The Cheese Weasels Do Big Bend, Texas

[the Ferret]

"My companions' headlights were receding in my mirrors, but I was afraid to stop. I wasn't sure of my footing and I started to wonder if the bike would overheat. There was no temperature gauge on the Harley. I'd heard that the computer will shut down the rear cylinder but I didn't want to find out what that was like out here in the darkening desert. So I pressed onward. Eventually, I was riding alone across the empty wasteland. The total distance on gravel was 13 miles, and I was about 5 or 6 miles in. At some point, it made more sense to press on than to turn around, as the distance either way became moot.

I heard the occasional tink! of rocks hitting metal under the bike. My main concern was the oil cooler...if that got punctured it was game over. It is positioned in the worst possible location: right behind the front tire, down low. The fins are exposed and there is no protective mesh.

But the Harley motored on. Riding alone out there, your mind starts to conjure possibilities and contingencies. There was nothing and nobody out here except me. Nothing but me and...outlaws? Banditos? Mountain lions? I didn't want to cross paths with any of them. I thought about what I'd do if a tire blew, a rim cracked, a rock flew up into the belt, or I washed out and dumped the bike, unable to get it back upright by myself. Well, I had plenty of warm clothes. I had plenty of water. And I had food to eat. I could just camp out under the open skies and hope no pumas or bears took an interest in me while I slept. Or, for that matter, rattlesnakes and scorpions. Hopefully, my buddies would come along and I could ride out on the back of one of their bikes. Or, I'd make it through the night and a friendly park ranger would locate me the next day and take me into town to arrange for the bike to be picked up. Or, failing all that, I could just walk to town. 10 miles at 3 miles an hour? I'd be there in a little more than 3 hours." ...... Stichill

I loved this part. The trepidation of a guy in a strange place, alone, on a strange bike, on a less than ideal road. What could have been a harrowing experience, turned into a great adventure with a happy ending. Love it.

For the record I am a worrier like that. I have a good friend, been on many adventures with him in some really wild places bow hunting & fishing (deer, bear, wild pigs, and javelina). His wife says we make perfect partners. She says, I am always worried that something is going to go wrong, even though most times it doesn't. He is always convinced that everything is fine, even though sometimes it's not.

He doesn't ride motorcycles though, thinks they are dangerous lol.