Today was a day to try and fix the troubles with my motorcycle. The first task was to go to Lowes or Home Depot to get a strap for my fuel canister. Of course it was raining. And of course Lowes and Home Depot did not have what I needed.
Next stop was to get gas. On the way I noticed that my turn signals weren’t working. In fact nothing on my left side switch was working! Crap! After getting gas, which I paid for using my Visa card, I went to Starbucks before the BMW Motorcycle Shop opened. I went to pay for my purchase and my Visa credit card was declined! Crap again. Using Skype I phone Visa and they said nothing was wrong with my card but that Starbucks was using a Mastercard system. What???? I did eventually pay with my Mastercard and it worked. They assured me nothing was wrong with my card.
I got to the Motorcycle Shop and they were quite helpful, despite having a no walk ins policy.
The mechanic attempted to get the switch to work but couldn’t. He told me I would need to order a new switch. I asked if they could also order the other damaged parts. The part are suppose to arrive tomorrow by FedEx. My fingers are crossed! I did end up purchasing the Touratech strap and bracket for my fuel canister. An expensive waste to get the bracket too. Oh well.
Also While waiting at the Motorcycle Shop a couple of interesting things happened.
First, this is where Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from Long Way Round stopped to have their motorcycles repaired. Apparently, a spoke was missing from the back tire and they simply had the whole tire replaced. The old tire was on display.
Second, I met Dr. Samuel Becker who was also getting his motorcycle repaired. He is on a trek from Florida to Alaska and crashed outside of Canmore. You can read his blog here – http://www.olympusrejuvenationcenter.com/blog. We got to talking about my medical conditions and he had a few suggestions that may help. Interesting. One thing about going to a motorcycle repair shop is that you meet the most interesting people. It is a great place for people to meet and share stories and advice.
The funny thing is, as I left The Motorcycle Shop, all of a sudden one thing after another started to work on my switch. First the turn signals, then my light, then the horn and the GPS switch. Go figure. I thought it may be moisture but the mechanic said there was no moisture in the switch. Probably should get it replaced anyways.
After a day of troubles I was able to spend the rest of it writing my daily journals and communicating with people. That part is nice. Thank you to everyone who sends me comments etc. They are much appreciated.
And then it was back to the Blue Fox Pub for dinner to top off the day.
Route for July 21, 2016
In and around this area in Anchorage trying to solve problems 🙂
