Ten Random Things
I don't often do these challenge things because, well, I don't. Slobberchops gets me now and again on a music challenge, but for the most part I leave them alone.
However, @natubat, a person that I like and admire asked me a specific question with her challenge so here I am. @twodorks actually started all this in this post and that's the place to read about the how and why.
@natubat's question:
If you could have Connie transported to any country in the world for a month's travels, which one would it be?
This has a strong possibility of change because there are probably 5 or 6 places on earth that I'd really like to ride but today it is Australia. I first started planning a ride around Australia in 1967 and have never let the dream completely die.
Connie in the flesh
So. Here are the 10 things:
1: I'm big now, but I grew up little. I was an at birth adoptee so with no genetic history doctors were concerned that I might have dwarfism in my DNA. I mean I grew up little. At the end of 8th grade I was the smallest kid in the class, including the girls. Turns out I was a really late bloomer, I didn't stop growing until I was 21.
2: I'm old. I am 67 years old, born in 1951. I am still a late bloomer, I expect to enter adulthood any day now.
3: I've had several brushes with death in my time. Starting when I was 3 when I had red measles. When I got to the doctor my temp was 106F and I was fading fast. They packed me in ice to keep me alive. My mom was in the hospital in the city so my aunt and uncle were staying with me. They had been married less than two months at the time.
4: Connie is not a name, it's a designation. This is a second generation Kawasaki Concours and they have always been known as a Connie. I owned a first generation Connie for a while and didn't like it. I've only named one motorcycle that I've owned, a Ducati Multistrada that I named Pato Rojo. Red Duck in Spanish.
Pato Rojo
5: I grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington. I loved farming and farmed with my Dad until we finally went broke. I had gotten my journeyman mechanic rating so went to work as a heavy equipment mechanic. I also loved working on big equipment.
6: I have always been an insane reader. I am currently reading "On the Rez" by Ian Diamond. I owned a first generation Kindle, a first generation Kindle Fire and just got a 7th Generation Fire. My series "Travels With Connie" is a direct theft from John Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie.
7: I love to camp off of a motorcycle. Packing becomes a science when you have to carry everything on a bike. Consequently, I owned a domain name that I never developed smallcampingdotcom. I wanted to run a drop ship site using products I had personally tested. Drop shipping soon became a nightmare so I abandoned the project.
Cold Camp in Utah
8: I'm not just a motorcycle maniac. I also love old cars, particularly early Ford v-8s. 1932-1953 Flathead motors, I am very proficient on them. I've owned 3 in my life and worked on lots more. I bought and sold lots of parts to collectors.
9: My last three classic sort of cars have been a 1964 Thunderbird, a 1964 Chevelle and a 1996 Camaro Z-28. I have also owned two Studebakers that I was pretty fond of. I sold the Camaro less than a year ago to a neighbor, I can see it from my porch.
10: I've owned over 50 motorcycles. I think I loved every one including the RM400 that is considered to be the most foul handling motorcycle ever built. I was in my late 20s and still bounced pretty well so the skills I learned on that bike help to keep me alive today.
11: One of my business practices is to give more value than I was paid for, so here is the bonus. I have a dog named Sam, who might be in the running for best doggy on earth.
Sam
So there you have it. 10 random things. I'm going to copy the example of my friend @sultnpapper and not challenge anyone specifically. I would encourage any and all to participate, it's been fun.
Thanks @natubat for the challenge, I do appreciate it!
All words and photos in this post are mine. For better or worse.
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Thanks for taking me up on the challenge, and continuing the trend of extending it!
I think you're right about Sam being in the running for the world's best doggie - he is so cute! And Connie looks marvellous in the flesh. I'm sure the Australians would love her, though I don't imagine you're going to put her on a boat and take her over there.
Australia is a great place. It's one of the countries I visited in the 1990s. I spent three weeks there, and it really wasn't enough.
Measles is a very serious illness. I was delirious when I got it as a young child, and children can die from it.
I think there would be a lot of interest in your small camping experiences, but I agree about dropshipping - I'd go for affiliate marketing instead. You could blog or vlog about camping on Steempress, which sends Wordpress blogs straight to Steemit. There's a guy on YouTube called Patrick Dickinson who vlogs about wild camping and urban exploration. He does a bit of product plugging, which I don't mind as his vlogs are really informative. I don't know if he makes any money from it or just gets free gear.
50 bikes - goodness! I've owned one, a Vespa. I didn't really bond with it. And I fell off a hired moped on a Pacific island and had to get stitches in my knee.
Such great things to get to know you more! Such an interesting life and will probably be even more so now that you 'are entering adulthood soon' :)
Keep riding and writing and playing with your doggo. I bet you'll get to Australia before too long.
Cool bike, Connie... Is it usual to name your bike?
/FF
Some do, I generally don't. I have a friend that rides a HD named Cisco. Connie is a designation not a name. It's a Kawasaki Concours and all of them are known as a Connie.
The only bike I have named was the beautiful Ducati. Named Pato Rojo, Spanish for 'Red Duck'. Or Duc as the case may be.
Cool man, interesting story to hear/read, didn't know this. Be safe out there on the roads.
/FF
Very interesting stuff and a great read. I have always wondered about your ride and am glad that you gave some more information on it. It seems like a very practical piece of equipment. If I didn't know better I would have pegged you for a Harley guy, but I know that a lot of people have reliability issues with them. I was always really fond of the Suzuki Boulevard line of cycles if I was ever going to get into riding. That never happened though :)
The Harley seating position is not conducive to long rides. Getting your feet in front of your hips puts a ton of pressure on your spine. Besides, I like FAST :)
The Boulevards are a simply great line. I owned a 1500 Intruder for a couple of years and loved it. I've owned quite a few Suzuki bikes and really like them. Including the 1000 V Strom that I own right now. It's a terrific gravel/fire road bike that is completely road capable. I could tour it with ease, too.
I guess I hadn't really thought of the utility of having a "crossover" bike that can do touring and light off roading. Probably very beneficial if you are doing some backwoods camping at a national or state forest.
I hadn't thought of the ride position either. I like how the boulevard looks like a Harley without the name or price. I've been a sucker for a Heritage Softail Classic for some time though 😁
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First off i must say if you do ever make it to Australia plan to go a little further also and Visit New Zealand trust me you will not regret it, but then again I am biased being a Kiwi LOL
Such an interestign read thanks for sharing
That is one of the 'others' I referenced. I had to pick one, but I'd really like to ride NZ AND fly fish. Ohhhh, just the thought of it....
If your into adventurous stuff there is so much of it in NZ, if you have never done it Black Water rafting is somehting I loved doing many years ago, but then again I had done a lot of white water rafting as well
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STOPLovely learning more about you @bigtom13 and never say you're old AND never grow up, it's good to have a young mindset... although the bodily parts say otherwise... I'm almost as old as you ;)