If you're too scared...go home.

August 11.2009
It rained like the dickens yesterday just after I checked into my hotelroom. So, I did what any other honest person would do. I took out my rain gear and went out for a ride! I was really curious how the suit worked and would hold up in a REAL storm. Turns out the thing is amazing! It was torrentially downpouring, and nothing was getting through my blue full body suit! Pretty stoked about that!
Turns out there was nothing wrong with the bike. 1/2 day at the dealer. Oil change, new sparkplugs...checked the timing and some other obvious things like filters and the electircal system...nothing. Took the bike out for a ride. Nothing. It was still 'acting wierd'. We waiting for the Buell guy to come in after lunch. He took the bike out for a ride....nothing was wrong that he could tell.....then I took it out once more...still acting funny....then the guy sat me down and lectured me a bit about riding. Told me what I was expearencing of the power band and the gears 'sliding up in mph' was typical of the Harley engine. Said the bike was finally 'opening up', and the reason it hadn't happened sooner(like in the 1k breakin) was me. I'd probably been lugging the engine. He told me to take the bike out once more, and 'ride the piss out of it'. That the bike could take a beating. It has a rev limiter, and there was almost nothing I could do to hurt this this bike.
So..I took the blast out and rode it just like he said. Really got the rpms up there. Even hit the rev limitor a couple of times. Well you know. I'll be damned, but the bike was awesome. It was just as he said. I was pussy footing around, and needed to have a slightly heavier hand.
At that point when riding back into the dealer to finish the paperwork and pay for the service(which was warrenty! awesome), I was completly humiliated. It was a testimate to my poor riding skills and not knowing what I was doing. Not about motortouring, or nearly anything about motorcycles or how to ride them.
As we are sitting there outside waiting for the youngers micanics to detail the bike(which was pretty dirty), I confessed my nerverousness about riding the blast, and goin to Alaska....he looked at me plainly and said quit frankly: "If you are really that scared about riding to Alaska, go home."
It was the first time I'd encountered that attitude on the trip. Where people are strong and take care of themselves. How they have little patience for self pity or the like. Pick yourself up by your own boot straps sort of people. This guy was easily 4-6 my junior also.
That cut pretty deep. I made a resolution as I rode off. This was going to be an adventure. I wasn't going to be a burden on anyone durring this trip. If there was trouble, I would deal with it. Untill then, there was no use worring myself sick anymore about it. What would come would come. I could be prepared as much as I could. I had a life time of expearences and problem solving behind me. This trip might be smooth, it might be a disaster, it might be unexpected....but it was my trip, and I was not going to back down because I was afraid! Alaska was still thousands of miles away, the fear wouldn't stop me anymore.
It's a bit cheesy to write this sort of thing, but it's the truth, and I don't have any other stories to tell besides that:)