9-18-09

365 Group (f)
I was sitting at work, watching the clock slowly tic off minutes, waiting to head for the weekend. Unless I crashed my bike, my weekend would be a good one no matter what happened. I was headed to my moms place down home and that’s always good.

Finally! Quitting time. I pulled up to the Guard shack, told the Guard that I would be out of pocket till Monday and eased on. Traffic finally broke enough that I could get out on the street and head east. This afternoon everything clicked and I was out of town in about ten minutes.
I had a couple of errands on my way, pup treats, bird food and ATM. I headed down Old Missouri Road toward Mission and Walgreen’s.
I grabbed my critter supplies and headed on to the ATM and the house.
It was cool this afternoon. My bike was purring like a happy little Kitty as I made my way down HWY45. In no time at all the eight miles to the house was over. I could hear my bird whistling as I pulled up. Critter loves me, what can I say.
I fed and loved up all my critters and they helped me pack. Even Radar put in an appearance and gave his approval. Once I had everything all tied down, I ‘wooled’ everyone around again and kicked the old bike to life. Sitting there listening to the low rumble and feeling the mild vibration, I couldn’t help but grin. I finally toed into gear and hit the road.
I jumped down and caught Hwy 45 east for a ten mile run over to Hwy 412. This little ten mile stretch usually goes by fast especially when my bike is running like it was today. However, here we are on a Friday afternoon at about quitting time in a rural part of N.W. Arkansas. Two things pop to mind. Loonitec driving and local radar toting cops. For the ten or so miles I made good, ‘within the speed limit,’ time.
The last time I made this ride it was slow going on 412 at the start. Not today. I got on as a fast moving chicken loader went by and it was 70 MPH for the next seventeen miles. Just outside Huntsville my "escort" turned off and I backed off my speed a little, coming upon a place known for Cops watching traffic. Past that I opened back up and made really good time all the way down to Hwy 21.
Turning on 21 I settled into a smooth pace that made good time and allowed me to look around and see what had changed in the last week or so. Relax as it were. The road is twisty and for the most part in good shape. It’s a big hit with tourist riders. A little effort with a map and you can have a really good ride through the North part of the state and connect with most major highways.
The weather was cooling down as I neared Kingston. A couple of places a felt a sprinkle or two. In Kingston I stopped and put on some gloves.
Pulling the long hill out of Kingston was fun. It always is. Kind of a game I play when I get to do it from dead stop. I see how fast I can top out. This evening I hit about 85 by the time I crossed the finish marker. On top of the hill I really noticed the cool. The sky looked darker. I had the feeing I was going to get wet.
As I tooled along things popped into mind like Deer jumping out on the road. It sort of unconsciously caused me to ride the center line most of the time from then on. It was a good ride. No traffic other than a couple of Dual Sport riders that I met.
As I came off the mountain into the Boxley valley there were cars all over the place. I slowed thinking that I had come up on an accident. Turns out that a herd of Elk were grazing and providing a photo op in a small field next to the road. People had stopped to take pictures and get a good look as they were real close.
The run through the valley was sweet. It’s a straight shot for about three or 4 miles so I got to open up again and had a good time. Pulling the mountain on the other side was just as much fun. Tight curves all the way to the top. Another big hits with touring riders.
From the top of the mountain all the way to moms it was a great ride. Tight curves and then open straight stretches, then more curves. All the way down I kept thinking about the accounts of "The Long Ride" I had read recently in "The Horse" magazine. Those guys had a blast on that ride and this little mountain run was having a similar effect on me. I gotta bounce Luther and Stan and a couple of others about starting our very own "run what ya throw together ride". Maybe make a couple of hundred mile trip around through the hills and eventually grow it into a long ride.
I rolled into mom’s place just as dinner was being set on the table. Tell me I’m not lucky.
This trip was a good relaxing one. Like all trips of that kind, it didn’t last near long enough.
But, like an old guy on an old Harley told me once about 30 years ago. "Any miles on a bike beats a jab in the butt with a sharp stick any day".
Tomorrow is going to be a maintenance day on the bike. Oil change, chain tightening and all that really good stuff that makes up the "bikin" part.
Catch ya on the road