Bike show is over, now it's time to explore England!

Wasting time in the English countryside!

After we packed up the displays from the show it was time to say goodbye to Birmingham for a bit. David and Gary got everything loaded into the car and we headed down the motorway (on the wrong side of the road) to David's in Overton. It only took us less than two hours to get a quarter of the way across the country! In the USA this would take a couple of days, not hours! After a good night's rest we had a bit of breakfast and went to go see H-C Travel and the rest of Overton, a nice little town in the English countryside.


Now that we were done working it was time to go for a bit of a walk and see the country. We walked around the little town of Overton, stopping occasionally to see the local shops and the town in general. A very nice little country town, a place even Gary said he would like to live in. Sure there aren't any mountians like we're used to but nice nonetheless.

We stopped off on our walk around town to take a look at the local church, older than almost all of the places back home in Colorado.

Gary wasn't used to the narrow, small little roads we saw all over England, good thing he wasn't driving anywhere, plus the big dummy would probably end up on the wrong side of the road anyway. After the first day of wandering around Overton we went back for a wonderful dinner with David and Penny, a bit of conversation and then off to bed for a nice night's rest.

The next day we got up, had a nice cup of tea and walked up to the train station to take a day trip down to Salisbury to see some friends and the local attractions. It was about a mile to the train station, but a very nice walk. We got on the train and were very impressed at how nice they were and how easy it was to get around the local area this way. A quick 30 minutes later we were in Salisbury and got a ride from one of our friends from a previous tour. He was nice enough to take us up to go see one of the oldest mysteries in England, Stonehenge! Just a bit out of town it was nice to go see, although a bit expensive and they wouldn't let us get within fifty feet from the actual stones. I asked why and the nice people looking after it said that they had so many people visiting that it might be damaging to them to allow everyone get that close.

But we had a good time looking around and taking some pictures and video. We then met another friend from a previous tour who was nice enough to drive us around the local area to see the rest of the countryside. After Stonehenge we drove down to a small local town to see a little oddity in front of the village church.



Apparently the locals have been keeping track of the price of bread here for over two hundred years, carving the price into a piece of stone and placing it in the wall surrounding the local church. The stones give the year and the price for a Gallon of bread, which gives you some idea of inflation over a very long period of time. We never found out just exactly why this was done, but we guessed that this was so everyone paid the same price. Those silly humans!

After a quick picture, it was time to travel onward to see another local landmark. During the second world war there were a very large amount of both American and British soldiers stationed in the area around the airfields set up in the area to defend the English Isles and bomb Germany.
While they were in the area they discovered that just under a foot or so of earth the ground was comprised of almost pure white chalk. Having discovered this someone came up with the idea to carve away the topsoil in the shape of the regimental symbol, and then all of the units in the area followed suit. It's even visible on Google earth, and is just a little ease-southeast of the little town of Fovant.

Taking a look around at the silly humans carving up the ground again, boy do they do some strange things!

Here they are, a bit hard to see from this angle though!

Looks like someone Dancing doesn't it!

This one is much easier to see, and is much better maintained!

So is this one, but I can't really tell what it looks like, pretty though!

Our friend and tour guide for the day, thank you and hopefully we'll see you again soon!

The final Days at the NEC Motorcycle Show

For the next few days of the show we spent a lot of time meeting really nice from all over the U.K.. We also had some more friends come by and say hello. We also got some time to go wander around the show and get a look at all the new motorcycles coming out for the next year. There were Harleys, Hondas, Kawasaki's, BMW's, Triumph, Royal Enfields, Triumph, and many more.


We walked around for quite a while looking and drooling over all the new bikes. We saw some really nice motorcycles and all the neat stuff that goes with them. I even got the chance to ride the new Honda 80cc. It's a lot of power for yours truly, but a lot of fun.


We also saw several bikes that were just my size! They would be perfect for doing the tours for me, but Gary said that he didn't have enough money to buy a bike just for me, so I guess I'll just have to be happy riding on the back of his bike.


I liked this bike a lot, it was just about my size! But I just didn't like the colors! So we walked around some more looking at all the neat stuff until one bike caught my attention.

This is the one!

