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Our next planned stop was to take a photo at the old “Reciprocity Stone Bridge” east of Hopewell, Ohio. This bridge crosses an un-named stream and was part of the original National Road. I had a vision of putting the Red One on the bridge for a photo, but between my enthusiasm, room-for-improvement riding skill, and miscommunication, ended up grazing one of the large stone blocks spaced across the entrance instead of passing between them.
The result was that the clutch pedal broke near the end, and the bell crank connected to it broke at the point where the clutch pushrod clevis connected to it (see photo above). The immediate assessment by Loring Hill, my safety rider and mechanic, was that we were done for the day. We knew that checking the local auto supply stores would not result in anyone stocking a 1919 Henderson clutch pedal or even anything that might do in a pinch, so we rescued the bike into the trailer, and drove to the AMA Museum. From there, instead of spending the night in Pickerington, we made a bee-line for support driver Willie’s house and shop south of Xenia where repairs are underway this morning.
The plan is to weld the 100-year-old forgings with very hard welding rod, but if that doesn’t work out as planned, 4th Coast Fours owner Mark Hill has overnighted original replacement parts from his stock. The plan is then to bring the bike by the Springs Motel in Yellow Springs by around 1:00 pm today where I have a television interview scheduled shortly thereafter.
While rationalizing that “these things happen” may be seen as a way to downplay the circumstances, none of that really dissipates my profound sadness and disappointment. When I spoke to him yesterday, Mark Hill put the lesson to be learned in a way that I could suddenly see: “When you’re out there riding, think back to when you had 200 passengers in your airplane counting on you to get them where they wanted to go. Remember all those people who are behind you today hoping for your success, so you need to evaluate that reality at every decision point.”
I will rest up here in Yellow Springs with a planned departure Friday morning. Once I get the truck unloaded at my house of all the things have been proven not necessary, I am going to work on getting the rest of the legs to San Francisco all flowed out in Google Maps and, if at all possible, complimentary Garmin format. I have long ago done the route work, but need to copy it all over to Google/Garmin and then create simplified turn-by-turn sheets that can be printed and placed on the tanks of my bike and Loring’s for easy reference (suddenly I see the wisdom of the rolling “map” boxes used by the Cannonball riders... maybe I can find one along the way). I am also going to work on installing my second Sena helmet camera on Loring’s helmet so that we can have immediate intercom with each other.
That’s the update for today. Stay tuned on Facebook and track me live on the Route page on the web site for more live tracking when we pull out of Yellow Springs on Friday. |
