First Two Days

[BudMan]

There weather has been great since we got here.
I checked the forecast and we should have sunny skies and temps in the 70's and 80's all the way home.
We'll be careful. See y'all in a few weeks.

[goose]

Hey Dave, hate that we missed y'all, hope y'all made it out okay Wednesday. We didn't leave out until 10am and rode to Iverness,FL man what a day finally got checked in at a hotel at almost midnight. That's a long day in the saddle averaging almost 40mph. Hope y'alls trip goes well the rest of the way, until next time y'all ride safe... GOOSE

[coacha]

Goose, it was good to have a chance to see you guys last night. Safe travels for the rest of your trip.

[BudMan]

We made it to Greenville, AL. Next stop Sardis, MS.
After that the house. At least for Crystal and I.
Gene's got another 220 miles left after our house.
I don't know if he's going all the way home or stay over at our place.

Goose, I was sitting on the balcony drinking a beer and saw you ride by.
I'm guessing it was you. Black Nomad. Two people on it.
I guess you two were headed downtown.
Hope to meet you on a future ride.

[Kawhead]

Well, I made it back home today at noon. My poor ol' faithful Nomad got me home hitting and missing on the front cylinder. Its likely a loose wire or a bad coil or something easy to fix. The ride home started fine and then suddenly the engine bogs down, the kind that gives you the oh hell feeling in the pit of your stomach.

I assumed it was bad fuel, because I had just filled up so I GPS'ed an Advance part store to get some Seafoam. Of course that didn't work. Then, I GPSed a Kawasaki shop that was 10 miles and 25 traffic lights away away! It took forever, I didn't count all the lights, but I did catch all of them on that rough running bike and the sun was beating down on me hard. Lights at every intersection and both sides of the train track! And trying to keep the Nomad running at the stops because it was a bitch to start it again!

I got to the Kaw shop ten minutes before it closed. The three mechanics did come out and did what they could in the parking lot and showed me the front cylinder wasn't firring and they would stay late and fix it, but I think in hind sight the boss was smiling at me and growling at them. He needed a fine demonstration of what Todd showed me about the arts of conflict negotiation and resolution. Thank God for those young guys for their help!

The Uhaul store was a half a block down the road. They didn't have anything small enough with a ramp, but there was a truck 70 miles north we were just waiting on a phone call to confirm it. The phone call never came and never came, so I went back out into that oven they called a parking lot. A tytpical Uhaul compound where everything was WHITE! The cement, the building, the trucks!

I get under the gas tank and disconnect every wire that I can find and reach and reconnect them. An old tatooed up rough looking Harley shirt wearing fellah came up and offered help. I told him I was going to try this while I was waiting and doing nothing, because if you do nothing, nothings gonna happen. DAMNED, if it didn't start running better!

The Harley guy known as Tunnel Rat because of his service in Viet Nam gave me his phone number. I told him how thankful I was for his service to our country and exchanged bike stories in that oven we called a parking lot for a few minutes. I slammed my helmet on my sun scorched head and the nice lady came out and told me she never got a call. I told her my luck has changed and getting better. She gave me a warm sympathy hug and wish me well and off I went.

I got about 20 miles away and there it was again! I guessed it was wires moving but the further I rode the better it got. So I decided to ride as far as I could and stop sometime in the late morning as there was no traffic and it was cool.

I finally stopped somewhere about three in the morning at a truck stop to get gas,and I was exhausted and hungry. I walked into the store stiff legged from the ride in my leather because it was cool and all eyes turned to me! I stagged to the rest room to wash my face and seen what they saw, a very rough, unshaven, sunken eyed guy who looked like hell!
I got a cup of coffee and I could feel the eyes following me over to the sandwich cooler. As I stand there trying to decide which sandwich and sipping coffee to sooth my dry mouth, for what seemed like a minute to me, one of the clerks came over and as if I was alright. I told him yeah and ask "Reckon which one of them sandwiches you like in there" . He did pick a good un.

I had the bike off to the side of the pumps out of the way sort of in the light. So I fold this thick cleaning towel to sit on and lean against the warm pipes. THAT FELT SO GOOD! It was very chilly and my leather jacket absorbed all that heat from the pipes while I ate and soon dozed off. The first time I heard foot steps, it was the clerk again checking on me, so I gave him my whole story and how I got there. The next time it was a trucker who wasn't sure what I was, a bag, a dead body or what. We talked about vacations and traveling and the weather and he leaves and wishes me well. The last time it was an old couple in the big bus camper. They came over and over and ask if I was hungry and offered to get me a room to get out of the cold. They were so nice and innocent and again I explained my predicament and had the where with all, I was just taking a break.

