Waynesburg, PA To Indianapolis, IN
| Well - nothing too exciting today - not compared to
yesterday. Since I checked into the hotel about 2:15am I asked for a
late checkout - 1pm. No alarm I awoke at 12:30pm. Wheels rolling westward on I-70 about 1:15pm I planned a destination of Indianapolis, IN. There's a hostel in town (but a call found them full - darn). Oh well - this is a party night - I'll hotel it and splurge on a pizza. From last evening I pulled into a fuel stop with 350 miles on the tank - 8.8 gallons for right about 39 mpg (with a gallon to spare). Decent enough. This tank first reserve came on a bit early (not unusually early - just quicker than the last tank). I opened the first dump valve as I rode. Second reserve came on somewhere about 296 miles. I started to scan the GPS for the next city. From a prior "how far can I get on reserve test" I knew somewhere in the low 20's (miles) was possible. The town looked to be in range with another intersecting route before there - one that should have fuel. Well - about two miles before the exit the motor started to sputter - one long uphill in front of me. It kept going - odd as I've run it out of fuel three times on this trip (the main tank - always had fuel in the aux tank) and each time it quit fairly fast (30 seconds from sputtering). Cresting the top of the first hill I could see another hill after a downhill stretch - blue exit services sign visible in the distance. Light on the throttle on the downhill and babying it on the little uphill I was able to motor to the exit ramp. Midramp the motor said no more. Down to the stoplight I coasted. Two fuel stations off to my left - on the other side of the freeway. One to my right but I can't see it over the hill. My debate - push the bike across the intersection, coast down under the freeway and park it there and walk to the fuel station? Leave it here? Walk up the hill to my right and see if that station is closer? Take the laptop or leave it on the bike? I decided it best to take the electronics - GPS and radio from the front of the bike, laptop case from the rear. Off I went a walk'n. About half-way (about a 1/2 mile between bike and fuel station) a small station wagon pulled over and flagged me down. Greg (?) said he noticed me stopped over there and when he saw me walking pulled over to help. One quick U-turn we were at the Shell station. They have a loaner gas can - no deposit needed - nice and trusting of them. Filled with a gallon of fuel Greg whisked me off to the bike. We chatted for a minute or two and then he took off. I filled the bike - it started easily - and headed back to the station to fill it the rest of the way. The pump didn't spit out a receipt on the first use with the gas can. Not wanting to hold my helper up I didn't bother running in to fetch a duplicate copy. Bike now filled, the other pump didn't spit out a receipt either. Heading in to return the gas can and get a duplicate receipt the attendant nicely had both recepts ready. That was quite thoughtful of him to print that first one and keep it ready. I now know how much fuel went into the bike from it's "empty" condition - 9.8 gallons. The stock setup listed at 4.75 gallons. The aux fuel cell is listed at 5 gallons. Right what it could/should be (the aux fuel cell can take in more than 5.0 gallons - depending how full I run it - about 5.3 gal is the most I've put into it). Another day - another helpful person - thank you thank you thank you! Back underway the day was a mix of dry road, light mist/drizzle, lightly damp road. Somewhere about Dayton I pulled off for a bite to eat - I've not eaten yet today. I mainly wanted to make a motel reservation in Indy. It's a holiday evening so that would be a good thing. Leaving the stop a light snow/sleet was falling. The freezing mark is at hand. The freeway was dry so no issues existed and shortly thereafter all precip ended. The remaining 1-3/4 hour trip was uneventful - process miles mode. Things though are looking more like home - a bit flatter, farmed fields, "usual" housing. |
