chain position. It isnt completely straight forward but it should be no real problem.

Ive also been patching and sanding the plastic body pannels for the bike and they are just about ready for the colour coat. I temporarily put them back on the bike today just to see how it would look when Im done :)
So, here is what the bike looks like now...

Im really liking the look of that new swing-arm!
But to keep it looking good Im going to have to solve the next big challenge which is the exhaust... The standard exhaust system works just fine of course but it hangs along the side of the bike at the back and pretty much obscures that nice new rear section of the bike!

So I will need a custom system, either with the muffler mounted centraly up under the tail section or a very small muffler mounted right down near the foot peg.
But custom exhaust systems are pretty expensive and I cant afford to buy one new, so Im gonna have to hunt around for a used one that I like the look of and think that I can "make work" for this bike...
Lets see what I can come up with ...

... stay tuned for the next update :)))

Bike Project Progress

After I took the back-end of the bike appart and measured as best I could, it was time to get the cutting and welding done.
So, I took the parts out to Mark's place and, after having a long chat about the "possibilities and problems", I left them there and went back to doing "other things" for a week or two.
And then Mark gave me a call one evening and said "Its done"... Well, I was actually not expecting that, because when Id left it with him, as I understood it, he was going to do the cutting, but then just "tack" weld the parts back together so that I could do a trial "fitting" onto the bike to see that everything was where I wanted it...
But, "done" it was!
So, I went and picked up the modified swing-arm and set about fitting it onto the bike.

And indeed it basically fits and looks like I want it to :)

The bike doesnt have its "body pannels" on but you get the idea :)

 

But then I had to try to connect up the suspension linkage which is where I was expecting to have difficulties... And indeed, there were difficulties... The rear shock absorber would not connect to the linkage - It was obstructed because it was contacting the "throat" of the swing-arm yoke!

It was not possible to do accurate measurements of this area till I got the new swing-arm into place, so Im not surprised that my "rough" measurements were off... And as it turns out, I was "off" by about 15mm! (Thats quite a lot)

But, that wasnt the only problem...

After setting things up carefully it appeared that the rear wheel was "off-centre"!

Now, Id been quite carefull to try to get this right so I was surprised to see this. It seems that the swing-arm from the Honda is mounted off-centre in the original bike frame, because thats the only way this could have happened... And, Ive not had the opportunity to measure the Honda bike frame!

 Note that the rear wheel is about 1cm to the left of centre!

So, Having looked at it all again, and measured things all again, it seems to me that the best solution is to re-cut the swing arm and put some spacer sections in to solve the shock absorber problem, and move the wheel back to the right too. Thats unfortunate because that means it will be expensive (This is why I wanted it just "tack" welded for the trial fitting!)... Bummer  :(

So, I gave the bike and the swing-arm back to Mark, and he'll call me again when its done.

In the mean time, Ill go back to doing "other stuff" while I wait.

And this weekend, that included being "Best Man" at my very good friend Rick's wedding with Jen :)

You do the Math

Progress report on the motorbike project....
Well, while work life isnt exactly boring, it is rather unexciting... So I figured Id blog about the fun-stuff :)


Project is to modify a Single Sided Swing-Arm from a 2006 Honda VFR800 to fit onto an unmodified 2002 Suzuki SV650 frame.

I have the Suzuki bike, and I have the Honda Swing-arm... Now to bring them together!
The trick here is that the new rear whell is 20mm wider than the original, and that makes all sorts of realignment and fitting issues!

I got some tools together, and managed to take the back-end of the subject bike apart on the weekend. And once I had it all apart, I could set about trying to figure out if Ill be able to get the alternate back-end onto the bike in place of the original.

So, I got my trusty steel rule, and a straight edge and I started to measure all the components so that I could see what had to be done...

First and simplest measurement was the inside frame "opening" width of the bike at the swing-arm pivot (135mm), and the outside width of the pivot on the swing-arm (183mm).
... That means that the new swing-arm is 48mm too wide!
And that means that I have to reduce this width by an equal 24mm on each side of the swing-arm (If I dont do it equally then the rear wheel will run "off-centre"!).
... Wow, thats a lot!

