Planning helps but…

We plan well. Well, as well as we can, sometimes we over plan. We left the house in Surprise, AZ after we cleaned up the place, and took a hotel (at least 3 Star) which I always bid on via priceline.com. I find it works for me, I don’t care what the name of the hotel is, and just that it is clean not smelly. We made arrangements to have our car stored at a place a bit away from the airport and got a corporate rate ($50) for a month. The car is secure. We left our bikes packed on the trailer in the garage in Surprise so that when we return, we just have to hook the trailer up and go. All went smoothly, we did plan well.
Our flight was no issue, the waiting in line to take our shoes off, take the computer out, etc is something we cannot control and I always feel I become a sardine in a sardine can. I feel I get packed tightly. It must be that this packing and shipping is easier for the airline. I hate to fly but what can one do? This is the fastest way to get places. We flew American Airlines and I had the notion that this airline can not last long. All went well; I used my accumulated points for this flight. Now AA can drop the point system, I have none left. I plan well.
We arrived in Lima about an hour late around 11 PM local time. We did not make prior taxi arrangements but I knew from a note I received from our hostel, to look for the ‘Green Taxi’ Company. Sure enough, their counter was right outside the secure area of the airport and it took only 3 minutes to get going. The cost was a bit more than the ‘regular’ taxis, but it was totally safe and safety counts in Peru. We had made accommodation arrangements via Hostelwold.com and we were assured that they would be open even at this late hour. The trip into town was successful and about 40 minutes later we reached our goal, the Albergue Miraflores House in Miraflores (www.alberguemirafloreshouse.com), a suburb of Lima. Yes, they had our reservations, all is well. We planned well.
This morning we woke up after about 6 hours of sleep in a non air-conditioned room. The temperature went from a dry 50 F in Arizona to about 80 degrees here in Lima, but the air here is heavy with very high humidity intensifying the scent of flowers mixed with cigarette smoke and pollution.
We took a walk to the beach near here today wanting to feel the cool air coming off the water even though the sky looked threatening. It was overcast and looked like rain so walking was ok. We even took sunscreen along, we plan well but….. We did not use the sunscreen and now here we are at the hostel and we shine in the common area with two burned faces. Yes, we plan well but do not always do what we plan for. I should have known better than to walk out on an overcast day near the Equator without head protection and/or sunscreen. Ouch! It hurts to be this stupid. You can tell on my face today, it is glowing red, how all the planning does not work if you don’t follow up.
We are staying here for 3 days, and then we had planned to go to Cuzco and Aguas Calientes. We also made arrangements via Hostelworld and received confirmations for our stays in those towns. We plan and do the best we can. But…………. the rain in recent days has washed out the roads to Machu Picchu, the main bridge to Aguas Calientes from Cuzco has collapsed, 3,000 people are being evacuated via helicopter from Aguas Calientes and brought back to Cuzco. So now we are not going to Machu Picchu. So much for our planning! Yes, I had bought cancel Insurance for the Hostel Reservation and cancellation was just a click on the screen of Hostelworld, but what do we do now, we came all this way to see Machu Pichu?

Frank Lloyd Wright

For years now, in places I did not expect him, Frank pops into my life. At the MOA rally in Madison, Wisconsin I first read about Taliesin and knew nothing about the place, I just knew the general information that Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect. Carol and I rode out to see Taliesin, near his birthplace, to see what he was all about and learned that he was the father of modern architecture. I remember I was leery to spend the steep admission price to just view a building. Since then I ran into Frank near Pittsburg to see his famous house “Falling Water”; the building that brought him world fame and made him a much sought after genius. Yes, I spent another steep admission price to see Falling Water.
And again, here in Phoenix I run into Frank Lloyd Wright. Driving around the city, studying the map, Carol sees a Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and a Taliesin West site near Scottsdale and somehow we just had to see this place, too. I also saw that some good books were written about Frank L. Wright when I visited Borders the other day. Frank is mentioned in Eric Larson’s book “The Devil in the White City”. It seems that Frank has something to say to me but I am not picking up on it yet. I thought that maybe by writing this, something might bubble to the surface.
Frank was a short man, maybe 5.7 he always made sure he wore platform shoes to look larger than life. He wore a cape to make himself appear bigger. He wore a hat to give him height. He spent money fast and was in debt most of his life. He married 3 women and I do not know anything more about his private affairs but I know that when I walk into his buildings I get this feeling that I am home. Not that I like modern architecture, I do not in fact. Or let me say I prefer a house or home that is functional and warm and made so that if fits me. Like a shoe, it must fit without causing pressure spots. I do not really care what the outside looks like, it must feel right. F L W‘s homes feel cozy! They feel logical and have something that makes me realize that he knew something special. While his personality made people shake their head, his performance as an architect was unique.
I am told that Taliesin means shining brow. Frank Lloyd did not believe in putting a house on the top of a hill. Compared to a human face, his house was situated not on the persons head but was placed so that it appeared as an eyebrow on a face. Taliesin is a Welsh word meaning a shining eyebrow. He was adamant about using the natural environment around his houses and tried to compliment or blend in with Nature.
I am still wondering why I am so attracted to his style, his way of thinking. Maybe it will come to me. I visited Taliesin West, his winter hangout in Arizona, and I am posting some pictures here. He was an early snowbird, bought 800 acres of desert in Scottsdale, when it was cheap. He had vision, lived his own way, lived in a style he believed in and was an ego maniac. So why am I running into him all the time?

