Rain Gear Drills

So, we were going to leave from the Wauseon swap meet on Friday, but after watching the weather and looking at all the storms coming through, decided otherwise. Elmer came from Fremont straight across to meet us in Findlay, while Joe came south from Sauders Village to meet us in Van Wert. Joe came through some pretty heavy rains to get to us. We left Findlay dry but ran into a drizzle, elected to keep going to try to get through the gap we saw in the radar, until it hit us. So we ducked into an industrial park and into the shed that held new farm implements and suited up. Oh my...

We rode until midafternoon in the rain and when it finally stopped it got so humid that we were just as wet on the inside and took off the rain gear. Another drill gone horribly wrong, but too much fun. Just glad there wasn't a time limit.

Today's repairs included three coils for Elmer's bike and two sets of points and enough kicks to make him the lead draft pick as a kicker in the NFL. We working on trimming down that count through a process of elimination on his bike. Near the end of the day, Steve's bike got another new battery and we're trying to figure what is causing it.....possibly his cycle electric alternator??? Time will tell, but I've got to carry the extra battery now.

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Steve checking his plugs

Joe's been adjusting his distributor, adding some oil, and adjusting his chain.

They've all been keeping track of fuel mileage for when we get up north. Steve's is getting about 33 mpg, while Elmer and Joe are about 37 mpg and I've been staying at 50 mpg. Good news for me.... or maybe not. I just thought ....I may have to carry some of theirs.

Today was a great day since I made sure my side stand was fully extended and didn't drop my bike. Thank goodness. However, I did get a lecture on running an Indian. I was told that Indian riders aren't like Harley riders who need the numbers on their shifters or gear indicators on their dashes to know what gear their bike is in. You see, it all started when Joe made a detour to an O'Reillys for oil, Steve was trying to get his gps to come up with directions while riding and not paying attention when Elmer and I made a right hand turn (the wrong one) at the stoplight and although " my indicator " on my dash showed I was in first, I wasn't. So it stalled out. When I finally got it into the Staples parking lot, I couldn't get it into first. Elmer was riding circles as he didn't want to shut his off and have to kick it again. Can you picture this??? I'm giggling now at what we must looked like to the guy inside Staples watching us. Anyway, Joe and Steve came back and I now stomp my bike into first. Apparently my gears weren't synchromeshed as I hadn't stomped it down hard enough and although my indicator -- which I am not to use -- said otherwise, I was not in first. In the meantime, Elmer had shut his bike off and we went through his startup process. Kick, kick.... you get the picture. I went into Staples to get us all a water and the boy was smiling, so I know he enjoyed the show.

We finally stopped in Waseka, Illinois, hot, tired and cranky. Tomorrow is a new day.

On a sweeter side, when we left Justin's in Findlay this morning, my granddaughter, Isabella, gave me a hug and kiss and told me if she had a motorcycle, she would ride with me. I told her one day she could. However, for today, she ran and got her bike, put on her helmet and rode up the sidewalk as we left. ❤️