I've had some time off to reflect before I go back to work and do some soul searching. I came up empty. We've seen so many atrocities committed in the name of religion lately. Donald Trump has turned out to be a complete a*shole committing atrocities in Iran while Netanyahu is a straight up Satanist. We're stuck in that November rut because nothing will change until elections and midterms. It all keeps coming back to the title page of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
"And what is good Phaedrus and what is not good? Need we ask anyone to tell us these things." I don't need a religion to tell me what these animals are doing is evil and any religion that calls evil good is a false religion. So there it is.
I had mentioned in my eBook that I was having some health challenges and I had mentioned that I had hit a turning point. Well those health challenges have been resolved. The new meds were indeed a game changer and things in that area are healing nicely. Unfortunately, I've also blown out my other hip so I'm back to using a cane and hooking it on the handlebars of my motorcycle.
In 2021 I blew out my right hip and had a hip replacement. Now, right after I get over the vasculitis, I blow out my other hip. That is bad luck. It's still a whole lot better than cancer but it has set me back quite a bit so it has.
I ordered a custom sissy bar for my bike so I could use the sissy bar backpack I have on road trips. Sadly, it doesn't fit. The rear seat won't bolt down. I was brainstorming what I could do so I unscrewed the backrest to my stock passenger seat and screwed in a one and a half foot piece of one by 8. The backpack fits on it perfectly so I painted it black and am good to go. That was a cheap fix. The custom sissy bar which is now useless wasn't so cheap.
I did a fair bit of riding in the sunshine today and a two stroke passed as I cringed. I hate two strokes. They are so loud and high pitch. There are very irritating. Then a Harley gunned it and I'm like that's not as bad but that 'aint me. I really like to ride but I really don't like the excessive noise. It's not very Zen.
I also got a tool bag for my front forks. Now that is retro.
So I'm finally ready for the road trips. It's just that I'm not ready to cross the border yet until things change with the next administration and the ICE Nazi's are gone. I'm still going to use my giant dry sack for my sleeping bag and tent. I'll just attach it horizontally on top of the passenger seat.
Whenever I boot up my laptop different backgrounds appear of beautiful places around the world to which I often click like. Recently there was a picture of Anchorage Alaska at night and I thought oh that looks nice. City lights nestled in the mountains. Trump has created a lot of animosity with foreign nations making America one of the least desirable tourist destinations right now. Yet Alaska does look appealing.
Trump's been going off again about Tariffs and it's at the point now where we just shut him off and stop listening. Trump 2.0 started off as a rage baiter saying really offensive things but now we just shut him off and don't even listen. We'll just go somewhere else and buy from other countries instead.
That whole booing the American national anthem when Trump was trying to extort us into become the 51st State really described what we felt but I think for the most part we're over it. There's no more knee jerk reaction to the rage baiter. Now we just shut him off and ignore him. He certainly isn't a very good salesman. He doesn't make us want to visit his country or buy his products.
It is sad because America are our neighbors and used to be our closest ally. Not any more. Yet he too will pass. Canada has a whole set of it's own problems without him. Yet the arrogance and intolerance leaves a very bad taste in one's mouth. Again we're left with polarized extremism which we also see here.
I would like to take a trip down the Oregon coast and visit the Grand Canyon. When I go back east I wanted to ride down to New York and get a picture of the sun rising behind the Statue of Liberty but that landmark has become such a huge disappointment. The current polarization has destroyed the meaning behind the Statue of Liberty and the American dream.
I bought a book called the Great Canadian Bucket List talking about nice places to visit off the beaten track. One of the things I look forward to seeing and doing in Ontario and Quebec is camping outdoors.
One of my pet peeves about British Colombia is the fact that during the summer, all the campsites are full. When I went on a road trip to Bowron Lakes beside Wells and Barkerville, I came down through Pemberton and Squamish. Everywhere I stopped the campsites were full. I had to drive home and spend the night in Surrey before continuing on up the Sunshine coast to Powel River and Lund.
