September 23- Day Two- Boone, NC to Waynesboro, VA

I was (once again) concerned about the weather today.  The weather report gave a 40-60% chance of scattered T-storms and I was convinced I was going to be riding in the rain.  In fact, there was a light drizzle working and I thought that the BRP could be a handful.  I began discussing my route options with the hotel staff and decided that riding up Hwy 221 might be an option to riding the BRP.  So, my plan was hatched...I'd take 221 to Roanoke, take a lunch break there and then, depending how the weather was developing,  finish the day on the BRP to its finale in Waynesboro, NC.

After checking out, I thought it would be nice to get a picture of me posing next to my bike.  A car pulled up to the hotel and a man got out of the car.

I asked him, "Hey buddy, can you do me a favor?"

He replied, "No."

Then he added, "I'm from Baltimore."

I said, "What, people from Baltimore don't do favors for other people?"

He says, "Well, you have to be careful.  What do you want?"

I say, "Can you take my picture?" and extend my camera towards him.

He finally agrees to take my picture.

What a gaping A-hole.

As I leave Boone in overcast conditions and a very, very slight mist I listen to James McMurtry sing "Where'd ya get that red dress?"  Head bobbing to his blues tempo, I quickly find route 221 and begin a great ride along a deserted country road, occassionally twisting tightly, but mostly just sweeping along through NC and VA farm country.  The weather was great and I was treated to  charcoal gray clouds with bone white fingers reaching down the deep green mountainside.  I am surprised as I round a corner and ride along side a commercial Christmas tree farm with row after row of perfectly conical evergreens.  The rows climb up and then disappear over the crown of the hill, only to reappear on the next hillside in rows as perfect as the last.

By one o'clock I was famished and pulled into Roanoke intent on solving that problem.  A trucker at a gas station recommended a place called the Roanoker where his sister worked.  The Roanoker serves a nice lunch...a good bowl of chili and a tasty club sandwich hit the spot.  The place is apparently a hit with the senior crowd and the checkout line was a true test of my patience.

From Roanoke, I once again found the Parkway and settled in to a relaxing rhythm of carving through the turns.  In fact, the term "carving turns" (which I think of as a skiing term), actually is a lot like skiing...counter steer, lean and carve through the turn...now do it again.   I rode about 150 miles on the parkway...all the way to its terminus in Waynesboro, VA...where I called it a day.

I pulled into Waynesboro, clueless about where I'd spend the night.  At a gas station I asked a man pumping gas where there was a hotel.

"Think there's one down the street there", he said, pointing to the right.

Round the corner I go and quickly spot a decent looking hotel with several Harleys parked in front of rooms.

Two beds, hot and cold running water, clean sheets and wireless internet....seventy bucks.

"Sold".

The room was perfectly serviceable and I once again went into hyper-organizing mode.  Worked at that for a couple hours which just served to get me all hopped up and, as a result, sleep was as illusive as the day before.  Dude, this is getting old.

My ending mileage was 515 for the ride meaning today's ride was nearly 300...the most I'd ever done.  The Honda ST is performing perfectly...it is a fabulous machine.  Could not be happier with the bike and all of my gear...everything is working beautifully.