Saturday morning we met with Tim and Helena Hewitt and Jeffrey in New Smyrna Beach and rode down to Cocoa and met at guzzi friend, Frank Dugo’s place with Randy Peterson from Tampa area. The five bikes rode to Titusville and we watched the launch of space shuttle Discovery.Always spectacular, but it was a hot day. Lis and Harvey met us there, too.
We watched from a bar on the intracoastal waterway, that way we could get back into air conditioning.
Discovery was on a two week construction mission to the space station. It carried the new $1 billion laboratory, the Kibo module. Also delivered a new crewmember to relieve the flight engineer. And delivered the eagerly awaited new pump for the broken toilet. An historic and important expedition!
Sunday evening we loaded up the truck and drove to the west side of Jacksonville, Florida. That was easier than getting up really early Monday morning. Valdosta is 355 kms from Daytona Beach , so we were ready to load first thing Monday morning.
Loaded a D6 Caterpillar dozer, it was a wide load because of the blade.
We could only travel during daylight hours, so Monday evening we stopped south of Atlanta and had the oil changed in the truck. A small engine part was found in the oil pan. Uh Oh...??? I took a photo of it and emailed it to Detroit Diesel for identification and advice. It was a lifter/spacer button between the rocker arm and valve. The clip had come off -- and the clip or parts of it have not been found yet. The truck went into the shop the next day, so we lost an afternoon there.
There were many areas of highway construction and we had to be detoured over two lane roads and through towns -- that added extra hours to the trip, also. We ended up delivering a day later than we planned.
Delivered the dozer in Bradford, Pennsylvania on Thursday morning and then went to Buffalo.
Caught up with Jim’s family that evening. Friday morning we lined up work for Monday to get back to Florida for Jim’s next doctors appointments.
Friday afternoon we took the whole rig to Westfiield, New York for the Western New York Moto Guzzi Rally.
This year Joe was the organiser so we helped as much as we could. Jim and I arrived early afternoon and there were already about 30 people there. Jimmy's girlfriend, Alisha had flown up from Daytona Beach to attend her first moto guzzi rally with Jimmy. It was a hot day and a hot weekend. Previously at this rally weather has been cold.Saturday Jimmy, Alisha, Jim and I went for a ride. Visited a winery for some tasting and supplies, then to Sunset Bay to visit friends, Dave and Sandy Stroud.
One of the rally attendees had acquired a Moto Guzzi dump truck, and it was a hit at the rally: 1959 Moto Guzzi Ercole (Hercules) Made in Italy. Three wheeled dump truck, 500 cc air cooled single cylinder, 5 speeds forward, one reverse, top speed of 40 miles per hour, removable cab holds two passengers, chassis weight 1850 pounds, carrying capacity 3650 pounds, gross vehicle weight 5500 pounds.
Inside the cab is the front of a motorcycle -- seat, petrol tank, handlebars for steering, etc. A very interesting machine.Joe, Bailley and her friend Brittany went for a ride in the Ercole.
89 people attended the rally -- everyone had a good time. Many old and new friends. Frank and Penny’s 1970 ambassador won the ‘oldest bike’ award. They have the bike and sidecar (for daughter, Caleigh 6) plus the trailer.
Jimmy, Cleveland Steve and myself at the Western New York Rally. Steve is a regular at most of the North East Rallies - he is good fun.Sunday morning is breakfast at the Sugar Shack.
We left Westfield at noon on Sunday and headed towards Tiffin, Ohio.
We stayed the night at Greenwich, Ohio and visited some friends of Jim’s from his old neighbourhood when he lived near Buffalo. I had not met them before, we tracked them down before Jim’s party last year. Joe and Debbie Campagna. Had a nice visit with them and catch up.
We loaded forklift parts in Tiffin, Ohio on Monday 9 June and delivered them to Miami, Florida on Wednesday 11 June.
Jim had one appointment on Thursday -- the check up on the surgery and the doctor is very happy with that, he has one more check up in July to get the final OK on the right knee.
The left knee is still dragging on (literally) -- he has another appointment for that in July.
From his appointment on Friday -- his options are to leave it and wear a humongous brace for the rest of his life. Have surgery similar to the last one and have the joint scraped but not repair the ACL tear, so still would have to wear a brace. Or have reconstructive surgery to scrape the arthritis and repair the ACL tear which would require 3-5 months recovery time.
Jim is going to go with the reconstructive surgery -- he is too active to be concerned about a brace and pain for the rest of his life.
We loaded the bassa on the truck instead of the le mans for this trip. It was needed to transport camping gear. The truck could not go into the State Park for the Moto Guzzi National Rally in California, so we had to camp. The bassa is heavier, wider and longer than the le mans, it fit on the rack, but took longer and more effort to load. While covering the bike, Jim bumped the number plate light and broke it off.
We left the house Saturday morning to load near Jacksonville, Florida in the afternoon at a NAS (Naval Air Station), Cecil Field NAS.
Delivered crates of training equipment to the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Mississippi on Monday, then down to Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg to load a military truck.