Hmm... Well, my initial plan was to machine the bearing sockets deeper on each side of the swing-arm "yoke" style pivots, but there simply isnt anywhere near enough metal for that idea to work!
So, my new plan is to "cut and weld" instead.
So, Ill carefully cut-off the "free" side of the swing-arm pivot "yoke" (where it branches off the main side of the swing arm), and then remove the 24mm from the inside "cut" end of the removed piece; And then re-attach it to the swing arm by welding it (need skilled Aluminium welder to do this job). The other side of the swing-arm yoke will be used as an alignment jig by running the pivot bolt through the attached and unattached bearings :)
Then, Ill cut off the main side of the pivot "yoke" (about 100mm back from the pivot), and then reweld it back on but 24mm closer in to the centre-line of the yoke (using the same alignment jig trick with the already reattached other side of the yoke).
Then Ill have what amounts to a "majorly mis-aligned butt-joint" in the main load bearing section of the swing-arm!!
Needless to say, I will then need to add some serious "bracket" plates of Aluminium to reinforce the joint... Again, Ill need a professional to do this - Whom I have already located :)))

The old "square" and boring (but eminently effective) swing-arm above, and the new "curvy" one below.

 
 The new swing arm as it is now with "cut-lines" indicated...


And a "photo-shopped" version of how it will hopefully look after the cutts and welds :)

OK, so that will get the new swing-arm to fit into the bike frame with the rear wheel centre-line on the centre-line of the bike!
But thats just the start of the fun!... Now, I have to get the chain to align between the front and rear sprockets... And that, is gonna be really tricky and is what Ive been carefully measuring things for...

Here are all the associated measurements:

For the Motorbike and old swing-arm:
Left Side Frame Pivot Hub face to Frame inside left face - 10mm
Front Sprocket Drive-Shaft face to Pivot Hub face - 18mm
Front Sprocket width - 6mm
Chain width (SV650 525 chain) - 22mm
Chain centre-line at Old Swing-arm pivot - 10mm inside of left side pivot face

For the new swing-arm:
Chain centre-line at New Swing-arm pivot - 20mm inside of left side pivot face
Chain centre-line clearance to left edge of rear tire - 29mm
Rear sprocket width 8mm

Now, Im pretty sure that all that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone reading this, but after having drawn myself up a very careful diagram of all the bits on graph paper, the following becomes clear...

... There is not a lot of space!
... And the front chain sprocket on the bike and the rear chain sprocket on the new swing-arm, are mis-aligned by about 18mm!... Which is lots... Which is a bummer!

OK so what can I do about that...
Easiest solution is to make a "tube" extension to the front sprocket to effectively move it further "out" from the bike centre-line... But with the existing sprocket position, there is only about 13mm of clearance between the outside edge of the chain and the inside edge of the bike frame.
And there needs to be about 5mm of clearance to allow for chain slack and flex...
So, the most I can move the front sprocket is about 8-9mm... Which doesnt solve my 18mm mis-alignment!

Hmmmm

OK, so what about the rear sprocket?
Well, I could do the same "tube" extension there but its a much larger sprocket diameter and it gets harder to do (and I think less mechanically sound too)...
But, if I measured correctly, I have 29mm of available space to the edge of the tire... But the tire is a LOT more flexible than the chain and when the bike is cornering, Im sure that inside edge moves by between 10-20mm!... So, realistically, I can only move it 8-9mm before I get into trouble... And, again, that does not solve my 18mm mis-alignment problem...

Hmmmm

But, as you have likely noticed, If I make the "acceptable" modifications to both the front AND rear sprocket positions, we get pretty much exactly the required re-alignment change! :)))

... And, the rear sprocket modification can be made without the difficult "tube" extension too... The rear sprocket width is 8mm... And I need to move the alignment inward by 8-9mm...
So, the simple solution is to machine off the "teeth" of an old sprocket and mount it as normal to the rear hub. Then, machine out the centre of a new (and slightly larger diameter - more teeth) rear sprocket to "clear" the wheel hub, and then drill and bolt it to the "inside" of the old sprocket disk... This will move the new sprocket by the exact 8mm requirement, and will also be strong and simple to construct :))

So, thats the chain alignment solution.

