The Fall Tour, 2007

Thanks to Jamie and Ruth Rivers (2SLO2BAD) for setting up this year's fall tour, our first... We spent most of day one with the group, but left as everyone was setting up camp in the rain. After nursing an eye and bladder infection and popping and dropping anti-biotics constantly, a damp night in the bus wasn't a good idea...

The route took us from Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton over miles of backroads to Creemore, criss-crossing the Niagara Escarpment. We enjoyed a tour of the Creemore Springs Brewery and continued on, ending up in Collingwood at Craigleith Provincial Park... It was bright and crisp in the morning, followed by wet and cold in the afternoon. Perfect conditions for a Fall Tour... Thanks to Jamie for this pic of Vanessa...
A view from Rattlesnake Point.
Ashley tried committing suicide twice, nonchalantly jumping on the rock wall protecting visitors from the fall over the escarpment. I took to carrying her for this shot.



The "carabus."
Jamie's bus on the left, ours on the right, with Greg Pott's bus in the background. This was a quick stop to look at a waterfall after a steep gravel climb.
Ashley jumping the hills and valleys of the Badlands.
A cool shot by the badlands. Jerome and Carrie's bus is closest. You can just make out ours, parked in front of the high-roof near the top. My bald spot is particularly stunning in this shot...

Cape Cod & Vermont 2007

Vanessa and I got back yesterday from our 2000 mile US roadtrip. This time we entrusted our Westy to take us from our home in Oshawa through Albany NY, Cape Cod MA, Boston MA, Stowe VT, and back home. We enjoyed ourselves but the trip wasn't without its adventures... Read on:

The night before we were due to leave I decided to adjust the rear brakes, and I'm glad I did! I found the driver's side to be leaking brake fluid profusely. I knew immediately I'd need new wheel cylinders prior to leaving. Scott from German Supply had some in stock in downtown Toronto, and since we had a family gathering on Queen Street that night, a plan was hatched. The cylinders went in with little problem Saturday prior to departure, but I did need to pull out my MAPP / OXYGEN torch to free the adjuster on the driver's side.... I bled the brakes and made an adjustment. We left shortly after without even testing the brakes once!! PS - they worked fine.


As we left The Big Apple near Cobourg with our stomachs full of pie, our speedometer cable broke. This bothered me more than I thought and thus a quest began to find a replacement somewhere along the route. In the end NAPA in Hyannis, MA ordered one in for me, but I didn't pick it up until after I got one from Wally, a Hyannis local, on a tip from Vdubya, Bill, from theSamba.com. I installed it in Wally's driveway and we were off to see the rest of Cape Cod!
We spent a free night at Nickerson State Park. We weathered the cold by burning a bus full of wet cedar. Well, I stayed warm by chopping it into toothpick sized pieces so it would actually burn...

These are some shots from Provincetown Cape Cod, and a Salt Pond in the National Seashore Park.
The bar that inspired the TV show, across from Boston Common.

A reflection of the old in the new.
Driving through part of the "Big Dig."
A shot from Vermont.

Dealing with the final problem, a fuel pump that broke as we were waiting to go through customs... NAPA came to the rescue again. After a couple cab rides, we had the pump in hand and we installed it together in the parking lot of Canada Customs. The rest of the ride was troublefree, and we cruised home at 75MPH from Cornwall.

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The summary:

-didn't keep track of gas costs, but they weren't too bad

-didn't (couldn't) keep track of miles, but 1600-2000 total is a good estimate

-repairs worked out as follows: $10 to Wally for a speedo cable, $20 + $30 shipping to NAPA for the spare cable I committed to prior to meeting Wally, $80 to NAPA for a fuel pump, $10 for bike tire patches, $6 for a new tube when the patches failed, one bike spoke (because I cut a piece out of mine to repair the carburetor when I lost an important part), and I think that's it

-oh, and I now have a scratched cornea, pink-eye, and it hurts to pee.

-I hate trips.