Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Almost a bad day...

Leave home on Sunday to go and pick up a basket case Yamaha TT250, and some mags for an interstate friend. Just got onto the freeway when the car over-heated.

WTF? It's never done that before!

Anyway, I have a couple of litres of water, so I tip that in and try setting off again. No dice. The gauge goes straight to the limit, alarms are beepin'... I have to get off the freeway and find a service station pronto. Once I start cruising around the suburbs trying in vain to find somewhere, I notice that the gauge has gone back to normal. I figure I'll get back on the freeway and at least continue in the right direction, and stop when I find a garage.

I backtrack only to find there's no way back onto the freeway from where I came. Bugger. Ok, I'll just look in the street directory for the closest on-ramp. Street directory is of course on the kitchen table where I was looking up the best way to my destination.

Driving in circles around Melbourne's eastern suburbs is not the best way to my destination.

Anyway, I figure it out and am soon on my way. I was a bit hazy on the best route, but using some printed out whereis maps I had, I navigate using the sun like Columbus* to both my pick-up points.

The good news is that the car ran fine after that; and I found some near-new Renthal bars in amongst the basket case stuff!

It's all good, as the kids say.

* I don’t know if Columbus actually navigated using the sun.