The Native Iowan

Been a good day of riding.  350 miles or more. Not as far or as long as yesterday but this is my third day of riding.

Planning for a solid 300 miles tomorrow. Now that I am over half way with 1100 miles behind me and 800 to go I can take an easy pace.

Tomorrow’s ride will put me, Saturday morning, ready to run across the salt flats. I think I’ll get to the hotel early using the cool of the morning to do my riding. Temps are running high. I also have laundry so an early check in is welcome.

We have been traveling through the great mid-nothingness of this huge land mass. We cross the Great Divide at 7000 feet about 2pm today. We are now in the western continental drainage. It is a dry, stark land. It has legendary names like “Laramie” and “Cheyenne”. This is cowboy country.

It was quite cool this morning and into the midday then, was we crossed the Great Divide, things got warm. I am in Rock Springs Wyoming for the night. Very reasonable 100.00 a nite hotel with friendly folks. I was even flipped the finger by a lady when I came in. I was crowing about having soo much fun.

It was a warm welcome.

Holly and Ron turn back to Iowa tomorrow. I joked early that old folks have to pee a lot so I can travel faster than Ron’s big trike. But in reality, even for the super human, an hour and a half  on 2 wheels going 80 miles per hour / 130 ks per hour is a very long time.

We aim for 100 mile hops and stop if needed. Basically we refuel every 100 miles or roughly 1.5 hours. I note that my 3.3 gal tank allows me about 150 miles range so stopping is not a choice. We ride the first hop, refuel, drain and ride. Second hop has refuel and food. Third hop is a restful coffee after fuel and, like today, you decide to either do the last hop or not. Today we chose not.

It often appears that the first ride of the day and the last ride of the day manage 30% more distance.

So I am very pleased with the progress. This little Trumpet-Bike is a sweetie pie. What a nice bike. I am a bit weary but then so are Holly and Ron who basically ride a big easy chair on three wheels.

What makes you tired is the wind. 80 mph/ 130kph creates a lot of wind. And your body gets beaten and shaken and rattled as you roll down these aimless highways. And I ride my bike. I know my neck is stronger and I frankly feel very, very good.

I can brag but admit that once in my room I sat in a hot bath and soaked my used but happy muscles. I feel good. This is a very good time of the year to do a ride like this. The highways are open. Traffic is usually easy. The roads are either good or not so good. I think we are averaging over 70 miles per hour so like is very good indeed.

Such is life. More fun for the foolish old fart tomorrow…

Here is the world from Holly’s point of view…

Holly was official photo taker today…

Verry good day of riding… a bit over 6 hours in the saddle. 8 hours of travel. about 450 miles all up.

I am very pleased with the way things are going. All is very good.

Tomorrow we have another long day… west Nebraska to west Wyoming…

In the world of motorcycles there are a number of divergent species of riders.

Heavy or light?

Cruise or Touring?

Highway or back road?

We have the big-boy tourers. These bike range between 800 and 1200 pounds with their boxes empty. They brag the likes of full stereo/ intercom/ cruise control/ heated seats/ heated grips/ adjustable windshields… by nature these bikes are heavier and slower than the others.

I know people that call these bikes “granny-glides”.

We have the medium cruisers that have a wind screen and bags but is a bit lighter. Less options but usually a dynamic ride. A bridge between a fast sport ride and a slow cruise.

We have the sport bikes which trade weight for speed and manoeuvrability. Engines in these bikes are often the same size as the big ones. They just turn the ride into more of a sporting adventure than a comfortable cruise.

Each of the species have their different colours and decorations. The large riders prefer to look like bugs, all black and hard and scaly. The smaller the bike being rode the brighter the colours of the critter riding. Sport riders like bright reds with racing stripes and greens.

Which is better? Of course, this discussion has no end so I shall simply move to discussing the riding I am doing…

I must preamble and digress… both at the same time…

I am sitting at “EMMA JEAN’S” Diner and lounge at the cross roads that is Walnut, Iowa, on I80, west of Des Moines, about 50 miles from the Nebraska boarder and the crossing of the Missouri River, into Omaha.

