Day Ten by Dave Schultheis
Wednesday, August 6, 2003 - Lockbourne, Ohio
I had, shall we say, "a gastro-intestinal problem" after 3:00 a.m. I'll spare the details, but suffice to say that two cartons of chocolate milk just before bed, from a dairy that my digestive system was not accustomed to, was _not_ a good idea. Eventually I got back to sleep.
I was awakened about 6:00 a.m. by light coming in the window. I got up at 7:05 a.m., dressed and combed, packed and loaded the T-Bag onto the Road King.
It was 66 degrees with overcast skies as I checked out of the motel at about 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time. I rode north on U.S. 23, then east on Interstate 270 and turned east onto OH Highway 16 into Newark and north on OH Highway 13 after a short ride on OH Highway 79 due to poor signage.
I stopped at 9:20 a.m., 71 degrees, for fuel at a BP Station in Newark, then continued north on OH 13 and north on U.S. 62 where I saw my first "watch for horse and buggy" picture sign of this trip.
In Danville, I stopped for a church sign picture, "Prayerless Pews Make Powerless Pulpits," and also snapped a picture of a horse and buggy trotting by.
Down the road in Brinkhaven (sometimes called "Gann"), I took a picture of another "Mail Pouch Tobacco" barn, then stopped to take a picture of a red 1951 Ford (needed a little work) parked in front of a house. Grandma came out to greet me, and I asked permission to take the picture. It brought a tear to her eye, as her husband and their grandson had been working on the car in their spare time. The grandson had recently been killed in a car crash (different vehicle) and Grandpa couldn't bear to part with the vehicle just yet.
Down the road, I stopped at a Subway Sandwich shop in Millersburg for a roast beef sandwich at 11:00 a.m., then a little later, saw a beautiful blue and white 1954 Chevrolet parked near the road in Holmes County, just west of Wilmot (which is in Stark County).
Somewhere I stopped for a church sign picture: "The Bible Is The 'Road Map to Peace'."
Near Canton, about 12:20 p.m., I stopped in the parking lot of the Stark County Sheriff's Office (where it was hot and there was no shade!) and called T.L. Mitchell on the cellular phone to advise him of my progress.
Somewhere along in here I saw a faded sign on a plumbing company that said "Our job is to keep you in hot water."
I continued east on U.S. 62 and then north on OH Highway 225, around Alliance OH, under Interstate 76 and turned east on OH Highway 5 near Newton Falls, where all of a sudden the skies opened and it rained furiously. I stopped under a gas station canopy as quickly as I could and put the soft lowers on the engine guard ("crash bars"), to keep the rain off my boots, but there was no point to putting on the rain suit as my pants were already soaked.
I continued on OH 5 as it turned to freeway, took Elm Road, and stopped at Warren Harley-Davidson in Cortland OH, at 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
When I bought the Road King from T.L. in January of 2000, it was not practical for me to ride it to California, so he washed it and took it in to Warren H-D, where they drained the fluids, disconnected the battery, and put it on a truck for the trip west.
I had arranged all of this in advance with the moving company and with Doris, owner of Warren H-D, by telephone. However, Warren H-D never charged my credit card, so I figured that I owed them a few dollars. Although Doris remembered talking to me on the phone and facilitating the shipment, she could find no record of the transaction.
So, since I needed a front tire anyway (you remember, they told me in Tyler), I made a service appointment for first thing the next day, and told her I'd browse the parts and MotorClothes departments to see what else I might need, and that made her happy.
I left Warren H-D at 2:10 p.m., where it was bright and sunny, rode OH 5 and an assortment of roads toward the Lair in the Woods. I failed to get gasoline in Cortland and wasn't sure where there would be more.
After some backtracking, which I would like to call "exploring," I fueled at a Marathon Station in Southington (suthing-ton) at 2:40 p.m., where it was sunny and 74 degrees and station employees were listening to the volunteer fire department on the scanner (radio). T.L. later told me I could have found fuel cheaper elsewhere, but even at the higher price, it was still cheaper than I had been paying at home.
I had been to the Lair in 2000, but had come from a different direction, in a rental car, during the winter, so things looked different, but I did recognize the place as I got close.
I arrived at 3:20 p.m., in 82 degree sunshine, and fortunately (for me, anyway) he was home. I got through Security and greeted him, met Sue, met the little ones, then we sat in the air-conditioned comfort of the Lair and caught up with many goings on. When there was a lull in the conversation, I unloaded the T-Bag and put my stuff in the guest room.
Since it was Wednesday, T.L. had something special in mind. We started the bikes a little after 5:00 p.m. and headed over to Penn-Ohio bike night at Quaker Steak & Lube in Sharon PA.
About a block from the state line, T.L. and Sue stopped in a parking lot to "helmet up," because at that time, Pennsylvania was a "helmet" state. (That has since changed.)
We arrived in the parking lot at Quaker Steak at 6:00 p.m. to find a respectable number of motorcycles of several brands parked all over the place. There was music and a couple of vendors, people wandering around, two restaurants open, and I seem to recall that beer was available.
We sat down at the Hot Rod Cafe and had a buffet dinner with salad and cold drink. The place wasn't too crowded, so I didn't have to elbow too many people out of the way at the buffet.
We walked around a little, and I think T.L. was disappointed at the turnout, although there were some nice-looking bikes. We left about 7:15, stopped at the drugstore for something, and then again at another store, but I couldn't find what I needed. Again we stopped near the state line so they could "unhelmet" and then rode past a place called Yankee Lake on the way back, where another (competing) bike night was in progress.
We got back to the Lair at 8:25 p.m. and parked in the garage. I got out a few tools and partially disassembled the right handlebar switch-set so that I could fix the throttle-lock screw. The little plastic shoe had become dislodged and I couldn't lock the throttle. But I got it fixed without too much trouble.
While we were talking, T.L. got out the hose and the S100 and proceeded to hose down the old girl and give her a good cleaning. I had previously removed the seats and cleaned the front part of the rear fender in preparation for "white glove inspection," but you know how a cross-country trip (or even a Counter-Clockwise Tour) can dirty up a motorcycle.
Later, Sue went to work, T.L. went to bed, and I took a shower and went to bed sometime after 11:00 p.m.
Miles for the day = 291. Miles for the trip = 3304.
Tomorrow: front tire replacement - can they get it right the first time?