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[Ghost Rider]

I will apologize in advance for this.  I started to write out a quick ride report about my trip to Kentucky to be a part of Howie's Summer Tour 2007.  I was just so excited about my first CVO Get Together, and I had such an incredible time, that I ended up writing a book.

Below is my account of what happened.

Day 1

Its Wednesday evening, and I am feeling like a kid on Christmas eve.  I’m packing my bike, and getting ready to go on my first road trip with my new bike, and my first CVO gathering.  It occurs to me while I prepare for my weekend trip that I may well break a personal record on this trip.  I have never been on a bike trip longer than one day where I didn’t get rained on.  The forecast for this weekend calls for clear skies, and little or no chance of rain.

Thursday finally arrives.  I send the kids off to school, kiss the wife goodbye, and head into town to meet Twolane at the local Snak Attack.  Once the red bike rolls up, we exchange greetings, and immediately hit the road back to my house.  I forgot my cell phone.  On the way back to my house, we pass under one small dark cloud that spits rain on us.  The record remains safe for another trip.  It will be the last cloud I see on this trip.

As I came out of the house with my phone, the scene in Wild Hogz came to mind, where they all threw their phones away before heading out on their ride.  I briefly considered throwing my phone down on the driveway just to see the look on Don’s face.  A quick burst of maturity and I decided better of it.

Finally on the road.  Its cool for May, but the bikes are running great and the miles pass quickly.  Soon we are crossing the northern edge of the Missouri Ozark Mountains.  It is beautiful scenery, and the new multilane road makes the riding easy.  We reach Poplar Bluff just before noon and fuel up the bikes and the riders.  Poplar Bluff is an interesting spot.  After miles of pine covered hills we now descend down into rich river bottom farm land.  The next 60 miles are nothing but straight flat roads bordered by crops.  With no trees or hills to break its flow,  we immediately notice the increase in the wind speed blowing across the bikes.  Mile after mile of flat nothingness rolls by.  Soon the mind begins to wonder  and your riding on autopilot.  Suddenly I notice Twolane breaking hard, and swinging off onto an exit ramp.  Ooops, missed the exit.  I end up coming to a stop a few feet passed the exit ramp and have to walk the bike backwards to the ramp.  We’re just a few miles from the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers now.  The old bridges that we need to cross to get to Kentucky require constant maintenance.  And so we spend several minutes waiting for our chance to use the one open lane to cross each bridge.  First the Mississippi, and then the Ohio.  We reach the Blue Grass State at last.  In just a few miles we reach Clinton, Kentucky.  Turn left at the light, go one mile, and we reach Hogbreath and JesterDecor’s house.

We don’t reach a full stop at the end for the driveway, before we are greeted by Hoist.  I receive a hand shake and hug, that reminds me more of two old high school friends being reunited, than two people that have never met.  Next we meet Hogbreath and deepsoutheagle.  A little later TC and displacing air join the group.  A few of HB’s local friends come in, and soon we have a driveway  full of beautiful bikes and group of guys, whom only hours ago had never met, are all standing around talking bikes, cracking jokes, and telling stories.  We take turns test riding each others bikes and ripping up and down the road in front of the house.  It isn’t long before Johnny Law is alerted to our presence and does a less than subtle drive by of the house.  Being a group of mature, intelligent men, we quickly came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to jump on the bikes and race through town.  We disguised it as “gas run.”  Back at the house as the sun light faded, the tales we’re growing taller, and laughter a little louder.  Suddenly everything goes silent, the food is served.  What a spread.  Slabs of ribs, piles of brisket next to mounds of pulled pork.  Next to bowls of beans, slaws and salads.  More food than we could possibly eat, but we gave it our best effort.  I would be remiss, if I did not mention the lovely ladies who prepared this massive feast.  HB’s wife Jestordecor (Cheri), Howie’s wife Barrie, and deepsoutheagle’s wife (oh crap I forgot her name) and one of HB’s friends wives was there also and I don’t remember her name either.  Old age and beer just don’t mix.  Towards the end of the evening, Mav (Jerry) and his wife rolled in to complete the CVO gathering.  We spent the next few hours telling more stories, drinking more beer, eating cake, and making plans for Friday’s ride.  Before we knew it, the hour had grown late, and it was time for some to head home, and the rest of us to hit the hay.  It had been an incredible day, and I remember almost nothing between my head hitting the pillow, and the sun shining through the window the next morning.

[Ghost Rider]

Day 2

Friday, dawned cool over the cornfields of western Kentucky.  Each member of the group that had stayed at casa de Hogbreath, awoke quietly and on their own schedule.  By the time I was up and ready TC, HB and Hoist were already in the garage getting their bikes ready for the day.  Soon everyone was up, caffeinated, loaded, and ready to go.

