Ya missed me by THAT much. Well, not a miss. Cruising passed Baseball Diamond 5 and an errant ball ticked off the bat, made a popping hit on the steel roof of the dugout to next bounce off my backside. A mere slap as it continued its trajectory easily rolling from my lower shoulder. But it could have made a big impression had I been 1/10 second off my pace bruising ping-pong like off of my scalp instead. Conversely, if I’d have picked up the speed, I might have been long gone during the foul ball ricochet. Fate is the Hunter.
BOI
Had some daylight left to sample a portion of the Boise River Greenbelt. Avoid the unofficial Garden City trash trailer side of the river in favor of a picturesque Rocky Mountain Boise route. Paved surface. Elevation 2800 ft.
dryer tech
The clothes tumble but do not dry. Armed with a multi-meter I checked the usual suspects: Thermal Fuse, Hi Temp Thermostat, Thermister, the Heating Element to find no open loops. A useful msg board thread directed my attention to this micro circuit board inside the control console. Stashed inside the console like an easter egg, I found bundled a diagnostic and trouble shooting guide. While test reading the DC current value at Heat Relay terminal P3-1 and P3-2 the machine began to perform again. Harrumph. Must have been the kicking and banging on the cabinet after I lost a socket tool deep inside. Nonetheless, I have my eye on a resistor and two capacitors on the micro circuit board all of which appear well burned in (i.e. fried). FedEx to deliver a replacement board.
INDY
Finally got out. Even with the patchy snow and freeze over felt great. Fleece and Gore-Tex are necessary for the upwind bits. Leaving the Conrad in the downtown I picked up the White River Wapahani Trail and ran north. Concrete greenway with some soft trail on river’s edge.
Smokin’
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We pulled up to a stop at the light and smelled hot brakes. We gaze around at the other cars to see who’s in disrepair. The other drivers are doing the same except that they have focused on us. Doink. Smoke is wafting from our right rear. Anxious to avoid a brake fire I pulled out of the traffic lane and jumped out to inspect. After a cool down decided to take it easy/limp the rest of the way home.
Analysis: The hand/emergency brake actuates a piggyback hydraulic piston on the brake caliper via mechanical pivot arm and cables. When the parking brake is off, this pivot arm is assisted to a pressure released position by a wound heli coil return spring. In this incident the crucial spring was AWOL. The dragging brake built friction and heat and thus the drama. To do: Mount portable fire extinguisher in trunk! |
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Year 2007 in review
FAR 91, 91k, 135 Flight Trace ______________
Airline Trace ______________
With it
At the restaurant table and can’t figure the intricacies of the salt n’ pepper shakers / grinders. The cap falls into the scrambled eggs. Befuddled i seek help. Is it just me? They’re ‘new’ says the server. Well, says I, my prediction is that you won’t have to explain them for very much longer.
Locked out
With the engine left running I jumped out to snap a fall photo only to return to find the driver’s door jammed. To my consternation it was not shut completely and wouldn’t shut nor could it be re-opened. Luckily, a nearby road survey crew had the smarts to retrieve an odd branch from the wood and fashion a pole which they fished through the small gap in the partially open sunroof. Poking and prodding they managed to depress a window switch and I was saved. Turns out that my shoulder harness seat belt buckle had flopped into the door jam on exit and fouled the latch. A perfect snafu.
Scottsdale
The Lost Dog Wash Trail, is an old Jeep road through the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I ran the trail as far as the Taliesin Overlook but at times I longed for hiking boots as the 400 foot rise was a bit stiff. [gmap-pedometer]
Flagstaff
The Buffalo Park Urban Trail sits atop a Mesa with scattered Pines and a view of the San Francisco Peaks. It is only a couple of miles from the center of town but a great isolated escape. Elevation is 7000+ and the temperature at sunrise, when I ran this 2 mile loop, was 27 ° . Fall Wx was in the air.