Ride report

On Feb 26, 7:44 pm, Calgary
<actual.rider_remove_the_obvio....DeleteThis@telus.net> wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.s....DeleteThis@no.spam> wrote:
> >Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
> >a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
> >chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
> >varnish etc.
>
> >Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some insurance
> >on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and pressed
> >the starter button.
>
> >Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
> >and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>
> >So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
> >why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."
>
> It does feel nice to be back on two wheels after the winter doesn't
> it?
>
> May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
> serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out that
> way I was able to ride through most of the winter. Of course for many
> of those years the only transportation I had, other than my bike, was
> the big yellow racer. And that description should date me. <g>
>
> --
> See Ya On The Road
>
> 2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
> 2004 HD Road King- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

That a Huffy?
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

Bruce Richmond wrote:
> On Feb 26, 7:44 pm, Calgary
> <actual.rider_remove_the_obvio... RemoveThis @telus.net> wrote:
>> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.s... RemoveThis @no.spam> wrote:
>>> Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
>>> a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
>>> chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
>>> varnish etc.
>>
>>> Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some
>>> insurance on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and
>>> pressed
>>> the starter button.
>>
>>> Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
>>> and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>>
>>> So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
>>> why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."
>>
>> It does feel nice to be back on two wheels after the winter doesn't
>> it?
>>
>> May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
>> serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out
>> that way I was able to ride through most of the winter. Of course
>> for many of those years the only transportation I had, other than my
>> bike, was the big yellow racer. And that description should date me.
>> <g>
>>
>> --
>> See Ya On The Road
>>
>> 2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
>> 2004 HD Road King- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> That a Huffy?

Maybe Public Trans? Wasn't the "Short"
bus, was it?
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:25:55 -0800 (PST), Bruce Richmond
<bsr3997.TakeThisOut@my-deja.com> wrote:

>On Feb 26, 7:44 pm, Calgary
><actual.rider_remove_the_obvio....TakeThisOut@telus.net> wrote:
>> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.s....TakeThisOut@no.spam> wrote:
>> >Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
>> >a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
>> >chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
>> >varnish etc.
>>
>> >Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some insurance
>> >on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and pressed
>> >the starter button.
>>
>> >Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
>> >and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>>
>> >So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
>> >why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."
>>
>> It does feel nice to be back on two wheels after the winter doesn't
>> it?
>>
>> May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
>> serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out that
>> way I was able to ride through most of the winter. Of course for many
>> of those years the only transportation I had, other than my bike, was
>> the big yellow racer. And that description should date me. <g>

>
>That a Huffy?

Nope.


--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:57:54 -0800, "Jeff Mayner"
<jeffmayner DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

>Bruce Richmond wrote:
>> On Feb 26, 7:44 pm, Calgary
>> <actual.rider_remove_the_obvio... DeleteThis @telus.net> wrote:
>>> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.s... DeleteThis @no.spam> wrote:
>>>> Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
>>>> a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
>>>> chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
>>>> varnish etc.
>>>
>>>> Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some
>>>> insurance on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and
>>>> pressed
>>>> the starter button.
>>>
>>>> Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
>>>> and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>>>
>>>> So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
>>>> why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."
>>>
>>> It does feel nice to be back on two wheels after the winter doesn't
>>> it?
>>>
>>> May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
>>> serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out
>>> that way I was able to ride through most of the winter. Of course
>>> for many of those years the only transportation I had, other than my
>>> bike, was the big yellow racer. And that description should date me.
>>> <g>
>>>

>>
>> That a Huffy?
>
>Maybe Public Trans? Wasn't the "Short"
>bus, was it?
>

Close enough. Back in the 50's and 60's the typical buses in Vancouver
were these old rounded yellow machines we called the Big Yellow Racer.
When the weather was too bad they became my number one mode of
transportation.


--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

Calgary wrote:

> It does feel nice to be back on two wheels after the winter doesn't
> it?

AFFIRMATIVE -- although I've been using the Virago 250 ... what feels
good is getting back on two HARLEY wheels!

> May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter.

I didn't take it off, it just expired ... and I was too br--,
er, financially challenged to renew it.

> If memory serves you live in the lower mainland don't you?

Yes

> When I lived out that
> way I was able to ride through most of the winter. Of course for many
> of those years the only transportation I had, other than my bike, was
> the big yellow racer.

You mean one of these?
http://www.trams.bc.ca/buses/images/M852.jpg

....or maybe these:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/pics/vancouver-BCEbrill10t.jpg

(Where "BCE" stands for "British Columbia Electric").

The real scary one was the Interurban train:
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/streetcar-4755-09.jpg

This thing really trundled, and its route included dozens of level
road crossings through town, like this one:

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/images/streetcar-4755-02.jpg

This was fine on a bright sunny day, but at night, or especially in fog
(which Vancouver got a lot of in bygone days, and real thick pea soup)
if you drove a car across the tracks you never knew if this monster
would coming looming at high speed out of the gloom at you. My dad
would fear for his life on foggy nights if he had to ride in his
father's car (a Prefect*) across these tracks.

