cru·ci·ble
noun \ˈkrü-sə-bəl\
Definition of CRUCIBLE
1: a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat
2: a severe test
3: a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development.
I got my chopper done last year and have mostly stayed in a local 100 mile radius of my house, never having ridden more than a couple hundred miles on any given day. So when Wizard, a fellow HCMF decided to have a Texas meet I was pretty excited to go because it was going to allow me to put me and my chopper to the test. I didn't have much time to spend on the road because I have 3 small kids and leaving the wife alone with them is hard on me and her so that meant I had to make the trip from New Orleans to Dallas, and back, in 3 days while stuffing a HC meet in the middle. I had a Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make it happen. With over a 1,000 miles round trip I knew it was gonna be a haul in that time frame. My basic plan was ride up the 512 miles on Friday, HC meet on Saturday, ride back the 512 miles on Sunday. There wasn't a lot of wiggle room because I needed to be back for work on Monday at 7 am and I had extremely limited funds if something went wrong.
I had done my prepacking and tried to spend some extra time with the kids during the week. Friday morning my alarm went off at 4:30 am and I hit the shower. I didn't really know when the next shower was gonna be but I knew it wasn't any further away than Sunday night. My stuff was already packed up and I went out in the early morning darkness and got everything strapped on my bike. My tent and poles on my handlebars and backpack on my sissy bar. I stuffed my rain suit in my saddlebag for quick access and double checked everything, giving it all a good shake. I had topped off on fuel the night before so I kicked the girl over and off I went about 5:30 am. I made my way to the interstate and hopped on I-12 west. I chose the interstate because this trip was about making miles and making them quick. It was a good ride up until Baton Rouge. This particular I-12/I-10 corridor is very well known as a virtual death trap and is often closed down or backed up because of wrecks. Well it didn't disappoint and less than an hour into my trip I was sitting still on the interstate in traffic just east of baton Rouge. I turned my bike off and walked around for just over an hour before it finally opened back up.
I had left the house in a hoodie and my denim vest and while sitting in traffic a cold front moved through and I started to layer up. Finally traffic started rolling again and when I entered Baton Rouge it was overcast and low grey clouds hung over me for as far as I could see. And then I hit a rain storm and got drenched. I had no place to pull over and put on my rain suit. Oh well, life in the raw, right? The rain really didn't last but a couple of hours but the temp just fell out. I spent the next 6 hours freezing my butt off. I did stop at some point and put on my rain gear which is pretty heavy and it provided some warmth as well as acted as a wind breaker. At one stop I was in the bathroom getting up close and personal with the Excalibur, a high powered hand dryer. I was shaking so bad the lady at the counter probably thought I was tweaking and was gonna rob her.
The bike was running good and I was determined to keep rolling regardless. This was new territory for me on a lot of levels and I didn't really know how long it was gonna take me. The wind and cold continued to kick my ass all the way up through Alexandria. It finally started to let up just south of Shreveport and the clouds lifted to sunny skies. It was still cold but at least it was sunny and started to warm up. About the time I hit the Texas border and pulled off for fuel it was pretty warm so I pulled off a few layers and basked in the sun. I stuck in my headphones and put on my heavy play list and hit it with less than a 150 miles to go. Traffic was rolling good and I had the sun on my face. There is something about the sun for me that is revitalizing, especially after having been so cold for so long. The wind had died down as well and I was motoring good.
It was just before 7 pm when I rolled into Wizards place. He is a fellow HCMF'er from the Honda Chopper Forum. He had planned this meet and it was his first. We all have user names and Wizard is his, mine is Motorhead. They aren't nicknames per se, like in an MC, that we call each other but rather screen names you use until you know someone more personally. I had to ride up on Friday because of the distance so I was the first person there. I really didn't know what to expect and I was just hoping he wasn't a weirdo and that other people I knew were actually gonna show up. I found his farm with no problem and when I pulled up his trike was in the yard like he said so I knew I had the right place. He came out to meet me and directed me over to where the fire pit was. I rode my bike over and parked it. We had talked online and he seemed cool and we fell into a pretty good groove. It had been a rough week for me and the day before I left I found out my father had had a heart attack and had three stints put in. As some of you know he's doing a 22 year stretch in the Illinois Sate Pen. We didn't have much info and had found out four days after the fact. And to boot we couldn't talk to him or go see him. So he and a number of other thoughts had been running in my head the whole trip and I was in a bit of a funk as night started to settle. This is the time you start to miss your loved ones, when your routine is changed up. Wizard made me feel right at home though with pizza and Pepsi.
