Day 26- Forced break in Grantsville, MD and Pittsburgh, Pa (5/31/24)
Good morning everyone, after I finally dragged myself to the rustic Casselman Inn in Grantsville last night, I immediately tried – at the same time as my owner from Germany – to achieve something else in terms of bicycle repairs. Unfortunately it was a bit late, but at least I was able to send some emails. The dealer in Florida made an effort, but pointed out that he had to open a âwarranty caseâ with the manufacturer Aventon and that it usually takes two days to respond. I also wrote to the manufacturer myself, but haven’t heard anything yet. In this respect, it means practicing patience. So, the first night in the Casselman Inn is over, full of sleepless hours and a lot of mental cinema. My owner and I have consulted and we think it makes no sense to stay in Grantsville any longer. So I set out to find someone who would drive me to the nearest car rental company (Cumberland 27 miles away) tomorrow, which isn’t that easy. First attempt: negative. Second attempt: an older gentleman speaks to me outside the hotel and says he was at the old people’s afternoon and had heard of me. And yes, he would drive me. $1 per mile of distance. Great, confirmed immediately.
The older man is on time and I get into his minivan at 7 a.m. The sun is shining outside, but it is bitterly cold, even with frost in the shade. He speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a mixture of Palatinate and High German. We definitely get along. He talks about his brother, who died last year, and his wife, a native German named Ruth. He himself would be 90 at the end of June. The longer time he has been in the car driving the âAmish Peopleâ from A to B. When we arrive at the car rental company, the farewell is warm, as if we had known each other for 20 years. The rental car soon takes me back to Grantsville, where my bike is waiting for me and we make our way to the nearest Aventon workshop. I had already written to the owner Flynn Sanner yesterday and he was waiting for me. After a few tests it turned out that the controller with the motherboard was defective. Delivery time: 4 weeks. We agreed that I would leave my bike there for the time being and that we would try to find a solution independently of each other. In the meantime, I drove on to Pittsburgh, PA – to drop off the rental car and take up position at a hotel near the airport.
Today was the big day, I was finally able to pick up my bike again. After 2 full days of idleness, it was time. Since the workshop was 85 miles away, I needed a rental car again. The idea of ââwalking from the hotel to the car rental office at the airport (almost 11km) was tempting given the bright sunshine and so I set off at 8:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, google.maps wasn’t up to date because after 7.5 kilometers I found myself standing in front of a barbed wire fence. So I went back and called an Uber. The trip to the workshop was extremely interesting because the entire country has been on fire since the verdict against Donald Trump. Without exception, every house had flown US flags and every second house had âTrump 2024 flagsâ. There was even a 20m banner with âTrump 2024â hung on a large car dealership. Maybe the American people have finally seen through the political maneuvers of the current administration and are now (again) behind a president who gives everything for his people. There were a few disagreements in the workshop, but there’s nothing to tell quickly – more on that in our book. In any case, my little horse is now standing next to my hotel bed again and smiling happily.
