CMIII day two

day two started out groggier than day one. We all woke up and shook off the libations that were consumed the evening before, and tried to go about the day.

a quick stop off for "coffee and honeybuns" and we pulled out of wolf lake headed north. Yard Sale of course lost his brand new pack of smokes 50ft from the gas station driveway.

I told you this kid is nuts! feet on passenger pegs, oncoming traffic, doesn't matter. looks like alot of work for a picture, but when you see the results, it's almost worth the death-defying effort!

one of the many waiting sessions. i think this is the one where Yard Sales tank bolt fell out.

Warren..... you're leaning man.

haha check out the hole in the crotch.

so this is where my trip got interesting... Warren decided he needed a new pair of pants and somehow our group got split into a few groups. in an attempt to catch up to the second group, we wandered around the mall parking lot trying to find the rest of the gang. no luck... but whats that? a nice tight turn in a mall parking lot?!?!? SWEET! i whack the throttle and lean the bike over as far as she will go to the left.... interesting fact kids: though it is a round, spinning part on your motorcycle, you actually CANNOT ride on your clutch hub! trust me i found this out the hard way after i began a 30ft skid across the parking lot. I can still see in my head my bike and i sliding backwards in a cloud of all kinds of crap. luckily i had a helmet on cause my head hit the curb with some decent force. damage assessment: bent handlebars, gouged clutch hub, broken clutch lever, torn up new shoes, a gaping hole in the side of my hand, and a bruised ego. I'll be the first to admit when i screw up and this was it. It seems i have no problem riding a bike on the street... but put me in a parking lot or dirt road and i'm determined to do something stupid that results in me and my motorcycle in a breakdance competition.

 

so after getting a new clutch lever from a dealer (thanks shawn!), we met up with the other half of the group. they just got finished putting a new primary belt on harlows bike. we sat for a few minutes and swapped comedic stories before hitting the road and continuing on towards the mackinaw bridge.

Then i see brad on the side of the road. bike smoking, oil everywhere, he jumps off and says his pushrod clip fell out. I wish. upon closer observation, brad finds that he actually snapped the adjuster on the front cyclinder exhaust lifter.

ho.lee.crap.

I've never seen so many bikes pass by without a single one stopping. a man in a jeep cherokee stops and asks if we need anything. turns out he's a machinist and has a few numbers to some shops in town. he offers to make the part, but brad tracks one down at a local shop and he and shawn split to go get it.  

in the meantime, Rob runs to McDonalds for 1/4pounders and him, me, and Yard Sale enjoy them in the bed of grass beneath the tree. I think the total elapsed time on this breakdown was something like 4 hours. by this time the rest of the group is at the foot of the Mackinaw Bridge waiting for us.

It got late quick and by the time we got near the bridge, it was well after dark. The boys decided they didn't want to cross the big bridge without the entire group so they found a non-official campsite and waited for us. by the time we got there tired, frustrated, ready for a beer, the other half was already three sheets to the wind. They'd been waiting on us to light the evenings ceremonial tequila lime wrapped blunt. I stood and looked at the circle of dirty nasty hooligans in front of me and could do nothing but smile. I realized that nite just how special this ride was. 15 different people. 15 different bikes. 1 goal: fun. everyone laughing, swapping stories, sharing beer, sangria, smoke, and food. its where i realized we are all in this together and that we're all looking out for eachother to make sure everyone is ok, has a full belly, a good buzz, and a smile on their face. I slipped into my sleeping bag near the fire and drifted off to laughter and conversation.

day three tomorrow.