On my way to Monterey for the Big Sur International Marathon, my new car’s “Service Engine Soon” light came on. I am not familiar with BMWs, or any modern car for that matter, so I was a little worried. But it seemed to run okay and because it had just turned over 20,000 miles, I assumed it was just a routine maintenance thing and kept going. Nothing went wrong the whole weekend and the car continued to run as usual.
On Monday, I scheduled a service appointment at the dealer for Wednesday. When I brought it in, I just got a ride back to work on the shuttle van. But when I talked to the service guy, he said that my car has “conditions-based service,” meaning that it has a bunch of sensors that tell you when it needs service, not a fixed schedule based on mileage or wear. I was a little concerned that something would go wrong with such a relatively new car, but couldn’t do anything about it now. It turned out to be the eccentric shaft sensor that monitors a key component of the valve timing system. I also had a few minor things to fix that I had discovered since buying the car a month ago. Fortunately, everything was covered under warranty, so it just inconvenienced me a little because they needed to keep it overnight and fix it the next day.
Since this is a sports-related blog, you might wonder what my car troubles have to do with it. Well, I have had this idea in the back of my mind since last year. I live about 7 miles from work and thought it might be a fun/crazy idea to take the bus to work one day and run home. I had my run stuff with me because I missed running the day before and needed to train for the Capitola Half Marathon in 2.5 weeks. So, I decided that today was the day.
I put on my run stuff, stored my work clothes in my desk, and hit the road. I chose a route that I would never take by bike because it there are too many stop signs and I try to obey traffic laws on my bike. It turned out to cut about half a mile off my normal bike route. Around the 3-mile mark, there is a park where I could get a drink of water if I needed to, but it wasn’t too warm and I kept running. I thought about run/walking, but intersections gave me enough breaks, so I ran the entire way. It was a good workout, but I don’t know how often I’ll do it. The combination of lots of daylight and warm, but not hot, weather was ideal. Not sure how many of these days will happen regularly.
Doing the automobile shuffle.
On Thursday, I drove the Camry to work just in case the BMW wouldn’t be done on time. I also brought my run stuff to do my regular after-work run.
The dealer called and said my car would be ready right before closing time, so I had to figure out how to get it. My first thought was to get a ride over. Then I thought I’d ask a co-worker to go with me, then he (Rick) could drive the BMW to my house and I’d drive him back to work so he could get his car and I would buy him dinner. He had plans that evening, so I came up with another plan:
- Drive the Camry to get the BMW
- Drive the BMW to work
- Run 4.5 miles back to the dealer to get the Camry
- Drive it back to work
- Drive the BMW home
- Ride my bike to work on Friday
- Put the bike in the Camry’s back seat and drive home after work
As you can see, I don’t do things the smart/easy way. I also got lost running to the dealer and hit a dead end, but a nice woman told me about an unlocked gate that led to an apartment complex. I thanked her and told her this shortcut would save me about half a mile! But it was fun sorting out the logistics and, although it was really hot on Thursday, it all worked out. As a plus, I got some bike commuting miles in ahead of “Bike to Work Day” later this month.