How sublime.....

7:24 am - Monday - April 15th - Fontana, CA - 53° F, 54% humidity, wind - CALM......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 73° F.

Some might say "Let's talk about the elephant in the room....", but today I have to say, let's talk about the 'Tiger' in the room.......it was so improbable, so unimaginable, so unlikely, so against all conventional wisdom, and yet at the exact same time so delightful, wonderful, delicious, magnificent, and finally emotional.  Tiger Woods has now officially come all the way BACK. On Sunday he walked up the 18th fairway with a two stroke lead in The Masters.  To me it was surreal, almost like I was having a dream watching him sink the final putt to win the 2019 edition of The Masters.......

.......there were so many scenarios developing on the back 9 Sunday.....any number of 7,or 8 different guys could have won, but in the end it was Tiger standing alone with a 1 stroke lead.  He hugged his son, his mother, his daughter and girl friend.....all wearing 'Tiger red'.  It was so sublime.....what else is there to say?

Ironically, my brother-in-law has not yet figured out how to watch over the air TV on the TV in the 1984 Newell (I tried to figure it out for about an hour, but was not successful) so I invited him over to watch the end of The Masters. He didn't realize they had started early due to impending weather, so when he came in the door of our coach it was seconds before Tiger made the final putt to win The Masters.....perfect timing Glenn!

Once The Masters was over Glenn and I got busy taking care of a few more things on the 1984 Newell.  I installed a better hose bib on his city water connection that would not leak.  We adjusted the vents on each engine bay door outward to the 'middle' position so they grab  a little more air and force it through the engine compartment to keep the big Detroit Diesel a little cooler.  We also tightened all of the brass fittings on each MAC air valve to be sure they were tight hoping to find the source of the air leak that empties his supply air tank so quickly once the engine is shut down.  Finally, we discovered an exhaust leak in the passenger side engine compartment which we will address Monday morning.  

By the time we finished it was fast approaching 6 pm so I suggested we all get cleaned up and head over to Mariscos Del Pacifico for a later dinner......

 Bacon wrapped shrimp

.....I ordered my usual shrimp tacos, but TLE and Glenn ordered bacon wrapped shrimp.....OMG....is there really such a thing? I know what I will be ordering next time!

.......we were home by 8 pm each bidding the other adieu for the evening as we headed to ur separate Newell Classics for the evening.  Sunday was a day that was perfect in every regard, and years from now people will be asking the question....."Where were you when Tiger won The 2019 Masters?

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Cruising under control once again......

7:57 am - Sunday - March 31st - Fontana, CA - 57° F, 36% humidity, wind 11 mph out of the north......crystal clear blue skies on this day with a forecast high of 83° F.

As I alluded in yesterday's blog entry Saturday was dedicated to removing the signal generator assembly from the transmission, and replacing the broken drive tip.....at least I hoped it was a broken drive tip.  Of course, my mind always goes to the worst thing, which would have either been a non-functioning signal generator, or a broken gear drive, either of which would have required I find a replacement somewhere for this at least 37 year old device.  A broken drive tip would be the best for which I could hope....after all, it has been that the last 3 times.  

Removing the signal generator assembly is not terribly hard, or physical, just tedious, and time consuming.  To get to it I must slither under the coach on my back and then fully extend my arms to reach the assembly.  First I detach the signal generator (on the left in the picture) from the gear drive (center of picture) as it is connected to wires which I have no desire to disconnect.  Next I must remove the gear drive from the transmission.  The suspected broken drive tip is between the gear drive and the transmission.....if it is broken.....

......and, alas, it was a broken drive tip.......broken drive tip on left, and replacement drive tip on the right......↴

.....the missing part of the broken drive tip was stuck in the gear shaft which is threaded into the transmission, and very difficult to get at........↴

.....I only have one 15/16ths SAE socket, which I purchased specifically to remove this gear shaft a few years ago when the drive tip last broke.  Then as now the broken piece stuck in this shaft, and I had to remove it (gear shaft), and then apply heat via a butane torch to get it (broken piece) to drop out of the shaft.  This gear shaft is about 4" long, and most of that length is buried inside the transmission.  The 15/16ths socket barely fits inside that quite small space.  It took me a while to find that socket which is only used a few times a decade, but I did find it, and after a few minutes of struggling to get it squarely over the gear shaft I successfully removed it.  As I did three years ago I heated the shaft up while tapping it on a piece of 2 x 4 wood until the broken piece dropped onto the wood.  Once the broken piece was removed it was just a matter of repacking the gear drive with grease (the grease from 3 years ago had dried out, and the gears had frozen up causing the drive tip to twist, and break.....need to remember to pull it out and lube it once a year!), inserting the new drive tip, reattach the gear drive to the signal generator, reinstall the gear shaft into the transmission, and finally reattach the assembly to the gear shaft.  By the time I was finished putting everything away some 4 hours had passed, I was filthy dirty, and ready for a long, hot shower.

