July 22- Thursday: an “interesting day.” A surgeon told me one day, “You know, Blane, then last thing you want to be is an interesting case.” The day started off clear, chilly, and a bit blustery. We had a great ride going for about 310 kms, when we stopped to de-layer. As we started off I thought Sue was having a bad problem, so stopped and jumped off my bike. I neglected to realize that I was on a sloping shoulder, and as I slammed the kick stand down, it hit pavement and retracted. The fully loaded bike, of course, fell over, but politely didn’t hit me. So aside from a broken left front turn signal bulb, the bike subsequently decided to repay me for ignoring it by refusing to start. It seems a clutch handle relay had been popped off. I, thinking the problem was a kill switch broken in the “off” position, or a broken starter switch, or a damaged kick stand relay, attacked those issues – and it still wouldn’t start. Sue went off to find a rescuer at the road house 98 kms back, and I kept fiddling. If you look at the map you see we were WAY out there. After about 3 hours Colin and Lynn, from Victoria, stopped in their caravan, and asked what was the problem. Colin said, “I have bikes. Would you mind if I had a look?” Within five minutes he found the disconnected relay plug stuffed back where I had been looking without seeing it under the clutch handle. Five minutes, I might add, of happy, and friendly, and relaxing banter. To prove that was the problem, he asked if I had a paperclip, put each end of the paperclip into each of the relay openings, and told me to press the starter. WONDEROUS motorcycle noise was heard! Then, after diligent searching he found where the plug attached under the clutch handle, reattached it, and I was mobile again! Then they drove off to find Sue, soon found her, but the truck driver didn’t have his CB radio on, so they couldn’t flag her down. Anyhow, by now it was near the ‘roo dodging time of the afternoon, Sue and I, and then by now superfluous rescue truck returned to Barkley Homestead Roadhouse, where we thanked the Lord that there are wonderfully friendly, and mechanically adept people in this country who will stop and help others. Happily we met up with them at the roadhouse, and had the chance to develop our friendship more.