and it's starting to rain

....On top of it all we were in the middle of no-where and it's starting to rain...

Just prior to this trip I had decided to quit smoking for the umpteenth time, but like any deviant addict I had my stash, so as quickly as I could get off the bike I grabbed my cigars out of the pack and lit one up... ahhhh that was good... the bikes still "focked" but I enjoyed that cigar as much as I could, climbing back on the bike I go into one of my favorite resting positions - sitting backwards in my saddle, feet propped up on the backrest and my back against the tank, and I began to cry - not the boo-hoo kind but there were tears escaping the confines of my riding glasses, the group came together; first to check out the damage and offer the obligatory "DAMN! Dude you're lucky to be alive!", and then to offer some comfort in a very uncomfortable situation. No one knew quite how I was going to take this - my dear, loving, very close friends weren't quite sure what to do. They knew that while my wife and I were physically fine - I was an emotional mess, I have to admit that losing that bike - even 9 years later - still hurts.

This trip that we had planned for months - daily - the trip that we had poured everything into, built social events around, lived - breathed - and lusted after.... was, seemingly, over. The group still needed to address the elephant in the room.... so......

What do we do now!

We're in the middle of nowhere - surely we won't get cellphone coverage, and if we do who do we call? There was nothing to do but to try; between us we had five cell phones and five different cell carriers, it's worth a try. Now, who to call? I had, just on a whim, enrolled into a bike club just prior to our departure. Remembering that one of the services offered to club members was roadside service - very much like a AAA for motorcycles. So I called; the phone worked; the operator answered and a tow-truck was dispatched. We were told it would be about an hour before they arrived and they would haul us to the nearest dealer or authorized service shop at no charge...

and it was still raining...

Motorcycle traveling