Where We Go One, We Go All

October 2002

Trails End.......

We welcomed the following members to the monthly meeting of the Memphis Tour Riders. Hubert Gross, Dick and Fran Salveson, Floyd Nunnelee, Dorothy Shipman, Margaret and Jimmy Rogers, Larry Cole and Grand Daughter Katie Yewell, Danny and Lori Parker, Bill Healy, Dan Randall, Terry Scott and yours truly. We also acknowledged the following members joining MTR at the meeting, Tim Hendrickson, Shelby and Pam Criddle, Bill and Ibby Franklin and also our two visitors, Jim Freeland and J.T. Sedory, both with the Christian Motorcycle Association. Our thanks to all; we appreciate your becoming a part of our growing MTR membership. We had a parking lot full of bikes, including Bill Healy's newly acquired 1500 Gold Wing.

Terry Scott and Don Randall presented a preliminary report and passed out literature on our proposed annual charity activity. This year we are going to sponsor a Christmas party for one of the ranch style homes of 6 to 10 under privileged children, ages 5 to 18, and living at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home at the Memphis Campus. They will present a detailed agenda of our plans at the October meeting also the information will be in Happy Trails and on the MTR web site. Folks, this is a great way to help a few of the more than 12,000 abandoned, neglected, orphaned or abused children in Tennessee each year. Visit their web site at www.tbch4kids.org for more information.

Progress report on the Corporation: 
We are now in receipt of our letter from the Internal Revenue Service advising that MTR is now oficially exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501 (a). Needless to say I am pleased to report we have finally completed all the necessary corporation paper work. 
To date we haven't heard anything on the second letter our attorney has written to the GWTA Executive Director, dated August 8th requesting the use of Memphis Tour Riders name be dropped from GWTA sites.

Up dates, news and comments:
Lori Parker is back after her accident, walking and able to go back to work and practice riding her new Rebel in the back yard. Bill Jones is still in room 506, 726-7506 Thomas Wing at Methodist Central. He still has a long tough road ahead. Julia reports Bill is slightly better as I write this. One of our former member's, Lt. Jim Ashe of the Memphis Police Department Motorcycle Squad, is in critical condition at the Med following an unfortunate motorcycle accident while on duty. At this writing Jim was still in a coma and really needs our prayers. In an e-mail, we learned that former member Mr. John Eagen passed away in August. John is the father of former GWTA Chapter M Director Nick Cambria of Califorinia. And, on Seeptember 24th, David Elston hit a dog and crashed just north of Crosstown on hwy. 51. He has five broken ribs and a partially collasped lung. David is doing fine and we wish him a speedy recovery. We need to continue our prayers for all our fellow motorcyclists and their family's.

We welcome our latest advertiser/sponsor the Bartlett Mobile Wash and Shelby Criddle: shelbo72@aol.com. We appreciate the participation as both an advertiser and member. Please note and support our sponsors. It's a good investment. In addition to the mailing to our members we are getting over 300 hits on our web site a month. Incidentally Jimmy Creasy, long time supporter of MTR has retired and his daughter Teresa is running the dealership in Lexington. We thank them for their continued support.

On the road:
Floyd Nunnelee gave us a report on our members, BJ, Hildia, David, Brenda, Floyd, Dorothy, Charlie and Darnell and their recent trip out west on what has come to be known as the Gunsmoke Tour 2002. It sounds like a good time was had by all and more details will be in the October newsletter as well as pictures on the MTR web page. Quite an adventure I'm sure.

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KEY WEST

By

Margaret Rogers

Well it took us two tries get going last Sunday morning but I won't go there. All I'll say is, it wasn't my fault. Ed and Evelyn Davis joined Jimmy and I on this little trip to Key West after we finally got going we made it Hampton, Georgia by sundown. 

On the way we stopped off at Monteagle, Tennessee and bought a couple of bottles of blackberry wine, then has us a fine picnic lunch in a grapevine covered gazebo. Afterwards we decided to do a little shopping and when we got ready to go we couldn't find Jimmy. But not to worry. We just followed the food chain and after a brief search we found him back in the above mentioned Gazebo pigging out on grapes fresh off the vine. A Kodak moment if I ever saw one and I snapped away. 

The next day, after a long day on the road, we arrived in Ft. Pierce, Florida around six PM. We had been invited to stay with Ed and Evelyn's daughter and son-in-law and they fed us and made us feel right at home. The next day was spent exploring Ft. Pierce, the beaches and of course the fishing pier. Couldn't keep Jimmy away from that.

After saying our good Byes and thanking our host's we lit out for Key West arriving around 1:00PM. It was very hard to find a parking space. There were little scooters and bicycles everywhere and parking, even for motorcycles was scarce. 

We found a nice place to have lunch and as we ate we pondered the Keys and decided that this was not what we expected. Ed thought Hwy.1 would end up at a peaceful and palatial beach with the surf rolling in and seagulls and pelicans circling overhead. Wrong! It ran straight in to a concrete sea wall. The entire place is nothing more that an overpriced tourist trap. And of course the motels had the best beaches and the public beach was mostly rocks and seaweed and very little sand. Yes, I think its safe to say that we were disappointed. What a let down.

