I’ve had a fairly busy April. My current employment has sent me into remote areas for the last few weeks, so I’ve been neglecting my updates. However, the battle bus has finally arrived in my locale, with the TW200 in tow. I had a buddy drive it to me. The story of the trek is worthy of a blogpost in itself, but I’ll keep things short:
My buddy drove it basically across the country to me, from Oregon. For months prior to this, my oil pressure had been acting odd. It would randomly spike from 0 psi, all the way to 80 psi. I figured that something likely was blogging the oil pump pickup tube, or that the oil pump itself was failing. My buddy managed to get Utah before the oil pump decided to crap out entirely. I managed the logistics of getting the truck towed to a shop, and getting my buddy a hotel room for the weekend. After they replaced the oil pump, he was on his way, and managed to get here before I left for my work trip. The truck has been driving great since then; I even took the battle bus out mudding on some trails around where I’m at. The chevy suburban, despite being fairly heavy, actually did decently well. The TW arrived without a battery, and I am currently waiting on one to arrive from Amazon. I just need to install the battery, and possibly install new output shaft seals, as there’s a minor oil leak likely coming from one of them (I’m going to do an oil UV dye test to see if that’s the case). I’ve already rotated my tires, and I intend on installing a ValvoMax Drain Plug on my oil pan so that my oil changes are less messy. I had my buddy bring my power tools with him, so I can work on stuff while I’m here. Anything he didn’t bring with him, like a few specialty tools, i intend on buying out here.
An update on my stretching regime: It works. The last few months I have not been nearly as athletic as I have previously, however, the stretching has definitely helped me from atrophying. I’ve been running about once a week, only 3 miles, and hitting the gym maybe 2-3 times a week at most for an hour. Stretching has enabled me to maintain a lot of my physical ability. However, I have put on some weight (about 15 lbs over what I normally am, 175 currently vs 160), and I need to start watching my calorie intake.
On top of the fitness issue, after my last blogpost, I purchased a new pair of running shoes. I normally opt for Adidas, and I’m normally fairly brand loyal due to my previous issues with buying “cheaper” shoes, and getting injured from them. However, where I’m at didn’t have any Adidas in my size, so i opted to purchase a pair of DQ trail shoes, as I got tired of running in the rain, and my feet getting wet. So far, they’ve been fairly decent, and my feet are indeed dry. These shoes came with self tightening laces, which at first were kinda nice, as I did not have to tighten my laces. However, they have since become loose, and I’ve had to spend time adjusting them. However, the laces are small, and lack much stretch to allow me to tighten them. I’d rather just have regular shoe laces, and tie them every time I run. I’d rate them average to what I’m used to. I might go back to Adidas after I’m through with this pair.
I feel as though I’m finally in a stable place again; I have my own mode of transportation, and I feel like a regular adult again.