Day 293 Tue 23rd August Childress to Denison 472km

The two surgeons managed  seal the leak on the radiator and then they wanted to re-fill the radiator with Anti-freeze, but to get to the radiator filler cap the entire fuel tank had to be loosened and moved sideways to get to the top of the radiator. And when they filled it they realised that only 2lt of fluid went into the radiator, Dr. Google told them it needs to take 3tl of fluid. So the big disagreement between the two Dr.s had to be settled with a chat to Professor You Tube :

After the repair when the protective cover for the radiator was put back the two Dr.s discovered that the cover can be adjusted further away from the radiator, mine was not adjusted away from the radiator and therefore it rubbed against the radiator causing the leak. I would think that KTM would have done this when the bike was serviced with them, but, sadly in America KTM Dealers only do what you ask them to do and don’t even look at anything else. All the bikes were checked and all the protective covers had to be adjusted as they were also rubbing against the radiators.

Below the protective cover on Dr. Milsy’s bike is being adjusted:

This morning we left at 7h30 and my Plan C was secured on my seat, (some radiator fluid to top up should I get a small leak again.) Plan B was the bottle of “Stop Leak” I bought yesterday, its a fluid with flakes in that you add into the radiator to be pushed against the hole from the inside and hopefully stop the leak.

Plan C :

We were soon on the gravel road, but yesterday it rained 3 inches and the fields of the farmers were drenched. Early into the gravel the road surface changed and it became soft and muddy and we decided to turn around, and then we got stuck.

But Peens who just fitted Mud\Sand Tyres in Colorado Springs decided to continue and did not turn around. He was last seen headed into this direction and we have not heard of him and he is not answering his phone and we don’t know where he is or if he is even OK ??

The arrow points to the direction Peens disappeared into, never to be seen or hear of again :

Milsy was in charge of the navigation today and he was determined not to climb onto a big road and wanted to stay on the Country Roads the entire day. We passed many small towns and by mid morning we crossed into the State of Oklahoma.

Uncle Bob rode Rocky’s bike for the morning.

By 11h00 Milsy wanted Ice-cream and we stopped again at this store.

The towns we were passing through were getting more and more depressed, I suspect Covid must have done some damage and many shops were To Let and houses empty and dilapidated. Oklahoma was showing signs of problems. In one of these towns I found the winner for the competition “How Clean Is My Porch.” And the winner is:

On the positive side, at least the stuff is not being stolen.

But then we crossed into Texas again and you can see the difference. We followed the Red River and were riding close to it, but in a straight line, for a long time today. I started seeing lots of road-kill, so many that there was not a crow at some of them. I never look at road-kill and look the other way when I pass road kill, but then I started seeing stones in the road, and as I passed the 2nd stone I noticed that it was a Tortoise as I saw its head pull back into its shell. I stopped and placed it in the grass on the opposite side of the road. Many more followed, I must have moved 4 tortoises today. But then a saw one’s feet and it looked webbed as it was making its way over the road. I think they were turtles???? As we were next to the river they might have come onto land to avoid the strong flow of the river  with the heavy rains yesterday. Or, if they are tortoises, maybe they got flooded in the fields as all of them were covered in mud. And then I started looking at the road-kill and saw that they were all little tortoises  that were crushed while trying to cross the road, I counted at least 10 of them, crushed, poor buggers.

We were told it was going to be a boiling hot ride from Colorado down to Houston, but so far we have been riding at 22,5 Degrees for two days now. But there has been major rain and we were lucky to have rain clouds above us for two days now but with no rain. That changed today, out came the Rain Jackets, for the 1st time on this Leg.

My day was going nicely, DaddAss was not leaking and life was good. But then Milsy took us on the Turnpike (major highway,) for only about 20km, and that is when it happened. I got stuck behind a Cattle Truck transporting cattle, it was overtaking another slower truck and was in the fast lane, so as it started moving over after overtaking, I was right up behind it and to its left, and at that exact time the road was banked slightly and all the Pee and Poo from the cattle ran out a pipe on the side of the truck and got sprayed like a shower onto me, I saw the yellow liquid come out of the truck and did not react fast enough, only when my right leg and helmet got sprayed and I smelled what it was did I brake. Now my riding pants and boots are definitely being throw away when I get to Houston.

Then we got to Denison to Pie’s little Studebaker museum. There were several cars in the old building, they were all 100% restored and all of them were running, we were told another three were being restored at another building up the road, (very close to the house President Eisenhower was born in, also a museum that we could have visited.) The cars he has there were truly exquisite.

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Below: Pie has one of these in Johannesburg which he has been restoring for many years, it was in a fire and he imported it to South Africa as a wreck, but today the body has been restored and painted yellow, the motor is ready and I think it is only the upholstery he is waiting for. Look at the curve of its Grill, lovely lovely car.

Above and Below is the same car as the one we went to look at the other day, the Four Seasons (had windows that could close, could drive the car in all 4 seasons.)

As our friend Pie was already back in Johannesburg and could not stop us, Milsy took this old lady for a ride. He did scratch it while trying to get her out the building, but he shared a room with Pie this whole trip and Pie is not an easy room-mate, so Milsy was there for him every morning at 3h00 to listen to Pie’s stories when he could not sleep, so Pie have no right to be angry with Milsy.

Pie has always had a good eye for property, (that is why I am his friend and why we were business partners for many years, my eyes see nothing, he is a spotter.) He bought the empty building in the Historic Down Town of Denison many years ago, when there were many empty buildings and it was severely depressed I am told. But over the years his neighbors fixed their building, then another building was restored, and slowly but surely Main Street became popular again and there is now a vibe in this street, most buildings are now let and fixed-up. The building across the street was built in 1891 and the 1st building in the USA that had 3 floors was just down the road, later the municipality said the top floor had to be taken down as it was too dangerous to have three floors, so lots of history in this town.

We were told by Mike who’s wife has a business across from Pie’s Studebaker Museum, that Dr. Holiday once walked on the very street we were standing on. And  gangsters like Bonny and Clyde would come to Denison and hide, and if they hear the police were on their way they would simply cross the Red River into Oklahoma and then it would be another State and it would take time before the police of that state hear they are there, then they would just cross back into Texas. This Down Town area is busy being revived and it is thanks to people like Pie who took a chance and got the ball rolling on up-lifting this historic section of Denison. Pie’s Museum can be viewed by arrangement but it is open to the public free of charge on special holidays like the 4th of July and a few other days.

In the area of Denison there is a lot to do and see, like the KATY Railroad Museum, and Perrin Field Museum, one can also drive over the Lake Texoma dam wall on your way to view this lake, and with a lake comes Water Sports and Fishing etc. so watch this space, Denison might be a very desirable destination in the not too distant future.

Tomorrow we head for Dallas, Peens, should he arrive, he wants to go there to a special shop where he can buy molds so that he can cast his own Fishing Lures. But at the same time we are going past KTM as Rocky’s back tyre is not going to make it to Houston as planned, already canvas showing at one place on the tyre. We are also being joined by Misy’s lovely and delightful daughter for the last few days of this Leg, she is flying in from New Orleans where she is a student tomorrow at Noon, so after KTM its off to the airport and then we plan to see a Rodeo and some Cowboy Action in Fort Worth.

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Fleisch