Off to Peru !

Well, what a nice guy, Wayne Lee turned out to be. After we spent 3 weeks exploring Phoenix, AZ and the surrounding area Wayne helped us load our bikes on the borrowed trailer for the next step on our schedule. This is not easy for Wayne, he lives about 2 hours away from here, yet he came in his truck just to help me load the 2 bikes. What a guy! Thank you, Wayne!
Loading a bike on a truck or trailer is always an adventure for me. I normally ride my bike to anyplace and only recently have I tried to get places via trailer, pulling the bike behind a car. I am not sure I like pulling a trailer although it is convenient. I miss the accomplishment of getting to a place via bike. A car seems a bit soft, too comfortable yet it is a good way to get your bike to a place you can ride. Canada right now is way below Zero and riding is not recommended. To trailer the bikes to warmer climates is a good alternative. And at least I can continue riding a bike rather than leaving it in the garage in Toronto, waiting for spring time.
I tried loading the trailer by myself but found this difficult, especially the bikes are packed tight like they are. The two bikes just about fit and we have only inches to spare on either side of the bike. I used 10 straps to hold 2 bikes in place. Did I overdue it? I believe better safe than sorry! I can drive the car now with the conviction that the bikes are loaded well and secured solidly. I use foam insulation, normally used for pipe insulation, as extra bumpers for areas that could chafe or rub. I tape all loose strap ends with duct tape so that nothing blows in the wind. I cover electric connecters for the GPS with electrical tape so that they are protected. I do what it takes to make the transport as safe as possible. Wayne was a great help. I could tell he has packed bikes for hauling before, he knew his stuff. Well, we are all set to go as you can see by the pictures. All loose ends are tied down, we are ready to go.
We are flying to Peru to see if it is possible for us to ride there in the future. Carol and I chose Peru because it would be the middle of a trip from the U.S. to Tierra del Fuego; let us see if we are not too old to ride those roads. This is a scouting mission and we will report on what I believe is a go or no go for a ride down to the Southern End of the world. We will keep all possibilities open; we are off to Peru!

