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"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK

AUGUST 15, 2006 -  "COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME, TO A PLACE, I BELONG…."

Breakfast was at 9:30 this morning, because I couldn't do anything until after 11:00. It would take that long for the service tech to see into the engine and determine the course of action. At 11:30 AM, the Andy's Harley Service Mgr., Jim, called to say that the bike would be ready very soon. They would send someone to pick up the luggage and me.  By the way, I got a note from my friend Mel in Idaho and he mentioned that RUGBY North Dakota is the geographic center of North America. Shit, and I just blew right through that little burg without paying my respects.

When I got to the front desk, I noticed that two of the clerks had stars on their name tags, but one only had one. So I asked how would it be possible to get those stars. The first clerk explained that stars were received because a customer wrote a nice thing about them on the special recognition form. I immediately obtained one and wrote out the most glowing unbelievably positive comments that this clerk had ever had come her way. Needless to say, she'll probably end up with dozens of those stars. Perhaps she will become the next VP of customer relations.

When I got to the dealership, I took a photo of the tire that had failed on the road yesterday. It was pretty eye opening to say the least. I was happy that things turned out as positive as they did. The engine was also looked at and it was determined that the tenioners for the timing chains were intact and in good working order. Very good information for me!!!! The trailer and bike were ready to go at lunch time (12:30) and off we went. I stopped at a store and got a new trailer hitch lock because the old one came up missing. I stopped for a quick burger and off to eastbound route 2 we drove. Grand Forks North Dakota has a suburb called East Grand Forks, but it is in Minnesota, right across the river. I probably hadn't gone 2 miles before I was into a new state and had chalked up the other one as finished. The land flattened out as I drove east. The quilt pattern fields became even larger than earlier observed farther west into North Dakota.  Minnesota offers lots of recreational lakes to play in, and I think I passed most of them. Some were very large lakes, while others were almost nothing more than ponds. They all had boat launches though. The almost clear sky added to the positive feeling of the day as the bike headed east. I had decided that I would continue to stop at half tank intervals due to giving my legs a short work out from sitting motionless for such a long time. This seemed to help the severely bruised left leg a lot. If you remember, the bruising was caused by the hail storm in Montana as I headed north out of Idanho. The bruising looks completely horrible NOW, but in fact, has improved a huge amount since the initial impacts caused the bruising way back when. I am going to see the Doctor when I return about this, though.

I was able to make good time across Minnesota today and tonight, I am poised to enter Wisconsin just across the bridge from downtown Duluth. Duluth may be lots of things, but I have to say that in the evening with all the lights aglow, it looks positively stunning. I will know more in the morning when I am able to see what is behind the lights. I found a downtown Best Western this evening and when I pulled into the parking lot, I knew that the thing was on a severe slant, but I had no idea it was going to cause the problems it did for me. I pulled up in front of the office in an open slot, and when I put the kickstand down, I noticed that the bike was almost vertical. When I attempted to get off the bike, I almost failed to save it from tipping over to the right side. I did save it, but it sure was close.

I moved the bike.

I found another parking spot that allowed me to put the bike on the kickstand, but when I parked it, I noticed that the fuel overflow valve was allowing gasoline to be dispensed onto the asphalt surface of the parking lot.  Here, too, the bike almost tipped over - to the kickstand side - over the top of the kickstand. I was able to save it, but it sure caused problems. I had no idea how slippery asphalt is when soaked in gasoline. I had to have two people help me put the bike up so I could move it for the third time. The one gentleman was able to find a brick and that is what I am using to help keep the bike at a respectable angle for tomorrow.

I talked to the motel manager and asked him who had the best bloody mary cocktails around. He directed me to a place, and I'll be darned if he wasn't correct. I was served one of the finest bloody mary's I have ever had. Go to O'Quinlans in Duluth for a home made, not one bit of premixed mix here.

Tomorrow is a new day. I believe that I will be going up the Keweenaw Peninsula by tomorrow night. Michigan, do you remember me?