Mr. and Mrs. Pants' New England Adventure Summer 2024

[wheatonFJR]

Joey, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. You may enjoy doing this, but it can be a chore and not fun. Thanks for giving this gift to the community here.

Glad you were there and were able to help Christian hold on till the paramedics arrived.

[FJRoss]

After that, I think I would have had a second (or third) IPA.
A harrowing experience! Hope Christian recovers fully.

[Bugnatr]

Joey, you're a rock star. Good job man!

[Hppants]

I had a nightmare about Christian that night that the unthinkable happened. It prompted me to try to reach out the next day. Thank goodness that not all dream come true.

I can tell you this - my bullshit transmission problems are no big deal now. Some perspective took care of that.

Stay thirsty, my friends....

[blind squirrel]

Something I've figured out that doesn't make that much sense at first glance but on closer inspection seems to be largely true; the opposite of comfort is freedom. Your truck is a tool that affords you a degree of utility. It makes your life easier. Without it life gets harder because the utility is gone. That utility is a form of comfort and thus, freedom. Own as big house with lots of toys, all financed, you have mortgaged your freedom for comfort.

Something to rub your chin about.

Lay off the sauce man! you contradicted yourself in your post.

"opposite of comfort is freedom"

"That utility is a form of comfort and thus, freedom"

[bungie4]

Hey, your free to lug your shit around on your back. That's not very comfortable is it.

[Full House]

Hoping you were not looking for sympathy, lol

[wheatonFJR]

Okay...I can't believe Im saying this...but don't crap up our Cajun friend's ride report.

[Hppants]

Hoping you were not looking for sympathy, lol

Good Point - I suppose I was, but I'm trying to suck it up and realize the 99.99% good, not the 0.01% not so good.

Okay...I can't believe Im saying this...but don't crap up our Cajun friend's ride report.

Really no worries, Mark. We are all friends here. I've crapped up my share of threads, to be sure.

[Hppants]

October 5, 2024

Last night we went to the Pizza place, by far our favorite restaurant in the Town. We've gotten to know the workers there. I'm particularly fond of Dawn. She's such a nice lady and we share an interest in bicycling. Dawn is an experienced Mountaint Bicycler, not surprising considering where she lives. She didn't tell me this directly, but I found out through friends that at one point, she was a very successful MTB competitor. Every time I see her, we talk about riding this trail or that trail. It's fun. Last night, one thing led to another, and we decided to get together this morning and ride.

I woke up to some light rain moving through the area. It's gonna end before I meet Dawn, but it's kind of chilly. Had it not been for "plans", I would have likely stayed home, but instead, I put on an extra layer and drove 5-ish miles to the meeting place. I got there a full 30 minutes early. It takes Pants a LONG time to warm up for strenuous exercise and today, it's gonna take longer. I spent a half hour repeatedly climbing a small hill next to the meeting spot trying to get some heat in my legs.

Dawn shows up on time and off we go. She led me on a nice flat warm up trail near the parking area and then we crossed the highway and started climbing. She led me on some trails that I never knew existed, with good reason. These trails were HARD!

Imagine trying to ride this shit.



Three miles into this and it was quite clear that Pants was WAY over his head. But to Dawn's credit, she took it easy on me and waited patiently. It was really fun watching her ride. Her physical fitness stood on its own. What really impressed me was how she could maneuver the bicycle effortlessly to negociate rocks, roots, trees, etc. Going uphill, she would pick her lines deliberately and when necessary, expend useful energy to get over the hump. Going downhill, I didn't see much. She'd lower her seat and then rip it down like greased lightening. I held my own good enough, I guess. At times, I conceded to just walk the bike uphill (or downhill), lest I let my pride get in the way and hurt myself.

I had a really good time.



True to her kind soul, she led us to some more familiar easier flowing stuff and held herself back enough for us to enjoy it together. That was the highlight of the ride. About 10:30, we wound up back at the parking lot and she broke off to go home and get ready for work.

I went home, had lunch, and then suggested to Tammy that we not waste the afternoon. It's warmed up a bit now (63-ish), but looking at the 10-day forecast, it doesn't appear that we will see that temperature again. So I told Tammy, if she wants to paddle one more time, today is the day.

