Motorcycle Journal 2005
Blue Ridge Mountains
A Trial Run for Alaska
March 19, 2019
I planned to put the locations of the places I stayed the night, but unfortunately I didn’t mention the name of the cities in the journal.
July 15th 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
It is that time of the summer and I am planning my motorcycle trip after the Mac Race. This time I will be leaving Monday, July 25th. I am going to ride down to Arkansas (never been there) then ride east through Tennessee and into North Carolina. I plan to head north and go through Virginia and West Virginia and then into Kentucky. I have been doing a little research on out of the way places to see and good scenic roads. I will try to keep in touch with people via email every few day. Last year it didn't work out too well.
I bought a 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic. It is similar to the other bike except the motor is larger and it is fuel injected. It also has a larger gas tank. I am still trying to get used to it. I have it set up for traveling just like the other bike. I am planning to ride it to Alaska next year. I am really excited.
This year we have a transponder on the boat we race on. It will track our journey on the lake. For those interested this is the website for following the fleet and our boat during the race. Our start is 2PM on Saturday; we hope to be in Mackinac on Monday.
http://http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/ Follow the links to Results. . . Race Tracking . . .Chicago to Mackinac 2005 . . . Section 1 . . Fineline. Last time we had a tracking device, it malfunctioned and it looked like we sailed to Milwaukee and stayed for a week, hope this one works better. I will write again just before I leave. Hope you are having a great summer.
Mike
I planned to put the locations of the places I stayed the night, but unfortunately I didn’t mention the name of the cities in the journal.
July 15th 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
It is that time of the summer and I am planning my motorcycle trip after the Mac Race. This time I will be leaving Monday, July 25th. I am going to ride down to Arkansas (never been there) then ride east through Tennessee and into North Carolina. I plan to head north and go through Virginia and West Virginia and then into Kentucky. I have been doing a little research on out of the way places to see and good scenic roads. I will try to keep in touch with people via email every few day. Last year it didn't work out too well.
I bought a 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic. It is similar to the other bike except the motor is larger and it is fuel injected. It also has a larger gas tank. I am still trying to get used to it. I have it set up for traveling just like the other bike. I am planning to ride it to Alaska next year. I am really excited.
This year we have a transponder on the boat we race on. It will track our journey on the lake. For those interested this is the website for following the fleet and our boat during the race. Our start is 2PM on Saturday; we hope to be in Mackinac on Monday.
http://http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/ Follow the links to Results. . . Race Tracking . . .Chicago to Mackinac 2005 . . . Section 1 . . Fineline. Last time we had a tracking device, it malfunctioned and it looked like we sailed to Milwaukee and stayed for a week, hope this one works better. I will write again just before I leave. Hope you are having a great summer.
Mike
July 24, 2005
Day 1
Dear Friends and Family,
I left Chicago shortly after my family headed back to Michigan. At 10:30 this morning when I started riding it was already in the 90’s. I took I55 south hoping to get to the other side of St. Louis. The heat was brutal but as long as I was moving it was tolerable. It was like having a large fan blowing a 70 mile an hour blast of hot air. I stopped in St. Clair, MO for gas and decided to stay the night. I had ridden 360 miles and was tired. More importantly because I was tired, I was afraid I would start making mistakes.
All day I kept thinking about how a nice cold beer would taste. I went into town only to find that all of the bars were closed. You can imagine my disappointment. I stopped at a gas station to buy a beer to take back to the motel or drink in the parking lot at that point I wasn’t sure. When I went to pay for the beer, I commented to the cashier about all the bars being closed. She said there was one just down the road. I put the beer back and headed out with a smile on my face.
The place was empty and I planned to have only two beers and go back and clean the bike. On the bike trip, plans are meant to be changed and they did. Bonnie the bar maid was making shots that she had created herself. She gave them to several of the regulars and also included me. The first one was some unusual connotation but I can’t remember the name. The second one she called Liquid Viagra. Since I was alone, I thought “Lot of good it will do me.” About this time Dan and Sara came in. They had just moved back after living in Florida. Both of them had lots of tattoos and piercing. Dan was very personable and we talked a lot.
