Trip Prep

Back when it was below zero Fahrenheit I thought I'd start the diesel van. It didn't like it at all. The engine stuttered a few times but kept dying. The battery was getting weak so I didn't bother trying any longer. I reached up with my shovel and removed most of the snow off the roof solar pane. It's wired so that at the flip of a switch it can go from charging the house battery to charging the starting battery.

A few days later the temperature rose to 30, the battery had a fresh charge, and the van kicked right over. Once it was running I shoveled the snow off of it. I was able to make an appointment to get it inspected next week. After that the van should be set with registration and inspection until April 2019.

While in town I went over to the local bicycle shop. I'm bringing my bicycle down to Florida with me and wanted it tuned up. Hadn't been to this guy before. I didn't even know if he'd be open, but there was a nice big open flag flapping in the breeze.

Apparently, there's not a lot of bicycle work when the snow is on the ground. Half the shop is closed off so it doesn't have to be heated. To save money the guy lives in a small efficiency apartment in the back. He does some business in the winter from people who ride fat tire bikes in the snow. However, there are only so many nuts that do that. The good news is that my bike should be serviced within 24 hours. Not only did he seem happy for the business, he seemed happy to have someone to talk to.

My lovely wife and I are looking forward to camping. We feel pretty good about leaving the boat behind this one time. Today we found out that one of the places we would normally would have anchored is so full of debris that everyone is using mooring balls. Hope they sort it all out by next year.

-Sixbears