Key West Blues – Second Act

So we find open spots in motorcycle parking in front of the old town hall, just down the street from Sloppy Joe’s. It’s mostly mopeds, a few motorcycles and we’d parked there before. This works. Stow our gear and head over to Hog’s Breath for a cold one, a bit of lunch and a lot of entertainment. This was supposed to be a day trip, so we head back to the bikes after lunch. G: “what the h*ll, why’s my mirror cocked like this?” Me: “Did you bump it on the way out?” G: “No, and take a look at your seat and gas tank – someone went between our bikes with something sharp.” Me: “My sexy seat – it’s ruined. That kind of tear means I’ll have to get it re-covered. Damn, I’ve only had it a few months. And that gouge in the gas tank goes down to the metal.” We’re still trying to figure out why someone would go between the bikes – especially since they were on the end of the row. Couldn’t walk around? Probably some drunken fool with no sense.

After that shock we go to fire up the bikes and Iron Pony refuses to start. This is not funny – AAA coverage is only 100 miles, we’re 180 miles from home and G has a flight back to NC tomorrow morning. Guess again. Sure glad we asked our pet sitter to check in on the dogs for us since we would get home late. Seriously though, road coverage for the bikes was the best investment we made this year. Whether with AAA or some other company, get it – it’s paid for itself two times over so far.

Waiting for the tow truck to arrive, we evaluate our options. Can we tow it all the way home? Probably not since the towing company is local. Can G ride bitch all the way home? Really? Does the tow company have a secure lot we can leave the bike overnight? We’ll have to get a rental car. Do I ride my bike home alone in the dark or leave both bikes and drive together in the rental car?

When the tow truck arrives, we make arrangements to leave both bikes in their storage area. Here’s where you gotta love the kindness of strangers. They let us leave the bikes overnight free of charge. Plus they gave us a phone number to call so someone could unlock the gate when we brought my bike back after getting the rental car and the next day when we returned with the trailer.

And G actually does ride bitch on my bike for the first time ever to get the rental car.  You know, you see a lot of weird stuff in Key West, but I think this was over the top for a lot of people – it’s not every day you see a guy riding behind a woman on a motorcycle – we sure got a lot of second looks. So glad we decided not to do that all the way home!

Rental car secured and Pearl tucked up next to Iron Pony in the lot, we (finally) head home.

One of my most sacred beliefs is that everything happens for a reason and this was no different. It just took another 24 hours to understand why…