The place started to fill up with locals coming off the river. Two women came in to eat. They had both been “over served.” The one would snort when she laughed. Everyone in the bar would try to see if they could say something to get her laughing. Soon it turned out to be a dirty joke fest. Bonnie would turn down the music and the person would tell the joke. Dan asked me if I would take Sara for a bike ride. Since I only had one helmet, we took a short ride from the bar down the street. I was a bit nervous because she was a large woman and she kept wiggling on the back. I was relieved to be back. I left after 3 hours. Dan and Sara offered to let me stay at their house, but I had a motel room.
I was a pleasant evening after a long hot ride.
More later.
Mike
Day 1
Dear Friends and Family,
I left Chicago shortly after my family headed back to Michigan. At 10:30 this morning when I started riding it was already in the 90’s. I took I55 south hoping to get to the other side of St. Louis. The heat was brutal but as long as I was moving it was tolerable. It was like having a large fan blowing a 70 mile an hour blast of hot air. I stopped in St. Clair, MO for gas and decided to stay the night. I had ridden 360 miles and was tired. More importantly because I was tired, I was afraid I would start making mistakes.
All day I kept thinking about how a nice cold beer would taste. I went into town only to find that all of the bars were closed. You can imagine my disappointment. I stopped at a gas station to buy a beer to take back to the motel or drink in the parking lot at that point I wasn’t sure. When I went to pay for the beer, I commented to the cashier about all the bars being closed. She said there was one just down the road. I put the beer back and headed out with a smile on my face.
The place was empty and I planned to have only two beers and go back and clean the bike. On the bike trip, plans are meant to be changed and they did. Bonnie the bar maid was making shots that she had created herself. She gave them to several of the regulars and also included me. The first one was some unusual connotation but I can’t remember the name. The second one she called Liquid Viagra. Since I was alone, I thought “Lot of good it will do me.” About this time Dan and Sara came in. They had just moved back after living in Florida. Both of them had lots of tattoos and piercing. Dan was very personable and we talked a lot.
The place started to fill up with locals coming off the river. Two women came in to eat. They had both been “over served.” The one would snort when she laughed. Everyone in the bar would try to see if they could say something to get her laughing. Soon it turned out to be a dirty joke fest. Bonnie would turn down the music and the person would tell the joke. Dan asked me if I would take Sara for a bike ride. Since I only had one helmet, we took a short ride from the bar down the street. I was a bit nervous because she was a large woman and she kept wiggling on the back. I was relieved to be back. I left after 3 hours. Dan and Sara offered to let me stay at their house, but I had a motel room.
I was a pleasant evening after a long hot ride.
More later.
Mike
July 25, 2005
Day 2
Dear Friends and Family,
Once again it is extremely hot, but I am looking forward to riding the back roads of the Ozarks. I found some great roads with beautiful scenery in the Mark Twain National Forest. In one spot the trees lined the road and made a tunnel. The temperature dropped 10 degrees. The tunnel was at least a mile long. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the mountains. It is just one curve after another. Since it had been so long since I had been riding in the mountains, I was a little stiff taking the curves, but I loosened up after a few.
As so often happens, I sat for hours thinking of all the things I wanted to tell you, but now I can’t remember them. The highlight at the end of the ride was a 10 mile stretch of hills. I would go up one side and immediately start down the other side. It was like being on a roller coaster. At one point I was laugh to myself. It reminded me of riding the highway along the St. Lawrence on the Gaspe Peninsula.
I was going to stay the night in Mountain Home, Ark., but it was too big, 11,000 people. I took a beautiful ride to Mountain View, which was about an hour away. After cruising through town I realized I was in a dry county. To have a beer I would have to go back to Mountain Home. Is there a theme here? I guess I will clean the bike.
Good Night.
Mike
July 26, 2005
Day 3
Dear Friends and Family
Up at 6 – bike cleaned and out by 7. It is hot – close to 80 already. I am heading for the Mississippi River. Not sure how I will get across since I don’t see any bridges on the map. I will cross that bridge when ….. bad pun.
A few thought from yesterday. Did you know there are armadillos in MO and AR? I saw several on the road. Another interesting sight was the cemeteries in many of the small towns. They flourished with flowers. They were so colorful. Grave markers were covered with them. They were plastic of course. This was not in just one small town but many. I thought it was interesting. Hey, I have been sitting for hours. I am easily amused.
