oct 13th- Texas sucks.

I realized today that all my little trials and tribulations are quite insignificant compared to what others are going through in their lives.  you see, worse case scenario (apart from dying or being in a wheelchair, which could happen when i'm at home anyhow) is that i get back home a little poorer.  that's about it.

meanwhile, people around me are fighting for their lives, and their loved ones.  I wish them all well on their own journeys.  may your paths be filled with love and not sorrow or regret.

back to "a day in the life of Al"
not many pictures today.  Bike is acting up so much i couldn't take many pictures while riding... also, there's not a whole lot to see in Texas... Texas sucks. (not the people, the landscape)

the moose and I at the cross eyed moose cafe.  The moose is originally from newfoundland

before i forget, here's the heater in the motel i was talking about

 toasty

i was so hungry i forgot to take a picture before eating.  it was good and breakfast came with the room. sweet.

it gets cold up there.  srsly.  thankfully i had on long underwear and i used my new winter gloves i bought yesterday.  it was cold.  real cold.thankfully no frost or snow yet.

of to texas i went, and was chilled to the bone.  even with the winter gloves my hands were starting to get cold after about 30 miles.  cold, but not to the point of pain yet. i would have liked to have taken some pictures while riding, but it was too cold and cumbersome with big gloves.  The scenery was nice in the mountains with the sunrise coming through the trees, etc.

I finally got out of the mountains and got some speed going.  This is when i first noticed that the wobbling was getting worse.  every time i would shift in the seat, the bike would do an uncontrollable wobble.

i dealt with it and went to a gas station in Artesia for some cold and sinus pills and some allergy pills.  i took them both. i don't know what i have, but i don't feel well.  From there on out, all you cold see is oil derricks in action. i thought a few hundred at first... but i'll assume a few thousand at least.  i saw a few hundred all by the highway... there are more.. so many more.

Texas is boring to ride through.

a lot of cotton fields everywhere

i'm shooting laser beams.  pew pew

got to Comanche, TX just as the sun was fading from twilight to night.  Got a cheap room, and proceeded to get some food.  hadn't eaten since, i only rode.

club, tater tots and coffee.  no creamer, only whitener. damn.  food was good.  I ate at some little local hangout instead of  Sonic or Wendy's.  not much choice in a town with a population of 4000

I hit this too

The bike was making odd sounds, lacked power and was wobbling like a Mofo.

i decided to see if i could do anything about it.
The power... well, i'll assume it's because there's too much oil. bastard mechanic.
wobbling and sounds.... well, who knows, i'm not a mechanic...

i put the bike on the center stand and tried to adjust the chain. The problem is that the wheel has to be off the ground.  after fiddling with it for a while, i took the front wheel off and the back end came off the ground. sweet.

I adjusted the chain as best i could as it may have been most of the bad sounds coming from underneath me.  could be the reason the bike is wobbling.  i don't know.

just when i'm almost done and giving it one last pull on the axle bolt, the bike lurches forward, off the center stand and on it's right side, hitting my head on the way down.  I'm lucky it didn't fall on me i guess.
what a pain.  Too heavy to lift it to put on the center stand again, i was discouraged.  I went to the motel manager i was talking to earlier about bikes (he used to ride all the time and customize bikes in India) but he was gone.  The father came out and helped me lift it back up.

took the bike for a little spin and all seemed ok.  I think my chain is finished though.  quite a few rings are gone. not good. all i did was ride today and i only managed to cover about 450 miles.  that blows.
night.