I blame this all on the bad company of a good bike…

The place is  empty but for me and the gal running the bar and kitchen. I guess the rush hour crowd has not arrived yet.

I am riding a 900cc/ 70hp Triumph motorcycle. It is designed to remind us of those early days of motorcycle madness when man was just nudging the 100mph threshold on two wheels. It all happened post WW2, in the early 50s…

– quote – unquote –

A number of British, post-war, companies went into building motorcycles. And the goal was to build a bike that could run at 100mph for as long as the rider could hold on. They ruled the world when I was young….

And…

The Ton-Up Club was born…

– quote – un quote –

Rockers, leather boys[1] or ton-up boys[2][3] are members of a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centred around British cafe racer^[citation needed^] motorcycles and rock and roll music.

My “Triumph Thruxton” is a modern classic… Traditionally known as a cafe-racer, it is a modern -retro- that was done with taste and attention to detail.

These are light and fast machines designed to make the rider ride low to reduce drag as well as to be nimble and balanced around corners. You load these machines up too much and you lose the advantage of the “naked” ride. They then become “pigs”… which is what the original VTwin bikes were affectionately called.

Contrary to the modern “cruising” machines, known as “dressed” rides, offering easy-chair sized saddles; These machines are not technically built for long distances. More of a racer, more of a cornering machine. Hell, it ain’t even got a passenger seat.

So I am running naked across the US of A.

I ride in a very good “suit of leathers”. Keeps you warm enough. Keeps you cool enough. Has heaps of armour “in-case”. I ride in a very good full faced helmet. So, considering I have no bug deflection or wind shield or cow catcher… I need to wear armour.

My naked run across half of America is a fast n light run. Hell, how can you run naked and halve yer pockets full of stuff…

So I have a big condom I put my gear in… lets take an inventory:

2 x jeans

4 x underwear

2 x socks

3 x tshirts

1 x computer

1 x iphone

1 x gopro camera

1 x toiletries

My leathers allow me to ride in a tshirt and my jocks. I have my redwing boots. My tank-bag is basically a pillow and has a hooded sweatshirt in it. I hope I don’t need it because I do need a pillow for my chest.

At the end of my first day, after around 5 hours in the saddle and only – only ! – 200 miles, my bike looked like this…

 Tomorrow’s ride will need to be a bit more aggressive. At 200 miles a day i’ll need 9 or 10 days to do this trip.No, I need my hours to build maximum mileage. I am aiming tomorrow to cover well over 400 miles in about the same amount of time as I rode today…

Now, I hear in the back row…. I hear in the peanut gallery… I hear a bit of heckling out there.

You think I don’t hear the sniggers and back-talking… “dumb-shit”, “going to look like the” hunchback of nitre damn”, “midlife crisis”, are all things I hear.

And we know I am a dumb shit. And I know I do live in the past.

But I ask you… ain’t this one hell of a purity bike? It deserves to be driven. And it deserves to be driven by me. The old fart who likes to behave foolishly…

So I sit in Walnut, Iowa. I have had a couple “Redds Apple Ales” and feel pretty floaty. I got here about noon, dropped my bike off to be serviced, looked at all their purty bikes, borrowed a modern Bonneville and drove to a local pub for lunch. I had my bike back and was at the hotel by about 230pm. Sorted my life and checked the email and showered and untangled my hair and …

EMMA JEAN’S is next to the hotel. The sedative is working well. I just got a call from Ron. He and Holly will be here soon.

Holly is my elder sister. Of my numerous siblings she is closest in age to me. (EDITOR’S NOTE: I am the middle of 9) Ron and Holly were high school Sweeties. Been married 40 years or more. I am taking this bike to their son, Andy, who lives in California.

Holly and Ron ride a trike…

So one can very quickly see where I may be at what wrestlers call a “distinct weight disadvantage”.