We get to Perch Pond and it's windy. Not exactly ideal for paddling, but we made due.



We hugged the coast and slugged it upwind to the other side. Good time and place for a nap.





I hope you're having fun wherever you are!



The color in the landscape is beautiful. If it's not peak, it sure is close.



My girl likes the kayak.









We drifted quietly at one point to watch the Loon Family hunting on the Pond. This time I brought my binoculars and these are a stunningly beautiful bird. That was quite enjoyable.

After a good run around the Pond, we pulled out and stopped in Campton OTW back for a few supplies. Noteworthy was a large waterproof "tub" container (Dollar General to the rescue). Tammy's love of shopping was not surpresssed in any way this summer. More crap to tote home. Oh well - no problem, Dear.

It's getting closer to the end. We've had such an amazing summer. We are talking more about home and what the upcoming months will mean for us.

It's been indescribably fun, but we are just about ready to go.

Stay thirsty, my friends....

[gixxerjasen]

Joey is going to get home and buy himself a proper trail motorcycle and start hitting the single track after all this mountain biking.

[Hppants]

I highly doubt that.

But I am thinking about buying a gravel bicycle. Then bring the MTB and the Gravel bike on the summer excursions. Need to let it simmer a little first.

[fontanaman]

Gravel bikes are very popular these days. They work well on the paved and gravel roads, but not so well on single track. When I bought a bike last year it was hard to find a road bike because they weren't selling as well as a Mt bikes and gravel bikes.

Hope the truck repair goes well.

[Hppants]

October 7, 2024

The weather is definitely getting cooler. The north wind feels like the dead of winter at home. This is something that I've learned since my son moved to NYC, 40 degrees up here in the north is different than 40 degrees in the deep south. Oh - the measurement is the same, but it's the DURATION that differs. At home, we may see 40 degrees on a cold winter morning at day break. But overwhelmingly, the sun comes up and warms the air and ground pretty quick. Here, the ground is cooling and it's cooling quickly. Even if the air temperature fluxuates, we still feel colder because the ground is colder.

We hung out at the ABB in the morning, and after lunch, when the forecast would offer no warmer temp for the day, we decided to take a walk in the neighborhood.

The leaves are at peak now, and maybe even a smidge past peak in places. I'm sure of it.



Tammy has been wanting to do this for a while. I get such joy in watching her be happy.



I'm almost 59 now. My brain is crap. I'm not immune from learning anything, but the hard drive ain't worth a shit. None the less, I'm trying desperately to direct this to some neurons in my thick skull for proper storage. The pictures are nice, but my imagination is where the REAL good stuff lies.



We made the block through the town square and then walked over to a spot on the bank of the Mad River that we like to visit.



We stayed there 30 minutes or so just listening to the white noise of the water. At one point, I grabbed a hunk of a dead cedar tree. I broke off pieces of dried branches and launched them up stream before the "rapid". Tammy and I would opine on the branch's downstream path, and if it would "make it" to the bottom or get caught on a rock. Just playing like two 8-year old kids trapped in old bodies.

Making memories.

Stay thirsty, my friends....

[bungie4]

Tip: do your leaf peeping in the morning or evening - the colors are way more intense and not so washed out looking.

[Hppants]

Tip: do your leaf peeping in the morning or evening - the colors are way more intense and not so washed out looking.

I'm glad you brought that up, Steve. We have found that the angle of the sun, cloud cover, and other small things do make a difference in how it looks.

Regardless, Tammy and I agree: the camera does not do it justice. It looks much better than the picture shows.

[Hppants]

September 8, 2024

Continued cool this morning. But the sun is shining and mid afternoon, I decide to ride the bicycle. I'm a bit chilled heading out, but resist the temptation to return and get another layer. Usually after I warm up, things get better.

I run familiar trails around town. I picked three climbs up different sections of the mountain, and enjoyed having most of the forest to myself. On my 3rd climb, I did come across an elderly gentleman hiking. I stopped to say "hello" and we chatted a minute. He obliged my request for a picture.



The colors on this trail are brilliant. I've got the sun behind me and it is lighting a path that is stupendous!