Now this is much better, now all I need is for Harley-Davidson to make a bike my size for doing the tours. If you're gonna do "The American road" (Historic Route 66), then I think you need to do it on a classic American motorcycle. But with this bike I could do the whole Route in just a couple of days, not weeks! After the silly human dragged me off this bike kicking and screaming, he saw a bike we had to go see.


This is the bike Gary was obsessed with. This is the new Triumph touring bike, and the silly human kept babbling about it being the perfect bike for Touring around the U.K.. He said something about if he was going to be riding around the U.K. he should do it on a local bike. This one was just perfect…until Gary saw the price tag and then converted it into US Dollars! The poor guy just about passed out, but I calmed him down with a Guinness and we kept looking around. Then as we were going back to look at it again, something else caught Gary's attention (thank goodness too, I hate seeing that guy cry). We were walking back to the Triumph when we heard someone calling out the silly humans' name. We looked all around until I noticed where it was coming from.


It was these beautiful ladies modeling the new Kawasaki bike. Apparently Gary met one of them the night before at the Pub when he and some friends from a previous tour went out for dinner and a few pints (and the B@$*@%d left me behind at the B&B). Then they saw me and forgot all about Gary! They wanted to play with me and Gary said it was okay, and then they wanted a picture of me with them! All of the other human men looking at us, were mumbling something about me being the luckiest bear in the world, or something like that!




It didn't end there either, after we said goodbye and walked around some more a couple of other human Ladies wanted to give me a hug. They were really cute too! I got my hug s and it was time to get back to the H.C. Travel booth and go back to work (the silly human kept whining about staying there with the pretty girls though). So we went back and met some more really nice folks and had a great time at the show. I sure hope we get to come back to the show next year so I can get some more hugs!

That's about all for now, keep checking back as the story continues…

Another fun Day at the NEC Motorcycle Show!

After a good night's rest it was time to go back to the show. We got to meet a lot of really nice people, and a lot of them were interested in coming over to the U.S. to ride. We also saw a lot of people from previous tours who came to the show and stopped by to see us. I also got the chance to see a couple of fellow traveling critters.

One of which is my buddy H.E. (that's short for Holiday Elephant). He and his human Martin had come to the show and stopped by to say hi.

Martin is really my kind of guy, he's a veterinarian who travels all over the world helping animals, keep up the good work!

Another one of my friends who came by to see me also has his own blog here on blogspot (http://www.kermit-hops-the-world.blogspot.com), Kermit. We had a great time chatting about old times, our humans and the strange things they do, our blogs and a lot more.

Before I came over I knew I was going to be seeing him, so I decided to give him his Christmas present a little early. This little frog went all the way down Route 66 with his humans (Paul & Trish), but he didn't get anything for completing the journey. So I thought I should give him something for the next time he comes back for another tour. So I got him his own biker jacket with all the Route 66 badges, considering how nutty his humans can be, he deserves it!

I also made some new friends at the show, one of which is another traveling bear Fudge, and his young human too (I can't remember the human's name though). Nice fellas, and they were really glad to see another traveling stuffed animal too. We hung out for a while comparing humans before he had to go. One friendly suggestion, he really needs to see a hairstylist before that hair gets any more out of control! Talk about a bad fur day!

Another new friend was introduced to me by a very nice man in a kilt in the stand opposite ours, Peter. He's the owner and operator of Highland Rider Motorcycle Aventures (http://www.highlandrider.com), and he had a mascot with him, but the poor fellow didn't have a name. So after days and days of thinking we finally came up with a good Scottish name for him, Stewart, Stewart the Stoat. He's a cute little guy in a kilt, and makes the goggles look good! Hopefully some day I'll get the chance to come ride the highlands of Scotland with him and his human.

I also got to meet our host critters at the bed and breakfast. The owner's daughter brought her stuffed friends with her so I could meet them and so I wouldn't be lonely, wonderful English hospitality! I'm sorry that I couldn't remember their names, maybe they'll leave me a comment and let me know their names so I can list them here.

Well, that's about all for now, the human says he's getting tired and needs to go to bed, and he's tired of typing too. Keep checking back though, we've got a lot more to show you about our wonderful trip to England. Until next time, keep your crazy humans out of trouble!

