My Cargo-Mobile on Two Wheels

Harvey and Pearl have been riding instead of walking these days. There have been a few days of rain here. Pretty cold actually. Harvey and Pearl will not walk in the rain but I decided they should get out for some fresh scenery regardless, so I loaded them into the bike trailer and took them for some pushes around the park. Good for them and good for me. :-) I discovered something wonderful at the dollar store this week. Mostly for Harvey. It is a long arm of a thing shaped like an ice-cream scoop that is used to throw balls far for dogs. I usually go to the dog park shortly after 5:30am with Harvey and Pearl and I was trying to think of how to get Harvey more exercise. My throwing is kind of whimpy and he doesn't get much of a run when I throw, but when I use this thing I can wing the ball clear across the field. By the sixth time I wing the ball, Harvey is so pooped out he just picks it up and goes and stands by the gate waiting to go. Exactly what I want. :-)

I am getting closer to finishing off the skirting on my trailer. I am trying to do a little each night after work. There was a man moving his unit a few weeks back and I offered him $100 for all his skirting. He was in a rush to get everything together for his move so he said yes. Now it is just a matter of cutting it to size and reassembling it under my unit. So far so good. Has taken my afternoons and evenings, but coming along good. And I do notice a difference in the heating and cooling of the unit. Doubly, it has been good exercise but I will be very happy once it is finished because there is some more winterizing stuff I would like to get done before the cold and snow eventually arrive.

There are a couple of items I had to pick up for the RV; winterizing items. I was looking for some carpets for the flooring and curtain rods. I went down to the thrift store and found some beautiful lined curtains. The theory is that once it gets colder a lot of heat will go out the windows so if I have lined curtains I can draw them and keep the heat where it should be - inside. Well I found all these great items at a sale at WALMART yesterday. So I bungyed them to the back of my bike. It was kind of comical seeing the look of people faces, but mission accomplished; I got it all home. On my way home I had to make a pitstop at the doctor's for an appt. I obviously couldn't leave everything on my bike while I went in so I carried it all with me. The nurses COULD NOT BELIEVE IT, and were amazed that I could tie that much to my motorcycle. ...on another note I have to say that a nice advantage to living up here is that there is a lot less traffic, so it seems no matter where a person goes it is not difficult to find parking...and it's usually free! Much different from the big city. :-) I included a pic of a motorcycle loaded down. No, it is not me, but it gives the general idea of what is possible.

The motorcycle is still doing good for getting me around as you can tell. My goal is to use it for commuting right until November 12th....so NO snow before then I hope! I have to say though it is getting a bit nippy in the mornings riding in. I am now using my balaclava to protect my neck and ears and chin. But I am very thankful regardless because this saves me about $250 per month in vehicle costs. I took my truck off the road completely a while back, because between insurance, and gas, I was putting about $300 to $400 per month into it. Too much. But this week I will start wearing my heavy duty winter gear while riding.

I took the students at the school to see the salmon run in Mission Creek park. It was actually pretty cool. There were not as many as the Adams River, but definitely enough to see what was going on . We were only able to stay there a couple hours though because a bear and her cubs came into the park, and we all got kicked out by the parks people. At least they know for sure that there are bears around, and they have to be careful.

Okay, I must run and get ready for service. Everyone have a great week.

Love,
d