Delivered the truck to the Illinois National Guard in Springfield, Illinois on Tuesday morning and loaded warehouse shelving in Quincy, Illinois that afternoon. Quincy, Illinois is on the Mississippi River and it was in flood. Part of the eastbound highway was underwater when we headed west. Emergency services were busy building levees and sandbagging. The flood crest was expected 24 - 48 hours later.
There was an early heat wave in the south west -- I noticed that the windscreen wiper fluid was bubbling out through the wipers -- obviously the reservoir under the hood had reached boiling point!
Delivered the storage racks and framework to a new dental warehouse in Dinuba (near Fresno), California on Friday afternoon, June 20. Took the truck up to the Landstar yard in Stockton and unloaded the motorbike (bassa).
Early Saturday morning we headed to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. We had arranged to meet Bert and Susi Fox for breakfast Saturday morning in Jackson. They had retired and moved to Yerington, Nevada in April.
We left Stockton in plenty of time to stop for coffee before we got there. Jim planned to get petrol right away, but when we got off the exit, there was no servo, then no servo on the edge of town. There were several small towns on the map, so we continued. When there were no petrol available in the next two towns we were too far into the trip to turn back to Stockton, so we had no choice but to continue on and hope one materialized. Of course, there were NONE before we ran out! The only time the bassa has run completely out of petrol was at 199 miles when we first got it. It has no reserve.
This time it ran out after 182 miles. It spluttered and stopped half way up a steep incline. After waiting for half an hour and no one stopped, we pushed the bike to the top of the hill (a nice workout in full sunshine dressed in black jeans and leather and helmets!) We got to the top and we both got on the bike and coasted down the other side for about two kilometers and got half way up the next hill. We reached a speed of 80km/hr and found it is easy to talk to each other without the motor running.
We started to push it up the hill and planned to coast down the other side -- the map showed that another town should be close. A ute pulling an empty car trailer stopped on the opposite side of the highway. He thought we were broken down and planned to winch the bike onto the trailer. He had a 1 gallon container and volunteered to go back about 3 kms to get petrol for us.After that several cars stopped to offer help. The bike had stopped just past a cross road and cars coming from the side road were going slow, so could easily and safely stop. Lots of help now!
We got going again, and in the small town of Copperopolis filled the tank. We arrived at Mel’s Diner in Jackson five minutes before Bert and Susi!
Great to see them. Bert has a (new to him) 2002 le mans. Susi has her own bike, but with the price of fuel she rode with Bert this trip. After breakfast we rode for two hours with them in the mountains They had ridden 240 kms, we rode 120 kms to meet, so headed towards their destination.
We got back to Stockton that afternoon and loaded the bassa with our tent, two foam pads and clothes for 5 days. We stayed with guzzi friends Patrick and Regina Hayes in Fremont (east of San Francisco). Saturday night they took us to a pizza restaurant on the next block from their house. It featured 30 different beers on tap and great pizza. Also, there was a jam session in progress featuring local talent and they were GOOD! We sang along and clapped until closing time! Other than two young women (20ish) all the talent was over 65 and everyone could have been recording artists. We were very impressed with the talent -- singing and instruments. They were local ranchers.
Sunday we stayed with Pat and Regina, did stuff around the house and prepared for the rally.
Monday morning the men loaded Patrick’s two antique single cylinder guzzi’s on the trailer, Patrick towed them with their camper. The rally site was 570 kms south. Patrick took the highway, we took back roads.
Regina, Jim and I first headed to Gilroy to meet riders from Washington and Oregon for breakfast
Seven bikes headed south for the 36th Annual MGNOC National Rally held in Malibu, California. It was a mid-week rally -- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, this caused some controversy and also the choice of a Los Angeles area site. Many, many people stayed away!
Malibu famous residents: Cher, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, and many more. We didn’t see anyone famous in three days, though a film crew was set up on the beach and Matthew McConnaghy was there!Malibu is the setting for the television series Two and a Half Men.
The rally was held at Leo Carrillo State Park. Leo Carrillo Beach's biggest claim to fame is as a popular location for photographers and movies. The park was named for the California actor, Leo Carrillo, who served on the State Parks commission.
Leo Carrillo -- born August, 1880 died September 1961 - aged 81 years. A university graduate, Leo Carrillo worked as a newspaper cartoonist before turning to acting on Broadway. In Hollywood, he appeared in more than 90 films, in which he played supporting or character roles. However, he is best remembered from the television show The Cisco Kid, on which he portrayed Pancho. The popular TV series ran from 1950 until 1956.
I loved watching The Cisco Kid!!
Malibu is surrounded by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, it is the world’s largest urban national park comprising of 153,075 acres. The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range. They run for approximately 64 kms east-west from the Hollywood Hills to Ventura.We arrived at the rally site a day early on the Monday -- about 30 people camped that night.
Our friend Goose used to live in Jacksonville, Florida -- three years ago moved to Ireland, then North Carolina and is now living in LA area California. Hadn’t seen him for three years.
