Like they say, it’s what you find
along the way that makes a great bike trip. With Steve and Wendy
on the FXR and me on my trike, we made a detour through Missouri
to get to the 100th Anniversary in Milwaukee.
I needed to check on a old classmate of mine that lives near Branson,
Missouri, that accidentally let a small tractor run over both
of his legs (OUCH!), he’s okay now.
After leaving Branson, the trike
developed problems near St. Louis, Missouri - rear brakes gone.
No problem, got replacement pads from HD dealer in St. Charles,
Missouri. We went on to Peoria, Illinois, and spent the
night at the Best Western Motel, they had a nice concrete pad
at he main entrance, so we jacked up the trike and changed the
pads. I don’t think the manager was too keen on the idea,
of the new mechanic shop, but didn’t attempt to stop us.
Early the next day, after all
the repairs were made on the trike - On to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
for our stay – (Great Place!).
More bike problems along the way
– the FXR started vibrating like it had a ridged frame – We stopped
and assessed the problem and made some phone calls to Milwaukee
HD and Hal’s HD – no parts.
More phone calls - found one part
at Kenosha HD and one part in Racine, Wisconsin, at the HD dealer
there. Hit the roads for the parts - Kenosha first and then
on to Racine. Picked up a flyer, when leaving Racine HD,
about a Bike Party and Vendors at a country fairground in Union
Grove, which was about half way back to Lake Geneva, so after
10 or 12 turns on country roads, at night, we finally arrived
at the event.
Upon our arrival, we found about
20 vendors and lots of loud music, and a large sign at the gate
which said, “They had found Elvis”, (I knew he was still alive
and of course Dale Earnhart is his driver now.) We listened
to Elvis for an hour (Good), and then Elvis had to take a break,
so we walked to vendor lines and ate corn on the cob.
While walking around the event,
we came across the Campground owner that stopped to talk to us,
and asked where we were from. I replied, Southeast Alabama
– Dothan, of course I knew he had never heard of Louisville or
Clio, Alabama, and he said “Big Deal” he had a big RV and trailer
from Dothan, Alabama on his parking lot. He thought the
guy’s name was Peaches, so we hopped on his golf cart and rode
with him to meet the guy, and woke him up at 10:00 p.m.
Their names were Willie and Brenda Peach, fellow club members,
and after talking with them, we left to return to the party.
It’s always good to meet someone along the way, from home.
10:30 p.m. – time for one more hour of Elvis, and the return trip
to Lake Geneva.
So, it’s easy to say, you never
know who or what you might find in the next town.