Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Some words about my last few days on the road
First off don't worry I will post pictures.
For those of you who don't mind reading my babbling here goes. Got up nice and early to hit the tail and get back before check out. Well something would go wrong. I couldn't get into my garage at the motel. My key card wouldn't work. Well 1/2 hour and three personnel later we finally got it out. Needless to say they extended checkout a little. I was off; it was about a 20 mile ride to the tail. Nice back country roads and then there it was. The Tail of The Dragon. I'll admit I was a little intimidated. So, I took a quick photo then saddled up. At first I thought this isn't so bad, but wow was I wrong. That road is silly. Thankfully it was still early and nobody else was out. I'll admit it was fun but I'm not a real racer. I had my fun got to the other end took some more pictures then headed back down. Got my picture taken a few times and stopped at the store to pick up a t-shirt to show that I had been there. Off I was back to the motel to pick up my gear. Now to the Blue Ridge. I didn't hit the start of it I came in a few miles down the road. It was amazing. It was what this whole ride was all about. It will bring tears to your eyes to see just how beautiful this really is. It was one of the sole greatest things I have ever done. Granted the speed limit is only 45 but I didn't see anyone pulled over the entire time I was riding on it. The surface is fantastic and you don’t really need to go much over 45 anyway. For those who don’t know, the Blue Ridge is 450 miles of road that follows the mountaintops from NC to VA. Look it up and then go there. I stayed on the Ridge into VA, which was about 200 miles and then got on the Highway to find a place to stay.
The next day it was back onto the Ridge for its final 140 or so miles. Again just as beautiful, but a little flatter and a little straighter. All good things eventually come to an end and it was back out to the highway and off to DC to see Ian. He lives on a military base attached to Arlington Cemetery. After about a 30-minute search through my gear by the guards I was in. Hung out with Ian on base because of a last minute call to duty. Then it was off to MD to find a room for the night. It turned out to be the worst place I stayed the whole trip. It just wasn’t really clean feeling. Anyway don’t stay at the Super 8 in Joppatowne, MD.
The trip to MA was riddled with tollbooths. After leaving NY I hit one tollbooth on my way out west, but here in the North East we love the damn things. It wasn’t a bad ride but there was quite a bit more traffic than the majority of my trip. I did finally make it to MA unscathed. I sat on 95 in traffic for about an hour or so and while I was there ran into my friend Nelson. We chatted briefly until people became upset (like we were going anywhere). I stopped in to see my aunt Paula and uncle John and then went to see my aunt Mal and uncle Ronnie. Went out with my Cousin Danny and Nelson that night and had a great time.
Saturday was the last day of my journey. I stopped by my Cousin Ronnie's in the morning to say hello and then I was on my way home. A small car accident held things up a little but I made it. Home at last. Now after a few days relaxing and catching up it’s back to work.
For those of you who don't mind reading my babbling here goes. Got up nice and early to hit the tail and get back before check out. Well something would go wrong. I couldn't get into my garage at the motel. My key card wouldn't work. Well 1/2 hour and three personnel later we finally got it out. Needless to say they extended checkout a little. I was off; it was about a 20 mile ride to the tail. Nice back country roads and then there it was. The Tail of The Dragon. I'll admit I was a little intimidated. So, I took a quick photo then saddled up. At first I thought this isn't so bad, but wow was I wrong. That road is silly. Thankfully it was still early and nobody else was out. I'll admit it was fun but I'm not a real racer. I had my fun got to the other end took some more pictures then headed back down. Got my picture taken a few times and stopped at the store to pick up a t-shirt to show that I had been there. Off I was back to the motel to pick up my gear. Now to the Blue Ridge. I didn't hit the start of it I came in a few miles down the road. It was amazing. It was what this whole ride was all about. It will bring tears to your eyes to see just how beautiful this really is. It was one of the sole greatest things I have ever done. Granted the speed limit is only 45 but I didn't see anyone pulled over the entire time I was riding on it. The surface is fantastic and you don’t really need to go much over 45 anyway. For those who don’t know, the Blue Ridge is 450 miles of road that follows the mountaintops from NC to VA. Look it up and then go there. I stayed on the Ridge into VA, which was about 200 miles and then got on the Highway to find a place to stay.
The next day it was back onto the Ridge for its final 140 or so miles. Again just as beautiful, but a little flatter and a little straighter. All good things eventually come to an end and it was back out to the highway and off to DC to see Ian. He lives on a military base attached to Arlington Cemetery. After about a 30-minute search through my gear by the guards I was in. Hung out with Ian on base because of a last minute call to duty. Then it was off to MD to find a room for the night. It turned out to be the worst place I stayed the whole trip. It just wasn’t really clean feeling. Anyway don’t stay at the Super 8 in Joppatowne, MD.
The trip to MA was riddled with tollbooths. After leaving NY I hit one tollbooth on my way out west, but here in the North East we love the damn things. It wasn’t a bad ride but there was quite a bit more traffic than the majority of my trip. I did finally make it to MA unscathed. I sat on 95 in traffic for about an hour or so and while I was there ran into my friend Nelson. We chatted briefly until people became upset (like we were going anywhere). I stopped in to see my aunt Paula and uncle John and then went to see my aunt Mal and uncle Ronnie. Went out with my Cousin Danny and Nelson that night and had a great time.
Saturday was the last day of my journey. I stopped by my Cousin Ronnie's in the morning to say hello and then I was on my way home. A small car accident held things up a little but I made it. Home at last. Now after a few days relaxing and catching up it’s back to work.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What a great day. Had a nice night in Mississippi and woke up to 100 percent humidity. It was thick. It was a quick trip to the Barber Motorsports Museum. The people there weren't all that friendly but the museum is fantastic. What a great collection of motorcycle history. They really have just about anything you can think of. From there I had lunch at a small BBQ place in the area. It was run by a few women and there were only 2 or 3different options. The food was good and one of the staff even came out and talked to me about my trip. Off I went and I was in Georgia for all of 20 minutes. They didn't have a big state sign so there is no picture of that. Then it was into Tennessee to sit in traffic for 30 minutes before I was off to a nice scenic bi-way into North Carolina. It is really beautiful here. I finally reached my destination, the Two Wheel Inn about 20 miles from the Tail of the Dragon. I have my very own garage. Can't wait for tomorrow. Went out to dinner at a small local joint had some country fried steak and some great conversation with the waitstaff. Adjusted my chain and chatted with some of the other motorcyclists staying at the motel and now I'm doing some laundry. Its off to the tail tomorrow early then back here to pick up my gear and out to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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