LIFE’S AN ADVENTURE
BE PREPARED FOR SPRING
BY CLINTON SMOUT
Depending on where in the country you call home, by the time you read this you may have already taken your bike out of winter storage. If so, I hope your first ride goes better than Joe’s.
One spring, Joe Iminahurry brushed the remaining snow off his bike and tried to start it. When the engine didn’t crank over, he tried boosting it with his truck. Joe connected the booster cable, and after a few good sparks the bike’s headlight went out. Joe had crossed the cables. A Google search suggested he check the main fuse. Another search told him where to find it; sure enough, it was fried.
After a trip to Canadian Tire, a new fuse turned the lights back on. With the cables properly connected — red to positive, black to negative — and after ten minutes of cranking, the bike finally fired up. It didn’t sound right, so Joe though it probably needed fresh fuel. But then it started smoking. He revved it up and a mouse nest flew out the exhaust pipe. Good. Joe’s bike was now ready for its first ride of the season.