An Iron Horse Saga

By Carl B. Sutter

An Iron Horse Saga is not a traditonal romantic novel with a sultry love triangle but rather a true story of an adventurous cross country motorcycle ride by a deeply in love husband and wife. A deep bond developed between the Rider and Iron Horse during the ride's impossible conditions. Normally a 5,200 mile Coast to Coast ride should be a simple test of Rider endurance. This ride was anything but normal!

A transplanted skier from Upstate New York, the author moved to Florida to take advantage of the warmer climate and pursue his 2nd passion of motorycle riding. The author’s motorcycle riding experience spans 50 years and over 500,000 miles. A cross country motorcycle ride between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean was an idea borne by the author to combine his passion for motorcycle riding with an opportunity to raise money to benefit children in the community. The Kiwanis Club of Southeast Volusia County sponsored the Coast to Coast Benefit Ride for Children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jul 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483413327

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An Iron Horse Saga

Carl B Sutter

Copyright © 2014 Carl B Sutter.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1333-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1332-7 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 06/23/2014

Contents

Prelude

Kiwanis® Coast to Coast Cross Country Motorcycle Ride

Chapter 1 The Bike

Chapter 2 The Rider & Chase Driver

Chapter 3 The Rider’s Health

Chapter 4 May 31, 2013 Beginning at the Atlantic Ocean

Chapter 5 June 1, 2013 Hopelessly Stranded

Chapter 6June 2, 2013 Another Day Spent Marking Time

Chapter 7 June 3, 2013 A Day of Reckoning

Chapter 8 June 4, 2013 Even More Trouble

Chapter 9 June 5, 2013 No Spare Gas Can

Chapter 10 June 6, 2013 A Wall of Heat

Chapter 11 June 8, 2013 Half Way There and Then Some

Chapter 12 June 9, 2013 In a Groove

Chapter 13 June 10, 2013 Death Escaped and Then a Ride in Motorcycle Heaven

Chapter 14 June 11, 2013 Hail and Calamity

Chapter 15 June 11, 2013 A Peak of Insanity

Chapter 16 June 12, 2013 A Ride from Hell to Heaven

Chapter 17 June 17, 2013 The End May Be Another Beginning

Epilogue

The Rider

A special thought for my son Ryan who has been courageous in his daily struggle, coping with the aftermath of a crippling motorcycle accident. You were with me, in spirit, on this adventure. I am proud of you, stay strong and bravely continue on!

Dad, The Rider

Prelude

An Iron Horse Saga cannot be accurately described as a romantic love story involving a sultry love triangle. This novel is a true love story between a man and his wife, as well as a man’s feelings of impossible love for his motorcycle, developed during an incredible cross country ride. Inexplicable events during this amazing trip, reaffirmed my strong belief in God, Our Creator.

Upon reaching middle age, the Golden Age between 60 and 80 years old, a person may do a considerable amount of self reflection on their life’s accomplishments and shortcomings. A more complex subject is the matter dealing with what a person would like to accomplish with the rest of their life. My deep self reflection time began the day before my 70th birthday, November 12, 2013.

How could my passion for motorcycle riding be combined with raising funds for community youth activities was a question that was repeatedly contemplated. The Kiwanis® Club is a community organization oriented towards assisting youth activities. The dilemma of community needs for financial assistance always exceeded available funds was frustrating to me as an active Kiwanian®.

A light bulb lit up my brain with an excellent fund raising idea, the local Kiwanis® Foundation of Southeast Volusia County would provide name sponsorship for a long distance motorcycle ride. Funds would be raised by seeking charitable monetary pledges for each mile ridden. A $5,000 fund raising goal was arbitrarily set without any history to base the goal on.

All funds raised would go directly to the Kiwanis® Club with the Rider responsible for all his trip expenses, estimated to be $ 2,500. Sturgis, S.D. is the Biker Mecca of the world and was first considered to be a great fund raising destination of 4,000 roundtrip miles. A more marketable and appealing destination had to be developed because potential contributors might not be receptive to supporting a motorcycle ride to a destination with Sturgis’ bawdy reputation. The Kiwanis® Club’s Board of Directors gave their approval to the fund raising project

KIWANISFAMILY.JPG

Kiwanis Family at start

Kiwanis® Coast to Coast Cross Country Motorcycle Ride

The round trip motorcycle ride would originate in New Smyrna Beach, Florida at the Flagler Avenue beach ramp entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. A halfway point to the ride would be San Diego, California at Mission Beach on the Pacific Ocean. The entire ride would exceed an ambitious 5,200 miles traveled by a lone Rider on his Iron Horse.

