The Motorcycle

Just a couple of hours and I’ll be on the road, so I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to the machine that I will be taking with me on this trip.

Above is a 2014 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic.  It has a 103 cubic inch engine, anti-lock braking, and has been modified with an aftermarket air intake and performance exhaust.  Pretty much standard for this model.

It how I ended up with this motorcycle that is an interesting story.

Last summer, about this same time, my Dad and I had cooked up this idea of heading to Sturgis and we were going to do a shorter trip just to work the kinks out and see how to plan for a longer trip.  We had planned to meet in Robbinsville, North Carolina and ride the Tail of the Dragon, 318 curves in 11 miles.

My first stop was planned for Roanoke, Virginia.  I got to Roanoke in the early afternoon and started just checking the area out.  As I headed out for dinner, my motorcycle started making really strange noises, and suddenly just died.  As fortune would have it, I was less than two miles from Roanoke Valley Harley Davidson.

The motorcycle I had was diagnosed as being dead on arrival.  The folks at Roanoke Valley HD were awesome, and I walked… or more accurately… rode out of there on a brand new 2014 Harley Davidson.

Michelle (my wife) was so very understanding…. Which wasn’t expected when you call home and say, “Oh, by the way, I had to buy a new motorcycle.”

So tomorrow, it’s all starting again.  I’ll ride the same route, only this time I’ll head past Roanoke on to my first stop.  Who knows, I may even stop at Roanoke Valley HD to see how things are going!

See you on the road!