:mecry:
Homer's Odyssey that began back in November came to a sudden and violent end Tuesday afternoon about 4PM.
Remember at the meeting Monday night when Allen was questioning whether a bus could make it to Commerce, GA in 2 1/2 hours? Homer did it in 2 hours, 26 minutes. :thumbs-up:
Do you know why the long distance run that's 26 miles, 385 yards long is called a Marathon? The marathon's distance was chosen to duplicate the distance run by a Greek soldier from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to bring the news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Actually, the Marathon-Athens distance is actually less than 25 miles. The modern distance was set at the 1908 Olympics so the finish line would be in front of the royal family's grandstand. But, anyway, back to my story . . . do you know what happened to the original Marathon runner? He got back to Athens in record time, shouted something like "We are victorious!" and then dropped dead. What does that have to do with Homer? . . .
OK, Homer made it over there in less than 2 1/2 hours; I went on to my Aunts house in Lavonia. After we visited for a while, I loaded my Mom’s luggage in Homer and we headed back to LaFayette. We were making excellent time, and it looked like I was going to shatter my time from the trip over . . . then it happened.
Between Adairsville and Calhoun, the #4 rod apparently lost it's lubrication and overheated . . . using a MPH to RPM calculator I found on the internet, I estimate that my little type 1 single port engine was winding at somewhere between 4200-5000 RPMs the entire trip, and was turning slightly over 5000 RPMs when it happened . . . One of the rod bolts gave way, the crank straightened the rod cap out, snapped it off and threw it out the top of the block. No warning whatsoever . . . it was still doing 70-75 uphill and 80-85 downhill (actually, more like 87 at the moment it gave way). There was no loss of power, no unusual noise, no oil light . . . just running great and roaring its normal roar . . . Then, BAM! And lots of smoke! :nervous:
We coasted nearly a mile and finally I applied the brake and brought it to a stop under a bridge where we would be in the shade. I broke out the camp chairs and tables for Mom then started trying to get some help on the cell phone. Joy didn’t have her cell phone with her . . . and it turns out that she was at the Calhoun outlet mall one exit up the road for over an hour just about the time we were breaking down. Mom has a “Mr. Rescue” service with her cell phone but had no idea of how to use it. I called my brother to see if he could tell us how to use “Mr. Rescue” but he was in a meeting and had his cell phone turned off. I didn’t have anybody’s number with me, and I guess smoke had clouded my memory, because I couldn’t even remember Herb’s number, even though I’ve called it dozens of times.
Mike Tuech (former Volks Folks member, now with the Gypsies) happened to be passing by a few minutes later he got in touch with Eldon, got Herb’s # and called him to see if he could come rescue us. A little while later, Herb showed up with his tow dolly and ice water! We loaded Homer, then a couple of minutes later, Joy showed up . . . she had driven home from one exit north of us, gotten the message I left on our answering machine and came down to pick up Mom and take her on home while I waited on Herb to get there . . . but he was already there, and we were loaded, so we took off. So, thanks to Herb, my Mom and Homer both got home before dark.
I’ve always wondered what the limit of this little engine was . . . now I know. The moral of the story is: It’s a VW Bus. Slow down and enjoy the scenery. :yinyan:
Another moral of the story is: It pays to have friends!
