I'd like to tell a story

[Boaz]

I got up at 5 o clock next morning , dad was drinking coffee . I was excited , we talked . Mom got up , I strapped my sleeping bag and 'stuff' on the cargo rack on the Suzuki . Mom hugged me , crying she left . Dad shook my hand hard and told me to be careful . And I pulled out west .

[Boaz]

Started out , didn't push the old Suzuki ..it had some failings . Took me a day to get to West Texas (I lived in North Central Texas) , I got off the highway and slept off an oilfield lease road in the mesquites . Found the Palo Doro Canyon , I was impressed ...Beautiful country . Looked around for a day . Slept in the Johnson Grass off the road ...Got up and started for Carlsbad New Mexico . I was enjoying it .

[Boaz]

Made it to Carlsbad New Mexico , slept on the parking lot at the entrance to Carlsbad Cavern , Took a walk through it the next morning . I was impressed , I think the Park Service charged $1.50 . Started mid evening to Cloud Croft intending to go straight west as I could to the West Coast . Interstate highways did not go all the way , I was navigating by an old Texaco road map .

[Boaz]

Got to Cloudcroft NM, discovered my Kickstarter was had vibrated off , had to put in second gear and push start . Stopped in Cloud croft to drink a cup of coffee , guy that ran the café asked ...you on that cycle , bad storm coming you better get off the mountain . It was black outside ..I left .

One inch hail hit . I holed up in an old plywood school bus shed by the road , was leaking bad ...barley shelter .

[Boaz]

Two days out things started to go south .

[Boaz]

Stayed in that shed bout 2 hours , all my adolescent self could deal with . Strapped My bed roll back on the bike and went down hill . still hailing but not so bad . Pain of hail being better than pain of boredom . Aww the impatience of youth .

[Boaz]

Dropped to a lower elevation and the hail stopped . Bruised but not I kept on .

[Boaz]

Had no goal ...just west . Looking back ...GOD was in control ..not me .

[Boaz]

GOD guided me to an experience I would wish I had not had , but understanding comes hard . He will direct .

[Boaz]

In trial and not knowing I pushed on .

[Boaz]

Kept going west . Had to tighten the drive chain a couple of times , chain was stretched and didn't have much adjustment left , rear drive sprocket was bout wore out . Figured when I got to phoenix I'd find a master link , borrow a punch somewhere and shorten the chain .

Got to Arizona , went through Globe , pulled off the road to look at the tailing pile of the Globe Copper Mine . It was literally a mountain . Went though the San Carlos Apache Reservation , stopped halfway through the reservation and got a tank of gas at the Texaco station .

I didn't know it at the time but soon I'd be back to this reservation involved in a 'revival' of sorts with some folks that believed the Indians knew when the second coming was going to happen .

Kept going west toward Phoenix .

[Boaz]

It was summer and pretty dang hot , kept heading to Phoenix . Went through the Superstitions and got to Apache Junction . Not much there , stopped at the A.J . Bayless grocery store , got a can of pork and beans . Ate em outside in the shade at the end of the store . Went back in and got a drink of water , started west to Phoenix .

Got almost to Mesa AZ and my chain came off , no more adjustment left . Pushed it about a mile and a half . It was near dark , got to a filling station and the guy working said I could sleep out back and leave the bike the next day to hitch hike to Phoenix for a chain link . Slept in the weeds out back , got up first light and thumbed it into Phoenix . Had to find a motorcycle shop and did a lot of walking . Was late evening time I got back to the filling station and the bike . Same guy let me use the tools and I shortened the chain , pulled the sprocket and cleaned it up with a file , two teeth bent so gently tapped en back .

Chain and sprocket were shot , did a lot of thinking . I was never going to make it to the Pacific ...I decided to try and make it back home . They had a candy machine at the station so got two peanut butter logs , a drink out of the hose and bedded down

[Boaz]

Left out at daybreak , The attendant that helped me was off shift , told the one that was there to thank him for me . Started back east for Texas . Got bout 3 miles and the chain and sprocket thrashed . Chain broke and 3 teeth off the sprocket , started pushing the 250 Scrambler to Apache Junction . I was 7 days on the road and had bout two dollars in change left . Options were limited , bike got heavier by the mile . I come to a telephone both on side of the road , swallowed my pride and decided to call home . Barley had enough money to make a call...I hoped . It was hard to make that call .

[Boaz]

Dialed long distance , LOL ,,, younger members might have to check that out ! Got the operator and said I needed to place a call to Wichita Falls Texas , you heard the clicks , her talking to other operators to plug in their switchboards and then she said ... it will be $1.60 for three min . Put the correct amount of change in now . I dropped a Dollar sixty in the coin slot and she said ...Hold on .

[Boaz]

I waited ..heard the phone start to ring , dad said hello . He said ..where are you ? I replied ..I'm just east of Phoenix Arizona . He said...DANG ! I didn't figure that motorcycle would get that far ! How's the weather there ?

Dang it I had three min to talk and couldn't call back . I just told him...I'm on the side of the road , the bikes broke and I'm broke . I could use some help . There was a pause and he said ...sounds like you need to find some work . He hung up the phone .

I was over 800 miles from home broke and pushing a worthless motorcycle to no where .

[Hickok]

Boaz, you got me hanging on the edge of my seat, keep it coming!

[Boaz]

Now it might seem a hard thing for him to deny me help and I'm sure it was but he had tried to talk me out of doing this till I could prepare for it . He was going to let me own this one ...I was going to have to figure it out .

At this point the bike was a millstone around my neck , it was a burden . But I clung to it hoping I could somehow get it going again . I just kept pushing it down the road .

[mozeppa]

replied to so i can find this thread.

[Boaz]

When I said I was pushing a worthless motorcycle to no where it was in hindsight of now . I would never ride this bike again , it was nothing but a burden . I took a lot of breaks ..it got dang hot . Stopped at a little store and got a fried pie for a dime , all I had to eat that day . Had about enough to get a can of Prince Albert , Velvet or box of Top rollin tobacco ..yea I started smoking the year before .

I was bout to get to Apache Junction , it would be dark quick . There was no benefit to continue pushing the bike in the dark , needed to find a place to bed down out of the way . Stopped at a small filling station , asked if I could get a drink out of the hose . The man said sure , I was walking back to the bike and he said ...What part of Texas you from ? LOL , he couldn't see the tag on my bike so my drawl had nailed me , it happened a lot back then .

Told him North Central Texas , He said he had worked in Texas and a conversation started . At the end he said ....Your gonna be pushing that bike in the dark . You can sleep in that old pick up (old 61/62 Chevy short narrow ) , it's under a light so you can see and the doors lock. Sometime folks coming through I let em sleep in it , you will be safer I stay open all night .

I considered , I thanked him , put my bedroll and stuff in the old truck passenger floorboard . It beat the heck out of sleeping on the ground .Parked the bike by the truck , sun was near down and I was wore out pushing the bike , I bedded down .

Woke up probably one in the morning , a light in my eyes and someone tapping on the driver window telling me to get out of the truck in a commanding voice ! I figured I was being high jacked , eased out and it was a cop . He was shining a flashlight in my eyes and started asking me who I was and why was I here . I said nothing .

[D Crockett]

cool story Boaz I would like to hear more so far it a good story D Crockett