The whole Easy Rider pack up your motorcycle and go for a ride implies there are campsites you can stop at along the way. Montana looks nice. A little quieter.
Nothing will change after November either let's keep it real.
ReplyDeleteUnless there's some pretty obvious election fraud there's no way Netanyahu is getting re elected. He's postponed that inevitability much longer than normally possible. Yet I agree the problem in Israel is bigger than one man. That's why the far right are trying to find new candidates to blame the Hasidic Jews for opposing Zionism and Genocide.
DeleteTrump's going to take serious losses in the Mid Terms which will limit his defiant insanity. Two more years after that and this bizarre nightmare will come to an end. Just as long as the pendulum doesn't swing right back to where it was before we should be fine.
Hard to be positive with the state that the world is in. Only way to tune it out is a motorcycle and open road
ReplyDeleteI really do enjoy getting out here and putting some miles on the bike in the fresh air. It is a good way to tune out the insanity and spend some time away from the crowds.
DeleteI would have kept the sissy bar look. For a few bucks you could have had a metal bracket made that piggy backed the boltup pattern on the side rails and bridged/formed over the wheel well with a plate at top centre for the seat bolt up. It's actually a pretty simple construct.
ReplyDeleteI think people are so overwhelmed with the agenda that they have lost sight of the power structures behind the political theater. They own both sides.
Trump and Netanyahu are just the current figureheads.
So whether it is Israeli Expansionism project or World Surveillance State and central bank digital currency and social credit score the agenda will continue without these two clowns.
When a tiny group of world families are allowed to create money out of nothing than nothing else matters. Laws, political systems nor popular opinion.
Money corrupts or controls everything.
Sad but true and most can't handle the truth.
I'm not sure what you mean but now that you mention it I suppose I could have shored up the whole where the back seat is supposed to screw into. The way I have it looks kind of dumb bit it works.
DeleteYes that's true. The overall agenda will continue when Trump and Netanyahu are gone. It's just the immediate atrocities that will ease long after the damage is already done.
(Revelation 16:16). It describes a symbolic or real gathering place where the kings of the earth assemble for the final, climactic conflict between the forces of good and evil before the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom.
Deleteis a real place in northern Israel with a long history in Jewish and biblical records, serving as a strategic ancient battlefield and a symbol for the end of the world.
And your point is? Right now Israel is on the wrong side of good versus evil. David Horowitz wrote a good historical article on the subject:
Deletehttps://www.timesofisrael.com/a-plea-to-the-prime-minister-heed-the-lessons-of-our-history-in-this-land-and-pull-back-from-the-brink/
Committing genocide, sexually assaulting prisoners and stealing homes in West Bank is evil. The West Bank settlers right now are animals. Like I said I don't need a misinterpretation of the Bible for someone to try and tell me evil is good. The Bible fiercely condemns that practice.
The Valley of Armageddon is not in Lebanon. It is 30 km south east of Haifa. Yet ultimately the valley of Armageddon will be overrun by the enemies of Israel because of Israel's wickedness. Revelations 11 Israel will be conquered and Jerusalem under siege for 3 and a half years. Luke 21:20 " And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."
Just looking at that sissy bar again, zoomed in on the picture.
DeleteDon't get rid of it as it's an easier fix than I first thought. You can either go up or go further to the rear, either way is just a few minutes of zip cutting and welding and some black spray paint.
Go on craigslist under services and find some small job welder. Have your new measurements and he can then add some round tubing for height if you go up. If you decide to go to the rear just zip cut rear of the side mounting bolts and add a similar thickness piece of flatbar, weld and then profile to shape with an angle grinder.
This may sound like an undertaking but it's literally no more than 30 mins work.
All aftermarket motorcycle accessories can be modified.
Perhaps. I'm not going to throw it out but it really needs to be a bit longer and taller. I'm still going to have to shore it up to get the luggage rack to fit. It'll fit as is without the rear seat. I might also be able to get a Speedmaster rear seat which is a bit shorter.
Delete