Post Cannonball - Day 6 (23rd Day of Riding)

July 21st, 2016

North Sioux City, SD to Independence, MO (294 Miles)

I think we are starting to wear out.

But that being said, we got on the road early to try and beat the heat.  It's another day with a high heat advisory and we have close to 500 miles left to get to Arkansas.

Knowing I needed the different year brake pads, the Home Support Team (HST) made some calls and found a set in St. Joseph, MO.

So we rode on.  

The scenery was a little more diverse in Missouri.

We got to the Honda shop and procured the pads.  It was close to noon so there was not much shade to be found around the shop.  We did locate a tree in the parking lot of a nearby mall and 20 minutes later, the pads were installed and we were ready to roll again.

Or we should have been.

Getting off the highway and driving to the Honda shop, I felt the handling of the scooter was "very off."  In the little drive through the mall parking lot, it went from "very off" to "what the hell is wrong."  A quick inspection showed my rear tire developing a large bubble.  It's been 7500 miles or so, and there was enough tread left to easily make Arkansas where I have a new Bridgestone in the garage waiting to replace the spent one from the Cannonball.

I think this is natures way of trying to keep me out on the road.

So the HSTs got back on the phone and found a Yamaha shop with 3 different brands of this tire size just 5 miles away.  What luck.  

By the time we got to the shop, there was a second visible bubble and as the tire was mounted, I guess a third one was popping up on the inside. I wish I would have thought of taking a picture before leaving but this tire was probably within 10 miles from bursting.  The heat and straight interstate riding are taking a toll on the equipment.

I do want to mention that this is an old school motorcycle shop and I felt right at home.  This isn't one of the new shops with carpet and neon, but one that has a stack of parts (some covered with dust) and gojo with hand brushes in the washroom to deal with real grease.  The proprietor let us use a side garage bay to take off the tire so we could get out of the sun.  Thanks McBride's Yamaha, you get a 5 star recommendation.

Another picture of a tireless scooter:

By the time we got there, there was a second visible bubble and as the tire was changed, I guess a third one was popping up on the inside.

This tire was probably within 10 miles of bursting.  

So once the new tire was on, it was now mid afternoon and into the full heat of that advisory I mentioned earlier.  We rode the last 60 miles to Independence, MO and checked into a hotel.  The air conditioning is running full blast and I think we are finally comfortable.  It really was the smart thing to do in breaking up this last leg into two sections as we are wearing out just as much as the equipment is.

And today's map

Tomorrow, 189 miles to home.