Howdy CVO Friends,
I hope all is well with you and yours and that you are having a great 2011 riding season.
I managed to pull together my first of the three planned rides (Gettysburg, PA). I rode solo on this 500 mile plus one way roadtrip a day later than planned. Sue wasn't feeling well enough to go, not all that sure that I was feeling well enough either, but set out anyway. I hit pounding rain with only 17 miles on the trip meter. You've heard the saying that a day of riding your motorcycle in the rain is better than not riding at all? Well, I think there's a strong argument in favor or sleeping in, munching a late breakfast and watching a good movie on TV. Especially when the riding option is about 80 degrees and relative humidity above 80, you know, the weather that causes you to sweat so much under your rain gear that you may as well have just jumped into a brook and got it over with once and for all. On a short ride wet isn't so bad, but with hundreds of miles to go at highway speeds, don't that chill set in down deep to the bones and get the teeth to chattering? But, wet or dry the day still comes to a close and for me that day the close came with me rolling safely into the parking lot of my Motel destination a couple towns east of Gettysburg. I was some ready to check-in and crank the AC and hit the hay.
I woke up at 6:30 and met up with several of the other riders from all over the States and about 25 of us took the MC Battlefield Tour. The Tour Guide, Phil did a great job, no hurrying no rushing, plenty of time for questions. Over all it was a tour well worth it and I would recommend it to one and all. Our group stopped for lunch and a time for visiting one with another, that alone was worth the 500 mile ride. A ride to an H-D dealership and then w met up with two or three other groups for a pig roast, I mean a great pig roast. Live music and more visiting. I called an early evening for myself and headed back to the motel and was soon sound asleep. Sunday I pretty much laid around and tried to catch my breath before the ride home on Monday.
Well, all went well on my ride home until I got a mile before the PA/NY stateline on I-84. As it turned out, 2:30 in the afternoon was not the time or place to be. The two east bound lanes were forming into one lane because of the bridge work just ahead. Anyway, as it happened, a tractor hauling garbage didn't notice the lane switch ahead and also failed to slow. A sad and all to familiar story then unfolded. The truck plowed into a car that then plowed into an SUV that hit another truck that then hit a BMW. During the next several hours of sitting there I saw four Helicopter airlifts and countless emergency vehicles. Once we got moving again I couldn't believe how mangled the cars were. Not sure if anyone died or not, but am very thankful that I was spared from the blindside that can jump up and bite you in the butt at any moment.
I made my way homeward and at one gas stop I decided to give the old girl a treat, some Sunoco 93 octane and got back on the road. About 20 miles later and still on I-84 east bound headed for Hartford, CT where I was going to pick up I-91 north, well, spitting and sputtering like bad gas then, she's dead, I mean 6 feet under dead. Time to drop the jiffy. But, from my experience of roadtrips this problem also can mean bad battery, shorted volt regulator or burnt stater or any combination thereof. Well, you know what's next; check the battery connections, try to start again and that fails, try to figure out where exactally I am and call for help. Triple A towed me to Ellington, CT to the H-D shop and a couple of friends were there waiting for me with a trailer to tow me home. Thanks Kevin and Warren. I got home at 04:00 Tuesday morning. Now that was one long day. Guess it's not to hard to think I caught me some winks before I did much troubleshooting on the bike.
Well, next day, turned out to be just the battery, how lucky can you get, with all that can go wrong, I only had a simple maintenance problem. And go figure, I had a battery on my shelf in the garage. Oh happy days!!
Anyway, one of three is done. lol
till next time
your friend
Sam aka chappy
Author
Topic: I might be down, but I'm not out! (Read 256509 times)