2002-04-14

Riding home

No pictures today. The rain started yesterday just after I left Mt. Shasta and hasn't let up since. There's a storm coming through bringing heavy rain and unusually cold temperatures for this time of year. On the bright side, it's a good test of my riding gear. I am wearing the same gear that I plan to take on the trip and I wanted to see how it would hold up. It keeps me dry but I have to admit that I am getting a little cold. Ok, a lot cold. I resist the urge to shiver. The R80ST has no wind protection of any kind, I didn't bring my electric jacket and neither my Darien jacket or overpants are padded. I regret taking the liner out of the jacket. At least I thought to bring a long sleeve t-shirt, sweater, and cotton long-johns.

The bike is not running well and more than once stalls and leaves me on the side of the road. But after a few minutes it will restart and I'm able to go further. This happens several times when, finally, it stalls near a truck stop with a roof where I can park the bike and take a look at the problem out of the rain.

I remove the tops of the carburators to try and get at the needles. The previous owner lives at high altitude and mentioned that I would have to adjust the needles so, I'm hoping, that is the problem. The needles are the adjustable kind held in place by a clip so I raise them a notch to richen the fuel mixture and replace them.

During this time I attract the attention of a man and a boy. The boy wants to know if the bike is fast but the man observes my problem and though he can't help, and doesn't speak much English, hopes I can "fixah, fixah."

I put the carburetors back together and the bike fires right up. Both of my new friends smile but I'm not so sure. It would always restart after I let it sit for a few minutes. I drive off and just four miles later my fears are confirmed when it stalls once again. Fortunately, it does this just one more time and I am able to make it home. A hot bath never felt so good!