I went out to start the truck today, and the thing wouldn’t start.  I have been riding my motorcycle so much that I have ruined my truck battery from nonuse.  It has been 2 1/2 years since I bought my first bike, and in that time I have driven my truck only about 4000 miles.  This is the second battery that has been ruined now.  I will try to use the “Desulfate” feature of the Battery Minder I have.  It has worked on a few batteries in the past, including my boat battery.

Amy had me go pay some bills, deposit a few checks, and pick up some groceries.  The weather was PERFECT today.  It was 78 degrees today and NO humidity.  I could handle this all year, but I know that the cooler weather will be coming soon.  After riding in the south with my bike reporting 104 degrees, this was a welcome change, but the scenery is not quite as nice.   As nice as it was today, I still have some people respond with disbelief when I am riding a motorcycle to do my errands.  I ride all year when there is no ice.  The coldest I have ridden in is 8 degrees.  Why would I not ride when it is 78?  You should see the guys at work when I come in on the bike in January.  We even rode to the Christmas party (we held it after Christmas in the second week of January).  We needed and ice scraper for the windshield of the bike when it was time to leave.  I didn’t even have a bike with heated accessories or a charging system to power a heated suit then.

Well, we had a close call today, and had the time of our lives trying to stretch our fuel supply. When we came to the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, after riding about 300 miles to get there, we still had “plenty” of fuel. My R1200RT showed that I still had about 40 miles to empty, my Uncle’s R1150RT showed that he still had more than a gallon left, as the low fuel light was not on. We made it to the North Carolina and Tennessee border, and his light came on. With the unreasonable 30 MPH speed trap speed limit on US 129 “The Tail of the Dragon” we were stuck in second and third gears, which is not good for fuel. Turning onto the Foothills Parkway, with 24 miles to home, and 16 miles to the nearest gas, my computer now read 8 miles to empty. We rode to the summit of the Foothills Parkway, and shut the bikes off, employing what those of us in Ohio call “West Virginia Overdrive” but you are free to pick your own state, if you are from Georgia, it could be “Alabama Overdrive.” In other words, we shut the bikes off and coasted down from the summit, over 8 miles. There is a gas station at the end of the Parkway, on US 321. At the end of the Parkway, we started the bikes, turned onto US-321, and into the gas station. WE MADE IT. We pulled up to the pumps and were out of the woods. For the entire 8 mile coasting session, my bike showed “Gas —” In other words “Hey Dummy, you should have bought gas an hour ago!!!! You are now out!!!!” Anyway, here is a photo of the gas station that would save us.

That’s right people, they no longer sell gas!  According to the GPS, the next station is 5 miles away, and we do not have the gas to make the trip.  We set out in the direction of the gas station, running at the speed of maximum efficiency.  I employ more “West Virginia Overdrive.”  We crest a hill, just as my Uncle’s bike starts to sputter a little, and we can see the next station.  We are able to make it there and get some gas.  It turns out that his tank is 6.5 gallons, and the pump reports that he purchased 6.6. gallons.  I still had about 20 more miles, as the trip computer is pessimistic by about 0.5 gallons.  

While some people may not have had this much fun facing an out of gas situation, we thought it was fun stretching the mileage all we could.  My wife has AAA coverage, my Uncle and I both have roadside assistance from the BMW MOA, and we were only minutes from his house, so a gas can was not far away.