When I was a few miles outside of Mountain View, a hawk swooped down right in front of me. It was so close I ducked. I don’t know if it scared the crap out of the hawk, but it sure made my heart pound for a while.
The ride today was like being in Illinois, flat and straight. I was in farm country. One of the things I noticed were the dragon flies. They would fly just over my head and some of the dumb ones would fly lower and splat on my windshield or helmet. Those things are huge and what a mess.
Then I started wondering why so many dragon flies. I couldn’t identify the crops along the road and then I noticed a lot of the water. I stopped at a place that sold tractors, and the guy working there told me it was rice. I was in the heart of rice country. He said that his brother had a place and with the drought they had to run their pumps continuously. He said that the pumps burned 200 gallons of diesel fuel a day. His brother had 40 pumps. The guy grew up in Aurora, Illinois, a town not far from I live.
I finally crossed the Mississippi and am in Tennessee. I am not sure where I am going from here. I am in Tipinville. It is in the northwest section of the state. I need to consult the map. I know there is a large lake near here that was created by an earthquake.
Who knows where I will end up for the night?
Take care,
Mike
July 27, 2005
Day 4
Dear Friends and Family,
It looks like I am in for more hot weather. I have planned a complicated route east. Not many roads go straight east. I want to stop at Lynchburg, home of Jack Daniels; I just can’t resist. Then I will continue toward NC and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is supposed to rain. I hope it doesn’t until tonight.
I have traveled close to 1200 miles so far. The weather has been extremely hot, but I hear relief is on the way.
Today I am in horse country, famous for the Tennessee Walker. I saw ranch after ranch. At one point I saw a man training a horse. I pulled the bike to the side of the road to watch. The way the horse high stepped was amazing. It reminded me of the Russian soldiers parading. I watched until the sweat was dripping in my eyes.
The tour at Jack Daniel’s was interesting, but no free samples. In fact the county is dry.
People seem rather reserve around me this trip. That has not happened much in the past. I know I look like the typical biker, but usually I can get past that image. I find people in AR and TN more suspicious than other places I have gone. I know that I am making generalizations.
I have really been on the back roads today. I asked a woman in Lynchburg how to find highway 50. She wanted to know where I was going. I showed her the paper with all of the roads and towns I was going to today. She couldn’t understand that I had no final destination. When she looked at the paper she commented that I was really heading for the boonies. She was right.
I went to a town called Gruetli Lagger because of the name. I thought I would find some quaint little European town in the mountains. It was not quaint – more like dumpy and the people I saw looked like they been in the hills too long.
I forgot to tell you about the truck I got behind today. The road was very curvy and up and down. On the straight a ways, I saw a truck up ahead. Something kept flying off like bits of paper. As I got closer I still couldn’t tell what was being littered, but I could smell something very unpleasant. Finally I was close enough to see the truck was filled with crates of chickens. There must have been ten layers of cages. The entire semi was filled with thousands of chickens. I couldn’t pass because of all of the curves. I would drop back out of olfactory range; then it would go up a hill and I was on top of it again. I played this game for miles.
Toward the end of the day, I was coming down a mountain and thought I could smell rain. I rounded the next curve and it was pouring. No time to put on gear and no place to pull over. At the bottom of the mountain everything was perfectly dry.
I am off to town to find some dinner and a bar.
Mike
July 28, 2005
Day 5
Dear Friends and Family,
I am in the Smokey Mountains. It has been a wonderful day until the rain hit.
It started with some fantastic scenery. These mountains are so beautiful. I love the Rockies but there is something special about tree covered mountains and valley lakes made by dams. Miles and miles on untouched land, at least commercially. I even stopped and took a picture.
There is a place called Deal’s Gap that I have heard bikers talk about and have seen articles in motorcycle magazines. The road is called the Dragon because in 11 mile it has 318 curves. I wanted to go there but could remember exactly where it was.
I decided to take 129 out of TN to NC. The road was exceptionally curvy. It didn’t take me long to realize I had found the Dragon or maybe it found me! I have been on mountain roads plenty of times in the past, but nothing ever came close to complexity of this road. I couldn’t take my eyes off the road for a second or allow a stray thought to enter my mind for fear of crashing. It was total concentration because as soon as I would bank one curve, I was already into the next one. Talk about exhilarating but exhausting.
On the other side of the mountain is a motel that is only for bikers. Someone had adorned a tree with parts of motorcycles that crashed along the roadway. There were lots of bikes gathered in the parking lot near the motel and gift shop. Some had just finished riding the Dragon; others were just starting out.
I met two couples from NM. The women had just had their bikes for 4 months. They had been on the road for several weeks. They came specifically to ride the Dragon. The women were so nervous. I tried to reassure them. The one got stuck on the hill coming out of the parking lot. I had visions of what it was going to be like for them. I found it challenging. I have a feeling those husbands are going to get an earful at the end of the ride.
I am not much for souvenirs, but I couldn’t resist buying a T-shirt saying I survived the Dragon.
Just when I was ready to leave, a couple from Germany on bikes pulled in. They were soaked. I assumed that the weather system had passed because it was sunny. Once I again I misjudged. I got about ten miles down the mountain when it started to rain. At the bottom it was clear. I think there is a theme here. As I continued to ride, the sky got darker and darker. I stopped in Byron City and found a motel just as it began to pour.
I am looking forward to tomorrow’s ride. I am eventually headed for Asheville. I want to see the Biltmore Mansion.
Until later.
Mike
I am not much for souvenirs, but I couldn’t resist buying a T-shirt saying I survived the Dragon.
Just when I was ready to leave, a couple from Germany on bikes pulled in. They were soaked. I assumed that the weather system had passed because it was sunny. Once I again I misjudged. I got about ten miles down the mountain when it started to rain. At the bottom it was clear. I think there is a theme here. As I continued to ride, the sky got darker and darker. I stopped in Byron City and found a motel just as it began to pour.
I am looking forward to tomorrow’s ride. I am eventually headed for Asheville. I want to see the Biltmore Mansion.
Until later.
Mike
July 29, 2005
Day 6
Dear friends and Family,
Well it is still raining. The motel is crowded. A church group from Oklahoma is staying here. There must be 20 of them – very friendly people. I meet them last night as I was coming back in the pouring rain from washing my clothes. The rain waited until I was 3 blocks from the motel. As I waited at a stop light, it started pouring. When I pulled into the motel, there was no place to park because they were unloading. I finally was able to pull the bike under the eaves trough of the motel and wipe it down.
This morning the church group gathered for prayers while I was packing the bike. I was touched that they included me in their prayers. I hoped God would listen so maybe it would stop raining.
I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway in the rain. It rained the entire 60 miles. It was hard to see because of the low clouds. It wasn’t fun so I decide to head north to Virginia and catch the Parkway somewhere else. When I crossed back into Tennessee, it stopped raining. Not being a trusting soul, I waited an hour before getting out of the rain gear.
No good deed goes unpunished. Ten miles from the town I was going to stop at, it started to pour. I got off the highway, but couldn’t find the motel. I pulled into a fire station because the door was open and I was hoping to get directions. I walked around yelling “Hello” but no one was around. I guess they don’t have fires in the rain.
I was chilled to the bone and running a temperature so all I did was sleep and watch TV.
Till later
Mike
Day 6
Dear friends and Family,
Well it is still raining. The motel is crowded. A church group from Oklahoma is staying here. There must be 20 of them – very friendly people. I meet them last night as I was coming back in the pouring rain from washing my clothes. The rain waited until I was 3 blocks from the motel. As I waited at a stop light, it started pouring. When I pulled into the motel, there was no place to park because they were unloading. I finally was able to pull the bike under the eaves trough of the motel and wipe it down.
This morning the church group gathered for prayers while I was packing the bike. I was touched that they included me in their prayers. I hoped God would listen so maybe it would stop raining.
I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway in the rain. It rained the entire 60 miles. It was hard to see because of the low clouds. It wasn’t fun so I decide to head north to Virginia and catch the Parkway somewhere else. When I crossed back into Tennessee, it stopped raining. Not being a trusting soul, I waited an hour before getting out of the rain gear.
No good deed goes unpunished. Ten miles from the town I was going to stop at, it started to pour. I got off the highway, but couldn’t find the motel. I pulled into a fire station because the door was open and I was hoping to get directions. I walked around yelling “Hello” but no one was around. I guess they don’t have fires in the rain.
I was chilled to the bone and running a temperature so all I did was sleep and watch TV.
