The adventures of a boy and his Nighthawk.

[Hatch]

uh oh..

[ChurnDog]

I love a good cliffhanger

[CETME]

While in Deming, I decided that I would take Highway 90 across to San Antonio. I had envisioned a road full of Mexican drug gangs shooting each other from across the street, and trucks full of immigrants swerving left to right with the Border Fuzz hot on their tails. I thought of tough men, in a tough land. They would all spit impressively through the tufts of enviable beards.

My tire situation, however, crushed that dream. I felt every single pebble and paint line on the road through that tire. I thought that the next town I saw, I would get SOMETHING put on the rear, a wheelbarrow tire, or skateboard wheels, Just something. This meant that I had to stay on I10

Well let me tell you, there is nothing, and i mean NOTHING in west Texas. I saw more civilization in Wyoming than I saw in that part of Texas. Not only did I not see any bike shops in the area, but I didn't see any gas stations either. I would easily go 80-100 miles between gas stations. I remember skipping one, thinking I still had plenty of gas, I would just catch a future exit.

Well that exit never came. I began to sweat, not only from the intense heat, but from the fact that I knew that if I ran out of gas, I would probably be dead. Seriously. I had visions of me dragging myself through the Texas desert, muttering "Water.... Water..." in a hoarse voice. Then ending up becoming a skeleton. All so some rancher would ride by on his four wheeler say "Hot damn! Thats neat!"

WHO the hell would come get me out there? What would I do out there? I swallowed hard when the bike stumbled and started dying. I looked down and to my left and flipped the knob to reserve. The bucking horse settled and ran smooth again. Small comfort, seeing as I hadn't seen a station for 40 miles and there were no signs (I don't mean roadsigns, as they were nonexistent. I mean a town, or some form of civilization) for any others coming up.

"Water.... " I thought to myself

[Strog]

Wow, I wonder if he made it.

[AZ-Twin]

Originally Posted by CETME

All so some rancher would ride by on his four wheeler say "Hot damn! Thats neat!"

Welcome to the west, fuel and water are two things you need to keep handy my friend. Deming, Las Curces, and El Paso all have several cycle shops.

Most likely the rancher would ride by and say “he chose poorly”

[trumpet]

arggh..I'm hooked...cliffhanger

[obsidian]

aaaannnnd?? Cmon I don't do suspense well....

[mike]

I'm amazed the tire has lasted this long.

[scythe08]

Damn I love your stories,cept' it makes me feel like a little kid who just had his dad/mom read him a story from his favorite book and then is told to goto bed.

Me: Awwwwwww,just one more story pleeeeeeze.

Them: *crickets chirping*

Ya know Bud, it might be interesting to have all your stories in one collection to read. I think your stories and personality are marketable. But this also coming someone who'll just a little Biased.


Thanks for sharing!

[Joe]

Outstanding Ride Report(s)

Looking forward to finding out how this one ended

[TownPump]

Another exceptional report...

Are you pushing your flat-tired bike across Texas at this point?

Looking forward to the next installment...

[ki4idb]

Well I am hooked. Great ride report ... cant wait to see what happens next ...

[CETME]

My odometer clicked over as the miles came and went with no sign of an exit. The bike coughed and my heart skipped a beat. I instantly tried to convince myself that it was nothing, that I had ran over a dead snake or something.

The big ZRX then started sputtering. It bucked and coughed. "Please! Not here! Not now!" I yelled. No amount of convincing would persuade it to continue, and it simply went quiet. It's funny to be traveling at 70mph in such a manner. The desert was eerily silent, interrupted only by the hum of the tires and the whirr of the chain.

"You rotten abhorrent moped!" I yelled as I got off the bike. I looked around to check my surroundings and my eyes were given nothing. Just a vast expanse of omnipotent proportions.

I looked up at the sun and squinted my eyes, I softly kicked the dirt and walked around my bike. Then something came to me. I remembered someone telling me sometime in the past, that if you put the petcock on prime and tilt a ZRX all the way to the left, you can get a few extra miles out of it. I turned the knob, and tilted the bike. I thought it would be ungodly heavy, but you'd be surprised how reasonable it was. I suppose it's weight is all in it's hips or something. Fatty thighs I suppose, either that or i'm an incredible strong and glamorous male, which is the most reasonable theory to this quandry.

"Oh please..." I muttered as I thumbed the starter. The Z-Rod exploded to life and I couldn't help but smile. "Sorry I called you a moped" I said, as I kicked down on the shifter and accelerated off into the Texas wasteland.
As I smiled I remembered that I really wasn't going to be in a better spot in the next 10 miles or so. Just 10 miles closer to, well, more desert.

Off in the distance however, I noticed something. Was this a mirage? Was it an oasis? My spirits lifted as I drew nearer, what was that on the side of the road? Was that a sign?!

I approached and found a green Ford Mustang, perpendicular to the road. With all the windows smashed. I stopped and walked around the car. I looked inside to find some scattered paper and empty cigarette cartons. The car had been sitting here for a few days it seemed. I assumed at first that it had run out of gas, but then maybe it overheated or something. I popped the hood and sure enough, it had overheated. There was no water in the radiator and everything was covered in dried radiator fluid.

I was desperate, so I went into my tools and got a big hammer and a philips head screwdriver. I drank the last of my gallon of water, and brought it with me. I dropped my "hood rat" implements on the ground next to the car and slithered my way underneath. There wasn't much room to work, so I went into the trunk and removed the jack. I was starting to sweat profusely at this point. The punishing Texas sun was unrelenting. I jacked up the rear of the car and gathered my hooligan tools. I used the screwdriver as a punch and punctured a hole into the gas tank. A few smacks with the hammer was all it took. I slid the gallon jug underneath the stream of gasoline and then just lied there, underneath the car, in the middle of Nowhere,Tx and stealing gas.

But at least I was in the shade.

[barnyard]

Nevermind, he's back....

Tom B

[wheelgun]

.....that's.....fantastic.

I'm serious.

Like, Cool Hand Luke cool. I don't care who says what. I man who can steal gas on two different continents and ride on? RIDE ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!