FEB 25 05

FEB 25 05

yesterday morning started with a few inches(snow) on the sidecar and on the road and by the Badland, it was all gone... i had a little snooze on the side of the road... and really enjoy the ride. i slept in Rapid City (Sturgis) South Dakota. This morning is sunny the temp is going to reach the 60's and i am going to Billing Montana by the side road... i am dressed in my civilian clothe with my small helmet! that really feel like vacation.
my best thought to each of you and don't forget to have a great weekend.

Hubert

le2901 miles since New York and my only problem was the ignition key contact switch witch decided to shut down abruptly at lake Erie.... it does not feel good when it happens!
i was able to go to Uncomon Motorcycle by pulling the key left and right. i open the left side of the fairing and we know that this bike is not friendly as for the access on the wiring on the front end. Jack made a first try and cut a wire from the ignition module to put a on/off switch and short cut the faulty module.... but we cut the wrong wire. Tony comes to the rescue and with the electrical diagram of the R100GS we decided to go simply under the seat and pick up the green wire from the coil and the red from the starter relay and zoooop it worked. within 5 hours from the shut down, Jack and Tony put me back on the road. At Night fall, i realize that i have no position light... i put an other on/off switch in the trunk of the sidecar between the sidecar battery and the light of the license plate... i took me 2 more hours and i was on the road.
When in Madison, i went to the BMW of Beaver Dam and Eric surprise me by have a brand new ignition switch... 4 hours later and $350 lighter i was not driving a stolen motorcycle anymore
At Troy (next to Albany) Ryan from Max Motorcycle a new BMW dealer, was kind enough to connect my new Gerbings jacket... i must say that everybody is right, IT WORKS! i have the thermostat in front of me on the gas tank and it act as the hot water knob in my bathtub... it is very impressive and comfortable as long as it works.
As well as the sidecar is comfortably balance and suspended for the road, it is too heavy for driving in the snow or very slippery condition. My front end has a tendency to loose grip and pull me to the right. The correction is quite simple, just slowing down put me back on the straight line but on a long run, i want to fix that. i have 2 heavy bags in the sidecar. one in the noise with my all weather tent, my north face -40F sleeping bag and the air mattress. the other bags has all stuff general clothing heavy boots Sorel -100F and so on. Tomorrow, i will try to put 1 of these bags on the passenger seat behind me and see how it feels. Because i was driving pretty hard on the highway between 65 and 75 mph the front tire is in worst shape than the rear tire. this morning, i bought a new front street tire to have a spare with me.
since Madison, i feel really good driving for the pleasure even if it is hard sometimes.
Driving in the cold and bad weather need to be well prepared and is a good challenge to endurance. I think that i did the most difficult in the sense of driving because in the snow and freezing rain between Syracus and Madison with a very heavy traffic was quite scary at time. when a truck passes me, i am blind for a while and the car drive way too fast and too close from me. I saw 11 cars in the security rail or going off the road... and no motorcycle (witch is good, because i was the only one)
When i left Manhattan, i did not drive my sidecar for 1 year ( it was in my living room) after almost 3000 miles, my back is very good, my shoulders are ok, my arms are getting there, and my hands have a way to go.
Thank you to each of you who are supporting me...

I drive 2901 miles since New York, and i have been going essentially West.... well, it changes this Saturday afternoon when i took north on route 89 just before Livingston on Hyway 90... and for now on, it is North up to my final destination Tuktoyaktuk. Yesterday morning, i made a little loop to see the Rushmore guys. This aftenoon, the temperature went from 67F to 25F at 7300 feet. I stopped early in a little ordinary motel in the mountain, at 57 miles from Great Falls Montana. As you can see, the Prime Ribs were excellent. I tested my oil pan heater and it works great.
Right now, i am in very good shape with a lot of time in front of me.... i have one month to get to Tuktoyaktuk, but i will take the most direct route on my way up and i will fool around on the way back.