Day 3 May 4, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENNA!!!

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM. I felt very rested since I had seven hours of sleep. Jan woke up also and turned the TV on to find the news and weather channel while I was washing up and dressing. We both got dressed and packed. We made a check of the room to make sure that we hadn't missed anything. Jan and I went to the breakfast area of the hotel and saw that we were the only two of our group there. We were almost finished with breakfast when C.E. and Ken arrived. Soon after, Chuck and Bruce showed. We all ate well and talked for a while. We recapped the previous day of what we each had experienced. We stopped talking, looked at each other and then got up and went to load up our Motors. We left at 9:12 AM with scattered clouds and 66 degrees.

Ken continued, from yesterday, leading the group east on I-10. I was hoping that it was all a dream that we were STILL in Texas! We were still in Texas. As we were headed east, we past a ranch where they had cows and bison. There was a man walking his camel. That looked rather odd! For those who need to know, it was a "single" hump camel. There was an Air Force Base close by and a couple of jets were flying overhead. We rode for 54 miles and Ken stopped at a Shell station in Flatonia, TX. It was 54 degrees when we arrived at 9:58 AM. We all gassed up and then parked our Motors on the opposite side of the parking lot of the mini-mart/McDonalds. While we were there, we made a pit stop and bought some drinks. As we were drinking our waters and coffee, we noticed that there was a motel next door. Someone asked Ken if he owned the motel because it was named after him. The name of the motel was, "Grumpy's Motor Inn." It was time to leave and everyone got ready. Jan put in his ear buds for his MP3 and was looking for his helmet to put on. He couldn't find it and told us. Big mistake...Chuck asked him if he had taken his helmet off and put it on top of the gas pump as he was gassing up his Motor. Jan told him that he did. Chuck walked back to the pump and picked up Jan's helmet from the pump and gave it to Jan. Now he can finish getting ready to ride! We left at 10:30 AM.

Since we had just gassed up, it was my turn to lead. We continued east on I-10 STILL IN TEXAS. We were enjoying the weather and the ride and about 52 miles into the ride, I saw Ken moving up towards me. He came up my right side and motioned to me that he needed a pit stop. The first opportunity to stop, 5 miles later, we did. After 57 miles of riding and at 11:16 AM, we stopped at an Exxon station in Sealy, TX. The pause that refreshes! It was 75 degrees and we were ready to roll. We left at 11:28 AM.

We continued and the farther east we travelled, the landscape got greener and prettier. We continued for 87 miles and at 12:46 PM, we stopped at a Subway for lunch in Mount Belvieu, TX. As we were getting ready to leave, Jan noticed that the right side, fork end cap was missing. He and Chuck talked about it and realized that it fell off about 700 miles ago! Jan remembered hearing something hit the pavement. Ken told Jan that what fell was probably his (Ken's) sun glasses. Again, four years ago we had stopped at a Harley Davidson Dealership in Beaumont, TX. (go figure!) on our Four Corner's Ride. Chuck told me that we should head there and that he would have enough gas to get there. So, we headed to Beaumont to the "Cowboy Harley Davidson." We left at 1:42 PM.

We rode towards Beaumont and, three miles before arriving at the H-D store, Chuck got off the freeway, followed by C.E. and Ken, to a gas station. Jan, Bruce and I continued to the H-D store. Jan went to the Service Dept. while Bruce and I went to the restroom. I bet you all didn't expect that one! The others finally joined us and Jan found that the H-D store DIDN'T have the part. The parts department clerk told us that the part is a very important part. The wheel could come off without it. Jan told the clerk that we had travelled 700 miles without it. The clerk told Jan to make sure NOT to do any wheelies. Cowboys Harley Davidson called another Dealer in Lake Charles, LA. to see if they had the right part. They reported that they DID have the part. We left the H-D store at 2:51 PM.

We rode to the other side of the freeway to an Exxon station to gas up. We arrived at 2:55 PM after riding 2 miles. We took the long way. After gassing up, Jan gave me the address of the Lake Charles Harley Davidson. I entered the address on my navigation system and I told Bruce that since I was riding at the rear of the group, I would come up next to him when we got closer to the dealership. We left at 3:04 PM.