And the only other issue remaining, should be the suspension linkage...
... There is an attachment point on the bottom side of each of the swing-arms for the rear shock-absorber.
Needless to say, the two swing-arms have different attachment points...
So, again, this will require cutting and welding, but I think its pretty straight forward since I can simply cut the mount off the old swing-arm and weld it onto the new swing-arm in the correct location (after cutting the old mount off of that swing-arm too). Note again that professional welding skills are required here since this linkage point takes the full force of all rear wheel suspension forces... And the forces are amplified by the long swing-arm lever-arm and the short shock-absorber lever-arm... hmmm Need to add some reinforcing too!

Old and new swing-arm suspension linkage points

But, after having "done the math!", I now feel that I will be able to make it all work without too much expense or "precission machining/engineering"

... So now Im gonna commit to "start cutting" and we'll see how it looks after I get the modified swing-arm back. Then Ill fit it to the bike and do another careful re-measurement to confirm exactly what I need done to each of the sprockets.

Stay tuned for the next update on my SV650 Single Sided Swing-Arm Conversion :)))

A Suitable Interval

As Im sure some of you have noticed (and Im equally sure that others of you havent too), I havent posted anything on my blog for quite a while...
But I feel that a month is a "Suitable Interval" since the end of my tour, and now Im gonna put the od post up again :)

Ive been back in a "normal" life for about a month now and thats long enough for me to "get my stuff together" and so now Im starting in on my first "Project" :)
And as I suggested while I was on my ride, Ive been wanting to work on a couple of motorbike projects.
Now, Id like to do some modification work on the big touring bike, but since its my only form of transport, and my work is a 45 minute comute away, I kinda need the bike to be working ... ie I cant pull it to pieces and leave it that way for a week or a month etc.

So, Ive decided to work on the little "sport" bike project I had in mind...
I started tracking down parts for the project.
So, while I was looking for parts for this project on the local "Craigs List" web site, I came across a bike for sale of the right model year, and with the front end modifications I wanted to do already done.... So, I went and had a look at it and after much thought, I decided to buy it as the base for the modified bike...
I had to take some more money from my loan to do it, but it wasnt too expensive because its an old bike and its been a bit scratched up... Mechanically its very good but aesthetically it could use some more work :)

So, this is the bike (2002 Suzuki SV650S, with the front wheel brakes and suspension of a 2005 GSXR750)...




And then after some more hunting around on the web, and a few phone calls here and there, I found the other major component that Im looking for...

The rear swing-arm of a Honda VFR800...




Its a "single sided swing arm", which means that the wheel is only held to the bike on one side. And that makes the bike look much nicer as far as Im concerned :)... And thats all this project is about... It wont make the bike faster or handle better... Itll just look nicer :)

... But its gonna be quite an effort to get it done.
You see, the new swing arm doesnt naturally "fit" on the bike that I want to put it. Its too wide for the bikes frame, and the suspension linkage is different, and the chain alignment will need to be changes too... Its gonna need cutting and welding and machining etc. So, its a project that will take a while for me to find people to do the work I need done at a cheap price.
And then I need to get the body work painted... And there are a couple of other things that will take time to get done...

So, its gonna take a few months, but its a project that I want to do, and thats under way and that makes me happy, so I thought Id share it with you. There will be some more posts as the project progresses.

