First things first - the ride. I left Tupelo, MS this morning and headed north on the Natchez Trace based on the recommendation of a local Tupeloian? Tupelite? Tupelese man?…whatever. I took the Trace north into Alabama, then got off and rode a fairly hot and ugly four lane US highway for what seemed like forever. I saw almost nothing of interest, but for the sake of laughing at myself, it took me most of the way through the state to realize that places with Bama in the name were referring to the state and not something to do with the president. Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake.
I also noticed along the way that I was entering a different time. The buildings were mostly stone or brick and built in a style that we don't get to see on the West Coast. They are truly beautiful. It was sort of nice to be riding through a bunch of structures built by people with true pride in their work. Not that builders today don't have the same pride about their job, but it felt different to me somehow.
Somewhere near Albertville, AL I stopped for a break and met Crazy Bob, a biker riding a police special Harley. "Long way from home, arncha?" He asked. We go to talking and he was one of the first people I've encountered in the South that I could understand when he spoke. (I didn't realize that it was going to be so hard to talk to people here.) We talked about the trip, Deal's Gap in North Carolina, and staying alive on the road, the usual bike talk. It was nice to have someone walk up and start talking because I had been in my own head most of the day and was starting to get a little sideways. He informed me that I was almost to Chattanooga, my destination for the day, and to be careful for the next 20 miles because people don't pay attention on these roads. And he gave me this:
Bob was right, along the stretch of highway to get back out of civilization I watched several people drift in and out of lanes while talking on the phone, nearly not stop at stop lights for lack of paying attention, and my favorite was the guy driving with his knee and leaned over toward the passenger's side for something. It was a little terrifying.
But it paid off when I got onto the smaller roads through the countryside and quickly noticed that I have almost forgotten how to turn the bike since I haven't seen a road turn for what feels like weeks. Suddenly there were turns in the road and I was actually traversing hills (yes, hills!). It was fantastic! I was riding along and the GPS told me I was about 40 minutes from the meeting in Chattanooga and I thought to myself, "I should be crossing into Tennessee at any minute". A few blinks later I passed a sign saying "Welcome to Georgia." What?! How the hell did I get into Georgia? I didn't see that one coming. I guess that's what I get for blindly following the GPS and not looking at a map.
As I was riding along the road I looked to my right and I saw this:
The first canyon-like thing since at least Texas. Then I got to ride down into it! It was only about a quarter mile, but the road actually turned! It was phenomenal. Then up the valley and into Chattanooga!
I got into town and went to find a meeting. I got to the address I had and no one was there. (This is becoming a theme.) So I got another address and off I went and that's when things got weird. I was pulling up to a stoplight and I pulled the clutch and…nothing. Shit! Luckily I was about to get onto the freeway and I didn't need to stop, so I got on the freeway and forced shifts to ride into town. As I was getting off the exit to go to the meeting I was hoping that I wouldn't have to stop at any lights, and then the first one was red. Double shit! I tried to see if I could get going but it was hopeless so I pushed the bike into a gas station and started trying to figure out what I was going to do. At this point a meeting was out (hence the missed meeting) so I was working on finding a place to get the bike towed to.
First thing I did was call Steve in Texas to see if he knew anyone. He said he didn't, but he did help me to troubleshoot the bike over the phone and establish where I stood. He said that I could certainly do it myself, but I allowed as how doing that in a parking lot in horribly humid 100 degree weather was just not something I was willing to do if I could avoid it.
After searching for a BMW dealership and all manner of other things I found these guys. I called and they had someone there within 30 minutes. It was awesome! Speedy was driving the truck, an altered moving truck with a brilliant lift setup in the back to haul the bike in. (Speedy built the truck by the way.) He reassured me that their mechanics were good and that the dealership had some issues, so I was comforted that I had done the right thing. We got the bike to the shop and then he even gave me a ride to a hotel! Frickin' awesome! Thanks guys!
So here I am, stuck in Chattanooga, TN waiting for the next indicated thing. For now I will eat and sleep soundly knowing that the guys at Ultimate Cycle and Scooter have my back and will get me on the road as soon as they can.
No comments:
Post a Comment