Today is exactly 6 weeks since my accident and it has been a frustrating and somewhat depressing period, seemingly peaking or rather touching its nadir today.
Immediately post accident, I thought it would be a quick repair, both to me and the bike, and back on the road within a week, at most. This optimism was quickly squashed by the insurance assessor’s verdict, although this tuned out not to be altogether bad. Immediately after the positive claim outcome, however, the true damage to the bike became evident as I attempted to repair it.
My efforts were hampered by my own injuries which, not only weren’t healing, but seemed to be getting worse. This combination made me decide to return from Ohio to Pennsylvania in a truck, hoping that the few days this would take would give me the time to heal sufficiently, allowing me to work more easily on the bike repair. Furthermore, I’d be in the place I needed to be to restart the journey once all was back together. The best laid plans ….
After an exhausting drive, I finally acknowledged that my repair was going to take a while and decided to return to Europe. This decision was, I think the right one and I achieved several positive things. However, here my run of bad, bike-related luck continued as the camshaft of my 400F, the rebuild of which I was trying to complete, broke, putting paid to that plan.
I returned to the US in a sort of ambivalent mood; I wanted to get back on the road and finish the odyssey, but at the same time, at the back of my head was the feeling that I’d had enough and could really do without a continuation. Still, when I got back to Greencastle, the reunion was sweet, and I was immediately on the job repairing the bike.
Then the setbacks started! Each, on its own was a minor hiccough, but as they added up and resulted in a delay of one day, then two, then another day, the frustration mounted. (The detail of the bike repair will be covered soon in another blog) Suddenly, it seemed, I was looking at a possible departure on Friday, earliest, having planned on being away by Sunday.
The final boot came in today. Having reassembled the front end, completely I discovered that the mounting bracket of the mudguard (fender) had been damaged and when it was fitted, the forks weren’t aligned and I couldn’t fit the wheel!Luckily, I found someone quite close who could repair it and would do it immediately for me and, even moe fortunately, I had Terry to ferry me there.
Eric, from Black’s Kustom Cycles and Frabication, of Fairfield, PA, said he only needed the mudguard, not the bike, but when we got there, he realised the job wasn’t quite as straightforward as he had anticipated and said he would need the bike in order to do a repair he could guarantee; otherwise it would be guesswork and potentially result in several trips back and forth to get it right. So, dejected – I speak for myself here – we trundled back home where I prepared the bike so we could roll it onto the trailer next day. Even now, the gremlins continued to plague me; seems like everything that can possibly go wrong, is doing so.
So here I sit, a week after leaving Ireland and still grounded! I am really fortunate to have the enduring hospitality and patience of Bobbie and Terry, but in myself I feel I have imposed more than is reasonable. The problem with this is that as I try not to over-intrude/impose, I may give the impression that I don’t appreciate what I’m being offered and therefore cause offence. Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, that’s my grumble done, and the act of writing it down has been somewhat cathartic. The bike is now ready to roll onto the trailer, and tomorrow is another day!
Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike 