As in any trip of this magnitude, something will always go wrong. This morning after getting Bates bike to the shop, Dave realized his tires were shot and needed to be replaced. Since we were there at HD a good time. During service, they found rear brakes almost metal on metal so, you guessed it, more money to the local economy!
We had decided just after noon that the remainder of the trip could not be completed due to losing all the time today. The decision was made to head for home. After lunch we got on interstate 81 and headed south. One mile into the ride I was riding drag in the group and I see a part depart either Dave’s or Matt’s bike and fly into the woods. I had the guys stop and we found the left rear chrome axle bolt cover had fallen off the bike. After all we has been through , it was back to HD since they failed to secure it. Jeff and the gang at Winchester HD were surprised to see us all again. When he heard what had happened he quickly put on a new set of chrome axle covers and we were finally on our way. We had about 40 min of rain near Lexington, but nothing serious. There is a large patch of rain between us and Memphis that we will have to deal with tomorrow. As for today, we did over 450 miles and are just east of Knoxville with 900+ miles to go!
