|
|
|
|
07/13/2011
|
        
|
Welcome to my Web site!October 23, 2010 Time marches on... It it hard to believe that it has been almost exactly two years since I have updated this page of my site. Much has happened. I lost my other baby girl kitty over the summer. Harley passed away in my lap on the evening of July 18th, 2010, after 17 years together. I still miss her daily. Little things like eating a bowl of cereal remind me of her, because she would always want to lick the milk out of the bottom of the bowl. And the first ad for holiday eggnog caused me to cry, since that was her very favorite treat in the whole world. I don't know if I will even buy any this season. Goodbye my baby girl.
It has been a year of losses... I also lost my aunt Eva who passed away in Nevada this fall after a short struggle with a tumor. Our only consolation is that it was relatively quick. By the time she showed any symptoms there was nothing that they could do for her except offer to keep her comfortable. In other areas, as I talked about doing in my previous update, I have also been shutting down most of my commercial website. With changes to the BMW motorcycle product line and current economic conditions it just was no longer profitable. I do still have one or two custom products that I am selling to help supplement my other income, but they are not mass-market hits. And on top of those fun things, I am single once again. Sometimes things just don't work out... --------------------------------------------------------- In more positive news, the new sidecar rig has worked pretty well as the new "Escape Pod - Light".
It allows me to travel less expensively, get to places that the RV could never go, and keeps me out-n-about more - which is better for me both physically and mentally. In the RV it was too easy to just stay inside the "box", either driving or when parked. I found that I was not unloading the motorcycle as much as I should have/wanted to to go exploring. It was just too easy to insulate myself inside. With the sidecar you are outside with nature and other people by default. You have no choice but to be more active when piloting the sidecar, which is better for me physically. And people just seem naturally attracted to a sidecar because they see so few of them. Children and older adults especially seem drawn to them. You can't be shy when you own a sidecar, people come up to you to talk and ask you about it! Sleeping in the sidecar has worked out pretty well also, although it is not ideal. There are still a couple of things that I want to work on. However on a 3-1/2 week, 6,500 mile trip last summer I slept in the sidecar every night, so it works alright as-is...
---------- The basement project has also been put back in gear this
summer and is rolling along nicely. The bedroom was the first room to be completed two years ago, followed by the bathroom which was finished last year. In the main living area we were going to leave up the existing
paneling and just do the ceiling & flooring, but decided to completely gut
what the previous owners had done and start fresh, right down to the block
walls. That meant new framing, electrical, adding heat/air ducts - the
works. We also replaced the patio doors and one window. It will be very nice when everything is finished. But I no longer have anyone to share it with... ---------- It seems that the one constant in life is change... But I suppose that is what keeps us alert and vibrant mentally. I wonder what changes life will be bringing next? Ride Safe! - Karl
October 24, 2008 It is amazing how much has changed since I wrote the words below four years ago... The motorhome is now gone, as is one of my faithful
traveling companions, Emily. She used to love to ride on the dashboard
over every mile that we traveled together. She would run forward and
leap up to her place on the dash whenever I climbed into the driver's seat,
even before I started the engine!
I am still trying to travel when I can, it is in my blood. But it is harder these days without the safety net of the "Escape Pod" to return to when the disabilities flare up. I was not able to reach all 49 states in it as was my original plan, but I made pretty good headway. Most of those states that I never reached in the RV, I have been fortunate enough to visit on two wheels in my younger and healthier years. But there are still a few places that are on my Must Do list before I check out, if at all possible... The RV was just getting to be too expensive to
operate/maintain on my limited budget; sometimes you have to adjust with the
times... And without Emily as my guide riding shotgun up on the
dashboard, the big rig seemed very empty. (Harley was never very fond of
when the "house" moved and would usually find someplace to hide...)
