The final leg home

For the first time in the entire trip David had his bike packed and was ready to go before me. He was quite proud of himself. Little did we know this would serve as an omen for the rest of day.  

First I should tell you a little about David.  David is in his later 50’s, has significant hearing loss, an allergy to eggs and loves to ride motorcycles. For the past 10 years David has ridden on Harley Davidson bikes and accepts the quirks. The bike he took on this trip was just purchased earlier this year.

David was leading the ride today. When David leads we follow his GPS, when I lead we follow a map.  Each day we end up exactly where we need to be but the route can vary. It was getting close to lunch time and our fuel was low when David’s GPS decides to take us on a wild ride in circles, turning for no reason only to end up exactly where we started. We eventually find fuel and close by, a restaurant overlooking a well maintained golf course.

David asks our young waitress about the menu and she began explaining each of the 15 items in great detail. He has been listening closely and when she is on the 15th item he finally mentions his egg allergy. Our waitress appears frustrated when she said to him “You could have told me that to start with. It would have made things easier.” For the first time in this trip David’s egg allergy was an issue. The look on both their faces was one of frustration and for me extremely funny. My laughing out loud broke the tension.  Perhaps you had to be there. She was my favourite waitress.

Back on the road towards home. Three hours later we need another fuel stop and this is where we notice David’s oil leak. Not our first issue with his new bike, earlier in the trip he had throttle issues requiring two separate visits to Harley dealers in Eastern Canada. Throwing his hands in the air David just laughs and says “That’s Harley”.  I insisted we buy oil just in case.

We reached our hotel in Albany NY,  without any further mechanical issues, but out of Scotch.  We head straight for the bar after checking in. A woman in her early 20’s, wearing  a pink and black zebra patterned cowboy hat begins to ask us about our bikes.  It turns out that she rides a lime green Kawasaki Ninja, works for Car Quest and was in town for a country music festival. After a lot of small talk she asks to have a look at our bikes.  Her first words “Ok, you ride a Honda and David rides a Harley. Has David had any oil leaks?”  I guess she also knows Harley.

The next days ride was relatively uneventful and we made it home in good time.

8,535km, 14 days, 5 ferry crossings, 5 US States and 6 Canadian Provinces, rain, sleet and hot sunny days. I am now ready for my solo journey down the Pan American Highway starting on July 24th.

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2 Responses to The final leg home

  1. Sean says:

    LOL about the Harley, I hear that so much about them on the road. I have three jap bikes and quite happy that hotties ride Ninjas as I have a 500 and 650. Just need the hat!

  2. Stephanie says:

    HAHAHA one of the comical entries i’ve read so far.

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