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.

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.

Back to the internet

Finally, I'm alive and I've got an internet connection. Paul doesn't have the internet out there in Texas!

So, Wednesday wasn't much of a day anyway I rode about 550 miles through the oil fields of Texas. The weather was nothing special just really cloudy. Finally I got to the Ducati Dealer, Advanced Motorsports Ducati Alvarado. They were nice people. I had my oil changed and my chain lubed it was quick and easy. Then 40 or so miles later got to Paul's house. Went out to the Outback had dinner and relaxed for the evening. It was great to see him.

The four days in Texas were great. Thursday I got to see all of the pits Paul mines in Texas and I got to meet some great friends of Paul's the area. Friday Paul had a checkup so we went to Dallas for the afternoon only to have the car battery die. Spent that evening running around the area to get a new battery and put it in. Turns out it was still under warranty. Thank you NAPA. Saturday we ran errands. Stopped at the pits and stopped at the air field to see some great plans from ww1 and 2 I believe. They also had a Russian helicopter. Then we went out for a nice motorcycle ride. Paul has a couple of bikes so he let me take out the Big Dog Boxer. It was a great evening. Sunday was another great day but it was a little warm. We woke up relaxed a little then went over to one of Paul's pits to do some shooting. I had a a great time we shot some skeet, some rifles and a SA AR-15. Had a nice relaxing evening and got to bed early.

Today was yet another long day of riding out to Toomsuba Mississippi. It was nice for most of the day and progressively got cloudier as I headed into the areas that just got a ton of rain. There wasn't much to see on the trip but it sure was nice to see some evergreen trees. Louisiana wasn't all that impressive to me and had a real distinct odor to it. But as I moved into Mississippi and across the Mississippi River the scenery got nicer, the trees got larger and the road actually had some hills and turns in it. I'm now at KOA that doesn't have the greatest internet connection so I'll post pictures tomorrow. Unfortunately Paul has all of the pictures from Texas, but he said he'll send them up soon. Tomorrow its off to the Barber Motor-sports museum and then Deals Gap to spend the night at the Two Wheel inn. You get your own personal garage! Sorry for the wait. Be home soon.

Well here I am again at a KOA. It was a shorter ride today but I lost 2 hours crossing 2 time zones. The rest of Arizona was nice and New Mexico wasn't so bad either. Coming into Texas I could once again see Mexico and there was a ton of traffic. Texas is hot right now. Got to the KOA pretty early and went out to a little Mexican joint for dinner. FYI I don't really like Mexican. I enjoyed the food and the wait staff was nice. Came back to the camp ground bought a couple of beers at the store. Think I might watch a movie this evening.

Relaxation must come to an end

Well Sunday was really nice. I slept in a little, took a nice shower then went off to the ocean. Had fish and chips at Point Loma. Then we walked over and had some ice cream. We walked around the area and took in the sights, then went back to the house and relaxed. Had yet another fantastic home cooked meal, listened to some great stories and went to bed.

All good things must come to an end. Today I left San Diego. Stopped at the Submarina for a sub to take on the road (it was fantastic). Had a great time there but its time to head for Texas. At first it wasn't so hot heading out through the hills of San Diego and it wasn't so bad in the desert, even got to see some real sand dunes. Got to Yuma, AZ fairly quickly and then the temps started to rise. To about 106. It was pretty much all just riding today. Yet another 500 mile day. From now on the travel time gets a little shorter until the east coast. In Arizona there are loads of Cacti. Almost like forests back home only much shorter. I've stopped at another KOA for the night and rented a "Kabin". Its really nice and only 43 bucks compared to 26 to tent. Took a shower and saw a praying mantis. Off to Texas in the morning.

A Long Ride

Well the trip to San Diego was one hell of a long ride. I didn't get to leave Portland until around 2pm. I had to get in some mileage so I rode hard and got 260 miles in. I was about 40 miles outside of the California border. I stopped at a nice little KOA for the night. My ride was nothing special. Don't really think I ever want to be on I-5 ever again. The people were nice and once I got off of I-5 It was smooth sailing on the Pacific Coast Hwy. A nice little white cat greeted me when I got to the KOA and was sitting outside to see me off in the morning.