Trip Statistics

Well, it took me a full day to enter all the fuel-log information into my computer... But, now that its done, here are some of the statistics for the trip from Vancouver to Ushuaia and back.
... I find them interesting, but other people could also use them for trip planning :)))

Total Distance :........... 76,505 Km
Total Fuel Stops:.............. 230
Total Fuel Volume: ........ 3672 Litres
Total Fuel Cost: ..............3239 $Cad
Total Days: ........................311 (10 months and 1 week)

Average fuel cost: ..............89c/Litre
Max fuel cost: ..................196c/Litre - Argentina
Min fuel cost: ....................39c/Litre - Ecuador

Average efficiency: ...........20.815 Km/Litre
Max efficiency: .................. 25.2 Km/Litre
Min efficiency: ..................15.314 Km/Litre

Rear Tires: ..............5
Front Tires: .............3
Rear Sprockets: .......0.75
Front Sprockets: ......0.75
Rear Brake Pads: .... 2
Front Brake Pads: ....2
Chains: ....................3
Oil Changes: ............8

Flat Tires: ................1
Accidents: ................1

And, I think that wrapps it up for "the long ride" :))

Whoooa There! Big Fella

And "touchdown"!
Ive made it back to Vancouver Canada... Where I set out on this little jaunt, and the others from earlier in this blog too for that matter.



So, it took pretty much 10 months to ride to Ushuaia and back, and I covered 76,000Km (same as twice around the planet at the equator!).
I had only a single "self inflicted" riding accident (I fell off on a muddy section of dirt road) and
likewise had only one flat tire... Actually, thats only a single flat tire in over 145,000Km of riding now!

But, its now time to "let the tires cool" for a while so to speak and I expect to be here in Vancouver for a fair while... There is of course nothing certain about that as the future is always a mystery, but thats how it feels at the moment :)

And the bike definitely needs a rest too...
Its really worn-out at the moment, and I spent over $700 in a single "buy" yesterday with new tires, new bearings for the swing-arm, head-set, and rear suspension, as well as a new battery (which decided to die just after I got back!).
Actually, the old tires were so bad that the guys at the bike shop where I had them changed used the description of "suicidally worn" :) ... I personally think they still had a few more Km in them though I admit they were realllly bad :)))...
I bought the rear tire "used" in Argentina and put it on the bike in Costa Rica. I figured it would make it back to Canada OK from there, but it seems it was a very old tire as well as being used and the rubber was very dry... So, when inflated, the rubber developed big "splits" in the tread due to the stretching... And then, the really hot desert conditions for a few days meant they "melted away" quickly on the asphalt too! But, they got me back home safely, so Im happy :))


Split in the rear tire tread... Through to the belts!




Front tire went on in Colombia, but is now also virtually without tread :)


Apart from the splits, the rear tire had absolutely no tread left either.

So, Im back where I started and the trip is now over!
Actually, after just a day here in Vancouver, I already have that strange sort of sensation that the trip "never happened" if you know what I mean :)
I was expecting it, but its still a bit sad to have it all "in the past" rather than in the present and the future :)

There will be a couple more blog posts on fuel consumption etc, but thats about it for this trip, and future posts will be on my more mundane and domestic life here in the city...
So, my blogging will likely get much less interesting now... Though people are of course welcome to keep reading if it amuses you :)

Not sure what or when the next "long ride" will be, but if I manage to get the money together, and my butt forgets the discomfort then I guess the "dream" would be to ride North from South Africa, through western Europe, then East across northern Russia/Mongolia, and then South down through Asia...
But thats for the future!

... For the time being, Im spending my time trying to "re-assimilate" myself into the West Coast culture of Vancouver... Really Weird!" :)))

So, I guess Id like to say thanks for peoples supportive comments during my trip, and Im glad to have shared "me" with you...
If anyone wants to write me an email, then I have a hotmail account in my name "grant_else.
Other than that, I wish you all well and good luck in your own "voyages"... Whatever they may be and where ever they may lead you :)))

A Cautionary Tail

This posting is brought to you by Grant's butt!

Yes, I think its time I said my piece...
Now Grant has been gallivanting around on his motorbike for about three years now, and he has clearly been having a wonderful time going places and seeing things and meeting people etc. Hes clearly also been spending lots of time on introspection and has written about all his marvellous little "insights" etc...

