A day of rest and repair

I started the trip on a Saturday, and took the following Wednesday off to play golf while the bike was being serviced in Austin. I have ridden every day since. Today, I didn't ride anywhere.

Todd drives a very large dump truck, and had to go to Pennsylvania early this morning to pick up several tons of red stone. I would have liked to ride in the truck with him, but insurance companies restrict visitors in cabs of working trucks. At Todd's urging I stayed at his house and took the day off.

It was very pleasant. I slept late. Walked down to the corner deli for a breakfast sandwich, a cup of coffee and the New York Times, and came back to sit in the shade of a tree to eat, drink and read the paper.

By the time I got up the humans in the house were gone. Todd to Pennsylvania and Sharon to her teaching. If ever I think it is difficult teaching law to undergraduates and law students, all I have to do is think of Sharon to put my job in perspective. Sharon teaches five classes each day of math and statistics to high school students.

Sharon and Todd have a dog and a cat. The dog, Tegan, has won ribbons in competitions, and has been trained to assist in animal therapy for folks in hospitals and nursing homes. Tegan is shown with Sharon engaging in one of Tegan's favorite activities, trying to bite water coming from the hose. The cat is considering acknowledging my presence.

Todd rides a Harley. That explains his comments about the machines in response to my snide remarks rgarding the brand. Todd and Sharon are shown sitting on the bike in their front yard. Obviously this is a posed photo because hardly anyone rides a motorcycle sidesaddle these days.

After I finished reading the Times I took a nap. You ask, what is new? You've told us about the naps you've taken beside stores, on rest area tables and under trees this whole trip. This one was different. I was on one of Ryan and Megan's bunk beds. As convenient as the other napping places have been on the trip, this was better.

After the nap I performed some minor maintenance on the bike. At a point on the trip around Montana or North Dakaota the bracket holding the left side fog light broke allowing the light to flop in the wind. I used by most reliable emergency maintenance product, duct tape, to hold the light in place. Today I determined that it could not be repaired, so it was removed and stuck in the tool kit for the rest of the ride.

To my great unease the right side driving light had functioned on its own schedule. Generally it wasn't working in those areas, like the coast road in California and the road to the Maine border, when I really needed it. Today I dismantled it, determined that the bulb was still sound, reassembled it, and tested it. The light works like it is supposed to in the driveway. It probably won't work Friday when I most need it.

If my memory serves, I took a second nap once Todd came in from Pennsylvania. I'm doing this post about 7:45 p.m. eastern daylight time. I think I can make it to bed time without another nap.

My goal is to get a 6:00 a.m. start Friday for home. Todd is going to ride with me as far as Port Jervis, New York, an old port shipping town inland on the Delaware River. He'll head back to Hyde Park from there and I continue south.

Yesterday I left a voicemail for Kim Irving at AeroAstroSens to say that I could choose a route home that would take me by the company's offices in Ashburn, Virginia if they had any interest in seeing the guy they had helped track around the country. Kim, a gracious public relations professional said, "of course, we'd like to see you."

So, I'm heading to AeroAstroSens tomorrow so they will have an opportunity to answer in person the question the company has carried on it webside the last several weeks. Where is Bender? (He's in our offices, and we wish he would go home.) Fortunately I did a load of laundry when I got to Todd and Sharon's house, so I can wear a clean trip shirt when I get to AeroAstroSens.

At some point when this trip is over I hope to be able to discuss in a candid fashion why one would do such a thing. Was it worth the time, the money, the pain? I think so, even when my left rotator cuff wakes me up in the night or my left hip hurts or my left hamstring needs stretching. The ring finger on my left hand has lost feeling because it has swelled making my wedding ring tight. Of course, my butt hurts and there are blisters on my throttle hand.

And, if I were think these were problems, all I would have to do is recall one young man, David Able, who graduated from the Journalism School earlier this month. David was a student at Dreher High School in Columbia with two of my children, Edward and Sumner. David had severe birth defects that kept his limbs from developing. Nothing kept David's mind or spirit from developing. David earned a degree in electronic journalism, and at commencement drove his motorised chair up the ramp to accept his diploma. David is an inspiration to everyone who has ever met him.

Or, I could think about the USC School of Nursing professor who is climbing Mt. Everest to achieve the Seven Summits. If he summits Everest, he will have climbed the highest mountain on each of the Earth's seven continents. You don't make those climbs without pain and risk.

In context, Four Corners is a piece of cake.

On the Alaska trip there was a time prior to my reaching Fairbanks on the way north that I wondered if I would have time to make it to Prudhoe Bay and back to Haines in time to catch the Alaska Ferry. The endpoint of the trip was in jeopardy. I was having serious doubts about my ability to pull it off. I was running out of time, and I hadn't even reached the most difficult part of the trip, the Dalton Highway.

There was no point on the Four Corners ride when the outcome seemed in doubt. My anxiety level had been raised several times by weather, road conditions and wildlife, but barring accident or bike failure, I was confident I would make each corner. I've wondered if the Prudhoe Bay trip would have been easier psychologically had I done Four Corners first. I think Four Corners was easier having done Prudhoe Bay first.

I'm looking forward to having the blue dot at the AeroAstroSens headquarters tomorrow. More importantly, I'm looking forward to meeting Pia Miranda and Kim Irving and all the others there who helped with the tracking. Without AeroAstroSens, there would be no easy answer to life's persistent question: Where is Bender?