Corinth, Mississippi

I made it about 300 miles today. The roads were easier than I expected - a lot of small paved roads, but enough of the harder stuff to make it exciting. I had several water crossings back in May. The one pictured below was really easy as you can see. The water was less than six inches deep.

I rode pretty hard and steady from 6:30 to 4 pm. I saw a lot of deer. One jumped across the road about 20 yards in front of me, but most were not trying to run over me. I did look a little too long at a couple of fawns on my left. When you look back over your left shoulder on a motorcycle, the bike tends to go right, which mine did - right into an embankment which caused me to fall over. I was going really slow so I was not hurt and there was no damage.

But picking up a loaded motorcycle is a chore. Most people ride bikes that are so heavy they can't pick them up. My FJR is that way. I think it weighs 600 pounds, and I have to have help picking it up. I read about a lot of off road riders who take heavy bikes in the rough stuff and fall over. One guy was alone, like me, and after trying and trying, he finally called 911 to get search and rescue to come help him stand his bike up so he could go on his way. He had insurance that covered the expense. Well, I learned that my bike is too heavy to pick up with all my gear loaded on top. But after I got the yellow bag off, I got it up and was underway again.

Which brings me to another sensitive subject. How about that milk crate on back? Is that retro or redneck? When I loaded this time, I wanted to bring extra fuel, oil, and chain lubricant. And I didn't want to keep those things in the yellow bag with my clothes. So the day before I left, I started looking for some kind of basket to put them in and happened upon the perfect solution - an old milk crate. I love it! It is perfect for putting my warm jacket liner in when it gets too hot to wear during the day and for adding a couple of bottles of 32 oz Gatorade. (Did you know that you can get 32 oz Gatorade for 85 cents at Dollar General? That's amazing. I love Dollar General. You could live out of a Dollar General, and they have them in every small town in America.) 

Anyway, I figured the style conscious readers that I have might not approve of the lowly milk crate. But I think it is very functional. So much so that I plan to leave it on the bike as a permanent addition. You never know when you are going to need to bring a gallon of milk home and without the crate there would be no place to put it.

Well, there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow so I don't know how far I will go. I can ride in a little rain, but there is up to 1/2 inch forecast for here. I plan to ride in the morning until I see the front getting too close, then find a place to hunker down until it is over.

Don't forget that you can follow me at https://share.garmin.com/CHESTERANDERS.

Just so you know - I am having great fun!