Wayne’s house has become a houseless camp. Not homeless. We have homes. They’re just on wheels. Melinda, Amanda, and Matty arrived yesterday, rounding out the crew here in Sierra Vista. We now have five vans parked around the yard. Darryl and Marilyn came over, and we all had a cookout. As usual, Wayne put on quite the spread with lots of leftovers to nibble on over the next few days. I’m wondering why I bothered grocery shopping before coming here! I don’t remember the last time I laughed as much as I did with everyone around the campfire last night. It’s good to be here.
The weather has been even hotter than predicted, getting into the 90s during the afternoon. That’s a good 10º warmer than normal, according to Wayne, and much warmer than predicted when we made these plans. But it’s still cooler than Quartzsite, which is still pushing 100. It’s also warmer than the Flagstaff area, where nights have dropped down into the 30s. It’s only a matter of time before frozen precipitation starts falling out of the sky there. This is still a good place to hang out and wait for temperatures to cool down across southern Arizona. Access to a real bathroom and shower is quite convenient, too.
I’m not going to be up to a whole lot while it remains this hot. While I’d still like to hop on the bike and explore the area, I need to keep an eye on Lister in this heat. I don’t like locking him in the van when it’s above 90º. Even though my ventilation system ensures it’s never hotter inside than outside, 90º is still hot, so I have to make sure he’s okay. Even though it’s cooler in the mountains where I can go have a fun ride, I have to keep Lister’s well being in mind as well.
I tried out a gadget I picked up during Amazon’s Big Deal Days last week. I discovered it when writing an article for ADVRider about motorcycle deals, and ordered one for myself. It’s a small jack that goes under one side of the swingarm to lift the back wheel off the ground for maintenance. After riding shaft-drive bikes for years, it’s hard enough for me to remember to clean and lube the chain from time to time. Not having a center stand makes this job a real pain to do. By lifting the back wheel off the ground, I can just put it in neutral and spin the wheel to scrub and spray the whole chain. My hope is that by making the job easier I’ll actually get around to doing it more often, since I know I don’t do it often enough.
The jack also came with a tool that locks the front brake on, which keeps the bike from rolling off the stand while jacked up. I’m going to keep this tool in my tank bag at all times, since locking the front brake makes it much easier to pick up a bike after it tips over. I might even use it as a parking brake on hills, as well as leaving the bike in gear. It’s strange but I’m almost as excited about this accessory as I am about the jack itself.
While I’d like to accomplish a few small projects in the van, as well as explore this area on the bike, that’s all going to have to wait until it cools off a bit. I’m not up for doing much in this heat, either, as well as my need to make sure Lister is okay. This is a great place to be stuck for a little while, though. I’m surrounded by friends, and on private property where I’ve been invited to stay. I still hope to get to Quartzsite by Halloween for a number of reasons, but unlike public land, I don’t have to worry about a 14-day limit if I need to stay a bit longer due to heat.
Smokey Da Van 