It was an interesting weekend. It all started when I dropped my Harley backing it into the garage. My left foot came out from under me causing the bike and myself to fall over. Better that it happened at 0 mph than 80 mph. I strained my back trying to get it up and, luckily, my wife came to help me. I burned three fingertips , a knee and an ankle on the pipe getting it back up. Did I mention I was in shorts and flip flops? Lesson learned.
Friday was my son's 18th birthday and I could not get out of work that day so I made plans to see him on Saturday. I got up early Saturday morning, made sure I had everything I needed, gave the Harley a twice over and then hit the road from Pensacola to Montgomery. According to Google Maps it was 162 miles from my driveway to his. The ride up was uneventful. I saw a wild fox try to cross the road and then change it's mind. I also took time to think "Gee, it's cooler than I expected this morning. I probably should have worn long sleeves. Oh well. I'll be home before 8pm so no worries." Insert ominous music.
I picked my son up and went to Montgomery Harley-Davidson to pick up a dealer poker chip. We were happy to see we happened to arrive on the Hot rods and Harleys day at the dealership. My son loves the 1973 Mustang Mach 1 and they had one on display. We took time to check out all of the cars and bikes, pick up a couple of shirts and poker chips, and then head out. On the way out one of the sales people made the joke "You always need something, you just don't know what until you get here." We both laughed. Insert ominous music.
My son and I went out for lunch, saw an old friend and enjoyed spending time together. I had a great day with my son. As this was the point of the trip I consider it a success.
Then I went to get gas before leaving Montgomery. I gassed up, bought and drank a bottle of water and clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick. The Harley won't start. I look at the battery indicator and the battery doesn't have enough juice to kick the engine over. Of course Harley hasn't made a kick start model in decades. I'm stuck! Luckily I have the extended warranty so I called them for a tow. The dealership didn't close for two more hours. Maybe I could get a new battery and get on the road to get home before sunset.
For my $50 extended warranty deductible I got: A tow to the dealership, a new battery, a new voltage regulator, a new stator, new primary oil and every wire on the Harley disconnected and reconnected. It was 8:30pm before I was able to get back on the road and almost midnight before I got home. I'm so happy the two guys working the maintenance department were willing to stay two and a half hours late to get me back on the road.
I'm now on I-65 headed South. The road is empty, the moon is rising on my left and I'm all alone with my thoughts. I would like to say I had a deep meaningful conversation with myself but that would be a lie. My only thoughts were "Damn it's cold!" I stopped at the Greenville AL Wal-mart to get a sweatshirt and another bottle of water. Further down the road and it is still empty, the moon is a little higher and I still don't have any deep thoughts worth sharing beyond "Damn it's cold!"
I soon realized speed didn't matter. No matter how fast I went I was going to be cold. Why be cold any longer than I have to? I rolled the throttle and put the Harley up to 110 mph. Why have a 110 cubic inch engine if you aren't going to enjoy it? Now I'm flying down the empty interstate, still cold, still not thinking deep thoughts and imagining my brother laughing at me if he could see me. In the midst of all this a thought finally came to me "Would a tire blowing up at 110 mph be any worse than a tire blowing up at 75 mph?" I decided not to find out and brought my speed back down to just under 75 mph. Was it 5 miles at 110? Was it 20? I don't know. I really don't. I was in a zone and just going.
I got home around 11:30 pm. It was a helluva day.
Here's a dragon on a skull for your pleasure.
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