The next day it was off to San Francisco. The fog was thick. At points you could see no more than 1/8th of a mile. I eventually Made my way into the redwoods and boy are they big. What A nice ride 101 was. As soon as the road pulled away from the shore the fog disappeared. When the fog went the heat came. Boy was it hot. It must have been about 100 degrees. I had a very enjoyable ride out to rt 1 which is the twistiest rd I have ever ridden. It was full of really tight curves back out to the coast. With the coast came more fog so eventually it was back out to 101 via 20. 20 was a nicely paced road with 26 miles of curves( know this because it said it on the sign). What a great time. Got out to 101 and rode hard into San Francisco. It was late and I was tired and didn't know the Golden Gate Bridge had a toll. I couldn't even see the bridge (and I was on it) it was so foggy out. Got to the toll booth asked the woman if the took credit cards and she said no. She said they'll send me a bill for something like 31 dollars. At that point I just rode off while saying "send me the bill." Got to a Super 8 for the night and grabbed some food at an Original Buffalo Wings. I also got an extra dozen and gave them to a couple of homeless people sitting on the curb.

Off to San Diego the next day I went. Finally going to see my Great Uncle Ralph again. The ride was awful. I rode through part of the desert it was about 110 degrees. I did get to see some vineyards and nut groves but it wasn't really special. Finally I got close to San Diego and the highway started getting curvy enough to be interesting. It's not as city like as I thought it would be. It's really a nice looking place if you like living right next to your neighbor. I got to my Great Uncle Ralph's and pulled the bike into the garage. Had a nice home cooked meal, some great conversation and a comfortable bed.

Today we went out and had breakfast at a Mexican place. I got to meet a few of Ralph's children an one of his Grandchildren. Drove around the local area a little and relaxed watching some UFC, which Ralph is a big fan of. Had another great home cooked dinner and a shave. Feeling pretty good, but cant wait to see all the people back home.

Sorry no picture of the Oregon sign its in the middle of a bridge with no breakdown lane.

Now for a few more words!

So, out of Cody Wyoming I went, off to Montana and the Bear-tooth Hwy. One of the most amazing roads I have ever ridden. Into the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone. What a beautiful place. It is so untouched. The roads are just wide enough and everything else is just allowed to grow and move as it pleases. Had a few buffalo cross the street in front of me and saw a few select other animals but nothing to really talk about. Got to see some great waterfalls and lake Yellowstone. It is really beautiful. Stopped at Old Faithful and to be honest I think its way overplayed. Cool but overplayed. There is a lot of buildings in that area and Old Faithful isn't really all they say it is. Off I was out the West side of Yellowstone for a not so memorable ride to Missoula, Montana. Where I got a flat tire at 10:00 at night. Sweet! To the Motel 6 I went. Thankfully I was 6 miles from a Ducati dealer.

The next day I called the dealer, which I found out was really a Harley - Buell dealer that had a Ducati section. I was able to have them pick me and the bike up and get us to the shop. It took close to 3 hours to get a tire put on the bike. The tire was over priced and so was the labor. I'm not bashing anybody on this blog just telling it how it happened. It was 225 for the tire and another 75 to mount and balance a Pirelli Scorpion SYNC. They also wanted 50 bucks for the 5 mile transport which was thankfully left off the bill. Finally I was off and into Idaho before I new it. The highway was nice and curvy and I was in Washington in no time. Washington was no fun at first due to the traffic in Spokane. But as soon as I was away from that my ride through the desert and then into the mountains was nice. There are apples orchards everywhere. As soon as I got to about 5000 feet in the mountains it started to rain. It was super cold. It finally stopped as I reached Diablo Lake, which by the way is really this sort of iridescent green color due to glacial run off. It is quite the experience to see. What a beautiful ride and some great roads. Finally got to my destination. Kim, Chris, Manda and a few of their friends were there as well as my 14 day old almost nephew Samson. Time for some relaxation.

Washington was great. It was a mini vacation from my vacation. Spent a lot of time just relaxing and adjusting my chain. Turns out that The dealer that replaced my tire put the wheel on crooked. Awesome! Well we went for a few walks around the property and had a great time with Samson. We even got to walk around the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center sort of behind the scenes as Manda works there. What a great relaxing time. Had a bite to eat in the twilight zone twice. Well not really the twilight zone but I guess you had to be there. Tuesday and its off towards Portland Oregon. Had a great trip except for the 300 dollar speeding ticket for 78 in a 60 in a work zone. I was just keeping up with traffic and of-course the Red Ducati from NH gets singled out. Well I got to Portland It's a really nice little city. I'm staying at a really nice hotel and my bike is in the shop. I hope this shop experience is better. I had some pizza at this cute little place near the hotel and some free beer at the hotel. Its some kind of managers special. Maybe I'll go out tonight to meet some of the locals.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Finally in a place where I can post things.