As the darkness fell and the wind died down we started a fire in the pit and stayed up till about 3am talking life, choppers, and religion. The night was cold and and was expected to hit a low of 39 degrees. We hugged that fire all night, edging closer and closer as it died down. Finally succumbing to lack of fuel and general fatigue we hit the hay. I was prepared with a good sleeping bag so after a few minutes I was plenty warm and drifted quickly into sleep from the days events. Wizard had set up tent next to mine, but didn't make it through the night. He says I snore like a wild boar so he went inside to catch some sleep. I think he's a big pudding but I guess we will never know, he never got it on tape. I will say this, you never know what to expect from people and I was very happy to hang with Wizard. He is a really cool guy who is very intelligent and has been around the block. That nights talks were good.
The next day I awoke about 8 am and Wizard had made fresh cinnamon rolls from scratch for me and his family. Some of his friends had dropped by as well to partake in these legendary rolls that put Cinnabon to shame. The were freaking awesome and I of course took pics and promptly sent them to Landman who couldn't make the trip from Illinois. What's a friend if you cant fuck with him. A lot of HCMF Alumni were going to be there and were due to start arriving. Yes, they are all active still, they are the pillars of HC.com and had forgotten more than I have learned about building choppers. I don't know what time everybody started in but 3 trucks pulled up at once and the first person I saw was Red Good. I had met him when he had came to New Orleans on a trip with some other HCMF and when he saw me he gave me quite the welcome and it made me feel real good and part of the group. I finally got to meet Lowrider Tommy, Alan Shivley, Red's wife Kate who I've talked to so much I feel like she's an old friend, Old Hemi, CB750bobber and their respective spouses. It was a great day talking about chops and hearing building legends talk of all sorts of things. Some friends were reunited and new friendships made. I had a great time and it felt good to be able to say I was a part of a group with these really wonderful people. As the night wore on we built a fire but eventually everyone had to go. I was gonna stay one more night and Wizards family, friends and I hung out by the fire and we all talked and enjoyed each others company and good laughs were had all around. This was an early night because I knew I wanted to pull out early in the morning so about midnight we wrapped it up.
The sun came up and I had set my alarm for 7 am. I needed to let it warm up a bit before I started packing up my stuff. As I packed up my bike and tried to do some chain maintenance I decided it would be best to take out a couple of links due to chain stretch that occurred on the way up. I had already adjusted my tire all of the way out so that fix was out of the question. Wizard helped me cut out the links and realign my tire after I put it back on and I was ready to rock. I never like to say goodbye but I had a lot of miles to go and I wanted to hug my kids something fierce. I was all packed up and gave my bro hugs to my new friend. I pulled out later than I had expected but it was forecasted to be a sunny day in the high 60's so I was excited. I kicked it in gear and headed south. Traffic was good and everything ran great all the way home. My grip on the throttle side did come lose and I had to remove it and finished my last 200 or so miles with a duct tape wrap. Other than that and feeling a little squirmy with a sore butt it was great with sunny and beautiful skies.
This trip meant a lot to me. It was the furthest I had ever ridden from home on my backyard chop, it was the most miles I had put on in any one day, and it was the first official HC meet I had attended. I feel truly accomplished with this trip. It validated my as a real biker (not a term I use but the only one I can think of right now), right up there with some of the people I look up to. The ones who put on the real miles like Landman, Biolady, Red Good, Whitewolf and the late Naguethey. I know there are more I'm not mentioning but these pop up in my head right now. This trip was my crucible, my proving ground for me and my chop. Not a lot of people do 500 miles in a day on a bare bones chop, basically back to back. I know people do but this was special to me. It was my challenge and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
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