The road took an unexpected turn at Wrestlemania when Abi received terrible news. Just before the show started, he learned his cousin Kapil passed away in Trinidad. Abi and Kapil were as close as brothers, in fact when he told me what had happened, he said, "My... my brother. He... he... died. I have to go home."
The least of his worries at that moment was his motorcycle. Fellow Houstonian and WWE audio crew member Pat graciously offered to store it at his house as long as Dark Meat Snack needed. He also graciously offered to ride it to Oklahoma City, the end point of this leg of the journey.
Funny thing; a LOT of people offered to ride Abi's motorcycle to Oklahoma City. Most of the crew in fact. That's what friends are for!
The Entire 2182 Mile Route to Wrestlemania
After Wrestlemania, Monday's show was nearby at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston. When that show ended, Abi, Pat and I rode to Pat's house, where
Snowball was sadly parked for a while. The WWE made arrangements for Abi to fly to Trinidad on Tuesday to attend the funeral. Pat, a fellow rider with a sweet 100th Anniversary Harley Springer Softail planned to ride with me to Tuesday's WWE show in Austin.
Austin or Bust
Tuesday's show in Austin was a blur. By that point, after Wrestlemania but with one show still left to go, the crew is usually so zorched that communication is reduced to mostly grunts and occasional swearing. '
Go **** Yourself Tuesday' is my least favorite work day of the year, even though there finally is some light at the end of the long, long tunnel.
I woke at the crack of very late morning on Wednesday, feeling relieved and refreshed, but also a bit somber. In honor of the memory of Kapil, I flew my ever-present Kingdom of Rhode Island flag at half staff.
Pat left for home, and I left for Abilene, where I would meet Sleeping Beauty. It was a melancholy beginning to the Road Away From Wrestlemania, and I was soon lost deep in my thoughts.
Rear View - Empty
The route I chose was as good as any, since there is no direct route from Austin to Abilene. The Texas Hill Country Trail is pretty and scenic; and became the perfect antidote to my case of the blues.
I came upon the strangest herd of cattle I'd ever seen.
On this little trail, filled with all kinds of animals, the buzzards rule supreme. I saw tons of recently deceased deer on the roadside, and tons of buzzards devouring the carcasses. Buzzards are industrious and tireless creatures, as I realized when I saw a pile of what appeared to be completely picked clean, completely meat-free cow bones in a field.
In three hours, I only saw one other vehicle. With such traffic free roads, I had time to take a picture I've always wanted to take; a tribute to the cover of Neil Peart's excellent book
Ghost Rider.
And so the day went. It was a good way to get my head cleared from Wrestelemania's week of Animal Husbandry Experiments, and ready for the final three days of the ride. In a masterful stroke of brilliant planning (actually complete dumb luck, but don't tell her,) I made it to Abilene Regional Airport - which could easily be the world's smallest airport - just as Fiona's flight was landing.
Yee-Haaa!! Sleeping Beauty - Awake in Abilene
For this grand occasion, we splurged on the best hotel in town. A lovely gazebo sat in the middle of a lush courtyard, the perfect place to sit and watch a romantic sunset. We poured some refreshing adult beverages, and set out hand in hand to toast the end of the Almost-Best Day Ever.
Trying to get as comfortable as possible, I took off my riding boots and walked barefoot to the gazebo. Fiona mildly scolded me for not wearing shoes, but she knows how stubborn I am, so, after shaking her head at me she almost immediately dropped it.
The second I walked on that grass, I regretted my stupid stubborn streak. White hot needles of pain tore through the soles of my feet. I thought I was just walking on dry grass, but every step made the pain worse until it was intolerable. She knew something was wrong when I spilled my beer in a sprint for the safety of the concrete. As I took the pressure off my feet, the pain got worse, radiating up my legs.
Concerned, my lovely nurse came over to see if I was faking a problem yet again. Her concern turned to laughter almost immediately. As she giggled, red hot pokers ignited everywhere on my feet. After she stopped laughing long enough to talk, her response was, "Oh my God! I need to get my camera!"
Sticking out of my feet were about three thousand seeds covered with needle-like barbs shaped like fishhooks. A lesser mortal would have instantly succumbed to an injury as grievous as this, but not me. I'm stubborn! The pain was unbearable, but at least Fiona got a good laugh out of my misery. This kind of thing always happens to me; for anyone that wonders what Fiona sees in me, it's definitely the comic relief.
Thankfully, I'd locked the room key inside the room, something else that I seem to excel at. Her camera was safely locked inside. No pictures this time.
After an hour of really fun debriding, and really fun ball busting, I was able to hobble again. With Sleeping Beauty in tow, I limped over to a restaurant for dinner and refreshing adult liquid painkillers. Properly medicated, we headed back to the hotel.
The last thing I did before calling it a night was check my email to see if DarthRider, the yet-unmet friend who'd graciously invited us to stay at his home on this trip had tried to get in touch. We were looking forward to imposing ourselves on Dave and his lovely wife Betty's generosity the very next day.
Dave had gotten in touch, with an ominous note:
Hey Frenchy -
Man, as bad as I hate to say it, Thursday is looking rough!
That "wind event" in this area Thurs is now forecast to be worse than thought. They are forecasting winds from the W-NW at 50, gusting to 60 MPH, 65 F.
I hate to say this and we will be very disappointed if it has to go this way, but you might want to think about a Plan B. I would consider laying low when you pick up Fiona and heading North for OKC Fri AM. Maybe explore as far Thurs as the wind allows.
We would be truly delighted if it works for Thurs, and anything can happen in the highly & quickly changeable weather in the Texas Panhandle. So I'd suggest waiting to make the final decision as long as you can so we can watch the weather.
If it works out we will love to have you, if not you have a rain-check for any and every opportunity to come by our little canyon.
What do you think?
Dave
Before heading to bed, I jotted a quick response:
Dave,
If I based my rides on weather predictions, I'd never go anywhere.
Unless there is a hurricane or unless it is
really unsafe and impossible, Fiona and I will be there Thursday at some point. I will call you tomorrow morning before we head out of Abilene. No Plan B for me.
See you tomorrow night!
PS: I'm not gonna watch the weather channel or look at it online. Those people hate motorcycles anyway.
I'll look at the sky tomorrow morning, and if I see any wind, I'll shake my fist at it!
As I said, stubbornness is one of my better qualities. Sometimes I can be so dumb.