In keeping with posting stuff in the correct forum, I'll do the narrative here and post the pictures in the "Pictures" forum.
One week ago today I drug my trailer up to Clarksville, TN and picked up my father-in-law (Tony), mother-in-law (Shirley), their dog (Peppie), and Tony's scoot, a 2005 Chopper Blue FLTRI. We came back down to my place and got ready to depart on our venture. Shirley and Peppie stayed here with Renea and Stef, since someone has to be with Stef 24/7 until her external fixator comes off. More on that later in a different post. We left last Friday morning around 0630. Took backroads to get to I-24. We had been on I-24 for about 20 or so miles when I heard and awful knocking coming from my front fender. I pulled over near the foundry and found a 2 inch piece of pallet wood with 2 ea. 1 inch staples impaled in my front tire. I yanked the wood and staples out, but due to a train in the foundry releasing air, I couldn't tell if the tire was leaking, however I was certain it was. I called Thunder Creek HD, and after some discussion, decided to ride the bike the 12 miles to Thunder Creek. When I got there, there was 18psi in the front tire. I have tire and wheel coverage, so they replaced my front tire, charged me $20.02 for state tax and had me back on the road in short order. We stayed overnight in Abingdon, VA. Next day we rode to Alexandria. As soon as we pulled into the hotel, I lost oil pressure. I shut the bike down and coasted to a stop under the awning. A pool of oil began to develop under the bike. I called HD of Washington and they dispatched a tow vehicle. They found a busted oil cooler line, replaced it, and only charged me for the towing. I was back on the road before 7pm. Next day Tony and I posted ourselves at the corner of 21st St. and Constitution Av. Tony is 67 years old and a Vietnam Vet. He has never been to The Wall. We came in from the east, and by the time we got to panel 14E, Tony broke down in tears. Such a moving monument. We hadn't even gotten to the west panels where everyone he knows is listed. We watched an hour of the parade and then fought the traffic to get out of town and down to Durham, NC. Next day we went to Robbinsville, NC. Rode the Dragon and the Skyway. Next day we went home. Two yucky bikes and two road weary, but very happy bikers. 1850 miles of pure fun with two minor inconveniences...............which could have been trip spoilers. Kudo's to Mitch at Thunder Creek and Jennifer at HD of Washington.
Oh, I got lost coming home from HD of Washington after they fixed my bike. Ran into a bro and his lady on a new R/B Jester. I asked him for directions. He and his lovely BSR were kind enough to guide me all the way to my hotel in Alexandria. I told him about this site. I hope he joins us.
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Topic: Henry's Trip to Rolling Thunder and the Tail of the Dragon (Read 7610 times)