Guys - The temperature for this Wednesday ride was 48 degrees when I rolled the bike out of the garage. No big deal for me but the wife had indicated an interest in going with me on this lunch ride. This is the first one we have been able to take together and she, like my friend Paul, doesn't take to cold weather. I finally convinced her that this here bike, unlike the car, doesn't have a heater, radio, adjustable seat or most of the other conveniences she is so dependent upon.
I finally got her layered up with her ski outfit on top and we took off. Gary and Evan wanting to get there on time, had left already but informed me of their route should we ever actually get ready to head out.
The temperature while brisk gradually warmed up a degree or two every thirty minutes or so and it became quite comfortable the further south we rode. I had chosen the scoot today because it had a tail trunk which has a backrest built right into it and saddlebags which allowed for the extraneous gear she thought might be needed during the day on a trip such as this. Let me see.......do we really need this hair dryer? and why, pray tell would you even be thinking of taking a curling iron and......come on woman, get real here, were just going on a lunch ride not a weekend jaunt anywhere......and extra shoes and .....why all the make-up stuff..
Fortunately, I have no electronic rider/passenger intercom gizmo stuff. I ride with my own thoughts and tunes and enjoy it that way. Always have......
Tap, tap, tap.........What! "I'm thirsty".......AARRRGH!
We had left early enough to allow for a relaxed ride since this was Joyce's first trip of any distance on this bike and all was going well until we hit a bridge out ahead sign and had to detour. Of course this meant we no longer knew which way Gary and Evan had turned to bypass the situation. I selected east since that was the general direction we needed to go and began meandering in a southeasterly direction at every paved corner. Before long I had no clue where we were, but the roads were paved, wind was from the north, it was warm and we were adding miles so we had to be making headway of some sort I reasoned. Nearly two hours of this and many a tap, tap, tap on the shoulder asking where are we now that I couldn't answer, brought us to a sign reading old hwy 81. I was back in real time with an idea.
Wellington wasn't far off and I remembered a neat little diner that beckoned with hot chocolate. A perfect stop since nature was calling. I take that back........nature was screaming ....at both of us!
As we were finishing our hot chocolate, who should go by but Gary and Evan. They must have gone west at the detour.
We picked up the pace a bit and were right behind them by the time they got to Oxford. We arrived at Geuda Springs straight up noon and on time. Every one was already inside and some had their meals by then so a exact count was easy to make. A turnout of 12 bikes and fourteen people. Not a giant turnout but it was good considering the forecast late the nite before.
A couple new first time Romeos were there from over the border down in Ponca City, our hometown. Someone forwards our notices to them but this was the closest ride yet and they thought they would try us out. Wonder of wonders, one of the guys was in my wife's class at Ponca City high school and it quickly turned into old home week catching up on who's who and who we had met just the past weekend at my 45th class reunion.
This continued on for quite some time till someone mentioned we should to go see the local cycle repair shop just a block up the street and around the corner.
F.O.S.H. Motorcycle Company is the name of the place and I didn't even have a clue it was there but when I first entered their shop space and smelled the wonderful aroma of freshly burned castor oil, I knew it was an all right spot. Don't ask me what the letters F.O.S.H. stand for 'cause I don't know but if you ever happen to be in the area and need some work done, the smell of the place alone exudes an element of trust and confidence in their work. They're open Tues. thru fir 11 - 7 and on Saturday from 10 - 2.
As we were leaving, Joyce says......"Rusty said Oklahoma is just 11 miles south. We could go get mom's suitcase she left in Ponca last weekend. I reminded her we're not in the car but she thinks its small and since we're so close......
Bad ideas never seem to get better. I think it's one of those Murphy's law kind of things. When we arrived in Ponca, a quick trip to her aunts house found it......empty.
Her cousin, she said, was home and had a key so off we went in the other direction. Nothing do'in, we had to stay for a while to visit and I admit the cake and pop hit the spot but the wind was picking up and it seemed the clouds were moving in so we said our good byes and followed her cousin over to unlock the house and retrieve the 'red samsonite'. Now it may not have been the largest one they ever sold, but it looked huge to me. I got aboard and Joyce climbed on and her cousin shoved 'big red' vertically down between the two of us and we were off...... (In the head I thought at the time). By the time we were out of town and on the highway I was thankful for full face helmets so normal folks couldn't recognize us. They would zip by, slow down and stare with their mouths open in amazement at the rednecks going on vacation with their big red samsonite tucked upright between the two of us. I took as many backroads as I dared in case things really turned south. By the time we got to Udall, she had had enough of the vertical arrangement although as a backrest, 'ol red wern't half bad, it was just my knees were jammed into the dash making steering somewhat difficult. She said the buffeting coming off the top was giving her a headache and needed to try laying it sideways. I was just thankful she didn't mean flat. Horizontal seemed to work better for her but added a bit of wind drift for me.
By Derby, it was getting colder and hungrier. We stopped at the Dairy Queen, through 'big red' off and went in to eat hoping someone would steal it before we returned. No such luck. Loading up, we could have sold tickets. Everyone there waved as we left. We told them we were just married and were going on our honeymoon. Bet they're still talking about it!
The front by now had moved in and the temperature was dropping by one degree every fifteen minutes. I hated to do it but I asked how she was getting along. I'm OK says she. It must have been the size of 'ol red' acting like a fairing keeping the cold off of her. Now me, I'm freez'in my knees off what with my legs splayed wide apart like they were just to scrunch forward enough to allow room for 'ol red'.
Well sir, we made it back home and none too soon I can tell 'ya. The weather had turned a cold 46 degrees, and momma now knows better than to ever forget 'ol red' on any trip with us again! You can bank on it!
Two bikes in the garage and I can't open the door yet.