The carpet of leaves that I'm "crunching" over as I ride make it difficult to see trail hazards. Thus, I'm riding slowly and enjoying the show.





At this point, I'm chilled from sweating while going uphill. Best to slow it down anyway.



I come out of the mountain, and take the longer way back.





About 15 miles and 1500 feet of climb. Average speed - 7.1 mph. Not exactly my finest workout, but it'll do.

Stay thirsty, my friends....

[Hppants]

10/10/2024

A trying day to be sure.

We leave the ABB at 7:00 am to drop off the truck OTW to Boston to get our son at the train station. I can't put the cart before the horse, and I don't have time to wait for the horse, so it's "no" to a loaner (can't diagnose it before we have to be on our way), so it's off to the Laconia Municipal Airport, Nail Salon, and Tire Center (I made the last 2 parts up, ya can't fix stupid - IYKYK).

I"m in the parking lot orienting myself to the rental car when the dealer calls. They can't duplicate the problem. Shit - we drive right back to the dealer, and I take off with the mechanic and the service writer. The mechanic has the laptop connected to the truck and I can actually see the rpm of the Torque Converter in relation to the rpm of the motor (monitor the slip of the T/C - SOOO COOL!). Well - the problem is not the transmission. When the shutter occurs, the transmission is perfectly normal. In fact, the mechanic electronically disabled the torque converter lock up feature and the problem still occurs.

Shit.

The decide to check other things and so Tammy and I press on to Boston and pick up our son and his dog. Traffic in and out of the city was incredibly light - we zipped right in and zipped right out.

OTW back, I get a call from the dealer. They think the issue is the Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) system. They ckecked the motor mounts and transmission mount to be sure - as that can cause this issue. But they are fine. However, since the DFM hasn't tripped any codes, there's nothing they can do about it. Crap. So now - I've paid $400 to flush the transmission (which was probably a good idea for preventative maintenance, but I can definitely get that done cheaper at home), $200 for the mechanic time today, and another $180.00 for a rental car (I told you the shit is expensive here) - and get this - the problem is NOT fixed!

I learned that if you put the transmission in L7, it disables the DFM. Well - that sealed it - this is my problem. I put the trans i L7 for the 35 mile ride home and the problem never occurred.

So - I guess I'm going home in 7th gear. I'll take this shit up with General Motors when I get home.

The aftermarket (Range Technologies is considered the best) makes a DFM disabler. I'm probably gonna get that, but the truck is still under warranty and I don't want to screw that up just yet.

It's time to go home.

Picked up some groceries on the way home. Boiled lobsters for dinner with a good beer and better conversation with my son. It ended better than it started.

(First World Problem, Pants. First World Problem, Pants. First World Problem.....)

Stay thirsty, my friends....

[FJRoss]

What am I not understanding here? Is this not a vehicle that is still under warranty? If so, why do you have to pay for their guessing games?
(Perhaps I am mistaken about full warranty status?)

I wonder what driving that distance in 7th towing a heavy load without the DFM will do to fuel economy? I know, first world problems.

[gixxerjasen]

What am I not understanding here? Is this not a vehicle that is still under warranty? If so, why do you have to pay for their guessing games?
(Perhaps I am mistaken about full warranty status?)

Based on my experience, if you take the vehicle to the shop, there's an expectation that you'll pay the diagnostic fees, provided they don't find anything that can be fixed. If it can be fixed, then the diag fee gets covered by the warranty. If something is found and you elect to not have it fixed under the warranty then you'd still be charged the diag fee.

That's how it went for my transmission. I took it in, they told me if they couldn't find anything then I'd have to pay for the diagnostic. Turns out my 45K Expedition's fault log was lit up like a Christmas tree, diag and a full transmission rebuild covered by warranty.

Why wouldn't you get it fixed under warranty? I dunno, maybe you are on a trip and it'll take 6 weeks to get it fixed (time it took for my transmission after waiting in the long line of 10R80's to get rebuilt) and you need to go home across the country in two weeks.

Here's hoping this all gets sorted under warranty at home for Joey, and he's got a fresh flush of the transmission to get him home.