Bruce charges through the United States.
Back on familiar ground, Bruce makes use of every minute in America…
Since leaving Australia I’ve had one thing on my mind. No, not that. OK, I’ve had two things on my mind, one of which was getting to the States. It’s not the end, far from it, but after so long in the ‘wilderness’ of the world, I couldn’t wait to get to something I was used to.
Crossing into Texas from Mexico, I arrived in a climate more akin to the north east of Scotland than the deserts of Texas. I was bloody freezing, with every bit of warm clothing I had already on my person. The States has gone through the coldest winter since records began in places, with snow even coming right down to the southern reaches of Texas. Relieved to be on familiar ground again, I let my guard down as I crossed the border, braking fairly hard on a slip road. The front wheel just slid on the grit that had been laid down and before I knew what was going on I was sliding down the road on my left hand side once again. Bollocks.
Luckily there was no other traffic around, but I was trapped under the bike for a short time as I struggled to lift her off my leg. Unfortunately, I’d snapped the left rearset off in the crash, so had to hold my leg out for the next few hours ride into San Antonio…
I found a major bike dealership there called ‘Alamo Cycle Plex’ (www.alamocycleplex.com) so I popped in to see if they could help. I
I let my guard down and the front just slid from under me...”
needed a fresh set of Bridgestone T30s, a full service and now a replacement footpeg, so expected this to take a few days while they ordered and sourced bits. But as luck would have it, the folks there were awesome. Initially it looked like they’d have to order in the rearset, meaning a wait of up to five days, but later announced they’d just opened up a brand new box out of their warehouse and taken one off a mint Gixer 1000 for me! What stunning service. I had the Beast back in my grubby mitts by the end of the day...
Boot Camp...
My mate Luigi had tweeted Colin Edwards to say I’d be rolling into town on my trip, and would you Adam ‘n’ Eve it, he only went and replied, saying I should stop by his ‘Texas Tornado Boot Camp’. So, I did! To be fair I knew Colin was out in Sepang for the final stages of testing that week, so didn’t expect him to spend his first weekend back home with me, but I thought I’d stop by the camp and check it out anyway. Riding up the long drive to the ranch, straight away the air is filled with screaming engines, the smell of fuel and BBQ meat! The first chap I met was one of the instructors, Steve Bodak, who gave me the warmest of Texan welcomes. Despite not knowing anything about my visit, he invited me in to the camp and I soon had a beer in hand while being introduced to everyone there. As luck would have it, Colin had apparently mentioned that I may stop by to his family, and they were incredibly hospitable.
While out on one of the circuits, I was
chatting to some of the lads when I got a tap on the shoulder. I turned round and was met by a guy in jeans, t-shirt, baseball cap and shades. He held out his hand and said, “You gotta be Bruce, right?” Holy crap, it was only Colin Edwards! I felt like a dizzy schoolgirl. The man is every bit as down to earth as he appears on the telly. There are no airs or graces, he says what he thinks and is just one of the lads. I spent a long time chatting with his dad, Colin Snr, about my travels around the world as he too has done some traveling during his career in the oil industry. That night we even got to celebrate ‘Jnr’s’ 40th birthday with some of the best BBQ meat I’ve ever tasted. If you’ve ever thought about doing the camp, I couldn’t recommend it enough and I’m saving up for it once I get back to work. More info at texastornadobootcamp.com.
Fresh kit
I headed straight to LA to meet some mates for a few days, before heading back to Houston, Texas, where I was to meet my sponsor, Delta Energy Services. Along the way I stopped at the famous meteor crater for a few pics, then again in Albuquerque to meet another chap who is following me on the Facebook page. Next up was a quick stop over in Dallas to see my mates from Uni that I’d not seen since their wedding back in 2000. Gordy and Suzanne had just moved to Dallas from Minnesota, but Gordy was already up to speed with the local watering holes and nightlife. It was real ‘guuuuuuuuddddd’...
