As some of you that were there may have heard, one of the riders had a mishap. Unfortunately, these things happen and are sometimes unpredictable. This time it happened to me. I'll replay what happened to those that are curious.
It was a
beautiful Sunday afternoon as we were riding south on I-55, south
of Chicago, a few miles north of I-80 when I felt a problem. My
trusty 
96 CBR 600 F3 had suddenly
started to feel unstable, as if riding on gravel. I gradually
started to slow down in hopes that it was just a side effect of
the speed I was traveling. I won't say how fast I was going since
I don't know who is reading and whether I could get a ticket
after the fact. I finally got to the ramp that leads to I-80
West, and as I attempted to turn through the curve I was having
serious problems leaning the bike at only 35 mph. When I pulled
over to the shoulder that's when I knew what the problem was; the
familiar wroble-wroble sound of a flat tire could now be heard.
Once I stopped, all remaining air escaped in a quick burst that
signaled the end of my happy day.
In an attempt to get back to riding, I called around for a motorcycle shop that could repair or replace my tire. After several tries I got the number to a Harley-Davidson shop that was about a mile from where I was stranded. I called this shop, Biker's Dream, and they appeared to be able to help me and would send a tow, until I told them I was riding a Honda sport bike. At that point he told me he couldn't help me and couldn't tell me who could. Not even the name of a company who could tow my bike. Disappointed that that's the way it has to be, I shook it off and was happy that my tire didn't shred or blow out and cause me to lose it. I waited on that shoulder for another two hours or so until Felipe and Fred could come back from Starved Rock and load my disabled bike onto the truck. My bike was now a passenger for the next few hours.
Rumors of me falling were exagerated. It was only a flat tire, and I had it replaced the next day. My bike is good as new!
Once I got to Starved Rock, I was disappointed to find out that a large number of riders had already left. It was only 3pm!
I'd like to thank those that stopped to make sure I was alright, Richardo, Claudia and Jacob their passangers, and my brother Ernie, sister in law Rosie, and my nephew Matthew. Ernie, Rosie and Matthew kept me company on the shoulder until Felipe and Fred returned.
Also to Fred, for letting me get another dose of riding when he let me ride his bike from Starved Rock to Summit, and letting me find out what it feels like to wheelie at um....55 mph on the Expressway.