Know the poem, 'For want of a nail the shoe is lost. For want of a shoe the horse is lost..." and so on? That's the way I feel. One little thing, and then another, and pretty soon the trip is looking more like a dream.
I stared at the bike, my hands on my hips. Dead battery! The battery is only a year old. I haven't been off the bike that long... okay, maybe it has been too long. Since I'm storing the bike at the shop, I'll just run home and get the charger. Right. The garage remains stubbornly crammed with boxes. Forget it! I'll zip over to the auto parts and get a charger.
I picked up a trickle type, as the battery can't be that dead, it's a small motorcycle battery, and the thing features a maintainer for when the bike sits for extended periods.
It may keep the battery charged, but it couldn't charge the dead one worth a hoot! Back to the house and start cutting boxes open.
This method is very effective for cleaning up the garage, as I open each box and put stuff away. I whittle the boxes down, and no charger. the Little Woman steps in to help. No luck. Then I spotted it on the floor, under some... well, stuff. Back to the shop.
I hook the thing up and it begins charging. Suddenly I notice something awry. The brake lights glow brightly! No wonder the battery is dead. I diagnose the problem like a true mechanic. Flick the brake lever, the brake pedal, and the rheostat for the trailer. I remember that the rheostat gave me trouble in Illinios last summer. So I give it a few more flicks.
What do you know? The lights go out. I am a mechanic!
However, the clock reads 4:45 P.M., the battery still needs charging, and we haven't even loaded up the stuff. I can tell the little Woman wants to get some miles underneath our- um, feet tonight. So who knows? We may do a night ride to Barstow or something. The Seahawks (my old home team) are playing da Bears (Daughter-in-law's home team) so the rivalry would be fun. But we need to be in San Diego by 10 tomorrow. We'll figure it out.
Side note: I just attempted to download a photo to the blog. The camera is dead. Funny!
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