Virginia Wind - Cherokee

Cherokee or flat!

By: Giles Davis

Cherokee It looked like a scene from The Beverly Hillbillies but this time it wasn't oil, it was water. It was then that I realized my trip to Chillicothe, Ohio was doomed. I had planned to meet some friends and ride up to the Easyrider National Motorcycle Rodeo Finals but this was not to be.

After I dug up 40 feet of broken water line to the house and replaced it, my week and my weekend were pretty much spent. I read about the rally in Cherokee but decided not to go. My "work at home week" continued with the building of a shop to store some of my woodworking equipment and endless other junk. On Thursday afternoon, I was sawing a board when I felt something in my eye. How it got under my safety glasses I will never know. As I looked in the mirror, I could see the speck of wood.

That night I did my best to wash it out and decided to let it stay until morning to see if it would move. When I woke up and looked in the mirror my fears were founded. The speck was still there in the same spot. An eight o'clock appointment with the eye doctor would soon fix this problem.

On the way to the Drugstore to get the eye drop prescription filled, I decided I had had enough bad luck and needed a "vacation". I packed my travel case, which holds all of my toiletry items in one small flat case. I would suggest that everyone have something like this handy. They are available at most stores in the travel section. Last week a bank that I use started giving them away. All packed and ready to go, I hit the road Cherokee. I knew something was going to happen when less than ten miles from home a LARGE bug hit me just under the eye. My good eye! I was sure I would have a black eye the next day.

Just outside of Greensboro, NC I fell in with a group of motorcycles that were headed to Asheville on interstate Forty. I waved a goodbye to them in Statesville as they stopped to eat and I continued. At the base of Black Mountain I stopped for gas and met another rider headed for Cherokee. Soon we were back on the interstate and headed west.

I was on the last climb uphill before getting to my motel in Canton when I noticed a strange bump and vibration in the front of the bike. I pulled to the shoulder of the road and coasted to a stop. FLAT TIRE!!! I yelled as the lone bike stood helpless beside the road. This happened at mile marker thirty-four. What makes that so special? My hotel is at mile marker Thirty-ONE.

A quick call from my cell phone (I would suggest everyone who travels carry one) to the Bro's Club soon had help on the way. The wrecker driver dropped me off at the motel and helped me push the wounded bike into a parking space. What was I going to do? The tire should have been under warranty but the nearest Harley Davidson dealer was some sixty miles away. I called a friend who lived in the area. He suggested a motorcycle shop near the motel. Although it wasn't a Harley dealer, they had done work for him. That night I did manage to get some sleep.

A nine AM call to the shop revealed that they did not tow bikes nor did they have a trailer to haul the bike to the shop. Stuck at a motel with no way to go and I have to be at home by Monday - what was I going to do now? I decided I would take the wheel off and have them fix or replace the tire if they had one. Another call to the shop revealed that they did have one tire to fit and one heavy-duty inner tube. I was on a roll! When the parts department transferred me to the service dept and the manager said he might be able to get to it on Tuesday. I know my voice went up eight or ten octaves when I said TUESDAY!!!! Finally, he said that he could do it for me if I had the tire off

How was I going raise a 650-pound motorcycle and remove a wheel? As luck would have it, one of the other guest at the motel came out early to walk around and look at my bike. After some chitchat, I asked if I could borrow his jack for a few minutes. The jack adapted to the bike well. I spotted a cinder block and made use of it. As I was pulling the wheel off, a wonderful voice asked, "I wondered what you were going to do about that."

There are still some great people on this earth and I have met a few in my life. These people were also from Virginia and what they did was remarkable. They not only took me to the shop to get the tire fixed, but also waited on me, brought me back to the motel, and helped me get the wheel back on. I couldn't thank them enough. I left the motel in time to make the concert and do some shopping at the rally.

I really didn't mind the two-hour traffic jam getting into Cherokee. It gave me the chance to chat with some fellow bikers from Tennessee. Too bad 38 Special canceled out but Molly Hatchet did an excellent job in filling in.

On my return trip home I stopped in at the Northern Tools store. I was looking around and after my experience I spied something I could use. They had a one and one half ton scissor jack that was low enough to fit under the bike but was small enough to fit in a saddlebag. The nine-dollar price tag also made it more than reasonable.

My next long road trip I will be better prepared!!!

Thanks for visiting VirginiaWind.