Rain clouds were threatening and after filling up with gas the bottom fell out. We waited out the rain and headed back to Ft. Pierce. We could see a big rainstorm on our right and one on our left but we made it to Key Largo without getting wet. We had a quick hamburger in Key Largo then continued on. After a six hundred-mile day we arrived back in Ft. Pierce at one in the morning. We felt like teenagers slipping into the house. I guess we were pretty quiet because no one knew we were back until the next day.

We arrived back in Oakland on Sunday. The well motor was burned out and there was a flat tire on the tractor. Welcome home. 

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The Good Samaritans

There's no way I can cram everything we did on our trip out west into this little column. So I asked myself, what is the most memorable thing that happened on our ride into the wild and woolly west. 
The Grand Canyon was wide, Royal Gorge was deep, the Painted Desert was painted and Dodge City will forever be remembered as the unique city with the sinus-clearing atmosphere. We also made the obligatory motorcycle trek out to the Four Corners monument. The most desolate place I've ever been in my life. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. You could look in any direction and there was nothing, not even a blade of grass. And right smack in the middle of this nothingness was a flea market. Honest. The Navajo and Ute Indians ran a flea market there at the Four Corners Marker. Had some first class crafts too. 
But, the thing that will become the hallmark of our trip I think, will be David Elston's wheel bearing failure. Ten years from now when we recall this pilgrimage west I think we will say, "You remember the time Elston blew a wheel bearing. Out west?" I think that's the way this tour will be remembered.
On that first day, even before we cleared Arkansas, a premonition David had of trouble surfaced. His bike began doing the hoochie-coo and got so bad he decided he needed to check it out. After finding a safe place to get off the highway, Charlie Gibson, who happens to be a mechanic for FedEx, located the problem almost immediately. The retaining nut had backed off the rear axle. Charlie tightened the nut and the problem seemed to be solved. However, unbeknownst to us, the grease seal was bad and the wheel bearing was dry and as David led us down the Muskogee Turnpike at eighty miles an hour, the bearing was slowly but surely grinding itself to dust. David was so happy the bike's handling had improved he blew right by our planned exit in Broken Arrow. But missing our exit, as it turned out, would be a blessing in disguise. 
We finally found a decent place for the night in Stillwater, some seventy miles from where we had planned to stop. After registering, showering and eating a good Mexican dinner our dispositions improved.
David wanted to do a thorough check of the errant wheel bearing so we pushed it around the lot and listened. The grinding noise coming from the rear wheel sounded like a pig eatin' walnuts and we could see the little balls loose in the race. Our trip had just been put on hold.
We pulled out a GWRRA gold book and the first number David dialed was that of a Mr. Robert Britt, retired engineer and long time motorcyclist. Robert was friendly and seemed almost happy that we called. Since it was late we agreed to meet him at his shop seven miles out in the country at seven thirty the next morning. 
What a break. Robert and his brother Clyde had a full size shop complete with every kind of tool imaginable. Except a chain hoist. The lack of a hoist meant we had to manhandle the bike onto automotive type jack stands. It wasn't as stable as we would have preferred but with David steadying the bike it would do. The saddlebags were removed, then the rear axle and finally with no more than three inches of clearance between the rear tire and the concrete floor, Charlie and Robert managed to work the wheel assembly out from under the motorcycle. 
We thought the hard part was over but it had just began. The wheel bearing, which was completely destroyed, wouldn't have lasted another fifty miles and the temperature generated by the lack of lubricant in the bearing created so much heat it tack welded the bearing race to the aluminum wheel. To knock it loose we needed to get a chisel in behind the race. But there was another problem. The edge of the wheel's bearing aperture was to high. Hmmm? 
Charlie and Robert formulated a plan whereby they would saw a notch out of the aluminum wheel just low enough to get the chisel against the race and knock it out of its socket from behind. Sounds simple enough huh? Problem was, the bearing race had tack welded itself to the aluminum wheel and was determined to stay there forever.
While they wrestled with the bearing race, Clyde and I rode to Stillwater to a bearing store (I never knew there was such a thing) and picked up the new bearing that we had called in earlier. When we returned about an hour later they had just gotten the stubborn race out of the wheel.

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The Good Samaritans………continued
From this point on everything went like clockwork and David's motorcycle was soon back in one piece. 
All this took about five hours but Robert Britt and his brother Clyde wouldn't take a nickel for their time and trouble. They wouldn't even let us take them out to dinner. Robert told David that he could return the favor by helping someone else sometime. What can you say about these kind folks who go to so much trouble to help someone they will most likely never see again. To them, we were motorcyclists in trouble and that's all that mattered. Thank you Robert and thank you Clyde. The Good Samaritans.

BLAZING SADDLES

FALL FOLIAGE TOUR

Our second annual Blazing Saddles Ride is almost here. Be sure and make reservations for Saturday night, October 12th at the Best Western McMinnville Inn in McMinnville, TN Telephone 931-473-7338..Remember, we will depart Shoney's, Sycamore View and Summer Ave. at 6:30AM on the dot. The itinerary on this trip is critical so please, arrive at least thirty minutes early gassed up and ready to roll

HAPPY TRAILS

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Happy Trails  is Published Monthly by Possum's Anonymous, Memphis, Tennessee 901-377-9140