Today was the Tuckasee Harley Ownership Group (HOG) Mystery Ride. When we were all told that we were riding to Jackson, TN and the Casey Jones Museum we were very excited. We have been through Jackson dozens of times but and never stopped at the Casey Jones site. Like my better half, Terri said, its been on the bucket list for a while. The sun was out, it's in the 70's it's going to be a good day to be on a motorcycle.
Spring in Tennessee is something to behold, the air is crisp and fresh, the trees are in the middle of leafing out. All is right in the world. The ride to Jackson was a moment where the only place you wanted to be was on a motorcycle. It's was a 3-hour ride to Jackson with a group of about 20 bikes. It was a great ride full of sweeping turners that were fun for a large group of riders. Casey was forever immortalized by the song Ballad of Casey Jones. Casey died doing what he loved best, being a railroad engineer.
He died when he crashed his train into the rear of a stalled freight train on the track in Mississippi. He had a perfect record of never having his train arrive behind schedule. So when his passenger train left the station in Memphis over 75 minutes late, he knew he had time to make up. Too bad, there was a freight train stalled on a blind corner, with the training reaching speeds of up to 75 MPH there was no time to stop. 
He did manage to warn all his passengers and reduce the train to 35 MPH before the crash, which saved everyone but him. He was the only one to die on that fateful run. He died in search of perfection, and there is a lesson in there for us motorcycle riders. Just like driving a train, us motorcyclist must know our limits and expect the unexpected. We must never ride faster than the conditions allow and we must understand our distance limits. An early stop for the evening might save your life.
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