Battery Prevention

Picture Courtesy of Batterymart.com

Every winter I take a trip. For this winter's little getaway, I decided that I would take a vacation all by myself, instead of doing a big, family-driven holiday. It would be a trip taken all alone... Well, almost all alone, I made the trip with my new BMW 500cc motorcycle. Yes, this trip was kind of just an excuse to ride my motorcycle and be alone while feeling the cool air blow through my hair.

I made the drive from Phoenix, Arizona to Helotes, Texas. It was a long drive, a good 4 days round trip, but it was a peaceful drive that gave me plenty of time to reflect on the past year before New Years Eve.

The trip was going quite well. I had just stopped to have breakfast in Lordsburg, New Mexico when, upon returning to my bike, I had an uneasy feeling. It wasn't the 4 extra strips of thick cut bacon that I ordered with my eggs and fried potatoes, it was a nagging feeling that something was just wrong. Trying to shake this feeling away, I kicked over the engine, only to hear a lifeless response. The bike was dead.

Panic shot through me. The battery, I though, please let it just be the battery. Growing up in the Southwestern United States, I have seen my share of batteries meet a bitter end in the crisp-cold winters of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, so I had come for this trip prepared. Pulling my Leatherman tool from its home at the side of my belt, I opened up the casing on my bike to reveal the battery. Without testing it, I removed the old battery, tossed it onto the ground, and produced a brand new replacement motorcycle battery from my backpack. Finally, we would see if carrying this heavy extra battery for 800 miles would pay off. Once connected, I set the battery inside of its casing and gave the crank another kick. The engine burst into a full rumble and the pangs of anxiety released from my tensed muscles. It was the battery!

With my trip back on, I decided to take a little tour of Lordsburg, slowly driving up and down the streets. I wasn't necessarily taking in the ambiance of this quiet, quaint town, I was searching for a battery store. Not out of necessity, but out of curiosity. I wanted to see how out of luck I would have been if I hadn't brought that spare battery. What I found, was that it would have been terrible luck without a spare battery. The town was sleepy, and being that it was Christmas Eve, all shops were closed. Even if they had been open, it would have been tough to find the specific type of battery I needed.

In short, by me thinking ahead, and purchasing my spare battery from Battery Mart before I started out on the road, I saved myself and my vacation from whatever dangers may lurk in sleepy little towns in New Mexico.