Your weirdest/creepiest experience while touring

[FJR1300]

Is it acorn? Hu I've been screwing that up most of my life!

The subject of eggcorns was first introduced on the Internet on September 23, 2003 by Mark Liberman on the website Language Log. He discussed the case of a woman who substitutes the phrase egg corn for the word acorn. Later on, the word egg corn or eggcorn (which in itself is an eggcorn) was suggested by Geoffrey K. Pullum to name such linguistic peculiarities.

[RowdyRed94]

Egg corn. LMAO! Great thread, btw.

I haven't had any runins with rednecks or shootouts at campgrounds, but I did have one hell of a harrowing ride through Canada in Summer '05. A buddy and I were running around Lake Superior, and we hit some major heat and road construction in Michigan. Having spent most of the afternoon resting and rehydrating, we found ourselves in Canadian moose country after dark. That's when I discovered the crappiness that is second-gen Bandit headlights. Weak and narrow was the name of the game. We rode identical bikes, so there was no advantage of one over the other.

I'd actually seen two moose as we were coming into sunset, so I was already on edge. Plus, we'd been so beat up from the heat that I was plenty fatigued. We stopped to gas up and drink fluids as the last light left the sky. We decided our best bet was to get behind a semi tractor for both light and protection. In about three hours that felt like a video game, we hugged as close as we dared, knowing full well that a moose that avoided the truck might well find us, and we'd never know what hit us. Shields splattered with bugs made it that much more difficult. At one point the pavement invisibly dropped away to gravel and my heart jumped out my throat. The smear it made on my visor blurred my vision even more.

Sometime after midnight we found our campground. After probably waking every other camper in the place, we got our tent set up by headlight and collapsed.

[Outrace]

Bought a TW200 just outside NYC a few years ago.  Rode it loaded back to Dallas.  Three 500 mile days.  On the third and final day, my arse was SORE and I did a lot of standing up on the pegs.  I'm on I-30 between Little Rock and Dallas when a soccermom passes me, then pulls in front of me, then slows down so I have to pass her again.  Wierd.

As a pass, she leans out the window and mouths "You lost your wallet!"

And sure as heck, my wallet isn't in my pocket.  So I shut the TW down, spin it around on the breakdown lane, and haul butt upstream on the hiway.

And there, about 3 miles back, was my wallet about 4 feet off the white line.  Wide open, cash strewn out next to it.  Credit cards asunder.  Only $20 blew away.  Everything else was still there.

Some people are decent.  If I could have caught her, I would have rewarded her nicely.  I couldn't see myself begging for $3.00 worth of fuel every 100 miles until I got home.

[falcofred]

Many years ago (pre internet) my Wife went home to visit family and I wasn't going to spend the weekend at home even though there was a hurricane in the Atlantic it was headed north. So I headed for the Blueridge Campground in NC from Marietta GA. It was raining slightly as I got into north GA. by the time I got to Hiawassee it was raining so hard I couldn't see. Every motel in town was full because of a fair in town. At one point the water in the road was over my foot pegs. I was desperate, I spotted a country store with a concrete slab along the front covered by a metal roof. There was a van parked under, and a bunch of good old boys sitting around the front door on milk crates and chairs. Like I said I was desperate enough to pull up next to the van under the roof. As I shut off the engine I heard them laughing, they ask me if it was wet out there. I dismountind and walked over asking them if they minded me parking there, Hell no they said, we don't mind sit down, take a load off. Even though they looked rough they were quite happy to have my company as they all new each other for years, and had heard all of each others tails of women, adventures, cars, etc. they were just happy to have some new stories they hadn't heard. I ended up camping right there on the porch, they even brought me microwave biscuts and coffee in the AM

[Razors]

When a buddy and I rode to California a few years ago, on the way back we stopped for a gas/pee break on the way home, somewhere in Arkansas.  The lady at the counter seemed nice.  I asked her where the restroom was and she told me out back.  I went back and as I opened the door to the back area there were about 6 or 7 large "good ole boy" types sitting there chatting it up.  They were boisterous and I could hear them even as I approached the door.  When they looked up and saw me coming through the doorway ALL conversation ceased.  It was as quiet as a library in there.  I went to the restroom, locked the door, did my business as fast as I could, and left as fast as I could, not even stopping to wash my hands.  I didn't run, nor did I even walk really fast, but I strode with a purpose.  When I got to the bikes I told my buddy Derick "If you're going to the restroom, go FAST and lets get out of here.  The guys in the back room made me VERY uncomfortable."  He lives in Kentucky, and so he thought maybe it was "city boy" jitters.  When he came out several moments later, walking with that same purposeful stride I had moments before, the look in his eye said enough.  He walked up, and said "Lets go.  NOW." I was already fully geared and ready to roll.  We pulled out of there and hit the interstate and didn't slip below 85 mph until we were nearly to Tennessee.  In case you're wondering, we're both black and they weren't.  that was about the most wierd/creepy/uncomfortable moment I've ever had riding.  

