DDT (12)
Member
Posts: 4120
Sometimes ya just gotta go...
Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...
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« on: January 07, 2015, 06:11:26 AM » |
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Well, I had gotten that ol' familiar itch again... and it just had to be scratched. I did come up with a noble purpose for a ride, though... you know, to sort of justify it and all. I wouldn't want to appear to be over-the-top self-indulgent or anything..
Yep, it occurred to me that many of my Yankee pals are all tucked in for the winter, and that some probably have a full blown case of PMS raging by now... And, that perhaps I should give them a dose of vicarious road trip tonic.
My usual plan is to stay south of I-20 and west of I-65 this time of year, but that still leaves lots of options open and in-play... including one of my favorite roaming areas, Texas. Well, most of Texas, anyway. That place is so huge, you see, much of it lies outside my 'winter weather comfort zone', but no matter...
I charted a likely route, always with the knowledge it could change in a heartbeat, but also knowing a direction and 'baseline' is helpful in keeping at bay the anxiety of uncertainty, the disorientation of indecision, and the energy sapping effects of inertia. I was pumped, and I wanted get out yonder and get on with it!!!
I'd invited several of my favorite riding buds that I'd thought might be able to swing a spur of the moment excursion, but, alas, they just couldn't make it happen. Oh well, I used to be matrimonially impaired and responsibility bound, too, so I do know how that can be... sigh... For what its worth, I don't miss either condition...
Not a problem for this stoic recluse, however, as I've had lots of experience with solo long distance riding, and I've long ago learned to relish it. There are so many advantages to doing it that way, that I won't attempt to mention any here, but it would be negligent of me not to point out that there can be some serious downsides to such carrying-on, too... more about that in a minute...
I departed only a couple of days after incubating this notion, but spontaneity and impulse are among the hallmarks of my current lifestyle... I just love my life and the way things have turned out! No sir, it ain't always easy being me, but it sure is fun... and educational...
I followed the baseline route all the way to Iraan, TX, lacking any motivation or sudden inclination to deviate... back roads mostly, but major highways when expedient. No motel reservations, of course, I just got a room when the mood struck.
Somewhere along that tack, another notion struck me... I'd been having a dickens of a time trying to find a suitable present to give Napper for Christmas... Now, there is this little town square with shopping, mostly tourist stuff naturally, in La Messilla, NM, just a mile or so south of Las Cruces.
Heck, even if I couldn't find anything particularly 'right', I could almost certainly get some credit for going to such extreme lengths to shop for something... Better forget about that noble stuff I spouted earlier and the self-indulgent aspect of this ride, too... I was Christmas shopping now, and I was on a mission... Ain't I sumthin'?
I didn't find anything inspirational or destined to be a 'home-run', but I did buy a couple of items. I'm banking on the 'extreme lengths and valiant effort' angle to get me over the hump... We'll know soon enough (They did later prove to be well-received).
I've tried many approaches in the attempt to rationalize the OK-ness of city riding... To date all efforts have been woefully unsuccessful. I had managed to avoid any cities or even large towns for the most part... until I got to far west Texas... and El Paso was squarely between my goal and myself... I gritted my teeth and pressed on...
It wasn't really all that bad, actually, and I did get through there relatively easily, especially considering all of the road construction in progress. I've been through there many, many times, but I can't remember ever doing so and not encountering road work going on...
Traffic was as usual heavy, bumper to bumper, and slow... but it was moving. At least it was westbound... Hard not to notice that it was stopped and backed up for a couple of miles eastbound... "Geez, I ain't coming back this way," I thought to myself...
I arrived in good shape at a motel in Las Cruces I'd frequented on previous occasions... Alas, the lounge was closed for remodeling... It would be open again in a month or two, the cheerful clerk informed me... Didn't think I'd hang around for that, so...
Following my shopping spree, I decided to head northeast to Alamogordo, then east to Artesia. From there I was toying with the notion of riding back south to Van Horn, TX, then on towards Marfa, and possibly riding the River Road on down through Big Bend NP... It had been a good while since I'd been there, and... you know, as long as I was already in the neighborhood anyway...
Either way, I was going to ride by Judge Roy Bean's place 'The Jersey Lily', on to Del Rio... then decide whether or not to swing down through Laredo or head to San Antonio and expose myself to the traffic there... Laredo did sound enticing, though, and it's been many years now since I'd cruised down there. Moot point, it turned out...
I'd departed Las Cruces early on Saturday morning... Traffic was predictably very light, as the folks thereabouts apparently take weekends seriously. A really great ride from Alamogordo, through Cloudcroft, and over to Artesia, with a nice twisty two-lane road (US HWY 82), a small hamlet or two, and lots of wide open space up on the high plateau.
