Going well so far, but only in Iowa. Hard to believe I’m only making 250 miles a day on the Super Tenere, yet the last time I was out this way on the KLR I was (literally) busting my arse doing 500-700 miles a day. Something to do with having a lot of miles to cover but not much time before I had to be back at work.
Part of my current job description is setting up and breaking down the camp. I’ll have to improve at that. Last night was warm, still and with clear skies, and only a small chance of rain in the forecast – I thought it would be OK to leave the fly off the tent and watch the stars through the mesh. Sure enough around 2am the wind started whipping through the treetops. I couldn’t see the stars any more. I frantically starting putting the fly on the tent and trying to get stuff under cover, thunder and lightning start crashing and flashing away… It still hadn’t started raining though so I thought I would be ok. That’s when I start hearing branches falling from the trees… Oh crap. I wasn’t fond of any of the sites when I set up – they were all the same, under more or less tree cover. I’d set the tent up as much as possible in the open, but the bike was under a tree. I hadn’t been too worried, it was such a calm night.
The wind’s still howling and the next thing I hear is something pinging off the bike’s gas tank. Crap. I’m thinking about moving the bike but have no shoes on and it’s partially loaded and heavy. I decide I’m just going to put the cover on it and as I’m doing that something goes clunk on my head. Double crap, this is getting dodgy. I rub my scalp and feel blood.
The tent is close enough to the trees that a branch could go through it so I say screw it and leave the bike and the tent and retreat to the shower block till the worst of the storm passes. I went back to the tent in the rain but at least the wind had died down.
In the morning I find a memento of the storm – a quarter-sized ding in the gas tank. Nice. Thank you Mr Murphy and your stupid law.
Heading for Sth Dakota where on Friday I should become that great state’s newest resident. Shit – who knows the name of their football team, in case somebody asks?