Today started off as a repair day. It’s all part of the aftermath of riding the White Rim Trail.
Ernie needed to adjust his bark buster on the right side,
Tomm needed to try to erase the evidence of his tossing his bike (he did toss it),
and I needed to fix my left side foot peg.
As for my issue – I had somehow snapped off one of the two bolts.
Our options to fix were…
- Tighten the one remaining and try not to put too much weight on it. This also would require periodic re-tightening – like every time we stopped for gas.
- Find someone to fix it (On a Sunday?)
- Find an easy out, and a drill, and a bit, and try to repair it that way.
- Tomm’s idea: find a dremel and cut a slot in the bolt, try to remove it with a straight blade.
We started with Tomm’s idea.
Once Tomm had cut a groove into the stud we hoped it would be enough to break free and unscrew.
If it didn’t, we would be forced with one of the other options. Luckily for us, it backed out “like butter”!
With that, we packed up and hit the road. Our idea was to head up north to 70, then go up and over a few mountain ranges, dirt roads and back trails to get close to Kanab.
That’s when the weather decided something different.
That darkness off to the right was a huge downpour heading our way and our road was heading right towards it. With weather like this it’s safer to stay on the major highways. Besides, we witnessed first hand as it got closer how serious a flash flood was. We watched as small little dry gullies became rushing rivers in minutes.
Before we got soaked we literally pulled over on the freeway and switched to rain gear.
Geared up, we were ready for the rain.
We decided to stay on 70 and then drop down 15 and stopped for the night in Cedar City.
Sometimes you need to adjust and adapt as different conditions come up. Ernie’s bike is still having issues idling sometimes so we’ll be adapting for that as well.
Tomorrow: We’re presently debating how to get from here, back to the Sierras.
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, had a big cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and is currently building a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
- My Pre Nor Cal BDR Settings - September 15, 2024
- New Pump, No Pressure, What Did I Do? - September 9, 2024
- Studs > Bolts for the Rear Rack - September 5, 2024