What a contrast! Stage 5 brought us into the flatland and the roads were no longer cool, graceful curves but straight segments leading to straight segments. Some of the route instructions would say “go to mile 168.2 and take left at first paved road”. The route master (thanks John) had us taking 90 degree turns back and forth through corn fields which was somewhat disorienting. I think we went over the same railroad tracks 27 times!
As the afternoon heated up, bikes began to feel the pain of hard riding, hot sun and rough road surfaces. A good description of the toll taken can be found on the AMCA website: http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=174&cntnt01origid=221&cntnt01returnid=97. The Grim Sweeper truck and trailer team were very busy.
We were hosted in the midst of this open space by Kersting’s World of Motorcycles….wow. What a great spot to see a large and varied bike collection and to meet a very gracious owner. Thanks also to the volunteers for serving lunch.
The Henderson’s were not without problems today. The Wolf Pack suffered several indignities including broken fender brackets, leaking gas tanks, loose handlebars, etc. All could be attributed to the brutal beating provided by the roads and heat. For Blue Bird, we started the day in top form…here you can see me with three of the Henderson world’s finest: Vern Acres, Evan Kune and Mark Hill (riding the Dale Walksler special).
Even the smooth running Blue Bird had some challenges…about 3 pm, with the temperature in the upper 80s, the bike started to miss, cough, and jerk. What was happening? Pending engine failure? Magneto problems? Fortunately, it appears that it was intermittent fuel starvation due to excessive heat in the fuel lines and carburetor…gas boils and bubbles causing problems. I eventually found that running fuel from the reserve tank which was cooler, venting the tanks and running faster kept it turning smoothly. We crossed the finish line with clean points and headed to the “pits” for the nightly chores.
Off the the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa tomorrow.