A quick ride up to Paducah to pick up Barry (displacing air).  Barry gave us a quick tour of the town, including a stop at the river and ride along the flood wall murals.  In just a few blocks, we are out of town and tearing up the two lanes.  It isn’t long before we reach Kentucky Dam and meet up with Jerry again.  A few photos and on down the road we go.  A few miles pass, and the constant smell of BBQ in the air is more than Howie can take.  He suddenly decides its time for lunch.  And when I say suddenly, I mean middle of the road stop, 7 bike U turn, and back to the local BBQ joint for lunch.  A quick stop in the local gas station for fuel, and we are ready to hit the road again.  The group decides to make better time by hopping on the parkway.  I immediately had the thought of the old joke, “why do they call it a parkway when you drive on it, and a driveway when you park on it.”  It didn’t take too many miles on the parkway for most of the group to start making up a lot of time.  I could talk about how hard and fast Howie rides here, but lets just suffice it to say Howie is an excellent rider and he does not ride outside of his skill level.  Clint Eastwood once said, “a man has got to know his limitations.”  We should all know ours and ride there.  I probably went outside of mine a few times, but just briefly.

A fuel stop, and back on the two lane roads for a while.  At one point I was stuck behind a slow moving tenement on wheels, when I saw a Kentucky State Trooper sitting on the roadside ahead of us.  I fully expected to see a black SERK sitting in front of the car, and Howie standing there showing the Officer his BRP, or BPR, or PBR, or AARP or whatever those cards are he uses to get out of tickets.  But apparently the Trooper was napping, because the front group made it passed him unnoticed.  At the next fuel stop we said goodbye to TC as headed back home, and we headed back out to the parkway for some more thrill riding.  At some point here Jerry peeled off and went home as well.  We were closing in on Lexington now, a quick exit and then another 30 miles.   That is when the “incident” occurred.  I will not speak of it here, but suffice it to say that as the only witness,   Barry did an outstanding job of keeping his cool, and minimizing the damage.  A lesser rider would have ended up sliding along the ramp, or crashed into the guard rail.  This “incident” did provide us with two of the funnier moments of the trip.  One was seeing the manager of the McDonalds we stopped at (a rather large, masculine women) come out to the parking lot and chastise Howie for blocking her drive thru lane with the tow truck.  And the other was Barry’s observation of his experience of riding back to Lexington with the two tow truck operators as “being stuck between Bevis and Butthead for half an hour.”  Good to see Barry kept his sense of humor during the whole thing. 

Once the melon was secured on the truck and heading to Lexington, we entered the address of the dealership into Don’s gps and away we went.  By the time we reached Lexington, it was dark.  That’s when we realized that Don’s running lights weren’t working.  Now we’re trying to follow a bike that we can’t see, and I’m worried to death about all the other traffic that can’t see him either.  Luckily we make it to the dealership unscathed.  After getting the melon secured at the dealership, we checked into the hotel next door and headed out for dinner.  By this time it was close to eleven o’clock, but we were able to find a nearby Italian restaurant open and still serving.  We basically had the place to ourselves and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, and great companionship, we certainly ended the day on a very high note.

[Ghost Rider]

Day 3

Saturday, separation day.  We awoke to find that Twolane had already left.  The real world called, and he had to head to St. Louis early in the morning.  By shortly after nine, Barry, Howie, Ken and myself were up and having a morning visit when we decided to walk over to the dealership to check things out.  I should mention here that the staff of the Lexington dealership (Man O’ War HD) went out of their way to help us.  From coming back to the dealership late Friday night to open up and put the melon inside, to going to the hotel to get us their corporate rate for the night, to offering to let us in before they opened in the morning if we wanted to look around.  There was however, one staff member who was not so courteous.  Howie asked one of ladies working there, if she could help him find a shirt in his size, with their horse theme on the back.  The lady tersely replied, “that she just couldn’t make everyone happy.  She ordered shirts with the horses on the back and everyone complained about them, so now she has shirts with the classic back, and everyone wants shirts with horses on them.”  Wow, a simple “no” would have covered it.  By the time we left, I had a shirt with an ugly front, but a really cool back, and Howie had a shirt with a cool front, and a boring back.  A little later in the morning, Barry’s brother arrived to pick him and the melon up and they head back to Paducah.  With Barry squared away the last of the group headed to Waffle House for what at this time would be brunch.  Upon ordering we are shocked to find that they are not serving biscuits and gravy.  A waffle house in Kentucky not serving biscuits and gravy?  Isn’t that like a bar in Tennessee not serving Jack Daniels, or a deli in New York not selling beer (inside joke).  We were still able to get everyone filled up on eggs and grits, and the time had come to gas up and say our “so longs.”  Ken taught us that red necks don’t say goodbye, only see ya later.  We gave Howie and Barrie their “see ya later” hugs and sent them off east towards West Virginia, while Ken, Cheri, and I turned west back towards Paducah.  By 4:30 we were just south of Paducah and saying our final round of “see ya laters.”  Then befitting my screen name, Ghost Rider rode off into the sunset.  A lone bike riding west.

