1536 as I type this and I'm finally feeling awake. Got up and sleepwalked around a bit this AM, but mostly still in some sort of intercontinental time-warp from the stress and strain of the past 9 weeks. As John Denver once sang, "hey it's great to be back home again "
To answer the posts below (or above depending on how you've formated your screen) I rode 7 different bikes while traveling around the USA between Dago and Maine. So I guess any references to Scot riding OPM's is forever buried. Many many thanks to the owners of those 7 wonderful machines. And of course to those who were my most gracious hosts for the day long layovers in which the riding got done. Mark in Memphis, Candy and Jamey in Colonial Heights, Q and Heather in Conn, and Don C in Joplin ; I am in your debt, all of you and look forward to the chance to repay.
The ride home was mostly four 800 mile blasts in the Mitsu rocket sled, with one layover at Twolane's house in Missouri. As had been the case on the ride east, events unfolded which could be interpreted as the hand of a higher power showing me his righteousness. During the 7 weeks I spent in Maine, I rose every morning at 0545 and headed to Portland Headlight with a supersize Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand. With strains of Tony Bennett playng softly on the Mitsu's Rockford Fosgate sound system, I watched the sun come up on the east coast each morning and the lubstahmen of Portland habah head out for the day. Given all I had to accomplish during my time there I needed this quiet time each morning to charge my batteries and gird my loins so to speak for the day's trials and travails. While visiting with the illustrious Twolanerider and also enjoying the companionship of Ghost Rider and Mr and Mrs Cuthbertson (alias the much previously maligned Scot C) my host took me to the Downstream casino which straddles Indiana, Missouri and Kansas for dinner. There was an outdoor concert going on after dinner and Don got me around back and in a prime position to watch the show which was a night under the stars with - - - - - - - - - - you guessed it Tony Bennett. If that's not karma, I don't know what is. Many thanks to Don for hosting me, loaning me his red/red/red 00 SERG and for the company of all. It was certainly a great respite from the long days of driving coast to coast alone.
So now I'm home and the process of separting from my company of nearly 28 years begins along with the visits to the doctors and forms to fill out to collect my disability retirement. To be 100% honest, this malady (spinal stenosis) is very real and I am not sure how much longer I will find myself able to ride on two wheels unless surgery proves to be greatly beneficial. As luck would have it Harley-Davidson has chosen this time to re-introduce a trike, this newest version being an Ultra-Classic based model as opposed to the spartan Servi-car of yore. Seems that one thing I have in spades is a great sense of timing. But as my dear sweet Mom sang to me when I was child, " Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see, que sera, sera.
B B