In keeping with our soon to be tradition of little things that conspire to hinder our forward travel, I have a flat tire! So, I break out my little pump and start airing the tire and the pump craps out at 30psi. Not great but, enough to get me somewhere to get things fixed.
As we're loading the bikes a gentleman comes over and asks us about the bikes and tells us there used to be a bike shop a few blocks away but, he's not sure if it's still there. He also tells us it's the only one within miles!
So, Mark and I head in to use the hotel computers in the lobby to find this shop. Remember me telling you about those little things? Just as we click on the internet, the wifi for the whole hotel goes poof! I head over to the lovely girl at the desk who looks like a younger, prettier, Latin version of Jamie Gertz! She is the first of many people we will meet who go out of their way to help us along our journey of course, we don't know that yet! She tells me her computer is apparently the only one still working and offers to help me find the bike shop! She locates it and I call and they are still in business! Yay! So, I call them and see if they might be able to help and discover they are now located in INDIANA!! Little things... So, the search went on, and on, and on. I have no idea what her name was but, she was a very patient and helpful young lady! We finally found a shop just a few blocks away that could take care of us. Yay (again).
We rode over to the shop and along the way Mark nearly died when a jumbo jet passed right over us at a very low altitude since we were right next to Midway airport!
The guy at the shop was nice and a quite happy fellow. Of course, if I was making that kind of money for the amount of work I did, I would be happy too! The only tube he had was a Pirelli tube which of course was $36. After labor and two lead weights ($6!) the total came to $136!! Absolutely ridiculous!
The carb I had to use was running really rich so, since we were at a shop, I figured I'd buy a new jet to lean it out a bit. I called up Eagle Mike who is a wealth of knowledge in the KLR community and he advised me on what jet to try and what adjustments to make. So, we did a little surgery in the parking lot and decided it was getting late and we would be better off getting a room and then heading into Chicago the next day.
I called the 800 number for Super 8 and got some lady with a very heavy accent that was unable to deviate from her script and what should have been a 2-minute call turned into a 20-minute ordeal! I finally was able to get the information I needed despite her being hell-bent on booking me right then and there on the phone! We rode to the hotel and the hostess told us there was a nice bar/grill on the corner within walking distance! Excellent!
The bar was decent and it was $1 burger night! I ordered three and they were pretty good! While we ate, the sky opened-up and it poured like crazy! Powerful thunder and lightning and wind were the main course! So, rather than walk back in this crap, we shot a few games of pool. The storm died down pretty quickly and we headed back to the hotel. Time for the first of many nights of painfully little sleep! To save time later, I'll go ahead and tell you I never did sleep more than two or three hours total each night of the trip. It's like that at home too but, at least there I'm in a comfortable bed!
No pics related to today but, there will be plenty tomorrow!
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