We had agreed to meet my son Tim, his wife Laila, and their 2 month old son, Crosby at Mariscos del Pacifico at 5 pm for dinner.  This place is one of the best, if not the best, Mexican seafood places at which I have ever eaten.  Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 288 reviews.....I would be at 5.0.....no question, no debate.

Little Crosby was quite well behaved, as he always is, and we lad a lovely time talking about everything under the sun.  We, of course, ate way too much, but every single bite was thoroughly cherished.  Tim, Laila and I ordered their Picositos Tacos (Shrimp), which are simply otherworldly, and TLE their Shrimp Cocktail, which I have had several times.  It is all mind blowingly good.  They are located on Foothill Blvd. and Tamarind Ave. in Fontana, CA.

We bid adieu to Tim, Laila and Crosby around 6:20 pm and headed for home where we would immediately change into loose, comfortable clothing.  There were a couple more March Madness NCAA basketball games, and both were close until the very end.

So, the biggest project, for me, has now been completed.  In order to utilize my beloved cruise control I must have a functioning speedometer, and it is now functioning once again, and that makes me a happy guy once again.  Well, I was already happy before, so now I'm just a little happier than I was before.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Back in the saddle.....finally!

7:28 am - Sunday - April 1st - SoCal - 55º F, 77% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the southwest.....heavy overcast with a forecast high for today of 74º F.....Happy Easter!

I've had my Cannondale Bad Boy put together for a few days, but hadn't taken a ride yet.  It has been a long time since I just took off on a ride with no particular distance goal in mind and just rode.  I took 10-15 mile rides early in the summer at Yellowstone, but the only riding option I had was outside the Park riding along US-89 north towards Livingston, and after a while that got boring, plus the shoulder I rode on was quite rough with lots of debris.  I suffered a couple of flats due to that debris, so I gradually stopped riding and just focused on hiking on our days off work.  I had the same problem at the Grand Canyon....there were no shoulders on any of the roads, and riding in a traffic lane on a busy highway is not an optimal experience, so my 'rides' consisted of 30 minute jaunts on my stationary bicycle.....that gets amazingly boring after a while, also.  The last month, or so at Desert View I rarely rode my stationary bicycle.

I looked forward to taking more than a few rides while here in SoCal, but until Saturday we had either an activity almost every day that conflicted with taking a ride, or it was too hot (Thursday and Friday).  I was determined to get out for a ride Saturday and escape the gravitational pull of the Newell.  Finally, about 9:30 am I was dressed in my riding togs and off for who knows how long a ride west on the Pacific Electric Bicycle Path which runs right behind the Elks Lodge here in Fontana....  

......as I merged on to the bike path I thought I might ride 5 miles west and then turn around....that would give me a good 10 mile ride, but as I hit the 5 mile mark I just kept going.  The early morning air still very cool, and I felt good.  By the time I turned around I had covered about 10.6 miles.  As I crossed back into Rialto my cyclo computer read 20.7 miles.......

.....and by the time I parked my Cannondale next to the trailer it was reading 21.3 miles total distance covered....

.....nice to know the 'old guy' still has it in him.  I was pleasantly tired after spinning those pedals for one hour and 37 minutes and burning 1,194 caloric units.  After a quick shower I was relaxing and watching the latest PGA tour event interspersed with a few naps.

Around 3 pm I turned on the 'Final Four' broadcast to see which two teams would make it to the final game to be played Monday evening.  The 'Cindarella' team (Loyola Chicago) controlled the game until about 5 to go in the game, and were still up by 6 points over Michigan, but they totally collapsed those last 5 minutes and lost to Michigan by 12 points in the end.  The second game featured two #1 seeds....Kansas vs. Villanova, and was expected to be a close game, but it was anything but that.  Villanova got out to a 17 point lead, and pretty much kept it there for the duration of the game.  So it is Michigan vs. Villanova in the final.....hope it is a close game!

We got in the VW around 4:55 pm to drive a few blocks over to Mariscos del Pacifico to meet my son Tim, and his wife Laila for some great Mexican seafood. TLE and I discovered this little treasure two years ago when we stayed at the Elks Lodge here in Fontana for the first time, and have been back over and over again.  Yelp has them at 4.5 stars on 224 reviews, and we would have to agree.  All four of us ordered their Picositos Tacos (shrimp) which include homemade tortillas......we all cherished every bite!  We sat and talked until almost 6:30 before we finally surrendered out table and headed for home.  A great way to end a great Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.