Trust Issues

Monday, August 24, 2015          Sturgis, SD       trip odometer 5,475 miles

(not counting 74 miles Bruce rode on the rollback truck)

            Well, I got an awful lot of knitting done waiting for Bruce to be repaired. While putting the new clutch cable on, they discovered my right front wheel bearings were shot, another safety problem. This meant they had to call around for yet another part. By the time it was done, it was 3:30-ish. I was feeling exceedingly grumpy and opted to get as far east as possible in the daylight remaining.

            As I went, I realized I was feeling betrayed by Bruce. After all, I spent a good deal of money making sure he was in tip-top shape before starting this trip. But, like myself, the car is past its glory years, and has been working exceedingly hard, especially on the mountain roads. The hole in the exhaust pipe was just me being cautious. The flat tire seems to be holding and could happen to anyone. But the clutch cable…! It could have been much worse. It could have happened on a long, switchbacked downgrade. My new brake rotors, which already seem to be going bad again, would have totally failed. I suppose I should thank Bruce, or my spirit-guide, guardian-angel, or whatever, that it broke exactly where it did, where I could park it safely and help was available.

            Now that I can’t quite trust my automobile partner in this trip, some of the delight has gone out of it. Still, we made it to South Dakota in about 2 ½ hours. Perhaps with time our relationship will heal.