Day 11. 3,000 miles and counting.......
Day 1
Major cool trip so far. Started out a little rough though. We left Tuesday at about 11 am and headed toward MO. First gas stop was in Poseyville, IN. Tried to put the Connie up on the centerstand and couldn't do it easily w/ all the crap I had loaded on it. Said oh well and put the side stand down and filled it. Went inside to pay and while I'm standing in line, I see the 2 fellas I'm riding with messing w/ my bike. WTF? Seems I'm an idiot and didn't put it in gear after trying to get that loaded up pig on the centerstand. It fell over. All by itself. Broke the windshield and the footpeg. Crap. Not a good omen.
Luckily, there was a welding shop only a half mile away and Caroline, the owner, fixed me right up. $25 bucks. I mounted it back on and was repacking all my crap in about an hour. OK, could be worse. I called the wife and had her order a new windshield from Murph. I figured she could bring it down to KY on Saturday when I meet her there for the big Family get together. I'll just have to ride it sans windshield for 4-5 days. Aw heck, I can handle that right?
Pack the tools away and started cording all the crap back on the bike to continue the trip. Lose grip on Bungee cord that's streched waaaaaay out. Bungee cord flies around at close to supersonic speed and whacks me in the damn nose! DAMN THAT HURT!!!!! Damn near knocked me over. Glasses went flying and I'm paranoid they may be broken. Glasses are fine. NOSE IS BROKEN!!!
Aw crap. I'm bleeding too. Dr. J says it could use a stitch or 2. Since he doesn't have a suture set w/ him that shit ain't happening. Get a bandaid out and after cussing for a few minutes, finish repacking.
Damn, all that cold air on my nose feels pretty good. I'm sure that's not gonna feel so good before long and I'm gonna be missing that windshield before Saturday. Oh well. Onward to MO.
Pretty uneventful day after that. Made it around St. Louis and Southwest about 20 - 30 miles and crapped out. Dr J and Mr T had only had about 3 hours sleep. We were right about where we wanted to be anyway. Fun riding begins in the morning. I figure tomorrow has got be better. My Friggin nose hurts like a bitch and I'm getting some little circles under both eyes. Great.
Day 2 ....
Get a good early start and head Southwest. We'd decided last night that Hwy 19 looks like a good road and we zip down to Cuba, MO and pick it up there and head South. Hwy 19 is a really nice ride. Nice & twisty w/ nice pavement. Mr T took the lead and set a nice pace. Not too fast but just about right. We all know to ride our own ride and not get stupid. Mr T is the best rider. Dr J has a brand new BMW w/ 170 HP and I've got the oldest, slowest bike w/ way more gear than either of them, because I'm gonna be gone way longer. Nope, after yesterday, I'm not gonna even try to play speed racer. Prudence is a virtue.
Oh, my friggin nose hurts too. Yeah, just ride and have fun.
Stopped for gas and lunch in Eminence, MO. Had great BBQ at one of the coolest places. "Deans BBQ". If you're ever there, just stop. Good BBQ, way cool decor and nice looking Cowgirl waitresses. All around neat place.
Rode Hwy 19 down to Arkansas. Rode around in a Southeast direction till dark and found a place to stay. Wynne, Arkansas. Will go into Memphis tomorrow (Thursday) and see "The Art of the Motorcycle".
I'm still not home yet. It's 2:30 in the morning. I'll continue this when I get home in a couple days.
