Riding to Save the Ta-Ta's

Friday, May 15th, 2009

First off, I want to let you know that I have ridden since my last post, but it was just to go from Kasey's House back to my own, and run to Kroger for groceries. Since this is my 251st Post, I wanted to be more than just a regular trip.



So, the main part of this issue will be about a very special ride. You see, last year in the summer, a woman bought a motorcycle in Florida. Trouble was, she lived in Vancouver, BC. At first, like others who had bought a bike from a distance, that she would just have it shipped. But this woman was looking for adventure, so she flew to Florida, and rode the motorcycle back homes 5,000 miles. After posting her intent on the Women Who Ride forum, she found that she would not make the journey alone. Other Women on the forum rode with her. Joining the dance across the country, they formed a supportive, conga line.

That was the summer of 2008, and this is 2009. That woman, Flo Fuhr, realized she missed Alabama on her journey last year, and with the encouragement of the same women that rode with her, a reunion was created. The reunion would have a cause, and raise money for Breast Cancer Research. With a goal of 10,000 dollars, they gathered over 7,000 before hitting Indiana. So today, we were riding to save the Ta-Ta's.

This time I was aware of this year's dance, known as the Conga II. Flo and her girls were coming through Indiana, and I was going to give them a scenic tour of Hoosier State. It would mean an early start, and my brother arriving at Kasey's House. I rolled out The Pearl, packed up the bike with the camera gear, suited up, and we headed out for southern Indiana.

The clear skies from the night before meant cooler temps in the morning. The wind made it even cooler. We started by heading down SR 39 to Monrovia, Indiana. Then we headed east on SR 42, which would take us into Mooresville, Indiana. After crossing SR 67, we would be on SR 144, and headed into Franklin, Indiana.

From Franklin, we headed south on US 31. Just before the interstate, we would take a brief break in Edinburg, Indiana. Kasey and I would don heavier gear to ward off the cold air, which would be cooler at Highway speed. Back in the saddle, and up on I 65 to head south to Scottsburg, Indiana. We would pick up the Conga II Line there.

We arrived early, and I knew the ride would run behind, also, so we had plenty of time to be ready for their arrival. We walked across the street, got some breakfast at McDonald's, and warmed our bodies. As we sat in the fast food joint, the Earth began to warm too.

We walked back to the bikes, and began setting up the video camera for their arrival. We shot some opening stand ups, and then awaited the arrival. It would be a little while, but we would see some bikes pull up the exit ramp from I 65. The bikes cruised over the bridge, and then pulled in to the gas station and in front of the camera.

After a couple of interviews, I checked in with the riders, and we saddled up to head out and meander our way across Indiana. We started going north on I 65 for a stretch. We exited at SR 250, and headed west. SR 250 had curves, but they just went up and down, not side to side. Kasey was running the video camera, capturing the group of bikes behind us.

The road lead us into Brownstown, Indiana. I had been to this little burg a few times before. Near here is a couple of parks, and stretch of road known as Indiana's Skyline Drive.

On the other side of Brownstown is the intersection with SR 135. We would snake along on this road north through Indiana. The further along we went, the twistier, and the more wooded the trail got. Closer to Nashville, Indiana, as it runs along Brown County State Park, the ride gets wonderful. One of the best roads in Indiana. There was a close call as we neared SR 46 with a deputy that had a horse trailer pulled over. There was some tires screeching, but no harm done.

After rounding the the turn on to SR 46, we headed west into Nashville. This is a tourist trap town, like it's namesake in Tennessee, but the music has been replaced with lots of crafty shops. If you have never shopped here, than you just have not shopped.

We cruised through town, continuing north on SR 135. We would veer off on SR 252 in Morgantown, Indiana. It would be a journey west to Martinsville, Indiana. We rode into and through town to SR 67. We would head north on this divided highway to Robb Hill Road. I veered off on Beech Tree Lane, and then onto SR 39.

SR 39 would snake our way north, and back through Monrovia, Indiana. As you know, SR 39 lead us out of Danville, Indiana earlier this morning, and so it would lead us north into town now. We found parking on the north side of the square in town, and parked the bikes.

After setting the bikes to be parked for a while, we crossed the street, and entered the Mayberry Cafe. Chantelle, Flo, and Rob, the Conga Riders left with us, loved the atmosphere, and the food when it came. Rob and Flo laughed at how long it had been since they had a Root Beer Float, with extra Root Beer.

After a great lunch with better conversation, we headed back out of Danville. Continuing on SR 39 for a few more miles, and then veering off on to SR 136 headed to North Salem, Indiana. In that tiny town, we headed north on SR 75.

A few more Indiana towns, and acres of farmland later, we headed east on SR 47 through Thorntown, Indiana. Just east of town, we turned onto SR 52 to head north and west into Lafayette, Indiana.

As we approached the town, the evidence was the Welcome to Lafayette sign across the intersection, Chantelle pulled up and mentioned she was low on gas. She also said she was missing the straight roads in Louisiana where she lives. I yelled over to her, we still have 250 more miles to ride today! Kasey let her in that we had only a little farther to go when she saw the look on her face.

A few miles down the road we pulled off of SR 52 to hit Eagle Harley Davidson. We toured around the dealership, and persuaded the trio to just hole up in Lafayette. One of the sales people even called his friend at a local hotel to book them a room.

For the first time today, I would follow, my brother, to his house. His wife offered to have a steak dinner for Kasey and I. We made our way through Lafayette, and to their home.

As we chatted after dinner, a brief rain moved through the area. Rain was not supposed to move through until after midnight. A check of the radar, and Kasey and I thought it better to head out before anymore storms brewed up. Well we were way to late for that! While at the Gas Station, thunder and lightning clapped and flashed in the sky that filled with rain. We waited for over a half an hour before we headed out, coated in our rain gear.

After viewing the radar on my phone, we decided to head west out of town to catch SR 231. After some confusion at an intersection, never had a semi pass me on the right side before, we headed down old SR 231 to meet up with the new one.

As we road the wet streets, lightning flashed through the sky. Sometimes it lit up the road, other than that, all I could really see was the reflectors dividing the lanes. Just north of Crawfordsville, we would hit rain, and a pretty good rain, at that. We carefully made out way through. I was never happier to have a car tire on the back of the bike.

In Crawfordsville, we hopped on I 74 to make time to get home. After 20 miles, we headed south on SR 39, leading us into Danville. We left Kasey's house before 7:30, and returned after 10:30pm.

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