Road Trips: Memphis TN to Little Rock Arkansas (Day 5)

Continuing on Route 40 from Memphis, Tennessee to Little Rock, Arkansas was a major challenge. Not only were we trying cut through Arkansas to get to tornado country Oklahoma City, we had to deal with the wind and rain generated by severe weather headed our way. There were so many 18 wheelers on the road, overtaking them one after the other was kind of nightmarish for a novice rider, but there is very little time to process any kind of fear when you are riding to stay alive. These types of situations is where I felt I was really living in the present, cause nothing else really mattered. What mattered was my instinct to be in the moment, focusing on riding my imaginary line on the road, ignoring the trucks to my right while getting blown away, sucked in, and blown away each time I pass them.

Fear of riding in the rain starts with, thinking that the road is too slippery for my tires, I’m gonna slide if I make one wrong move with the brakes or handle bars. What’s up with my visibility? I can barely see, I can’t see far ahead anymore, the rain drops on the outside of my visor, moisture and condensation fogging up in the inside of my visor, then my favorite, water getting spray blasted on me from the tires of those 18 wheeler trucks, all together, it comes down to about 15-25% visibility on a wet, cold, and windy road while riding at about 85mph/136kmh, hell for a novice rider.

Cold conditions causes the body tense up, despite the all weather gear meant to keep me warm, I was pretty cold. Fighting the cold takes up mental space and physical energy, but with enough focus I was able to detach myself from my frozen bones, until about 80miles into the ride, I felt water leaking into my crotch area. Did I piss on myself? Why are my nuts soaked in freezing water? Damn, this is messing up my body’s ability to generate heat. The most likely cause, is that I did not fully zip up my pants. As I result we decided to check into Rodeway Inn, to chill and rest up for the following day.