But I have to say that for all his inner searchings he seems to have completely overlooked me!
Now, Ive never been particularly large or demanded much of his attention Ill admit, but I would have thought that that would make him pay all the more attention when I did speak up... But No, It seems he has been completely ignoring me for pretty much all of his motorbike touring...

Cos, Ive been complaining quite loudly, and almost continually since he started riding!

You see, I have very little padding at the best of times, and motorbike touring involves a great many hours sitting on the motorbike. Now, initially its not too bad of course, but after a week or so it starts to get to you, and after about three months the pain becomes positively diabolical!
You see, what happens is that with all the sitting down and not much walking around, combined with tropical climates (eating less, and the body seems to naturally lose weight), I have atrophied away quite a bit... And that means that there is even less padding and the seat is even more uncomfortable!

Now every three months or so its true, Grant did stop for a while in some place or other for a week or two... But that was just enough to start recovering rather than fully recover... But, then he'd ride on again for another month or so and do it again.
Then there were several larger breaks of several months too. But in the end these were just taunting me... It all seemed like some elaborate torture... No sooner would I think that the riding was over than it would start yet again!!
And it just went on and on, and on... For three years!!

But, It seems that its over now... At least for a while anyway.

It seems that there is nothing I can do about Grants motorbike riding habits, despite my complainings... But, let this be a warning to any others out there considering long "adventure tours"...

Do your butt a favour and invest in a REALLY comfortable seat upgrade for your bike BEFORE you set off!

... and now, I guess Ill "Butt Out" and leave you all alone again :))

Mechanic for a Day

Ive made it back to Oregon...

And just about a year ago, I saw a little old Ford Bronco 4WD here that I really liked. And I came to an arrangement with the owner to "hold onto it" till I came back... Which he did :)

So, now that Im back from my inter-continental wanderings... and the little 4WD is still there :)
So, today I spent "getting a closer look" at it and seeing if I could get it going and how much work it would be to get it into "road-worthy" condition to drive it back to Canada...

It wasnt great but it wasnt bad either...




I ended up spending the whole day working on it.
The first half of the day was spent just getting it going... I had to get a battery for it cos it didnt have one !
Then after I got it cranking over (needed a jump from another car too because it was so stiff from having no use) it wouldnt fire up... Turned out it wasnt getting any fuel.
It turned out that it had a small hole in the fuel line that had drained the fuel tank... And it took me a while to figure it out and find it... And then fix it and get enough fuel into it...Including the mandatory mouth-full of fuel as I tried to siphon fuel into a bottle to fill the fuel bowls in the carby! :))
But I got it going eventually.
And then I got air into the tires and washed off the mud and cleaned out the spider webs and wasp nests etc...
Then I thought I was about done... But just as I was about to move it back to where it had been parked for the year, it decided to almost burn its self to the ground!
It turned out that the alternator had decided to short its self out (I dont know why it chose this moment to short out, but things like that just happen!) and it was causing wires to melt!!
Again it took me a while to figure out what was going on and disconnect the alternator... And in doing so I managed to break the high pressure oil line (old brittle plastic) that ran inside the cab for the oil gauge... And I got sprayed with quite a bit of hot oil in the process :))
... And by that time, the day was over, so I left it at that :)

Actually, just a couple of doors down the road there was a "auto-restoration" business, and there was a really nice little Bronco (same type of little 4WD) parked out the front of it. So, during the day, (lunch break) I walked over and took a couple of pictures and spoke with the business owner... They've worked on quite a few of these and they do a really good job.







We talked for a bit, and Im thinking that Im inclined to have them do the rust repairs and repaint the body. Its stuff that I cant do myself and Ill have to have someone do it either here in Oregon or back in Vancouver...
So, I asked about roughly what that would cost and I agree its a lot of labour to remove the body and all the glass, and all the wiring and lights etc... But His numbers are about double what I would have hoped for!

Hmmm, Ill have to think about that for a bit!!

