Tennessee Traumas

Another long day, too long really, and I'm aiming not to repeat being on the road for pretty much twelve straight hours! I made it to Nancee's place just south of Nashville, after riding a long day in heavy traffic on the Interstate 81/40. The circumnavigation around the city of Knoxville was particularly hair-raising, and the freeway was five lanes wide in places there. I was pretty relieved to put that behind me! By the end of the day I was exhausted, reaction times probably at zero, and luckily Nan came out to get me from where I'd pulled off at the Kangaroo gas station north of Murfreesboro, so I could follow here to her house (which I was otherwise unlikely to find through a combination of exhaustion and it going dark, and her living on a back country road). It took her a long time to find me though, and by the time she did I was on the tail end of my very last reserves of energy. Riding behind her pick-up, following her home, I genuinely felt that I was putting myself at serious risk by riding so tired, and I never want to feel like that again. A freak, five-minute downpour had caught me, earlier in the day, too, which led to a bit of a "whoops!". I'd come off the freeway to find shelter and get my rain grear on, and just as I was pulling into a gas station, down we both went, bike and rider, on an oil slick heading into the entrance-way. BOOM! No warning. Never saw THAT one coming!!! I was nearly stopped by that time, so no harm was done, apart from a slightly skewed handlebar and light sprain on my right ankle, but it taught me something about maneouvering in the wet at low speed with a heavy load on. Even after the fact, while I was riding out of there a few minutes later, I felt the slippery surface snatching at the wheels, it was like riding on an ice rink, and it made me wonder how many other bikes had gone down there, and likely would, before the day was out. I just didn't see the oil thru the pouring rain, no way I could have.
It was great to see Nan, and I wasn't at my best, (read - on the verge of exhausted hysteria at the prospect of having to ride any further) but she hugged me anyway and escorted me home, where I collapsed in an uncommunicative heap. I dredged up enough energy to unpack the bike, had a bath and a half hour chat with Nan before I literally lost the ability to function and crawled off to bed. I'm going to be here for a few days, just to recharge, rest the little ankle - which isn't swollen but throbs like an SOB - and give the bike the once-over before continuing on to Arkansas. I've been promised a shopping day with Nan and her daughters. Mental note to injured little self - remain sitting down while trying on shoes!