At the NEC Motorcycle Show

A good time at the NEC Motorcycle Show!

After a long day of travel we finally made it to the NEC in Birmingham, England. After spending about 14 hours on airplanes and almost 24 hours of travel time we made it! The flight across the "pond" was comfortable, and I was lucky to get a seat all to myself (the crazy human was too cheap to buy me a seat) instead of riding all the way in the overhead compartment!



We finally arrived around noon in Birmingham and we were straight off to the booth for HC Travel to meet David Grist. We got to meet David right away and after a brief introduction we started talking to people about the motorcycle tours. I just wanted to go hibernate right away, but the insane Gary said it would be better if we stayed awake for as long as possible to prevent jet-lag. It was alright for him, he just kept drinking lots and lots of coffee! We finished at about 6 that evening and after stopping for dinner at a local Pub for dinner it was time to go to the Bed & Breakfast for a well deserved (and badly needed) rest.

Goin' to the bike show

!!!!!The Crazy Human is going to the U.K.!!!!!

We're on the road again, well at least traveling. The crazy human Gary has been asked by David from HC Travel and Eaglerider to attend the NEC Bike Show in Birmingham, U.K. He's agreed to take me along with him as long as I promise to behave myself this time! We will be arriving 10:05 am from Amsterdam Nov. 28th and staying at the show until Dec. 2nd. However Gary says he wants to stay a few extra days to see as many people as possible while we're over there. So that means we will probably be staying until the 10th of Dec. So we'll be looking for places to stay while we're there, so if anyone can offer us a place to stay we would really appreciate it! Please e-mail the crazy human so we can get together while we're there!



While on tour this year I met another traveling critter. He's a moose from Italy, named Elk. We met at the hotrod museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico and while the humans were busy looking at classic cars we had a nice visit and compared crazy humans (I think I've got the strangest one!) with each other. This year's tours were wonderful and we had a great time! We can't wait to get back to riding next season!



Harley & Annabelle were great this year and would like to say hi to everyone! They were nice enough to take a picture with me and only messed with me a little in the process! Don't worry I enjoyed it!

Just take a look at some of the craziness that happens when we arrive!

They're always really happy to see everyone! There's not a lot to do in the middle of nowhere Erick, Oklahoma!

Wow, insanity at it's finest, where you can see real rednecks work and play in their own environment! There's nothing better than a redneck lunch stop!

Well the crazy human has to get going and start getting everything ready (passport, equipment, etc…) for the big trip, so we'll write more later (I can't type worth a darn with these paws) when we have more time! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone when we get there! Keep checking back and we'll keep you updated as to our travel plans! Cheers! Bearnie and the crazy human!

Lost Somewhere in Illinois?

Another Great Summer

Time for another update. The crazy human has finally found the time to do some typing for me again. We have been busy with all sorts of things on the tour this year, making new friends and doing some really fun things. Everything has been going well this summer, and we have some new pictures for you all to see. Gary hasn't been taking as many pictures this year because he's too busy riding his motorcycle! But here's a few new ones for you all to see.


Since I'm riding on the back of the motorcycle this year Gary found me a helmet in my size. The hard part was finding one that my ears would fit through! Gary said that if he has to wear one I have to also, no matter how unBEARable it may be! But Gary's right, safety first.


Here I am just "Hanging Out" on old Route 66 just outside Weatherford, Oklahoma. It was a wonderful day, great weather and a fun day of riding. Just watch yourself if Gary comes anywhere near with you with a bungee cord in in his hand! He just may hang you out somewhere too.



Mmmmmmm…LUNCHTIME! One of my favorite things on the tour (Except for Breakfast and Dinner)! Here we are at the ol' lunch counter in the Route 66 diner in Tucumcari, NM. There's nothing like the good old American greasy-spoon diner food! They're really nice to me here, they even make me a berries and honey sandwich! I love this place!!


Here's the crazy human drinking beer and riding! Oh…wait…it's only root beer…errr…I mean Route Beer…Route 66 Root Beer. Gary may be crazy, but he's not stupid enough to drink alcohol and then ride!


