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48 hours and 90 miles later, the Chumming.Com staff has hit its first snag. Everything looked perfectly grand on Saturday... you would think that should have tipped me off... Aside from leaving Steamboat 7 hours late and missing my 4pm tee-time at Pole Creek, the Clipper performed like the champ I know she is. Loki, Speedy Gonzales (my 4 year old female blue iguana) and I cruised to the top of threatening Rabbit Ears Pass at an acceptable 45mph, the Clipper handling a bit like an intoxicated sperm whale on viagra as I wrestled her from turn to turn, all she wanted was to continue on a straight line of destruction while all I wanted was to keep the rubber side down... In the end I prevailed and we crossed Pass#1 without incident. The Jazz Butcher pumping through the Alpines to keep the mood upbeat, we continued on to Fraser, just west of Winter Park, CO for a rendezvous with my brother Chris and good friend Thom (my companion during the disturbing season of the bear). Although I missed hitting the links, we quickly caught up and headed out to do a vehicle inspection. I know I am losing transmission fluid and also have a decent oil leak... from where is yet to be discovered... We made use of Thom’s well-equipped garage and quickly decided that shit was mostly in order and that the Clipper was sea worthy. We wrapped things up and headed home, passing out immediately upon crawling into the sleeping bag and hitting the carpet, feeling overly optimistic about tomorrows travels... I woke up early Sunday, firing down a Super Hippie Speedball (bong, cigarette and a double espresso), excitement in the air as the Clipper fired up on the first turn. Chris was planning on being my wingman for the drive over 11,000’ Berthod Pass towards Denver, an extra hand in case things got a little too crazy... from Denver on it would certainly be smooth sailing. As we were making final preparations, the Clipper suddenly sputtered
and died. I tried to turn it over again, giving it a good push on
the pedal... nothing. I kept trying, the engine cranking fine
but not turning over. Figuring I had flooded the engine, we decided
on a different tact. In our absolute enthusiasm to get on the road,
we emptied a can of Ether into my carburetor, eventually catching the cockpit
of the Clipper on fire. As flames slowly licked at the dashboard,
I lay my head back and gave a heavy sigh... beautiful... just beautiful...
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