To: WL From: "Kathy E. Gill" Subject: Day Five : Still a newbie - part two Cc: Bcc: PE X-Attachments: Day Five : Still a newbie - part two I'm now running about 30 minutes late on my ETA for Denver. I start thinking about the afternoon and decide to stop sooner than I had planned. I'll run through Denver and stop 60-80 miles out. Should be early afternoon. I'll rest (it's obvious to me that I need it) and finish the web stuff I have to do. OK - somewhere between here and Denver are outlet malls. I see the sign for Silverthorne and something in my brain says "this is it." The things I remember. I stop and right there by the freeway is a sporting goods store. I go in and ask for repair stuff for the tent. And explain *why* I'm asking. Go back to the parking lot and pull the tent out of the bag. Amazing! The only damage is to the netting on the door. Of course, they don't have any netting. *however* he tells me where the new, giant REI is on I-25 in Denver. I buy two compression sacks from him - a new one for cold weather clothes and dirty laundry -- and a big one for the tent. I think I'll put the thermarest inside it, it's big enough. Traffic gets quite heavy prior to denver. and it's getting HOT. I make the exit for I-25 - and then have to run up and down a 5-7 mile stretch to figure out how to get to REI, which you can see from the road (does this sound like seattle?) So I get there - it's 11:30. Hot - but not blistering. Park in the only parking lot that I can see. Do not think about Hot Sun and my flattened coke can (which I used at Rachel when I gassed up, since I was on gravel there). Go inside - find the netting - go to repairs to ask if they can do it while I wait. No - but she gives me enough netting to do the repair. And a needle. And thread. Nice! I head back towards the front of the store - heading to women's wear to pick up undies and another sports bra (I'm travelling light - I can't afford to lose one, much less two!) I hear "would the owner of the red ducati with WA license plate...." as I approach the front counter. "I have bad news about your motorcycle" says the VERY kind, former-rider REI person as we walk out the door, me carrying merchandise, him explaining that's ok. It turns out the stuff that they have paved their lot with isn't even asphalt - well, I suppose it is, but its soft, even when it's not hot. Now - guess where I left the stich, camelbak, helmet? All are now in the line of flowing gasoline (and, in the case of the helmet, also under the bike). I tell the REI guy that I'm having a REALLY bad day. He empathizes - helps me right the bike. I was going to (belated) use the Coke can till to hold the bike while I figured out what I was going to do next -- but both of us decide this is a Bad Idea. this stuff is SOFT. So, he holds the bike - I get my act together and drive to an underground garage that is HIDDEN. You would never see the entrance unless you knew it was there. Walk back for stich etc. Put all that stuff on the ground by the bike and go inside - where my latest good SAM has taken my tank bag. Look for Ducati dealer in the phone book - hey, they're just a few miles away! yes, they have a clutch and brake lever in stock. Cool! I'll be there directly. Discover that somehow I got gas on my danskins - and have to figure out how to wash my - ahem - upper backside in a public restroom. Change into other shorts. Go to starbucks and have lunch. Think about going straight to St. Joe and bypassing Omaha. Ask myself if I know what the hell I'm doing. Think about calling someone, anyone, for a pep talk. I'm obviously not thinking straight - which means I'm more fatigued that I realize. Find clothes - go to the Duc dealer. I have my first (and last, I hope) freeway experience with no helmet. Lucky for me this is a helmet-optional state. I washed it out in the bathroom and still couldn't put it on - like being in a gas chamber. Guess what - the levers are for a 99 900M. They won't fit. While he's searching micro-fiche for my levers, I tell him what I'm doing. He's knows nothing about the PonyExpress. If this is a by-product of BMW sponsorship (ie, no other dealers hear about it) then that is a BAD thing, IMO. Randy, the parts guy, is quite nice. I had asked him earlier if they gave a 50% discount to MSF instructors (I was wearing my hat) and we joked. He called around some other stores, asking for a red Arai XS, until we looked in the book and discovered that I had no choice but white for the helmet since the XS only comes in white. It truly fits better (more snug) than the S (a negative by-product of weight loss). He tells me his mom is a breast cancer survivor and pulls out $5 for gas money for my trip. And also gives me a 10% discount on the helmet. Nice folks - it's such a big, impersonal kind of place, I was surprised. I toss the old helmet (sans tinted shield), along with the (almost new) fat cheek pads. Go outside - suit up. A couple rides up on an old airhead (/5). They ask me about Seattle - and, they, too, haven't heard of the PonyExpress ride. They ask if there is a web site - and if I have pledge cards. No - but I tell them how to donate via the web. Note to self: next time - bring business cards AND promo info to hand out. Get back on I-25 - it's now HOT as hell. Around 3ish. I haven't turned the radar detector back on - just run with traffic up to I-76 and then east. Stop in Ft. Morgan -- I just couldn't go 10 more miles to Brush. Getting a hotel room isn't easy - there are volleyball championships going on. But I have a great room at the Quality Inn - complete with pool, spa, and LAUNDRY. Of course, I've now washed everything 2x and it still smells like gas. I was afraid to put it in the dryer. How *do* I get the gas smell to go away? Talked to Liz (my web design partner) and discover I have only about an hour's work to do. This is good. Check bike - make sure battery levels are OK. Something has leaked sometime on the left frame - this could be old - but I get WD-40 out and try to clean it. Lube chain. Check alignment and tension. Bemoan how DIRTY the bike is; look at the shiny HD that has pulled in since I arrived. Everything gleams. Phfffft. Will leave in the AM - sometime. I have 90 miles to the border (speed limits are 75) then about 300 miles across Nebraska. Will try to leave fairly early - to beat the worst of the afternoon heat. I'll get there when I get there. Odo: 7923 - aka 2800 miles so far. I will clearly ride >6K. I start moderately worrying about the rear tire (again). Will need to change oil Saturday - don't think I'll have time or energy to do it tomorrow in Omaha. But then again, who knows. Maybe I'll be more rested after tonight. Hope so. Kathy on digest FAIAP postponed