Saturday May 31, 2013 was selected as an ideal departure date to avoid possible traffic jams on Memorial Day weekend and to lessen the impact of mid summer heat in the desert. The Rider had previously ridden 850 miles in one long day. An average distance of 500 miles per day seemed to be a reasonable estimate to complete the trip in under two weeks.

A projected return date of June 14, 2013 allowed sufficient time for 10 days of riding, possible minor mechanical problems, a rest day, and even sightseeing. A direct travel route to the Pacific Ocean, across the southeast and southwest of the United States was mapped out, I-95 north, I-10 west, and I-8 west terminating at Mission Beach. Not one toll booth for the entire route.

Chapter 1

The Bike

An Iron Horse, the bike used for the Coast to Coast Ride, was a 2001 vintage metric cruiser with a 1600cc engine, designed for long distance road travel. Definitely a newer bike would have been preferred over this one with 70,000+ miles on it. A long haired and bearded American bike wrencher, performed all the mechanical maintenance on the Iron Horse.

The old adage Do not judge a book by it’s cover applied to the rough looking trusted mechanic who had a gentle demeanor and a heart of gold. Best wishes are extended to Mike, not only a mechanic but a friend who retired in the country to raise his beloved farm animals. Mike’s outstanding mechanical ability and sound advice were appreciated and contributed to the ride’s successful completion.

Riding a motorcycle for a long distance, without a windshield, will definitely cause considerable body joint discomfort. Traveling at consistent speeds of 70-80 mph all day, places undue stress in the armpits and groin areas of the body from the constant wind pressure. Besides relieving wind stress, a windshield also provides partial protection from other road hazards, scattered debris and flying insects. Reluctantly the Rider agreed to the installation of a short windshield despite his disdain for an item he considered to be an unnecessary frivolous luxury.

Long distance bike riders are usually familiar with the term, Monkey Butt, an uncomfortable physical condition created by friction build up between the seat and a rider’s butt. The Rider’s backside had progressed, on one long ride, from Monkey Butt to Hamburger Butt, a description left to the Reader’s imagination. All the normal remedies to relieve butt stress, powders, a gel seat, and a sheepskin seat cover, did not help the Rider with his problem.

A motorcycle seat pad that used technology originally developed to assist health patients who developed sores from sitting or lying in bed for extended periods, was purchased for the long bike ride. This seat pad, with adjustable air pockets, prevents friction by barely keeping the bike rider’s butt from making contact with the seat. The Rider’s butt was saved by the seat pad on the Coast to Coast Ride.

Another potential problem with the bike had to be resolved before starting the ride. Frequent access to the battery and oil dip stick, located under the bike seat, was absolutely necessary. The bike seat is designed to be unlocked with the bike’s ignition key. Eventually, repeated unlocking of the seat, will wear out the key tumblers. Too many frustrating hours were spent trying unsuccessfully to unlock the bike’s seat. A solution had to be devised.

The Rider’s original idea to resolve the seat unlocking problem worked fairly well. A string was tied to the seat’s release latch and pulled for unlocking the seat, a rather simple solution. Tape attached the string to the bike frame and prevented the wind from blowing the string back under the seat.

Mark, another good friend is a motorcycle service manager, who understood the seat lock release problem when it was explained to him. In the shop, he found a spare heavy duty metal cable and attached it to the seat release lock. The stronger cable worked better than a flimsy string. The Rider was relieved by the solution, providing dependable access under the seat.

The metal release cable’s location created a minor problem by being in contact with the hot running engine. Precautions had to be taken after the first attempt to pull the hot cable had burned the Rider’s fingers. A handy spare rag was used to grab the hot metal cable and avoid contact with the skin.

Adjustable highway pegs, to accommodate the Rider’s short legs, were mounted on the bike. The highway pegs did not work as well as expected and were a costly disappointment. When using the highway pegs, the bike rider’s legs are stretched forward, creating additional direct pressure to the butt and back.

Dehydration, particularly riding in the desert, was a major concern. An easy to reach cup holder was installed on the bike’s handlebars. A 20 ounce cup with a straw for sipping while riding was continually replenished with liquids.

The tires on the bike only had 5, 000 miles of wear on them before the trip started. Generally the tire tubes were changed with the installation of new tires but the current tubes had not been changed previously and had more than 20,000 miles of wear. A calculated risk was taken by using the older tires and tubes for the trip. The cost for new tires and tubes could not be justified with considerable wear left on the old tires and tubes.

Strictly as a precautionary measure, a new drive belt was installed. The old belt appeared