Ashland, by any other name

It’s starting to feel like the Bermuda Triangle, or maybe just the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, but it’s weird, and I’m ready to move on now.

Here’s what happened, back on Monday:
The gas pedal stopped working at 3300 ft on Siskiyou Pass, just before Oregon’s exit 6 on I5. I was driving driving driving, and then suddenly, I stopped.
I waited a minute or two and restarted. I went for two blocks. Same thing happened with the gas pedal. I made it to exit 6, called [my mom, and then] a tow truck and the adventure began.

When I was first delivered to the Union 76 station in Ashland, I was very much at the mercy of the mechanics and tow truck drivers. I’m not the most educated mechanic, in fact, I know close to nothing about car mechanics. I don’t own a car, because I prefer to ride my bike or take the bus instead of dealing with getting stuck in random places and asking complete strangers to spend hours and hours helping me out. Diagnosis Number One was the crank position sensor. This sensor apparently lets the computer know when the piston is at the top of its stroke. According to the Honda computer diagnoser, this was not happening. The computer had no way of knowing where the piston was. Two days and $400 of mechanical work later, I was off. I headed up Siskiyou Pass a second time, until I reached my favorite spot, about a mile before exit 6. Same thing happened. Guess it wasn’t the crank position sensor. The mechanics were genuinely sorry and spent a few hours roadside assisting me and driving up Siskiyou Pass a third time with me. The third time, the computer was actually plugged into the car when IT happened… again… at the exact same spot (within a few feet of time#1 and #2). I’m not a very religious person, but it feels like I’m being held here. There’s nothing I can do, short of abandoning my mother’s Honda, fully stocked with all of my belongings.

Siskiyou Pass attempt #4 is scheduled for tomorrow (FRIDAY!!!) at 12:30pm, after Diagnosis Number Two is taken care of. Diagnosis Number Two is a dead top center sensor. It’s only costing about $200 to fix. I’m not confident with Siskiyou Pass attempt #4. I think there might be a #5, #6, and an apartment rental. Maybe I’ll start looking for a job, buy a house. Who knows maybe I’ll settle down and get married. The people are friendly. There are some good Shakespeare plays.

I made a budget for the trip, because it helps me control my gag reflexing that happens whenever I think about it:

Item: Cost
Speeding ticket in Eugene: $180
Hotel night #1: $65
Hotel night #2: $65
Hotel night #3: $65
Hostel night #4: $30
Parts from diagnosis #1: $190
Labor from diagnosis #1: $200
Parts from diagnosis #2: $65
Labor from diagnosis #3: $120
Shakespeare Festival Expenses: $49
Gas: $100
Food in Ashland: $120
Everything else from the planned part of the trip: a drop in the bucket

TOTAL $1,249

Just as a reference, I calculated how much it would have cost to fly home, mail my boxes, and feed 1000 starving children in Africa. It was the same.