June 8, 1997 Kansas City, MO

Well folks, should we call this a rather auspicous beginning? Saturday morning brought forcasts of rain, but our high spirits couldn't be dampened. We were ready! Our original plan was to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Deals Gap where we'd rendezvous with friends and procede to Knoxville. But if you've ever ridden the BRP on a foggy rainy day, you know this is not a mistake to be repeated. Being wise beyond our years, we decided to take the easy way out and simply superslab down I-40 through Asheville and down into the Tennessee valley. The weather gods were kind, providing clear passage with only a small sprinkle as we crested the Appalachain range. We arrived unscathed, physically and mentally, surprising our hosts with an early arrival.

We spent the evening with the Ragsdales, Mike and Melissa. Their friends Rob and Darlene joined in to provide hours of laughs and a great pot of chili! Knowing we had a 700 mile day awaiting us, we checked in with the wives and retired early.

Sunday morning brought high hopes with the splendor of a rising sun. We were on the road by 8AM and decided to postpone breakfast until Nashville. I had calculated the time and mileage over in my head knowing that it would be a long day. Twelve hours should allow us to cover the distance with the new elevated speed limits. Imagine my shock and immediate joy when we passed a sign announcing "Entering Central Time Zone"!! I had forgotten all about it!! This gives us plenty of time to make Kansas City by dark!

After breakfast, the moods set in. If you've traveled distance before you know what I mean. The highs and lows that your mind goes through as you pass the time droaning down the highway. The same songs on the CD playing over and over again. If it weren't for the occasional conversation with Dave over the Chatterboxes (rider to rider communicators) it might have gotten real bad. This was payment. The toll that had to be paid in order to make it to Colorado quickly. 120 to 180 miles at a time between stops, depending on which made it's call first; the gas tank or the bladder. My thoughts shifted often to my wife. Wondering if she was doing well. Wondering if the credit card had survived my first day away!! Already I look forward to being back in her arms some 20 days from now.

The miles counted down as we approached St. Louis. Riding through downtown, the Arch towered overhead welcoming us in and ushering us back out. It was here that our day would change. Leaning through a nice left hander Dave had taken the left third of the lane while I kept the cagers in check on the right. Then it happened! Dave was bumped off the seat of his ST1100 and came back down again. A POTHOLE!! Not just a pothole, A BIG POTHOLE!! It was obvious that Dave was a little shaken, but we joked it off thinking that the worst had passed. 120 miles later we stopped for dinner in Columbia, MO. As we rode down the off ramp, Dave keyed the microphone. "Losing Air!" I responded "You or me?" He said that it was his front tire as we pulled into the parking lot. I looked over and he had maybe 10 pounds left. The cause was a bent rim. Major bent rim!!! After dinner we acquired a large hammer and tried to slowly ping the rim back into shape. You're smiling aren't you? You know that this is nearly impossible and it was. Dave did the best he could as I clicked away on the digital camera to capture this moment forever. This is good stuff! We figured that 40 psi ought to do the trick, at least for the 120 miles that remained. I followed him closely moving left and right, surveying the situation. Steam then poured from beneath his bike as his antifreeze decided to overflow and dump onto the exhaust collector. After another quick stop to make sure everything was okay, we soon arrived in Kansas City.

We pulled into the garage of Mr. Anderson. The father of a co-worker who graciously offered us refuge from our own storm. We're tired. We're sore, but we're here. A quick tally of the damage revealed a badly bent front rim, a slightly bent rear rim, bad front wheel bearings, and a blown lowbeam on the headlight. Quite a pothole!!! The GTS1000 survived the day unscathed only asking for a top off of oil around mid-day. I should have checked it before we left! Tomorrow we go looking for parts. Our schedule should be only slightly delayed as our adventure has truly begun.