So How's It Going?

I almost quit the second day. 

And the third day. 

If you know me well enough to be here reading this, you know this isn't my first time out of the neighborhood on a motorcycle. Although it is a completely new setup, which is adding some adventure to my adventure, I pretty much know what to expect out on the road. I also know that everything's going to hurt at some time or another. Especially at my age. On my last trip back from Texas, however, I developed what I call a Vulcan nerve pinch in my left shoulder. When not riding, it tends to come and go, but it has quickly come back with a vengeance and is moving all around that neck/back/shoulder area. I tried everything to prepare, including scheduling a massage for the Monday before I left. Ultimately, I believe that probably only aggravated it.  It was stinging and burning literally before I got halfway across Pennsylvania, and by the time I got off the bike I couldn't stand it. The next morning was cool and wet, and while that's a different post, that combination always leads to more muscle tension and less physical freedom of movement. Before I even got to lunch in Illinois, it had me seriously questioning why someone would do this.  And then...  

After clearing Chicago, I started to develop a sting in my right shoulder in the exact spot this one started. Now, I've been doing everything I can to favor my left side and do everything with my right, leaving it hang by my side, draping it across the bars etc. Also, I have a crude throttle lock mechanism to relieve cramping, and allow for short periods of repositioning,  but my right shoulder is basically always in use.  If that's going to end up the same way, this ain't going to work. Not for another 26 days, anyway.

I immediately got off the tollway and pulled into a gas station,  plunked my ass down at a little table, stared at the damp and dreary sky, and contemplated my existence. It was not promising. I whipped out my phone, and found a tiny little diner a few miles down lonely old US 20. (road tripping sure has changed a lot over the years).  I walk in, and the place looked like it would hold about 20 people and 18 of them were already there. All the windows are open, and a little fan was doing its best to keep the air moving. I sat at the counter, was greeted by waitress who surely was named Flo, and ordered up a nice full house breakfast with corned beef hash on the side. It reminded me of the answer to my earlier question.

I decided to continue until the end of the day and see what happened. If my right shoulder was going to be a problem, that was going to be it. I would baby it the best I could, and hope for the best.