This has been a very nice \u2018tune-up\u2019 for things to come. Yep, I ain\u2019t through by a long stretch, but I still have things to take care of back in Florida\u2026 I suppose none of us can ever totally abandon our responsibilities\u2026 Anyway, while I was in no hurry and I didn\u2019t have to do it right then, I still wound up letting the stay in Lincoln, MT, be the \u2018turning point\u2019 of this ride. I\u2019m now headed back to my new \u2018home\u2019.<\/p>\n
When I left Lincoln, I was headed at the time back to southwestern Montana. I remembered how special that area is, and how I\u2019d easily found adventure in several locations. It\u2019s particularly scenic, yet it doesn\u2019t have any large concentrations of people once you get south of Missoula.<\/p>\n
Small towns, twisty roads, friendly folks (for the most part – however\u2026 it is possible to raise the ire of local guys when you make a move on one of their women!), and everything just seems perfect for somebody like this guy. Well, as long as one behaves himself, of course\u2026<\/p>\n
I was figuring on just wandering around, then maybe moseying down into Wyoming, and later perhaps Colorado\u2026 I hadn\u2019t ruled out Utah either. I noticed that ALI\u2019s front tire was finally beginning to show signs of its own mortality, and that in all likelihood it wouldn\u2019t make it back to Florida. Dang, now I had to keep a close eye on that and attempt to position us so we could address that little detail should the need come sooner rather than a little later.<\/p>\n
It seemed a more direct route to Florida might be wise, plus rain was forecast for Wyoming anyway\u2026 We just headed east and began the ride downhill towards the hacienda\u2026 Interstates, mostly, with little detours when needed to miss cities and\/or potential traffic hairballs in known construction zones. Geeeez, it sure had been more fun on the way out!<\/p>\n
Each evening I would closely eyeball that front tire, and again each morning I would repeat that inspection just to confirm my previous diagnosis. Know this, I ain\u2019t gonna risk my priceless derriere over trying to ring-out a few extra miles from a $200. tire! If in doubt, I replace it\u2026 But, what was going on here?<\/p>\n
It seemed that tire was actually \u2018growing\u2019 new tread on this leg of the journey! Now, everybody knows that isn\u2019t possible, but I swear by the time I\u2019d reached Illinois, it looked like there was actually more life left in that tire than it had seemed back in Montana! Has wishful thinking totally replaced rational thinking? Is it really possible socialism can actually work after all? I suppose if you can believe the one, it would be easy to believe the other, too\u2026<\/p>\n
During all of this, my dear ol\u2019 bud, Sam, called to check in and see how things were going\u2026 \u201cYou are coming through here, right?\u201d Well, I hadn\u2019t actually planned on that, but\u2026 Hmmmm, that would afford an opportunity to party with some of my pals there, and I could also have that tire replaced where I\u2019ve had so many changed before\u2026 I am known at that shop!<\/p>\n
I would need to pick up the pace of my travels, however\u2026 Most Honda shops, and the one in Montgomery, AL, is one of those, don\u2019t open their service departments on Saturdays, and nearly all Honda shops everywhere are closed on Mondays\u2026 Meaning, either I arrive in time to have the work done on Friday, or I\u2019d have to wait until the following Tuesday\u2026 I extended and stretched the rides some each day, and I twisted the throttle a wee bit more than I had been, too.<\/p>\n
Several long days in the saddle resulted in my arrival at Sam\u2019s place on Thursday afternoon. I\u2019d already called the shop a couple of days before and scheduled an appointment for first thing Friday morning, and to have them set aside a Bridgestone Excedra for me.<\/p>\n
You know, that doggone front tire still looked serviceable for some more miles, but I ain\u2019t gonna take a chance on it. The best I could hope for would be few hundred more miles, perhaps even a thousand, but the increased risk of the various things that could happen simply weren\u2019t worth gambling on to me\u2026 After all, ALI\u2019s tires do haul precious cargo, you know\u2026<\/p>\n
Anyhow, I\u2019m now ready to go to Ocala and take care of the chores waiting on me there, then I can move out again. I have a date in Morehead City, NC, to celebrate our birthdays with my cousin, then I have another date for the FCR. After that, there ain\u2019t no plan, just ride somewhere. ALI\u2019s already ready for those rides now, so all I have to do is do all I have to do\u2026 then we\u2019ll wander off again to parts unknown\u2026 It\u2019s been a major hoot being out again! I think I\u2019ll just haul off and do another road trip in a couple of weeks\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This has been a very nice \u2018tune-up\u2019 for things to come. Yep, I ain\u2019t through by a long stretch, but I still have things to take care of back in Florida\u2026 I suppose none of us can ever totally abandon …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":651,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650\/revisions\/651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}