Well, this is frustrating!

Today Jon and I drove to Puerto Penasco for the day and some fish and camaron tacos and are back in Steve and Sue's camp for the night....tomorrow we head back to TorC in his van and I will retrieve the Chinookie...trusty beast that she is....and the trailer and come back to Why to load my rig.I need to re-install a head gasket on the port side and that is the next chore....and I may do it in Why and still ride to Mexico or haul it home to do the work.

Wow, this has been a roller coaster ride for me. It sure felt good in Mexico and there seems to be a steady stream of RVs and cars and trucks heading south now so businesses seem more lively and open these days...

We only passed through one Mexican Marine checkpoint on the way back and were waved right through. They do look ominous with their black masks and camo BDU's,  flak jackets and auto weapons but they are the front lines of the drug war.

I am a little fatigued emotionally due to the mechanical troubles but really do feel grateful that they happened here where it is much easier to deal with them. Especially that my patient friend Jon B. has been right there with help and encouragement. There have been some fun times along the way and now we will take a respite and I won't be posting until I am more resolved as to what and where I will be going or even if I will be going at all.

Hugs to all and thanks for your sticking with me and you good thoughts and prayers...

ManyWheelsBrian

Tomorrow, Mexico.....

Jon and I are staying at Steve and Sue's camp in Why, AZ for a couple nights and are ready to roll tomorrow I believe.

Lots of excitement for me...
As it turned out, the part I needed was located at Cochise Motorsports in Sierra Vista, AZ which was right on our way to Why....

Jon's miraculous fix of the old beat up seal, valve packing, teflon tape, foam rubber and a piece of plastic coffee can lid plus lots of Permatex held beautifully and the new seal goes in today before my left boot weighs any more from all the oil it is soaked with,.,..

We headed west from Columbus, NM and south to Douglas, AZ and through Bisbee and to Sierra Vista getting there about 4 PM....off to Patagonia Lake State Campground just north and east of Nogales for the night. Expensive but nice campground near the lake and excellent, hot showers.

Next day to Why via 289 which turns into a graded, narrow, very windy  gravel road through Coronado National Forest just a few miles north of the Mexico border. Incredibly beautiful mountain scenery with a lot of Border Patrol activity and the ubiquitous signs that keep people afraid..."Smuggling and illegal activities in the area!"  Not sure I would want to camp there but if I did, I would probably stick close to the Border Patrol camp about halfway through. we had no problems but I did rename the road "James Bond Road" you know, "Shaken, not stirred!" as it had a lot of "permanente" , Mexican Spanish for washboard.

Made it to Why last evening about 5 or so and had a nice grilled chicken and sweet potato with a zuchinni/mushroom/onion side,  dinner cooked by Steve and Sue, two very sweet and good friends...

Sue has even turned the bunk in her unoccupied class C motorhome...the "Guppy" over to me for the two nights we will stay and I slept like a baby.

Tonite a campfire and hotdogs cooked by the Two Amigos, Bri and Jon...

I will try to post a couple photos on here before Cyndi hollers about visuals again...sorry Cyndi, more to come as we get rolling and more focused on the trip.

Happy trails to you all,
ManyWheelsBrian

On the road.....

Well, sort of....after a nice breakfast in Arrey with 4 men from my morning meditation group we headed for Hatch to Napa to see if they had a seal that had developed a leak....it is minor since it is on the shift lever and relatively easy to get to but it is blowing oil on my exhaust and leaving a mosquito killing fog behind when I ride over about 50 mph...below that it is ok....

Anyway, we decided to camp in Columbus, NM at the Pancho Villa State Campground to wait until Friday when the seal will arrive in the seal store in Las Cruces....a minor setback and one that caused us to travel on Hwy. 28 from Las Cruces to Santa Theresa on the old highway aqnd through some of the prettiest country ever....through miles of pecan  orchards and little Mexican towns...very sweet ride.

The bad thing is that we are still at 4,000 feet elevation and it is way too cold for my taste and camping....only two more nights though and we will head for lower country....

Again I will say,,, that I am very blessed to be having these things happen in the US. I guess a guy who thought straight wouldn't head for Mexico on a nearly 30 year old bike that has many, many miles on it.,...but no one ever accused me of thinking straight....

