Racing the Train

The day was glorious!  One of those special days when you feel you are an integral part of your bike, Cheryl and I were sport touring Arizona’s high country on our Norton Commando.  We had ridden up to a small bed and breakfast the day before to celebrate our March 31st wedding anniversary.  Now, the next morning we were looking forward to a great day’s ride.  Usually we would be on our FLHTC dresser, but the Norton looked so forlorn we decided to simplify our packing and take it on the two-day trip.  And now, racing along an Arizona back road the Norton’s exhaust seemed to be bellowing Bach’s “Ode to Joy”.

We had just completed a great set of twisties and hit a long open stretch when I spied a train off to our left on a parallel course.  The big diesel’s throaty rumble seemed to meld with the sound of the Norton’s megaphones creating a throbbing I could feel in my chest.  It was great!  Cheryl and I had ridden this road many times and I knew the train was going to cross the road we were on about three miles ahead of us.  I thought about speeding up and beating it to the crossing when I noticed a strange car imbedded in a bunch of standard boxcars.  It had a steel arch in the middle of the car and the bottom of the car was open. I figured it might be some kind of track maintenance hoist car.

The arch-car car was almost directly next to us and just about a half-mile to our left when I tapped Cheryl on the leg and pointed to it.  She looked and yelled, “I see it.  What about it?”
I yelled back, “Think we could fit under it?”
“Under it?”  She yelled back.
“Yeah.  Under it.  At the crossing.”
Cheryl, being the kind, caring, gentle person she is quietly screamed, “You’re crazy!”
“I know that, do you want to try for it?”
There came a long, long, pause, and then, “Sure Why not?”

And that my friends, is why we’ve been together 24 years.

I began jockeying the Norton fore and aft, trying to pick the exact position to track the arch-car.  I figured we had about two miles to go and I wanted to be just slightly ahead of it when we got to the crossing.  That way I could do any last second adjusting with brakes rather than throttle.

My concentration was intense.  My heart seemed to be beating at the same RPM as the Norton’s engine.  Sweat formed on my brow and trickled down my face.  I knew I’d only get one chance at the arch-car; I had to make it perfect.

As we approached the crossing I saw the front of the train turn towards the road.  Something was wrong!  The train was slowing for the curve and I was way too far forward of the arch-car!  I stabbed at the brakes and the Norton dropped back fifty feet.

Suddenly the crossing was in front of us! I grabbed a handful of throttle and the Norton lunged right at the middle of the arch-car. Surrounded by the sound of tons of screaming steel on steel we shot into the small space!

It was over in an instant.  We were clear.  I felt Cheryl take a deep breath and realized I was holding mine also.  She started pounding on my back screaming, “We did it!  We did it!  It was perfect!”

I grinned from ear to ear. She was right; I had hit it perfectly. I looked into the Norton’s mirrors and watched the rest of the train fade out of sight as it crossed over the road, high up on the trestle bridge we had just ridden under.
Yeah, no doubt about it, considering it was April 1st we were a couple of real…April Fools!

Keep the rubber side down, the shiny side up, and Ride On!

Frank Del Monte is the author of Motorcycle Arizona!, a biker’s guide to our great state of Arizona, available through bookstores and Amazon.com. He also owns, a Motorcycle Electrical Systems Repair Shop in Phoenix.
 
Arizona Motorcycle Electrics, Inc.
602-647-2965 1429 E. Griswold Rd.  Phx.
AzGetWired.com