I am cutting things fine. Which I am not comfortable with. By this stage of any bike trip, I have been planning for weeks, and all is ready to rock n roll. But not this one.
About 2 weeks ago I decided to trade in the bike I have been riding for the past 2 years. I loved it, and it is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden – with all the mod cons; CarPlay, luggage and the rest. However, it was a monster, weighing over 900 lbs dry. It was really tough to maneuver and handle at parking speeds, and I was always afraid I’d drop it. I never did, but it is too much for anyone to pick up, so I would be screwed if I was anywhere vaguely remote (which I often am on my trips).
Anyway, it was time to go back to a ride that was easier for me, and the decision of which bike to trade it in for was a no-brainer. I have always loved the Softail Heritage Classic, and so I swapped the beast for a smaller (but still substantial) piece of beauty. This is my 3rd Heritage Classic, which tells you how much I love them. Of the 10 bikes I have owned in my long life, 30% of them are Harley Davidsons own Heritage Classics.
Anyway, digression over with. I got the bike, but needed a bunch of add-ons before I could undertake a serious tour. Also, the bike needs a full service before I head out on such a ride, so I booked it in for all the things – today was the day. It wasn’t possible any earlier, so a 90th minute service and fitting it was to be.
I brought the bike to the dealer yesterday, so they could start work first thing today, and they said it would be ready for collection at 3 pm today. Due to Lena’s work schedule, She could only drop me at the dealers around 1pm, so I turned up, prepared to wait patiently for a couple of hours. However, I was politely informed that “he hasn’t started on your bike quite yet – we are rather busy”, and that it would still be a few hours before it was ready.
Fortunately, I had brought my maps and laptop with me, in case of just such delay – so I have spent the last 4 hours patiently waiting for my iron horse to be groomed and fettled in readiness for my odyssey. I am not sure how much longer I will have to patiently wait (or impatiently – the waiting is the same) until it is ready – but it may be a bit longer yet. I will update.
Meanwhile, I have been poring over maps, doing some housekeeping emails etc, and soaking up the rocking beats that the Harley shop have been playing full blast all afternoon. Tonight happens to be a bikes, music and competition night, so the greasy biker public are starting to turn up. I assume things that are probably along the lines of free drink, burgers or hot dogs, lots of leather and loud music, and plenty of talk about replacing gaskets, how many horsepowers per square mile and other such aficionado talk that has always been beyond me. I love riding comfortable bikes, and admiring pretty bikes, but I have never been a geek about them (or pretty much anything else). Still – a lot of folk are, so more power to them.
Tomorrow is a very easy day navigationally. I leave home, and within a couple of miles arrive on highway 285. I follow it south for the best part of 320 miles, and turn up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Long ride and will be tiring but I love love love being on the road with my bike, so bring it on.