March 15, 2011
On the road at 7:15am as we are on a mission to get Dad and Lynda's today. These stupid speed bumps really do a great job of stopping the traffic and every day, my bike bottoms out many times. There are big, high sharp bumps, low rolling ones, multiple bumps, worn out bumps, painted bumps, unpainted bumps, hidden in the shade bumps and unexpected bumps. About an hour into our ride, we are flying along and all of a sudden I see a bump thats totally unexpected and I brake real hard! With no brake lights on my bike, because I can't afford the electrical drain, and Michael paying attention to a girl on the side of the road, he doesn't see me in time braking hard, hits his brakes, swerves and his side bag hits mine. Mine is blown right off my bike and slides down the highway beside me as I slow to stop . His side bag breaks apart, opens up and shit gets strewn down the road while he drives off the road and stops while keeping is bike upright. I'm okay, he's oaky, my pannier has a broken latch, we pickup the remnants of his saddlebag, put it all back in, even with its cracked lid, strap my pannier back onto my bike with a tiedown strap and without saying 10 words to one another, we are off back down the road. At gas, we ask each other a few questions and carry on. We are both aware how close we came to having a terrible outcome and it doesn't need to be discussed. We are both lucky and we both know it. Down the road a few more hours, and Michael wants to stop to check his tire because his bike is wobbling. His tire pressure is okay, but we notice his wheel bearing are loose. While they are not loose enough to cause a wobble yet, they will need attending to. They are probably worn out due to the fact that Michael likes to jump tappas, but he won't believe me if I tell him… Down the road further, we pass a truck at a set of tappas and the top box thats strapped on from a previous encounter decides to pop off Michael's bike, but is left dangling by its strap. Lucky for the strap, otherwise we would likely have lost the box completely. Reinstalled, strapped back in and tightened, we are enroute again. These tappas are getting to me. I'm looking forward to driving without unnecessary, unexpected slowings for no reasonable reasons. I guess they are silent police, but I don't like them. We arrive to Dad and Lynda's on time at about 5pm with them watching for us and waving from their balcony. When we turn into their driveway, I stall the bike and the battery doesn't have enough to start the bike, but we made it!!! Its great to see them after 5 1/2 months on the road.
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