Jiminy Cricket

Of all the trips I have taken on this bike the lead-up to this one has to have been the most eventful. It is all little stuff but when compressed into a couple of days, days in which I should be simply going through check lists so that I don’t forget stuff for the trip, it adds up to more excitement than is probably necessary for this point in the plans. But, life is like that, no matter how much you plan and prepare, stuff just comes up and you simply have to deal with it and keep focused on what you want to get done.

From my previous post you know that I had my bike apart over the weekend trying to get the auxiliary lights working. That did not pan out because MotoLight did not ship the replacement parts on Monday so they did not get here in time for installation ahead of the trip. I think they arrived today but having them installed requires an overnight stay in the shop for the bike and that is not something I am going to do the night before a big trip! So, much as I would prefer not to, I will not have auxiliary lights to add to my visibility so I will just have to be more vigilant in looking out for inattentive car drivers.

I had not ridden the bike on the freeway since last week’s service so I decided to ride into work today so that I could get a good feel and listen to the bike. The ride in was fine but as I got on the freeway on the way home I noticed the windshield was flopping about and when stuff needs to get done, a guy really does not want anything flopping about! A quick look revealed that one of the support braces had broken. Now, thankfully, I had anticipated this but did not expect it to happen until I was out in the middle of Kansas, or something. In one respect I was kind of miffed that it broke before the trip because now I don’t have a spare part but I also realize that it was probably better for that to happen here where I could take care of it in my garage rather than on the side of the road. The reason I anticipated it is because one of them broke a couple of weeks after I returned from my last trip out west. Given that, I ordered a couple of the support braces to take along with me on the trip in the event that the part failure came when I was in Nowheresville.

The windshield is designed such that it can be raised and lowered electronically using a switch located near my left thumb. It is a neat mechanism because I can put it up a little when it rains in order to keep the road spray off my helmet visor, when it is hot I can lower it a little in order to get more air on me and I normally keep it in the middle position to make sure the bugs splat on that rather than on me! Keeping the wind off me makes it possible to ride longer before the fatigue sets in and that is why it is important to have the replacement part on long trips. The prospect of trying to pull a 14 hour day with the windshield in the lowest setting and the wind knocking me about for the duration of the ride is daunting, to say the least!

Well, in order to install the part I had to take the bike apart, AGAIN!! But, I got it all squared away and now it is ready. The gas tank is full, oil level okay, windshield working as specified, new tires pumped up and now I think all that is left is to pack and get a good night’s rest.

The other thing that happened is the wireless internet functionality on my laptop decided to give up the ghost yesterday morning and I had to monkey around with finding an accessory that will work while I am on the road. Thankfully Radio Shack had one AND, it was in stock!! I tried to get it working with my home network but they would not talk, the toll-free tech support line told me they could not help me because the network pieces were out of warranty but there was another number for out-of-warranty items that I could call for the small price of $29.99 – WOW, customer service ......... for a price! Needless to say, I decided to wait until I come back to deal with that, as it can be fixed with a lot of patience and a little brainpower.

So, I ran about town a little in order to find a wireless hotspot where I could check email, weather and such. Little stuff, yes, but, jiminy cricket, I really did not need it before this big trip. It is my hope that with all this having happened prior to my departure, all the potentially unpleasant misadventures are now out of the way and what lies before me are adventures of beauty and wonder.

I am writing this at home so I am about to grab a quick bite and then hop into the car to run down to Arabica Cafe where I can check my email, post this blog entry, check the weather and take one last look at the DOT websites for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri so that I can have the latest information on the location of road construction sites. This is really important in planning bathroom breaks.

One cool thing I picked up while I was in Radio Shack is a little FM transmitter for my .mp3 player so I can listen to my music though the bike radio without having to take CD’s (all three that would fit in my luggage). I tested it last night and it works quite well!! I don’t wear headphones when I ride so this is a big thing for me!!

Hopefully the only thing left to do is pack the cases and get them back on the bike, drop by the office in the morning to wrap up the last few things and then jump on the road and start reeling in the miles!!!