Day 110: La Pola (Drive)

So if I were to class yesterday as being a good day, then today would be classed as anything but. But, in the end, it wasn't as bad as it was looking at about 2pm!

My van had developed a vibration that kicked in once it's speed exceeded about 40 mph. To be honest I can't recall when I first became aware of it: the recent road surfaces being so bad that it kind of masked any self enduced vehicle vibration. Even when I found myself on better surfaced roads I reasoned that there must be an underlying ripple to the road's surface causing the vibration.

Eventually, it dawned on me that perhaps a pothole had damaged the suspension or had affected the wheels' balance.

Anyway, looking at the suspension I could not see any damage or leaking fluid, nor was there excessive bouncing or clunking noises when going over bumps. So, I came to the conclusion, and kind of hoped, it was simply that one or more wheel was out of balance.

The other thing was, it seemed as though the vibration was occurring on the passenger side and, moreover, I intuitively thought it was the front wheels that were most likely to be out of balance.

That's why I went to Norauto (like our Kwik Fit) where, erring on the side of caution, I asked them to balance all four wheels. About two hours later, with the wheels newly balaneed, I handed over €28.50. It was about 12.30pm.

Have refueled the van, and picked up some groceries, I hit the Autovia A-6. Well, as soon as I exceeded about 40 mph the vibration kicked in and, not only that, I perceived it as being worse.

At this point I could sense that I was becoming increasing glum!

The question I asked myself was: does this mean something more serious is wrong with the van and, most likely more expensive to repair or, did they simple do a bad job of balancing the wheels, and that is why the vibration seems to be worse!

In the end I decided to visit a nearby Feu Vert (the company I got my new leisure battery from). Where, I asked them to balance the front wheels. I had convinced my self that the front left wheel was the culprit! And told the mechanic that this is what I thought was causing the vibration.

Anyway, the mechanic moved the van in to place. Fortunately, he did not dive straight into balancing the front wheels. First, he checked all four wheels and discovered that there was a bulge in the passenger side rear wheel, and the driver side rear wheel had a slight deformity, which he showed me. I could clearly feel the bulge in left rear wheel, but not so much the right.

So, two new tyres it had to be. Thinking that the cause of the vibration may have been found was a great relief and I could feel the glumness lifting a little!

Anyhow, two new tyres later, and following severe open wallet surgery, I left Feu Vert. I headed straight on to Autovia A-6 and, oh the joy and relief when there were no vibrations as the van's speed exceeded 40 mph. Just smooth, vibration free, driving again. Oh what a relief!

Goodbye glumness! Hello, to the next adventure!

Almost certainly I have overpaid for some budget tyres that I would not normally have bought. Having said that, solving the vibration issue; it not being a more serious problem; and getting the van roadworthy again was most definitely my priority.

So, as the glumness lifted, I drove to the start of tomorrow's ride. Arriving at about 7pm.

This is where I'm parked up tonight:

• Distance driven: 60 miles
• Distance cycled: 0 kilometres
• Weather:-
  • General conditions: Mostly overcast later, some sunshine in the morning
  • Temperature: Light breeze
  • Wind (Beaufort): About 18°C late afternoon.
• Location: Google Maps