Rode the Trike to Fix the SUV

 Today's GPS/Ham Radio Tracking

I actually worked on two vehicles today:  Our 1997 Ford Exploder and our Bounder RV.
A few weeks ago while Jacque was driving us to Springfield, the cruise control just quit.
Punched the buttons several times, fiddled with the gas pedal, brake, etc, nothing worked.
We didn't think it was too much of a loss until several more miles were accomplished using the 
"manual" gas pedal.  We realized just how much we had gotten used to this small tidbit of 
automation, and how much more bother it was to have to pay more attention to the speedometer
and step on and off the accelerator all along the trip.  We had just spent a couple hundred bucks
getting the wheels aligned with our recently purchased new tires, and I was reluctant to send it
back to the shop for more expense.
Several trips later, however, I was about ready to break the bank again to get the buggy fixed.
I had poked around on the internet looking for a solution that maybe "I" could fix without the 
big shop bill but hadn't had much luck.  Today I decided I was either going to somehow fix it
myself or pay the big bucks to have the professionals do it.
This time I got lucky.  I found a YouTube video that claimed 90-something percent of Ford cruise control failures were due to the "cruise control switch" on the end of the brake fluid reservoir.
I found a couple on the internet for about EIGHT bucks, not including shipping, with a week delivery.
I called our local auto parts vendor and they had one in stock for 20-something dollars. 
A little over twice the online price, but too many local businesses are suffering in this warped economy,
plus twenty dollars was not that much to invest in the experiment to see if I could get it going myself.
(I used to be a master back-yard mechanic, but am getting to the point of paying someone else to do it)
The parts store was maybe a mile or so away, so I dragged the Catrike out of the garage and used the car repair for an excuse to take a ride.  
I had a good visit with a guy in the parking lot about the trike and all the gadgets I had on it, including the twin flagpoles/antennas on the back.
It was a tad cloudy and cool today:  I actually wore LONG pants instead of shorts today.
Made it home safe and sound, as usual, and SURPRISE !!  The replacement took about 15 minutes
AND it actually fixed the cruise control. Praise the Lord !

Ride Started: 10:00 AM           Ride Ended: 10:56 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Battery Voltage: 13.0 Lowest Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp: 60 F Highest Temp: 67 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 97    Ending BG: 58
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 3.93
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
4.2 MPH                              6.5 MPH            20.5 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 56 minutes                           37 minutes          19 minutes

Distance Walked: .6 mile