Ride Journal

May 25, Day 13

I forgot to mention that while we were waiting for the parade to start, a guy named Jim Fletcher from Indiana came up to me and asked if my bike had been 'Blessed' yet. I told him that I ask God for blessings for safe travel and no major mechanical issues while on the road so that I may safely return to my family, every single day. He asked me if I want my bike officially 'Blessed'? I replied, sure. He asked everyone around to please bow our heads and proceeded to ask the Lord for safe travel everywhere that my bike and I go and to watch out for me while on the road and every road that I might travel on. It was a pretty cool blessing prayer that Jim did for me and my bike. He then gave me a sticker saying that my bike was Blessed in 2009.

I was able to say good bye to almost everyone last night before going to bed. Ray had brought my two new tires for me in the trailer so when I need to change them I wouldn't have to suffer through what happened last year when nobody stocked the Avon Venom X that I love to run. I had to put on a Dunlop that rubbed my rear fender every time that I hit a bump. My gas mileage was down to 20 or so mpg with that tire last year! As you can see in the picture, I have them strapped on with my outer stuff for when I decide to put them on.

I got a little later start than I wanted to and ended up leaving at 6:30. John from Brookeville, Ohio and another friend were leaving at that time too so I rode out of town with them for a way. I saw a sign that said hwy 40 so I waved bye to them and got off, and then I figured that I should look at the map. I rode back to I-70 and proceeded to go through some of Pennsylvania just for the heck of it. I stayed on I-70 and I passed through Brookeville, Ohio in the afternoon and stayed on I-70 through Indianapolis and on to Terre Haute. It started to pour big time for the last half hour before I hit Terre Haute. I was hoping that it would lighten up so I would not have to put on rain gear. Too late; all wet.

I pulled into a Days Inn and there were HUGE puddles all around. The guy inside said that it had been raining for quite a while and really hard too. Do ya think??? Time to hang stuff up in the room to dry before morning. My computer was not able to connect to the Internet after what the internet help guy (not my Web master) told me to do in DC to get the connection. No story last night because of that. I went next door to a restaurant for dinner and when I got back, there were 4 or 5 riders just checking in. They were going on to St Louis, Missouri and they were glad to be out of the rain as well. They said that they saw me in DC at the Harley dealership and in the parade too. We talked for a while and I left still trying to decide which way I was going to ride tomorrow. The damn weather channel shows a lot of green (lots of rain) everywhere that I wanted to go. Oh well, it is what it is. I figured that I would look out the window tomorrow and flip a coin!