Going to be a rather short post as today was a bit of a bust. I was awakened around 3:00 to the sound of rain on my tent and heavy winds blowing it about. It was a good rain but nothing to worry me. I easily fell back to sleep. Up at 7:00 and started to tear down camp. The rain started back up as I was rolling up my tent. It was a very light rain, but even a light rain will soak you given time. I know I’m going to be rain this morning so I throw on my rain gear to avoid getting wet while loading up the bike. By the time I’m ready to go my hair is drenched. I felt bad for Kane, the guy next to me. He was just stirring as I rolled out and was having to deflate and roll his bed roll in his hammock under his tarp. At least he would be driving away from the rain today.
It’s just few miles to the Kansas state line and a few more into Galena. My first stop for today is Gearhead Curios. It’s a 1939 Texaco station that has been restored and is now a souvenir shop. They have the usual t-shirts, trinkets and road signs. It’s a small shop but the ceiling is covered in license plates. The rain continues to fall, it’s light but steady. Route 66 only covers about 12 miles of Kansas and I am quickly into Oklahoma. The first stop here is Picher, a “ghost town”. The so called town is a half dozen or so abandoned homes. I didn’t get a photo because you could hardly see the buildings through the grass and there’s signs of active civilization all around it.
My next stop was in Commerce and was the boyhood home of none other than Mickey Mantle. The plaque on the front of the house tells of how Mickey became such a great switch hitter. His father and grandfather would pitch to him, on left handed and the other right handed. Everyday Mickey and his father would have batting practice. A tin shed just off to the right of the house would server as their backstop and Mickey would hit balls towards the house. The game they would play would be any ball hit below the window was a single, any ball above the window was a double, a ball hit onto the roof was a triple and any ball that went over the roof was a home run. Mickey once said he was the only kid in town that could get away with breaking a window.
The rain has yet to let up at the old Mantle household. I stand on the front porch, out of the rain and look for the next place I want to see. I don’t remember what it was supposed to be but I never stopped. The rain continues as I head towards Tulsa. I have a brand new set of rain gear on, but even the best rain gear can only take so much. An hour and a half of constant rain has finally broken my gear’s barriers and the water has started to leak in. My chest, crotch and butt are all soaked. I pull into a church parking lot to take a short break. The rain has been constant the whole time, sometimes is light, stinging rain. Other times it comes in hard and reduces visibility to near zero. I decide at this point that I’m just going to ride until I get out of the rain. I’m already miserable and stopping for photo ops is just going to make it even more so.
There was one stop that I absolutely could not miss though. It’s in Catoosa which is about an hour away. I have one small problem though. The coolant temperature warning light is lit up on the dash. I’m not sure what’s going on but the bike is running fine so I press on through the rain. I reach Catoosa and the big blue whale. The whale was built in the early seventies and was part of a recreational complex that included the whale and pond, a park and even a zoo. There’s a sizable building here with a gift shop. I’m dripping wet so avoid going in so as to not leave a wet trail all over the place.
As I begin to leave the whale I notice my check engine light is on as well as the coolant temp light. Something’s definitely wrong now. Catoosa, though, is an outlying town of Tulsa which has at least one dealership. The closest one is the Route 66 Harley-Davidson, it’s not actually on the route, but it’s close. It’s 11:00 now and still raining. I walk into service and am told it’s going to be an hour before the bike can be looked at and another hour for diagnostics. Then I’ll find out how long it’ll take to fix what’s wrong. I head into the showroom and am immediately approached by a salesman. We talk for a few moments and then he takes me out back to see the new rides just pulled off the truck this morning. Their both missing windshields and backrests and are still covered in protective film.
Back in the dealership I find a table and remove my rain gear. I’m going to be here a while so no sense in staying in it, best to dry out while I can. I’m approached again, this time he wants to talk numbers. I oblige but let him know, we will not be making a deal today. Still, he insists and as it happens, we do not make a deal. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy a new bike, you can get a good used one for a great price at the right dealership. After that I’m off to roam. I head over to moto clothes which is all the t-shirts and stuff. I grab a couple of poker chips, I can’t recall if I have Oklahoma yet but grab a them anyway. I also notice a Harley-Davison tent on display. It’s much larger than the one I currently use but I wonder what it packs down to.
After roaming, and talking with Cheyenne, the young moto clothes lady, I head outside to sit and wait. I remove my boots to let my feet air out as they are still quite squishy in my boots. I care not what anyone might think. Just before 1:00, Stephen, my service guy, finds me and let’s me in on what the problem is. Laurelin’s coolant pump has gone out and they don’t have one in stock. But, another dealership in town does have one and he’s going to drive over there to pick it up. Should be another couple of hours before I’m all done here.
I roam the shop some more, converse with some of the sales guys and end up taking another look at this tent. I’m really liking the size of it. Just before 3:00, Stephen returns and tells me I’m all set. After paying a hefty sum I’m ready to get back on the road. But first, I head back over to moto clothes. With the bike back I can measure the bag of the tent against the tent I have packed up. It’s not much bigger and I end up leaving with a new tent. I give my old one to Cheyenne. She’s only 20 years old and has never gone camping. She seems very eager to take my old tent off my hands.
I’ve lost half a day in the dealership and have only traveled 100 miles. I decide to jump onto the interstate to make up some miles. I’m not running the route but if I don’t make up these miles I could fall behind schedule. It’s 150 miles or so into Oklahoma City and I can be there in two hours. It looks like I might hit rain on the way but I decide to keep my rain gear stowed away. I caught a few small patches of sprinkles but never really got wet, which is good because I was still drying out from the morning. By the time I reach the OKC area I finally see the sun for the first time today. My torso has dried but my boots and socks are still wet, amongst other things. I pull into one hotel, five stories tall. As I walk in I notice a sign on the counter that states the elevators are out. I’m also told that the first three floors are currently unusable due to plumbing issues. I’m not lugging all my gear up four flights of stairs and then back down in the morning. Across the street is another hotel that has no issues and is home for tonight.
I’m hoping tomorrow will be a much better day. I’m hoping to at least make it to Amarillo tomorrow. We’ll see.
