Day 3 - Plenty To Do While Searching For Air

---

After yesterday's long grueling ride, today is a tourist day in Atlanta. We both slept well, and since we only had a 30 minute ride to town, there was no reason to wake up particularly early, especially since the free hotel breakfast doesn't begin until 7:00 on the weekends. So with coffee and breakfast, we hit the road about 8:00. We were about 10 minutes from the hotel when I realized that I had forgotten the camera in the room so we had to turn around and go back. No problem, we have plenty of time today. So we're about 10 minutes down the road again and I realize that the TPMS light is on solid on the bike.This means low tire pressure on one of the tires, and when you only have 2, it's kind of a big deal. Blinking TPMS light means a little low, solid TPMS light means a lot low. So I stopped at the local QuickStop and checked air pressures, and sure enough, the front was fine but the rear was about 30 psi. It should be 42 psi. So I filled the rear tire and headed over to the Georgia Aquarium figuring I would check the rate of leakage when we left.

The Georgia Aquarium was really nice. Lots of fish, sea lions, otters, dolphins, penguins, and even some baluga whales and whale sharks! We got there early enough that it wasn't very crowded, so we were able to see most of the exhibits without a lot of interference from other patrons. While we were in the petting section where Jody was able to pet a couple of sea creatures, the guy recommended that we get over to the dolphin show quickly as it is the most popular and tends to fill up quickly. We got there about 10:45 for an 11:00 show and were able to snag a couple of really good seats. During the last 15 minutes, it really filled up so we were glad we took that guys advice. The dolphin show was really outstanding! Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, there was no photography or video allowed during the performance. Of course I did manage to sneak in a couple of pictures, but then I always did have trouble with rules.

By the time the dolphin show was over, the place really began to be packed. After all it is Memorial Day weekend. So we went through the remaining exhibits and skipped the movie as it was really getting hard to move around. Next stop, back to the parking garage to drop off the camera and check on the TPMS status on the bike. We figured we would just use our phone cameras if we could take pictures at the High Museum of Art. The TPMS light was still out on the bike, so the leak must be fairly slow. Now the way parking works in downtown Atlanta is that the first hour or two is only a few dollars, but after 2 hours it goes up to $12 for the day. So the bike will stay at the aquarium parking as we hike over to the High Museum of Art. After all, it's only 2.3 miles away and we normally walk more than that most days back home. So we hiked over, and it wasn't bad. A little hot at times, but mostly a cool breeze and only a little scary a couple of times with the homeless people.

By the time we made it to the High Museum of Art we were ready to sit down for a few minutes with a couple of bottled waters before tackling the artwork. It's a really nice gallery - large spaces with very little clutter. Especially with some of the larger pieces, this always looks great. Jody was trying to get some sculpture pointers from some of the masters, and I was enjoying some of the contemporary furniture, especially some of the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff. There is an Andy Warhol exhibit opening in a couple of days, but we were too early to see it. No matter, we will be visiting the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh while on this trip. Glad we went to this art museum, and they even encouraged us to take pictures.

After we left the High Museum of Art, we began the 2.3 mile hike back to the bike. We stopped along the way at a Panera to get a little iced coffee to help. The walk back seemed shorter, probably because the temperature had cooled off a little. The crowds were picking up though - there is a Memorial Day jazz festival happening this weekend in Atlanta and it looked really popular. I was surprised at my impression of Atlanta. There were some bad sections and some homeless people as expected in any urban area. But by the time we got to midtown, it was really clean and thriving. Lots of people milling about, lots to do, it seems like a great place to live.The suburbs looked nice too, lots of hills and vegetation. Lots of brick, as can be expected with all that red Georgia clay.

We made it back to the bike, still concerned with the rear tire and sure enough, the TPMS light was back on solid, but after a little riding it went back to blinking. So next began a series of air related misadventures. First we decided to stop at the next QuickStop as they have free air. I measured the pressure and it was running about 38 psi, not too bad. I pumped it up with the QuickStop air hose, which evidently is set at 32 psi. By the time I figured this out, the pressure was down to 32psi and the TPMS light was on solid again. So we decided to stop at the Wal-Mart near the hotel, so I could get one of those mini-air pumps in case the tire was really low in the morning. They only come with cigarette lighter power plugs and my bike doesn't have one. But I'm a retired electrical engineer so it didn't take much to adapt it to using alligator clips to the battery.

As we left Wal-Mart, we passed another gas station. This was the typical kind that cost money and took credit cards. It cost $1.50 for 5 minutes, but by this point, who cares. So I swiped my credit card, and it said to press the Air or Vac button depending whether you wanted air or the vacuum cleaner. I have no excuses, but somehow I ended up pressing the Vac button by mistake. It wasn't so much the wasted $1.50 for the vacuum cleaner and the humiliation of having to sit there for the entire 5 minutes while the vacuum cleaner was running before it would accept a new credit card entry. Next time I paid better attention and pressed the Air button.

We got back to the room, and I tested the air compressor which looks like it will work. So we decided to head across the street to a Mexican restaurant, Frontega Mex-Mex. Actually the enchiladas were pretty good, and the rice was not bad either. After dinner, I began a little work on the blog, waiting for 7:30 so we could head over to Stone Mountain for the fireworks and laser light show. The show starts at 9:30, but you have to get there a little early to get a good seat on the lawn. The show was good, but the poor child next to us was miserable the whole time. He looked like he was about 18 months old, and ready for bed. The show lasted about an hour and a half, and the poor child screamed the entire time. The mom tried to entertain him, but he was having none of it. The dad just ignored it all and enjoyed the show, while the mom had her hands full.

By the time we got back to the bike, the TPMS light was blinking again, so it looks like it drops about a pound an hour. Fortunately, we just followed the directions from the Garmin lady and arrived back at the hotel in a few minutes. So here's the plan for the rear tire: It's Memorial Day weekend and all the motorcycle shops are closed until Tuesday. Tomorrow, we are off to Helen, GA about 80 miles away. I'll just keep an eye on the pressure, fortunately the TPMS light will keep me informed. Monday we head for Chattanooga- it's only a couple of hundred miles- and we'll be there for a couple of days.Hopefully, the leak won't get any worse and I can keep the pressure up until Tuesday morning. There's a Honda dealership in Chattanooga and it looks good sized. It's close to the hotel so I can get this problem resolved on Tuesday morning. This is a brand new tire I just installed before I left, but I must have picked up a nail or something. I looked, but I didn't see anything obvious.

70.4 Miles Today

623.0 Miles Total

0.0 Gallons Today

14.472 Gallons Total

---