Squareman,,, just curious but why would you let your buddy go to the restroom and not give him any warning?   I would have punched my buddy in the face... the next county over.  I remember one time, my wife and I were south of the Arkansas state line, east of Eureka Springs. We (both white) stopped at this ham place and decided to go to the gift shop next door.  They were selling a bunch of tourist crap like shot glasses and dolls and other wooden clocks. My wife had and few things in her hands and I went to check out the knife selection. I was going to buy one until I saw a knife that had "KKK" on it and as well as a white hood on it.  I told my wife to put everything back. She wanted to know to why and I said just do it and I will explain later.  She was happy after I explained to her.  This was in the mid-90's.

[GTS_Rider]

Stopped in Browning Montana a few years back on the way back to Cali from one of the Banff runs. This is a depressed town on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Didn't really know any of this at the time.

We managed to find a decent motel and I went out in search of a sixer of brews to cap off the ride as my girlfriend stayed back to recover from a mild case of Hypothermia (we ran down there from Banff and it was more butt-ass cold than expect for an August run...).

There were a few scary-looking establishments on the main drag in town that advertised themselves as liquor stores. I manned-up and decided to have a look see inside one of them, after all ...only looking for a few brews, how bad could it be? Better to give your money to one of the local struggling mom and pop stores than the one supermarket in town, no?

Anyway, as I entered it was really dark inside but I could clearly see one big-ass male Indian giving me the stink-eye as soon as I entered. A female Indian (also big enough to kick my ass) was more in the foreground behind the counter and was seemingly chiding (her husband?) for his reaction to me as she probably saw my reaction to him. With the clear hatred of the white-man in the air, I quickly scanned the scene and saw my choice involved one of three six packs of budweiser parked in the glass doored fridges behind the counter.

I think I made a quick 'sorry to bother you' apology and bailed outta there. If I was more quick-witted and knew I was on a Blackfeet reservation at the time I would have mentioned I bought their pencils on the way out the door. (In grade-school in California, 1970's, we had big drives to buy pencils from the Blackfeet Indians, maybe rings a bell for others).

Anyway, it was wierd and creepy for me...



 

[Orson]

I wuz in Oregon once and the guy said I wuzn't allowed to fill up my tank  

[bikerdude55]

Ah this post brought back a lot of memories and I honestly can't categorize any experience on a motorcycle tour as a bad one but there have been some interesting ones...like touring the Owens Valley in California on my TransAlp. I was camped in Mammoth Lakes when about 1 am I heard the slam of dumpster lids and coolers being mauled as a bear raided the campground. I was the only fool sleeping in a tent. When I heard a bear sniffing round the outside of my suddenly very small shelter, I shoved on my helmet, grabbed a k-bar and prepared for mortal combat. The bear moved on but I slept in that Shoei the rest of the nite...

[bmwone]

 .... We pulled out of there and hit the interstate and didn't slip below 85 mph until we were nearly to Tennessee.  In case you're wondering, we're both black and they weren't.....

Oh yeah, things are SO much better in Tenessee ...... LOL!

[Magnarider]

Squareman,,, just curious but why would you let your buddy go to the restroom and not give him any warning?   I would have punched my buddy in the face...

 
Call me crazy but is sounded like he warned his buddy to me...

[Shastarider]

Got off HWY 96 and well...oooppss

[bmwone]

I wuz in Oregon once and the guy said I wuzn't allowed to fill up my tank  

Back in the early 80's when I lived in CA, my buddy and I were touring through Oregon on our way back from Canada. We had ridden a very long way that day, and came up to a motel with a nearly empty parking lot about 10 o'clock that night. The clerk took one look at our bikes (a brand new V45 Sabre and a 78 Suzuki GS750) and said "Sorry, no vacancy". I asked him about the 30 or so keys hanging neatly on hooks on the wall behind him. He explained that they were reservations. Yeah, right.

This forced us to ride about 25 miles through some hilly country on a road that has just been tar and gravelled. My buddy only had a dark face shield with him and that added to the drama. We ended up in some funky little town where the only motel we found had not a soul in the office when we walked in. All of a sudden, a rather portly woman came quickly down a ladder that obviously went up to the roof. She told us to "hang on a minute, I'm almost through in the weather station" and motioned for us to find something to read. She waved her hand towards a huge magazine rack full of hardcore porno mags. We sort of nodded and she disappeared back up the ladder.

In a minute or two she reappeared and informed us that the only room left only had one queen bed. We looked at each other with total exhaustion and said "I don't care" at the very same moment. I've never slept in the same bed with a man before or since.

[county]

I was on a county road in New Mexico once and as the moon came up I could see a pack of WereWolves off to my left running on an intersect trajectory with me.  I had no silver bullets for my pistol and had to rely on the throttle of the Blackbird.  

