September 18, 2012
It's Over Folks
Camped overnight in rustic park on main drag thru town, traffic on one side, lake on another, honking geese on another. Awakened at 5am by the pitter patter of rain. Off at 6 to Denny's. Rain, forecast all day. (BTW, Cananidagua, 25000, has more churches, some very impressive, than I've seen in any town on the entire trip.)
Rigged me and bike for rain and rolled out of the Denny's parking lot at 7:30. Yeah right. Rolled about 100 feet. SNAP and the right side of my rear dropped. You know what that's about. The "FIX" Jim and I spent most of yesterday engineering had become unfixed. The bright spot is it failed in front of Denny's rather than down the road. There's always a bright spot.
Another rental today for Rochester and Amtrak to Milwaukee. Tempted to abandon the bicycle and buy a Bella. Nah. Oren will fix the seat when I get to Little Rock. Maybe.
There is a Grand Canyon of difference in the attitude of Amtrak employs and that of Greyhound. Brian was a big help in getting the bike boxed. $15 for box and $10 for it being checked luggage. I also checked one pannier carried another and a large sack of this and that aboard.
Killing time now at McDonalds as the train doesn't leave until 11 pm, Milwaukee at 3 pm tomorrow. Be afoot at 5 today when I have to return the rental. Called
my lbs and set them to looking for a replacement seat. The owner, Terry, is
at the bike show in Las Vegas this week where Easy Racer will have a display. Dee has texted him about the problem.
The tour has been a blast. Spoon as a riding buddy, favorable winds, only one day of rain until this morning. I'll be back. Maybe Oren will be with me this time. If our old bodies can hold together until next June.
Darn, he just won't shut up. Well heck, I got all these hours to kill waiting on the train. At library in Rochester now, after sampling sushi and sake at place
down the street. The chef, L-Krapong, has worked there since 1991. Came over from Laos. Runs a nice place.
Addenda 9/21: One of my panniers is lost in Amtrak's checked bag abyss. The odds of ever seeing it again are near zero. It contained, amongst other treasures, the tools and parts needed to put my bent back together. Altogether, about $400 worth of stuff. Amtrak, I don't want your money, I want my pannier!
Oct 16th addenda:
The missing pannier showed up in Milwaukee 2 days after I got home. Fedex'd to Linden. The broken saddle was repaired by Easy Racer in California. They
paid all postage. I removed the S idler and all is now well with he bike.
Quiz: What was looking at me when I woke up? What took be from Rochester to Milwaukee? What food did L-Krapond fix for me in Rochester?
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