Well, so much for a plan. We left at 7:45 am and had all of our rain gear on. Yes, it was wet and looks like it would be getting wetter. We rode to Dickinson , ND, for our first fuel run. When we were there I got a call from Bob Larson, the KRNR radio DJ from back home in Roseburg, Oregon. He wanted to know if I wanted to update everyone back home about our travels. I said sure, and he called me right back, on another line, that he could put me on the radio with. I told him of a lot of the highlights of the Rolling Thunder XXI protest parade and where we went after that, and it all could be seen on www.ratbikemilo.com. We found out that North Dakota, and Montana were having RECORD rainfall amounts, just yesterday! Joni & I can verify that! We shared a cup of coffee and some conversation with Terry, the cool guy behind the counter. He spent more time outside exploring the rat bike, than inside, while we were there.
It was time to head West again, and boy, did it get wetter! I’m following Joni as she was passing a semi truck. The spray from the truck, and the hard rain made it very hard for me to see. My helmet shield and my glasses had so much water on then, I could no longer see Joni’s taillight. The song, “Jesus take the wheel”, came to mind right then and there. All I could do was pass on blind faith as I tried to see the yellow line on my left. After I got about ¾ of the way past the truck, I could see that there was another truck ahead too! Double jeopardy! I made it around the trucks after a while, and finally saw Joni’s taillight.
The next fuel run took us to Terry, Montana. That station looked like we took a step back in time. It was a place where people stopped by just to talk and pass the time of day. Joni got a vanilla cup of something and a candy bar. I thought she gave me the candy bar to finish it, not for just a bite! I had to go back in and get her another bar. It’s all good! The rain was letting up a little. People told us we were going to get wet heading West. Gosh, what’s new?
Custer was another fuel stop. At that point in time, I figured that I should take a closer look at my rear tire. I’ve been checking it every stop and it looked OK. Every time I looked at it, I saw rubber, good enough to make it farther toward home. I remembered another time that I did the same thing coming back from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2003. When I got home and took the wheel off, I saw cord in 3 different places. One place was 2 layers of cord exposed! Wow, did I ever get lucky back then. (I also had 4 broken spokes then too, that’s why I have a mag wheel on the back now).
Back to the Custer fuel stop. I looked again and backed the bike up 6 inches and looked again. I did this 3-4 times more and saw cord again! The next 50 miles into Billings was done at about 70 mph, just in case. (I figured that I could handle a blow out at 70 better than at 75)! We found Beartooth Harley-Davidson, at 6900 S Frontage Road in Billings. I spoke to Chris Wheeler (assistant service manager) first, and asked him if he had an Avon Venom X in stock. He said they only have Dunlap, Harley-Davidson tires. He called three or four other places for me to try to find what I wanted! Nobody had an Avon in stock, so I settled for a Dunlap tire with tread, over my Avon with cord showing. We also had Joni’s bike put in for an oil change in the motor, primary, and the transmission.
I called the Holiday Inn and pre-registered and asked for a shuttle to come and get Joni. After we got Joni and the bags in the shuttle, I asked Chris if I could borrow a small bike jack and where could I take my wheel off. He said that the guys in the back can do that. I told him, “You don’t understand. Come here and look”. When he saw the rat bike, he understood. I told him that in the 33 years that I’ve been riding that bike, it’s never been in the shop. But I would let them dismount and mount a new tire with their machine. That’s when Daryll South, the service manager, comes in and asked someone to get a jack for me. I pulled the bike into a close parking place, and proceeded to take the saddle bags off. After jacking it up high enough, I had the wheel off in about 10 minutes. I asked Daryll if he wanted me to degrease it first. He said its fine the way it is. About 15 minutes later, he wheeled out the new mounted and balanced tire out for me. Wow, these guys are fast and didn’t have a problem putting someone on it right away. That alone says tons about the goodwill of a Harley Shop that’s actually here to help. Because of that, more business will come their way! When we get treated right, everyone will hear about it! When we get wronged, everyone will hear about it too! I sure love telling of all the great Harley shops that we encounter. Back to the new tire. I put it back on with Krystal watching and taking pictures for their web site. Kristen Wyatt is the customer relations person, and I can see why. She has an excellent personality, and was very friendly. While I was balancing the wheel on my feet, and trying to push the axel through, she asked me if I needed any help. I didn’t want anyone else to get greasy, and told her I’m used to doing this by myself. I got it all buttoned up in about 20 minutes, saddle bags and all. I gave Daryll my cell number and he will call me when Joni’s bike was done.
I rode to a restaurant and got a club sandwich to go, for us to split, and went to the motel. About 45 minutes later, Daryll called and said, “Come and get it, it’s done”. I let Joni rest in the room, and had the shuttle driver, Milt, take me back to get her bike. I thanked everyone very much for all the GREAT service, and told them to check out my Web site. They even washed Joni’s bike, which made even more points; with her that is. The weather channel shows no change for tomorrows forecast. Rain-rain-rain……. Goodnight.