Joe2Lmaker
Well-known member
Rewind to last Fall.
I'm over at my buddy's house for his birthday. Still feeling guilty for ditching him and my 'other bike' riding buddies so I could go to CFR, I ask "Where are we going next year?"
His Dad replies "How about the Ozarks?"
"Where are those?"
"Missouri, Arkansas"
*thinking to myself* 'Looks like I'm going to be ditching these guys again.'
After looking into it a little more, I have a change of heart and decided to go along with the idea of a tour of the Ozarks.
My FJR riding buddies have met my 'other bike' riding buddies and everyone seemed to get along. I suggested to my 'other bike' riding buddies that we also invite the FJR riding buddies.
Because the 'other bike' rider group out numbered us FJR riders, I didn't push the SFO idea too hard. I just sort of suggested it last Winter and it was voted down. Long after the dates were set, three of the 'other bike' riding crew bowed out. It was going to be three FJRs and one C14 meeting up with a fourth FJR in Arkansas the week after SFO. We didn't know it at the time, but the timing of the trip turned out to be Lucky Coincidence #1.
The weather on the day of our departure was perfect.
I found a truck along the route that my wife would have loved. Unfortunately, I had just bought a F-250 the day before. Lucky Coincidence #2
Not long after spotting the truck, we are crossing the Mississippi... going East! 'Shit!' I think to myself; 'Where the hell is this guy taking us?' I begin talking to myself in my helmet. 'The whole auxiliary tank project has really bitten me in the ass.' 'East?!' 'Into Illinois?' 'Fuck, I knew I should have been more involved in the planning of this trip.' 'That'll teach me to sit back and let someone else to all the work.'
I probably wouldn't have had to deal with Satan inside my helmet, but I'm going to blame my wife for that one.
I had all sorts of music loaded on the iPod last year, but my wife has had access to the iPod since then. 'This woman has never made a mixed tape in her life!' (again the voice in my helmet) I can't take it! I swear; 'My wife could work for the FBI, or the ATF!' 'If (my wife) had made the tape for the the FBI, that whole Waco debacle could have been avoided! Koresh and his followers would have run screaming from their compound begging for that music to be shut off!' (again, the voice in my helmet... if there was any doubt)
I try to skip ahead to the next album. I try to use the shuffle. Anything! If it wasn't bad enough to listen to these shitty songs once, the iPod is playing some of the songs twice! What the hell? Did my wife record these twice?
I can't take it! I'm flying down the road with both hands on my jacket zippers and both hands on the iPod trying to skip to ahead. 'If the North Vietnamese had this iPod..'
I've lost one of my riding gloves, I'm traveling across Illinois, listening to songs designed to fill LPs after one decent song. These were unlucky coincidences (coincidii?) #1
We take an exit.
We're traveling in a generally westerly direction, which means we'll be crossing the river again eventually. I'm happy, but our navigator is being told by his Garmin that we need to continue South. We decide to just stay on the road we're on and cross the river into Missouri. The road we're on ends up being the road to the town in Missouri where we have motel reservations. Lucky Coincidence #3. (Lucky Coincidence #3a is the end of the torturous music. Lucky Coincidence #3b is the geography lesson about the path of the Mississippi and the fact that traveling through Illinoyance wasn't that far out of the way.
Day two...
Did I mention we were traveling to the general area where SFO was being held? Well, waking up on Day Two we are on the other side of Missouri and the last of the SFO weather is hanging over the direction we want to travel. We decide to try and duck South and see if we can avoid the heavy rains. We took Hwy 19 in a southwest direction. Very cool road! In Salem, MO the sky is looking blue/gray to the west and we decide to duck into BP to put on our rain gear. <Link> Just as we are standing there, the sky opens up and dumps buckets of rain; mixing in lightening and thunder for good measure. Lucky Coincidence #4
to be continued...
I'm over at my buddy's house for his birthday. Still feeling guilty for ditching him and my 'other bike' riding buddies so I could go to CFR, I ask "Where are we going next year?"
His Dad replies "How about the Ozarks?"
"Where are those?"
"Missouri, Arkansas"
*thinking to myself* 'Looks like I'm going to be ditching these guys again.'
After looking into it a little more, I have a change of heart and decided to go along with the idea of a tour of the Ozarks.
My FJR riding buddies have met my 'other bike' riding buddies and everyone seemed to get along. I suggested to my 'other bike' riding buddies that we also invite the FJR riding buddies.
Because the 'other bike' rider group out numbered us FJR riders, I didn't push the SFO idea too hard. I just sort of suggested it last Winter and it was voted down. Long after the dates were set, three of the 'other bike' riding crew bowed out. It was going to be three FJRs and one C14 meeting up with a fourth FJR in Arkansas the week after SFO. We didn't know it at the time, but the timing of the trip turned out to be Lucky Coincidence #1.
The weather on the day of our departure was perfect.
I found a truck along the route that my wife would have loved. Unfortunately, I had just bought a F-250 the day before. Lucky Coincidence #2
Not long after spotting the truck, we are crossing the Mississippi... going East! 'Shit!' I think to myself; 'Where the hell is this guy taking us?' I begin talking to myself in my helmet. 'The whole auxiliary tank project has really bitten me in the ass.' 'East?!' 'Into Illinois?' 'Fuck, I knew I should have been more involved in the planning of this trip.' 'That'll teach me to sit back and let someone else to all the work.'
I probably wouldn't have had to deal with Satan inside my helmet, but I'm going to blame my wife for that one.
I had all sorts of music loaded on the iPod last year, but my wife has had access to the iPod since then. 'This woman has never made a mixed tape in her life!' (again the voice in my helmet) I can't take it! I swear; 'My wife could work for the FBI, or the ATF!' 'If (my wife) had made the tape for the the FBI, that whole Waco debacle could have been avoided! Koresh and his followers would have run screaming from their compound begging for that music to be shut off!' (again, the voice in my helmet... if there was any doubt)
I try to skip ahead to the next album. I try to use the shuffle. Anything! If it wasn't bad enough to listen to these shitty songs once, the iPod is playing some of the songs twice! What the hell? Did my wife record these twice?
I can't take it! I'm flying down the road with both hands on my jacket zippers and both hands on the iPod trying to skip to ahead. 'If the North Vietnamese had this iPod..'
I've lost one of my riding gloves, I'm traveling across Illinois, listening to songs designed to fill LPs after one decent song. These were unlucky coincidences (coincidii?) #1
We take an exit.
We're traveling in a generally westerly direction, which means we'll be crossing the river again eventually. I'm happy, but our navigator is being told by his Garmin that we need to continue South. We decide to just stay on the road we're on and cross the river into Missouri. The road we're on ends up being the road to the town in Missouri where we have motel reservations. Lucky Coincidence #3. (Lucky Coincidence #3a is the end of the torturous music. Lucky Coincidence #3b is the geography lesson about the path of the Mississippi and the fact that traveling through Illinoyance wasn't that far out of the way.
Day two...
Did I mention we were traveling to the general area where SFO was being held? Well, waking up on Day Two we are on the other side of Missouri and the last of the SFO weather is hanging over the direction we want to travel. We decide to try and duck South and see if we can avoid the heavy rains. We took Hwy 19 in a southwest direction. Very cool road! In Salem, MO the sky is looking blue/gray to the west and we decide to duck into BP to put on our rain gear. <Link> Just as we are standing there, the sky opens up and dumps buckets of rain; mixing in lightening and thunder for good measure. Lucky Coincidence #4
to be continued...
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