Outside Dodge City, I spot a lady on a 1150 RS BMW parked on the side of the road. I pull over, thinking that she may need help.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“Yes I am. I just stopped to put on my rain gear” she tells me.
As I look up ahead, I can see why. The clouds are dark and ominous and you can see the wall of water headed our way. The last time I saw a sky like that was coming into Cody, Wyoming and it just about blew me off the RedBird.
“Judging by the way it looks, not a bad idea. I believe I will follow your example” I tell her.
“Would it be okay if I follow you into town?” she asked, sensing what lies ahead may be a bit more than just a little rain.
“Sure thing. I'll be turning
off on highway 60, but you are welcome to come as far as it suits you”
I assure her.
“Thank a bunch. I really appreciate
it” she says.
We both mount up and head toward
the wall. There are few storms that match the fury of the ones that sweep
across the flatlands. This one is no exception as the wind is blowing
so hard the rain hits you sideways. Today I don't mind the extra weight
of the RedBird at all. The side gusts are strong but I just motor on with
the BMW behind me. We finally reach town and she decides to hole up for
the evening. I've got more miles I want to do so I wave her a good-bye
and push on to the 50/60 junction. There's a truck stop, so I pull over
for a Pepsi and peanut break beneath the shelter and gas up while I'm
at it. As I watch the wind blow signs over and the rain come down in buckets
I have to laugh a bit. On this entire trip, yesterday and today are the
only days I've got into any serious rain. But this one is sure making
up for it. Polishing off the last of the Pepsi, I figure it's not planning
on stopping anytime soon. And Springfield is still a good ride away. So
I button up my suit, batten down the RedBird and head back into the storm.
It's slow going but at least it is progress. I finally make it to Wichita
and decide to press on. The rain has stopped and I'm still a little far
out from home. And I still have getting to Springfield on my mind. Highway
60 has now officially turned into a 4-lane Highway 400. As I motor along.
I come up on a bunch of kids in a Ford dually pulling a nice boat. I notice
that something just blew out of the boat, so I crank it up a notch to
get beside him so I can let him know. The driver, eager to impress his
girlfriend, thinks I want to race so he starts cutting me off and swerving
in and out of traffic. Meanwhile, Mush-for-Brains is continuing to lose
things out of the boat. Enough is enough, so I drop the RedBird down a
cog and pull beside him like he is parked and motion him to roll down
his window.
“Just thought I'd let you know you're losing things out of boat, buddy” I yell to him.
The truth hits him like a wet
mop and it is so obvious he's gone from cool to fool in an instance of
time. And as the advertisement says – The Look – Priceless. He pulls off
to see what's missing and I move on. I wonder how he's gonna explain that
to Dad when he gets home. Night and fatigue begins to close in faster
than I would prefer. As it gets close to 9 PM I know Springfield is just
not going to happen. I decide to stop at the next town that has a place
to stay, but there aren't any with motels. Finally I get to Fredonia,
Kansas and there it is the – Plaza Grill and Inn. It's open, it's dry
and it will do. Thankfully, they have a room and I just catch the restaurant
before they close. The lady serving has been on her feet all day, but
she still does a good job. As I wolf down a good piece of dead cow, I'm
thinking tomorrow I should be back at the house. Little do I know the
most challenging part of the ride is yet to come.
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