Whew! It has been an incredible few days. I guess I left you off in Milwaukee, with a great couple of days with my friends, Beth and Vern. I followed that up with a couple of days with another great friend from Milwaukee, Paul. It was a really a spectacular way of continuing the journey around the country.
First a bit about Paul. Paul is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Our Friendship spans a quarter century. In the early 80"s I actually accepted, and then turned down, a staff position with an association in Milwaukee (I will always keep a bit of the blog, like last names, private). My gut said wait where I was, since it was expected that my boss at that time would be leaving soon and I had a shot at his job. Well, it was Paul that took the job in Milwaukee. And, we both ended up as CEO's of very good organizations.
Paul, by the way, is the smartest guy I know. I really developed a keen respect for his intelligence, humor and common sense. However, I also developed a great fondness for and friendship with Paul, and his wonderful family. Paul and I have shared many good times and bad. We were together on the Pacific Crest Trail, backpacking, the week of September 11, 2001. The year before, we were on a backpacking trip in North Carolina with a very close friend of ours who passed away not two years later. Needless to say, getting together for the weekend was wonderful.
Ok, now for some news. I have spent three days trying to get home. Because of a severe weather front, I had to spend an extra night at Casa Paul's in Milwaukee. Yesterday, I left out in absolutely beautiful, cool weather. However, the weather front was really slow, and I overran the front and rode for nearly 90 minutes in horrible rain.
I stopped in Wauseon, Ohio, soaked to the bone, dripping from every limb and orifice. I pull into a Holiday Inn Express in the rain and saw a huge bus...I had a sense of dread thinking it is 70 German tourists seeing the heartland of America, and they have taken all the rooms. The lady at the front desk says "No, that bus belongs to the the band that is playing tonight at the County Fair". "Oh", I say, "Anyone I know?". She says "REO Speedwagon". REO Speedwagon! At the Fulton County Annual Fair, with all that goes with it!. Which explains why the two lane road had a line of traffic that was as far as the eye could see. Amazing!
Anyway, I get up this morning to an overcast sky. Undaunted, I set out with my rain suit over my riding clothes. No problemo! I ride in and out of rain, all the way past Pittsburgh, where I stopped at the Oakmont Service Plaza for lunch. With a full tummy, and a dose of confidence, I make a reservation for a room about 100 miles down the pike...knowing I will be riding through the rain.
Ah, confidence...that word sometimes sound like a four letter word. I go out to the bike, stick the key in the ignitioin, hit the starter button....and NOTHING! Another electronic idiot switch gone bad...the one that tells the ignition I am in Neutral, and let's me start the bike. It thinks I am in gear...oh, am I stuck, in the rain, tummy full of a 1/4 pound hot dog (man was it a good dog!). So, I call the Turnpike wrecker service, and 45 minutes later "Bob" shows up and we load the bike up, and take it to the BMW Bike dealer in Wexford, PA.
I am now in a Comfort Inn in Cranberry, PA (not kidding...CRANBERRY!), which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. I am exhausted. 350 miles short of my 8,000 mile goal, I am stopped. However, I will go to the shop tomorrow and find out what needs to be done.
I am down but not out. I will persevere. I liked old "Bob" though he was a bit rough around the edges. He has a son that is 6'5" tall, 266 lbs, and hits a baseball a mile, and has a 90 mph fastball...at 16! They grow them big in PA.
So, for tonight, let's call this a pause, rather than the end of my trip. Not sure about tomorrow. The prognosis is that heavy rains are likely tomorrow and Wednesday. We shall see.
Tune in tomorrow for more in the continuing saga of Greg Balestrero and his Ride Across America.
More Later.
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