Repairs

Heading to Big Bend national park, Hobbes really started to shit the bed. Refueling was no longer alleviating the problem, but with Pat's counsel, I was beginning to feel fairly confident that it was...🥁🥁🥁... a bad fuel pump thermostat. This would explain why the problem occurs after extended riding in hot weather. As the fuel level drops, the pump is exposed and cannot dissipate heat. Refilling temporarily ameliorates the issue because the fresh gasoline cools the pump - but the sunwarmed fuel in my spare gas cans does not. Big if true.

BMW wanted $450 and a week to deliver the OEM pump. Turns out the same pump is used in the Toyota Camry, so I grabbed one from AutoZone for $40. I took Hobbes to a small town mechanic who was very nice but, frankly, inept. We were like Simon and Garfunkel, if Simon were a millennial with common sense and strong google-fu, and Garfunkel were a kindly, mediocre mechanic. Together, we did the job, and the problem was finally solved. Fuckin' A.

The mechanic wanted $150, but offered to cut me a deal if I paid in cash. In turn I offered 𝘩𝘪𝘮 a deal if he would let me pay with my leftover pesos. He agreed, and we both said fuck you to the man.

I couldn't really enjoy Big Bend for all the trouble Hobbes was giving me, but I did find a nice campground. However, at my campsite I saw an enormous black widow. And that's when I learned the only thing scarier than seeing a black widow, is no longer seeing it.