The photo at the right is my Prius, which has faithfully registered more than 240,000 miles (all the way to the moon) with very little trouble, but it's getting to the age where something inevitably is going to break down once in a while. In this case, a cooling pump went haywire and left me stranded on the busy U.S. Route 50 between Washington, D.C., and Bowie, Maryland.
I was on my way to Maryland's Eastern Shore to take part in the popular Sea Gull Century 100-mile bike ride. My plan was to arrive at my friend's house Friday night in time to have a nice pasta dinner and a good night's sleep before the long ride. Instead, the car went kaput at about 4:30 p.m.
What a bummer, I thought, but nothing serious, right? After all, my insurance company said a tow truck would arrive in an hour. I would get my car towed to my mechanic and then drive my pickup truck to the Eastern Shore.
The tow truck never arrived. Computer glitch, I was told. A second one was ordered. It also never arrived. It was mistakenly sent to Winchester, Virginia _ some 100 miles away and in the WRONG STATE!! A third tow truck was dispatched. This one was in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia _ more than 100 miles away and ALSO IN THE WRONG STATE!!
By this time, it was dark. I had been waiting for about 4 hours. I had run out of flares. It was getting a bit dangerous hanging out on that busy highway. A fourth tow truck was dispatched by my insurance company, but I decided to take matters into my own hands. I called a local tow truck service to come get me. When it arrived, it successfully towed me for a few miles _ and then it broke down.
That's right, my tow truck broke down. On the Capital Beltway. Pulled off to the side of the left lane. An even more hazardous spot than the one that I had left.
Fortunately, the insurance company tow truck hadn't given up on me. Even though I had canceled it, that tow truck showed up on Route 50 wondering where I was. The driver called me on my cellphone, and I told him I was with another tow truck that had broken down. He found us, made a daring maneuver on the Beltway to position himself in front of my car and towed me to my mechanic. I got home at midnight, having given up on getting to the Eastern Shore to sleep.
Yeah, it was frustrating, and I'm still dealing with paperwork and trying to get reimbursements, etc. By the way, I still managed to ride in the Century the next day _ on 5 hours' sleep. I'll tell that tale tomorrow.
Of course, after reading all this, you're supposed to be sympathetic enough to sign up for one of my hiking trips, right? Well, as is customary, here's the link to get you started. No tow trucks needed.
See you on the trails. And hopefully not beside the busy road.
Joseph
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