DAY 7 & 8: The Inzane Ride HomeDAY 7Today, we're heading for Inzane! Chauffer and I were up early for the 430 mile trek to Eureka Springs. JC and Jaime intend to follow at a more reasonable hour.
The bikes are up before the dawn too, and kicking the slats of their stalls in anticipation of the day's ride.
The morning was foggy, and cool compared to mornings on the trip so far. We figured that would change as we moved away from the river and got closer to to Ground Zero. We were right. I'm searching for an adjective to use...uhm...hmmmm...oh, yeah, STEAMY is the word that applies.
The roads were pretty much straight and flat until we hit the Arkansas border. We had a great time on the roads into Eureka Springs and got to Ground Zero about 1:00 pm.
Two hours later, it rained.
It was during Daniel's tech session on servicing the rear drive line. We're standing under a metal-skeleton sun (now rain) canopy in an ill-tempered thunderstorm. The structure is grounded only by casual contact with the surface of the earth through a layer of asphalt and through the human lightning rods leaning against the poles. I'm thinking to myself, "I just rode 3000 some miles through slippery mountain passes, braving clueless cage drivers, and clubbing malevolent roadside barriers, and this, THIS is the most dangerous situation I've been in!"
We fortunately were not turned into crispy critters and enjoyed the rest of the day and evening, including the awards dinner where we almost won the prize for longest roundabout route to the event.
The plan for the next morning is to ride out with some of the other Texans, with KSU at 0830. Time for some shut-eye.
DAY 8HOME is the day's objective, approximately 380 miles to the southwest.
We were KSU pretty much on time, after breakfast and gas. (No cause and effect implied or expressed by that statement.)
With Hayhauler in the lead, we headed down the Pig Trail toward I-40. What a great road!
Along the way, a pickup truck in front of us slowed suddenly without apparent reason. When he speeded back up, Hayhauler, Disco, and Christbiker, who were in front of me, speeded up with him. As I approached the slow-down spot, I realized why the truck had slowed. A fawn was running beside the road in the ditch. I get on the brakes and watch as the fawn leaps from the ditch to the shoulder and now runs beside me. I'm still slowing and waiting to see which way it will dart. Suddenly, it crossed right in front of me, missing my front tire by what seemed like inches.
Maybe it
was safer under the canopy.
After the intersection with I-40, it was highway all the way to Sherman, TX. Hayhauler and Chauffer continued on in order to try and beat rush hour as they had to ride through the metromess. TJ, Disco, Christbiker, and I stopped in Sherman for lunch.
After lunch, Christbiker headed south for McKinney. TJ, Disco, and I started west on Route 82.
It began to rain.
We were going to tough it out, but the air-to-ground lightning bolts striking directly in our path ahead discouraged this. We turned north on a side road and found an abandoned house were we could use the driveway to wait out the storm.
An hour after the storm passed, we were home.
