Westex Documents Team Welcome the Riders

Today we got another early start to make up lost time.  All bikes were on the road at 6:30am as we headed into a glorious, Texas morning with no signs of last night’s storm.  As we headed for Lubbock, the wind picked up and soon we were battling the weather again.   Somewhere along the way, we had our first damage as a bird hit the front of the Access Information Management Mini Cooper.  We got off lightly with a big dent and missing light ring. 

The hot windy day made the ride across Texas very tricky, so we were all delighted when we arrived at Westex Documents.  What made the arrival so great was that John Miller and his entire team were waiting for us in the parking lot.  Cameras were flashing as we rode in and that really put a smile on all our faces.  After a quick tour John surprised us again with a check for $1000 for Action Against Hunger.  That was fabulous and helps with a huge boost to see if we can reach $30K in donations???

After some group photos we headed off again, this time for Roswell, New Mexico.  We looked hard for aliens but the closest we saw was “lucky” Rob in his rocket ship (aka the Lotus).   A stop for lunch and a quick visit to the Harley Davidson dealership and we were on our way again.

We made our historical visit of the day as we rode through the town of Lincoln, NM and past the historic Wortley Hotel, formerly owned by Sheriff Pat Garrett. The town is famous as Billy the Kid broke out of jail for the last time in Lincoln, killing Deputy J. W. Bell and U. S. Marshall Bob Ollinger, in the process. Bob was eating at the Wortley, along with several prisoners from the jail, when the breakout occurred. It was his last meal.  

A couple more hundred miles and we ended up in Socorro, NM for the night.  With 518 miles covered we were now over 1900 miles into the journey with two days to go.  We need to cross Arizona tomorrow so we can have a straight run for Santa Monica on Friday.

Finally In Texas

Today has been probably the most eventful day, which is hard to imagine after all that has happened.  After taking cover from the storms yesterday, “Duracell” Dennis and “Mini-Me” Tayler were up early to make a run to the Harley-Davidson dealership in Paris, Texas.  In the rain, Duracell had learned that slick tires are not a great idea.  Today, on his early run, he also learned that putting gas in the tank helps.. a lot!

The rest of the group followed a few hours later and rendezvoued at the dealer around 10:30am, after 190 miles.  The weather mostly co-operated with just a light shower or two.  We must mention that the dealership was absolutely fabulous.  “Duracell” got a new tire and break pads and Ian “the Boss” got a check-up at no charge.  That was probably because the rest of the group shopped to the tune of about $1000 !!  Kevin “The Cuban” looks great in his shiny new chaps!

Onwards into the west and the weather quickly improved.  After another 100 miles a lunch stop was called for.  Immediately after lunch, Janice “Turtle Mama” proved that her engine immobilizer was working… too well.  The battery had run down and she was now immobilized.  “Duracell” sprung to life and was quickly back with an Energizer Battery!??! “Turtle Mama” was back on the road, complete with her house strapped to her bike.

90 miles later in 97F heat, another fuel stop and more dramas. This time “Duracell” has a problem as his hand-grip came off!!  Thank goodness for duct tape and we were on our way again.   Surely nothing else could go wrong???

Now pounding miles across the windy, Texas plains and a shout comes down the line.  “The Cuban” was seeing if he could equal the record for not making the destination due to no gas.  With 10 miles to go, he had managed to drain his tank down to fumes but he just scrapped it ito a gas station at our destination… Childress, TX.  Safe at last… or not!!

As we checked into our hotel, we sat to check the weather channel for tommorrows journey.  As we did, we were quickly alerted to a Sever Tornado Alert in, guess where… Childress, TX.  Almost immediately the storm hit and we were watching live TV reports as we looked out the window at the same scene.  A tornado down, was reported and the hotel opposite car-park filled with TV storm chaser trucks.   Thunder, lightening, hail and torrential rain descending on us as we visited the local Tex-Mex.

Roswell tomorrow… what on earth could go wrong there!!

1400 miles down after a 500 mile day, so still on track to be in Santa Monica on Friday.

Doppler Radar of the Storm

With the storm still pounding us, it was decided to wait a while this morning before proceeding.  A local visit to Lowes got some rain-gear for “Duracell” Dennis (who had to actually sit still for a while), Scott “CHiPs” Robertson and Kevin “The Cuban”.  Unfortunately, they now look like fishermen… but the roads look like lakes.

We headed out at 9:00 into the rainy day, hoping for the best… but getting the worst.  Immediately the rain turned into a full, blown storm and for the next hour we rode through torrential rain as we entered Arkansas.  A quick stop to check that everyone was okay and we immediately ventured out again into the rain.  This time we were greeted with a full thunderstorm with lightning bolts and even more torrential rain. 

With only 20 miles to El Dorado, after covering only just over 100 miles, Ian “the Boss” decided to call it a day.  With the help of “Lucky” Rob and his cell phone, 5 rooms were quickly booked in the local Holiday Inn Express and the ride ended for the day.   Every one and everything was absolutely soaked, with the rain suits no match for the storm.

While Janice “Turtle Mama” Thomas,  Tayler “Mini-me” Robertson, “Duracell” and “Lucky” all headed for manicures, pedicures and massages, a new route was planned to get us back on track.  We now hope to be following these daily routes:

Tuesday:  http://tiny.cc/9b8Fp

Wednesday: http://tiny.cc/5iBDk

Thursday: http://tiny.cc/sclxD

Friday should be as previously planned.  Now all we need is to get out of here early tomorrow, hopefully without a storm!!

Heading to JJ’s local BBQ shack for dinner. The locals said it’s the best food but not in the best neighborhood.  They politely said, while giving direction: “If the neighborhood starts to look safe again, you’ve gone too far”.  If you don’t hear from us tomorrow, dial 911.

With three days completed and 914 miles, everyone is still in great spirits and ready for a few early starts to make up for lost time.

Dennis the Fisherman