So… day one complete. I will ride for the next 5 days through 4 more states… Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, California. Total will be at least 25 hours. I know I shall be less than enamoured with my “cafe racer” at more than one point in the proceedings… but that is OK.

I joke with my family members who are riders… these folks ride a lot. I note here that I only mentioned to Ron n Holly that I was going west on a bike and they quickly found time for the ride.

Mind you, Iowa is cold for 9 of it’s 12 months thus when it is warm anyone who has a bike is riding their bike.

And, one day down… 5 more to go….

Day 1 of 6 all done. On the road at 630am and road through Gladbrook and Des Moinse to Marne, Iowa. I bought the bike in Marne so took it to get serviced. I have 1000 miles on the clock.

loaded after riding Independence to Des Moinse

At the end of the day in south west Iowa

Feeling pretty good. I did 300 miles in 5 hours today… I can go further faster. I got the bike serviced so stopped riding at noon. I could ride another 300 miles. I find the interstate is better as I can run at 80mph…

I admit one must get used to this ride… the back pegs are your “highway” pegs. The big bag on the tank is my pillow. Once you stretch out you’re pretty good unless your belly is too big. I bought 3 helmets before I found one I liked. Needed something light and comfortable as it’s your only protection from the air/ wind.

This is what we’ll do tomorrow…

All good.

Independence Iowa:

And it begins. More old fart foolishness…

I am going to ride this:

over the next 5 days over this route:

Stay tuned for daily reports…

Beche-de-mer controversy

Container stored at minister’s residence

CONTROVERSIES have erupted again over a 20-foot container of beche-de-mer due for shipment this weekend.

The container (No: CAXU3249964), owned by a local Chinese Xu Qiang, is being kept at the residence of Foreign Affairs minister Clay Forau, at Henderson.

It was feared the contents may have been falsely declared and authorities are called on to check it out before shipment.

Sources familiar with beche-de-mer export said while the number of bags loaded and quantity declared may be correct, Customs need to check out the different species.

“It’s common for exporters to make false declaration of the types of species they are exporting,” one source said.

For the container at Mr Forau’s residence, some say it was filled with high quality beach-de-mer species but are only declared with less number of bags.

Sources further questioned whether Mr Qiang has a licence to export beche-de-mer.

Previously, Mr Qiang is a business partner of Jerry Sun who recently exported his beche-de-mer container under Rendova Trading Company.

They split over differences and Mr Qiang has since moved on and started buying beche-de-mer himself.

This week, the police went searching for Mr Qiang to speak to him, and some claimed he was hiding at Mr Forau’s residence.

But Mr Forau strongly denied harbouring Mr Qiang.

Reached for comments yesterday on his mobile phone, Mr Qiang said he did nothing wrong, declined to make further comments, and instead referred the Solomon Star to his lawyer.

When contacted, private lawyer David Lidimani said he just received his client’s file and is still looking into it.

However, Mr Lidimani stated it could be something to do with the beche-de-mer issue.

He added he will be seeing the police today over the matter.

Mr Forau said the majority of Mr Qiang’s customers are from Temotu.

“In fact he has been buying beche-de-mer from Temotu since 2002,” Mr Forau said.

He said he knew Mr Qiang since then and they become friends.

Asked why as a minister he allowed his residence to be used as a loading point, Mr Forau said this happened due to the recent issue between Mr Qiang and his business partner Jerry.

The fall-out between the duo last month resulted in the burning of Mr Qiang’s car at his residence at Tasahe by those believed to be associates of Jerry.

The incident was now a police case.

Asked whether Mr Qiang is a licensed buyer and exporter, Mr Forau said he did not know.

“What I can tell you is we used to sell beche-de-mer to him since 2002,” the Foreign Affairs minister said.

Asked whether it is right as a minister of the crown to allow his residence to be used by an Asian to load the container, Mr Forau said he did not see anything wrong with it.

“I am a just an ordinary person like everyone else and we all do things for survival. We all work hard and do things for our livelihood,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Malaita Ma’asina Forum president Charles Dausabea called on Mr Forau to resign.

