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Westward Distraction: Day Twelve

By Thom | January 16, 2008

Salt Lake, UT to Vernal, UT

ROUGH DAY!!
I got up and was on the road pretty earlier as I was trying to make it to a park that I thought was only an hour away and be in the western Rockies by sundown. It turned out that the park was at least 2.5 hours and the speed limit was only 15 mph in some place, MY BIKE ALMOST STALLS AT THAT SPEED. Before I hit the park I stopped at a gas station, I had some serious trouble trying to pump gas as my card didn’t work, so I had to prepay with my card (which I hate, cause I never know how much I need and obviously want a full tank). I always want to say to the gas attendant when they ask me “how much?” – “A full tank!?” During my stop I had unhooked my Camelbak to fill it full of ice, but got about 20 miles down the freeway before realizing that I had forgot about it and now it was  sitting in traffice somewhere. Never the less, I pressed on.

I stopped at a magazine place and gas station to get Outside Magazine (which they didn’t have) and met Ahmed, who was carrying a gun. A nice guy, he rides a crotch rocket and 4-wheelers, so we had stuff in common. I didn’t notice that he was wearing a gun right away (smart, aren’t I) but he told me that he had been robbed not too long ago and the police advised that he do so. I felt completely floored as he told me how they maced him and set him handcuffed, executioner style on the floor as they went through everything. Scary! I left with a new sense of watching out for myself.

I stopped for gas in Vernal, Ut and filled up and let my bike cool down. I then got about 4 miles outside of the next town before feeling the front tire was not responding as normal, so I slowed to a stop, thinking my headset bearing was acting up and saw that my valve stem had ripped itself off. HOW LUCKY!!! It was about 6:30 on a Saturday night, so no place is even open. I called Progressive (I have roadside assistance) and after about 45 minutes,  were unable to find anyone to tow me so they advised me to call the police. The lady told me that they called 20 different tow shops in the area and no one picked up. So I called the police! Within 10 minutes the police had phoned a tow truck and I was on my way back to Vernal to the Honda Dealer. The tow drivers were super nice and they charged me the base rate and dropped me off at a Holiday Inn ($220 for the night, what?!) I was able to secure a campsite at the KAO and called a cab (my first cab ride) so I didn’t have to walk the 4 miles. I set up camp and went to sleep.

I do credit Metzler tires for saving my life however, they have an extremely stiff sidewall so the tire went flat, but didn’t come off the rim, nor did I go down. Either of these would have ruined my day even more.

Totals:
Dist: 262
Time: 5:15
Avg Speed: 48.9
Alt: 5256

Broken bike:

My home at the KOA for the next couple days

BORING DAY THIRTEEN AND FOURTEEN RIGHT HERE

Similar Posts:

• Westward Distraction: Day Eleven
• Westward Distration: Trip Totals
• Eastward Distraction Part 2 – Day Two
• Westward Distraction: Day Nine
• Eastward Distraction – Day Five

Topics: Westward Distraction '07 | 1 Comment »

One Response to “Westward Distraction: Day Twelve”

1. Westward Distraction: Day Eleven | Train With Thom Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 10:48 am

   [...] Westward Distraction: Day Ten | Home | Westward Distraction: Day Twelve [...]

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