Alabama on a Buell - Oct. 2008

I did it because it was there to be done, Houston, Texas, to Wedowee, Alabama, in a day, on a bike that was primarily designed for city riding. The Buell XB9SX Lightning does not lack in power, it has so much it's almost a lethal weapon, brilliant handling, agile, smooth, aggressive, with acceleration that will give many a Jap rice-burner a run. What it does lack is a comfortable seat, especially when one is planning on riding 780miles (1250kms) in a day. She never missed a beat, ate up the miles hour after hour. I sat on 80-90mph for most of the journey, so easy to do with a hot 984cc twin-V roaring below. The hardest thing at times was keeping the speed down, the ton comes up real quick, so would the State Troopers I should imagine.

I set out from Roy St at just after 4.00am, a cold dark Texas morning. I was warm in my riding gear so the temp. was never an issue but I soon realised that while I was warm, the clothing I had on wasn't comfortable, it was too tight and restrictive. I think one of the main causes for my sore, and later, numb bum was the wrong choice of pants. From this experience I've learnt that specially designed riding clothes are worth every penny. Anything that can be done to the seat, be it gel pads, sheep skin and/or replacing it with a purpose design touring seat is well advised.


However, the experience of racing east on I10 was worth every bit of discomfort. On a bike you see things differently than when travelling in a car, the scenery seems larger, the trees taller, the rivers wider, the bridges longer, the skies bluer. This is a beautiful country, on a bike it's even more so.


Unfortunately by the time I rode through Alabama it was getting dark, the east central region is spectacular, forested rolling hill country. I missed it all as I headed north on I65 from Mobile to Montgomery, then east on I85 to Auburn, Gayle's college town. At this point my bum was seriously numb, I was feeling cold and very tired. But Wedowee was only an hour away and I wasn't about to give up. My final stop was at a McDonalds restaurant in Roanoke, another pit stop, mere minutes from the Haynes family farm house.


Fifteen hours on the road, 780 miles on the clock, I turned into the stone driveway at the farm to be met by my dear wife - Gayle had flown over during the day - she was so glad to see me. I think I was her hero at last. Gloria, Gayle's elder sister, on the other hand just stood there and said, "You're crazy, I never thought you'd actually attempt it". I went to bed that night sore, tired, my ears ringing from the ride, but with a little smile of satisfaction, I'd done something special.


Next morning I was up early for a short drive in the family car to Roanoke. I had been asked to be at Eagle 102.3 WELR, the regional country music radio station at 6.3o, where Al Haynes, Gayle's elder brother, is the news anchor and sometimes breakfast host. Several years ago Al was hugely popular in the east Alabama west Georgia area, his is a wonderful story. This particular morning Al wanted to interview me live on air, so I had my first experience of being on the radio, it was a lot of fun.


Four days later I was once again on the road, west on I20. I overnighted in Shreveport, Louisiana, no need to prove again just how tough my bum was. Kind of like climbing Everest a second time, why? Just west of Shreveport I left I20 and made a diagonal for Carthage, Texas. From there it was an easy run south on 59 to Houston. I pulled into the driveway just on midday.


The Buell was running better than ever, the 1600 miles (2550kms) had done her good. Not a rattle or a squeak, not a hint of trouble, a great machine, I love that bike. I determined, however, that if I want to tour this continent on two wheels I had better get a bike designed for touring. With that in mind I set about finding one, but that's another story for another day.