When Breaks Are Needed

From Crater Lake I set out towards Portland with the intention of visiting my friends for a couple days before heading up to the Seattle area.  How things quickly changed...

Here's me, broken down 40 miles east of Eugene and 160 miles from my destination.  Turns out the Ignition Switch went bad.  After hitching a 5 mile ride down the mountain and to an area I got reception.  My friends came to the rescue with a truck and trailer...160 miles one way!  To pass time I walked back up to my bike and watched the stream until my bladder hurt...then I paced until they showed up.  Happy Sunday people.

Turns out my insurance road-side doesn't cover a trip to the nearest authorized dealer as they claimed.  They only cover up to seven miles.  I wonder why they didn't specify that when I asked upon sign up.  I now have AAA.

I said things changed.  Here's why:
We dropped the bike off at the Tigard, OR, dealer Sunday night, they opened Tuesday, got parts Thursday, fixed it Friday and I rode off Saturday morning.

During that time I lived up my vacation!

Hiking in Forest Park, Portland.

Appreciating shrubbery and trees!

Herding chickens back into their pen!  And I did work on communicating with them with gobbles, clucks and body language that would have people calling the cops were I in public.  However, the following couple days these girls popped eggs out left and right.  Was it me or the freshly cleaned pen?  Who really can say?

Played tons of table-top games with Meg and Kelly and their friends!

Contributed to the betterment of the future of America!  Here's me and Kelly helping Meg prepare her first grade classroom.  Yes, I used the scissor technique my mom showed me years ago for cutting wrapping paper.  It still works!

Disc-golf!  That was a blast.  Who doesn't love a chance to run through grass fields and frolic like a madman?  It was like being a kid again in Amherst where I got into all kinds of activities in the field behind my neighbor's place.

So what does any of this have to do with riding?

After two-solid weeks of continual traveling I was ready for the break and didn't even know it.  I was ticked I got so close to my destination only to limp in on a trailer - and I missed the opportunity to visit the area named after my Pop's relatives.  Decompressing from all that stress and giving my body a rest was a welcome relief.

So I left Portland on the Saturday I planned to be leaving the Seattle area.  I never went there and chose to stay on my schedule.  It felt right and there was no way in heck I was going to cut time so close that I'd jeopardize visiting time with my sisters on the way home.  And what if something else were to happen with my bike?

I departed for Glacier National Park.