Transportation Woes...

There's a lot of things that I've been pretty lucky with; randomly jumping into things that I have no prior knowledge of and succeeding (or at the least, not failing miserably), obtaining and maintaining enough work to support my self, and basically just always being able to sate my various appetites for nourishment and things to maintain my amusement, but one thing that hasn't been at the top of my "lucky list" lately has been transportation. It really seems like it's just been one thing after another...

Cars

As of late, I've been severely reducing the numbers of cars I've had. It's been a bit of a part of my plan to simplify, a bit financial, and a bit of some of my other reasons.

Well, I sold my Mercedes for a song and a handshake, thinking there was something pretty wrong with it. The new owner spent about 30 minutes in my condo parking lot and drove it out happy as a clam. Oh well... I didn't need one more car. Heck, I'm not a Mercedes mechanic (and I say this because I'm obviously a great VW mechanic).

Well, I had such good luck with this and decided that it was time to get rid of the VW Westfalia (a camper Bus). It was a beautiful van, but it didn't get great gas mileage and the last thing I needed was another vehicle. So, right after making this decision, my Jetta starts faltering and decides to stop being my trusty steed. No big deal, right? I've still got the van. Then, I decide I'm selling the van anyways. I post an ad on Craigslist and almost immediately after I do, it develops this weird trait where it decides not to start all the time. Not that it won't start, but the starter doesn't want to do its part. I figure I've got a good back and keep compression starting it (push-starting) and hoping I can always keep it on top of a hill or at the very least, not at the bottom of a lot of hills. Then, I realize that no one is going to buy it at any price that I'll be happy with if it doesn't start. That's how I've gotten a lot of cars, by buying them cheap because of some "small" problem that made them seem pretty worthless that I then later fixed. Well, I took it to Buttera Motors and they couldn't figure out the problem. They kept it overnight and the next day, told me they had figured out the problem. The ground wire had been loose and the connection hadn't been solid enough. It was fairly cheap and so I also had a new shift coupler installed as I didn't want to to it, but it would really make for a better sale if the car went into the gears buyers expected. I was happy and on my way and it was a bright and sunny Friday afternoon! By Monday, the problem was back and I'd had trouble getting it started and had to push it out of the parking lot. I leave for work at 6 AM if I'm driving, and by this time, it was getting light at 6 in the morning, so I couldn't slink off in the night while I was pushing my van. Now, everybody could see plain as day, old Sione pushing his beat-up junker of a van... Embarassing. Well, I call them up and take it back to Buttera once more on Tuesday. They once again have a hard time figuring out the problem, but this time they say that the ground cable is not sufficient (I guess it had been before), replace that and "tighten some wires". They keep it for 2 days again, so I had to find a way home and to the shop. They also see it as acceptable to charge me again and send me on my way. I pick it up midday, head back to work and it starts up fine at the end of the day! Woo hoo!! I've been making up stories to potential buyers about being out of town for work and this and that, rather then say that the van's been on the fritz, so I'm happy! I stop off at the 99 Ranch Market (no reason to provide a link, but I do love shopping here!) and pick up some groceries. I load up my van and hop in. I turn the key. Nothing. Again. Nothing. I am parked right in front of the grocery and it's about 5PM so it's pretty busy. I don't want to try to push-start it right now. It's embarassing and I don't want to push it, not get it started, then roll somewhere and have to get out of the way. I get back out, grab my groceries, and start walking home. It's only about a mile or two... I ride my bike to my friend's house and he and I later go and get the van started and I take it home. I call Buttera Motors the next day, explaining the situation and how it's happened again. They ask me if I can bring it in. I explain that I've ridden my bike to work and I'm 17 miles away from the vehicle. They offer to tow it and tell me I just need to get the keys to the car. I explain again... "I'm SEVENTEEN MILES AWAY. I RODE MY BIKE TO WORK. I'M AT WORK. I can't just be at the van with the keys. It's getting really embarassing breaking down everywhere..." He says he understands, blah blah blah, and I hang up. I bring the car in one more time a few days later when I can and they keep it and say that they can find nothing wrong with it. I explain that I've been trying to sell the car and he says that it should be cool and I should go ahead and show the car. I explain that it's been really embarassing breaking down everywhere, but that it happening while I'm showing the car is really going to be embarassing. He agrees and says that this time, no charge. NO CHARGE??? I got charged twice for the same problem, they can't find the problem, I've broken down on the road numerous times after they gave me my car back assuring me it was good to go, but this third time he figures there shouldn't be a charge?!?!?!? Sons of a guns.... I show the car to a guy and his girlfriend later that day. He had been calling and emailing me like crazy while I was "out of town" and I know he'll buy it if it starts. Well, it starts at least the 3 times that he tried it, up until the third when he drove away so I got the price I asked and it's gone. One less problem, although I still haven't even tried to fix my Jetta. It's still biking time!

