Walter in Hibernation

With the recent snow melt, the snow was only shin deep. He may be in hibernation, but the old guy started on the second try. Actually it was amazing it even turned over. The tarp appears to be successfully keeping the melting snow out of the RV. Thank goodness, because there is, naturally, some rot to deal with this spring.  I will be looking for ideas when the snow melts. B~

Many thanks to P&J at Pollen Arts creators of a fantastic line of natural Beeswax candles. How did we find them? I discovered their wonderful blog thewinnebagodiaries.blogspot.ca while I was looking for ideas to redecorate ol' Walt. They didn't just redecorate their rig, the re-designed the inside. What they created in their winnie is quite amazing. The candles in the pictures caught my eye and the rest as is said, is history. The candles just appealed to my interest in late 19th and early 20th century history in North America. Now if I could just get Walter as cool inside as they did. B~
 Mishy can't wait for the snow to melt and transform Walter. Mishy has a perfect place for the candles. They smell so good you just want to take a bite.

 This weekend we were out looking at Walter. He looks so sad with a big blue tarp covering him up. Had to go back and look at the pictures from the Summer when we first picked him up.



This is B the day we bought Walter; what did I get myself into?

Doesn't he look the picture?  Love the Red Velvet...not really.








The boys taking a look at it. Gingersnap is already climbing the beast and The Blakester has that look on his face. What were they thinking??

Happy Walter, waiting to go to his new home.

Saw this on a friends post and gave me a chuckle......   Four legs Faster than two. B~

http://www.edisproduction.de/2014/01/18/dog-vs-mtb-biker/

With the RV season still a few months away here in western Canada, it seemed like a good idea to enlighten readers of the sport of Downhill Mountain Bike Racing. So just what is this sport that will consume our summer? Well wait for the ski hills to close for the winter season...maybe. Then hang your bike on the chair lift and take a seat in the chair behind it. Catch up to your bike at the top, climb aboard and point the bike down hill. Is it crazy? I'd say so. Is it easy? Not at all. To quote a racer last season. "It's more than just riding a bike." After watching a few races, it seems to me this would make one heck of an entertaining Olympic sport.

The racers range from young teenagers up to baby-boomer teenagers. Let me tell you, these guys have worked hard to get down the mountain in one piece. Crashing is inevitable. Many times, the worst injury is the bruised and battered pride. Its exciting to say the least. If nothing else racers and families travel to some of the most beautiful places in Western Canada and the Pacific NW.
http://cyclingbc.net/mountain-bike/downhill-racing-dh/dh-bc-cup-raesc/  http://nwcup.com

So how did we get to this point? Our camping started in a family tent, grew through a tent trailer and finally a 29' travel trailer. Yes in typical fashion when we really needed the large trailer, we had a tent trailer, and when we bought the large trailer, the number of people camping was on the verge of becoming outnumbered by pets.
After selling the trailer I found myself missing the weekend trips to the mountains. Since there are not a lot of lakes nearby and our winters are rather long; while preferred; a boat was not a viable option.
What to do? With Gingersnap pursuing his passion of downhill mountain biking (DHMB), a motor-home seemed like a good choice. But what kind? Well with limited resources to spend on an RV and a weird affinity for the old Winnebagos, we settled on a 1973 Brave 22' model affectionately christened Walter. Luxury? No. Fast? No. Quiet? Again no. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think its quite cool to look at. Its no where near perfect, but it was clean and ran good for a 40 year old machine. What it is is a project. A project that it appears all the appliances work!
So far I have installed laminate flooring before winter set in. Plans this spring are to install carpet in the cab area to clean it up and hopefully quiet it down. With any luck we can find some nice covers for the front seats and other cushions. The red velvet on the seats is horrible. The rest of the covers are the original green tweed.

I Can't Drive 55.
 In between tasks, we will test its metal on the road to various ski hills for the BC Cup DH bike races. However, with apologies to Mr. Hagar, Walter won't be exceeding 55. Perhaps with a gale force tail wind it might. Of course it could be a challenge getting it to 55. Being a 40 year old truck chassis, it doesn't like to accelerate turn, or stop. However all that and other peoples reaction to it,  make it fun cruise around in. And, I am looking forward to parking at the bottom of the race course and cheering on the DH bike team.
B~

What do you see in this picture?  I think it depends if your a male or female.  B is quite proud of this picture. He carries the picture around on his phone and pulls it out and shows anybody who is willing to look at it. It is the classic proud Dad with the picture in the wallet.  Myself, I cringe every time I see it and do not carry it around on my phone or wallet.

 Go back to last year when the picture was taken, it was the last race of the season at Fernie, British Columbia.  Every race I stand at the bottom, my heart rate has elevated and I am saying a little prayer "please have my son come down that hill in one piece."  My eyes are wide and my ears are listening to every little sound until I see the bike and my son.  That day was no different and he was in one piece and on his bike and finished the race.  When we reached him he was so disappointed.  "I fell off my bike, twice" my heart sank for him but he was talking, walking so it couldn't have been that bad until I saw the picture on pinkbike.com published of him crashing.  What do you do? He sleeps, breathes and eats (literally and figuratively) downhill biking.  It is his passion.  

I must say when Gingersnap(a nickname he picked back in hockey) got recruited to the Winsport team I was relieved as he trains 4 days a week and is learning all the teqniques, maneuvers and even how to fall off the bike and land properly,  haha 

The Journey Continues....

M~