The Seed Being Planted, Nurtured...
The Sunday morning following the DRU, everybody was loading-up their rides, hugging friends, and laughing about all the new memories just made. This unapologetic party goer was right in there amongst them, too. I was also not exactly eager to hit the road right away either, so a 'justifiable' excuse to delay that inevitable departure was being cleverly employed....
My participation in 'the conference' the afternoon before had not led to any obvious serious discomfort or unpleasant outcome, but it had been enough to mute my desire to travel considerably. Heck, a return to bed actually sounded better at the moment. That's when MitchO walked up, and we began to dicker on the details and terms of some work needing to be performed on our girl. I also mentioned that I was contemplating another long ride, so that work was doubly important... And then...
Perhaps it was the result of my most recent party event after all, or possibly it was simply associated with the obvious continuation of the aging process, or maybe just something I'd eaten, but... I suddenly became aware 'Lucy' was calling! In mid-sentence I abruptly excused myself from Mitch's and my chat and made a 'quick step' beeline for the 'facilities'! Mitch never even blinked an eye, as he completely understood...
A short day was called for, so we only made it to Campbellsville, KY. I was good with that! 'Lucy' (aka Loosey Bowels) didn't hang around after all, so an early meal and turn-in topped off a rather pleasant albeit short day of riding... Well, except for the intermittent sprinkles we'd kept catching up to.
Following more conversations via telephone with my 'master wrench' and good friend, the result was my returning to Jamestown, TN, for a night, then a short scoot down to Mitch's the following day for some delayed repairs and parts replacement. Another pleasant, and mercifully short, day of riding with still no reappearance of my arch Nemesis... Things were most definitely looking up!
Mitch is a wonder to watch for this non-wrench, as I observed him rhythmically working at his usual steady, efficient pace; always with a smile on his face and an interesting anecdote to share while making all tasks appear easy enough even I could do them... NOT! Umm, I also shared a tidbit of additional info about what might come next for our girl and her lucky rider...
She and I were eager to have a confidence-building tech-session with someone like Mitch, so we could undertake a worry-free lengthy ride out to Greybull, WY, for a special hamburger on our way to the FCR... Mitch was familiar with those delightful sandwiches and the ride involved, as he had made that same trek several times himself... "Wanna go with me," I inquired?
"I'd really love to," he responded, "but I just don't have the time..." Too bad, I muttered, it's going to be a nice outing, and it also has the added advantage of offering a welcome escape from the current heat in the southeastern US. He kept working as I kept musing about what was soon to come for our girl and her partner for life.
"Too bad, my friend, it sure would have been nice to have made another trip together," I'd mournfully lamented as an afterthought... The recently planted 'seed' was now being subtly nurtured... 'Catching' real riders ain't hard, ya know... Ya just got to use the right bait and dangle it just so...
An omen? Mitch prettying-up our girl for the coming trek... possibly accompanied...?
DDT (12)
