A few minutes ago, I called the Sandia BMW dealership to inquire about the arrival of the parts.  Thank God they did arrive today, and the BeMWu should be ready to hit the road in the next 4 hours or so.  I am still trying to device a route into Houston.  These events give me about 4 hours of riding today, and then I have Saturday, and Sundayto arrive home.

One potential route puts me somewhere between Roswell and Lubbock. From there I could hit Wimberley, TX tomorrow, spend the night with our friends Don and Nan, and have about 210 more miles from Sunday.  It looks like that will be the case.

I spent most of the day yesterday at the Sandia dealership, impatiently waiting for a diagnosis, and then news on the parts.   The problem seems to actually be created by a faulty clutch slave cylinder.  According to the technicians at Sandia, it is very easy to misdiagnose the problem, and to think that water in the hydraulics is the problem.  So the fact that it was missed before was not surprising.

Brooding was definitely part of the picture.  I certainly do not deal well with uncertainty, even though, detailed trip planning had gone out of the window about 10 days into the trip.  I also chastised myself some, since I have openly confessed that I do believe that God has ordered the events along my journey, and the consequences of such order have made themselves manifest multiple times along the way.

Finally, but not least important, is the fact that I did get another taste of the life of the captives, and the enslaved.  Not knowing what your day will bring, not having any control over your situation, and being subject to the whims of others is part of the day to day life of the oppressed.  My situation was not quite the same, but I could certainly taste it, and it was not good.

The later part of the day was spent with Stephanie, and Mark, and their two little ones Ezra, and James.  I got to play basketball with Ezra, who also loves to wear my helmet.  I got to bottle feed James, and we all got to watch Thomas the Train, while a wonderfully, and intense, New Mexico storm soaked the yard.

With the kids in bed, Mark, Stephanie, and I had a great conversation about church, and community, while enjoying a great meatloaf with one of my favorite wines, Malbec.

I must say that these guys are the ultimate in hospitality, and I am tremendously grateful for the time I have spent here.

Going to the Motorcycle hospital

Adventure travel is not supposed to be this way. Not in my book. I am sitting at the BMW dealership in Albuquerque, NM, waiting on news. For the second time in this trip, the clutch system seems to have some kind of fault. I know that God is ordaining my days, but this is challenging.

A couple of days ago I was in Wendover, and was amazed, one more time by the sunset over the flats. Unlike a few years ago, I had the flats to myself, and was able to spend some time in contemplation, while the sun came in and out from behind clouds, playing with shadows, and color, before setting behind the mountains.

The next morning I rode from Wendover to Moab, UT, one of my favorite places on earth. I spent the following day taking it easy, riding the bike for visit to Dead Horse Point, Island in the Sky, and the Monitor and Merrimack formation. The last one is named so because it amazingly resembles the encounter of the famous civil war iron-clad ships.

I left Moab yesterday morning. I had a heavy spirit and was having a hard time getting out of that funk. Still, I managed to to that and enjoyed a good part of my ride into Albuquerque. Before entertaining New Mexico, while rolling through Monticello, UT, I decided to check the tire pressure, and while it was good, I noticed that the thread on the rear tire was marginal. With about 1,200 miles in front of me I was wondering if it would last all the way to Houston. There was nothing I could do about this at that time, so I kept riding.

As I got closer to Albuquerque, I noticed that my arrival time was around four pm, so I called into a local dealership and made an appointment to get a new rear tire. I made it in with plenty of time, and after about 45 minutes I was on the road again, for just 4 or 5 miles, to the house of our friends, Mark and Stephanie, who moved here from Houston just a few years back. We had a delightful evening, sharing with their church’s community group, and then we spent a couple more hours catching up.

This morning I was all set up to leave for Midland, when, shortly after leaving, like 6 blocks away, the clutch as out again. Same symptoms as in Anchorage. Thankfully this happened where I could pull over in front of a church, and a guy that specializes in motorcycle towing was there withing 30 mins.

Questions remain now. What is going on? How much will it cost? When will it be fixed? Where will my real next stop be?

We shall find out.