So this past Sunday afternoon, wife Kim was at work, cat Otis was sleeping, the sun was shining, and my motorcycle called me from the garage. I answered, and we set out for a wee ride.
It was a nice ride, mostly secondary roads, not much traffic, quite relaxing.
Well actually, it was mostly a nice ride. I rode south from Edmonton, then headed west through Wetaskiwin, north to Carvel and then east towards Leduc.
Just after leaving Carvel came a loud rumbling kind noise to the rear of the bike and the bike began to shake. Came to a stop and tried to diagnose the issue. Accelerating, noise. Coasting, no noise. Hmm… seems to be powertrain. Crawl under the bike, grasp the drive shaft… oh oh, it’s not supposed to move like that. Conclusion… seems to be an issue with the rear end/differential.
Action taken. Four way flashers activated and call AMA (Alberta Motor Association) to arrange for a tow home. Approximately 1900 hrs contact made, location confirmed and tow request made. Told I will receive notification when operator is dispatched. About 2030 hrs call made to AMA to update status.
Once again getting an excellent phone operator, I was told they had good news and bad news. The good news being that I had been assigned a mobile operator, Justin. The bad news, he was currently involved with a call in Stony Plain, and once complete would have to travel to Leduc to pick up the appropriate service vehicle for my bike, a flat deck truck. Anticipated time of arrival would be 2245 hrs.
No worries, it was a pleasant evening. However, I noted that my 4-way flashers were becoming dim. Oh oh, and battery was too low to start bike. Oh drat. Now getting dark, and I should mention Hwy 39 is a very busy highway. On top of that, the friendly neighbourhood mosquitos decided to come and visit. Maybe no longer such a pleasant evening.
And then, a small red car passed by, slowed down, turned around, stopped on the other side of the road, and the driver crossed over to see what the problem was.
Lisa, the good samaritan, had arrived. She introduced herself, indicating that she rode with her biker boyfriend, and that she knew many bikers in the area, so she felt that she had to stop. She offered to see if she could get someone from Calmar or Leduc to help me out. I told her thank you much, however AMA was on the way.
Seeing that my 4-way flasher was not working she turned her car around, parking behind me with her 4-way lighting up the road. She then offered me a seat in her car, shielded from the mosquitos, staying until Justin arrived with the AMA service truck. While we waited, she spoke with Gord, her boyfriend, letting him know what was going on, and I spoke with my wife Kim, so that she would not worry. We had a great discussion, becoming friends, in person and on Facebook.
When Justin arrived, she gave me a hug and headed off home. We also arranged that Kim and I would see her and Gord on Tuesday at bike night.
Justin, from AMA, immediately proceeded to load the trike on the flat deck, working with great efficiency and keeping me engaged with the process as well. Once loaded, off we went, heading to my place, chatting about a number of things along the way. Justin was from the north, had been doing this work in the Edmonton area for about ten years. He very much enjoys his work and likes the company he works for.
Upon arriving at my house, Justin arranged his truck so that bike, when unloaded, was right in front of the garage door, where Kim was waiting, and it was an easy push to get it into the garage. Great work all round from him.
Justin was the good service.
Even though an unfortunate event had ended my ride early, the day was, in my consideration, an overall positive event. I got to meet Lisa, the good samaritan, and Justin, the good service provider.
As an addendum, Kim and I did go to bike night, met up with Lisa and Gord, and had a great time with them and a number of their friends. We are staying in touch and will get together with them again.
Richard's Ramblings 