Till later
Mike
July 30, 2005
Day 7
Dear Friends and Family,
No Rain – I see the sun, but also lots of dark clouds to the south. I am abandoning the Parkway. The weather station showed rain for the next couple of day.
When sailing you follow the wind, I guess when on a motorcycle you follow the sun. I am disappointed but happy to be dry.
When I stopped for breakfast, a guy asked me where I was going. He suggested some roads to take when I vaguely said WV. His suggestions were excellent. – great roads and beautiful scenery and best of all no rain.
I am sitting along a river near Lewisburg, WV and sweating, but loving it. I am headed into ski country.
I decide to stay the night in Elkins, WV. I stopped at a bar and they told me about a motel down the street. Well it was full and so where most of the others. I finally found a place after stopping 3 times. I got the last room. I was sitting outside talking to Francie as I watched three or four groups of bikes come in. I felt so bad for them. I talked to a couple from the Detroit area. They had been on the Parkway and said it rained so hard that they couldn’t see anything. I made the right decision.
Til later.
Mike
Day 7
Dear Friends and Family,
No Rain – I see the sun, but also lots of dark clouds to the south. I am abandoning the Parkway. The weather station showed rain for the next couple of day.
When sailing you follow the wind, I guess when on a motorcycle you follow the sun. I am disappointed but happy to be dry.
When I stopped for breakfast, a guy asked me where I was going. He suggested some roads to take when I vaguely said WV. His suggestions were excellent. – great roads and beautiful scenery and best of all no rain.
I am sitting along a river near Lewisburg, WV and sweating, but loving it. I am headed into ski country.
I decide to stay the night in Elkins, WV. I stopped at a bar and they told me about a motel down the street. Well it was full and so where most of the others. I finally found a place after stopping 3 times. I got the last room. I was sitting outside talking to Francie as I watched three or four groups of bikes come in. I felt so bad for them. I talked to a couple from the Detroit area. They had been on the Parkway and said it rained so hard that they couldn’t see anything. I made the right decision.
Til later.
Mike
July 31, 2005
Day 8
Dear Friends and Family,
I started late today because it was Sunday. This morning I decided I would go to Harper's Ferry. On the way, the road took me through some beautiful country. There are lots of springs and caverns in this area. I stopped at one cavern, but didn’t take the tour. I have been in multiple places that have cavern tours.
I ended the day in Martinsburg. It is 20 minutes from Harper's Ferry.
Not much to report.
Mike
August 1, 2005
Day 9
Dear Friends and Family,
I am in Leesburg, WV. I had stopped at a library earlier but the internet was down. I asked directions to the Leesburg Library at a gas station. A man getting gas told me to follow him because he was going in that direction. The library was attached to a large high school. It is both the school library and the city library. They were very friendly despite my appearance. Francie always makes fun of me because I have been refused internet access in a few libraries in the past. She assures me it is because of my biker appearance.
I caught up on my journal and I talked to the librarians for about 20 minutes. See Francie not every librarian gets nervous when she sees me. One of the women was taking the train to Chicago this weekend; it leaves from Harper's Ferry.
Well time to go. I am about 15 minutes from Harper's Ferry. I am thinking about going to Gettysburg after here. I'll decide later.
Mike
Day 9 continued
August 1, 2005
Dear friends and Family,
I am in Harper's Ferry. It truly was interesting. There were lots of things I didn’t know about John Brown and why his attack on Harper's Ferry may be considered a catalyst for the Civil War. I guess I should have paid more attention in those history classes.
I had an interesting discussion with one of the rangers dressed as a store keeper in the clothing of the period. We had a long talk. I was there for almost a half hour. We talked about life at the time of the attack. He said that people wore many layers of clothes to protect them from the outside air which they believed to be unhealthy. Pigs and oxen roamed the street and people would throw their garbage out into the street for the pigs. Many people would throw their garbage behind the boarding house and when the smell was real bad, they would bring in dirt and raise the doorway to get into the house.
Since the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet at Harper's Ferry it has flooded quite a few times. There was a building showing the height of the water for various floods. One flood was up to the second story. There were two floods in ’96. The ranger I was talking to showed me the marks on one of the walls of a building. One was about 6 feet the other was 8’. They emptied the buildings and in 4 hours the place had 8 feet of water. He said that it took almost 6 months to repair the damage.
