Thursday, May 17, 2012

Last week was Mother's Day

So we took the long route to find a place to have Mother's day brunch. We decided that upscale places would be lined out the door so we ambled our way to a familiar haunt. On the way we saw

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this interesting hack. It was a Honda CBR125rr with a Cosy Sidecar. I had to stop and take a closer look

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I've been past this rig a few times but it was always under a bike cover so I had no idea what was beneath, until today. Soon enough we arrive at our usual place by the water and had the place nearly to ourselves.

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As you noticed we parked behind the '58 Ford Thunderbird 2 DR HT. I like to look at old cars and here is a shot of the interior

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Our waitress came over with the menus

and said: "Weren't you just here last week ?"

Me: "I think we were, we like it here"

I'm not sure it is a good thing to be recognized and to order the same old thing every week. I had my usual, Eggs Benedicts and Mrs Skoot had this

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Two eggs, hash browns, 2 sausages and choice of toast . . . not bad for $4.95, coffee extra. The eggs benedicts were $7.95 . We can't even dine at the Golden Arches for this amount and we get served, there is no lineup and parking is plentiful and right outside.

After a leisurely brunch, we went for a leisurely topless ride through the Country and finally it was time to return home and top up the fuel. I had just under half a tank and it cost me just over $76.00 . Luckily I ride my bike most of the time as it is costly to keep feeding my V8 engine

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I am supposed to feed my engine 94 octane, premium fuel but I can cheat a little and use 92 to save a few bucks. Today I decided to use the top grade as half my tank still has gas and fuel stabilizer from last year. My 'Vette chokes on anything less

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A Mike Simmons inspired "shadow photo" I know he lurks but doesn't comment


A few days ago I mentioned that I had purchased another addition to a pile of new stuff which may never be used.

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It is inside its own pouch and is very compact

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Here I am sliding it out.

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It is a new generation of MicroLite sleeping bags. It is filled with a very efficient synthetic filling which holds in your body heat. As I am not a camper I thought that a sleeping bag rated to 45°F would be satisfactory for me as I would only use it during the heat of summer. Plus I have the option of wearing clothes if it got any colder.

I am still not convinced that I am a Camper but I plan to pack it on my bike, just in case of emergencies. I just have to figure out the stove & food options. Just for fun I decided to see if my tent and sleeping bag would fit inside my sidecase,

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and they do with room to spare. Notice that the compressed sleeping bag is only half the size of the tent

















10 comments:

  1. First a tent and now a sleeping bag. What have you done with the real Bobskoot...

    You should try camping out sometime and because you are camping, you can still eat out with the money you saved on the motel.

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    Replies
    1. Richard:

      I notice that freeze dried or dehydrated food sold in packages at outdoor places like REI, MEC are very pricey, but I may pick up a couple of packages for emergencies. I am eyeing either the JetBoil Flash (Canister), or MSR WhisperLite Internationale (multi-fuel, as you suggested) I just wished I could "tag" along with experienced campers for my "first" time.

      I was thinking of going somewhere I had never been before. The past couple of years we had gone to Oregon, the coast. Last year it was Glacier NP but these are all places I had been before.

      This year I was thinking of heading south to either Lassen Volcanic NP, or THE LOST COAST of California. Too bad you're heading home after the IMBC2012

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    2. Personally, I wouldn't spend the money on freeze dried food. The main benefit is light weight. On a motorcycle trip, you are less concerned about weight since you aren't carrying the food on your back. Stores are convenient enough to just purchase what you need for dinner that night and maybe something for breakfast the next day. No need for anything else unless your diet is limited. When you see Chris, check out his freeze dried food. Probably a whole lot better than the salt filled stuff you would normally find.

      Delete
  2. I'd go back to that place all the time, too. Looks yummy. And what a great price!

    Love the shadow pic!

    And I think there are little voices in your head saying, "No, really, you ARE a camper. Start stockpiling gear, Baby, 'cause you are going CAMPING!"

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    Replies
    1. Kathy:

      we actually go to that place often. It is a Pub with good food, and prices are right. It is down by the Marina and soon the outside patio will be open. No line-ups and they have lots of free parking. I notice lots of bikers go there

      I notice you are heading out on Saturday . . . I am leaving tomorrow morning as we have a 3 day holiday weekend up here to celebrate our Queen's Birthday

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  3. Interesting concept that rig....what I would define as a crotch rocket hooked up to a sidecar.

    What was that black cover-looking thing seemingly mounted on the right handgrip?

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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    Replies
    1. Dom:

      You couldn't really call that thing a sport bike as it is only an entry level 125cc. I can't imagine tugging around a sidecar with something that low powered.

      I think those are Hippo Hands. You can't see it but they are on both sides. You use them instead of gloves and just slip your hands out when your "arrive"

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  4. Looks like you had a great day with Mrs. Skoot. Your price of gas scares me. Ours just went up to $4.23/gallon for regular and I know that isn't as high as you are paying. I am not looking forward to fueling up the Subaru tomorrow.

    I like how small your sleeping bag compresses. Oh and +1 for a Jetboil flash system. That is what Brad purchased and we love it. It is nice to take with you to make tea at a rest stop too, not just for camping.

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    Replies
    1. Trobairitz:

      I liked the JetBoil but I am torn between the MSR Whisperlight Internationle which is $129.95 here in Canada, and REI has it on sale for $72.xx , plus the MSR does not have auto ignition, plus you need another $20.00 fuel bottle and cooking pot or cups.

      our Regular gas is around $1.429 = US GAL $5.41 , so we would welcome gas at $4.23/us gal.

      The sleeping bag is more like a summer one, uses efficient Quadratherm Plus+ 7 layer filling which compresses to a smaller package. I thought that 45°F would be good enough for me, I liked the smaller package.

      to make tea you need to carry water ? I could probably just carry a could of tins of thick soup and heat up in the JetBoil, or you could just bring Extra . . .

      Delete
  5. Your pics make me hungry.

    Given the cost of lodging, camping makes more and more sense.

    ReplyDelete