So anyway, I got gas in my mouth and sprayed with hot oil, and covered in mud and grease and dust...
I think that qualifies as being a mechanic for a day :))

All the Little Children

Another follow-on, with another of my "rants" :))

For many years I have struggled constantly with "the Stupidity!" of people.

... Yes, thats "stupidity" with a capital "S"!!

It seemed to me that the vast majority of people do a huge number of things that are grossly inconsiderate to others and which are completely and easily avoidable...
Like having a chat with someone in the middle of a doorway or hallway and blocking everyone elses path. Or smoking upwind instead of downwind of non-smokers. Or not having made their decision about what movie they want to see when they get to the front of a line-up etc... Just really simple common-sense things that seem so obvious to me!

But.... When I do it, Ive always felt bad about thinking poorly of other people...

Surely they are are not really stupid... They cant be!... Its just my impatience...
... Or, there are other reasons for it that I just cant see...
Why would people be so inconsiderate to others when the world would work so much more effectively if people just paid a little more attention to what was going on around them etc...
But, try as I might, I could see no reason to justify why people who were otherwise very bright individuals would do such thoughtless things so consistently... Sure, I do some similarly thoughtless things from time to time, but some people just seem to do it constantly ... and they get REALLY indignant if you try to point it out to them too!

And that apparent "thoughtlessness" isn't limited to simple things of course, it pervades all aspects of life and in far more complex and subtle ways too... And the simple acts of thoughtlessness blend into acts of anonymous obstructiveness... and on into downright maliciousness etc. And they make the world a far more difficult place with far more stresses for everyone than I think it needs to be...

And Ive struggled long and hard with these things too...

And again, Ive been thinking about it all as I wander along my way... Wondering why and wondering what could be changed or how it could be different... And again, it comes back to my simple little list of "Guidelines"... Pay attention, be respectful, be generous... and essentially "Dont Screw others over for your own benefit!" :))

But people just dont!...
Its as if they didnt learn to be nice or to share properly in Kindergarten or something...
Its like the whole world is suffering from a sort of "Arrested Development"!

And thats really actually what I think is going on.
We think of ourselves as adults after some point because we're old enough to drive a car and buy cigarettes or alcohol etc... But we're not really are we?... We're all just little kids in old bodies...
Weve got the full set of responsibilities of an adult but it seems clear that we dont have the full set of social skills... Were more like adolescents... or in some cases juveniles!

... And thats the only way Ive found that allows me to cope...
Looking at us all as just a bunch of "Little Children".
Otherwise, when I see people doing all these inconsiderate and destructive things to the world and to each other, I find I get really disappointed and angry...
But when I see us all as children who simply havnt learned the basics of living together with others in a considerate way...Then it all makes sense... All the corruption...All the violence... All the acts of pure selfishness and obstructiveness to others...
All so easily avoided if wed just grow up a little and pay a little more attention to whats going on around us and to cause-effect!

So, thats how I find Im looking at us all these days... And I find it helps me think kindly thoughts rather than negative ones :))
And so, Im stuck in a world of little children... And indeed, I must be one too!
Not much I can do about that other than try to do better...

Yes, Its time to grow up! :))

Back in the Land of Excess

Well, like I said,Im now back on the smooth highways of the land of excess...

Truly, the USA seems to really do a thing when they decide to do it!

I rode through Phoenix Arizona and the highways are all super wide and super smooth and with over-passes and entry ramps and exit ramps and interchanges and well... Its all so clean and crisp and fast :)




Wide highway with almost no traffic ahead of me... Easy going :)


And no traffic behind me either :)


Even the service stations here are super clean and organised... Not even a drip of oil or spec of dirt on the concrete pad of this place... Im glad I fixed my oil leak or Id feel guilty messing it up for them :)

And inside the little shop at the service station, the range of stuff available is amazing!


Literally dozens of varieties of soft drinks in bottles!


And not four or eight varieties of drink at the fountain dispenser... This place had twenty different flavours!


And why not buy yourself a lottery ticket while your getting gas... There were over twenty different varieties of multi-million dollar lottery tickets in this dispensing machine for five bucks each :)


And what the heck... May as well pick yourself up a nice Automatic weapon for "home defence" while your here in Arizona !


