Well, I guess I've entered a new phase of my adventure. After a restful night in Deerfield Beach last night, I hit the road at 9:00 a.m. and found conditions perfect for making good time, as I headed for Miami. Customarily, I stop every ten miles in a shady spot for a nip of Gatorade and to give motorists a break. 9.8 miles into today's journey, I pulled under the canopy of a La Quinta Inn and called a special friend that I worked with as a firefighter with the Fl. Div. Of Forestry. I couldn't pass through the Fort Lauderdale area without saying hello. He was busy; so I left a message and prepared to get underway. As I was checking the tires on my "rig", I noticed that the left wheel on my trailer was canted in at the top like the axle was bent. I pulled on the top of the wheel to see if the retaining nut was loose or if the axle was bent. The wheel fell off into my hand. It was then that I saw that the axle had sheared off and was not repairable. Remembering that I had spare axles,but with smaller wheels in my van back in Vero Beach, I rented a car and made the four hour roundtrip to retrieve the replacement parts.
In retrospect, what a miracle it was that that axle broke after I had stopped my bike, and not in the middle of busy US1 traffic! The trailer is fixed and ready to go. Tomorrow morning, I'll launch again for Miami.
In a way, I'm glad things happened the way they did; because after I repaired the trailer, I was able to spend a couple of hours with Thomas and his wife, Nicole. Thomas is the kind of guy that you meet and take an instant liking to. As a young firefighter and family man, he's one of those rare types that is both respectful and respectable, the kind of honorable young man every parent would be proud to claim. When I complete my trip through the Keys, I hope to be able to visit Thomas and his family again.
While waiting for the car rental company to come pick me up, I struck up a conversation with a fellow who was wounded in Vietnam, but had no idea that he was eligible for VA treatment for painful complications from that wound. I've met many such vets on this trip; and only was was aware of the VA treatment programs available to him. These vets are truly a lost generation that will likely not get the care they earned in combat; because our government can't afford rhe costs associated with reaching out to them. If our government can't afford to treat the wounds of our veterans, we should not be creating wounded veterans. What a travesty!
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