Since we live in a log home, one of the joys I experience each year is fighting off carpenter bees. Besides smacking them with a badminton racket, I have to go around and seal up the few holes they make with urethane caulking. This year, one decided to make a large pile of sawdust far out of reach. The day started with about 3 hours worth of work to get out ladders and roof jacks just to get up to the soffit to spray and seal one bee hole.
After getting off the roof, Shelly and the boys headed down 143 for the annual yard sales and Snowville Creamery farm tour. I decided to head south (to avoid 143) with the Masi. Grabbed my gear to find that my Garmin Forerunner 305 was completely dead. Wont charge, wont turn on, nothing. This has been about 22 months of problems with this GPS watch. Must have gotten a bad one as I know of other units that have years of trouble free service. This one has been plagued with GPS chipset failures and now complete failure. No HR or cadence for this ride, just tracked it with my Strava Android app. Down 689 to 160, to 325, to 124, back to CR1 and home. The first half of the ride was pleasant. Passed more Amish buggies than cars. The temperature was super nice, in the upper 60's. Passed a small carnival setup in Vinton as I turned down 325. About 10 miles later I down shifted as I started a climb and dropped the chain off the front chainring. A few minutes (and black hands) latter I was ready to roll. After a couple of pedal strokes, I soon realized something was very wrong. Dropping the chain has literally twisted one of the links about 30 degrees. Great, 14 miles from home, no cell service, in the middle ok nowhere, along the Meigs and Gallia county border. I spent the next 10 minutes bending the link back straight with my hands, enough to ride home. It still complained especially with climbing, but it stayed in gear and I got to finish the ride. Four miles up the road I had an adult coyote jump out in front of me. Not sure who was more startled, but thankfully he turned tail and bolted.
Got home thinking I would get the yard mowed. The riding mower has two flats (and one will not hold air) and a dead battery. I pulled out the Troy-Bilt walk behind only to have it throw the belt before I could even start. I put the mowers away.
Loaded up Shelly's kayak in the truck so she could get away for a while. The older two boys left for Shelly's parent's house where they would be spending the night as Brock and I headed outside to play. A few minutes pass and the phone rings. Michael hit a deer with the car a half mile from the house. Let me correct that, "a deer ran into the car". Broke the mirror off, dented the drivers door badly enough the window will not roll up.
At least Shelly had a nice time on the water.
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