It has been quite a while since my last blog entry. I
returned from my trip at the end of July, and have been very busy with things
other than writing and blogging. One of the most significant things was
learning that my friend Bob had passed away.
A fellow blogger, Dar, was very kind in advising me that she
had learned that Bob had passed away while on his trip with Yvonne. This was
news that made many bloggers and many motorcyclists and many photographers who
knew Bob very sad indeed.
I started reading Bob’s blog sometime in the latter part of
2011. I enjoyed his words about motorcycling and photography. At that time he
was also writing a lot about food. So much so, that I thought he must be a
chef. I was wrong about that, but he wrote about food with as much detail and
technical accuracy as he did about motorcycles and photography. Since those are
both hobbies of mine as well, I eagerly awaited his new posts.
He lived in Vancouver, and I live just west of Toronto, so I
knew it would be a while before we met. In the meantime I truly did enjoy his blogs.
In January 2012, we almost met in Hawaii. It turned out that
both of us and our wives were on the island of Maui at about the same time, and
who knows we might a pass each other on the street. Then, as luck would have it
it turned out that we were all on the big Island, but again we never did meet.
Later that year, I made my way to Duncan British Columbia, via the US, and on
my return, took the ferry to North Vancouver and went directly to Whistler and
points north and east. Another opportunity to meet Bob was missed.
That autumn, Bob’s blogs occasionally turned towards the
planning for his next trip which would be to come east all the way to the East
Coast. I made a few comments to him about possible routes in Ontario and
mentioned to him that he was more than welcome to stay at my home should he
take a route that allowed that to happen.
He in turn suggested that I might
meet him at a campground in Pennsylvania, along with other bloggers from
Ontario and Québec and the United States who were going to meet him there. I
thought it was a great idea, and was looking forward to doing so. Unfortunately
that did not happen either. In March of that year I had a serious case of
pneumonia, and at the time that Bob was in Pennsylvania, I had not recovered
enough to make even that short trip. Bob and others continued east and readers
of his blog will know that he had a very successful trip to the East Coast.
Fortunately, his return trip West brought him to Mississauga, and my home.
From all accounts, Bob enjoyed his couple of days with us
quite a bit. I’m not really surprised, because my wife Dianne treats guests
about as well as they are ever going to betreated by anyone. Bob thought the room
that we provided farm was pretty neat, liked the food just fine, and
particularly enjoyed being able to have his uncle Sherman and his wife for
dinner at our house. We were delighted to have all of them with us.
In the evening, after dinner, Bob and I talked about a
number of items, including how much electronics to take on a trip. He told me
about some neat electronic items that I had never heard of that would allow me
to connect my iPad to a portable disk drive. He certainly impressed me with his
technical knowledge.
In the morning Bob was off heading west. I rode with him for
a couple of hours out to London Ontario and bade him farewell. Off he went on a
very successful ride home.
We continued to stay in touch over the next months,
particularly as I was planning a second trip to the West coast and Bob was very
helpful in helping me plan the trip. I had determined to take the Lolo Pass
through the Rockies down into Idaho, but then really didn’t know what to do
after taking the pass. Bob certainly had some good suggestions, and I’m
very grateful that I accepted them. I ended up encountering some
spectacular switchbacks on Highway 129 down to Joseph Oregon, and from there
headed north to Anacortes and from there over to Vancouver Island.
After a very nice visit to my friend John on the island, I
took a ferry to the south of Vancouver, and followed Bob’s direction right to
his house. He and Yvonne made me welcome. Bob had taken the
extraordinary step of taking extra vacation days in order to make my visit to
Vancouver a huge success. If you check out my blog entries regarding my stay
with Bob, you will see that as a tour guide he was totally expert. He gave me a
ride in the Corvette, showed me all around Richmond, and extensively drove me around
North Vancouver, which is an incredibly beautiful area of the city. We went
down to the sea and up to the mountain. We visited Granville Island. We had a
great time. I told him he should consider retiring and take up being a tour
guide. I don’t think I was the first person to make that suggestion.
On my arrival Bob introduced me to some of his Corvette club
friends when we went out for dinner to celebrate my birthday and his birthday,
his on the ninth and mine on the 13th. Afterwards we went to the local
Night Market which was a very colorful and interesting local event.
When it was time to leave, Bob insisted on riding out of
town with me. I’m very glad he did. There are new roads newly opened that Bob
claimed would save me a couple of hours of time in getting out of the city.
Indeed, in a very congested city, the route he took was basically effortless.
Finally, it was time for us to have a final coffee at a
McDonald’s, and we both headed home. I headed east to my home, and Bob headed
west to his. Regretfully, I will not be able to ride with Bob again.
Bob had been planning another trip East in 2015. He was
going to swing by my place and we were going to head east together, likely
picking up other bloggers along the way, heading for Newfoundland.
I’m thinking I might do that trip in Bob’s memory. More
about that in coming months.
Although we did not spend all that much time together, there
are some people that you meet and instantly like. Bob was one of those people.
Over the past month or so, I have thought of Bob on many occasions. He was a
person who was full of life, smart, knowledgeable, a real people person. He was
adventurous. He told me that whatever he was out in his car or on the bike and
saw a road he wanted to take that road and see where it went - and he must’ve
taken most of those roads. That I think is something that I should learn to be
much better at.
So, Bob, thank you so much for teaching me that, and other
things about motorcycle camping, and lots of other things. I know I’m not alone
in saying that I shall miss you.
