Washington D

Day 1

Well, the beginning of the trip was definitely not what I was hoping it would be. I left at 4pm hoping to squeeze out before the worst of rush hour hits. I am heading home to upstate NY for a couple of days before going south.

20 min later I pop a tire, I pull over and take a deep breath. Ok. Not the best start but I am prepared for this I have my toolkit with some tire patches. Nope its not going to be that easy, I get the tire off and pull out the inner tube to find that it is torn around the valve. There is no patching it, luckily, I am still in civilization, there has to be somebody in the area who has a tube that will fit but it is now almost 5pm on a Friday. After calling maybe ten places I finally find a Cycle Gear 20min away and call a Lyft.

I didn’t look at the exact time but given how much I know about my driver’s history, sports interests, career and family I am guessing it was a bit longer than 20 min. I got the tube and called another Lyft, this time it was much longer and I sit in silence watching the sun sink to the horizon. By the time I got back to the bike its around 7 and getting dark. I hate DC traffic.

Naturally as I am putting the tire back on the rim I pinch the new inner tube. Guess I get to use those patches after all. I pull out my headlight and get to work the rest went slowly but without incident. Eventually I get the tire back on and head out of the city. Still in heavy traffic.

I don’t like driving in the dark but under no circumstances am turning around that would feel too much like admitting defeat before I even started.

I got something to eat despite not having much of an appetite and started to look for someplace to hang my hammock. I usually go for a campsite or at least someplace remote where its unlikely I will be seen. I start getting seriously tired and cold and eventually give up looking for remote and find a corner of a parking lot behind a strip mall, I am setup shortly before it starts to rain and continues to rain throughout the night.

Sorry, no pictures I was a little preoccupied.

Day 2

I wake up early and it is still raining, I stick my head out, I am still pretty much alone and it looks cold and dreary at least there still aren’t any people around, I stick my head back in and go to sleep again. The weather app says it will stop raining at 9 and it does what it says for a change. Speaking of weather, the unnaturally warm dry weather I was complaining about up  and ditched me, leaving the me riding in the cold and wet. 40 degrees is really pushing what my gear (both motorcycle and camping) can do.

I have a few uneventful hours before I hear a grinding noise, sounds like the chain, maybe I messed up the adjustment when I fixed the tire. I pull over and inspect the chain, it seems to be straight, maybe a little loose I tighten it a bit and the noise seems to quiet. After an hour or so its back, this time adjusting doesn’t seem to do much, I ride a ways and try again. I repeat this process to varying degrees of success throughout the day.

As the sun is setting I am relatively close to the PA, NY border. I decide to make an exception and get a cheap motel room, its cold and I am getting more and more stressed about the noise. I call a couple places and find one with a vacancy about 45 min away.

As I start driving again a couple cars flash their lights at me, I think, huh maybe there’s a cop ahead and slow down, there’s no cop. Another car flashes their lights I make sure my high beam isn’t on, by this time its dark enough I should really be able to see my headlight bad as it is. Ooohhh… It finally dawns on me what the cars were trying to say…

I am still half an hour from the motel. I pull to the side and try the fuses, no such luck its probably the headlight. Guess I am not sleeping inside after all. I quickly find someplace I can pull off and be somewhat concealed and set up my hammock. I put on most of the warm clothes I had with me, ate a quick supper of beef jerky and chocolate and went to sleep.

Day 3

I pack up and head into NY. I can’t quit say I shook that nagging worried feeling but the chain grinding sound seemed to have gone away overnight and there is no point worrying about something you can’t change. I put on an audio book and focused on enjoying the crisp fall weather and winding country roads.

I make it home in the early afternoon. I unload the bike and decide to give it the silent treatment for 24 hours. Its good to be home, I rather miss my dog I don’t get to see him very often. Yeah, yeah, I suppose I miss my family too.

It will also be good when I can stop writing about mechanical issues, I really thought I had it all fixed up.