Picture This x 4

Use your mind to picture the first of four scenes: early morning riding on cool, farm country roads. Bike running smoothly with the smell of apples, cows and corn in the air. Suddenly a crazy amount of movement appears in the shady section of the road ahead. Slow down and don’t hit them…16-18 wild turkeys including little ones (are they called chicks?). This happens again a little later in the morning.

Mental image number two: farm lands with straight county roads; an Amish farmer plowing the field behind a team of horses. Someone must have laid out these roads in a grid as they are straight with stop signs only every few miles. Our course involves a series of right and left turns making it harder and harder to keep track of my orientation. It almost feels like I am a blindfold captive and the kidnapper is trying to be sure I have not sense of direction. One wrong turn led to a 6.5-mile diversion which means arithmetic for the rest of the 253 miles.

Image three: Battle Creek Harley Davidson dealership with hundreds of people and motorcycles welcoming riders across the finish line. Wonderful enthusiasm from the crowd as they press close for a better look and an excellent spread of food provided for riders and support crews. Nice.

Scene four: the large parking lot in a shuttered shopping mall filled with Cannonball support vehicles and work crews. Generators and work lights set up, tools on tables and bikes in various states of rescue. For some of our friends, the ride today has not been kind. Several motors have been removed from their frames. Fragments of aluminum from a holed piston need cleaning and frantic efforts are needed to see if a new piston can be fitted. People helping people with parts, advice and tools. Fortunately, Lydian has had only minor needs today…bolts tightened, valves adjusted and oil changed. Our fixes from prior days have held well. Thanks to Nancy for catching this scene on her phone:

Those four scenes represent the essence of the Motorcycle Cannonball. The next Stage is about 250 miles with warm, dry weather. Wish us all good luck.