Bruce was leading as we rode east, closer to leaving Texas. We rode for 32 miles and we finally crossed over the Texas/Louisiana border. We were finally out of Texas! We were in Louisiana now and I figured that it was time to make a music video. I put on "Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White on my MP3 player on the external speakers and put it loud. I recorded the guys on their Motors, going from one guy to the next. I thought that the music fit the location. The video will be posted on U-Tube. If you type, "2705zorro" on the Search you will get all of my videos. On the upper left of the screen, left click on "filter." You will get several choices. Click on either "today's post" or "this weeks post." At 6 miles before our destination, I rode up next to Bruce and directed him to the H-D store. The navigation system took us directly to the store.

We arrived at the Lake Charles Harley Davidson at 4:05 PM. Lucky for us that the store closed at 5 PM. Jan contacted the parts department and was told that they DID have the part. While the repairs were being done, we all looked at the new Harley's in the show room and we also spoke with the owner. I went to the parts area and saw a small display of "bells." The Legend of the Gremlin Bell is more than decoration, it serves an important purpose--it wards off gremlins, also known as evil road spirits. There are motorcycle gremlins that love to ride, but they are also mischievous little devils and they cause all sorts of problems for you while you are riding. Some say they are responsible for that old lady in the mini-van not seeing you and cutting you off in traffic. Or, you may be having trouble shifting smoothly, your battery goes dead, your turn signal suddenly refuses to work, an oil spill appears out of nowhere, you hit a patch of black ice, etc. Those little gremlins look for trouble and try to steer your bike towards it. Now, once you get a bell on your scoot, it wards off these attacks from the little gremlins, not allowing any more to get onto your bike. If you already have some gremlins riding with you, they will get trapped in the hollow of the bell, and the constant ringing will drive them insane, causing them to lose their grip and fall to the roadway. It is also said that the Gremlin Bell is STRONGER if it is a "Gift." OK, back to Jan. They charged him only $21 for the part and nothing else. The missing part wasn't the only part that they replaced. There was another part that needed replacement. Jan was not charged. Bruce, Chuck and C.E. left to go to a McDonalds for coffee and drinks while the repairs were finished. The Motor was finished and we left at 5:15 PM.

We met up with the others at the McDonalds a mile away. Jan, Ken and I had a chocolate sundae while we were there. It was Jan's treat for us for waiting with him. Ken had told Jan that he would offer Jan a ride if the Motor could not be fixed. Jan told me that four years ago during our Four Corner's Ride, Bruce had told Jan that he would give Jan a "bell" for his Motor. Jan is still waiting. If Jan had the bell, chances are that it would have given Jan good luck and his Motor wouldn't have broken. We'll blame this mishap on Bruce! We left at 5:16 PM.

Bruce lead us again. We were going to ride for another hour or so down the road and look for a place to stay for the night. We rode for 75 more miles and stopped in Lafayette, LA at a Holiday Inn at 6:24 PM. Bruce, C.E. and Ken went in to make "the deal." They came out and told us that the hotel was all booked up. The clerk also told the guys the most every hotel in the city and area were probably booked up because of a local school function. I asked Chuck to check his Droid to see where the closest Holiday Inn Express east of us would be. He found one about 14 miles away. Here we go again! We left at 6:37 PM.

We rode for 14 miles and at 6:52 PM Bruce stopped at a Holiday Inn Express in Breaux Bridge, LA. Where??! Again, C.E., Ken and Bruce went in to make "the deal." They came out and reported and we all agreed. This is where we stayed the night. We parked our Motors neatly in a row in front of the Hotel and tucked them in for the night. After we checked in and took our bags to our rooms, we met later in front of the Hotel to walk to the restaurant on the grounds for dinner.

So, we had a pretty good day. The weather was nice and the landscape was beautiful. We did have a "broken Harley," but it was fixed and it didn't cost an arm and a leg...this time! The repairs did take some time to get done, however, we did manage to ride 410 miles today. That is a pretty good day of riding. So far, we have travelled 1,507.7 miles. Tomorrow, we should get to Venice, LA, the start of the Great River Road.