Alien Desert Plants

As a man born in the temperate zones of Europe, having lived always in the Northern Hemisphere, I know nothing about the desert and the plants that grow here. I might as well have landed with an alien spaceship on a new planet. Everything seems so new to me. It must be a left over subconscious feeling after seeing the movie Avatar.
I do not recognize one plant. Sure I know what a cactus looks like and a tree, but I wanted to learn the difference between a Palo Verde, an Ironwood and a Mesquite Tree during my guided tour of the Sonora Desert. All three trees are of the legume family by the way. The specific weight of Iron Wood is greater than water. Iron wood does not float. Mesquite wood is used to flavor food. Palo Verde uses its bark for photosynthesis.
Chris Adix (christopher.a.adix@wellsfargo.com) was our tour guide. For about 2 and ½ hours we trekked on foot thru a small section of the Sonora Desert. Chris showed us why we really need to avoid the Teddy Bear Cactus (Cholla) since it is very brittle and sections break off easily and cling to you. It seems the barbed pieces easily pierce the skin. They are clingy like a Teddy Bear, hence the name. And yes, they itch and hurt for hours after you get rid of the barbs. Some barbs are so small they burrow into you and you will have a difficult time removing them if you can even see them. A barrel cactus, on the other hand is comparatively harmless, since it just stands there. Yet, don’t sit on this barrel. Some barrel cacti have bent barbs that can be used as fish hooks, hence its name, fish hook cactus. Some barrel cacti always twist themselves towards the sun and are called compass cacti. But watch out for the Teddy Bear Plant.
Strangely, though, the packrat, a rodent living here, collects the broken pieces of this Cholla cactus and brings them to its midden. I learned that midden is a dump site in archeology, and packrats pass their midden on from generation to generation. These fallen off pieces are needed for the propagation of the Cholla plant and the packrat aids in distributing the seeds of this cactus.
Chris told us that the creosote tree is the oldest living plant on earth. There is one in the Lucerne Valley in California that is 11,700 years old. The typical smell that reaches your nose in the desert, especially after a rain, is the smell of the creosote tree. The natives used the small leaves to make herbal tea which helped for some ailments.
Prickly pear cactus is edible for humans (you need to burn off the barbs) and for Javelinas as well. Javelinas are not pigs; even though they look like a pig. We did not see any animals (only a cotton tail bunny) on our short trip but I was overwhelmed with the knowledge Chris shared. He talked a lot but somehow I seem to remember many of the things he said. He has a natural way of sharing what he knows. He is a great guy and guide. The stories about the Saguaro cactus, about how they grow, how their blooms are harvested as food, how much water they can hold, etc are amazing to me.
The whole trip into the desert was a new experience. I like to know what is edible, what is ornamental and what is medicinal when it comes to plants. This trip into the desert gave me a totally new appreciation for the people who lived here and how they survived in an area that seems inhospitable yet offers free food and drink for the person who can find it or knows what to take or where to look.
We saw petroglyphs that were 1000 years old, just lying on the ground. People have been here for millennium living off the land. I am the new comer, I am learning slowly. I find it amazing and interesting to be able to live in this alien world, this section of the planet is so strange and so different from where I grew up.
My trip to the Botanical Garden of Arizona just a few days before was not as informative as this guided tour with Chris. Send him an email if you want to have a tour of the desert here in Phoenix, this guy is good.
Even Chris is still puzzled as to why the rattlesnake gives birth to live offspring and another snake that looks exactly like the rattlesnake, makes a “rattle” sound but is not poisonous, lays eggs and hatches them. Two snakes, both look alike and are often confused, both live in the same environment yet are so different from each other. There are a lot of stories here; there is a lot to discover. AZ is worth a trip, the best month would be late March or early April. I think I am coming back someday.

Copper Mines and a Helping Hand

We had a visitor here at our rented house, Wayne Lee from Edmonton, Alberta. He and Irene, his partner, rode up last week and told us about some good riding roads on the East side of Phoenix. To get there, though, we have to ride straight across Phoenix or use a belt way around the town. We decided to use the belt system; it seems shorter in time because it is mostly highway. Still, it took us about 2 hours just to reach the east side of Phoenix. The weather forecast for this week is rain and low temperatures, snow possible over 4000 feet. But yesterday, Sunday, the sun shone and even though it was cool, it was not cold. So, off we went to explore the other side, which on the map looked like good riding. Wayne also told us about a huge Copper mine that has to be seen to be believed. Again, we wanted to just ride for the day and be back by nightfall.
After reaching Apache Junction, we were due for a soup and saw a typical diner and perfect stop for a break. Before we went in however, I saw a fellow rider having trouble starting his bike. He was frustrated and when I asked him some basic questions he answered but I could tell he wanted to find the solution and ride away. The battery had enough juice, the lights were on, but when he pushed the starter, not a sound. No grinding of the starter, nothing. We checked for loose cables, checked each fuse in the fuse panel; tried this and that but nothing. He needed a tow. I offered to take him or his partner home on my bike but they both wanted to stay with the bike. I loaned them my cell phone and they called a buddy to toe them home. We went inside and had our soup to warm us up and after about 3o minutes were ready to move on. This poor fellow still sat and waited for his friend to pick him up. I ask again if he wanted me to call a road service, if he wanted me to ride one of them back to their home but no, they preferred to wait for their neighbor. I felt so helpless and frustrated; I really thought starting a bike, any bike, even if it was a Harley like he had, just needed 3 things: fuel, spark and air. Well he had all three but the bike would not start. I wish I could have helped, it would have made me feel like a hero but I can only say I rode away not knowing anything. Too bad, it would have been nice to help.
The road Wayne told us about was busy, a lot of riders were on their Sunday ride and even cars were in abundance. The speed limit was 55 miles/hour and there were police watching at strategic spots. Some spots were curvy and while the scenery was rough and very Western, I was disturbed by the destruction of some of the hills. I could tell a large amount of earth had been moved by an open pit mining operation. Yes, it looked neat but somehow so wrong to see this in the mountains of Arizona. To me it looked like an ugly scar on the rugged landscape. The mountains taken away were replaced by the remaining dirt which was terraced into mountains. It looked so false, so ugly it disturbed me. No matter what the rest of the day would bring, I could not get over the scars inflicted by man. These are huge copper mines, I know we need copper and yes, it is in nowhere land, not much around, just some small, decrepit looking mining towns made out of old trailers that look abandoned. Yet, I felt ashamed that this would be allowed to happen. I mean whole valleys were dug up, huge mountains were removed. Sure there is lots of space and on the whole it might not mean much; except for me it looks ugly.
We reached about 5000 feet in altitude and it turned cold enough to turn on our heated grips. Being in the middle of nowhere, we realized we needed to watch our gas. Lucky for us we found one gas station open and filled up and left for ‘home’. The trip back, again, was mostly super slab at 70 miles per hour plus in the HOV lane.
It was a strange day, we rode for about 300 miles that day, the roads were ok, some even beautiful but seeing the environmental destruction inflicted by man, overshadowed the experience.
Yes, I know we need copper!

