No one to stop me
I called the body shop around 4PM yesterday looking for an update on the Tesla repair. They said they were putting it back together. It just had to be cleaned up afterwards but it will be done by noon on Friday. Ok, that’s fine, I came up with a plan where I would ride an EUC to meet Michelle in the morning, hitch a ride with her to work and then get the car during the day. Unconventional but I can make it work.
A few minutes after I left the office I get a call back from them, telling me, good news, the car is being washed and I could pick it up now if I want, they are open until 5:30. Wow, ok. I decided to drive over there, pay for the Tesla and drive it home instead of the truck. When I pulled up to the body shop some young dude who I assumed washed it, had just parked the car. He was sitting in it with his phone out, I think he was styling for social media or something, I laughed. It looks like he did a decent job washing it but didn’t dry the car for some reason. I did a quick inspection of the new deck lid, bumper skin and lower valence. Nothing jumped out at me, the repair looked clean. $3100 later I was back in the seat of my beloved Tesla, heading home.
So as I was driving the gears in my head started to spin. I was thinking about how it would be cool if I just rode my new massive suspension EUC back to town after getting home and pick up the Tacoma as well. That would eliminate the need for me to bother Michelle and would be a pretty epic first ride on the new wheel. The weather looked good during the drive home, until I got about 5 miles from my house. There was a wall of black clouds off to the east of the house but it was not raining, yet. I had hopes I could quickly tend to Kathy, feed Elsa, change and then head right back out to beat potential precipitation.
Well that plan got scuttled pretty quickly as it started to rain in earnest as I was finishing up doing Kathy’s water. I was bummed as I watched the torrential rain coming down outside but did not give up all hope. I looked at the data on the Dark Sky weather app on my phone and it seemed like once this wave of storms passed it SHOULD be ok. As has been well documented here, I don’t give up easily and once I have an idea in my head I will go pretty far until I throw in the towel. So around 7 the deluge stopped. I started thinking seriously if I should go, despite the time.
The other thought was if I go, what wheel should I take. On one hand I thought it would be cool to take the EX20S on the ride since it’s fast, has long range and suspension. On the other hand I had NEVER ridden the thing before. Hopping on a wheel that is nearly 110lbs is going to require an adjustment/acclimation period. Doing that while riding beside three lanes of traffic, on wet roads, in the dark is not the smartest idea. I posted this on Facebook before I left. One of the advantages (or disadvantages) of being single is there is no one to talk you out of dumb ideas. This is very true. Over my life there have been tons of times when my partner in a relationship would talk me out of ideas that in hindsight were less than brilliant. I no longer have a governor. So I gathered my camera equipment and geared up for the ride. I wasn’t exactly sure of the route I would take but I estimated it would be around 25 miles and 90 minutes or so. I was wrong on both accounts.
My first 10 miles or so on the EX20S were a bit shaky. The immense weight of the wheel felt weird and I was hesitant to do much more than go straight. I did not feel confident at speed, not because the wheel didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good. I could feel tension in my lower body which made me uncomfortable at speed. Even though I set the tire pressure to a pretty low 28PSI before the ride I stopped and let even more air out 5 miles in to try to make me feel a little better. The top speed I hit during the entire ride was “only” 30mph and that was only for very brief periods.
The intense storms left the roadways very wet so the wheel got a pretty solid water test during the ride. The suspension performed as I hoped, putting rounded edges on what would normally be sharp spikes of impact from road irregularities. The lights on this wheel are not good. In the sections of road where I did not have overhead lighting my visibility was poor with only a small spot of light thrown maybe 15 feet ahead of me, requiring me to slow down for visibility.
As I got closer to town I decided I would get to downtown Naples via the Greenway. I could use that as a traffic free shortcut. As I got closer I was required to do more sidewalk riding which is slower and bumpier although it also gave me more opportunity to get more comfortable maneuvering the big wheel. By the time I got to the Greenway it was close to 9:30. I literally had the place to myself. On the entire ride from the Greenway entrance to the exit onto Central Avenue in Naples I did not see another human being, and I liked it.
I arrived at the body shop about 9:45 PM meaning the journey was closer to two hours instead of 90 minutes. It was also longer than planned, clocking in right around 30 miles. The range this wheel potentially has is amazing. After 30 miles I still had 72% battery remaining. I could probably go 70 miles+ on this wheel at a decent speed without issue. As I approached the driver side of the Tacoma I had to side step what looked like a big pile of throw up on the ground. Although it was disgusting, I was glad they at least had their head pointed down when the deed was done instead of onto the door of the Taco. I texted Michelle and let her know she was in the clear for Friday. It felt good to have executed my plan, no matter how ill advised it may be in the eyes of more cautious individuals.
My weekend is going to be PACKED. I have to get my ducks lined up once again for the second time in less than two weeks for my next trip. In addition I am helping out Ali and Shugs on Sunday move some stuff. They are closing on their new house today and want to move stuff that has been living in their rented storage unit for a year plus into their garage. I also have their 86 inch TV in my garage that I will be taking up there. Depending on how things go I may help them hang it on the wall as well Sunday, we will see. These last few months have had so many things incorporated into them it’s a bit nuts. On top of it all I am still considering going to LA in mid-October for a huge EUC event. I can’t take my money with me so I may as well use it on what makes me happy, without impacting responsible retirement savings of course. 🙂
I just saw that one year ago today was when I had Cupcake put down at the vet. Man, what an awful, emotional day that was for me.