It was a perfect evening, the temps were cool, and the bike was humming along beautifully.  I was determined to make it home.  A quick fuel stop in Poplar Bluff, I choked down a Slim Jim, and a 3 Musketeers, and I was back on the road.  By 8:45 I was pulling into Mountain Grove.  The last of the sunlight was going away, and the thermometer on my windshield had fallen below 60 degrees.  I was 130 miles from home now.  I gassed up the bike, and went through the tour pak putting on every extra piece of clothing I found that I thought would insulate me from the cold night air.  Now equipped with one long sleeve and one short sleeve t-shirt, a skull cap and a doo rag, my Schampa face mask, two pairs of gloves, and all my leathers, I was ready.  I figured the only thing that could stop me now, was if I happened along Bambi out for a late night stroll along the highway.  A few miles into the final leg I found out I was wrong.  I noticed a strange looking sign.  A yellow caution sign with a picture of a horse and buggy on it, and a small sign below it, saying “Share the Road.”  Great, now its only a matter of time until I come around a dark corner and find Elmer on his way home from the tavern passed out in this buggy and his horse acting as the designate driver.  Wow, I could use a set of those HID lights about now.  Lucky for me I had no encounters with Elmer or Bambi, and at 10:45 I pulled the bike into the garage.  I was cold, tired, sunburned, and smiling from ear to ear.

I can not say enough good things about the people I met this weekend.  Everyone of them were great, they opened their homes to me, treated me as family, and I am proud to call all of them friend.

It is very reassuring to know that no matter where I am, if I need help, I could call on anyone of them and they would be there.  I would probably call Howie first, because the way he rides, no mater my location, he’ll get there the quickest.

Thanks again to everyone for making this a great weekend.

Ghost

[Ghost Rider]

Just as well post some pics too.  Mine will look a lot like the others that have been posted, but what the hell it helps the old post count.

This is just after we arrived.  I'm not sure what deepsoutheagle is doing to Howie's bike.

[Ghost Rider]

More bikes.  Howie please move your blocking the view of my bike.

[Ghost Rider]

Bikes at sunset.

[Ghost Rider]

Bikes on the damn.

[Ghost Rider]

Finally, Howie suggested we have all the members chip in so that we could buy this place and turn it into a clubhouse.

[Hoist!]

Hey Travis, Awesome thread! You tell a wicked story man! It was great meeting and riding with you! I'm glad you get to let loose on that Red Flamed Hot Rod of yours! Can't wait to get together again with you guys in HS! Glad you had a safe ride home! Hoist!

And what does everyone think of our new clubhouse?

[Fired00d]

I will apologize in advance for this.  I started to write out a quick ride report about my trip to Kentucky to be a part of Howie's Summer Tour 2007.  I was just so excited about my first CVO Get Together, and I had such an incredible time, that I ended up writing a book........

Travis,
Great job of putting this experience in words. I know how you feel about first CVO GTG there is nothing that can compare. I've been to some major events that have been billed the "most do" things as a biker, but getting together with members of this site have topped them all.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Ghost Rider]

Howie,

Its good to see that you and Barrie made it home safe and sound.  It was so cool hanging out with you guys.  Hot Springs should be a blast.  I am already trying to come up with ways to squeze a few more horses out of my bike to help me keep up with you.

Later,
Ghost

[Ghost Rider]

Travis,
Great job of putting this experience in words. I know how you feel about first CVO GTG there is nothing that can compare. I've been to some major events that have been billed the "most do" things as a biker, but getting together with members of this site have topped them all.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

Thanks Gary.  Its really is an amazing group we have here.  Before I left my wife goes, "So let me get this straight.  You're going to Kentucky to stay with people you've never met, to go riding with a guy from New York, that you've never met.  Don't you think that's a little strange."  "Nope," I replied, "We're all bikers.  Perfectly normal."

[hard10]

...  Before I left my wife goes, "So let me get this straight.  You're going to Kentucky to stay with people you've never met, to go riding with a guy from New York, that you've never met.  Don't you think that's a little strange."  "Nope," I replied, "We're all bikers.  Perfectly normal."

That pretty much sums it all up!

[CVOJOE]

Man, what a great narrative and you do capture what this is all about really. Thanks for sharing it here. 
Joe

[HogBreath]

Travis man, What a great thread! I think you could write for a magazine!

It was really great meeting you, and you coined it perfectly. If you ever need help, you know who to call, a fellow CVO member!