The next morning I woke thinking about motorcycle chains. I’d forgotten to check the tension. Chains stretch and the cheap OEM chain on the TW is notorious for stretching. I hadn’t noticed anything but I checked and it was loosey goosey. Yikes!
In order to adjust the chain you need two wrenches and the bike needs to be suspended. I rode around until I found a stump and high centered the bike on it’s aftermarket skidplate. This wasn’t quite high enough so I took some palette wood from my firewood trash can and wedged it higher. Surprisingly, that worked. I loosened the rear axle, adjusted the “snails” that tighten the chain, and tightened back up. I can’t believe that worked!
I’m a shitty mechanic and it’s a sign of the TW’s simple design that I accomplished this minor tweak without drama. Heck I did it in sweltering heat while in a mosquito cloud in a forest. I decided the wrenches that I needed for that operation should be on the bike at all times. I stashed them with my other “on board” gear.
Then I rode off, having completely forgotten to lube the chain. Oh well.
A couple hours later (while on the trail!) I remembered I’d forgotten to top off the tank. No worries, I carry a gallon of fuel and a gallon of water. (All hail Rotopax!) I think mosquitoes had shaved 20 points off my IQ by then.
It’s pretty cool to have all that gas and water to spare. It just makes things easier.
The road took a wooden bridge over a small stream. In the middle of the bridge the mosquitoes, still annoying, were reduced. I stopped there to go fishing.
I have this desire to ride my bike to some remote place, catch a fish, cook it, and ride home. Consider it a side quest in life. I’ve not yet accomplished this.
I have a cheap collapsible mini-fishing pole and a pill bottle filled with some minimal survival tackle. The mini-pole has not been a success. With a mini-pole, I catch mini-fish.
I wanted to try a simple baited hook and bobber but that didn’t work out. Every time I went into the woods to find a worm the mosquitoes attacked. So I tried a jig with no bait.
Nothing happened. I was about to give up when a kingfisher flew by. Nature was telling me fish were present. It’s not nature’s fault if I’m too dumb to catch one.
After a lot of work, I hooked a little chub. Actually I’ve got no idea what it was. It could have been a chub or maybe a shiner or who knows what? All I know for sure is that it wasn’t a trout. It was one of those generic fish that’s small by design. A perfectly legit adaptation to small streams but not a species that grows big enough to fill my frying pan. I hacked the little minnow sized fish into bait and jigged with that. Nothing happened. So I tossed the mangled fish in the grass and rode away. I hope the kingfisher found it.
A trail followed the creek so I took the trail. I tried jigging again but no luck.
Another bridge, no luck.
Yet another bridge. This time I scampered all over the bridge to find and stomp one grasshopper. Me versus the grasshopper was a heck of a battle I tell ya! I cast a hook and bobber with a battered dead grasshopper. CHOMP, the grasshopper was gone. WTF?
I was too roasted in the heat for another grasshopper rodeo so I dug into my trail mix and baited the hook with half a raisin. Fruit to catch fish? Does this make sense? No, it’s dumb. But I’d already eaten my beef jerky, the grasshopper had nearly run me ragged, and the mosquitoes made digging for worms insufferable.
The fish didn’t care. They bit at the raisin like it was steak. But they were small. More chubs/shiners/minnows/whatever. Finally I caught a 6” fish, which was probably the biggest thing there. I tried to take a photo but holding the camera and the fish and with the mosquitoes buzzing around it was chaos. The fish slipped out of my hands and it smacked my face in a moment that neither of us enjoyed. I scrambled on my hands and knees, grabbed him, and tossed him into the water. I got a blurry photo of a bearded madman that looks like he’s about to bite the fish Ozzy Osborne style.
Just then another kingfisher flew by. The bird had told me there were fish but it had been talking about kingfisher sized fish. A kingfisher wouldn’t care about something that would fill the pan of the sweating Homo Sapiens gallivanting about the bridge.
It a shame because it looked like prime trout habitat. It’s a very cold location. I formed a theory that the vicinity freezes near to the bottom some (all?) winters. Little chubs and shiners seem better adapted to find unfrozen holes than bigger fish. This stream is for kingfishers and not men.
Oh well, any time you’re fishing it’s a good thing.
That night I was fried and tired. I cooked something nondesript and ate it without thinking. I drank deeply of the still cool things I had in my ice chest.
The only notable thing I cooked over the fire was some charcloth to go with my flint and steel. I tried to get some water to put out the fire but that was a bust. The well’s hand pump just wasn’t working. This meant I had to stay out in the bugs a little longer than I wanted.
Screen tent. I need a screen tent.
It had been hot all day and I slept like a log as soon as it cooled down. During the day one of the RVs had disappeared. Now there were just two of us.
That night I dreamed of air conditioning and screen tents.
(To be continued.)
You simply were not using the right bait for fish in that creek. Next time take the “universal bait” with you. It is about 9 inches long, about an inch in diameter, red colored and has a short tail on one end. You light the tail and toss it into the water. Then you collect the fish that float to the surface!
