I hadn't checked in for a few days and you went and messed yourself up again?! It appears the bike can be fixed and you are tough to be sure. I hope you are done with the "excitement" portion of the trip. I don't know if your body take too much more. Good luck with getting things back together and hope they give you some good drugs.
I have to admit, I'm impressed with you. As banged up as you are, smiling in front of that iceberg sure is inspiring. Banged up to shit and still going, keep it up! Looking forward to the rest of the thread!
Wow! You have been through so much! What an adventure......good parts and bad parts....but definitely more good than bad. The scenery is gorgeous. I can understand why it's so tempting to keep going north. Thank you for making the wise decision to go south to New Brunswick. Looks like your bike and your body could use a little R & R. (rest and relaxation) I don't see your sling on, but I guess it would be hard to use the throttle that way. It makes me shudder to think of you straightening that arm for hours at a time. What a brut. Also, riding on a dirt/gravel road with bruised ribs, makes my ribs hurt just thinking about it. It probably hurts to breathe, too. Also, for the number of miles you have on that poor beat up odometer, it's amazing it's still ticking! For that matter, it's amazing you are still ticking....and even anxious to keep going! Love the way you write, Dave. It helps us all visualize what you are going through and what you are experiencing. And a big thank you for taking your "post crash" picture! Seeing that smile did my heart good! It's funny that both of us saw our first iceberg one month apart! You are an amazing man, my son, to take this kind of journey by yourself. I'm convinced that you can conquer anything you set your mind on. Keep on enjoying this trip of a lifetime! You're the best. With love and respect, Mom
Well hopefully the excitment with being hurt part is over. The true excitement is still on going. I doesn't really hurt to breathe. However this morning while riding I took a big sneaze and my ribs hurt like a son of a gun for the next 20 minutes. It was awesome. I spent today riding down to Port aux Basques to get to the ferry. I thought one left at midnight but turned out I was wrong. Along the way I ran into a harley rider (Jerry) and his daughter who had a flat. Neither of us had plugs so I ran to the gas station to get some. We plugged his tire and inflated it to 33psi with my tire pump. I decided to follow him as he headed south, he was also catching the ferry. Jerry wanted to put some more air in it so we pulled to a gas station and did. 40psi,... 42 psi... 44psi...BLAMMMMMM!!!!! The side wall blew. :eek1 The best we can figure is the rim damaged the side wall from him riding on the flat for a few miles. After much work we managed to find a place that had a tire down in Corner Brook, and hour away. One of the ladies at the gas station offered to take the bike down in her truck before they closed. I followed them all the way since I wasn't going to make the 6:30 ferry anyways. After waiting around for an hour and grabbing a snack we learned that the tire was giving them a hard time. I decided to take off and just meet Jerry once he got to the port. I have no headlight and was running out of daylight with which to see. It was 2 hours till sunset and I was 2 hours away. I took off forgeting to refuel before leaving Corner Brook. After realizing this I took an off ramp towards the nearest town. When I was almost to the town it dawned on me that there might of been one on the highway. So this little juant cost me 30 minutes and guess what??? 5 miles after I got back onto the highway, a gas station showed up. GGGGAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR........ O well. By this time I knew I wouldn't make it until way after dark, so I started running thru my options. The next ferry left at 6:30 AM (or so I thought) I had to be there an hour before hand and I was still an hour away. I knew it wouldnt be light until about 5:30 AM, so stopping wasn't really an option if I wanted to make that ferry. I just kept riding as darkness fell. Whats this... headlights??? Of course, if I let a car go ahead of me then I follow it, I can use their lights as my guide. So I did this. I followed about 25 feet behind the car. This way I could see well enough in all directions ahead of us and still see the road between us. The poor bugger probably didn'y even know I was back there keeping up with him. Well after a while this car took off at a faster speed than I wanted to go. So here I am traveling at 50mph in the pitch dark with no headlight in moose territory with only the moon to guide me, and it was cloudy. Eventually I pulled over at an inspection area and made dinner. I discovered that I was only 3 miles from the port so I mounted up and headed off. It was quite earry to be driving in the night with no lights, but A LOT of fun. Finally I made it to the ferry and discovered that it infact didn't leave until 8:30 am. O well I guess I could of waited till morning. I will be sleeping in the teminal tonight. Now didn't I learn my lesson about doing good deads back in New Mexico? This time I had to miss my ferry, putting me in at 3pm in the afternoon. I was hoping to get the 6pm ferry and get in at midnight. Then I could of slept some more at the dock until daylight. That would of given me a whole day to get to New Brunswick. Now I will have to do it in a 2 day strech. O well, such is life.
