m back on the bike again but I think you may recall how I didn’t want too much excitement. Today, I got much more than I wanted. I changed the oil at the rally and drove the bike for a day on a 1/2 day driving course. I headed north today to the Tetons thinking I would be able to practice my new found skills on twisty windy roads. I certainly had plenty of practice but discovered part way through the morning that the bike had a funny rattle. I pulled in to get some gas and noticed my foot was sliding on the pavement. Then I looked at my foot and it was covered in oil, as was my pants, boot, and half my bike. I had also lost most of my rear brake which I don’t use a lot anyway but I was worried about the oil on all the rubber parts, tires, etc. So, I sweated bullets for a long time, looking in hardware stores, etc. Finally a good samaritan by the name of Joe gave me a hand. We drove back and forth looking for various parts that might be forced into the opening. While he built me a white oil cap out plastic I phoned around all over Utah, Wyoming (which is where I was) and Idaho which I had just come through. The best that I could get was that the BMW dealer would Fedex me a new cap to Cody which is my next stop after tonight.
Needless to say, I was covered in oil and didn’t feel much like taking photos after that. The Wyoming hills (and Idaho hills) did look beautiful, however, Unlike the Colorado hills which were dry and bare, these hills were green and pretty lush looking. I passed lots of big lakes and being as it was a Saturday, there were lots of boaters enjoying the lakes. They are very strict here about boaters and they have boating inspection stations in a lot of the states near the bigger lakes – checking of unwanted organisms.
- So, I finally arrived at my location and found sufficient oil in the crankcase to give me encouragement that I will arrive in Cody tomorrow as planned, albeit with more oil on me. I’ve washed the bike as best I can and will plan to wash it tomorrow or Monday morning (as soon as stores open) and as soon as my part arrives
At the rally, I “invested” in a new bluetooth helmet unit to talk to gps, ipod, etc. I also was convinced to have custom made ear plugs made to protect my hearing. Hah, hah. The laugh was on me. They inject silicon into your ear and then twist the sucker out. It wouldn’t come out of the right ear – not without a lot of pain and brute force. Which has left me with some blood still in the ear canal. So, as soon as I get my bike cleaned up, and my clothes, I need to work on my ear. It doesn’t hurt anymore – it just feels like I went in swimming and the water hasn’t drained. Needless to say, I have not tried to use these ear plugs. I’m sure a trip to a pharmacy will help me immensely.
So, that’s my day. Tomorrow, I’ll be seeing Yellowstone but not stopping too much. It will be a shorter than I wished visit to Old Faithful, I think.