On the Road Again...

A Diamond in the Rough

Having gotten the official ‘Oaky Doky’ from the doctor to start riding again I couldn’t wait to load up a couple of bikes and hit the road. It was going to be somewhat bittersweet as the two most pressing things were a wedding and visiting an injured friend that may become a funeral if God so chose’s.

The trip started out on the wrong foot with a small nail in one of the toy hauler tires.  A quick stop at ‘America/Discount Tire’ shop, who I like to use whenever possible, just because they sponsor #22 Chad Reed. They repaired it pronto and we are on the road.

Next on the list is the 12 volt system on the Weekend Warrior. Everything works fine while plugged in but not when using the batteries to power the coach. I have a generator so I will have to diagnose that later.

It is now 500 miles or so and one day later, just had a good night sleep and a great breakfast in Bridgeport, Calif.  Back on the road for a whopping 5 miles when my GMC Duramax starts running like a 1970 Husky with a broken piston. I can only do 15 mph while towing the Warrior. So a quick u-turn to return to Bridgeport.  We get on the phone since we have tow coverage from two sources, AAA towing and Good Sam/RV towing. The response, help, information, follow up and actual towing in this instance is head and shoulders better with the Good Sam’s representative. Good Sam’s coverage tows the truck AND trailer with my membership. AAA tows the truck but a rather costly extra charge is added to include the trailer.

We are towed from the moderate sized town of Bridgeport where there are No Automotive Repair facilities to the tiny little town of Walker, Calif. Because there is a repair shop, Ted’s Automotive repair that can perform the diagnostic and necessary repairs to get us on the road again. We are dropped at Ted’s Automotives front door and out comes a young man I assume works at this garage. He pulls the truck in and goes right to work diagnosing the problem by plugging into the truck computer and downloading the history. It is not like he has nothing to do because he has a couple of other vehicles he is working on as we are dropped off, rear brakes, oil change and injectors on a Ford diesel are all sitting there and he stops to take a look at my truck because he knows we are on the road traveling.

We quickly learn the young man is 24 years old, his name is Nick and he now runs this shop. It seems Ted’s Automotive was his father’s shop until he passed just a month ago. So much for my little inconveniences like nails, 12 volt batteries and a truck that doesn’t want to cooperate. I now just enjoy watching Nick work and marvel at not only all the areas of expertise he demonstrates on so many vehicles as customers come and go with their little problems throughout the day, but at the manner of calm he possesses as he repeats the process over and over. Nick amazes me that he lost his father so recently and is functioning so well, taking care of other people’s problems and running this shop by himself at just 24 years old. I am sure Nick’s father, Ted, is watching over him and smiling because he is so proud of the man Nick has become.  

We had to spend the night because my truck needed a new fuel injector and it had been ordered but would not be delivered until later the next day. However if I unloaded the Dual Sport and rode the 35 miles each way to pick it up we could get it in the morning. Cheryl and I hopped on the KLR and took a road ride when we got a phone call it had arrived.  When I returned with the part Nick showed me how it is installed and explained a lot of things about a diesel while he worked.  I got quite an education and a little better understanding of a few things pertaining to diesel engines.  I am amazed at the amount of knowledge Nick has stored in his head and is willing to share if someone has an interest; he is kind of like a walking automotive encyclopedia.

Nick finished my truck and got us on the road so we could make it to the wedding we were trying to attend the next day up in Sacramento, Calif.  Thank You Nick!

If you ever have automotive problems on Hwy 395 anywhere even close to Walker, Calif. I would suggest you stop at Ted’s Automotive and see Nick.  But remember he is a busy man so don’t take up too much of his time, because he will never tell you to get lost because he is too busy. But he is, believe me!

#33

‘I was once sad because I had no shoes, then I met a man that had no feet’