Started the day by battling through 20 miles of 6 lane highway to drop off bike at Eaglerider. The shop is located downtown near a homeless shelter. Being a Sunday all the inhabitants had been thrown out for the day and they were outside queuing in the sun for a food handout. "We rent our building from the fire service and we are very friendly with the local police, so security isn't an issue", said the very bored chap looking after the store. What he does all day is a mystery because in the hour we were there not a single other person came in. It's a bit sad though to see so many people with nothing, standing outside a business containing a million dollars worth of motorcycles. The No Loitering sign is designed to keep these undesirables away from the well heeled clients who can afford a one day rental of 198 dollars.
The first bit of good news for the day is that Eaglerider gave us credit for the unused days of the hire. So we can go back next year and take a week or so at one of their other hire centres. So maybe Boston for a circular tour...
We were picked up by a bright and shiny Emily who drove us to her desk at the Hyatt in the largest SUV I have ever been in. In the hotel the tables were turned. Rachael and I became the undesirables. The beautifully dressed guests were turning up their noses at the grubby undesirable bikers making their foyer look untidy.
The second piece of good news though was that we got a really good deal on a one way car hire to Washington. Only $359! The third piece of good news was that we didn't have to drive a Smart car because we got a free upgrade to a Dodge Avenger (not actually as cool as it sounds but what the hell).
460 miles later we arrived in Liberal having passed through some stormy looking skies. And this is where the final piece of good news comes in. We managed to skip through thunder, lightning and hail the size of tennis balls. There was a car at the hotel covered in dents that will cost a fortune to remove.
The rest of the gang arrived earlier in the day having skipped the same storms and passing a train wreck. It sounds like they had a great couple of days riding but things are going to get tougher for bikes from now on. We are leaving early tomorrow to run up the back of the storm system to keep out of trouble. Fingers crossed.
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