The campground was desert conditions -- very gravely and dusty. Warnings for ticks, poison oak, and rattle snakes ... One rattlesnake was ’captured’ under a broom until a park ranger came to remove it. A snake skin had been discarded outside the amenities block nearest to us. Oh, and a possibility of a mountain lion or two roaming around ...
Awesome motorcycle roads and much less traffic on weekdays. Mullholland Drive is popular and the Rock Store is a motorcycle mecca, only open on the weekends for the hundreds of motorcyclists that stop there -- it is a star sighting area: Jay Leno, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tom Arnold are regulars. We stopped there even though it was closed and took photos out front.
There is a movie coming out soon about the Rock Store.
Also M*A*S*H was filmed in this area. We didn’t go to the studios, we ran out of time, but a friend did and he said all that was there was a jeep and a small building. We visited the Paramount Ranch -- a western town used in many movies, it was the town in Dr Quinn Medicine Woman.
The rally attendance was 228 people which is a very low number for a National Rally (usually between 500-600). Small rallies allow people to interact more There were many people we hadn’t seen for awhile, and we met many new people.
There were overseas visitors from Australia, New Zealand, China and Honduras. There were new bikes for demo rides -- Jim and I took the Norge -- an awesome ride, though we scraped the centre stand on both sides riding the 'sweeper' corners. Beautiful and unique bikes at the show.
Jim and I packed up early Thursday morning. Left our tent and foam pads with Patrick and Regina to store until next year. We had too much gear to tie it all on the bike. It was extremely windy, so pleased we did not have the extra weight and resistance. Heading north we experienced some great motorcycling roads with very little traffic. We picked up Interstate Highway 5 about half way to make up some time. We ran out of petrol again -- at 153 miles.
Must have been the winds. Jim had planned to get petrol at the next exit anyway, but we had to push the bike off the highway and up the exit ramp. We stopped at the end to catch our breath, the servo was within view, but still half a kilometre a way. A CalTrans vehicle stopped and gave us enough petrol to get to the servo. The bassa is fast becoming our least favourite motorcycle! We have never pushed any other bike.
We loaded the bassa on the truck, and left Stockton at 6pm and got as far as Reno. Loaded a military truck at the Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, California on Friday, 27 June.
Delivered in Laurel, Mississippi on Monday morning, we didn’t really catch up on our sleep after the rally until we delivered in Mississippi -- we didn’t have time.
We loaded artificial planks for decks on Tuesday morning in Foley, Alabama destined for Flamboro, Ontario. I discovered Flamboro was not very far from friends of Jim’s whom I have been corresponding with for almost 20 years and I had never met. Harold has remarried since Jim saw him last, too. Jim met Harold at the Americade Rally in 1985 and met there the next four years for a week in June.
I emailed Harold and told him we had a load to Ontario and we would be quite close to him. Harold emailed back and said that our delivery at Hickory Dickory Decks was at the end of his street!We delivered the decking Thursday morning and drove 200 metres and parked outside Harold and Dorothy’s house. We spent three hours and had lunch, and lots of laughs with them.
It was 4th July long weekend so we spent the time in the Buffalo area. Stayed in our RV at Joe and Michele’s. Friday was a party at Bob and Barbs in Lancaster. Watched the parade which passed half a block from their house. Both Joe and Jimmy and many people we knew were there, Joe had a selection of fireworks that kept the kids and adults attention. There was also a street carnival with rides, games and food and a huge fireworks display at 10pm.
Saturday morning was truck maintenance as we had a broken exhaust stack and had to take half of it off the passenger side. We drove from Alabama without the top chrome part, so the passenger side was covered in very black carbon soot. Jim pieced it back together as a ‘permanent’ temporary fix until it needs doing again and will require a complete new stack.
We also ‘winterized’ the RV which was a bit odd in the middle of summer here -- checked the roof for damage and put a new tarp cover over it.
Saturday evening Joe and Michele had a party at their place with the Casey relatives and friends and more food and fireworks.
Sunday we said our goodbyes and were on the road that afternoon to be ready to load in Grantsville, Maryland on Monday morning 7 July.
We loaded conveyors and blowers -- a ClosetMaid plant was closing and equipment being sent to another plant in Ocala, Florida. It was a wide load -- 10 foot 10 inches wide. We delivered on Wednesday morning, then arrived in Daytona Beach that afternoon. Jimmy arrived in Daytona Beach Thursday evening.
On Friday morning Jim had a doctor’s appointment concerning his right knee surgery -- all healing well there.
Friday afternoon he saw a surgeon regarding his left knee. Results: the ACL tear is not causing the pain, arthritis is causing the pain. If the surgeon repairs the ACL tear, there will still be continued pain and swelling from the arthritis. Jim will require knee replacement in 3 to 5 years as by then the arthritis will make it difficult for him to walk. He has decided to hold off on the ACL surgery, he will have to keep using the brace to stop his knee from giving out and going sideways (which is the ACL’s purpose) and taking pain relievers when needed. No point in having two surgeries.
We leave for Australia Sunday morning!
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