gorgeous day, crummy tires ...

   a gorgeous day, today ... while we are still finding chilly temps these early mornings, it's up in the 80s in a few hours ...

   Sybil and I are kinda 'stuck' in one place, for now ... I have a questionable tire on my left front wheel, and am trying not to drive on it, until I can get to my tire dealer late next week ...

   I use the 'Discount Tire/America's Tire' tire stores ... they're just about everywhere, have the best prices, and I've been happy with them so far ... I order from their website, then the store I choose orders the tires, and schedules me in at my convenience ... their optional extended warranty is supposedly a real good deal - I will know more about that, next week ...

   anyway, one of my fairly new Michelins, that only has about 14,000 miles on it, looks suspicious to me ... I noticed the outer sidewall has multiple cracks in several locations around the tire ... it's not any kind of weather or sunlight related checking, it's looking like some damage going on inside there ... I haven't gotten under the van, to look at the inside sidewall, yet ...

   my other three Michelins look perfect, so it's a mystery ... I purchased an optional store warranty that will replace it for free, but if it needs replacing, I will buy two, to assure they match up in height correctly ... this would be of no matter on my front axle, but a drive pair must match up, or 'can' cause damage to a differential, besides increased tire wear ... 

   since my spare is presently one of the absolutely HORRIBLE Korean 'Hankook' tires that came on the van when new, I can't wait to replace it with ANYTHING ELSE ...

   seriously, if you have a Hankook tire on anything, replace it before it kills you ... I have never seen brand-new tires fall apart with internal 'separated tread' issues, anything like these pieces of garbage ... well, maybe Goodyear's junk trailer tires ...

         *******************************

   I almost HATE to replace my trailer tires this year - 

   when still brand-new (170 miles on the original tires), I replaced the Chinese-built garbage trailer tires from Goodyear, their famous (infamous), 'Marathon' trailer tires, with my present Maxxis 8008 tires ...

   years ago, I owned a 1976 Airstream that had 30-year old Goodyear Marathons on it ... they were excellent tires back then ... then, Goodyear started making them in China - now the WORST trailer tire made ! ... trust me, Google them up, read the reviews ... folks nowadays refer to them as 'Goodyear Explode-athons' ! ... yup, I agree 100% ...

   so, mine were replaced with 'Maxxis 8008' trailer tires ... Maxxis was a somewhat cheaper brand that impressed me with their motorcycle dirt tires, so I gave them a shot ... made in Thailand, I was a little wary of them, at first ...

   typical 'RV recommendations' dictates we change out our RV tires every 3 years, regardless of wear, or performance ... 

   that's pretty ridiculous, in my mind ... am I wrong ?, doubtful - I've never been wrong about anything before now ... 

   (Sybil rolls her eyes, growls, and goes back to sleep) ...

   I admit, I am pretty fussy when it comes to tires and brakes ... in fact, some folks, knowing how tire-conscious I am, will say things like, " hey, that tire has dirt on it, ain't ya gonna replace it ?  ...

     real funny ... 

   but, I don't want to risk a blowout damaging our fiberglass wheel-wells, so I will reluctantly replace these Maxxis 8008, for a new pair ...

   my present Maxxis 8008 tires are 6 years old, with roughly 25,000 miles on them ... with a LOT of those miles on severe, sharp, rocky terrain, as well as highway speeds, I've never lost confidence in these tires ... they have picked up a coupla nails along the way, but no damage to the tires ...

   they still look great, and obviously have outstanding tread life ... they've gone up in price, from $110 to about $140 apiece, nowadays, but I'm going to order another pair, and hope they are still as high-quality as my 6-yr old Maxxis have been  ... I'll wait until I hit the road later this summer, and buy them on my way out of state ... I try not to allow Kalifornia to get any tax revenue from me, they're too undeserving ...

     ***********************

   'da Bears' are starting to be noticed by the rest of the NFL, as in " hey, these guys have been real busy in the offseason, they are gonna be real hard to beat " ... maybe, impossible to beat ?

   it's been 30 years, since 'da Bears' won the Super Bowl - we're DUE !


    but, I'll settle for the NFC North Title & the Playoffs, (only if I have to) ...
  

   
   
   
   

   

just like a shark ...