I am glad I came here. I couldn’t find my map of Penn., but I was talking to a couple and they let me look at theirs. Moments later I found mine.
I am in Waynesboro, PA. The weather is getting hot again, but I don’t mind especially after all of the rain earlier.
Well I am off to Gettysburg in the morning. I am 30 minutes away.
Talk to you later.
Mike
August 2, 2005
Day 10
Dear Friends and Family,
Last night was laundry night. Walking into the place really kills the biker image. The soap dispenser was broken, but a guy let me use his. We talked quite a bit – rather he talked and I listened. He was a former biker longing for the road. His last words to me were, “Hey man, I really envy you.” His words are good for me to remember when I get tired or rained on.
On my way out of town, I was admiring an interesting looking building. As I was about to take off from the stop sign, someone whistled; it was the guy I met doing laundry. He was painting the building.
I am sitting under a tree in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. I watched the electric map earlier that explained the battle. I was struck by the sheer number of men who perished. It was so tragic. Of course everything is seen through the eyes of the Union. I kept thinking of the Confederate soldiers who fought for the cause they believed in and yet are forgotten.
I keep trying to make sense of today’s world as I look at a sea of grave markers. All of these men willing to kill and be killed for some ideology that I assume they truly didn’t understand. They were given universal ideas about God, country and freedom - whose God, whose freedom. It all confuses me. I question if anyone truly understands what was happening at the time. Later as we look back in history maybe truth is revealed or is it dependent on the person’s perspective? I am sure the young men lying beneath those numbered markers labeled unknown had no idea why they died. I wonder who knows.
I took a tour led by a park employee who played the character of a prominent NY reporter who covered the battle. As the character, he was returning to Gettysburg Cemetery after 14 years. He described the scene at the time of the battle. He took us to a marker where his son was buried. His son was a Captain in the Union Army. He bled to death on the battle field. His portrayal of the reporter was very moving. Seeing the battle of Gettysburg through his eyes not only was extremely interesting, it certainly humanized the entire experience.
I am heading west. I hope to be home over the weekend sometime.
Mike
August 3, 2005
Day 11
Dear Friends and Family
I am on my way to the Ohio River. Not much interesting to report.
Until later.
Mike
Day 11 continued:
I am in Marietta, Ohio. It is located on the Ohio River. It is a quaint little town. I stopped at a bar and meet several people who helped me map my way home.
I rode about 50 miles along the Ohio. Seeing the barges and boats made me think of home. It was nice to have a straight road for a change. It is not totally straight but not curvy like the mountains. It sure was less work. It allowed me a chance to let my mind wander. There are not too many east west roads because you have to keep crossing mountains. I am not sure I am ready for the flat lands yet.
Mike
August, 4, 2005
Day 12
Dear Friends and Family,
I am still riding the Ohio River. I crossed back into WV because the road is closer to the river and seems less traveled. It was advice from people I met last night.
I enjoyed Marietta, Ohio. I went for a walk along the river – very pretty. Last night I talked to a guy that owned the little bar I was at. He was telling me about the flood they had last year. The Ohio was not supposed to crest, but it did. The water was at least 4 feet in the bar.
He said it took weeks before they were open again and business returned. Like so many of us who love the idea of conspiracies, he believed that the Army Core of Engineers who control the level of water in the rivers by controlling the locks chose to let this area flood rather than larger cities like Louisville. He was interesting to talk to.
I am on my way to Kentucky. I made my destination Dry Ridge. I am back on lots of curvy roads. Rather than just cross the mountains, I seem to be running across the ridges and then down. It makes for some windy roads. I got lost and stopped at the County Sheriff’s office for directions. It was the only place around. I found out that Dry Ridge is located in a dry county. The officer directed me to a town off the expressway in the next county. He was very friendly and nice. Believe me I was not interested in going to a town with 4 motels and a bunch of highway eateries and nothing else. Twenty miles later I was in Florence, my home for the night.
