The Biking Vacation Part II
The other day I started telling you about the motorcycle trip I took with my cousin and his wife. I got as far as Branson in that part. Well, we didn't spend the night in Branson because we decided to drive on up to Springfield, Missouri late that afternoon. When we got there, we discovered that folks had a tendency to be a little prejudice against people on motorcycles. First, when we pulled up at a hotel and went in to get a room, they acted like we were transients (which is what you are otherwise you wouldn't be at a hotel, right?) When I asked for a room the clerk said, "It's fifty-four dollars?" in the form of a question, like I didn't have fifty-four bucks. So I gave her my Diners Club card. I'm sure things are different today, considering how many people ride.
The next day, we decided to go to a wildlife safari place outside of town. Obviously we couldn't ride motorcycles through lion country so we decided to rent a car. We went to the Hertz place and they wouldn't rent us a car. The only reason I could figure was because we were on bikes and had helmet hair. We offered credit cards as well as a cash deposit, but no dice. So, when we left we decided to live up to expectations and cut a couple of donuts in their landscaping. I figured the best thing to do was go over to the airport, wait until a flight landed and go to the National counter to rent a car. It worked like a charm with absolutely no hassle.
We rented the car and went to the park. Good thing we were in the car, too, because we were attacked repeatedly by jackasses. Or maybe they just wanted to hang with more of their kind. (There, that keeps you from having to say it.) It was a pretty nice place. Definitely not Lion Country Safari, but nice enough.
That afternoon, we turned the car in and decided to go to the Smokey mountains. Impetuous, huh? Before we started, I felt it necessary to get a cruise control for my bike. We spent hours in a parking lot putting it on. It took forever since we didn't have the proper tools and had to cut my handlebar grip off, then go buy some more. Anyway, we were really late leaving Springfield and we were soon traveling by night. Then, it started raining. We put on our rain suits and rode on. I don't remember where we were planning to stop, but we missed it. With all the truck traffic and the constant rain, we ended up in Carbondale, Illinois. That's not how you get to the Smokey mountains from Springfield, by the way. When we figured out where we were, we turned around and drove to Peducah, arriving around 2:30 a.m. We checked into a dive hotel and got some desperately needed sleep.
The next day we decided to drive non-stop to Knoxville. It rained off and on all day so our time was a little longer than we had planned. I was on a Yamaha XS Eleven and my cousin was riding a Honda CB 900, so when conditions allowed, we made up for lost time. Of course if you get caught speeding in Tennessee they'll arrest you and put you to work on a potato farm so we were somewhat careful. We got to Knoxville after dark and found a hotel. By now we were suffering from terminal helmet hair and multi-layered road grime, so we were smart enough to park away from the hotel lobby, put on a clean shirt and wear a cap when we went in, thus ensuring a chance at getting a room.
I'll finish this later. I've got to go run an errand. My testosterone level indicates it's time to go over to Northern Tool!
The next day, we decided to go to a wildlife safari place outside of town. Obviously we couldn't ride motorcycles through lion country so we decided to rent a car. We went to the Hertz place and they wouldn't rent us a car. The only reason I could figure was because we were on bikes and had helmet hair. We offered credit cards as well as a cash deposit, but no dice. So, when we left we decided to live up to expectations and cut a couple of donuts in their landscaping. I figured the best thing to do was go over to the airport, wait until a flight landed and go to the National counter to rent a car. It worked like a charm with absolutely no hassle.
We rented the car and went to the park. Good thing we were in the car, too, because we were attacked repeatedly by jackasses. Or maybe they just wanted to hang with more of their kind. (There, that keeps you from having to say it.) It was a pretty nice place. Definitely not Lion Country Safari, but nice enough.
That afternoon, we turned the car in and decided to go to the Smokey mountains. Impetuous, huh? Before we started, I felt it necessary to get a cruise control for my bike. We spent hours in a parking lot putting it on. It took forever since we didn't have the proper tools and had to cut my handlebar grip off, then go buy some more. Anyway, we were really late leaving Springfield and we were soon traveling by night. Then, it started raining. We put on our rain suits and rode on. I don't remember where we were planning to stop, but we missed it. With all the truck traffic and the constant rain, we ended up in Carbondale, Illinois. That's not how you get to the Smokey mountains from Springfield, by the way. When we figured out where we were, we turned around and drove to Peducah, arriving around 2:30 a.m. We checked into a dive hotel and got some desperately needed sleep.
The next day we decided to drive non-stop to Knoxville. It rained off and on all day so our time was a little longer than we had planned. I was on a Yamaha XS Eleven and my cousin was riding a Honda CB 900, so when conditions allowed, we made up for lost time. Of course if you get caught speeding in Tennessee they'll arrest you and put you to work on a potato farm so we were somewhat careful. We got to Knoxville after dark and found a hotel. By now we were suffering from terminal helmet hair and multi-layered road grime, so we were smart enough to park away from the hotel lobby, put on a clean shirt and wear a cap when we went in, thus ensuring a chance at getting a room.
I'll finish this later. I've got to go run an errand. My testosterone level indicates it's time to go over to Northern Tool!
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