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"Saturday Ride"
by Mstspot
.
Went to my first event of the season
Saturday in Oklahoma City, about 140 miles from me. Three of my buddies
met me at my shop at 9 so that we could be on the road by 9:30. It was
supposed to end up being a nice day but we knew it was gonna be kinda chilly
when we bugged out, in the low fifty's. I'm a skinny ass so I always look
like the Michelin man when the temp is below 70! I had on five layers!
A thin insulated shirt, a long sleeve shirt, an MST t-shirt, my vest, coat,
chaps, helmet and full gloves. I couldn't move but I was nice and warm.
I know that sounds like a lot for just fifty but what ya got to remember
is that this is Oklahoma and that damn wind really does come sweeping down
the plain! Experience from living here has taught us that when the weather
is gonna be warm in the winter (spring) that the wind is gonna blow like
hell out of the south.
.
The weather had said that the wind
would be blowing about 15 or 20 but what they didn't say was that there
were gonna be gusts to like 80! We were traveling from east to west so
the wind was coming in from our side. We hit the road, for some reason
I always end up at the front (think it's cause I'm always the one that
even has a clue how to get somewhere), always seems odd to me too cause
they won't follow very close cause my pipes are too loud.
.
So we hit the interstate, I looked
back and we looked like a snake going down the road, one side of the lane
then the other, that wind was pushing us everywhere even without the trucks!
We got 38 miles out of town and one of the guys wanted to stop, I was pushing
them to make 60 miles before we made our first stop and I always set the
pace at around 60 when we start out so that everyone gets the feel of their
bikes. Why did you want to stop? Man! My arms are killing me from fighting
that wind! Great dude, at this pace the event will be over with before
we get there. He's 66 rides a big 1800 Yamaha, a really good friend, so
I give him hell all the time about being old, I never have a fixed schedual
when it comes to riding really. I told him to quit fighting the wind, to
just pull back on the bars more to stiffen the front end up and just use
his body more and don't worry about trying to hold a straight line.
.
Well we were at a restaurant so
we thought it would be a good time to eat, damn that was the slowest restaurant
I've seen in awhile over an hour later before we hit the road again. We
finally got into the city with just one more stop. By this time the weather
had really warmed up and we were all dying in the stop and go traffic and
of course the road that it took to get there on they were working on so
there were like 50 stop signs. Finally made it to the event, you never
seen four guys shucking clothes so fast it was in the high seventies by
now.
.
The event was at the Big Dog dealership,
they had like twenty vendors and some pretty cool cars, drag bikes, dragsters,
drag boats and custom bikes on display, I guess everyone must have ridden
their own bike though cause there were like two thousand bikes and a thousand
people? We were there less than a couple of hours. The ride home was much
more tolerable, I just had on a t-shirt and vest and the wind had died
down SOME. They wanted to stop at the casinos on the way home, not my thing,
so while they were gambling I went and got something to eat, they showed
up when I got my food so they got something too.
.
One of the guys had to be home
by 6 (thought that was kinda dumb to go with us and have to be home at
a certain time!) So we told him how to get there and he hit the road. The
other two wanted to stop at another casino about 70 miles down the road,
I told them I was gonna keep going from that point (the weather said that
we were gonna get thunderstorms in the late evening) They peeled off so
I set my scooter on 80 and headed to the house. I know one thing my butt
is maxed out at about 100 miles with no break, there was just no spot left
to sit on! I put my bike in the garage and made friends with my recliner
at the house. It was a good day.
.
I was kinda sore when I got up
Sunday after my first long ride of the year, my neck was sore from the
wind whipping my helmet like an apple on a stick. Next weekend won't be
so hard on me, should be in a little better shape. I'm headed out the 24th
to Eureka Springs Arkansas for a three day event, about 250 miles each
way and I'll be pulling the trailer. I love that country over there but
it gives your clutch and brakes a work out for sure. I'm glad that I have
a lot of confidence pulling my trailer, nothing like stopping on a 30 degree
incline, traffic backed up behind you and trying to pull onto a two line.
It's all good though. |
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