Heat Index

8/09/07
I awoke about 100 miles from San Antonio and I wanted to be the first
in the service line when a dealer opened at 9 AM so I was out at
o'dark thirty.
But as I said, my GPS didn't power up so I was riding without it.
This was creating some emotions about quitting the 4 Corners Ride. It
seemed that the bike wasn't going to work as I'd hoped and I would
have a hard time finding the other AMA and NPS points.
It's a little eerie riding in the dark also thinking about Larry
Grodsky last year. For those of you that don't know, he's a safety
guru that died last year in a motorcycle accident in TX when he struck
a deer.
I saw a billboard for a Honda dealer about 20 miles from San Antonio
and decided that they would at least know where I could go.
I pulled in the Autoplex dealer and spoke to Roland. The conversation
went like this;
"Hi, I'm traveling and I had something happen yesterday that I've not
heard about before. I'm hoping you can help.

What happened?

My shift lever fell off.

What?

My shift lever fell off. I was pulling off the interstate and I
pulled in the clutch and stepped down but there was nothing there.

I've never heard of that..."

Roland came and looked at it and got a couple of tools and some
locktite and had me back on the road in 10 minutes!!! Thanks Roland!!

I also unplugged the GPS and cleaned it and plugged it back in while I
was there. It now worked! Life was going well again!!
I rode the three hours to Houston in about 100 degree temperatures.
In Houston, I got off the interstate to get a Houston map but the AAA
office was not there anymore. They were also doing lots of
construction so I'd had a couple of detours. In this heat and with
the 'stich on, I was too hot and decided to give up on AMA points in
cities. I headed for Louisiana.
I crossed into LA about 4:30 PM. I stopped at a welcome center and
chatted with a guy on a Honda cruiser. He was wearing a half helmet
and then just jeans and a tank top. He was obviously dehydrated and
tired. I guess that even with the heat, I'm protected against
dehydration with the 'stich on. I'm not terribly uncomfortable when
I'm moving so I'll keep wearing it.
I stopped just short of Lafayette. There is a NPS stamp in Lafayette
and there is a GPS point near there also so I'll get a lazy start and
get those before heading into Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Its
supposed to be hot today so we'll see how it goes!!!

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Todd Ryan; Hudson, MA
Westborough HS Science Teacher
MSF RiderCoach