I don't check on the thread for a few days, and... holey crap, David! Sorry you went down. You know how to keep it up on rough stuff, but shit happens. I hope you're able to put it behind you in short order. God be with you.
Finally got caught up to date - great shots and good report, Dave. Except that you wiped out, I really dug the rest of it! Suggestion: put them in the story itself. Helps break up the reading which makes it easier to follow and puts the pictures in immediate context. Yes, more hassle to arrange, so it's up to you if it's worth it, but as a reader I can cite the improvements it makes. They look like the couple from Quebec we met on the Blue Ridge Parkway! Did they happen to mention anything about traveling in the USA? I believe the couple we met were on their way back home from Texas (or maybe Florida). I'm impressed with your mom keeping up with you and encouraging you publicly on the site. Sounds like a terrific lady, so supportive. The same goes for you Aunt Kathie. All these wonderful people helping you out along the way in times of need (and even not so need) really help to improve my outlook on humanity in general. Hope you get to this generous fellow Brian safely and quickly for your Repair & Recovery.
Hey David: So how is the shoulder really??? Are you just trying to suck it up, or do you really feel healed? Better take care of that shoulder and give it time to heal or you'll be playing cards with one hand when you're my age. Either that, or when you swim you'll only be able to swim in circles.oser Miss you and want you home, on the RIGHT coast. 10-4, over and out. Aunt Kathie
Well there was no midnight ferry like I thought there was, so I had to take the 8AM ferry. That turned into a 9AM ferry. It was pouring ass rain as soon as I got off the ferry at 2:30 PM. I got all the way to the opposite coast of Cape Brenton and grabbed a hotel because I was wet to the bone. I have waterproof liners, but they don't perform the way I thought they would. O well, such is life. I'll be there tomorrow. BTW Aunt Kathie yes the shoulder hurts. It is at about the same stage it was at when I left Vance's place on June 4th. I can ride, but it hurts often.
Slightly crappy weather tomorrow........nice weather for the next week here.....we had a few showers.....but man we could use a good downpour..it`s rarely rained here all summer Take it easy bud.........no rush,ya don`t need more problems now.... B
Ha ha. I'm going to totally going to screw myself here, but at this point I think I'm ready for anything.
Twisted Sister showed up Parts of the bike that shoulda been pointed north were going south for the winter i guess :huh Musta been a pile of plastic and stuff spewed for miles.........good thing duck tape can be bought in 1 mile long rolls eh Dave yeah you know what i`m sayin...:eek1 B
Not much to report other than as soon as I got off the ferry it was pissing rain. It was raining all the way untill I got a hotel. The next day I made good time to Brian's. We lost no time in beginning work on the bike. In the first 2 hours of me being there we had the rack bent back, some of the dash on, and my frame welded up. Yes, thats right I broke my frame, I broke my frame. We took the butt end off of her and rode her down to get welded. Here are some pics of the bike and the work. By the way... Have duct tape, world problems solved. This is a picture of my break. Basically the two bones that the arrows point to are supposed to be connected. :eek1
separated collarbone, separated frame and still smiling, Dave you're one tough hombre! I don't have much for Honda parts, but I do have a couple of never-been-used mirrors for an XR650L that are yours if you want them... and they're in Moncton where all that re-constructive surgery is getting done. You don't seem like a guy that spends a lot of time looking behind you but just say the word... Doug
Wow. Techforlife (Brian), you are such an amazing inmate! So generous, helpful, and friendly. David is truly fortunate to have you to stay with. Heh everyone: Even in Canada, there are riders who are there for you! Can't thank you enough Brian for helping David heal his body and his bike! You are a quality, stand-up guy! God bless you. Gratefully, Shooter Mom