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Sunday, February 5, 2012

5/29 for the #29in29

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Day five of the 29 in 29 photo adventure.

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day. A perfect opportunity to try out the new Sidi boots. We rode to coffee at 9:00 am in the freezing temperatures since we knew it would be warm by the time we left the coffee shop.



As mentioned in Troubadour's post, one of our fellow riders had an issue with her Vulcan. The menfolk went out and diagnosed it as a dead ignition coil. The closest shops are over an hour or so away and neither had one in stock so she called a tow truck.

Here is the evidence that the tow truck drivers were obviously not riders. If they were they would have known how to tie down a bike. You would not believe how long it took them to decide where they could hook the straps to secure the bike.





When the tow truck drove away, the bike was moving way too much for having that many straps attached. Once the bike headed off to it's home we headed out to Salem along some twisty back roads.

First stop was Marco Polo Global Restaurant for lunch. It was our go-to place in Salem for grub since they have many menus. One being a vegetarian/vegan menu. We ordered the veggie wonton soup.



The soup looks tasty, yeah? What you can't see in that picture is the little tiny bugs swimming the backstroke in the soup. We think they must have come from unwashed broccoli. We sent the soup back and after about 15 minutes new bowls arrived.




We were told that it contained no broccoli since they made a fresh batch of soup and didn't want the same thing to occur. We might have believed them if Troubadour hadn't found a small piece of broccoli in his bowl. Maybe they just used the same bowls...... ummm we figured they just used a sieve and cleaned up the soup we had. Who knows? They did offer us a free dessert but we asked for a few bucks off our bill instead. After this incident and the odd lunch we had last time we need to find another go-to restaurant in Salem.

From lunch we headed to Costco then home making a few stops along the way for petrol and to pick up a rose bush. It was an awesome day. Left the house at 9:00 am and didn't get home until 4:30 pm. It was nice and sunny and 50˚F when we arrived home. I could get used to more winter months like this.

Oh - and the Sidi boots were great. They are taking some getting used to as I can't really feel the shift lever and rear brake and managed to hit neutral twice yesterday when shifting up, but overall I think I will really enjoy them. For some reason I felt like I couldn't flat foot the bike as well. I don't know if it was my imagination or if the soles are just that different from my other boots. My feet were warm though, no heated insoles needed. Yay.

-Au Revoir

"Just living is not enough.... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." - Hans Christian Anderson

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20 comments:

  1. sounds like a fabulous day riding! but yes, i would skip that kind of extra lunch protein... its so hard to find vegan options other than salads.

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    1. They were tiny bugs. If we weren't vegan we might have just picked them out.

      I find even the salads around these parts all have bacon or chicken in them. It is hard to find a vegan salad for some reason. You can ask them to hold the meat but they still charge you full price.

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  2. If there are bugs in your soup chances are that the veggies used have not been treated with the usual portion of pesticides... ;-) otherwise they would not be able to flounder about in your soup.
    Bummer for your friend, it is always painful to see a bike strapped to a tow truck.

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    1. Good point about the pesticides Sonja. I hadn't thought of that.

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  3. I love my Sidi's, great boots...as for lunch....mmmm......I dont think I would be going back in a rush.

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    1. Oh we won't be going back any time soon. Just need to do a little research into other restaurants with vegan options.

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  4. Trobairitz:

    You're right about bugs in broccoli. We had a worse experience with fish. When the fish was served it wasn't fully cooked and there was a transparent worm wiggling from the dish, which was hardly noticeable. Of course we sent it back, but imagine even if it were fully cooked, then we would have inadverdently consummed it without knowing. Eating is such a scarely pastime

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Ewww, the fish incident doesn't sound good at all. So many more things can go wrong with meat/fish than with veggies.

      We eat most meals at home and there are only a few certain restaurants we go to when out. There is a an awesome vegan comfort food restaurant in Eugene called the Cornbread Cafe. I'm gong to have to get pics of the food one day.

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  5. Nice pics. Sounds like a great day, minus the extra protein. And that bike on the tow truck is such a sad sight...

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    1. It was a great day. We could only laugh at the soup so it wasn't too bad.

      And bikes on tow trucks are never a good thing.

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  6. A dead Vulcan, buggy soup ... but what I really want to know is how you can shop at Costco via motorcycle, I've never left there with anything less than a small transport load of things!

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    1. Costco via motorcycle gives you discipline.

      We only bought 5 lbs of coffee and 4 pkgs of vitamins and they all fit in one of Troubadour's saddlebags. The bare root rose from the nursery on the other hand was a challenge.

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  7. I've been away from the computer for a few days and am just catching up. I love this photo idea and you are making it very fun to read!

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    1. I think Fuzzy was onto something when she put the word out for the challenge. It is fun to come up with things.

      Thanks for following along.

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  8. I hope there isn't a horrible ending to the tow truck story!
    Love the pic with Brad over the soup bowl - very nice composition to the photo and it tells a story. I think I'll take a pass on the restaurant though - ewwww.

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    1. The bike made it home fine and she has the seat off and is taking things apart. Hopefully she'll get a coil in without too much trouble. Kawasaki quoted her over $100 for the part.

      I thought it was a good pic of him so I included it. Of course this was before he noticed the bugs, lol

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  9. Bugs in soup are supposed to be in someone's joke not in a friends bowl. Glad you noticed.

    Always sad to see a bike on a tow truck.

    I'm guessing those Sidi's are going to take some breaking in and then will be fine. The Sidi's I've seen have all been rather robust and well made which usually means a softening up time.
    ~Keith

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    1. I think the Sidis will be great when broken it. I noticed them to be easier to walk in after the weather warmed up. They were quite stiff at 27˚F.

      Of course when we stopped at the plant nursery our friend said I was walking like I was in ski boots. And here I thought I was doing pretty well.

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  10. Ewwwwww bugs in your soup, blech. I had that happen with Chinese food, totally grossed out & couldn't eat after that. I guess you could insider the bugs a bonus on the protein side. I started wearing my new boots this week & they definitely were a little stiff. Then they loosened up too much & are perfect now because I popped in an insole. I did the same thing kicked my shifter into neutral instead of second. My new boots have a bit of a thicker sole & are a different feel than my flat soled boots. I bet once you break them in you will love them.

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    1. My feet were warm without any heated insoles in so I think I might love them already. Although they will be more comfy when broken in a bit. Glad you are enjoying your boots too.

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