This tour has been in the planning stages for a couple of weeks and with a bit of luck, I'll actually be on my way soon. The tour will take place from September 22 through October 2 and should span roughly 2,000 miles. I plan to vist bro Jack in Gaithersburg, MD and then push on to Victor, NY where I grew up and still have family, including my Mom and brother Ron and sister Sara. This is my very first motorcycle tour and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to considerable pre-ride jitter. However as several friends have said, all that goes out the window as soon as I let the clutch out.
I really cannot wait to get rolling.
Please feel free to comment...I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Through out the night, we received good news...and bad news. Most of Georgia is stuck in a nasty prolonged drought and the pastures at our farm bear testament to the fact that we have had very little rain this summer...not to mention months of 90 degree days. Our grass is stunted and brown, punctuated by an occasional weed that thinks this drought is a good thing, as it springs upward and ahead of its thirsting neighbors. So when I finally heard thunder and strong rain last night, my reaction was mixed...great for the land, bad for the tour.
By 8:00AM this morning, the rain returned and brought it's cousin, Mr. Fog, with it. Rain I can handle, fog is another matter. So as of right now, the tour is on a weather hold, while I ponder my options. The thought of low visibility on the Blue Ridge Parkway chills my enthusiasm considerably.
A quick read of the weather map reveals a band of strong thunderstorms moving northeasterly along my planned route. The option of getting ahead of it has passed, so I think my best option (other than ride in a T-storm) is to give it a couple of hours to run it's course and then start as planned. Hopefully, another front doesn't happen along. We'll see.
EDIT: Wow...it's taken me six days to be able to update this. I've had major headaches trying to do much using my iPad and finally broke down and bought a new Macbook last night. Probably gave up on the iPad, but it was just too different than what I'm used to. Now I can make some progress with this blog....assuming I can remember anything.
I decided to pay close attention to the Weather.com radar map. It has a nifty feature that shows their "forecast" of what the radar map is going to look like in 15 minute increments and I was able to predict that by leaving at 11:00AM I would miss all of the storm that was running through north Georgia and western NC. Turns out that it worked perfectly...I stayed dry and happy as the storm front plodded along in front of me. Blue skies threatened all afternoon...it was a great day to be riding a sport touring bike.
As I rolled out onto the road that runs by the farm I decided to swing into the neighbor's to say good bye. Betty, a spry woman in her seventies, came out to greet me and hear my plan. This woman doesn't mince her words and quickly asked, "Bob, you got a gun?".
I said, "No Betty, I'm afraid I'd shoot someone. You carry a gun?"
She smiled and said, "Yup".
"Is it loaded?"
"Yup"
"You keep it in your truck?"
"Yup".
People, here's some free advice...don't cross this woman. She will absolutely shoot your ass.
The first hundred miles rolled by quickly as I shot up Hwy 441N to Franklin, NC then picked up 74 to Silva, NC. Eventually I got onto I-40 and got my first taste of interstate highway travel...traffic was fast and aggressive and at one point I had to dodge a massive greasy logging truck that could have auditioned for a runaway truck horror movie.
I stopped at Fatz in Asheville, NC for a relaxing lunch and by 2:00PM I was entering onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was my first ride on the BRP and it was a treat. Zero traffic and fantastic road conditions. The road is a marvel...beautifully crafted and designed with wide sweeping turns, through natural tree canopies and swinging past incredible vistas. The parkway is relatively free from "decreasing radius turns" which meant I was able to just set the throttle on 45MPH and cruise. The road gradually climbed to over 5,000' and the temperature dropped to 60 degrees. Still, my Aerostich jacket and pants kept me dry and warm and I never did have to layer up.
My iPod teed up Lucinda Williams who sang about "concrete and barbed wire" as I logged 125 miles on the BRP and pulled into Boone, NC at about 5:30PM. I checked into a Comfort Suites with a diner across the parking lot...perfect.
By the end of the day I had ridden 225 miles and was tired. Unfortunately, there was much reorganization to be done and I hit the sack tired but all jones'd up. Sleep, what little there was, came late and was fitful at best. Not the kind of night I hoped for and really needed. Life on the road is full of such delights.
No comments:
Post a Comment