The latest idea/trial will be a new sidecar rig to
replace my faithful 1982 R100RT "FrankenBeemer" rig (I already miss that
setup!). The new sidecar was selected to be large enough to allow me
to stretch out full length inside of it to have a much smaller version of an
"escape pod" when needed. Hopefully it will open up more traveling
options to me again. Allowing me to keep the bike upright when the
knees disagree, and a place to hide/sleep comfortably when the other
problems chime in and force me off the road.
When not traveling, I now share a house with family members
to share expenses and maintenance. It also helps me keep to a more
regular schedule than I might if left alone in a house or apartment.
The head injury sometimes messes with my sense of time... I still do not (and will not) own a car/truck/suv. Over 10 years and counting now... Funny how being
crushed inside of something to where they have to cut it apart around you,
and nearly having your legs torn off will put you off of that mode of
transport in the future...
Before this webpage was started, I had also started a commercial webpage to sell a product that was actually created as a result of my car accident That happy happenstance grew out of needing to sell my R11GS after the car accident. I had made some custom brackets to allow me to quickly change over my saddlebag lids between the different sizes available for that bike. When I listed the bike for sale I received more inquiries about the quick-change kit on the saddlebags than about buying the bike! The "Klamps" sold well for several years, helping me support the care and feeding of the RV. Those too are sadly gone now. With the eventual change in design to the saddlebags being offered on new bikes, the demand for the kits began to dwindle, and this year with the length of time since any new bikes with that system have been sold, and the bad economy, demand had basically dried up. I have tried some other products, and have had a few clients contract with me to set up their sidecars, but nothing took off the way the Klamps did. The entire commercial website may soon be history.
Somewhere in along with that other stuff, I also found a
woman who is nearly as insane as I am, and is willing to put up with many of
my failings. (She still thumps me on the head for a few of them,
though...) Of course, since she already had her own cycle license I
ended up having to find a steal of a deal on a nice R65 for her to ride,
since she kept nabbing my bike from the garage when I wanted to ride!
So, that is a brief update. The RV is sold, I lost one of my girls but met another, the sidecar has been updated to hopefully allow me to still travel safely, and without the demands of having a business to run I may even have the time to do it... If I can come up with the funds...
It is amazing the directions that life can lead... But it still beats the alternative!!! Ride Safe! Karl 06/12/04 Hello my name is Karl and for the last several years I have been wandering these United States in a motorhome with my two cats (Harley & Emily) and my motorcycle. This website is my attempt to catalogue some of my travels for the enjoyment and education of my friends and family, some of whom really wonder why it is that I went and did this to myself.... <wink> I have had a wanderlust for most of my life, and have satisfied it at various points by going out on one of my motorcycles or bicycles to spend time by myself in the countryside, and even joined the military at one point in an attempt to see more of the world. During my three years in the military, I accumulated a couple of injuries which became chronic problems for me. Then a few years later I had a near fatal car accident that left me with some more severe chronic problems... and with a new attitude about life... All of this led up to my losing my job, and eventually being convinced by the doctors at the VA to apply for disability, which I am now receiving. After moping around for quite a while, it became clear that I needed to decide to do something with the rest of my life. I longed to travel as I had in my earlier years; carefree miles alone in the countryside on two wheels. Unfortunately, several shorter trips, including one particularly disastrous attempt at a longer solo motorcycle journey, convinced me that the nature of my disabling injuries/conditions ruled out that mode of travel. I needed a new plan... So, I reasoned, if I needed a home base to be able to retreat to on occasion, why not just bring it with me??? Thus began my idea of buying, and living in a motorhome. Using it as a local base of operations/safe harbor while traveling and bringing my motorcycle along for shorter rides on fun/scenic routes when I felt up to it. I would even get to keep my two cats close at hand!!! Perhaps later I will bore you with the details of how you find the right RV for full-time living, but for now, this should give you a basic understanding of how I came to this point in my life. This site is an attempt on my part to share some of my experiences with the people I know and love. And if a few total strangers wander in here and enjoy themselves as well, all the better! :^>
|
This page was last updated 07/13/2011
She is even crazy enough to go riding in the snow with me on
the sidecar!