Here we are in front of the Sandhills curiosity shop with Harley and Annabelle, the craziest rednecks on Route 66! One of the most memorable stops on the entire trip, and Gary's just crazy enough to fit right in!


On one of our tours one of the participants, Bob Perkins from England spent his last two weeks as a Northamptonshire Policeman on holiday with us. One of his last official acts was to swear me in as an honorary Northamptonshire policeman, giving me his actual cap badge for my cowboy hat! He was even nice enough to give Gary his badge from his helmet. Thank you very much Bob. I'll wear it with pride!


Looks great doesn't it! In all the confusion I can't remember if I fired five shots or six.…So I've got just one thing to ask you…do ya feel lucky punk?…well…do ya?

Okay, so I let being an honorary policeman go to my head. While the humans were in the restaurant eating lunch Gary left me with the bike. So I thought that I could go for a quick ride and be back before anyone noticed I was gone. While coming back I noticed I was going to be late and decided that an honorary police bear could go a little over the speed limit. Boy was I wrong, just my luck, I got pulled over by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol just as I pulled in to the restaurant parking lot. Talk about embarrassing, there I was getting a speeding ticket while the whole group was walking out to their bikes! I tried to talk the officer into letting me go because I was an honorary policeman, but he still gave me a written warning. When Gary came out and saw me getting a ticket on his bike, he was extremely mad at me and made me sleep in the saddlebag that night as punishment!
Special Thanks to Maj. J.D. Wilson, Zone Commander of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for letting me off with a warning and for the pic! I promise I'll be a good bear in the future!


One small bit of bad news for this year, Hillbillees Cafe in Arcadia, Ok. was recently purchased and closed. Some greedy Billionaire greasebag bought Hillbillees just to shut it down because he didn't want it to compete with his own new place "Pop's" he was building just down the road. He has shut down a local favorite and historical piece of Route 66, just so he didn't have to compete with a local institution.
Gary asked me if we should go down to the old swimming hole to do some fishing…and I said "sure, sounds like fun"…

fun…until the crazy human decided to use me for bait!!! Don't worry though, the other people on the tour convinced him that the whale wasn't real and I wouldn't make good bait anyway.
Well that's about it for now…we'll write more later. Remember to keep the rubber on the road and the shiny side up!

Back at it again!

Well, we're at it again. Sorry for the delay but I've had a hard time getting the silly human to do some typing for me. My crazy human is taking me along for a few rides again this year. We're doing Old Route 66 again and having a great time doing it. As always there's a few stories to tell and some pictures to look at along the way.

Last year I got to ride in the van all season, but this year I get to ride on the back of the bike with that maniac Gary. Don't worry folks, my human figured out how to make a seatbelt for me so I don't fall off (especially the way Gary drives!).


For some reasons these strange humans have an obsession with big holes in the ground! Meteor crater in Arizona is a big hole, so we stopped to have a look!

Back at that big hole in the ground again! Beautiful place!

While I was in Grand Canyon I had a close encounter with a little alien fella. He was hiking around with his humans, who were looking at the big hole in the ground.

I was wondering what was so special about these big holes in the ground these humans were preoccupied with! So I decided to investigate! I'll be researching this one for some time…hey…!!…do I see a beehive down there?

We also stopped in Winslow Arizona, to do some "Standin' on the corner" takin' it easy. Thanks to the Eagles' song! We were looking for a girl in a flat-bed Ford…but no luck this time!

Just like last year I've met some really nice people again this summer and made a lot of new friends!

Okay, so I got into a little trouble in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Apparently they don't allow bears to just roam the streets…something about being a "Wild animal " and "Public safety hazard"…but after a few words with my human they decided I wasn't a threat…and released me into Gary's custody. Nice guys too…and don't worry they weren't too rough on yours truly. Thanks guys, and I promise I'll be a good bear…maybe…

The Sandhills Curiosity Shop Erick, Oklahoma a great place to stop and meet some REAL rednecks. The redneck capitol of the world! And darn proud of it too…drop in and say howdy to Harley & Annabell.
I like just sittin' on the porch!
More to come! Soon! I Promise!