Schedules and Shocks

I will have to just stop making plans that include Sarah. I don't mean I won't stop doing things with Sarah, I'll just stop making advance plans to do things.

It's pretty much a regular thing--We agree on something, and by the time it rolls around she has forgotten about it and has made other plans. Last night was another example of it. I was going to take Teresa and Sarah out for dinner to celebrate her driver's license, remember? She was going to stay overnight as well. Well, yesterday morning T called me and said that Sarah has a game she's going to, etc. I said fine... Maybe tonight then. It may actually happen this time or may not, but the point is there is just too much going on in a 16 year-olds life, and probably very few of them have learned how to juggle appointments.

My day ended up being spent in the garage. I put the new shocks on my Harley that I've had sitting around for a couple of weeks. It was pretty labor-intensive, but went pretty much without a hitch. After I put them on, I sat my ass down on the bike and noticed an immediate difference in firmness.

I was feeling pretty good at that point, and for some reason instead of going for a test ride I instead decided to dissect the stack of pallets that had become furniture in my garage since last winter. I think it was because I was barely dressed and wanted to stay that way as long as possible (obviously nude would have been preferable). I spent almost 3 hours pounding them apart and pulling all the nails out of them. I didn't want to cut them up just yet--I wasn't in the sawdust mood--I just wanted to create more floor space. I ended up being pretty sweaty and dirty by the time I was finished, but felt good that I had done it. When I do decide to cut them up it will be easy. The hard work is done.

After taking a shower, I put on my riding gear and took the Harley out to test its new shocks. Holy shit, it rode like I had taken out the shocks and put a solid bar of steel in their place instead! It was positively fucking bone-jarring. I rode for about a half hour only because I just plain felt like riding, but at that point I had finally had enough and headed for home. It is apparent that they are set up to haul a good sized passenger full time. They are designed so you can adjust the spring preload by turning a portion of the shock, and I'm glad I took the time to make a spanner wrench a week or so ago to adjust them with. I will definitely be doing that today. Wow, I still can't believe how uncomfortable that was. I was afraid if I had went any longer either part of me or part of the bike would have probably broken from hitting bumps...