Just Another Saturday

Hey everybody, thanks for stopping by today. I know it has been awhile since my last blog so I figured it was time to write once again. It has been a very hot, dry summer this year (If you live in Texas, you already knew this.) The temperatures have been in the triple digits for all of July and August. Here in South Texas, we are in a full blown drought. The grass is brown and dead, bushes are turning brown and the trees are looking the same. It has been so hot that when you ride the bike, you need to ride it in the morning and be done by noon. The heat like that just takes all the fun out of cruising. Hell, its been so hot, that Ray & I haven't even felt like brewing any homemade beer.

 Of course, some of us have more important things to do with our day!

Last weekend of course was the Labor Day weekend. We finally caught a break from the heat. The tropical storm in the Gulf brought us some cooler temps and winds. Ray & I were planning on taking a ride Sunday, when the bike started to act up. Something wasn't just right on it. We were lacking power in the engine as we were having a hard time getting the bike to roll from a stop. We were also having trouble with acceleration on the road.

Looking things over, we felt it would be better that we didn't chance things on the road, instead we started to do a full tune up on the bike. Now I say “started” because that was just what we did, we “started” to do a tune up. Ray and I went to the parts house, got oil & filter, plugs, ECT. We returned to the house and began our work. The seat and tank were pulled, then we went for the air cleaner. And that's when we found the trouble. An oil breather tube attached to the air cleaner housing had leaked oil and coated the air filter until the air flow of the filter was reduced. Thus causing our reduction in power.

With the bike torn down, Ray pulled the carburetor off the bike to clean it and check all the ports on it too. When he open it up, he found the bowl had dirt and grit in it from dirty gasoline. We spent some time on cleaning all the parts and got the carburetor ready to bolt back on the bike. By that time, we had to shut down for the day and tend to family time.

Well as the rest of the weekend went, we never got to finish putting the bike back together. We were sidelined by the needs of the family and the household. That really sucked cause I for one, really, really, REALLY wanted to go ride. Tuesday came around and Ray went back to work. When he came home that night he was too tired from work to want to mess with the bike. Each morning of the week brought cool mornings and nice bearable afternoons. Perfect for a day of riding the roads. And each evening, ray came home too tired to mess with the bike.

Some would say that it was a mixed blessing that we didn't ride that weekend. With the cooler temps and winds a blowing, wildfires broke in the Bastrop area in and around the state park there. If we were to go riding that day like we planned, that was were we would have headed to. The Bastrop area is one of our favorite places to ride to. Right into the middle of all that. I guess its like the old saying goes: “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”

Its hard to decide, should I sleep on the left or on the right

To the people who lost everything in those wildfires, I'm so sorry for your loss. I would like to wish you the best of luck on rebuilding your lives. The Bastrop area has always been so beautiful with the pine trees and the hills. A real pleasure and joy to ride in this area.

Till we meet again

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Pig.