Stay well and do an adventure before it's too late and remember if you know what's going to happen it isn't an adventure....

ManyWheelsBrian

OK then!

The bike is together, running and feeling really good when I took it for a nice test ride.
So, locked and loaded as they say...

I am packed, Dina is packed, Jon is packed....one more night indoors, one more Men's meditation meeting tomorrow and we are off...only as far as Arrey for breakfast and then the real effort begins. Next destination will be Coyote Howls Campground in Why, AZ to see friends Steve and Sue...Yahoo!!!!!

Happy trails to all and don't wait too long to follow your dreams!

ManyWheelsBrian

Ahhhhh...

Things are looking up. I got the starter yesterday and after an afternoon of two of us working on it we got it in...hmmm, to whom did I say it would only take 15 minutes?  Hah!  We had to swap noses on the starter and sprocket with the old one and it finally matched up and became part of the engine.

I have run two heat cycles so far, one more and I will re-torque head bolts and mount the sidecar....

All is well in my little world and we may even leave this afternoon or wait until the morrow.....

Ride fast and take lots of chances....ride like a knob and you'll die!

ManyWheelsBrian

Update....

I see that my starter is in Las Cruces and due to be delivered Monday. Yay!

I have my mifi turned off til I return so my interneting will be sporadic as I have to find a wifi spot to post from...at Mickey D's in TorC right now. If anyone emails me, just realize it is only due to lack of connectivity that I don't respond right away..
Thanks for your patience,

ManyWheelsBrian

News update...

The starter should be here by Monday and I can proceed with business....yay!

Cheers,
ManyWheelsBrian

Yahoo...

Well this morning I left a couple of internet groups I had belonged to for quite a while and had become an important part of my internet presence.  I don't need to go into a long explanation but suffice to say they no longer serve the purpose they did for me when I joined them.

That said, I made a lot of friends on them, I will miss many of them greatly and will certainly keep in touch with any of those that want to stay connected...through blogs and emails.

My interests have changed more from van living to the moto end of the spectrum and I will be using my van for incidental trips but intend to ride as much as I can until I can't....

Anyway, anyone who is reading my blog and is a member of either of those  groups will know I haven't disappeared but will be riding a different direction.

Happy trails,
ManyWheelsBrian

So, a little glitch comes along....

El Poderoso is struggling in his elder years....parts that have seen this many years and this many miles are reaching the end of their lifespan. The trick is to change them out before they crater....

This time it is the starter. No, it's not a total surprise, it gave a few warnings and is kind enough to crater in the garage. I just need to get a new one sent in....I've ordered it and it should be here in a few days....meanwhile I will see if I can resurrect the old one for this trip....I don't feel good about it though....I just had it out a couple of months ago and cleaned it, lubed it and put in new brushes.

So there you have it, another setback....

ManyWheelsBrian

Parts are in!

OK, the heads are cleaned up and back on the bike..! Yay! Today the buttoning up of the heads, a couple heat cycles and a re-torquing of the head bolts, and re-mounting the hack, last minute packing and tomorrow should be good to go....

Jon says he is ready, although he won't commit to whether it is the car or bike as transpo...LOL

Stay tuned for the adventure...

Happy trails,
ManyWheelsBrian

Hmmmmm..

Well, it's getting colder as we go and I am chaffing at the bit here in TorC.

My parts are in the mail....and it was in the mid thirties this AM. Time to go!

I have the bike in the garage, sidecar unmounted, everything ready for the head gaskets except pulling the heads. I don't want to open the engine for longer than a few minutes to an hour or so. There have been some strong winds with the dust that goes along with it.

Not to say that life is boring or I don't have anything to do....I am finishing up some things that would have gotten left undone if I had left yesterday and Jon is able to use my shop to do some things he needed to do.

A close friend is moving to Florida next week and tomorrow several  guys are going down to Arrey for breakfast with him after my men's meditation meeting in the morning...I will miss him dearly.

It was great having Kit come down for a visit and although it was short, it was fun....

More as it happens...

Peace,
ManyWheels Brian