Thursday 15 August 2013

Anchored Down in Anchorage

So the Anchorage song by Michelle Shocked goes like this!

I took the time to write to my old friend
I walked across that burning bridge
I mailed my letter off to Dallas but
Her reply came from Anchorage, Alaska
 
She said, "Hey girl it's about time you wrote
It's been over two years now my old friend
Take me back to the days of the foreign telegrams"
And the all night rock n' rollin', hey Chel we was wild then
 
Hey Chel you know it's kinda funny
Texa's always seems so big
But you know you're in the largest State in the Union
When you're anchored down in Anchorage
 
Hey girl I think the last time I saw you
Was when my BMW broke down again
Remember the late summer of 2013
I ordered my parts but they had to come from Germany
 
Hopefully the parts will come soon
Before we get old and we have to pay taxes here
Its life on the road with a BMW
Which is why we are anchored down in Anchorage!!!
 
We serviced the bikes here on Sunday in typical Scottish weather, luckily we got a garage for a few hours from Ian an Edinburgh ex pat who lives here. I found that the overheating has caused my fan to die so Tuesday we called the dealer and this morning (Wednesday) the part had been delivered from the lower 48 (mainland USA). Only problem is the fan is a superceeded item and totally different from the fan on our bikes which means it need a totally different mounting plate which of course BMW didn't think about so we are now stuck here for a week while the part comes from Germany.
I have to say the guys here have been great, its the f**kwits at Munich that need to get their act together. We have decided to rent a car for a week to set off into the wilderness rather than hang around here waiting for our Bavarian masters to grant us permission to move. Meanwhile the guys here will do a valve clearance check so hopefully we can get the final leg done with NO MORE ISSUES. 
As I said before BMW are real adventure motorcycles, its adventure every morning wondering if something else will go wrong. Luckily we are still in good spirits despite the huge extra expense this incurs, luckily we are now masters of planning and changes to plan.
I spent a couple of hours today trying to make the new fan fit but to no avail, its not worth wrecking an expensive item to risk breaking down in the middle of nowhere so we are where we are, now car travellers for the next week (at least we can hide from the bears!)
So depressed were we at BMW that we accepted and invitation to join Anchorage Harley Davidson's party to say bye to some guys riding to Milwaukee for the 110 year anniversary of HD! Now you all know I had to be pretty p**sed of to go to that but we did and we enjoyed it!
Bike in bits again!!! Offending fan on the ground

We are staying next to the biggest seaplane base in the world!

Nathan and the guys at Alaskan Long House have been very helpful

So is life at a Harley party so boring you have to read a Book?

Bands were excellent! 
 

10 comments:

  1. Hope you enjoy your week being a car tourist and don't let the Gerries at BMW get you down as this is just another small chapter in your grand adventure. Counting down the weeks to Florida :-) Take Care Brian, Nicola & Lucy xx

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    1. Thanks gang, yep yet another chapter, more stories, and because we are picking up a hire car the sun has come out. Looking forward to the banter in Florida
      Gino & Fiona

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  2. Readin' atween the lines,is yir love affair wi' a things BMW stertin' tae wain?Ewan an' Charlie jist convinced a' sensible folk (that's me oot) tae forget Birmingham an' go Bavarian...Gled yir takin' it sae weel...a' wid be foamin et the mooth.Hope ye didnae tell the BMW dealers yir route,they'll be takin a wee holiday when yir due...
    Guid yir able tae Blog mair,still enjoyin the photies and patter.Keep dancin'
    Geordie

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    1. Aye Geordie
      Guid tae hear fae ye, there's niver been a love affair wi me and BMW, bein a guid Scot I bocht them cause they were cheap, cheap bikes are no guid bikes I can tell ye. Nae point in foamin at the moo, jist gets ye crabbit. Its no sae bad, hopefully get sorted in a week
      Tak care
      Gino

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  3. Aye Fiona & Gino,
    Vexing!
    Been enjoying the craic and the images along the way, thank you for posting them. Hope you get sorted soon, but enjoy the bear cage while you have it.
    Tried to paste this, but having had an incomprehensible education, can't make it work, so will type it in instead, without the wee drawing!

    I wish I were a glow worm,
    A glow worm's never glum.
    'Cause how can you be grumpy, when
    the sun shines out your bum?!

    Hope the luck changes with the B******d Motor Werken, that doesn't!
    Regards, Bill.

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    1. Hi Biil
      Not heard from you for a while, glad your still tagging along. Yes its a PITA but its life, just adds to the expense a bit. I like the poem Bill, and its true, we are lucky
      Slainte
      Gino & Fiona

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  4. Alright guys bit of a nightmare with the bikes enjoyed the video and the blog banter is braw well as they say keep on trucking catch ye later Craig dawn and sean

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    1. Hi BRo
      Good to hear from you, aye it's a pain but as you say, we need to keep on trucking! Puncture in the hire car today so Alaska is keeping us busy!
      Take care
      Gino & Fiona

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  5. If time to kill in Alaska check out "into the wild" Chris mccandless go see the "magic bus". I think it near Denali. Great story, great journey. Really enjoying the blog, typical crap with the BMW's.

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    1. Got this after we'd been to Denali! Plenty to see though, many thanks
      Gino

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