discovery day 21

"t-minus 17 minutes and counting". is the last transmision so far.
It's now 2:47 and one h0ur ish in real time till the launch of Shuttle Discovery. I'm just out of the shower and cooled down from doing my 150 miler this morning. Out east on 46 for 30 miles thru the jungles and over Puzzle River and into Brevard County. Home of launch pad 39b. "T-minus 14 minutes and counting" I am watching via 'puter on NasaTV. "The white room is clear and their are not technical issues being addressed at this time". "T-minus 9 minutes and holding" Mission Control from Houston, tells us. Our local channel 9 on the tv is showing the real time behind the scene for the launch also. This is such a complicated vehicle and so so many engineers involved to light this candle. A good half of my putt east this morning (kickstand up at 7ish am), I could not see a vehicle in front of me nor behind me. Perfect putt conditions, 75 degrees, high clouds with no noticable winds. Hiway 46 is a county road, but in excellent two lane condition and zooms thru deep bush filled lands opening up to fields that are home to cattle and palm trees. Thru mims then stop at the gas station, next to the I95 onramp, where i first showed Larry old Black Betty for a quick smoke before hitting the slab. Where as 46 is a treat, 95 is a chore. 70mph is the limit and if you go 70 you will be in the way. "So far we are in a no go due to weather" "T-Minus 9 minutes and holding". Now i actually like the slab sometimes. The rush of just getting on down the road without too much concern for cross traffic, like on the surface roads. So many accidents i hear about are from cross traffic, people turning left in front of the bike, or entering the roadway from a side street. "It's goin to be close, but we'll give it a shot" Nasa tells us over the air. There is a small cell 30 miles west of the pad that is a concern. ..But since my last encounter with getting airborne at 45ish mph over that wood pallet in in the middle of my lane on my way to work last week has me still a bit skiddish, expecially when following semi's with full loads at 70mph on the slab. "Observed and forcast no go, for thunder storm anvils, I don't hold a lot of hope at this point." "We copy" and so it goes.About 20 minutes real time till launch, but it doesnt look good. .. So i make it to Rockledge and find Larrys crib on the golf course. Pat, his wife is across the street playing in a 4some tennis match as we roll out north heading to Ronnies house. They call Tonnie and he lives only 5 minutes from the yard and will meet us there so we can see if the bikes will fit in the trailer that is supposed to carry our sleds to the BlackHills. It's an enclosed 6x12 and too small for 3 bikes. So there. We are 30 days to go and no trailer. Hmmm? Off to a good start. Tonnie thinks he can find one at the AutoAuction, even tho he hasn't seen one lately. We need it to be 7x16 at least.
"We've got anvils within 20 miles. Sorry to break it to you, but it's not a good day to launch. We'll try again tomorrow." "We are going ahead to scrub for today." We hear from Shuttle Launch Control. Well, it's off to a party now. ill be back...