[Yamadog]

One evening on my very first trip to the Smokeys in 1979, we were in Cherokee NC and stopped to listen to a bluegrass band (I hate bluegrass but was overruled!). Anyway we listen for a bit and get ready to head back to Franklin; when we get to the motorcycles we find that one of the four had been knocked over off its center stand by some drunk locals. As we get closer, the owner who has a temper anyway, goes berserk and starts giving the locals the business. They inform us they have no insurance but OBTW have a gun, to let it drop, and get out of town. But our bud wouldn't let it drop. He finds a LEO and does a report--meanwhile the other three of us are keeping our eye out for what the drunks are up to next. By the time the uncomfortable situation finally concludes, we saddle up and once out of CHerokee, ride as fast as the four 750cc machines would go until safely out of range of the wreck the drunks were driving. Many laughs about that night for years, but it was semi scary at that time.  

[Scratch33]

Haven't had any really negative-weird stuff happen on my trips.  Have had some cool weird experiences though.  From my 2001 cross-country:

After lunch in Flagstaff, Pix and I parted ways.  He headed back Westward to San Diego, I headed East; with Albuquerque as my desired next Super 8 stop.   I eschewed main Interstate 40 in favor of a lesser-travelled desert road slightly north, which took me through a couple Indian reservations.  On some stretches of road where no one else was in sight, I opened it up just a tad.  

I think the high point of that day was riding along the desert and seeing a herd of horses up ahead grazing by the roadside.  As I approached, it became clear that it was a stallion accompanied by about 4-5 mares.  I slacked off the throttle a bit as I got nearer.  As soon as the stallion noticed me coming, he stopped grazing,  trotted confidently out into the middle of the road, stopped, and stood there defiantly until I slowed, then stopped dead about 30 feet away.  

He eyeballed me for a few moments until I respectfully asked permission to pass through (I didn't think blowing the horn would've swayed this guy at all).  Then he reared up, tossed his head, bodily shoved his main babe (who had trotted over to accompany him) back towards the shoulder, and led his brood off into the desert at a gallop.  Way Cool...

Also from 2001:

On my Elko to San Francisco leg, I rode through what appeared to be a military bombing/target range -- possibly Navy, as there was a mysterious sign right near a dirt off-road talking about a "U.S. Navy Centroid Facility" and how anyone who even stopped to read that sign could legally get shot at.   Cue the theme music from "X Files", please.

As I rode, I got brief glimpses (swear ta Gawd I did!) of a couple of those urban legendary "black helicopters" flitting in and around the mountain ranges.  No visible insignias, markings, etc.  at-all!!  

I kinda sped up and started jinking a bit after that...

[chornbe]

Dragon + BRP in 2006. I was sitting at the rest area on the BRP and three guys at the next table were going on and on about their jail time and court appearances. I didn't stick around very long after I finished eating.

[bdhszy1]

A couple of years ago,on a solo cross country trip,I stopped to camp at Fairfield lake S.P. in Texas.It was mid April and mid week so I was the only one camping in the whole park.Found a site with some pine trees and parked the bike behind them and pitched the tent along side it.A couple of times that night I saw headlights come through the campground real slow.Park rangers,desperadoes,who knows.

[Squareman357]

Squareman,,, just curious but why would you let your buddy go to the restroom and not give him any warning?   I would have punched my buddy in the face... the next county over.  I remember one time, my wife and I were south of the Arkansas state line, east of Eureka Springs. We (both white) stopped at this ham place and decided to go to the gift shop next door.  They were selling a bunch of tourist crap like shot glasses and dolls and other wooden clocks. My wife had and few things in her hands and I went to check out the knife selection. I was going to buy one until I saw a knife that had "KKK" on it and as well as a white hood on it.  I told my wife to put everything back. She wanted to know to why and I said just do it and I will explain later.  She was happy after I explained to her.  This was in the mid-90's.

LOL if you read the line where I spoke to him, you'll see I DID warn him.  I told him "If you're going to the restroom, go FAST and let's get out of here, the guys in the back room made me VERY uncomfortable."  He thought it was just city boy jitters and that it couldn't be that bad.  Then he went to the restroom.  When he came back he realized it WAS as bad as I thought it was, and we got out of there in a hurry.  Trust me, I wouldn't let him go in there without knowing what was going on.  He knew where we were, and that nothing really scare me (no man anyway), but for me to react that way, he knew WHY I was reacting that way.

[Squareman357]

Oh yeah, things are SO much better in Tenessee ...... LOL!

ROFLMAO!  Not necessarily that they were better, but we figured it would be FRESH pursuit from Tennessee and not the good ole boys from Arkansas on our tail.

[Ralf]

my choice involved one of three six packs of budweiser

This has got to be one of the creepiest things I have ever read