New Tire on Dubya

My friend Pat brought his trailer around and hauled it down to a home mechanic south of Galva.  The guy, Gary, used to have a shop in Moundridge but had to close it up so he works at home. 

I was going to say Pat helped me but truth is I mostly stood around and watched while he did all the work.  It's nice to have friends with trailers.

The Dub was due for a new tire and I wanted it to be ready to go for when the weather warms up.  Also had Gary put on a new chain and lube the swing arm.  He worked about an hour and a half and charged $75, didn't think that was too bad.

The Dub was just sitting there so I didn't see any harm in climbing on just to see how it felt.  As I lifted my right leg over the saddle I could tell something wasn't quite right.  It was a struggle to get my leg over and down on the other side.  Is there a scooter in my future?  I had to get off on the right side of the bike and truthfully it left me a little shaken.  I hadn't considered the possibiblitly that my leg wouldn't work, got to think about this for awhile.

New Year

It was great having all the kids home for Christmas but they are all gone now, the decorations are back in the basement and the new year looms ahead.  I had some kind of 24 hour bug to start the year and now I'm working on a dozy of a cold, things should start looking up soon.

Not much to report on the health front, physical therapy kick me loose right before Christmas and told be to go forth and exercise.  I had good intentions but the holidays and sickness put be behind schedule.  I still can't walk worth a damn so I've got work to do.

I've been formulating motorcycles plans in my head, got to get the Dub in for a tire and chain change.  The new tire and chain have been in the garage since summer I just have to get the bike to my mechanic to get the work done.  The REB need the exhaust worked on so need to get with the bro-in-law for that.  The plan is to have them ready to go before I'm ready.  That way I can ease back into things when the weather warms up.

It has been widely reported that us old guys need to ease back into riding after a long lay-off, be it over the winter or longer in my case.  Making sure the body can handle the requirements is tops on my list. 

The Saturday after Christmas a life long friend and recent riding buddy had a heart attack.  He is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.  This picture of us was on my last ride before the surgery.  That's Pete on the right.