I stopped in Artesia and topped off, then headed south towards Carlsbad... About half way, I heard it again... that dreaded popping noise as the drive shaft splines began shearing off and slipping in the pinion cup. I just hate that racket! I'd heard it several times before over the years, but I'd never gotten used to it.
No way to rationalize away that issue, and the empty feeling in your gut added to the dread of all that will follow is really demoralizing... Oh well, whatcha gonna do? I pulled in the clutch and coasted onto a county road that happened to intersect the highway there... then brought ALI to a stop in a safe place.
I took out my cell phone, and EUREKA!, I had a signal! I called 'Tow Busters', a roadside service provided through the GWRRA (I've been a member since '91). A flatbed tow truck arrived about three hours later and took me on to Carlsbad and dropped me off at the Best Western there (it had a restaurant and lounge - no remodeling in progress either).
While waiting on the side of the road, I took out my Gold Book, another GWRRA benefit, and looked for possible 'bike clinics'... I called the one in Roswell, and a very nice lady answered (an earthling, I think)...
"Sorry," she told me, "but we don't work on bikes more than twelve years old." ALI? Old? But I bought her new! I didn't argue the point, though... even if I could have persuaded them to try and fix her, chances are they wouldn't have known what they'd be doing anyway... I thanked her and ended the call...
About this point many thoughts were shooting around like comets inside my cranial cavity, and it's a wonder I didn't blow a gasket or pop something loose. What should I do now? What does this mean for the long term?
This was the third time in two years that this had happened. I do love ALI, and I can hardly bare the thought of us ever parting... but... This stuff is expensive as well as mighty inconvenient!!! Things simply can't go on this way...
My spirits sunk rather low, as I stood around watching the sun slide towards the horizon... Out in the middle of nowhere, broke down again, few options, lots of unknowns... and big expense no matter what lies just ahead...
No, it ain't easy being me sometimes... but Destiny does, it appears, have further plans for my girl and our bike... and for yours truly... My phone rang... who could that be, I wondered...? It was Troutdude just checking in...
I explained the situation to him, and he told me not to do anything stupid like leaving ALI behind again! If I could get her to his place, he'd take care of her. I already knew that he is a first rate wrench, so that offer was most comforting indeed!
Dang, I just hate to impose on anybody, though, and most especially folks I like and care about... On the other hand, my options were really limited, and I did have to do something... Lacking any more feasible alternative, I meekly accepted his generous and wonderful offer...
The tow truck arrived at dusk, and ALI was secured aboard. We then drove the 20 miles or so to Carlsbad... I asked about rental vehicles there and was told they had U-Haul and Enterprise, with Enterprise being just across the street and a short block up from the motel I was to land in... Now that was downright convenient... but not to be...
Nobody was open on Sunday, naturally, so I just dined at the motel breakfast buffet and then did laundry... and watched TV in between phone calls to and from concerned folks, as word of this latest boo-boo spread...
What may appear to be our darkest hour, may actually be the dawning of good things to come for us... When we are tempted to give up in dispair, we sometimes later learn that everything was actually fine, and that just a little more stick-ability would have seen us through... I've learned that lesson over and over throughout my life... like last year with t-man403 returning ALI to me with all of your help, as a prime example.
Monday morning I was standing at the counter of Enterprise when they opened... "All I need is a valid credit card, and you're in business," the nice young gal about the age of my grand daughter informed me. I produced my credit/debit/check cashing card, and she said, "No, it has to be a credit card only." What? There is the Master Card logo right there!
"I know, but there is the word 'Debit', too, so I can't accept that..." I asked for the manager, and another nice gal (also still looking forward to her thirtieth birthday) confirmed the rejection... Dang! I've used this card before to rent a car from Enterprise... Oh well... Women have been telling me 'NO!' since 1946, so I know when to concede defeat...
I called U-Haul, once back in the motel room. Nothing the size I needed, but they had a truck due in the next morning a size larger than I needed, but I wasn't about to get hung-up over that little detail, even if it did cost a bit more... AND, the nice lady put my mind at ease by telling me that U-Haul will accept my card!!! Now I had a plan after reserving that truck!
I called for a taxi, only to learn they didn't have any drivers in Carlsbad right then, but they were going to hire one soon... Again, I had no interest in waiting for 'one of these days'... I asked what I could do, and then I learned about their transit buses...
I called the number, and the nice person told me one would be by soon, and she asked if I could wait at the office front... Sure, so a plan was in the works!