Use it or lose it

If you rest, you will rust.

And we started to rust after 3 months of hardly riding our bikes in Toronto due to winter weather. Sure we rode a little but not enough to keep sharp in our riding skills. Going to BMW Open Road in Newmarket does not count as a ride, does it? Nor does going to a motorcycle show in downtown Toronto make us better riders. We needed to ride to stay in shape and not rust. So what to do? We rented a beautiful home in Surprise AZ for a few weeks this January and towed our bikes all the way from Toronto to Surprise, near Phoenix, AZ.
We left at -12 Celsius with snow on the ground and it took us 4 days of driving, taking only Super Slab Highways. We even spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day on the road to get away from the non-riding weather. We reached elevations of over 7000 feet and the temperature kept hovering around the minus 10 degree Celsius mark for most of our trip to Arizona. Only when we descended from the Northern Plains of Arizona and dropped to 1500 feet here in Phoenix did the thermometer climb to 68 degrees. For all the folks in the North Country let me tell you, 68 degrees F feels like heaven.
After we got settled into this large, luxurious home (3 bedrooms, pool, 2 car garage, etc. -actually bigger than we needed), we cleaned our machines, cleaned the car and cleaned the trailer( borrowed from Tom Stewart , an Ontario BMW Club member) and set our sights on riding to Sedona, AZ .
Yesterday we got started not too early, the nights are still cold here and we did not want to freeze while riding too early. So we left the house at about 9 AM. We took the back roads. The map showed some twisties on Rt. 89A and we were not disappointed. A stop at Prescott for a warm soup was most welcome. The sun shone but not strongly enough to warm us. Our bodies ached from inactivity and not riding for so long, we had started to rust and while we calculated 2 hours to get to Sedona, it took us almost 4 hours. OK, we diddled, we stopped in Prescott, we stopped in Jerome and all this ate away at the time. The road itself, twisty in some spots and with snow on the side and possibly black ice made for careful riding.
During our drive to Surprise, the cold weather took its toll on Carol’s bike battery and we had to recharge it. We now wondered if we would have any trouble while out riding but I can report that all is ok, her bike started every time.
We arrived in Sedona at about 1 PM, took a look around, decided that we have to come back here and visited the Art Village of Tiaquepaque. Somehow we are always attracted to Art Galleries, to the representation of the unusual. Tiaquepaque is a great example of what we like. We rode around some side streets until we got to some dirt roads that looked too dangerous to ride. I inspected the roads for a stretch but given that the rust in still with us, we declined and left Sedona at 3 pm amid bright sunshine and moderate temperatures of 68 degrees F. We knew we had 2 hours of riding before us if we did not stop. The light wanes quickly here at dusk and we had to be back in Phoenix by 5 pm in order to ride in daylight. The shortest route was Interstate 17 south to Phoenix which allowed speeds of 75 miles per hour. Well, not being used to these speeds, sometimes going 80 plus with the sun in our eyes, it was another experience that showed we had rusted some. Traffic was light on the way back until we got to Phoenix and then it became stop-and-go due to rush hour. We got back at 5.45 PM and had a good first day of riding for our first day after some rusting.

Yes, it shows, when you don’t use it you will lose it. We need to ride more!