Even When It's Not the Day You Hoped For It's Still Your Day

I’ve written before about being so close to having a project done and today was going to be one of those elation moments. I got up at my standard 6:00am and headed out of the house to handle my morning chores. Man, I cannot get over how nice it is at that time of the day. I think I would rather be sleeping but since I have to be up at least it’s peaceful and beautiful. Brianna got up to go with me to handle some other chores and watching her work makes me a very proud father. Once we were done we headed back to the house. After a quick change of clothes for me Brianna and Michelle headed out to the barn for some horse time and I headed to the shop so Jason and I could wrap up the rebuild of the YZ 250. Today was going to be the day. When I got there the beast was dressed and appeared ready to go. Jason was just waiting on the last couple of parts that I was delivering. The first thing we did was to attach the new fuel line and then we began the re-oiling process on the steering damper. We finished the oiling and our first stumble of the day hit us. The damper still wasn’t moving the way we needed it to so off it went into a box to be shipped back to WER for a little service. No harm, no foul as this piece is an add-on and can easily be bolted on after the rest of the rebuild is complete. The next step was to mix some great smelling pre-mix so we can crank the beast up. We headed down to Harvey’s and picked up a couple gallons of non-ethanol fuel added oil, filled the tank, and it was time for the moment of truth. Jason hopped on top of the beast and I think he actually said a little prayer but I’m not sure because I had my eyes closed waiting to hear the ting of the 2 stroke. One kick, two kicks, and ignition. She was running. After almost one year she fired right up. We started going through heat cycles and all systems were a go. Wait, what is that fluid dripping? We checked the lower case, other bolt locations, and it finally hit us. Gas was leaking out of the lower bowl. We hadn’t even messed with the lower bowl of the carburetor during the rebuild process. It appears that the bike has been sitting so long that the gasket in the lower bowl has just simply rotted. The realization that the bike wasn’t coming back to the house today was becoming clearer in my mind. Jason and I talked about it and he is going to strip off the carburetor tomorrow to confirm our initial diagnosis. In reality this is a small set back and I would much prefer to have it done properly even if that means I don’t get to ride for another couple of weeks. After the little bit of negative I got to enjoy lunch at the house with my two ladies. It was about 3 bites into my sandwich that I had forgotten about the fact that the bike wasn’t done. After lunch all three of us had the amazing realization that we didn’t have anywhere to be for the first time in six days. Brianna watched a couple episodes of Phineas and Ferb, read her books, and played in her room. Michelle slept when her phone wasn’t ringing and I also found myself watching Brianna’s television show in between trying to catch up on some personal email. Around 6:00 we headed out to take care of our evening responsibilities and were back at the house around 8:00. Michelle heated up some pot roast and while we were waiting we started our second jig-saw puzzle for the summer. With dinner ready it meant that we ate all three meals at our own house for the first time in, I’m not really sure how many days it has been, a long time. Even though today didn’t go as perfectly as I had planned when I woke up this morning it turned out to be a great day with the girls and that is never a bad thing. There was no workout today as it was a scheduled rest day for the gym. We will be back at it tomorrow. Find the things you enjoy, pursue them, and be willing to live with the ridicule of your pursuits. Everyone’s opinions will change when you succeed.