About time for some updates....

The bike chain? Resolved, finally. It took about four phone calls more than it should have, but I eventually got the amount of the chain refunded, which covered all but $3 of the replacement chain I had to buy in Greenville. Persistence paid off.

The odometer? Resolved. I found one on ebay from a 2000 model with around 19,600 miles on it, which is only about 3,000 less than what my bike actually has. It's not every day you get to flip 20,000 miles twice on the same bike.

The bike? I'd toyed with the idea of upgrading before the next trip, but after test riding a couple of candidates, I decided I'd stick with mine for the next while. I got it back last Friday after being out of commission for two weeks while TJ adjusted the valves, installed the new odometer, fixed a water leak, cleaned and adjusted the carbs, and gave the bike some general TLC. Him finding out why the front end vibrated so much (missing bolt) has given my mirrors new purpose in life...they actually work now! For the past several months, they have given me blurry approximations of 'things' behind and to the side of me. Now I can actually tell makes and models of the vehicles that approach. It's rather refreshing.

Me? Glad to have my bike back after two and a half weeks of four wheeldom. I've signed up for an Experienced Rider Course up in Flat Rock, NC, which is scheduled for the last Saturday in August. I am annoyed at the counter and visitor map at the bottom of the page, though. Reckon I'll have to pay for a decent one. The first month had over 700 unique hits, and then it reset. Next month had 225 hits, and poof, reset. I changed it to a different type of counter, and that one wigged out after a week. I guess you get what you pay for!

The next trip? Planning and more planning. I've adjusted my route some, and may have to trim up a little here and there, since I'll be working with a lot less daylight than I've got right now. The night of staying at the cabin in Mariaville, sunset is something like 5:47, so my ambitious side trip to New Brunswick may have to be shelved. Depends on how soon I can get up to the cabin, after visiting with folks at the branch. I've also modified one of my hotel nights into a Bed & Breakfast night in Vermont. For about $30 more than a night at Super 8, I can stay in a pretty neat looking house with a made to order breakfast the next day. I'm pretty excited about that tweak in the plan. Once again, with the earlier dusk, and a higher moose per capita population up there, I may not be able to make a run up to Quebec just for grins.

79 days, and counting...