Thats the kind of stuff that happen when you're on a bike. I enjoyed every minute of the trip in spite of the weather. I met some great people from the forum, but I wish everybody could have came. Key West was fantastic! I have hundreds of little stories that could fill pages with!

It's time to take a nap again! I'm exhausted!

Just wanted to let everybody know I made it home!

[nomadtom69]

Mike that reminds me to print of the VBA help list I joined and put it in the saddle bag I guess we all need to that

[Loafer]

Kawhead, glad you made it back safely. Sucks when you are far from home and things go to hell.

[Kawhead]

Originally Posted by nomadtom69

Mike that reminds me to print of the VBA help list I joined and put it in the saddle bag I guess we all need to that

Yeah, I have phone numbers of a few memebers, joefuni, coacha, bigsid, goose, but I would only call as a very last resort. They are more than happy as a first resort, but you have to at least do your very best with what you have just in case theres nobody around.

I have always thought that if you brung a buncha tools with you fate would take it's course and you would never even have to open the pouch. It don't always happen that way. Thank God for the extry unnecessary weight! I'm so use to pulling the tank that it was second nature and I got to put on a show in the parking lot at Advance Parts store. It looks worse than it is. Ten bolt and a few hoses and wallah. Yeah and wires too.

[Kawhead]

Budman, MrsBudman (Christal) and Wanderer are on the way to old bakiers house in sardis,miss. Poor guy.

It looks like they are going to have far weather.

Ray if you out there, give one of us a ring! A week of debauchedness is plenty enough and its time get on back home.Or at least texx somebody. If you ain't hand cuffed or something.

[Kawhead]

Poor Budman. We walking down Duval street and he looks down one of the allies and see a leather shop, shoulda been the first clue, and thinks wow what a nice place to pick up a cheap vest or chaps. He kinda reminded me of Hank Hill. The Nazi uniform on the manikin with stiletto heals sporting a riding crop on her shoulder, could have been a strong nother hint.

The poor guy walked in and was knocking shit over trying to get the hell back outa there. My lord he says we are in our final days! Thats Sodaman, Gamore in there. Theys mens pants in there with the whole ass cut out off 'em His eye were hurting, he was sweating profusely, and he could hardly breath and the next stop was to get a stiff Margaretta!

Man, he got one that made the outrageous price not seem so bad! I guarantee you could have poured it into your gas tank and it would have cleaned the hell outa the FI system. I'm sure a small drp on a kats ass would make him out run a motorcycle.

I wish, at the risk of serious injury, I wish I had walk in with him to see reality set in.

See, thats the kinda stuff that happens on a bike trip.

[Loafer]

Great story

[goose]

Deborah and I finally made it to the house. Wow, just over 2300 miles that was a ride!

[Cajunrider]

I wonder how many of them folks in the truck stop felt an urge to put you out of your misery Mike? That was a heck of a story. Glad you made it home safely.

[Kawhead]

Originally Posted by Cajunrider

I wonder how many of them folks in the truck stop felt an urge to put you out of your misery Mike? That was a heck of a story. Glad you made it home safely.

They were prolly doing the same thing I was doing and waiting to see what was going to happen next. I'm glad it didn't rain or something. That happened on my last hundred miles before home and it rained gallon sized rain drops and I hda time to put on one of those disposable rain vest. The kind that fly up around your head at seventy miles an hour in interstate traffic and try to dispose of your ass!

That stuff ain't fun while it's happening, and you're thinking any minute it's going to get a lot better. Most of the time it dose I enjoyed every last second of it and can't wait till next time.

For a long time I thought the reason things happen was because I had Todd and Kawgirl with me, but no, things happen when I'm by myself! The last time I rode with them I woke up with a head throbbing hang over, dehydrated from puking my guts out and they were going to scout out a ride for the next day trip and off we went. Y'all just don't what all these two put into thing like that. They are very methodical and discuss every small detail to the end on a level I can't even began to comprehend. We come to a stop somewhere and they discuss it for ten minutes and they'll ask me what I think. My entire opinion in two words is "Here's Good" and they stare at me for a second and then talk for another five or ten minutes more and we ride on. I didn't know they was two kinds of anal till I met Todd. Anyways, they was this big tornado and we almost got killed, but we didn't and blah, blah, blah, and I nearly froze to damn death but a warm pizza and Jack Daniels saved me, blah, blah, blah.

[Kawhead]

Originally Posted by goose

Deborah and I finally made it to the house. Wow, just over 2300 miles that was a ride!

Long ride ain't it young man?