03/10/2006: El Portal. Redemption.

Hello friends, Well, today was a revelation but first let me finish the sad tale I begun yesterday... Once I had spoken to Curtis about the bike, I started on my way to my destination for the day, Three Rivers. Navigating the roads here has proved a challenge and in the state I was in, mistakes came thickly, I took wrong turns everywhere. While riding through the mountains, I realised I was low on fuel and the day was quickly coming to an end. I was lucky enough to find a ranger station where I was able to get a gallon of gas to get me through the mountains and to the next petrol station. It was suggested to me that an alternate route would be faster and so I took this route. This turned out to be a mistake as I had to ride for another couple of hours in the dark, cold night; no idea where I was or which way I was headed...it was awful. The dark and cold, combined with my aching head and chest, not to mention my lost nerve, made te ride a challenge to say the least. But, push on I did and eventually made it to Porterville, a largely hispanic town of reasonable size. I tell you my friends, this to me was an Oasis and I greeted it's arrival with overwhelming relief. I found my way to a Best Western and checked in. All thoughts of reaching Three Rivers long forgotten. In this spare, but clean room, my misery became abject and all encompassing. I don't mind telling you my faithful readers, I was close to giving it all up and coming home. I ached, I was hungry, my spirit was in tatters and I just couldn't see myself continuing. It was the next morning. I called Curtis again and he asked what I wanted to do. I told him that I didn't think I could continue the ride even with a replacement bike. To my surprise, he offered to come pick up the bike and let me use the Toyota truck to complete the trip. I was taken aback by this and gladly accepted. These guys have been fantastic and they go to great lengths to make sure your trip is a good one. Later that morning, Curtis turned up. picked up the bike and rode it back to Bakersfield, which is only an hour away from Porterville ironically. So there I was, ready to go agan in a Toyota pickup, one with EagleRider painted all over it... I was back on the road my friends, no doubt about it!