Ha ha ha… I was fishing ”catch and release” (unless I caught something dinner sized). You’re saying I should level up to catch and battered. 🙂
I should mention I know of nearby good fishing but it all requires a boat or canoe. It’s the fish while motorcycle trial riding thing that’s got me stumped. This streambank shit is a whole different kettle of fish (or not-fish I guess).
All those mosquitos and the heat got you two pints low friend. I’m sipping my first coffee of the morning thinking about that wasp that hit me three times mowing my cardiac neighbor’s lawn, yesterday. He’s a good sort, you’d like him. Not the wasp I smashed that sucker, but he left me with a few welts.
Anyway, pre-coffee thoughts are a bit like the I’m dehydrated and bug bit half to death camping musings.
Bug bites a good reminder why you need replacement screen materials for your Home Chaos Kit. Think of the joy of losing windows and screens to rioters. I bet Lowes might be closed around that time. Just saying as I run fans to cool off my home before the heat arrives.
Attitude, Skills and equipment the difference between an adventure and a disaster.
I think one needs to try new things outdoors but sometimes new things doesn’t work. I was trying “all mosquito solutions are on my gear but not me”. That works in reasonable conditions but not this trip’s conditions. I had deet wipes and a spray can of deet too but I tried to “go without” (partly because I was already coated in sweat and deet & sweat without a shower gets gross). Bad choice. Oh well, it was an attempt.
You ever notice how many YouTube or social media people never have a bad day? That’s proof they’re either lying about doing stuff or lying about the day.
I have some screen repair stuff in my garage. Last time I replaced a screen it was such a pita I don’t want to do it again. I must have had wrong size components or something. But if we go Mad Max it’s better than nothing.
My dad was a master mechanic that worked on everything from jet engines on down. He could start a seized engine with a dirty look. He did his engine trouble shooting by sense of smell. He was a high warlock of the Arts Mechanicae and performed miracles on the most stubborn machines alive. (Yes, machines live).
And like clock work, that stupid old @#$%^&* would see my bike in the garage – and unfailingly hit the chain with WD-40. I still think seriously of patricide just thinking about it!!! He’d put that shite on, and my chain would be flash rusted the next day. I bought expensive chain lubes and put them in front of my bike so that if he felt the need, he would at least use the right stuff! He told me I was foolishly wasting my money!!!
For the slow kids, WD40 is an excellent solvent. It is a dismal lubricant and an absolutely rotten protectant. I will tolerate no dissention on this important topic.
If ya gotta swap out a chain, AC – do yourself a big favour and do the sprockets too…
Ha ha ha… WD-40! That’s awesome.
One motorcycle/camping trip last year I was in a hurry and picked up a random can of “chainsaw chain lube” at a rural gas station. That junk was as sticky as honey. It seemed to work fine (and it was cheap!) but my chain did pick up a lot more gunk in a day’s fun.
Also, the chain thing has been a learning curve. My chain is fine. It’s only got 1,500 miles. I just idly planned to have a “spare” in my toolbox. I thought that would be a $30 part safely stashed against inflation. I’ve since had several people tell me that I should replace both sprockets whenever I swap the chain. Swapping out a new chain in case of damage on the trail seemed no big deal but swapping both sprockets and the chain is a “get it inside a garage” sort of mechanical job. Also, it’s a bigger deal so no need to do it early. I’m thinking motorcycle chains don’t just “snap” randomly under normal circumstances? What do I know? My big bike has shaft drive. Unless I see wear indicating it’s necessary I’ll stick with the OEM chain/sprockets a year or several more. (One other thing, many people swap sprockets to “gear up” or “gear down” their stock bike. Right now I’m perfectly happy with the OEM gear ratio but I might change my mind someday in the future.) I saw your comment about belt drive and now I’m curious; how can a belt be less a PITA than a chain and equally reliable as a shaft?
Also, I’ve been watching a guy ride his little CT125 on the TAT and it’s inspiring. It’s the first time I’ve thought my tiny TW200 is “overkill”. If his CT125 is “adequate” for the TAT then my TW200 can do it too. Though my ass might fall off… the seat isn’t a comfy Corbin/Mustang! (That said, I’ve only watched his first 11 day’s travels. He started in the East and is just getting to the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies with their high elevation and steep slopes might eat a little 125? I might change my tune depending on upcoming episodes.)
https://www.youtube.com/c/SomeGuyRides
AC:
There’s no particular magic to roller chains today. The one on your bike is probably a good quality high speed o-ringed one, much better than the stuff we were using 40 years ago. Unless you snag it or otherwise mechanically damage it the chain will last for years. And trust me, you won’t live long enough to put on enough miles to wear out the sprockets. Keep everything relatively clean, tensioned properly and hit it occasionally with a good chain lube. You’ll be in good shape.
I know a guy who’s father road a powell minibike from florida to california and back!!! mid 50’s his name was Louie Hickman , Patrick