May 2009 Archives
After weeks a low-key planning and preparation, Justin and I left on our motorcycles last Sunday for an eight-day trip to Arkansas. Here's an e-mail I sent out to friends and family on our plight:
Very early on day one of our trip to Arkansas, my bike bike got a flat rear tire. Of course, these things always seem to happen in the worst possible place -- in our case, it as about half-way between Barstow and Needles on I-40. 105 degrees, no shade, on the shoulder of the freeway and twenty miles from the nearest exitI always carry a tire patch kit and a small compressor for just this kind
of situation. I checked the tire out, found a puncture, and plugged it.
However, the tire would not inflate. We looked at the tire (both me and
Justin, and a rider who stopped to help out his fellow motorcyclists),
and couldn't locate any other problems. Then, to make matters worse,
the fuse blew on the compressor.I called the Auto Club, and they dispatched a truck that could inflate the
tire, or tow me somewhere if we couldn't get the tire to hold air. After
working on the bike for about an hour, we then had to wait another hour
and a half for the tow truck to arrive - and there was nowhere to sit. I
had a gallon jug of water plus two regular bottles of water, but by the
time the tow truck arrived we were almost out.When the driver inflated the tire, we were able to hear a second leak.
I plugged that one too, and the tire held air. Unfortunately, it's just not
a good idea to start a 4,000 mile trip on a rear tire with two plugs in it.Justin and I talked about it, and decided that it would be best to post-
pone the trip for now. From where we were north of Barstow, there was
nowhere to get a new tire on a Sunday afternoon, and we'd lose most of
the day on Monday getting the tire installed. The schedule was tight to
begin with, and we just couldn't make it work if we didn't leave until late
Monday or early Tuesday.So, the trip is postponed for now - but not canceled. We're talking about
going this fall when the heat isn't so much of a problem, or maybe early
next spring. We'll keep you posted.
Lois McMaster Bujold wrote three books in the fantasy world of Chalion. Each stands alone, although some minor characters from one book appear as major characters in another. Three books doesn't normally make a series, but The Curse of Chalion is probably my all-time favorite fantasy novel.
Carole will be visiting Cindy in Spokane next Sunday, so we had the McConnell Mother's Day festivities yesterday at the Tea House in Big Bear. The Casey's all came (including Kristie), along with the Bowsers, Rob and his clan, Crystal and the kids, and Shane.
The tea was very good, but I wound up drinking a little too much, and had a bad caffeine hangover on Monday morning. The nice but somewhat ditzy waitress at the teahouse made a mess of splitting the checks, but everything worked out in the end. We went back to the house for dessert, and most of the guys (old and young) went down to the park for a little touch football. The drive both up and down the hill was fast and fun in the 'Vette.
A good day.
Birmingham made an instant return to the Premier League after winning at Reading to claim the Championship's second automatic promotion place.
Keith Fahey's crisp first-half opener and Kevin Phillips' composed finish looked to have promotion sown up.
A minute after Phillips scored, Royals substitute Marek Matejovsky cut inside and drilled the ball home.
But Birmingham survived the Reading rally and Blues substitute Garry O'Connor's shot hit the post late on.
Birmingham had not been lower than third all season and manager Alex McLeish can now look forward to another go at managing in the Premier League after he failed to prevent Blues from relegation last May.
Reading could have snatched second place if they had defeated Birmingham and Sheffield United had drawn at Crystal Palace but Steve Coppell's side have to be content with a play-off semi-final against Burnley.
Continue reading Birmingham clinch top-flight spot.
