The Weekend that Was...

Well, all-in-all, it was an OK weekend. Could've been headed toward greatness, but you know how it goes. Saturday was spent cleaning up the new '67 van we picked up Friday to sell. Got it pretty straight and loaded for the swap, which was good, but not until nearly 4:30pm, which was bad. Bad, because I was supposed to show support for the Born Free / Utility Board Shop ride and totally hosed out and missed it while waiting for tires on the new box. No prob, right? Dice party followed the ride, so I'll just head out and meet everyone there right? Right??? Nope. Got the bike going and shot down the highway right as the sun started to call it quits and got as far as University and the 215 when I lost the front tire... not all at once, but quick enough that it puckered the butt a little. Just a little. Pulled off and hit the nearest gas station as the last gasp escaped the tube. Aired her back up and watched as it hissed its way back down. Reach for the trusty phone to call reinforcements and... uh... yeah... phone... that'd be a good thing to take with you right?

Oh well, no phone and no front tire make for a bad gig in my opinion. Not to mention I was a little ticked from the tire place dicking me around so long and then my usually trusty garage door giving up the ghost as I was trying to get the bike out, so maybe it just wasn't in the cards. Like a keystone cops movie, my day ended. Down the street from Denny's, so I limped there and grabbed grub and borrowed a phone book. Dude next to me at the bar starts chatting about this and that and leads to bikes. Tell him that I usually love mine, but tonight is a bitch. He sits there a split second and says, "let me finish this and I'll give you a hand." He literally gulps his food down and then takes off saying he'll be right back. No shit, he shows up with a flatbed truck and tie-downs and gets me down the road without even asking for anything in return. It's not even his work truck, just something he "had lying around". Big thanks to Tom and I'll pay that one forward ASAP.

Turns out the stem was loose and bent, so easy fix on the tire it seems, and actually, being home and in bed before 9 made the swap easier anyway... now about that guy that "bought" the van...