Walking into the Motel 6, I met two bikers. One looked relatively young and the other more middle age. We talked for a bit. As I passed their room, they invited me in for pizza and beer. They were from upstate New York and on their way to see a friend in Tennessee. They had just decided at the last minute to take off. I visited with them for a while and the younger one and I went out for a beer. There was supposed to be Bike Night at Hooters. Not the place I would have selected, but he was 21 and I was along for the company. We never found Hooters, and I can’t say that I was disappointed. I have nothing against Hooter, I just don’t like crowds.
The two guys had been traveling most of the night so the kid (Colin) wanted to go back to the motel. I went to a bar down the street. The barmaid asked me if I had arrived on a bike. I wonder how she could tell. The first 4 beers were a buck if you arrived on a bike. I sat next to a woman and her friend. She was from the north shore of Chicago. Living in Kentucky seems to have made her even more of a North shore snob. I know generalization. Anyway didn’t like her, but the guy she was with was nice.
Mike
August 5, 2005
Day 13
Dear Friends and Family,
I am in Indiana. I crossed over the Ohio from Kentucky to Madison, Indiana. It is a historic river town. Unlike so many of these towns the downtown area is still vibrant. I didn’t stay long because I could see a weather front headed my way. The weather channel was right. A couple of hours later, it really started to get dark.
I stopped at a gas station to change into rain gear. I talked to lots of people who cautioned me to stay put until the stormed passed. A couple came in just as it started to pour. He had a bike that looked like mine. They had just decided to go to Nashville, Indiana. No rain gear, no helmets, no heavy clothes for protection, I just couldn’t believe it. I gave the woman my nylon jacket. She was going to need it. I passed Nashville later in the day. I wonder if they made it. I rode for several hours in the rain. It wasn’t until I was in Bloomington that I finally was able to get out of the rain gear.
Kind of a slow night, I check out the local bars. The local biker bar scared me. Not because of the bikers, but most of the people looked like the jokes people make about backwoods people in WV. One bar was way too young and the other was empty. Last night on the road and I am ready to head home.
Mike
August 6, 2005
Day 14
Dear Friends and Family,
I am home and as I look back it was a good ride. It may not have met some of the characters that have met in the past. I think the people were less friendly or maybe it is me. The scenery and roads were fantastic. I am once again amazed at how large and diverse our country is. I forget that there is so much open land. I have seen countless little towns. Many were once something important, but changing times has slowly destroyed them. Others have been remade overnight because of some industry that moved in because of cheaper costs. I find the whole experience fascinating.
Part of me is sad that the ride is over, but part of me is glad to be home. It is time to start thinking and planning for next year’s ride. I keep thinking about going to Alaska? It is a possibility.
Thanks for accompanying me on my ride once again.
Mike
Day 13
Dear Friends and Family,
I am in Indiana. I crossed over the Ohio from Kentucky to Madison, Indiana. It is a historic river town. Unlike so many of these towns the downtown area is still vibrant. I didn’t stay long because I could see a weather front headed my way. The weather channel was right. A couple of hours later, it really started to get dark.
I stopped at a gas station to change into rain gear. I talked to lots of people who cautioned me to stay put until the stormed passed. A couple came in just as it started to pour. He had a bike that looked like mine. They had just decided to go to Nashville, Indiana. No rain gear, no helmets, no heavy clothes for protection, I just couldn’t believe it. I gave the woman my nylon jacket. She was going to need it. I passed Nashville later in the day. I wonder if they made it. I rode for several hours in the rain. It wasn’t until I was in Bloomington that I finally was able to get out of the rain gear.
Kind of a slow night, I check out the local bars. The local biker bar scared me. Not because of the bikers, but most of the people looked like the jokes people make about backwoods people in WV. One bar was way too young and the other was empty. Last night on the road and I am ready to head home.
Mike
August 6, 2005
Day 14
Dear Friends and Family,
I am home and as I look back it was a good ride. It may not have met some of the characters that have met in the past. I think the people were less friendly or maybe it is me. The scenery and roads were fantastic. I am once again amazed at how large and diverse our country is. I forget that there is so much open land. I have seen countless little towns. Many were once something important, but changing times has slowly destroyed them. Others have been remade overnight because of some industry that moved in because of cheaper costs. I find the whole experience fascinating.
Part of me is sad that the ride is over, but part of me is glad to be home. It is time to start thinking and planning for next year’s ride. I keep thinking about going to Alaska? It is a possibility.
Thanks for accompanying me on my ride once again.
Mike