They have these small buses that seat maybe a dozen passengers... and look like those small school buses. You call and they come to you and pick you up, then deliver you to your destination for one flat rate... three bucks without a reservation made the day before... All the while the driver working around and adjusting to the most efficient routing to accommodate any other passengers on board... It actually worked out pretty well.
I went to the Verizon phone shop to see if they could get my cell phone un-stuck. Since I'd had access to wifi at the motel, I'd decided the evening before to download an upgrade... and the phone just locked up... wouldn't turn off, couldn't call or be called, nothing... Won't do that again when on a trip!
After a successful stop there, I called and the bus took me to Walmart, where I purchased some tie-down straps and a padlock... things I knew I'd be needing to secure ALI in the rental truck.
One more call, and I was back at the motel... So far so good... I didn't have a way to get to the U-Haul place without waiting on the bus the following morning, but the lady at the well-drilling and pipeline supplies and U-Haul rental business with whom I spoke told me her husband and co-owner of their business had breakfast every morning at the Best Western... I could catch a ride with him... I did.
Next shoe to fall was that the truck I was to rent wasn't returned... In fact, the guy who had it wanted to keep it several days longer... Dang. Not to worry, though, the folks took care of me and rented me yet another truck... larger than the one I was to rent and two sizes larger than what I needed...
In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought to myself, as I accepted the deal... They did only charge me the rate for the one I'd reserved, however, so I thanked them for being so helpful...
I asked the desk clerk at the motel to please have the maintenance guy look me up... He did, and along with two other fellows, we all managed to muscle ALI up the ramp and into the cargo area, and I then applied the straps.
I got my bags and checked out of the motel... I was on the road at last by 10am, Tuesday morning, and bound for Louisiana...
The drive through San Antonio was... well, it was one I was glad I wasn't doing on a bike! Traffic was as thick as buzzards on a deer carcass, and it was either moving too fast to suit me, or it was too slow...even stopped a few times... Have I ever mentioned that I don't particularly care for city driving? I got through it, only to realize Houston loomed ahead...
I decided to drive on through Houston that same evening even though it was late... I figured 10pm would be better than early morning, so we pressed on... I did stop in Winnie, Texas, for the night... I hope the sonic boom didn't wake anybody up when my eyelids slammed shut...
It turned out Baton Rouge was the worst city I had to drive through on that leg of the journey... That, because of the time I did so... Dennis had warned me not to attempt it anytime from 3pm onward... I got to the outskirts of West Baton Rouge just at 3pm, so I rolled the dice and took a chance I could luck through... snake eyes!
Traffic was stopped even before one could see the Mississippi River bridge, so we crept all the way up and over that giant structure, then through town... ten feet at a time... It took the better part of two hours to get through there... oh well, at least I didn't have to pee during that time...
Thursday morning I arrived in Mandeville, then on to Dennis & Shelia's house... Dennis backed the truck into his driveway, thankfully, and then he unloaded ALI... We parked her in the carport/workshop bay, and began the process of problem identification, solving, and remedying...
I've previously described the trouble-shooting part of this story and the swing-arm findings... so, that has been left out here...
Once ALI was fit again, I was torn between returning home, or going back west to finish the road trip. I was about out of my brand of smokes and they can be hard to find, so I decided if I could find some there, I'd head west... otherwise, I'd just go home. At the second shop we found just what I needed, so I stocked-up and headed back to west Texas.
Just beyond Baton Rouge (much different experience mid mornings than late afternoons!) my speedometer stopped working. Dang! Now what? I rode on to Winnie, Texas, anyway, figuring to backtrack to Beaumont the following morning to get that fixed. (I don't like to stay in Beaumont any more, but that's another story.)
I called the Honda dealer and naturally no parts were in stock... but they could be acquired in a couple of days. In the meantime, Dennis called again wanting to verify everything was OK. I informed him of my latest travail, and he told me to just come on back to his place... He would order the parts through his bud at a local Honda shop and have them the next morning... He did, I did, and all was good again.
During all of this, Napper had wondered if perhaps my original plan just might not be in the cards... something about Karma not being right or something. By this time I was inclined to agree with that, so I left Mandeville and headed for Wetumpka, AL, and my humble abode... The 'Jersey Lily' will have to be visited another time...
ALI is now fine, but we were both wondering what the Day After Christmas Ride the next weekend might bring... I was hoping for a rather boring, uneventful ride, myself... That ride did turn out well, though, and my confidence in 'our girl' continues to grow... Actually, thanks to Dennis, to soar!!!
DDT
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