Several hundred people have paid me the compliment of subscribing to my blog, and for most of the past year I’ve returned that favor with…. squat.

After 10 years of being gone from home for 4-8 months of every year, in 2020 we were away for less than two weeks!!! And after nine years and 264 posts, I managed to squeak out exactly two more in 2020.

I thought I’d take a moment and bring everybody up to date on what’s been going on, and why you haven’t seen much in the way of new posts from me.

WUFLU

AKA Covid-19, the ongoing plague of the world. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that it’s had an impact on me and mine. Duh.

[I choose to call it wuflu, short for “Wuhan influenza”, which can easily be disputed. Of course it’s not an influenza, but as far as anybody knows, it did come from Wuhan city in Hubei province, China. Like Spanish flu, or Lyme disease, or Russian flu, or German measles (there are many other examples), I feel it should have been named for its point of origin. Regardless of why that didn’t happen, I can call it what I want. “Wu” rhymes with “flu”, and “wuflu” is my pick.]

The principle influence of the wuflu pandemic on my life was (is) the travel restrictions and closures. Karin and I are both retired, so work/job issues are not the problem for us. And it’s not that we can’t just jump in Howie and wander off to some lonesome flat spot in the desert. That’s obviously safe, even if it doesn’t necessarily follow the letter of the latest restrictions. The problem is that we can’t count on stores, shops, campgrounds, or even the roads themselves sometimes, to be open for our wanderings.

The possibility of being “locked out” was also real, even more so now, if we were to cross a state line. Bottom line was that the wuflu issues made travel a lot less relaxing, and more stressful, than it’s ever been.

LYME

Speaking of origin-named diseases (Lyme was named for Lyme, Connecticut), I was diagnosed with this one in May 2020. I had been having some arthritis-like issues since late October 2019, and the difficulties began to proliferate in the early part of 2020. My body headed downhill quickly, and by March I was fairly disabled, needed assistance in getting dressed, unable to negotiate stairs, etc. I’m 73 years old (according to my driver’s license), but I’ve felt like 40 forever; suddenly, I was feeling like 98, and at death’s door.

To pre-answer the obvious questions:

• No, I was never aware of a tick bite, even though this is the ONLY way you ever get Lyme.
• Nobody can say how long I’ve had it, since it can be dormant for months, years, or decades.
• My “flavor” is arthritic. There are also gastro- and neuro- varieties.
• Lyme (borellia burgdorferi) is only one of multiple co-infections. Ticks carry LOTS of pathogens.
• Cures for Lyme can be ephemeral, and treatments vary widely. I’m hoping for semi-remission and a return to high functionality. If I get rid of it entirely, great; if I can live with it, that’s OK too.
• Lyme is rarely, if ever, fatal. But it makes you feel so bad, you kinda wish you were dead.

–

Obviously, wuflu or not, we weren’t going anywhere for a while. Howie sat forlornly in the driveway for months, his brand-new 4X4 conversion going unexploited….  sigh.

Through the Summer and Fall, I worked with my medical team and various treatments, to attack the worst parts of the Lyme infection. We were somewhat successful, and managed to halt my decline and begin a glacially-slow recovery. With my strength slowly returning, I realized that my big 500-pound Adventure bike (Suzuki DL650), unridden since May, was not likely to be entertaining me for a while. Hell, I was so weak that I could barely tip it up off its kickstand.

FIRES

About the time I had started to feel a little more human, the August lightning storm complex swept across California and set the whole state on fire. Nobody had ever seen or experienced anything like it — an extensive, dry, active thunderstorm that stretched across the upper 2/3 of the state (and into Oregon as well). It was a spectacular, terrifying, amazing event that lasted for hours (the lightning) and months (the fires).

Locally, our home was about one mile outside the boundary of the evacuation zone, and untouched. Nearby, some burned areas had a lot of ground-scarring, but the majority of the forest remained intact. Many homes and properties were saved.

Other areas (this is near Bonny Doon) were burnt to a crisp. 80,000 people were evacuated, and some had no homes to return to.

From a travel standpoint (going into Fall shoulder season, our favorite), there was smoke, fire risk, road closures, area restrictions, campground shutdowns, and so on. The smoke plumes covered most of the western states, some of Canada and Mexico, and occasionally extended all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and well out into the Pacific. In short, there were so many travel risks and restrictions that we couldn’t even consider it.

RIDING

Like my previous life of flying, motorcycles are a wondrous balm to my spirit, and my spirit sure did need some soothing. I really, really wanted to keep on riding. After considerable deliberation, I bought a second bike, a little dual-sport Yamaha XT250.

It’s light enough for me to manage, even in my weaker condition, and I figured it could also be taken along on future Howie trips, with or without Jayk the Jeep. I rigged a front-mount hitch on Howie, bolted up a motorcycle rack, and the XT snuggled up nicely just under the windshield. (The photo makes it look off-center, but it’s not.)

Our first trial run was without Jayk, and we took a few days and traveled a few hundred miles, to a relative’s house, during the holidays. All worked well, and I was able to use the XT for a brief local ride around the Sierra foothills (north of Fresno).

Some of that foothill ride was wonderfully scenic, but some was also a dark reminder of the Creek Fire which devastated the area during the August disaster. As always, travel has its extremes…

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

The Howie-front bike-mount works great, and next trip out we’ll be traveling with the bike on the front and Jayk in tow at the rear. A little bit heavier than we’re used to, so the hills are slower – so what? Like we’re in a hurry?

We’re still sorting out minor issues after the 4X4 upgrade, and for sure the wuflu restrictions will still be with us. But I think that by early February we can figure out some places to go visit, and get back to rambling again.

So, as always, stay tuned…