If he refused, Mr Dausabea said the prime minister should sack him.

But Mr Forau said: “I think my conscience is clear because I am merely helping a friend who is helping my people to harvest and sell their products. I am doing this not as a minister of the crown but just like an ordinary person.”

Mr Dausabea also called on relevant authorities to properly check the container.

“If Mr Qiang is found to have committed fraud, he should be referred to the courts, or deport and ban him from returning to the country,” he added.

By Daniel Namosuaia 

 

??? !!!

Satu plans to resume hunt

Mr Robert Satu plans to export 28 dolphins to China.

DOLPHIN hunter and exporter, Robert Satu plans to resume his dolphin export activities next month.

Mr Satu revealed to this paper yesterday that over the past month, he has received more than 100 offers from various dolphin dealers around the globe.This according to Mr Satu and the government’s lack of keeping its promise to compensate Mr Satu and the Solomon Islands Marine Export Limited (SIMEL) for halting their dolphin export activities has motivated him to resume the business.

“I started the business, it was my means of survival and that of the many other fishermen involved in the business with me.

“After the government told us to compensate us if we released the dolphins and cease the export, we agreed to that, however the government has yet to live up to its promise to us.

“Therefore the only means whereby we can get income for ourselves to support our families is to go fish again,” Mr Satu said.

Mr Satu also revealed that he has already made arrangements for the export of 28 dolphins next month to China.

“Within the next couple of weeks, I will finalize all the arrangements for the first shipment of 28 dolphins to China, whilst hunting will start as soon as this month,” Mr Satu said.

With a sigh of relief I find this…

Parliament morality and Integrity

Was watching CNN per this most interesting case of a guy holding 3 females captive for years…

Makes one wonder how common such may be?

On thing though… a CNN reporter said, “… she could have fleed…” in regards to the fact that a couple of the hostages did not run when give the chance.

Now really, the idea that we can use bad english is bad enough but to use wrong english, to make up words, or to sound like you wuz frim iowa…

I wish I had fleed earlier…

OK, we have social instability fueled by tribal divisions. We have political interference in all aspects of government, business, and life. We have tribal affiliations called the “won tok” system which imbalance most operations private or public. We have an under motivated and under paid constabulary which is screaming for professional leadership.

Add to the mix: Striking teachers, unpaid government workers, and a population where over 50% is under the age of 18 and for all practical purposes remain uneducated/ cater to…

Sure, makes perfect sense… dismiss the boss of the Police Force for no reason other than he is doing a decent job…

Sure, makes sense to me…

Officer: Lansley dismissal a political success

I have been eager to review this document but fear it all may be a waste of time. The omissions are glaring and fact that the section on Gizo…

does not, in my opinion, contain a statement by any of the main players on the ground, at the time, (including me?) basically renders this document less than useful…

So sad,

Sore lo solomoni…

I like this… “The incident, the only such mass protest amongst prisoners in recent memory”…

It shows a complete lack of historic recognition if not a dillussional approach in that there have indeed been a number of prison uprisings, riots and even breakouts in “recent memory”… Why the sugar-coating?

page 311/ 312

Like their counterparts in the PPF, the RAMSI advisors to the justice system quickly found that
they had to adjust their expectations to an environment a world away from Australia. A senior
expatriate Commandant described this different context:
Prisoners here are very compliant, easy to work with, very open. . . . They don’t have a lot of the
issues that prisoners in Australia have. Very few drug issues. Significantly fewer psychological
issues than in Australia. They’re still very respectful of authority, which is missing in most
Westernized countries.12
When RAMSI officers first arrived they tried to run the prisons in a more Western way. For
example, they banned guards from talking to the prisoners. This change sparked a non-violent
protest by inmates upset by these changes in policy and the disrespect they perceived from new
prison staff. The incident, the only such mass protest amongst prisoners in recent memory,
chastened foreign advisors, who learned to appreciate Solomon Islands’ more congenial and
collaborative prison environment.