Well the new light switch for my ignition switch works great! We all had a great night at the B&B. Drew couldn’t get his bike started this morning. He told us to go ahead and go to the morning ceremony and breakfast. Cliff and Joni stayed behind with him. After we ate, I called Joni and she said Drew got it running and would be about 20 minutes or so. We went back to meet them and he was almost ready.
The group already left so we headed south on 421. We caught up to them stopped for a train in about 10 miles. About 40 miles later, the whole group pulled into the West Central School. The whole school was out waving flags and cheering for us, (or because they got to get out of class for a while)! We stayed long enough for a quick restroom stop and a quick visit and off we went. There were well over 100 bikes in our procession.
The next stop took us to the Indiana State Veterans Home for a great visit and lunch. A TV crew was there and asked if they could interview me. I asked the gals name, and she told me it is Bre. I said get ready ‘cause it’s usually a one sided interview. She looked puzzled, and I started talking about the NVAR, what it is about, and why we do it. After that, I talked a little bit about my bike. She asked me a question that I had already answered in my talk. I was almost gonna ask her if she even listens to what people say, but for once, I thought better of it. When it was done, she said that it looks like I have some experience in talking in front of a camera. I told her it was my first time. Not! The guy who gave me his dog tag two years ago, came up to me and said it was good to see that I am still carrying it with me on the bike. There was a Korean War vet named Eric, who was in a wheel chair with both legs gone and I was told that he wanted to see my bike. So I pulled out of the long line of parked bikes and rode it up to the middle where wheel chairs could get out. I wheeled Eric over to my bike and we talked for quite a while. He seemed very amused at what he saw. Go figure! We had a good conversation and then I wheeled him back up to the shade. I asked about Ruth, who I took pictures with the last two years, and was told that either she was not with us anymore, or was up in her room, not able to come out. It all depended which Ruth I was asking about. I didn’t know her last name so that was that. It was starting to get warmer, and people were starting to talk over the PA system, and thank all of us for being there. Drew asked if Joni wanted to ride in the missing man formation. He said if she didn’t want to, that he would ride up front for that leg of our journey. Drew had a blast riding up front in the missing man formation. The first two bikes are side-by-side, next comes a single bike on the left of the lane, leaving a missing bike next to him, representing the missing man, followed by two more bikes side by side. Next comes Buzz, who is the pacer, who decides how fast to safely take the group down the road. Then we ride staggered all the way back, unless road construction dictates single file.
About 80 bikes or so, (the day riders returned back home), were in the slow lane and a loader flatbed truck was passing in the left lane. It was about six rows in front of us, and all of a sudden, whamo! There goes the tire cap flying through the air. It hit the front of a van right behind it, and then the van ran over it, spit it out the back, and the next car back ran over it too. I was praying that it wouldn’t fly over into our lane. We all safely got past that one!
At the next gas stop, after we were all done and lined up, I got off my bike and said to Ryan and his mother, Thelma who were right behind me, “I just did a quick check and can guarantee that nothing will fall off my bike for at least 25 miles.” Little did I know that while I was trying to be funny, my tombstone taillight would fall off about 30 miles later!! It was dragging on the ground (getting ground up quite a bit), behind me for quite a while. I pulled over and saw that it was being held on by the two wires and a piece of bailing wire that I put on a few days ago. I jerked it twice and got it to come off, and I strapped it on the bike and got going again. Unfortunately, I could not signal Pappy, the chase truck driver in time, and he pulled over for me. He finally got going and about 30 miles later we pulled in for gas again.
I didn’t get in the long line of bikes right away. I pulled over to the side and waited ‘till it wasn’t crowded, and then we (Joni, & Randy) filled up. I put the kickstand down and set the bike over to get off and found my bike on it’s side. My kickstand, the original one from 1970, finally snapped in two. A couple of guys helped me pick it up and I leaned it on a pole. I found a board and took out my hatchet that I carry on the side of the bike, and cut about a foot off. It was too narrow. Randy went next door to a construction site and they cut a bigger board for him. It was just right. I asked Gary to help me with the fuel and card insert, as I was holding my bike upright. That’s more of a challenge than one might think. I asked Danny, (Watchdog), if there was a Harley shop in Brookeville, Ohio, where we were going. He called John Childers, and told him that Milo needed a kickstand.
When we pulled into the AMVETS for our dinner stop, John signaled me to come over to the front of the building. He had a motorcycle jack ready to put under my bike to hold it up! It worked great! Next, Tony handed me a kickstand and bracket. I asked him what he wanted for it, and he said, “For you Milo, I’m glad to help you. You can have it.” It didn’t have a spring with it, so I figured I would use mine. Only problem; my spring fell off somewhere and it was gone. Bill, who is riding with us from Wyoming, happened to have a brand new kickstand spring in his saddlebag. He gave it to me, and after the ceremony was over, I got greasy and installed it. I tried to just take the nut off the top of the kickstand short piece that was left. I finally got the nut off but could not pound the shaft out of the top catch plate. Buzz thought it odd that I was using a hatchet to work on my bike. I guess when I rode out in the Great Salt Lake in 1989, that some of the stuff that I didn’t replace, was really frozen in place. That salt water is not really a good idea to ride out in, ‘cause it did a lot of damage to all moving parts, chain, bearings, etc…. I remember the rat bike getting kind of drunk at Easyriders attempt at breaking the land speed record for motorcycles. The spring was a shade too long and the kickstand would not come up all the way to its resting spot. I asked John if he had a drill. I followed him to his house, got a drill, and a bit set. One hole later, and I put the ‘S’ hook on the end of a stretch cord, through it, and bent it closed with my hatchet. Now all I have to do when I put my kickstand up is pull on the bungee and hook it up. It’s all GOOD! Once again. Joni, Gary, & Nancy left early for the motel. Randy & Cynthia & I went there about an hour later. This ride should be called The National Veterans Awareness CHALLENGE Ride. For me anyway!! Only two days until we hit DC! YEAH!!
