Sunday, August 26, 2012

Parking on the street

has its consequences, and is less secure than being in your own property. We are in the midst of a construction project which resulted in having to park our vehicles on the street with no access to our garage or carport

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We had no cause for concern as we are in a good area but after 3 months my Corvette was recently vandalized. My Honda commuter car as well as my V-strom are also parked on the street in front of our home. I bought a bike cover

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to make my bike more inconspicious but I got to thinking that perhaps I should park it out of sight. My carport is at the rear of the house accessed through the laneway .

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but you notice that I have some obstacles to overcome. The simpler way would be to

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ride my bike on the sidewalk along the side of the house, through the narrow gate. It is not that easy to maneuver but it can be done . When I had my smaller scooters I used to bring them in and out through the gate on a daily basis

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The opening is narrow but with a bike as heavy as a V-strom you need help from the engine, and then turn it off using manual power through the gate. It is not easy to push 550 lbs of V-strom through the soft grass. I take it slow and easy until I reach the gate then turn the engine off

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from here I have to duck walk it the rest of the way. At this point my handlebars are slightly wider than the width of the gate, so I have to skew the steering to get the right bar through, and then the left bar will just clear

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This is a delicate operation and your bike has to be in exact position but I have done this several times. Now comes the complex task of turning my bike around so it is

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facing the correct way the next time I need to bring it out. The contractor has a lot

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of their equipment and tools stored here but I have to move it out of the way, then put it back where it was . Anyway, operation accomplished and I am happy to report that I feel better now that it is back where it belongs, out of sight and off the street

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It is too bad that we have to rule our lives by the actions of a minority who have no regard for the property of others. I was just thinking how upset I am that they (vandals) have deprived me from enjoying the last remnants of summer in my convertible

I only drive my 'Vette during the summer months. So far I haven't used it much at all. I don't use it when it rains, nor when it is too hot so I have been waiting for the temperatures to moderate. So now that the weather is perfect, I am without . . .


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A couple of iMBC2012 images. Here are a couple of grabshots taken in Hell's Canyon.


sonja
Sonja on her H-D

erik
Erik on his Ninja

It all happened so fast. I was in the right spot but nearly too late to snap these. I didn't have time to set the camera for fast action



22 comments:

  1. Just putting your bike on the walkway next to your house is probably much more secure than parking on the street. But it does block the walk.

    Nice captures of Erik & Sonja....

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    1. Richard:

      the walkway has a downward slope which you can't see. I cannot get enough leverage to push it backwards to get it out. It's too heavy. Even after I turn it around, it is too heavy to push out because of this slope. I have to start the bike and ride it out.

      When I saw all of you coming my direction, I had just stopped and there was no time to get the camera ready. I just had to snap with whatever settings that were already set, so I missed some of you. In retrospect, I should have gotten you all to turn around and ride it again for some action shots

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  2. That's quite an obstacle course you've got there. I can understand though...I'd hate to leave my bike on the street.

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    1. BlueKat:

      I feel better now that my bike is in my back yard. I bought the bike cover which I think helped and I am thankful that nothing has happened to it, so far. It's just more inconvenient to "dig" it out when I want to use it, so I will end up using it less for the next couple of months

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  3. We've done the same maneuvering with the wide handlebars through our patio door when we needed to get the bikes out of the garage for awhile. It can be challenging, but sure does alleviate some worries in the back of the minds. I'm sorry about the vette...simply horrible.

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    1. Lori:

      It was the weekend for our biggest Corvette event of the year for our Club, and I had paid my entry fee months in advance, and reserved my room. Also in a week there is a big car show, which is one of the largest in Canada, where they close the whole city of Langley and cars are parked everywhere, and of course I won't have my car back yet, plus the weather is perfect for top down motoring.

      speaking of maneuvering, one less bike in your stable would make things easier, wouldn't it ?

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    2. If the weather is good, you would have the top down on the vette anyway. Just grab it out of the shop for a couple hours. ;)

      Not fewer bikes. Just need a bigger stable. ;)

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    3. Lori:

      You're not thinking correctly. Repeat after me, "less is better"

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  4. Let's hope your contractor gets things finished quickly! Not having a garage and leaving my vehicles outside.....not good as you've obviously experienced.

    Are you saying you're going to leave the Wee there the rest of the summer?!

    You could always consider motion-activated claymore mines but that might be a bit much.

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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    1. Dom:

      it's too bad that we have to rule our lives and take precautions based upon actions of a few. Parking in the back is certainly less convenient than just opening a garage door and riding away. so I will probably be using it a bit less as it is a pain to bring in and out from its hiding place. It will be a couple more months before I can enter from the laneway

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  5. It might be easier to maneuver the bike with "gasp" shoes on. I'd be scared of banging my toe on something while wheeling it through the tight spots.

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    1. Trobairitz:

      if it makes a difference, I was only rolling a few inches/second. For me, summer is about shorts, tank tops & going shoeless, but I was being extra careful.

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  6. Bob, looks like tthe construction is coming along very nicely. I suggest that you do a trade with Sonja. Take her Vespa until your access improves and let her give your V-Strom some exercize. Problem solved.

    Alternatively, take an advance on your retirement, ride over to my place and teach me to ride a real bike. Free parking in my heated garage while you're here, plus a queen-size to recover from the pain of teaching me basic skills.

    I doesn't get much better. Oh, and since I sold my Miata, there's also room in the garage for your Vette. I'll even wax it for you.

    Warm regards,

    David

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    1. Hi David, I am going to pass on the opportunity to ride the Wee. It is a huge bike and I would not know how to handle it properly. I don't know how Bob managed to maneuver the bike through the tiny walkway. It must have been a helluva job.

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    2. David:

      thank you. Riding to your place is tempting, perhaps sooner than you think. Gary has his motorcycle running now, new engine has been installed. Perfect for learning to ride a motorcycle

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  7. Bob, thank you for snapping that picture. Would you mind emailing me a higher resolution pic for my collection? Would you mind if I put it up on my blog?

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    1. Sonja:

      never a problem. I just got behind. It was always the intention to forward all the photos to everyone. They may be a touch out of focus as you surprised me and rode by so fast that I hardly had time to aim my camera

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    2. Moi? Fast? You did a great job capturing it. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  8. Bob,

    I think you should buy an NRA sticker, or stickers, and put them on your windows. Might help.

    Brady
    Behind Bars

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    1. Brady:

      we don't have much of a gun lobby up here as they are all restricted and subject to strict rules. basically only the crooks have unregistered firearms while honest people have to go through tight procedures and then you can only transport them to and from a gun range. Concealed weapons are only for law enforcement.

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  9. Bob - way too bad about the corvette ... and even worse is that you have to hide the bike (though I don't know how you managed to squeeze it through the maze into it's tiny little spot). Great pictures of Sonja and Erik.

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    1. Karen:

      Having to park in the back, and ride on that narrow pathway makes it a bit difficult, so now I can't commute to work. Too much trouble moving it in and out. So hiding it to make it more secure, also makes it harder to access. I can't wait until they rebuild my driveway which will be another 2 months

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