"You can't give me your angel, Harry. Who will protect you?" I cried.
He finished his work and stood back and said again, "Promise me you'll always wear it when you ride."
"I promise."
Angel Harry:
It had been a long ride from that Shell station forty miles north of Memphis to our planned stop in Texarkana. I was sitting sideways on my sporty finishing up a call with Doc. He asked where I was stopping and I told him I was riding straight through. I could hear the worry in his voice and knew that prayers were being said for my safety. As I was saying goodbye, three Harleys were pulling in to gas up.
I started to dial my sister's number to update her when I looked up and asked the one closest to my pump which way they were heading. "Southeast Texas," Phillip replied. They had ridden all the way down from Wisconsin that morning after attending the 105th HOG rally. It wasn't luck that brought them to this stop. Doc's prayer was being answered.
They were headed to Beaumont and driving through the night trying to make it home before the mandatory evacuation began for Hurricane Gustov. We'd be on the same roads up until Carthage, Texas.
"Mind if I tag along at the back?" I asked. Sure. No problem. Phillip split off before Memphis heading up to somewhere in the Ozarks. He didn't need to go back for anything before the hurricane hit. JR took the lead and I followed Harry on his classy shovel.
The ride past Memphis from Little Rock to Texarkana had all three of us nodding off in the late night/early morning hours. It is surreal to feel like you're falling asleep while on two wheels... especially while being the one actually steering. Riding on Hope always amazes me.
Watching from behind as we scooted down the road, I knew neither Harry nor JR were steering in a straight line. They were tired. I also had to keep shifting my eyes away from watching them or their backlights hypnotized me. JR has a flashing red light behind his scoot and it was mesmerizing on those long dark roads.
We stopped every 110 miles or so to fill up and take a breather. I remember resetting my odometer trying to gage the next stop and counting down every time. In Texarkana, Harry and I decided to try a little bottle of "Wake Up." The gal who sold it behind the counter raved about it. Big mistake.
By the time we were an hour down the road, both of us were physically sick. I believe whatever was in that little vial of "energy" is what began my problems with the vertigo and lightheadedness. Even now, I cannot drink coffee. Must have been caffeine though I didn't look the label over. I simply downed it like a shot as I was told to do. Never again!
The journey to and from ShovelFest had been perfect for me though. That's not to say there weren't problems, but when you ride two wheels it's not the destination so much as the road that makes the day unique all in and of itself. I set off on Wednesday morning finding a need for more than the two straps I had for my bag. Stopped at the gas station, filled up, checked my tires, checked my oil, bought a package of three bungee cords and secured my bag. Then I hit the ferry ready to begin the ride.
The first day was about a seven hour ride up to Magnolia and my sister's home. Somewhere before Center and the loop I was stung by something right above my lip on the left side of my face. I know it was a sting because when I stopped there was this huge black stinger stuck in my face. It had felt like the truck in front of me had kicked up a rock when it first happened.
Arriving at the courthouse around 3pm, we went home to freshen up and then Sherry took me out to dinner at Mules on the Square for some fajitas. Ryan stopped by after work for a hamburger. We laughed and visited and had a great time.
Tired from waking up at 4am and riding all day, as soon as we got home I fell asleep at about 9:30pm and slept until 4:30am Friday morning. Left out at 6:30am to meet up with PumperTom in Arkadelphia at 8:30am and found out his shovel wouldn't start. We sat at the Cracker Barrel off the highway after having breakfast waiting for the Dallas group to come with their trucks and trailers. It was a nice morning and afternoon of relaxing and visiting.
Once we were on the road we headed to Memphis and arrived right at dusk to Kinley's home. After much discussion, Syndikat took a few of us over to her home and on the way we stopped for some Mexican food. A hot shower, a warm bed and sleep were next then back up at 4:30am on Saturday. Bill, Sal, Syndi and I were on the road to Eldred by 5:30am.
Met with a little rain on the ride up, stopped off in a few different places for breakfast and breaks, and arrived at the campsite around 5pm excited to meet and greet the rest of the ShovelHead forum members. The rest of the Memphis/Dallas group was a few hours behind us and arrived in the dark.
