car & weather scratch plans

Getting up @ 3:15 AM Sunday morning to venture over in the direction of Ashland, WI for a triathlon had its uncertainties I knew before leaving. My '99 Dodge Neon was recently diagnosed as needing the engine wiring harness. This is a big job and costs way more than what the vehicle is worth, so, we're car shopping but reluctantly continuing to use it for small trips around Duluth. Going over the Blatnik Bridge the car was already beginning to fly into a rage but I chose to press on heading east. Near Poplar, the sky opened up and dumped rain so hard my visibility was almost zero w/lightning on top of that. Oh well, I keep moving toward my final destination until I passed Brule where there were some hills that the motor couldn't maintain a constant speed exceeding 10 mph!! Noticing the Oulu, WI blue rock I made the decision to return home since I didn't want to spend the rest of my afternoon figuring out how to get back after doing a measly race that was just filler on my calendar. Pre registering for an event can bite ya in the ass in moments like these but it rarely happens. By that point, smoke was coming out from under the hood which had me accepting the choice. Journeying ebb and flow style I'd make it safely into the twin ports. Fortunately, I've found out that conditions were OK for competition and no cancellation took place. Maybe next year.?!