After a short but good night's sleep, I awoke to the sound of rain. Ugh. I can't complain
though, overall I've had great riding weather for the past month or so here on the East Coast. I
could have been in my tent, but instead I was in a warm and dry house with new friends! Here is a
photo of the clan - Teresa, Nelson, Reggie and Drake the Chesapeake Bay Retriever:
(Note to Matriarch: once again, I didn't stay with axe murderers!)
While I slept upstairs, my gear and motorcycle were getting warm and dry downstairs in Reggie's magic
garage. Actually, the right side of the garage houses Reggie's gear and equipment for hunting,
motorcycling, and a variety of other hobbies. Teresa refers to this section of the garage as
“the man hole” and I don't think she ever ventures over to that region.
Lucky for me, the man hole and the man (Reggie) provided assistance to my gear and equipment.
The radar detector's remote display issue that I mentioned in yesterday's report
(HERE) was diagnosed,
and sadly it was determined to be fried:
I ordered a replacement to meet me in Arizona while at Reggie and Teresa's, and tried to digest the fact
that I would be running the next 1300 miles in sections prone to LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) presence
without the services of my beloved V1 (radar).http://www.seizethejourney.com/fff2007/jr23.asp
More magic from the “man hole” - last night Reggie put my boots on his hunting boot warmers...
...which made for very happy feet!http://www.seizethejourney.com/fff2007/jr23.asp
I was very disappointed that my boots leaked as badly as they did yesterday and feared I'd arrive at my
destination tonight with wet feet again (and no boot warmers!) I had resealed the boots after I returned
from Alaska and before heading East here, but apparently the 8,000 miles while frolicking in the foliage
took a toll on their waterproofness. However, Reggie whipped out his heat gun and more waterproofing
sealant from the “man hole” and went to work:
While he was working on my boots, I took a photo of a few of his boots. I can't say I've met too many
folks with this set-up:
After Teresa kindly dried my drenched clothes, and Reggie and I got the bike and gear ready, I headed back out in the rain!
The forecast said dry relief could be had once I crossed into Oklahoma and for the remainder of my journey back
to AZ. As I re-entered I-40 westbound in heavy rain, I wondered if my boots would leak again, wondered how
long the heavy truck traffic that was creating very low visibility conditions would last, and wondered if riders
who don't own heated gear knew what they were really missing! This “wondering” was interrupted when a
situation occurred while I was in the passing lane with a big rig truck beside, behind, and in front of me, and as
water was spraying in every direction. The 18 wheeler ahead of me started braking and swerving right, almost
hitting the same truck that was beside me. Instinct said go opposite of the truck where one might think is an
“out” (in this case, towards the left shoulder), but experience told me there was a reason the truck was swerving,
so I held my position. That reason appeared an instant later: a dog was standing on the white line (median
side). If I had gone the other route (left), I would have been the one to hit the dog, not the truck behind
me who did go left. As odd and sad as it is, the same scenario occurred a half-hour later when I rolled up
on a dog walking on the right shoulder of the interstate facing traffic. Geez, what's going on in Arkansas
with loose dogs along the interstate?!!
About as soon as I hit the Oklahoma state line, the rain ended. Within sight of the first Rest Area, I pulled
over to change gear and do a celebration dance for the dry conditions... both the weather and my boots! Yes,
Reggie's magic on my boots worked! Yippee!!
I'll be editing this Journey Report to include other details of today's 700 mile journey soon. Landed in
Tucumcari tonight, and should be rolling into Phoenix tomorrow. Here's a map of today's route:
If you wish to receive direct emails from me whenever a new Journey Report has been posted than simply click:
