part 1
Kaw Girl's visit to Black Bike Week 2005
Starring:
Kelly a-k-a Kaw Girl
Michelle a-k-a Bombchelle
Latari a-k-a Tari
...and others to be named throughout the story...
By: Kelly a-k-a Kaw Girl
Well, Michelle and I decided we were leaving late morning or early afternoon on Thursday, May 26, 2005. It was my duty to secure a trailer. Knowing that it's not cheap to rent one, I asked around and found someone who I THOUGHT was going to lend me theirs.
Approx. 8pm, Wed, May 25: Call the guy about the trailer. He's not home, leave a message with his wife. Must wait until morning to call back.
Approx. 10am, Thu, May 26: Call the guy about the trailer, again. No answer, leave a message.
Approx. 12pm, Thu, May 26: Gettin' kinda nervous...call back, find out guy with the trailer won't be back in town until around 1pm!
Okay, this puts a damper on things, we want to load up our bikes and get the hell outta North Carolina! But wait, there's more...
My bike is having technical difficulties. My dad proceeds to fix the common problem on my Ninja ZX750...I call the guy with the trailer again at 2pm, no answer, leave a nice message, offer to pay him...an hour later...two hours later...still no call back.
I proceed to U-Haul, thinking there's no way they have trailers...well, they do, it's an enclosed one! I rent it, then they hook it up to my hitch and my wiring, but wait...the lights aren't working! What the fuck? Eventually it gets fixed.
We bring the trailer to my dad's house (where both the bikes are) and dad has to go to Lowe's to buy a 2' x 8" to load the bike's up on the trailer, which by the way, has only TWO hooks at the bottom of the trailer, making tying down the bikes an adventure in itself. It's now around 5pm or so...Michelle's waiting for me in Jacksonville with Tari (she doesn't have her own bike, but after hanging around us, she'll decide to get her own). FINALLY, my dad and I get the bikes loaded up, I get the hell out of New Bern.
So, I'm in a mad hurry to get to Jacksonville to pick up Michelle and Tari, but I'm hauling a trailer, so I can't go over 65, which turns out, isn't so bad, because I get there in the same amount of time as I usually do.
So, they're ready to load up their stuff, we put some of their luggage between the bikes for more security (I know, some really rigged shit, but hey, it worked). Now we're on our way to grand 'ole Myrtle Beach! Finally! Shit!
We approach the Atlantic Beach area around 10:30pm or so. Bikes are everywhere! And it's Thursday night, just the sound of the engines revving and zooming by are getting us so hype! We cannot wait to get these bikes off the trailer, but I'm starving, so we go to McDonald's, hey, I was desperate okay. I get my greasy food and we pull off, I'm making a right turn and my back trailer tire runs over the fuckin' curb! Fuck! We hear this loud boom in the back...shit! We're thinkin' one of the bikes done fell the fuck over...shit! Gotta pull into the crabby restaurant's parking lot to check things out...(you know, the restaurant with the huge crab above the front door) Anyway, I open up the trailer door, and everything is fine...whew! Close call.
We proceed down Highway 17/Kings Highway, all the way towards the Pavilion which is a block from our hotel. We get there, pull into the back of the parking lot to unload our bikes...which by now we're looking for some help, cuz we can't do it on our own, my bike is heavy as hell...not to some big, strong man, but I might drop that shit when backing it down a freakin' two by eight wooden board. Two Jamaican accented dudes help us, THANKS IF YOU'RE READIN' THIS BOYS! So, the bikes are off the trailers, start 'em up, rev the engines a little, everything seems in working order...
TO BE CONTINUED...