Anne-Marie & me:
For my "firsts" - it was the first time I've ever slept in a tent on the ground out in the middle of nowhere and my first multi-day long distance ride, not counting the shorter distance trips to Doc & Pam's in May and Bob & Lee's in July. On Saturday, RoadKingBill arrived with the news that Bob and Lee weren't going to the flat track races due to the hurricane. My son had already called me once that morning to let me know it was a Cat 3. When he text'd me that it was a Cat 4 I knew I had to hit the road.
At 2:30pm, Bill escorted me out of Eldred and around St. Louis to I-55. The scenic route he took on River Road was glorious! He was kind enough to e-mail me this description of our ride:
_____________________
When we were just north of Alton, I pointed out to you the painting of the Piasa Bird that was on the bluff to our left. You can click the link and see what it’s all about.
I hope you realized that we rode next to or across three rivers today: The Mississippi, the Illinois and the Missouri Rivers.
As we rode past Pere Marquette State Park on the River Road, we were alongside the Illinois River. The Illinois dumps into the Mississippi right at Grafton IL. That was the busy little town that we went slowly and quietly through.
Past Grafton we were alongside the Mississippi River and crossed the Mississippi on the Clark Bridge at Alton. That was the bronze colored cable-stayed bridge. When we stopped for gas in West Alton we were between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. We crossed the Missouri just past the gas stop. You can ALMOST see the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers from that bridge if you look to your left. It was from that area that Lewis and Clark started their voyage up the Missouri.
We then crossed the Mississippi on I-270 on the Chain of Rocks Bridge. I don’t know if you saw the old bridge just downstream (to the right). The old bridge is unusual in that it has a 30 degree turn about 1/3 of the way across the river. It could get kinda dicey riding across the old bridge in the rain and fog!
I don’t know if you were able to see The Arch and downtown STL when I pointed it out to you. The best vantage point to enjoy the STL skyline is from the Illinois side.
We finally crossed the Mississippi River again on I-255 at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. That was a few miles before you turned south on I-55. You should again have had a decent view of the Mississippi River on your left as you went south on I-55.
Now you can see just how we’d be fucked if the big earthquake they’ve been forecasting ever hits here! LOL
As you could tell from the number of bikes in Grafton and along the Great River Road that it’s a favorite ride for us living here. Even in the winter it’s a good ride because the bluffs on the east side of the road collect and reflect the heat of the sun so it’s not so cold even then.
_____________________Which brings me past the pre-Memphis stop when three angels on Harley's rode up and to Texarkana where Harry gave me his angel pin. I will never forget the kindness they showed me, the protection they provide me and the care they bestoyed upon me.
After we split up in Carthage I rode on down towards Houston, weary and not feeling too good. Just past Livingston, my stops increased as the vertigo I was experiencing increased. I tried rehydrating, eating and resting. Right past the Conroe exit (or before -- I can't remember as I was feeling really queasy by then) I stopped at the Valero and there sat a beautiful Shovel parked by the door.
Cheryl built her own ride. She said that her father told her she could ride when she could build her own... so she did! She let me rest in the store and we took pictures and visited awhile. She wanted a ShovelFest t-shirt so we exchanged e-mails and I said I'd forward her the info from the forum.
Cheryl & me:
By the time I hit IAH it was time to stop again. I pulled up into the Denny's near Greens Road and sat. Made a few calls and found some encouragement and suggestions. Waited out the dizzy spells and heat for about an hour and a half then felt good enough to make that last 50 miles home. I decided to ride Beltway-8 to I-45 instead of going through town just in case I needed to stop by the side of the road again.
Arrived home on the island a little after 3pm which meant I was on the road almost 25 hours straight. Exhausted, I dropped into bed after unpacking Hope and slept straight through till the following morning. It actually took me almost three days to recover from that ride. Amazing.
So total miles on my odometer were 2189.5 and about 967 of those were from my 25 hour road trip home. It was quite the ride and quite the fest! Every single person I met was giving and caring and honorable. As I was leaving Saturday I was shocked to find that they had passed a hat for me. It was a humbling experience to feel the concern and care of every one who was there in Eldred as I left for the journey back to my son.
I will never forget. Never.
This Labor Day weekend, each and every ShovelHead forum member and their guests accepted each other as family. What a crew we were! If you want to meet the others, feel free to join in at the forum by clicking the link below:
ShovelHead Forum - ShovelFest 2008
What a great experience... I can't wait till next year.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.