If you said, "Aretha Franklin," you lose 50 bonus points. That song was co-written and recorded by Fontella Bass in 1965. 30 bonus points if you said, "Fontella Bass."
I had to have Joan rescue me once again this morning. I was out on the Burgman scoot, heading up South Mountain. I stopped to take a photo of the new road surface...
No idea how far up that new surface goes, because my scoot wouldn't start when I was ready to roll again. "Well, crap!" (I may have said something a bit harsher than that.) Assessing the situation, it was slightly downhill to get to some shade, maybe 1/4 mile away. As I started walking the bike towards that, I called Joan to see if she could bring me a jumper battery.
Unfortunately, I had my AirPods in (still wearing my helmet) and the phone didn't allow the microphone in those AirPods to work (I have no idea why)... so, I could hear Joan, but she couldn't hear me. Of course, she suspected the worst. I hung up and called back - same thing! I took my helmet off, and called back... yes, Joan was very worried. I explained what was going on and asked if she could bring a jumper battery to me. "I'll be there as quick as I can," she said.
While walking the bike towards the only bit of shade I could remember seeing, a guy in a car stopped and asked if he could help. He didn't have a jumper battery or cables, but he offered me water and a ride to the Ranger Station. I let him know I had help on the way and a container of water. Nice of him to stop.
When I got to the shady spot, I called Joan again to let her know where to find me. There was a crew with a crane removing a light pole not too far away. One of the workers came over to see if there was anything I needed: "If you have jumper cables, we can bring a truck over to get you started." I thanked him, told him I didn't have jumper cables on me, but I did have help coming. He asked a couple questions about the Burgman...
Joan called when she got close and I stepped out into the road so she could see where I was. The building in that photo above is no longer used, but it provided some shade... but also put me where you couldn't see me until you were right there.
Joan pulled in, I had the bike battery compartment opened, put a jumper on it, and it popped right off. Joan followed me back home (no issues). So, I didn't get my morning bike ride in.
These days, I ride early; for the enjoyment of the ride, but also to keep the batteries charged up. The heat is hard on batteries, and this is a pretty small battery in the Burgman. It did start right up with no issue before I left the house; I would have thought that riding it would have charged it even more, but I guess this battery is a goner.
Not the first time Joan has come to my rescue, but not because of a bike issue for a lot of years. Needless to say, it is fortunate that I wasn't further up the mountain (or out in the middle of the desert) where there is no phone service and miles from any shade. It must be the good, clean living.
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I had music with my local guys today. Yeah, we played loud - it's what we do. In the grand scheme of things, I'd rather play quieter and have more emphasis on the vocals, but I am still "the new guy" so I go along. And, I have fun with these guys. It's a once every two weeks jam, but there are some songs we have down pretty tight.
When I got back from that, I had a couple HOA things to deal with. Seems that is a daily occurrence anymore.
And, to follow up on a comment from my buddy Earl regarding the battery: there are currently 4 things charging, and the Battery Tender is on the Burgman. I'm lucky (or crazy enough) to get in a couple rides a week and generally trade off. I've been paying more attention to my CTX lately, so it has probably been about 3 weeks since the Burgman got out on the road (although I have started it and let it run in between). I will make it a point to moved the Battery Tender around on the bikes.
3 comments:
It might be time to keep the scoots on battery tenders since they sit for some non-riding periods. In the desert you "can't remember your name" (+15 bonus points) but you also only get maybe three good years from a lead acid battery. We had similar issues in Alaska where the bikes were mothballed six months each year. We never saw a fourth usable year on a battery, even kept on a tender in a heated garage. Batteries & Bulbs can test your battery for you and usually has replacements.
"Horse with No Name, by America, 1971, from the album America" - how's that? ;-) Last summer when we were gone, I took the battery out of the bike that was left behind (the CTX). Yeah, I need to be more diligent about keeping a charge on the bikes when it is this hot. But, that should only last another 7 or 8 months! (Insert Horrified Emoji Here) Here, the garages are not air conditioned and it gets almost as hot as the ambient temp, so all the car and bike batteries are subjected to it. On the Equinox that Steph and Dan used to have, they had to replace the battery about every 18 months (I know, 'cause I did it for them a couple times) - I thought that was crazy, but a guy where I got the last battery said that is about normal for here. (???). One other fun desert fact. And when I replaced tires on the car we used to leave here, the guy at Discount Tire told me, "3 years *maybe* on tires here in the desert."
But, it's a dry heat. Arrrrrrggggghhhhh!
Batteries like cold OK but not heat. Alice found the same when her parents car sat in a hot garage undriven after he passed. The battery was always dead, even sitting on a tender, and had to be replaced. That Honda CRV went to the granddaughter in Minnesota when mom moved into nursing care. Alice had to rent a car when visiting by air because that one was no longer dependable.
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