Friday, April 27, 2012

Some photos from this RV trip








Windy Day in Guymon OK, so I rode the bike...

Guymon has GREAT APRS Tracking Coverage
We left Greensburg, KS, about 8 or so this (Friday) morning for what we thought would be the final leg home.  Unfortunately, the wind was bad when we pulled out and got steadily worse as we headed southwest on US 54 toward Tucumcari.  Just a few miles before we got to Guymon, we heard a loud thump and a nasty rattle and banging outside as we rolled.  We pulled over at a very lumpy but slightly off-the-road shoulder and found the roll-up awning pulled out partly from its so-called protective shell.
At great risk, I climbed the roof ladder gingerly and low-crawled across the RV roof and used rope and bungee cords to try to secure the awry awning.  Then we decided to find the closest RV park and stop for the rest of the day.  Jacque's atlas showed one on the south end of Guymon which we found without trouble and pulled in and hooked up.  It was only about 1:30 PM by this time but it was so nice to be done with the stress (at least temporarily) that we both sagged out and took naps with the air conditioner humming steadily.  I awoke after an hour or so and decided to saddle up and take the bike for a ride.
This RV park we're in is the outer parking lot of an old drive-in movie theater that still operates, though not yet open for the summer.  I rode the outer perimeter's gravel road and found it intersected with a relatively empty back road that, although cliche and gravel with no pavement, was a great ride for the bike.  I rode around and got on US 136 leading back into Guymon and stopped at Centennial Park and looked around the old rail car, Masonic displays, farm implements, and oil pump-jack there, while I snacked on an oatmeal chocolate-chip bar.  Jacque called on the cell phone and announced she was now awake so I rode back to the RV to see if we wanted to hit the road again or stay the night.
Since it was now past 5:30 PM we decided to stay put for the night and go on home tomorrow.  Albuquerque and eastern central NM has had terrible winds the last couple of days so hopefully tomorrow, Saturday, will be calm enough for a safe final run for home.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.7
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 73 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 77 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      6.78
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
06.0 MPH                               09.8 MPH                   16.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 1 hours  9 mins                    41  mins 37 secs         28 mins 46 secs

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Saturday Danville Ride Across the Lake

Great APRS Tracking in Danville Illinois
I got no miles on the bike yesterday since it was raining and cold all day long.
Today, however, awoke bright with clear skies though very cool temperature-wise.
I was looking for an excuse to ride the bike somewhere today and decided  I'd find the local bike shop and ride over there to see if they could sell me a new or good/used derailleur gearset.  I set the bike GPS to the shop's address and took off.  It wasn't that far away and the ride was uneventful.  I did notice the street the bike shop is on is also sort of "on the other side of the tracks" if you get my drift.
The bike shop was still open for late saturday afternoon, had a small crowd of  customers, and seemed well stocked with attractive bikes and parts.  I looked around a bit to see if any derailleurs might be on display and couldn't see any.  One of the shop personnel approached me and looked at my broken sample and sounded immediately doubtful.  He kept wanting to know what "brand" of bike it was from and I had to tell him more than once that it was a homemade bike, supposedly with Wal-Mart cheapie  bikes as structural donors.  When he finally went to his parts cabinet to see if he had anything that would work, the first one he pulled looked like the perfect replacement, and the price was right:  A nickel shy of 30 dollars.  Trouble is, the sales guy kept trying to tell me he wasn't sure it would work, that the bent hanger bracket I had with me needed to be repaired or replaced, etc, etc.  I assured him I was capable of using my own vise and tools for the repair but he kept reiterating he wasn't sure I could do it.  I really don't care how sure he is of my possibilities toward successful repair of the bike, but he finally talked me out of it.  I have several at home, all of which should work, and we will be returning home Monday anyway, only 2 days hence.  So I rode back disappointed and he had talked a customer out of a $30 sale.  [Sigh]  Oh Well.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.7
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 55 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 59 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      8.66
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
07.3 Mph                               09.2 mph                   29.8 mph
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 1 hours  11 mins                    56  mins 43 secs         15 mins 46 secs

Friday, April 20, 2012

Thursday Bike Cruise in Danville

Danville had a GREAT tracking digipeater
Yesterday, Thursday, we arrived finally at Jacque's folks in Danville, Illinois.  Beautiful town and beautiful weather so we promptly decided on a bike ride on into town.  I needed a haircut, or a shaggy pet license, one or the other, so we got directions from the folks to Dad's barber on Vermilion  Street.  I put what address I had (just Vermilion st.) in the bike GPS and it took us to within a block of the place, down in the middle of town close to the railroad tracks, and we basically rode right up to the place where I got a respectable old time haircut.  Then we rode back east on Vermilion toward where we remembered K Mart was.  As we went a couple miles and approached K Mart, at the last intersection suddenly Jacque just stopped and dismounted and started pushing her bike.  I rode ahead and exited the street and walked back to her, where we discovered her derailleur had not only "De-Railed" but separated, tangled the chain, and bent itself back into the rear sprocket and spokes, effectively jamming the wheel so that it could not turn an inch.  We were next to a Dairy Queen with trees, shade, grass, and chocolate dipped ice cream cones, so we weren't suffering too much.  After we ate our cones it was mutually decided Jacque and Tinkerbell would wait in the grass in the shade and I would ride back to Dad's place for a gasoline powered rescue mission.  We only put a couple noticeable scratches on Dad's shiny new Ford Taurus as we stuffed her  bike into the surprisingly large trunk with the rear seats folded down for additional cargo room.
I'm going to look it over to see if I can find a local shoppe with an affordable replacement derailleur but most likely we'll have to wait until we get back home to NM where I have several "parts bikes" with possible replacement assemblies with the right price:  Already paid for.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.6                         Ending Voltage: 12.5
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 69.8 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 77 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      9.05
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
04.8 Mph                               08.0 mph                   31.2 mph
Total Trip time                       Moving Time              Stopped Time
 1 hours  52 mins                    1 hour  7  mins         44 mins 46 secs 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Cruising Far From Home

We decided to get one of the kids to house-sit for us and have taken off, spending their inheritances.
First off to OKC to spend a few hours 2 days in a row with Sherry and Ben.  We stayed at a very lovely spot at Arcadia Lake State Park (City of Edmond, OK).  Then we departed farther south and east to Ava, MO, where our beloved cousins Jerry and Sally Anderson currently reside.  We stayed for 3 days at the MFTBA (Missouri Fox Trot Breeders Association)  RV park, which was great due to the isolation and quiet since it was 3 miles outside Ava and only one other RV in the ~100 place park.  Then we dry-camped right next to the Anderson RV for 2 more nights.  While there, I rode into Ava from the MFTBA camp twice and got lost our last day riding around looking for a barber to cut my shaggy locks.  That trip only lasted about 4 miles, but at these lower altitudes the oxygen level helps a lot cruising around on the bike.  The only unfortunate thing about riding around the lovely burg of Ava is the almost total lack of ham radio digipeater coverage, resulting in no APRS tracking coverage.
Tonight we stopped at Lakeside RV park in Effingham IL.