Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Day 10 of Cannonballing (they don't count rest day) Sept 18, 2018

Sturgis, SD to Billings, MT

299 Miles

I'm BAAAAAAAAACK!! Today was a good day, we woke up to colder weather this morning in Sturgis. I had to put on a warmer jacket, but luckily as we got closer to Billings and as the day went on, the weather got warmer. Mike got off to a good start, however, he did forget to turn on his gas this morning. But better that than something major. According to Jerry, it happens to him too. So, Mike is off the hook. As we left Sturgis, Jerry and Deb, and Zach headed the opposite direction to go back home. We thank you guys for coming out and helping as much as you did! The more the merrier!

On our way to Billings we saw antelope! We were hoping for something more than that and deer, but thats about all we got. Another day maybe. Mike did say that he was "dressed perfectly" for the drive today. This consisted of a T-shirt, long sleeves, jacket, and jeans. A man of very few words.

Some other things that we (the females in the car) found rather hilarious was the fact that Starry could not for the life of hime, figure out how to turn off the darn windshield wipers. He was getting so frustrated. Mary and I were sitting in the back laughing our butts off (if only laughing worked literally). It was going at the slowest set pace it could, so just as you thought maybe Starry had finally gotten it figured out, it would go off again. Then he was having problems with signally because they are on the same control. Oofta, just hilarious. He kept saying it wasn't his fault, so we ended up playing the song "It ain't by fault" by Brothers Osborne for him. He did enjoy that. I did tell him I would teach him how to do it properly. He was able to stop the wipers from going off -- but he didn't know how he actually got it stop.

Mike against arrived early, so he just came to the hotel. He just looked exhausted. Like he just worked 20 days in a row, with a butt-ton of overtime. He needed up taking a nap, and when it was time to head over to the Harley store to show the bikes and grab dinner, he forgot to turn the gas on again! We now will remind him every time to do it. The food they had at this dinner was the BEST. Brats, hamburgers, fried chicken, desserts, and chips. Plus no one was complaining that you could buy beer. When we left, Mom and Starry had to push him to start -- because he had forgotten to turn off the bike, so the battery was dead. Add that to our checklist.

Once we got back to the hotel, Starry was backing up the truck to get the trailer back on the hitch. Well the van we pulled up next to, happened to have a stripper pole thing (like a bobble head, or Hawaiian lady) on the dash. There was also a man right next to the van that was taking off his shirt. Between these two things happening, Starry came VERY close to almost hitting the can. We are still unsure if it was the stripper pole, or the man with his shirt off.

Anyway, things are going well on the road. The truck is fixed and running well. The trailer is still doing good. We are all surviving. We are learning a lot as we go. If we were to ever do this again, we would have a better idea of what to pack and how to organize things. Currently, Starry and Mike are doing minor maintenance on the bike. We got word that Zach made it safely home with his bike troubles. I'm sitting here nicely in a chair drinking a beer in this beautiful state of Montana, my first time here. Mary, well whose turn was it to watch her? She's probably off socializing.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a lot colder, with a high of 52 degrees between Billings and Great Falls, MT, with possible rain. Please keep the good thoughts coming our way,  I think these last few days through the mountains and to the finish line are going to be the most challenging.

Late note: Mom has deemed herself the MVP today as support crew member. She has found the missing gloves that have been missing for about a week now! Of course Mike's response "I knew we had them." They were stuffed in a stupid container. Well deserved Mother, well deserved!




No comments:

Post a Comment

Grand Finale

Doffo Winery Doffo Winery Right before take off  Right before take off Cindy and Jen Larry and Cindy                    Me leaving for the l...