Post 143: Leaving Seattle

Finally, after what has felt like a lifetime, the call came to say that the bike was ready for collection. I made my way under clear skies to the warehouse in Fife, just south of Seattle. I parted with several dollars and the crate containing the Tiger was mine. Armed with hammers and crowbars, I broke open the crate and saw the bike for the first time in weeks.

The bike had been away for a total of 24 days, I turned the key and at the first touch of button, the Tiger burst into life. It was a sound that I'd almost forgotten, but a sound that also made me smile. Leaving the bike running, I quickly pulled on my riding gear, returned the tools to their owner and rode the bike from the base of the crate. The bike has ridden around 20,000 miles without problems, no major breakdowns and no punctures. Through my own stupidity, that was all about to end. As I rode it from the crate, one of the many nails that I'd foolishly left protruding from the base of the crate punctured the front tyre, ...... 'bugger'.

Five minutes later, sweating from the heat of exertion, I'd plugged and inflated the tyre, .... the wheels were turning and I was heading south, ...... next stop: Oregon.

Aside from puncturing the front tyre through my own stupidity, the only other problem has been the demise of my laptop computer. Sadly, 20,000 road miles has taken it's toll on this cheap and cheerful device, ... it is no more. Hopefully I'll be able to retrieve the data from its memory, possibly it may even be repairable, ..... but until then, ..... I'll borrow computer time where and when I can. 

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas