Vest needs a few patches on it..... Sun is out, and I haven't ridden all week. Quick text and I'm throwing on my jeans and boots, and pulling out a ride. Closest one to the door is the Big Dog Ridgeback. I don't have any need for saddlebags, so the BDM it is. Set the choke, turn the key and the S&S 117 roars to life. Damned I love that motor.
Few minutes later I'm pulling up at Jimbos' , he jumps on his Chieftain and we're off headed to The Motorcycle Outpost in Westminster. The best part about heading there is if you take the right 2 laners, you get to play a little and we do. Few minutes later we're topping off fuel in Caddo and headed North. Once we get past the HS , you can open them up a little bit. We're quickly in the 'country' and rolling on narrow 2 lanes north of 70 on the speedos. A lot of tight turns come up quickly with '30' on the yellow warning signs and I'm pushing the bike into the turns; this crap is work! The rigid chopper I'm on has a 330 rear tire and is about 9' long. When you go through these turns you truly are aware of having to counter steer the bike and you really have to lean over to get the tire on it's edge. Early on I'm not at my best , rolling through 'em slower than I'd like. Jim is right behind me 'pushing' me on but giving me lots of room to pick lane entry points on this beast. Once
we get through the turn, I'm grabbing throttle and holding on for dear life. I
don't know how much HP is getting to that rear tire but it has to be well over 100. I can feel my butt sliding back out of the seat and I've got a death grip on the handle bar grips to stay on the bike. I haven't asked Jim yet, but since I'd left him every time i accelerated.. i'm guessing the Indian couldn't keep up . Or , maybe he was back there laughing at me holding on for dear life. Either way , I was having fun and enjoying the rush! Well, 56 miles later we're pulling up to Big Slicks, parking 'em out front (well.. I did ) and headed across the square to the bike store. This is THE place to get patches sewn on in the area. As luck would have it, nobody else is in line. Show the ladies the patch placement and we're headed across the street for a couple of cold ones.
We're on our second beer when a guy steps up to the bar and starts speaking to Jim. Outside, he'd parked his Chieftain next to a '18 Silver
Chieftain Elite model. Turns out Sean here is the owner. He was up in Sturgis with his buddies, had some issue with his HD, said screw it and bought a new bike at the dealer up there. Interesting part is .... he's 6'8" with a 40" inseam so the conversation soon comes around to ways to make it more comfortable. We give him our advice, buy him a Bud Light and it's time to head out. I could have stayed there for a few more hours but I'm on a kitchen pass and I have no desire to ride home with a few too many beers down the hatch. As I'm picking up my vest I while a little about the snap that's tearing out and they are now drilling it out, sewing on a leather patch to repair it and .. new snap. It's like new! Okay .. not quite .. but I was planning on retiring this vest.. it's got more life!
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| That rain is where I'm headed |
Time to reverse the path to home so we're headed out. Few miles down the road I'm thinking.. this part of the trip may differ from the first half. The temps have dropped a notch and ahead of us.. ... .. just to the Southwest, the skies are black. To our left , Southeast of us..... you can see a large shower. It's game on! We're pushing the speeds a notch quicker this time. I've gotten back my mojo on the Ridgeback after leaving parked too long. I've found my max lean angle to the right, scraping the pipes on a tight turn and never found the max lean on the left side. I'm sure the 3 beers have zero to do with any of this of course. We're making good time and staying dry until we roll back into Caddo Mills. The roads are damp; we've lucked out and the showers came and went. Few more miles down the road Jim is bailing off to his place, totally dry (bastard!)
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| Old Skool! |
As I cross the interstate and take 36 for the last leg ... the roads are really wet keeping me at a slower pace. The 330 tire on this bike needs to be replaced and I don't think it'd have much traction the day it was new. Now... the rain begins. For the next 10 miles I'm keeping it down around 50.. then 40 .... getting soaked. These friggn' rain drops are big! I'm
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| Rain stopped for a few minutes |
getting pelted and they friggin sting! Still, I'm almost home. I can see a patch of blue ahead .. well, I'll never get to it.. but ... looks promising! I don't know what the temps dropped to but it was cooling down quickly. Jeans are soaked . Goggles are fogging and somehow I've got moisture on the inside of them. If I wasn't on the last road to the house, I'd be pulling over and cleaning them off .. but I've got less than a mile to get home. Now I'm finding this refreshing. I honestly don't want the ride to stop. Soaking wet, getting pelted.. and .. I feel alive.
Roll it into the garage, work my way to the back porch, strip down to dry skivvies and... headed for a hot shower. I kinda' enjoyed that! Nothing like riding in the element without a windshield or some crazy waterproof outfit. Just like the old days....
we get through the turn, I'm grabbing throttle and holding on for dear life. I 
don't know how much HP is getting to that rear tire but it has to be well over 100. I can feel my butt sliding back out of the seat and I've got a death grip on the handle bar grips to stay on the bike. I haven't asked Jim yet, but since I'd left him every time i accelerated.. i'm guessing the Indian couldn't keep up . Or , maybe he was back there laughing at me holding on for dear life. Either way , I was having fun and enjoying the rush! Well, 56 miles later we're pulling up to Big Slicks, parking 'em out front (well.. I did ) and headed across the square to the bike store. This is THE place to get patches sewn on in the area. As luck would have it, nobody else is in line. Show the ladies the patch placement and we're headed across the street for a couple of cold ones. 
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