Houston was my next port of call and I spent four days there with Delta (www.des-global.com). They’d very kindly supplied me with another suit as the original one was now in tatters, and not exactly a social hit due to being worn by a fat Scotsman in up to 51 degree heat every day for the last year and a half! Feridax UK had also kindly supplied some new kit so I was shining and smelling like new once more.
Delta had kindly also arranged for some media attention while there so I was interviewed by a local online magazine, and also live by FOX News on their Saturday morning brekkie show! After that it was off to the rodeo, but not just any old rodeo. Nope, this was the largest rodeo event in the world, ‘Rodeo Houston’ – now these lads have big bollocks!
Drive by shooting
Leaving Houston I headed to New Orleans to meet up with Kriega USA. First off had to be Bourbon St, which ended in a drunken mess once more. Next day I met a chap called Chris Bishop who has also been following on
Facebook. He and his family lost everything during the horrific flooding which followed the hurricane that struck a few years back. He took me to where his home once stood, talked about the communities that flourished there, how they pulled together and rebuilt. It was a pleasure to spend a few hours in his company.
After riding by a shooting in the street(!) I was soon back on the road, next destination the fabulous ‘Barber Motorsports Museum and Racetrack’ in Alabama. This place has the greatest collection of vintage and modern motorcycles and cars on the planet, with over 1,200 currently in the collection. I’d arranged to meet another chap who’s following the trip here at the museum, so after a few hours walking around, Jon Wilkens and I were making our way to the Talladega Superspeedway – shake and bake!
A big deal
Generally the roads in the USA have been nothing special bikewise, but that changed as I got into the Deep South, with Georgia and North and South Carolina all containing simply awesome roads. John had been incredibly kind and got me a new front wheel for the bike, so changed it in his man cave. This place was better equipped than some dealerships, complete with Fast Bikes centrefolds adorning the walls! He’s another avid Stateside reader, with editions going back many years still stacked up all over his beautiful house. And no wonder the Beast had
”The roads have been nothing special, that changed in the deep south... ”
been handling like a pig, the buckle was huge, over 10mm travel!
We were soon heading to the famous ‘Tail of the Dragon’ at Deal’s Gap in Tennessee. This place needs no introduction, but I will anyway! 318 curves in 11 miles, it’s biking heaven and every bit as good as its reputation. Without doubt, one of the greatest motorcycle roads in the world. In fact, you can’t go wrong anywhere around US129, just about every road reveals sections of curves and twisties.
The new wheel made a huge difference, it felt like it would stick to the road and not just fly off to the side at any minute. That was right up until I braked, then all hell broke loose! Turns out the discs are also warped, causing a severe juddering any time the brakes are applied. Ach well, braking’s for HarleyDavidson riders anyway, eh!
End in sight...
Next stop was Daytona Beach in Florida and after the delights of the mountains in the Deep South, the roads in Florida are quite a contradiction. Flat, featureless and very straight. I rode to the tip of the American continent in Key West, got the obligatory snap, then rode back up to Miami where I was to meet my mates for a stag do, organised to coincide with my visit. Happy days indeed.
From Miami I’ve ridden up to New York where I’m meeting the Missus for a week or so. Next step for me is Boston, Indianapolis, Chicago, then up to Deadhorse, Alaska. From there I ride back to Toronto, then down to NYC again to catch a flight over to Ireland around the 16th May. Then it’s the TT, and I get back to London and finish on the 12th June at 2pm – feel free to come and join me for the last leg!
318 curves in 11 miles – deal’s gap in tennessee is biking heaven!”
Want to Join me for the final ride home?
My plan is to start at Silverstone at 11am on the 12th June, get the final MotoGP circuit picture, then ride back to the Cenotaph in London, arriving there for 2pm. If you’d like to join me for all, or part of the ride, it’d be great to have you along. Just drop me a line either on the Facebook page, or via info@teapotone.com.