[ST] overdue ride report part 2

["triumph1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <triumph1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So, defeated and swearing myself and the world up and down for screwing 
this up, I climbed back on the RS and got back on the interstate and 
told myself to make it to Dallas and at least get an ss2000 and call 
Duncan up and hang out in Texas for a few days.  The sun was near down 
and by a miracle of the motorcycle gods I suddenly started feeling 
better.  As the air started to cool, I began to feel great and had a 
thought of "I can do this you stupid shit" so just keep going and don't 
think about anything except what is in front of you.  Wacom TX, a gas 
stop and feeling like myself again ate a couple of grain, raisin, 
oatmeal, maple puke bars, drank a couple of red bulls and a bottle of 
water, pee'd and called home to let the good word be known.  While on 
the phone two young coke freaks pull up along side of me and my bike and 
look me over and start snorting coke or meth or god knows what.  I'm 
thinking well shit here I am feeling all road worthy and good to go and 
these two are going to end it.  So I figured it best to ignore them, let 
them have their fun and hope to god they leave me alone and go away. 
Sooo, after they had several nose fulls and a couple courses of hip hop 
music they drive off.  I wait until they are down the road and hop on 
the bike and head for the big D.
Arrival in Dallas was somewhere around 11:00pm and I'm feeling all 
pumped up about the ride again.  Get a ss2000 witness to sign off on my 
paperwork, gas for the heck of it and get back on the road.  Once on the 
I-20 again, I start to see lightning off in the distance and it is 
starting to get windy.  No problem, I'll get out the rain suit now and 
be better than the weather.  Ft Worth it starts to pour and the further 
west I go the worse it gets.  The wind was horrible and the rain was 
flowing across the highway like a river.  Visibility about 15 feet, but 
I keep going and going and going and it doesn't end. Cars that were 
still out at that time of night were pulling over and I kept going until 
around 2:30am and I decided it was time for a nap.  I pulled off at the 
first rest stop just plain whooped and found a concrete picnic table, 
laid down on it with my helmet on and felt as though I'd died and gone 
to heaven.
About 40 minutes later thunder cracked a good one and woke me up like a 
gun at the start of a race.  Eyes opened wide and the body just started 
for the bike.  I remember thinking how long I'd been up, riding and how 
little sleep I'd had and laughed about the freaks at the gas station and 
how crappy they were feeling and I'm wide awake w/o the assistance of 
drugs and going on adrenaline and the drive to succeed.  Fired the bike 
and off I went.  Cruising about 80-85mph down I-20 in west tx at night 
is nice.  It was cool and raining a little on and off.  I got to this 
area with a truck plaza or something, I really only remember lights and 
a few buildings.  All of a sudden without warning the bike goes into 
this snake like dance and I realize I have no control as to where I am 
going, first PUCKER FACTOR arrives.  I didn't let off the throttle or 
hit the brakes, but just eased down to a speed where I could pull off. 
I thought I'd had two flats by the way that felt.  I got off kicked the 
tires and thought out loud WTF was that?  Tires OK, nothing seemed out 
of sort so off I went.  Got back on the road and the bike starts dancing 
again, pull off, get out tire gauge and check air pressure, everything 
is OK.  Back on the road and the same thing.  Finally it dawned on me 
that the road surface was slick.  I put my boot out on the road and sure 
enough it was like ice.  So here I am somewhere in nowhere Texas on a 
timed ride and I can't go more than 20mph while trucks are whizzing by 
at 80 plus.  So I made the irresponsible decision to get back out there 
and go.  I managed to get it up to about 55mph and just as I was getting 
used to the no control feeling, the bike dance stopped.  I was very 
paranoid the rest of the trip about the road and how it's traction was 
beneath me.
A short period of time passed and a semi pulled onto the highway in 
front of me and was moving along at a real good pace.  I am thinking 
YESSSS and got in close to draft him hoping to make up some time I'd 
lost.  I don't know how long I followed him but there were signs of 
daylight in the sky.  All of a sudden I hear a loud booming noise and 
see crap flying through the air all around me and in that split second 
thought WTF.  He apparently grenaded a front tire and was losing control 
of this massive vehicle which I was following too close.  In a matter of 
5 seconds I saw shrapnel tire pieces go by me followed by the trailer on 
his truck start to go back and forth across both lanes of the road, 
PUCKER FACTOR number two was as high as it possibly could be without me 
letting loose in my pants.  I saw the trailer hit the grass in the 
median and start towards me and just as it was sweeping past me there 
was an exit ramp that I was able to use as an escape.  I saw the trailer 
go by me within literally inches before he lost it into the median.  I 
stopped at the top of the ramp and looked up and thanked what ever it 
was that was on my side and began to catch my breath.  I waited for a 
bit until I wasn't shaking anymore and started off again.  I didn't even 
look back to see what had become of the truck or the driver.  I think I 
was in shock that I was still alive.
Dawn and the day that didn't end yesterday begins.  I'm near 24 hours 
with a half hour nap and a lot of tense moments. Once I decide to do 
something there isn't really anything that will stop me short of death. 
 I can be ignorantly determined as I find out later towards the end of 
the 50cc.

part three in a bit

TimE
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