I got my bike in a good spot with some room and proceeded to undertake the changing of the throttle cable. This operation involved tearing a lot of the top of the bike to get good access including the gas tank, air filter, air breather and housing and a few other pieces, all of which were sprawled all over.So between so much happening in Vegas resulting in another late night to bed and me needing to get to business meeting in the morning resulted in another short sleep. That added to the fact that my feet were killing me form all the hot walking in poor shoes made me in less than ideal shape for a tour of a software company’s facility.

I had a 9am tour scheduled with the software company whose software I am implementing as part of my work. As I had no idea where anything was in Las Vegas I decided to use the newly acquired GPS Vik and I bought just before the trip.

We somehow dubbed it The Oracle. All seeing, all knowing. I can’t figure out how we got along without it before! Next gas station – easy, place to stay for the night – a list of dozens, rest area off the highway – no problem, where the hell am I cause I am lost in the desert – no worries!

So Vik, our default navigator – he loves the maps and calculating distances etc, I just follow and cruise, had been using the Oracle to this point. I decided it was time to give I it a go. I had the list of directions I had printed out earlier on my tank bank so I knew I could get there no worries. I then proceed to turn on the Oracle and follow its wisdom.

So basically it tells me “Leave the hotel turn left, drive 200 yards”
“Turn left and drive 2 miles”
“Turn left and drive 500 yards”
Just after taking that left I see the logo of the company on the building.
What the hell? I am here already?

Essentially my hotel was at one end of the airport and the company was at the other! All I had done is drive the length of it! So much for the priceless technology, LOL.

I had a great tour and a nice chat about software implementations, Las Vegas and motorcycles with the lovely Cherisse at Tririga then proceeded to navigate my way back to the hotel, navigate by eye that is!

Vik and I then checked out of the hotel and loaded up the bikes, cringing all the while at the already oppressive 100 degree heat and burning sunshine. With bikes loaded we went to the local diner for a good feed before setting out into the desert. By this time it was pushing noon if not later.

In the diner we got to chatting with two lovely women from Lithuania. It turns out they were leaving the next day but had been in Vegas and surrounding for a week or so. We talked about all of our weird experiences and had a few good laughs.

They told us they were going to the Blue Man Group that evening, and being a fan I looked to see Vik’s reaction to the thought of staying another night to catch the show with our new friends. Well, being a great drummer himself Vik was totally into catching the show but had concerns about schedule.

I had an ulterior motive, I still had not fixed the throttle cable on the bike and much preferred to do it in the concrete parking garage than in the hot sun.

We exchanged numbers with the girls and told them we would think about it.

Given the show, the late hour, the throttle cable and me just generally wanting to see more Vegas we decided to stay one more night.

After we checked back into the hotel and had a short nap, we took my bike to the concrete parking lot of the MGM grand where we had parked a few nights earlier. Even under several stories of concrete the heat was a force to be dealt with.

I got my bike in a good spot with some room and proceeded to undertake the changing of the throttle cable. This operation involved tearing a lot of the top of the bike to get good access including the gas tank, air filter, air breather and housing and a few other pieces, all of which were sprawled all over.

I also had to unpack some bags etc to get all the tools and lights etc I needed to do the job right. It was kinda funny having people walk by, spectate and in the case of the security guard, give us the strange looks.

Anyway, long story short I not only got the part in but I was able to put the other cable that I had jerry rigged back together so everything worked perfectly!!! That doesn’t happen often in most McGyver jobs.

I was back at 100%. That felt good.

That evening we met up with the girls and had a great show with the Blue Man Group, really a fun performance. We ended up getting upgraded and sat in one of the very front rows. So close at one point one of the Blue Men was dancing on the arms of Vik’s chair!

After we took some pics with them and even got to try out the weird plumbing instruments they play. Vik was really good on it, he got everyone in the store dancing!

After the show we had a late dinner and ended walking around exploring more of Vegas until all hours of the night.

Since Vik and I vowed to get an early start this was proving to be yet ANOTHER low sleep night. They were starting to take their toll, I was getting grouchy, punchy,, and my body was all achy. I needed serious rest.