THE TOWERRATS
REUNION
By Ed Ritchison
While
serving in the Army back in the 80’s, I was stationed in
Germany
at a NATO weapons
site, where I, along with approximately 200 other M.P.s patrolled and
stood watch over the afore mentioned site, 24/7, 365 days, round the clock. We
were known as “Towerrats”, a term I didn’t give much thought to until I
got older and started reflecting on my younger days and adventures. Now there is
a brotherhood of these “Towerrats” and every so often, we try and get
together for a week end of tall tales and consumption of adult
beverages…what’s an old soldier to do? Here the Cade’s story begins…
One
of my “rat” buddies calls about 3 months ago and says let’s get together,
some place new for all of us, that we can drive to and meet for a reunion. Since
all these guys are huge football fans, it was decided upon that we should meet
in
Canton
,
Ohio
, home of the
National Football League Hall of Fame. We could take in the
HOF
, enjoy some good
eating in the Amish country, make a dent in the
Canton
beer supply, and
still be centrally located for all concerned.
Well,
for me, the wheels started to turn. I get my trusted Atlas out, begin marking
the routes to take, hotel reservations to make, packing preparations, everything
I need for the trip. Then the big decision…..do I take the Cade, a 19 year old
bike with 80,000 plus miles, that I’ve pretty much had rebuilt from front to
rear since I’ve purchased it 2 summers ago, knowing that somewhere along the
way, something could go wrong, leaving me stranded, angry, and worried, not to
mention ruining my whole trip, this….or just riding my dad’s 2003 Yamaha
Road Star, in great shape, low mileage, ready for the road. Well, after some
thought, I decided,” I bought that Cade for the sheer pleasure of the highway,
to ride and enjoy, come what may, besides, I have come to know the bike, it’s
feel, it’s handling, when things aren’t right, and when it runs like
something right off the showroom floor…no, for me and this trip, the 2-tone
blue was going to carry me to Ohio and home.
Weeks
passed and the anticipation of the reunion, the time off from my stress filled
job and the ride itself had me excited to a point that I almost dreaded it,
knowing that things were going so smoothly and coming to pass, that the other
shoe just had to fall. No such luck. When the morning finally arrived, I was up
early, everything packed, double checked, triple checked, plenty of clothes,
clean drawers, enough money…(yeah, right), everything for my person, now the
Cade. All “dem levels” checked, tire pressure checked, all signals, lights,
flashers, A-O.K. Time for the road. Kiss the wife, pet the dog…..or was that
the other way around??? Anyway, doesn’t matter, meeting the guys, road
trip, freedom from everything………everything but that darkening sky that lay
ahead….
As
I pulled out of middle Tennessee, the sky was bright, beautiful sunlight and
warm temps to travel by, but as I got closer to the Kentucky state line on I-65
North, the skies grew darker, the winds picked up and I knew that I’d better
be finding me a piece of shoulder to pull off on and get suited up. I no sooner
got these thoughts through my head, then here comes the rain, no small drops
,mind you, .these drops hit the windshield and my helmet like they were being
fired from a gatlin gun at close range. Everything got real chaotic really fast,
semi’s flying by, the visibility going from good to crap in a few seconds.
Thankfully the Lord either rides a Cade or just pities those of us who do, cause
in a flash, there was a vacant bridge overpass, complete with a guardrail for
setting my nervous old tail down to clear the cobwebs, get my rain gear out and
on, and just say a little word of thanks to the man upstairs that everything
worked out with all of this. Okay, rain suit on, face shield snapped into place,
climb back on the Cade, fire it up and…….uh oh, it’s not shifting and the
clutch lever is all the way back against the handle bar, no tension, no
engagement, what the heck is going on here?
I
pump the clutch handle gently and feel the tension coming back and the gears
shift normally. I noticed as I traveled down the highway, rain steadily coming
down, that I had to continually pump the clutch handle every few miles to keep
the pressure up…. (there is that other shoe falling). I pulled over at the
next exit, gas up, and gave my local mechanic a call. He tells me one of two
things has happened, one…either the slave cylinder has gone out on the clutch.
Or, two… I have an air bubble in the clutch line…I’m hoping and praying
for the latter. So, I followed his instructions to turn the handle bars to the
right and slowly burped the clutch line to hopefully move the air bubble into
the reservoir…To my amazement and delight, that took care of the problem….
The clutch stayed tight with no other hint of slippage.
Now,
it was getting late in the day, rain was still falling and I still had to
maneuver through the traffic of both
Louisville
,
Kentucky
and then
Cincinnati
,
Ohio
. Which, I might
add, should qualify me for the Wet-Butt patch award. Not to mention the “I
must be out of my freak’n mind” patch, if there is such a thing. Made it
through these two cities with minimal difficulty and land navigation and headed
northeast to
Columbus
. I was really
excited because I was nearing my destination with each mile that turned over. As
I neared
Columbus
the rain began to
fall like I have never witnessed it in my 43 years on this earth. I honestly
thought the
Ark
would float by. The lightening, thunder,
blinding sheets of precipitation continued until I had had enough. No gathering
is worth getting killed for and as I watched the white line of the highway with
my head down and eyes darting back and forth, I discovered that Motel 6 really
does leave the light on for you. As I moved the Cade into the parking lot and
got off the bike, I noticed that it was raining so hard I was actually wet
inside my rainsuit. The inside of the trunks were damp and I realized I hadn’t
eaten all day… But, at this point none of that mattered. I was able to get a
room on the first floor with the bike right outside. I moved all my gear inside,
took off all my clothes and put them on the heater. Everything else went on the
other bed nearest the heater to dry. And I settled down to a generous meal of a
Diet Coke and Peanut Butter Crackers. Not what I had in mind, but at that stage,
I just wanted to dry off and rest. The local news cast showed the severe
thunderstorms and even a funnel cloud or two in the area. I settled in for a
great night’s sleep.
The
next morning, the clouds were still hanging low but the rain was moving off as I
gathered all my now dry clothes together. I loaded up the blue 2-tone and wiped
her down before continuing on. I finally reach my destination at the hotel in
Canton, Ohio about 12 noon, a little later than what I had expected, but was met
with the smiles and greetings of old friends and comrades and of coarse a cold
Bud Light. We enjoyed our visit that weekend, seeing the Hall of Fame,
remembering old times, catching up on family and careers, and as always, it all
ended way too soon. As we packed up Sunday morning for our trip home, goodbyes
said and handshakes and hugs given, I was again looking forward to the return
ride home through the
Ohio
country side and
the hills of
Kentucky
back to
Tennessee
. On the return
ride, I ran into a few small rain showers but nothing of the magnitude that I
had ridden up in. As I pulled the Cade into the drive way that same evening, I
noted the trip mileage had been 1201 miles. That was round trip and I could not
have been more proud of the Cade and the way it handled the entire trip. Except
for the slight problem with the clutch, I would have put it up against anything
out there on two wheels. I’ve had several people look the Cade over, asking me
about it and telling me how much they liked it. Even a few telling me to hang on
to it and not get rid of it, that it’ll be a bike collector’s prize before
long……no, not much chance of getting rid of it, not if it can continue to
deliver the smoothness and comfort and the enjoyment I get mile after mile.
Ed
Ritchison
Dickson
, TN
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