Thom's Thumbs

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Been a while but I’m back. Thought there would be more fall color by now. Oh well. At least I enjoyed the ride.

Mount Mitchell and back (with a few detours) in 9 hours. Tried to update earlier but no sprint signal on Mitchell, on the parkway, on I 40 or I 85. Verizon’s looking better every day.

NC-80 is a yummy road, other than the couple of squids I met coming back down. Hairpin curves had my LS rear-end chirping and then the last one was so tight it sounded like I was launching off the line!

73 degrees at 13:00 (1pm for you civilians)brrrrr. Glad I had a jacket in the Jeep. I was only wearing a t-shirt. I’ll upload more pics from my REAL camera to photobucket later.

Well it’s off to bed. Gonna try Mount Mitchell again in the AM.

Posted from android

I was preparing for a trip to mount Mitchell today (on the jeep) and much to my surprise I found my bank account woefully low. GRRRR!!!!!

Came home and checked online. Seems that Sparkys fireworks and the Shell “travel-mart” in Wallace SC each put a $26.00 hold on my account for my $3.50 gas purchases.

Guess where I’ll no longer visit. BTW I put travel mart in quotes because that dump would shame the worst truck-stop I’ve seen. Seems I’ve only had this happen in SC. Hafta check into it, (and carry cash or check for out of town fuel purchases).

Never really deep down understood that phrase until yesterday.

I was making a bit of a roundabout return from the beach on my motorcycle. I had decided to be lazy (guess in my old age I need a nap after about 3 hours on two wheels(g)) and let my GPS plot the way home.

It pointed me toward Florence, a route I haven’t taken in years. Not being used to a GPS on the bike my attention was divided. I saw that it was showing to turn SOUTH on I95 and I took a double-take as I was nearing the on-ramp. As I looked up I saw two things at once, the red light that I was sailing through at full speed and a car and pickup moving from the right.

In a split second I realized there was no time to brake so I just kept going. Luckily the cross traffic was able to stop fast enough.

Did I stop to collect my wits (and change shorts)?

That’s the odd part. I kept traveling up I95 (north) and realized that even as I watched the pickup nosediving next to me and my life likely at an end all I thought of was that this was the first light that I had run on the bike.

No fear, terror or even raised heart rate. That’s what is scary.

I don’t know if it’s the combo of drugs the doctor has me on, middle age mortality creeping in or maybe a combination of the two. I don’t like it.

Will I stop riding? Not likely. I won’t be distracted by pretty electronic gadgets on a ride again though!

And whoever came up with the idea of a traffic signal near an interstate interchange anyway?

Just a thought as I was riding the other day. My daughter gave me a ride bell a few months ago, and I attached it to my left turn signal so it could swing free. As I was riding along I could hear the clear crisp ring of the bell over both the sound of the bike and the wind noise. So in addition to the “official” purpose of the bell it helps to remind you as you’re riding that there is someone out there who cares and wishes you a safe journey home.

Got someone you care for who doesn’t ride? Give them one anyway to hang somewhere on their car, bicycle, horse or wherever else those pesky gremlins are likely to cause mischief. Hey it’s worth a shot, huh?

Just a thought…….

(found somewhere on the net. Google ride bell and you’ll find plenty of references)

LEGEND OF THE BELL:
Have you noticed that small bell on some people’s bikes and wondered why it was there? It’s more than just decoration – It has a specific function. As we all know, life has many mysteries that have no apparent solutions. One of these is Evil Road Spirits. They are the little gremlins that live on your bike. They love to ride. They’re also responsible for most of your bike’s problems. Sometimes your turn signals refuse to work, or the battery goes dead, the clutch needs adjustment, or any of several hundred other things go wrong. These problems are caused by Evil Road Spirits. Road Spirits can’t live in the presence of a bell. They get trapped in the hollow of the bell. Among other things, their bearing is super sensitive. the constant ringing of the bell and the confined space drives them insane. They lose their grip and eventually fall to the roadway. (Have you ever wondered how potholes are formed?) The bell has served its purpose. If you have picked up a bell of your own, the magic will work. But if your bell was given to you, the power has been doubled, and you know that somewhere you have a special friend helping to look after you. So, if you have a friend that doesn’t have a bell, why not give them one? It’s a nice feeling for the recipient to know you personally cared. The bell, plus a good preventive maintenance program by the bike’s owner, will help eliminate the Evil Road Spirits.

If the economy is in such dire straits and unemployment at an all time high why is it that I still have to put up with such poor “service” at the grocery store, restaurants, fast food joints etc? Seems like there should be a line of applicants waiting to take the place as the slackers are quickly fired. Or is it that we’ve just gotten so used to it that the only ones who complain are “old curmudgeons” like me?