See this site for more vintage pix:
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4755.shtml

SQ
* http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1085/Prefect_Ad.jpg
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:27:58 GMT, Sean <no.spam.RemoveThis@no.spam> wrote:

>
>You mean one of these?
>http://www.trams.bc.ca/buses/images/M852.jpg
>
>...or maybe these:
>http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/pics/vancouver-BCEbrill10t.jpg
>
>(Where "BCE" stands for "British Columbia Electric").

Hah, you just made my day!

Yeah I recall those, especially the old electric ones. I can still see
the drivers of those rigs getting out every few blocks to put the arms
back on the wires. LOL

There used to be a depot for those electric buses at 41st and Kingsway
and they would always be off the wires jamming up traffic at that
corner.

Nostalgia! Ya gotta love it.


--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

Calgary wrote:

> There used to be a depot for those electric buses at 41st and Kingsway
> and they would always be off the wires jamming up traffic at that
> corner.

If there was one at 41st and Kingsway (where it meets Joyce St) it's
long gone (there's some kind of park there now)... or did you mean
41st and Oak St?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.234792,-123.125909&spn...002536,

SQ
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:44:17 GMT, Calgary
<actual.rider_remove_the_obvious_ RemoveThis @telus.net> wrote:

>On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.spam RemoveThis @no.spam> wrote:
>
>>Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway

>May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
>serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out that
>way I was able to ride through most of the winter.

Well, it _is_ a Harley.






Couldn't resist.

--
Turby the Turbosurfer
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Feb 26, 6:31 pm, Sean <no.s... DeleteThis @no.spam> wrote:
> Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
> a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
> chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
> varnish etc.
>
> Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some insurance
> on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and pressed
> the starter button.
>
> Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
> and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>
> So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
> why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."

Using my superior American education where the metric system was left
to Europeans and the Japanese back in my day, I saw your post... 10KM
and figured, my goodness that must be halfway across a small country.
Then I realized that 10KM is 10,000m and that I used to run 5K's, so
it only came up to like 6 miles -

Still, it's good to get out from under Winter.

Greg


>
> Sean_Q_ (the usual disclaimers apply)
> '99 FLHTCUI SE3
> '06 S40
> '04 XV250
> [various projects and derelicts]
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:02:40 GMT, Sean <no.spam.RemoveThis@no.spam> wrote:

>Calgary wrote:
>
>> There used to be a depot for those electric buses at 41st and Kingsway
>> and they would always be off the wires jamming up traffic at that
>> corner.
>
>If there was one at 41st and Kingsway (where it meets Joyce St) it's
>long gone (there's some kind of park there now)... or did you mean
>41st and Oak St?
>
>http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.234792,-123.125909&spn=0.002536,0.004978&t=h&z=18
>
>SQ

Nope, it was 41st & Kingsway or as you more correctly noted Joyce St.
The kinda odd angles of the roads as they intersected caused havoc
with the electric buses as they tried to keep those arms in contact
with the overhead wires.

It doesn't surprise me that the land was converted to a park once the
bus loop was removed.

With the concerns about global warming I wonder if the deep thinkers
in Government have considered bringing a newer version of those
electric buses back. Considering your electrical power is generated by
hydro not fossil fuels, it might make some sense.


--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

"Sean" <no.spam RemoveThis @no.spam> wrote in message
news:ej1xj.6753$w94.4787@pd7urf2no...
> Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway under
> a bike cover for several months whilst, I suppose, various bad
> chemical beasties did their worst such as gas trying to become
> varnish etc.
>
> Today I couldn't stand the thought any longer so I put some insurance
> on it and topped up the battery with a few coulombs and pressed
> the starter button.
>
> Marvelous to relate it cranked, coughed, sputtered, hesitated
> and finally rumbled, sounding like a World War I aviation movie.
>
> So I took it for a 10 km run, and it all came back to me,
> why I got a Harley "...it's more than a machine."
>
I've got another 6 weeks, give or take. It's getting close.

Robert
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report 

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:16:06 -0700, Turby <turbosurfer RemoveThis @beach.comber>
wrote:

>On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:44:17 GMT, Calgary
><actual.rider_remove_the_obvious_ RemoveThis @telus.net> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:31:22 GMT, Sean <no.spam RemoveThis @no.spam> wrote:
>>
>>>Regrettably my trusty Ultra Classic sat in the driveway
>
>>May I ask why you take the insurance off during the winter. If memory
>>serves you live in the lower mainland don't you? When I lived out that
>>way I was able to ride through most of the winter.
>
>Well, it _is_ a Harley.


Et Tu Turby? <g>



--
See Ya On The Road

2000 Yamaha Venture Millennium
2004 HD Road King
 >> Stay informed about: Ride report