Field of dreams

[labelwench]

We are born into a field of potential and what we make of that potential is unique to each of us. No two people are alike and the choices made at each and every juncture lead to a continual opportunity for both challenge and opportunity.

My husband has overcome a number of challenges prior to embarking on this latest adventure and as he is armed with considerable technology, I hope to be able to share some of his journey on this thread, the gods of the internet willing, lol....

I invite others, likewise, to share their trials and triumphs of their journeys of body and spirit on this thread.

Less than 16 hours until hubby embarks on his motorcycle journey across the nation of Canada.

Two and a half years ago, he suffered a major heart attack and the doctor did not expect he would survive the delay caused by the medivac plane being unable to fly due to weather conditions. I still recall him apologizing, because he could not put the lives of others at risk. That night in the hospital was one of the longest of my life, waiting to see if dawn would bring flying conditions.

It did, and hubby beat the odds. I met him at the airport one week later and he was able to walk unassisted to our vehicle and able to go home. The emergency doctor who had treated him agreed to take him on for follow-up, as there is a shortage of doctors and many people in Yukon do not have a regular family physician as a result.

Michael made a miraculous recovery and after three months he returned to work, continuing to gain in strength, ready to take on the challenges of new technology coming to our store. Within a year, he was back in a management capacity, and remains the technology expert at our work venue.

He had been contemplating a motorcycle before the incident, and now the time seemed right to pursue this dream. A rider in his youth, he had considerable experience of motorcycles, so this was not one of those 'mid-life crisis' decisions experienced by many. A motorcycle was purchased and he has spent the last 12 months planning for this a trip across the country in minute detail. There was specialized clothing and equipment to source and purchase, navigation aids and alarms to install, spare parts and tools to obtain. All this was done with thorough research and consideration.

Then, two weeks prior to departure, the belt drive picked up a rock, and although he had a spare belt, hubby did not have the tools or space to effect this type of repair, it being of a nature that should be addressed by a certified dealer. Not a hope in hell of getting it into the shop in time was the response, with 50 work orders ahead of him. A very despondent 48 hours while all other options were considered.

Certainly he could take one of the vehicles and make the journey, a month off to just go where the spirit willed, but that was hardly the point of the effort of the past year.

On Monday, we went to another franchise, and were able to locate and purchase a suitable alternative. The paperwork for insurance and registration went smoothly and he was headed out the door within mere hours on a lovely V-Star 1300 Touring bike, tricked out with plenty of extras, as the bike was a 2009 model, though brand new. The market in these parts for the bigger bikes is rather small, so we caught one hell of a deal on this unit.

The next challenge was to get 1000 km on within a week, so that the bike could go in for that essential first service. Hubby flogged pavement for two days and with riding the bike to work, managed to get that attended and the sales department ensured that they could fit in the service, the sale of the bike being contingent on it being ready to hit the road on July 15th.

Well, the morrow is July 15th and it looks like the rubber is ready to meet the road.

http://yukonmotorcyclejourneys.blogspot.com/

[mkirkpatrick]

Thank you very much labelwench for sharing your experiences with us,wish you and hubby the very best of good fortune,may he arrive back home safe and sound with a real sense of accomplishment and adventure.


regards michael.

[labelwench]

It was Friday, though barely, and she stood on the deck, cranking up on nicotine for the usual frantic pace of the big label run. Her regular helper was on vacation and her backup was the most experienced night worker in the store, so all should go as planned. She watched a moth fluttering against the window, drawn by the glow of her indoor garden lights, which would soon be switching off on the cue of a timer. A persistent little life form, she observed.

She turned her attention to the sky, using the skills learned from the elders to read what the day would bring. Dark was now returning to the land and she was just able to see the cloud formations. Not good. The air was heavy and the weather was looking to settle in. It had rained while she was sleeping and now began anew as she drove in to work. Arriving at the workplace, she noted that the new hire was not in attendance. She was relieved.

The trucks were running late, due to washouts along the B.C. portion of the Alaska Highway, the direction that hubby was taking in just a few more hours. The crew of two turned their attention to the task at hand and one of the trucks rolled in at 5:00 a.m. No word on the other, and produce would be barren until it showed up. Good thing she had bought 10 lbs of those cherries on sale yesterday.

Hubby arrived just minutes later, parking his laden motorcycle in the bay beside the big grocery transport. He had come in two hours early to get the weekly reports and such done, relieving others of the responsibility for one more week. They shared a smoke break upon his arrival, again at 7:00 and at the end of shift while making final plans. She rushed home while he stopped to top up his gas tank, and minutes later he was in the yard.
She had grabbed a brimmed hat and her camera. After saying their goodbyes and hopes for a safe journey, she went to the intersection of their driveway and the road which led to the highway. Photo opportunities were rare with her fellow, for he liked to take pictures rather than be in them, but she had won him over with the promise to send an e-mail to his parents along with the pictures of the start of his journey.

The driveway was soft from all the rain, and the soft glacial silt was somewhat slick as he maneuvered the heavy bike slowly to allow her more time to get pictures. He stopped at the end of the lane, checking for traffic, then turning left he was underway, under a leaden sky with a light rain falling. The rain wear would surely get a test this day. One last picture before he was gone from view, then time to feed the horses. She stashed the camera inside the house and tossed a forkful of hay to Caramel, who came slogging through the mud of her enclosure. It had rained considerably overnight here, more than in town. Handy, the youngster, was turned out for grazing privileges with the bell on and another forkful of hay to his dam.

A soggy start to the adventure, and she would likely not hear of how things were faring until sometime on Sunday, about 56 hours from now. She was aware that she was in third person perception mode, but that was quite normal for her when she was working the graveyard shifts. Strange how the mind works, she thought, shifting perspectives in response to various circumstances.......