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I headed back north on highway 148 to 82 east and proceeded to I-30. The day was uneventful, in fact I was kind of bored, and though I tried, I did not make my goal of Nashville, TN for the night. The traffic in the construction zone around Little Rock added to the delay, but no one tried to kill me and I made Memphis by 7.00 PM. I still don’t know why I didn’t do better, but I decided to push on to Jackson, TN. Tonight I was glad when I pulled up at the hotel as the sun set. I checked in and asked my usual question. “Can I get a room on the bottom floor where I can park my bike in front of it?” Unfortunately, they had filled most of the rooms, but the girl behind the counter pointed out where to park in the light in view of the front desk. Some people do like motorcycles!
After unloading, I started towards a “roadhouse” restaurant within walking distance (I needed to stretch my legs). As I headed down the stairs from my room, I heard the unmistakable sound of an old Harley pulling in, I walked his way as he parked next to my bike. This fellow was traveling a far distance was indicated by the heavy baggage he had strapped on his bike (1979 FLH 1200). I noticed his ignition assembly was in pieces on the gas tank. I asked “how it was going?” He laughed and said good all things considered. He then related to me about how he had held the ignition switch together for a 100 miles or so because it had come apart. Now, these bikes always amaze me, and this one was in great original shape for its age. What amazes me more is how much some people love wrenching them, but I do understand the mystique and appreciate their love for the 2 cylinder beasts. I just don’t have time to drive 350 mile days and carry Mr. Goodwrench in my saddlebag. He showed me the scratches on the coil where it had fell off earlier in the trip and of course one of the headlights had come loose also.
We chatted for a few minutes and I headed to the restaurant. I had my usual margarita or two and a nice dinner. I hadn’t thought about my facial tan not matching completely. But someone at the bar noticed and commented that looked like a raccoon. I guess several thousand miles of face shield up, with sunglasses and a full face helmet can produce some funny results. The good thing was that many of the ones at the bar knew what caused it without me explaining, so I felt comfortable. (read more...)
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