The most random of all car problems I've had lately is an old Beetle that was in my name for an ex-girlfriend from years ago because she wasn't 18 at the time. I hadn't even seen nor heard of the car in probably at least 6 years until I started seeing some paperwork at my parents' house from a towing company. Apparently, it had been towed and impounded. It was a $400 impound charge and around $55 per day in "storage fees". It's nice that they stored it for me, but I wish I had found out sooner than I had as the fees were already pretty substantial by the time I opened the notices. By the time I paid them... priceless? Maybe I don't understand those commercials...

Bikes

Well, I've written about my trike crash and I still haven't gotten the parts I need to repair that so it's been sitting idle for the time being. It's kind of a bummer and it does take up a lot of room for something I'm not riding...

Well, I have been riding my mountain bike, once I repaired the tire on it. It's been my main mode of transportation, aside from my feet. Well, last Thursday, I'm on my way home and I realize that my left pedal is coming loose. I look at it and the nut that holds it on has been loosening. I try to tighten it but I don't have a socket or ratchet handy so I can only do so much. I get a few more miles and get tired of riding, kicking the pedal further on, and continuing. I start walking and catch a bus. I get home and put a wrench to it and don't even pay it any more mind or wonder why it happened in the first place. I get up the next morning and hop on to ride to work. I bring a pair of needle-nose pliers (I don't know why I didn't just bring a 14mm socket and ratchet, but apparently that would have weighed me down too much) just in case. Well, I get about 2 miles out before it loosens up. I use the pliers to tighten it as much as I can and continue on. I can go about 1/4 mile, kicking the pedal back on while I'm pedaling before I have to stop and tighten it again. Being a 17.5 mile ride, that's a lot of stopping. Well, needless to say, that soon ceases to be an issue. Once I get to the Burke-Gilman trail, I am on my way and it's a smooth level ride the rest of the way. I get to about 10 miles from work before the nut falls completely off (and I can narrow it down to about a 1/2 mile area). I look for it for a bit, then give up. I try riding without the nut, which requires my constantly kicking the pedal back on about every 2-3 revolutions. I realize the pedal is worn and doesn't fit snugly which is why it was loosening the nut in the first place and now it is only getting worse. Much worse. After having to turn around and go back to pick up my pedal a couple of times, I can't go on. I don't mean "go on" as continuing on to work, because I'm not going to miss work (and all the bike shops are closed this early anyways), but I can't go on riding. I'm only 8-9 miles away from work now. I'm around Kenmore and I just need to get through Kenmore, head through Woodinville, and into Redmond where I work. Well, I start jogging with my bike for as long as I can, but I'm no jogger. I walk at a very brisk pace and some people stop to check up on me and see if they can help. I really appreciate that and it feels good although there's nothing they can do at this point. Well, I make it to work only 1 hour late and my legs are really on fire. My feet are surely broken, my thigh muscles are so overworked I'm sure I'll never bike again, and I limp to the showers. Well, I hit the bike shops the next day and apparently, they don't like to sell just left pedals, but only the whole crankset with both pedals and the front gears. Bum deal as I'm not trying to invest that much right now. Fortuitously, there has been this bike sitting out by the dumpsters at my condos for days. What are the odds, seriously? Thank God that bike was there and it even had pedals that are "bolted on" and not just parts of the whole crank! I take it upstairs to my condo and pull the pedal. I brought that pedal to work yesterday, attached it and it fit like a glove, the nut fit the threads the same, and it seemed good to go! As far as I can tell, it is! Woo hoo! I'm back on the road for now and the parts for my trike should be here any day (if they ever ship them, seeing as they're in Washington and it only takes 1 day to ship)!!

I guess everything always works out in the end! Good times...