Jun 30, 20212 min read

Good to go!! Day 25! Riding Solo, riding hard! Breaking things!

I got up at 5 AM on the 29th, intent on going to visit some friends at Naval Base SD, before heading out to Texas to make it to Irving the Next day! 1350 miles in two days! So, Murphy’s law had to come into play! After leaving Gil‘s house I rode a little while and realized it was really cold, so I stopped to put on a jacket. Get on the bike and she won’t start! Darn it! Seriously!? The battery was dead! Fortunately I had a Battery starter! She started on the first try! We are “Good to Go!” That was a favorite phrase for a couple of Department Heads on my old ship, John L Hall, when I was XO!

Well, I was only good for a couple of miles!! After about 5 minutes of riding, all of the bike‘s warning lights came on!! Shoot! The battery was not charging and the bike shut down on the highway! Had to pull over and try the starter again! She started right up! But now I‘m thinking I need a new battery or starter! Heck, I call Gil, he looks for a place that sells batteries, BMW dealer doesn’t open until 9, Walmart has one, but for the 2016, not the 2018. Head over that way, battery isn’t in inventory! It‘s going to be a long day! I head back to Gil’s house! Two hours later, I make it to Gil’s place with all the warning lights still blinking, and now intent on trading my bad battery for his! It is now 8 AM. Gil is outside waiting for me, and I drive up and turn off the bike. Just to show him the problem, I turn on the bike again. What the heck?!! everything is normal again! The battery shows 13.9 volts, all the lights are gone! She’s “good to go!” I’m like, no freaking way! I drive around the neighborhood and it is all good!

Fate wanted me to say a proper good bye to Gil! I had left his house before he got up, and we did not say goodbye. What else could have driven me back here! All is now good And balanced in the universe! So, I missed the folks at the base, added over 100 miles more to the day, but after I said a proper goodbye to Gil, I drove over 800 miles in one day, passed 7000 miles on the bike, went to bed at almost midnight, and had a good scare with my battery! AWESOME day! How do I know it was all meant to be and everything is “Good to Go?”

The first Gas station I pulled into reaffirmed it! And the bike has been running awesome for the last 1000 miles!