Coop's Corner: Shopping / Riding

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Shopping / Riding

I'll start with a couple of pretty photos this Post, taken on the fringe of the Whitman Bottoms Floodplain, an area in the Mississippi backwaters and old stomping grounds of our very own River Rat, Kenny Salwey's section of the river. Pretty and quiet was my goal for this afternoon's ride and as it turned out, I found pretty solitude in more places than I'd planned for today. Not necessarily a bad thing; just wasn't the plan.

Plans is what the day started with.....

Shopping - Northern Tool and Hydraulic - I know where everything is, it was efficient use of time and I was through there in no time.
Shopping - Harbor Freight - Even faster
Shopping - Men's Wearhouse - This one wasn't efficient or fast but Matt was very helpful, did the best he could with what he had to work with, convinced me I needed more than I'd walked in for and overall, it went well.

By late morning I'd made the trip home, in just a few minutes I was on the KLR and headed towards Wisconsin. A late breakfast/early lunch at Pier 4 where I got a real kick out of the table of young men that came in for the "If you can eat this one it's free" meal. They were still deciding who, if and how when I finished my standard size and went back out to the green bike. They had to decide when as well since one of the Uber meals required the entire grill space.....hopefully it was all settled by the 2PM closing time. No way was I about to wait for the finale though I'm sure it was an interesting one.

Motoring down to the backroad that leads into the Whitman Swamp, I expected and was relieved to find no bugs this early in the season. It can be unbearable (and will be soon) when the season heats up with biting and irritating insects. I was alone there today and the quiet sound of water barely flowing by was comforting.....just what I'd been after.

The road in and out.......

I'd seen 4 Blue Herons on the way in and after sitting down on one of the old beached logs for a bit, an eagle that I'd seen almost hiding got curious enough to work its way closer. I'm not sure but it looked as though her nest was still visible through the branches almost completely leafed out.

Deciding that I'd received what I'd come after, the decision was made to cut my ride short and head home to get a couple of Mother's Day type things taken care of ( sometimes I am responsible) while the rest of the family was away.

As I was leaving the marshy area, I made a turn through an area of sticks as I've done so many times before. I heard a "ping" but again, that's something I've done many times before as well. Taking the long way home, a good 25 miles later with more than half of them gravel and a good distance yet to go, at speed on a major highway the Baby KLR started feeling funny. It was the bad kind of feeling funny.

Still a quarter mile from Rieck's Park (location of the Swan Ride every November) I took a chance with more throttle but the inverse in speed and made the park's entrance road. By the time I'd slowed down, the rear tubed-tire was as willing to mostly be to the right or left of the rim, not at all willing to stay centered where it belonged.

Getting off I started inspecting and was amazed to see that half of a spoke was missing, the half that connects to the hub. Looking closer, I realized that it wasn't half a spoke missing, rather 1/8 of a spoke. 7/8 of a spoke were poking into the tube and tearing it to shreds.

I had my emergency foam along, I had my pump. I did not have a spare tube, my tire irons or a patch kit. Out of desperation, I tried the foam, tried the pump, retried the foam and retried the pump. Only guessing, but it's safe to assume that the tube is a disaster inside. I don't think the "ping" that I heard was exclusively a small stick.

Cell phone at 20% (didn't bring the Iphone cord, carelessness the only reason), immediate family all 300+ miles away meant that some planning contingencies had to be made. I did manage to have a lovely day and a safe location going for me. I texted 2 friends, called 2 friends and wasn't hearing back from anyone. Phone off for an hour and then back on, no response and just before powering down again the phone rang.

Caller ID said "Mike" and Mike said "on my way......."

Above and beyond any expected call of duty, my bacon saved in a very big and much appreciated way.

So, between the time waiting for the call and then the time after the call for the Little Red Truck to appear, there was a lot of peace and quiet today (I'm able to discount the ambiance of the 100's of Harley's that went past on WI Hwy 35).

Twice in less than 12 months have I not been able to complete the journey, violating Peg's rule...."If you leave home on 2 wheels, you better come home on 2 wheels......"

I promise to practice, try harder and once again, really appreciate your help Mike!

14 comments:

CanajunMay 10, 2015 at 7:50 AM
Sounds like a great day until....
How can you get in and out of Harbor Freight in a hurry? I always find something new to occupy my time in our northern version - Princess Auto.
Also surprised you don't have the bugs yet. Was coming home at dusk a few days ago and the windscreen was nearly opaque with bug guts. My riding glasses were only slightly better.
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jpmanMay 10, 2015 at 9:07 AM
Sounds like things really worked out well and were part of what I call an adventure. Having some one to call is a real plus. The local scenery, the cherry on top.
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AnonymousMay 10, 2015 at 9:24 AM
... we all should take advantage of the ..adventure... break downs are a added.... adventure... and buggies are included... :) what's the first thing that goes through a bugs brain as it hit's your windshield..?...:)
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TrobairitzMay 10, 2015 at 9:30 AM
So if you are sitting on the bike in the back of Mike's truck as you pull down the driveways have you officially arrived home on two wheels? Something tells me Peg wouldn't buy that.

Glad you made it home safe and the tire didn't blow sending you off in the woods. Did any of those riders riding by stop to see if you needed assistance?

Beautiful pictures though. The reflections are so peaceful and serene.
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VStar LadyMay 10, 2015 at 12:49 PM
I'm glad to hear the punctured tire didn't cause you more grief other than time lost and that you got home safe and sound. (Note to self, keep the phone charged!) Yeah for Mike! Everyone needs a Mike in their life.
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RichardMMay 10, 2015 at 4:12 PM
Shopping is overrated, eh? Glad that the broken spoke didn't cause a crash or a more serious problem. How long were you waiting on the side of the road?
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SonjaMMay 16, 2015 at 2:26 PM
Leave on two wheels, and get back on two wheels... I like this rule. Just finished a huge road trip, and did just that. I like that you're out on Barbie bike ;-)
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Coop a.k.a. CoopdwayMay 17, 2015 at 2:10 PM
Sonja, words for all of us to live by. As soon as I get a tire that holds air on the back it will be out again.
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Others say....

"it was auspicious to approach any situation from a deferential, inquisitive place. Conceding that there is much to learn is the best blueprint for discovering something new." ----B. Fuller

The Man straightened stiffly above the block of salt fixed to the stake and looked at the young cattle ringed about him. The pasture was holding out well and the stock was looking good. This bunch would be ready to sell in another month, maybe sooner if the market was right.

A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

"You are Mr. ____". His name sounded strange in her voice, but she went on to tell her own.

"That's what they've called me the last sixty-eight years," he said, looking past her face to the hills fast darkening under a single star. "I reckon the woods are free for those that like to walk there."

The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

Something deeply hidden stirred in him. "There's a stump up there, in the notch of the woods", he said slowly, "that before the timber grew so tall you could stand on it and see all over this country."

He kept still a minute, remembering, then, "I used to stand up there an' look at things, an' wonder how they come to be like they was, an' how the hills was created, an' all the things in Nature.... I told my wife I guessed all the religion I ever had I got standin' on that old stump, a-wonderin'..." He turned his face away from her.

She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold onto them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive. So the question becomes or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? ------- Ben Tyler

We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

"Steamboats are like wedding cakes without the complications...." ----Mark Twain

"It's not about having lots of money, it's about having lots of options......." -----Chris Rock

As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

"I tell the guy's girlfriend that the only difference between the book's main character Phaedrus and myself is that I am neither brilliant, tortured or insane, she looks at my bike and there is an uncomfortable silence." --------ahendepe (a.k.a. Vermin)