    Sybil and I are still 'sitting in the woods' up north, the weather is passable, certainly nothing like 'normal', that's for sure ... still chilly in the mornings, occasional rain, but not nearly as hot as usual, by this time ...

   of course, these days, what is normal weather ?

   I restarted this Blog recently, since it looked like we would be taking a major road trip this summer ... you never know, there might be something interesting to put in this dumb blog, for a change ... the biggest embarrassment of my previous blog, was the fact that my life is so boring, I really don't do ANYTHING, anymore ... so, I ended it ...

   now, as Sybil & I are trying to budget a long road trip, obstacles are being thrown at us ...

   first, an unexpected expense occured on the way up here, when a southbound Nevada bottom-dump semitruck tossed a small rock my way -

   $200 windshield, $500 insurance deductible ... you do the math ...

   now, one of my almost-new Michelin tires looks as though it may need replacing ... it only has about 11,000 miles on it, worn 'just enough', that if I replace one tire, I should go ahead and replace them as a pair, so they match up (about $600) ... I think I may have hit a parking block hard, that's the only thing I can think of, as I NEVER hit potholes on the highway ...

   naturally, it looks as though Michelin may have discontinued this particular tire, I won't be sure until I get to a dealer ... 

   ever notice when your luck turns bad, it accelerates ? ...

   anyway, yesterday I sat here with my maps and calculators, and was faced with the realization that I very well may not be able to afford to take this trip ... 

   true - I can't afford this trip ...

   BUT, I don't expect to be around forever, and I always dreaded the idea of lying on my deathbed, wishing I'd gone somewhere, or missed some momentous event ...

   you'd think, after 31 years of longhaul trucking, I'd have all that wanderlust out of my system ...

   NOPE

   Sybil says in her animal kingdom, I would likely be a shark, because sharks never stop swimming ... they can't stop moving, or their gills won't keep 'em breathing, or something like that ...

   constantly aware of my station in life, I suspect I wouldn't get to be a Great White Shark, probably just a lowly hammerhead, or something ...

   **************************

   on 'da Bears' front, things are looking very good, and the rest of the NFL has finally noticed our changes ... 

   suddenly, NFL writers are saying 'da Bears' have an 'open window' to the Super Bowl ...

   I won't go that far, (yet), but I am confident 'da Bears' are gonna take our NFC North Division crown into the Playoffs ...
   
   Green Bay doesn't concern me too much, I see 'da Bears' sweeping both games this season ... if anything, the Deeetroit Lions have my attention ...

   the Lions had a super-talented team the last couple seasons, but a really terrible Coach, that couldn't keep them in line ... I have always counted on a winning Lions team to self-destruct during the season ... no discipline, dirty playing thugs ...

   however, this season, the Lions have a new Coach, that supposedly has a functioning brain ... that, in itself, is a Deeetroit rarity, so I'll be watchin'  ...

    ***************************

   so, now we're back to the maps and calculator, to see if I can pull off another road trip ...

   Sybil waits with anticipation ...............................

  
   

summer planning ... sort of ...

   
   summer is supposedly almost here ... 'supposedly', because we are still waking up to freezing temps, about 25 degrees below normal ... 

   Sybil is watching over our heavy wildlife population, I think she wants to play with them all - deer, fox, bears, mountain lions, and even birds ... whatever moves, Sybil wants to befriend  (must say something about the value of MY company) ...

   I am semi-planning our summer road trip, as we haven't really had a good long one, in quite awhile ... 

   general plan is to go back east to my hometown, and setup a new Will, etc., so they'll know which dumpster to toss my body into, when the time comes ... really doesn't matter much to me, to tell the truth ...

   from there, the plan would likely be a warmer southern route back to the southwest, to our typical desert winter camps ...

   we're playing with the idea of possibly dropping south thru Mississippi, to visit some blues music landmarks, etc. along the way ... Sybil likes blues music, and it's the least I can do for her ... 

   other than that, I'm bored to death, as ALWAYS ...

           ********************** 

   'da Bears' had what seems to be a pretty successful NFL Draft, adding some promising young college players to the team roster ...
   most importantly, it looks like we shored up our weak Defense for the upcoming season ...

'da Bears' - Playoffs Bound 2014