4 corners with a Yamaha

[fljab]

I'm putting this in "Long Distance" as I accompanied a friend down to Key West & back Monday/Tuesday of this week - with a little beer drinking Monday night on Duval St.

My friend Jeff is in the Canadian Navy and currently stationed @ Yellowknife, Northwest Territory:

https://tinyurl.com/d7oc3pa

He is doing a 4 corners with KW being #3. I offered him a place to stay @ Casa Mims, where he was able to do some maintenance to his FZ6 as well (chain adjust/lube, oil change, other adjusting of equipment).

The next morning we went down to Key West so he could get his picture in front of a landmark (Post Office - 1 stop shopping) and mail the required letter to SCMA.

Jeff was @ GBU last yr but crashed his bike then (another FZ6) and has since replaced it with this one - an '06 IIRC. He likes these bikes for LD as they have plenty of power but are lighter and lower to the ground than FJR's or other S-Ts, but admits he'd like to get away from having a chain.

I got him on base to stay @ Trumbo (where I stay down there) but didn't anticipate the problems of getting a foreign national onboard. Had to have the gate MAA get permission from his watch commander. Me being a retired CPO and him being an officer didn't hurt us any. Bikes in and parked, we walked down, got some dinner at Finnegans Wake Irish pub (corner of James & Grinnell), then on to Duval for some more beverages and talking up some folks.

Good fun as always when it's planned around riding. We only hit the edges of tropical storm Debby - rain the first ~100 miles down, and bad gusty winds in places coming back up.

I didn't take alot of pics - but here's a few in front of the post office:

Check out the cool bear-shaped license plate for NT!

Too bad we couldn't have timed this with Tony finishing his UCCC! I talked with him earlier (T), and he's rested up after a night in his own bed and headed down to KW for the final.

Jeff pounded through the storm after I split off @ Mims yesterday and made it to Savannah, GA. He's headed to the last corner (Madawaska, ME), then to meet friends in Canada, then back to duty again in Yellowknife.

Me? I'm just kickin' back with a beer and a dog in my lap...........

 

[SacramentoMike]

Just enough to pique my curiosity. I'd like to hear more about Jeff's ride--like the route, how long did it take him, how many miles, you know--that stuff. Must be most all major highways, or did he get into more interesting roads? And what is the Canadian Navy doing on a landlocked lake in the middle of the frozen tundra? Interesting story, though, and I wish him well getting back to the starting point. Thanks for the post, but hope for an update.

 

[fljab]

Just enough to pique my curiosity. I'd like to hear more about Jeff's ride--like the route, how long did it take him, how many miles, you know--that stuff. Must be most all major highways, or did he get into more interesting roads? And what is the Canadian Navy doing on a landlocked lake in the middle of the frozen tundra? Interesting story, though, and I wish him well getting back to the starting point. Thanks for the post, but hope for an update.

Last Q first: He is now at - as I understand it - a headquarters/staff position facility @ Yellowknife; his sea time has largely been on Minesweepers.

His route - he started on the 13th from Yellowknife and got to Blaine, WA on the 16th. I think he visited some folks on the way down.

He's also doing some other LD things along with this - well 3 that I know of:

> at least 1 SS1K done with Hoagy aka Hoagy's Heroes in the Georgia 1000 (GA1K): https://www.hoagysheroes.org/

I was going to do this also but had pulled my old back bad and had to take some happy pills and sit it out.

> a themed (don't know how many) series of SS1K's for "The Simpsons" aka Bart, Homer, etc - he's going to many of the Springfields in the USA, and? seems there is something else to this theme but I forget......

> 2012 Tim Hortons Grand Tour - link is on Hoagy's page above. Dunno much about it but guessing you have to go to a bunch of Tim Hortons..........

Much of the route has been interstates but not all of course to get the Simpson stuff in. He also spent a day or two @ Nashville sight seeing. Like many in the military he's been all over the world and enjoys exploring so takes the opportunity on this trip also.

Hope this now makes it clear as mudd!