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Page 2 of 20 Doubts began to creep in beneath the surface layer of excitement, like termites into fresh wood. Were we ready to do this? Our longest ride so far was to the Texas Hill Country - about a 200 mile round trip from our house. We had committed to ride 3,000 miles - fifteen times the distance of our longest ride! The Road King, which looked so massive in the dealership, now seemed to shrink before my eyes. This fragile machine would be stout enough to carry two adults and their baggage without breaking down?
When the doubts became so loud that I couldn't think straight, I decided to turn them all loose. I was no longer in control of what might happen to us on the road, so any worrying was pointless. After reaching that searing insight, the termites (and my doubts) died a quiet death. Besides, the road was calling to me like a siren's song. Adventure won out over anxiety, and we went to bed knowing our lives would probably be changed forever because of this trip. THE FIRST DAY Tom Hart, the group leader, told everyone to meet at his house outside of town at 4:30 a.m. The roosters were not even up yet! But we had to get a good start on the heat. After all, this was still August in Texas. After some milling around in Tom's driveway, we fired up the bikes. Roy Mabry was the designated "Road Daddy". He would decide when to stop, where to stop and how fast to travel on the road. Everyone fell in behind him on the highway. Soon, our place in the formation was set. We came in fourth, behind Roy and his daughter Kelly, and Carl, a long-time Harley rider. The other ten motorcycles were behind us, like fighter pilots in formation. When we hit Fort Worth, I suddenly realized that this was it - do or die. My perspective was changing from the back of the Harley. I noticed cars A LOT more than before and I realized that cars were now the enemy. One mistake on our part and the results would be a lot more serious for us than for the people riding on four wheels.
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