I had to face the realization that I would be running late to get to Denver. Lack of sleep and the cold night air had slowed my progress the night before. As I road along the panhandle of Oklahoma, my heated suit quit working. I pulled over several times to see if I could diagnose what was wrong. After three jumpstarts, the bike died while I was rolling. Luckily I was in front of a autoparts store. Load test on battery showed a bad battery. A hundred dollars later, me and a new battery were rolling again.
I rolled into Colorado and knew I had big problems. The bike was sputtering and I was in the middle of nowhere. Climbing an uphill grade, the bike shut down.. I coasted over the crest of the hill and to my surprise there was a rest area.. The wind was howling cold and I was happy to see the shelter of a building. I made some calls. A dear friend of mine in Denver would be to me in about 6hrs. As the sun went down so did the temperature. Cold and needing sleep, I unloaded my bedroll and laid out in the only structure on sight; the bathroom. I've gotta tell ya, it was cold enough that I was burning toilet paper to keep warm.
My friend Reed showed up and we got the bike loaded up. He was so considerate of my condition. "Get in and warm up. I can strap down the bike". That's a true friend. Five hours of great conversation and we rolled up to the comfort of their home. The Monday morning sunrise and the smell of cooking bacon prepared me for a day of wrenching on the bike. We determined that the problem was the stator. After calling and driving all over Denver, we had not been able to locate the parts I needed. The stress of being broke down on a scheduled ride was somewhat eased by pizza, beer and a movie with my dear friends. I'm not sure what Tuesday holds for me but I know that many good people are working on the problem. Time will tell...
I'll keep you posted the route once I get the maintenance taken care of.
Day 5 - McDermitt, OR - 937 miles
Day 6 - Red Lodge, MT - 997 miles - Possible fundraiser in Denver for www.veteranssupportfund.org
Day 7 - Newell, SD with a side trip to ND - 545 miles
Day 8 - Milwaukee, WI - 959 miles - Fundraiser in Denver for www.veteranssupportfund.org
Day 10 - Albany, NY - 906 miles
Day 11 - Baltimore, MD - 659miles
Day 12 - Sylva, NC - 697miles
Day 13 - Off
Day 14 - The Boot Hill Saloon, Daytona, FL - 569miles
Keep sharing the charity ride info and be sure to support the cause at www.veteranssupportfund.org
Peace&Grease
DONE FOR:
Day 1 - Monroe Louisiana - 800 miles
Day 2 - Dalhart, TX - 960 miles
Day 3 - Denver, CO - 345 miles - Fundraiser in Denver for www.veteranssupportfund.org
Day 4 - Cave Creek, AZ - 806 miles - Fundraiser in Denver for www.veteranssupportfund.org
