Stage eleven completed with all 280 something miles i was back riding with Dottie yesterday thanks to a few parking lot mechanics who the previous evening made some needed adjustments...Crossing my fingers for our maintenance load has been light we change the oil every other day check the plugs each night tighten the chain if need be grease and check primary level >>> The only leak the bike is showing is a minor one in the primary and that only seems to leak under load...As each day rolls you make decisions as to what to carry with you for tools, parts, gas, oil and clothing...You hope you make the right decision based on the days weather and the bikes running condition and the rider scuttlebutt riders sharing the issues they have been having weighs heavy on some of what you carry with you...As perfect as machinery can run one min it is subject to change at any given moment...Even when you cover all your bases material/equipment failure is up to the motorcycle gods...Even though Dottie and i ran a full mileage day yesterday it was not without issues..Right before we shot out of the morning gate Dotties bike struggled to start...In the parking lot before the race there is a host of young legs to kick and kick and kick...On the other hand during the run i have been kicking the scout over at each stop...Once started in the parking lot i told my riding partner we are going to fuel the bike running please do not shut it off...Yes i am still kicking yet one never knows how many kicks one has left in them...I always loved that cartoon character of the guy with his foot extended with a caption Keep on trucking...If i were an artist instead of my chosen state of tired confused crazy cannonball rider i would sketch out a similar character alongside a motorcycle with a caption of keep on kicking...Those tee shirts would sell like brownies at a hippie bake sale...Who knows it may have been done already...By the look on Dotties face she was not happy i wanted to fuel the bike while it was running...We only did it at the first gas stop with no mishaps and the bike seemed to be running well as i kept the green scout in my perpetually vibrating mirror...I am not what you would call a religious man yet spiritual to the core...As we left Colorful Colorado Utah slapped us in the face with a grand vista an expanse of open land like i could not even imagine...In awe trying to take all the views in while riding is merely impossible as the absorption of your surroundings is over whelming...Your route dictated by your scroll right left light stop sign mile markers highways bald eagle at mile marker 179 during route lay out...Lone crow on a fence post half way between here and there...I made that last one up yet i did yesterday see a lone crow on a fence post reminding me of my grandfather a keeper of pet crows...He was not a worldly man yet a wise one...We rode through Cisco a ghost town that held some strange allure as i past by...I left the calling of the ghost with a quick throttle...Historic Dewey bridge what was left of it stood ghostly as well further up the rode...US 128 down through this red canyon accompanied by the Colorado river...Was breath taking to say the least the most amazing beautiful road i have ever traveled...I felt at times not that i was riding an Indian chief yet that i was an Indian chief riding a painted pony down through this red canyon...We were in the shade most of the ride yet the top of these magnificent walls shone brightly in the morning sun...I could see and feel faces in the artful discoloration of the changing shades of the sheer walls...Monolithic slabs laid precisely positioned like an artist painting...The river on a downhill mission ran swift beside us churning turbulent and rumbling down as it has for millions of years carving etching while teaching us to be humble...The rest of the days ride was hot and highway two things in life i tend to avoid...the bikes running good after a few road side tune ups on Dotties mine died dead about 40 miles out...Within mins of dying Gary and Linda Wright came to the rescue i had waved Dottie on as setting on the side of the highway with these trucks flying past should be by accident not by choice...My Coil had died dead no life what so ever lucky for me i had a spare in my saddle bag by the time i retrieved it Gary had my old one out and disconnected...the bike responded with the first kick and off we went...We were hosted by Jeff Decker at his studio he is the premiere bronze sculptor of motorcycles as well as being a fellow Cannonballer...From there onto Rick Salisburys new Legends motorcycle museum shop store gallery just amazing...Rick also a fellow Cannonballer... Art Gaffar my crew chief and my son Jared have been making my starts and finishes stress free thinking and doing all the extra things that i would be overwhelmed to accomplish...My thanks i am forever in your gratitude...Every thing in life does not always go as we like yet it is how we handle the tough roads that make us stronger and better...
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 10:12:05 +0000
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