Yep, Dozens of machine guns available for the discerning gun enthusiast.


No really! Dozens and dozens!...
And reasonably priced too... Pick up a base model machine gun for under $1000. Or, a shotgun for about $600, a hand gun will cost you about $700, and a huge top-end 0.50 calibre sniper rifle that can "pick off" that "home intruder" at a cool 2.5km range (thats the record kill distance with one of these things!) will set you back about $8000!
And there are suppressors (silencers) for all these guns at about $400 each too... Well, you wouldnt want to keep the neighbours kids up after 10pm on a school night now would you...
All so very civilised !
Civilised as they see it but Im afraid, I seem to have a bit of a different definition :)

I rode on out of the city looking for a suitable camp site (I cant afford hotels in the US so Im now camping till I get back to Vancouver :)

As I headed along the highway, I passed more than a few Cactus plants that bore witness to what happens when you are a poor plant (That is probably well over a hundred years old) and you have the misfortune to be located within about 40m of the side of an Arizonan highway (built long after it sprouted from its seed of course) when an "irresponsible" gun owner decides to have some target practice!! (Hows that for a nice run-on sentence! :)) )...



... And the scars never heal over of course!


But actually, Im feeling more "forgiving" in my outlook to what others want to do with their money and time these days, so if the Arizonans want to own lots of guns, then thats their business...
And I do acknowledge that there is definitely something very deeply seated within us each that makes guns very seductive... I think its the primitive hunting instinct of "hitting a moving target". And the power and sound of firing guns is also very seductive (You should try an Automatic gun... wow!).
But, the sad part is that shooting things is only ever a "destructive" act!... Its like grafitti or arson or chopping down trees, breaking windows, throwing bottles, or burning things... Its so easy to destroy things and so much harder to create... Like Robbert Openheimer said just after they set off that first atomic bomb at Trinity test site... "Behold, I am become the destroyer of worlds"... Yes, the destroyer... But nowhere near the creator as yet!!
The act of destruction seems so immature or juvenile when compared to the far more mature act of creation... or so it seems to me!
So, the Arizonans have their guns as they want them, but I guess I hope they will figure out that there are a bunch of very anti-social consequences associated with some of their favourite "freedoms" eventually...
... No rush... Take your time :))

Next day as I rode along through the scorching heat, I was nearly out of fuel and Id foolishly just driven straight through the last largish town without even considering my fuel status!
But, there was a little turn-off to a place that wasnt on my map called "Lost Lake", and it said they had gas there... So I guess thats where Im going :)

And I drive in and its a really nice little community of weekend cabins and trailers located on the banks of a river out here in the desert (very eastern edge of California). Its mostly a weekend resort for people from the big city (LA area) over near the coast.



And it seems that what most people want to do on their weekends here is"Play with Power Toys".

Even the little electric golf carts that everyone uses to drive around the place in get the "treatment"!

Every one has jet-skis and power boats! The powerboats are all tiny little things with massive V8 engines driving "jet" units for use in the shallow river.



Not much boat, and lots of engine :)


Big V8.


Jet unit.

Its all about speed and power and loud exhausts... You never have mufflers... Its always just chrome plated header pipes, so you get the MAXIMUM sound volume from your engine!

But a boat is a boat and its for playing on the water... and thats what they are all doing... Blasting around on the river in the middle of the desert :)





And everyone did seem to be having fun with all the noise and fancy toys :)
I got no real problem with it... Its the whole community there so they are not upsetting the neighbours etc, and if thats how people want to spend their time and money here then thats fine. I dont think they were messing up the environment at all (In this case, since the river banks are either all artificial or well protected by banks of reeds), and they were all very friendly and happy.

But, I managed to get gas for my bike, and even got to use their public shower facilities too. So, after a bit of a look around at this little community of weekend "motor-heads" :), I was all clean and gassed up, so I headed off down the highway...

Back out into the desert...

... and on into the mountains...