This will probably be the last day for a few that we'll be able to get out on the scoots. The forecast was for a high of 84º, sunny, and breezy. It will go downhill rapidly tomorrow, with a chance of snow Monday night into Tuesday. Yeah, we should go for a ride.
Joan made us a breakfast of bacon and eggs, so no need to pack a lunch today... just go do some riding.
Shooting some still photos today, no video. The riding was good. The traffic was surprisingly light for a holiday weekend. We rode Iron Mountain Road from Custer State Park to where it connects to the road to Mt Rushmore... then, turned around and rode it all again.
The only traffic happened when some dumbass would decide to stop in the road, generally before or after a tunnel - oh, sure, I get it: there's a view of Mt Rushmore. They could stop the car at a parking area outside the tunnel, then go back to get the photo, but... nooooo!
Check out the people standing on top of the hill above the tunnel - yeah, they left their car just off the road; that's fun, because people think there must be some reason to stop (maybe wildlife), and then it jams up. When you can get through...
Then, more fun riding...
Even the splits were traffic-free... both ways!
Coming around a curve, something felt a bit vague in the back of the Vespa. We pulled over and I checked the tires - nothing immediately apparent. We rode some more...
When we got back to the coach, I checked the tire pressure on the Vespa: front tire was normal, rear tire was way low. That ain't good. I got out my kneeling stand (easier on the knees) and looked the tire over very closely. Hmmm - that looks suspicious. Nothing sticking out, but it looked like it could be a very small hole in the tread. I pumped up the tire and put my ear by the suspect area - yep, a very faint hissssssss.
I have an emergency tire repair kit that I pulled out and went to work on that hole... you have to use a reaming tool to open it up... yep, now there's a lot of hisssssing. I put some rubber cement on the gummy worm (my description for what you jam into the hole), and... the tool went all the way in, I lost my gummy worm... and a big chunk of skin off the tip of my right index finger. Bled like a stuck pig. "Umm, Joan, I'm going to need a couple paper towels and some bandaids."
"What did you do?" It sounded harsh, but I know she meant it lovingly. I sopped up blood and she put a couple bandaids on so I could finish shoving another gummy worm in there. "You're going to have to clean that wound as soon as you're done there." I'm the one with the CPR/First Aid certifications... but, I digress.
More shoving, some swearing, and... it went in. I used some wire cutters to snip off the excess gummy worm. Damn, someone is bleeding all over these cutters.
With that done, I put the scoots away and went in to clean and dress the wound. Cleaned up the tools I used, then went to work downloading photos I shot today while Joan ordered us a pizza. Took Rufus for a walk...
"So, Ruf, are you ready to go inside?"
"Nooooooo!"
He's a good boy. ;-)
----------
New discovery: with your right index fingertip chopped up and bandaged, your "fingerprint" doesn't work on your devices. And Photoshop on the MacBook Pro utilizes a lot of two-finger/thumb gestures... the trackpad doesn't recognize bandages as a fingertip. But, I have the throbbing to remind me to not do that again.
No comments:
Post a Comment