Day 18: Vinita, OK to home

The original plan was to take two days to get home from here...two nice and easy days of about 350 miles each.  But, as in past years, the smell of the barn is overwhelming.  You can pull on those reigns as hard as you want...throw in long distances, crazy drivers all around you, forbidding heat, etc... but when a horse smells the barn, he tends to just keep going toward it.  That's what we did today.  A long day of around 700 miles, 12 hours from time we left to when we arrived.

We had one incident riding back.  There was a huge piece of plastic flipping around the highway, being dodged by cars.  It was the kind of stuff you might cover your fresh concrete from a pending rain...heavy and big.  Curt was leading (he, Kevin, and I take turns leading).  I was behind him.  He dodged it, but his wake flipped it up and right into my track.  There was lots of traffic, so my instincts said not to dodge it...go straight over it.  My kickstand caught it, and dragged it.  I tried to get Curt's attention to pull over, but he was focused on doing 75mph in traffic with his cruise control on.... I gave up trying to get his attention, and worked my way to the breakdown lane.  It pretty much destroyed my left side muffler.  Kevin said he could smell it burning, as he was following me to the breakdown lane.  I'll remove the muffler this week, and see if there's anything I can do to salvage it.  But, it looks pretty bad...

We stopped often on the way...we paced ourselves, knowing it was going to be a long ride.  Our process is to take turns leading...each person leads for 100 miles.  So, long rides don't seem so long.  When the new guy takes the lead, he's fresh, alert, and, in my opinion, a safer driver.  And, after leading for 100 miles, you can relax and just follow.  And, it's amazing how fast 100 miles go by, no matter what position you're in, after one of these role reversals.

We have a tradition where we make our final stop on our way home in Harrison, OH, which is the last place before we go our separate ways to our respective homes....a gas station that sells beer.  We buy a six-pak, and toast the good, safe ride.  Here are a couple pics from that stop:

Not bad for a self-portrait, eh?  Me, Kevin, and Curt.

The gas station attendant not only didn't confront us for drinking beer at the gas station, but she volunteered to take our picture!

A long ride DONE.  Roughly 6,200 miles.  Some unbelievable scenery.  I will go back to see Yosemite and Sequoia Parks again, at a pace where I can stop, and just sit and look.  Riding is wonderful, and it is the BEST way to see, smell, and sense these places.  But, with a large pack of bikes, it's hard to stop and just look.  I'll go back.

Meeting up with the gang from Eastgate HOG was particularly special.  Great people and lots of fun.  David Bowen does a remarkable job organizing the rides and getting everyone where he or she needs to be on time....kind of like herding cats.  Thanks, David.  I'll download some of his pics and post them soon.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got home:  my garden survived!!  I had large heads of Romaine lettuce, one of which I harvested for supper tonight...best meal in a while!

Mike