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 was 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 someone 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 sure 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.