Last day of riding, Home!

Well today was one of those days.  It started off well enough.  While checking out of the Best Western camp ground, they let us pick out a biker rubber duck. I had been wishing for one for years and years. I selected the one with the red bandanna.  

I gave him a prominent sitting spot behind the windshield and he happily rode there all day.  

 

We got on the road planning to take Rt. 250 through the mountains.  The ride was spectacular.  

In this photo, John has his LEFT hand of the handlebars.  A rare site there my friends.  :) 

A nice stream we followed through a canyon.  

More curving and twisty roads.  

Beauty day again.  

The roads were really good in most parts, but were really bumpy on long stretches.  The last 3.5 hours were tough because of how hot it was too. 

We road up Rt 47 and then 74.  Our goal was to reach Cairo, WV again to visit Shemps but we got lost and stopped here for a break, which is ironically a few miles from Shemps.  We were dead tired and dyhdrated.  So on to Rt. 50 And on to Athens, OH to take Rt. 33 home.  

You can see how tired John looks in this picture.  I felt the same, I just wanted to be home!

On the road again....

Finally crossing the Ohio River!

Other side of the river.  

Back on our state turf!

I got home finally, slowly got off the bike and gave Cathy a hug and then went inside and the AC felt great and Bo was so happy to see me!  He was as excited as I was to see him!

This is a glass that somehow ended up in my bag.  It's the only souvineer from the trip, except for some stickers for Red Velvet.  

The front of Red Velvet...we dispatched a lot of bugs over the past week. 

Stickers, I like stickers...they cover up the scratches and dents.  

So we had a great time and it was a blast to ride and hang with John Boice.  He's a very capable and fun person to ride with.  He put up with my antics and goofiness really well as I put up with his snoring and strange dreams.  It was a pleasure to ride with him and an honor to call him my friend!

Some things about our trip:

* We rode 1,920 total miles in 7 days of riding.  

* We rode from sea level to a high point of just over 4,000 feet in the mountains.

* We experienced no real issues with either bike, other than oil.

* We were lost only once (today) for about an hour.  

* I passed one kidney stone and John did not pass any.

* We did not have to resort to rain gear ever.

* We did not drop or crash either bike. 

* We saw deer on two occasions and did not have a close call.  

* Every motorcycle rider should ride Rt. 50 from Athens, OH to Winchester, VA. 

* Everyone should ride or drive the Skyline Drive from Front Royale, VA to the end 

* Everyone should ride or drive the Blue Ridge Parkway

* Rt. 250 in WV is awesome and very technical...another great biker route.  

Last but not least, I want to thank my wife Cathy for supporting me in so many ways and for all the love she has brought into my life. She is the best and puts up with my trips and such.  

Thanks CATHY!

Now the rest of you, get out and ride!

The majestic mountains to the shining sea, and back to the mountains

Today we said goodbye to the beach and all that goes with it on The Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was a good visit, great weather and the traffic and crowds were zilch.  We ate good seafood, drank good beer and spirits, met friends from MIG and traveled up and down the roads to see the sites and scenes.  It's a great place to visit now and then.  But the mountains are a calling again so we set our compass west, and then north.  We started at sea level and by the end of the day we will have traveled almost 400 miles and to a height of 2,000 ft above sea level.  It was a good day.  

Leaving the OBX and crossing over to the main land. 

What I stair at for hours and hours, often hands free!

Lunch rolled around and we stopped at Ralph's BQ.  Delicious NC style pulled pork.  

John has the cool look going again, huh?

We made the mistake of going through Richmond, VA instead of bypassing.  Traffic was painful. 

This BMW caught our eye in Richmond.  Pretty fancy custom paint.  We thought Dave Clark would like this.  

Back to riding.  

We stopped for gas and ice crime, and map reading.  

Wow, the lumber business is booming in VA and NC. I hate to see trees and forests wiped out, but society needs the wood.  

Came up on wreck today.  Scary looking, car in a ditch.  

The mountains rising...

Blue Ridge...that's why they are called this.  

Tonight we are camping at the Best Western in Stauton, VA. The air is crisp and clean. We ate a fantastic dinner at Mrs. Rose Restaurant and the crowd was more in the demographics of John's generation than of mine or younger.  That was okay, because we both were moving slow with aches and pains of the all day ride.  Tomorrow we cross over into West-by-God-Virginia to tackle another curvey road cutting through mountains.  I'm hoping we are home by mid to late afternoon.  

So some of you might remember during my tour of the west coast last summer, our son Conor brought home a new puppy, named Bo.  My wife Cathy, was not happy and I was on the road during all the drama. It worked out, Bo is a great dog and we love him very much.  I have missed him on this trip. Here is a favorite picture of him howling!

Well me and Cathy have been debating on getting another dog, like we used to have with Molly and Indy.  Our dog trainer recommended getting Bo a female companion.  So for a while I had been looking and looking.  About a week before my trip, I found a dog named Taffy that seemed like she was a fit for what we wanted.  A female retriever mix.  I found Taffy on dog finder.com and she was in San Antonio, Tx!  I said something to Cathy and filled out the longest most throrough application I have ever seen. They emailed me letting me know they would be calling my references and running a background check of me.  I told them I would be traveling but to call me or Cathy.  

Well they called my references, (thanks John and Scott!) and then called me yesterday for an interview. I found out we qualified and then the real hard work started...to convince Cathy to go along with it.  After a day of thinking about it and Cathy talking to folks with the organization, she gave the green light and I sent the adoption fee tonight.  Taffy will be transported to Columbus, OH on Saturday May 16!  We are excited and I'm sure Bo is going to love her!

Meet Taffy!

Have a great day!

Riding to Hatteras

Well this is where Red Velvet and RiTa slept last night, only a smidgen less than where we camped out.  We slept very well because of the crashing waves from the ocean and maybe the Crown Royal helped too.  We ate a light breakfast and decided to ride to Hatteras.  

The ride is interesting with lots of sights to see.  That is the Bodie Island lighthouse as we are heading south.

We rode and rode for a while.  We saw the Cape Hatteras lighthouse but somehow I missed the entrance and before you knew it we were in Buxton at the end if the island.  So we stopped at the Hatteras Harbor and chilled for a bit.  

Very pretty and peaceful!

So one of my goals for riding here was because you can drive on the beach (I have done this in the past),I wanted to take Red Velvet for a spin on the sand and beach, close to where we had parked. I rode up the service road to go on the beach and instantly I knew it was a bad idea. I kept up my momentum and turned around spinning my rear time like crazy.  I'm glad my sensible side of got my attention.  Maybe in my truck next time.   

We got back on the road and headed towards the lighthouse.  

We ran into road constructio...notice the ground down road.  Creepy to ride on it.  

Then we finally got to Cape Hatteras.  A nice photo of me and John.  I'm the tall good looking guy on the left!  :)

I lost John and then found him here, napping on the porch of the lighthouse caretaker. 

John wants to convert his motorcycle RiTa'seat to resemble and work like this rocker.  

More traffic delays on our way back north.  I counted six buckets in the sky at once doing electrical work.  Amazingly, they worked in unison and in time with the music I was listening too.  Strange.  

It was time for lunch at this cool place, Top Dog. Great food and atmosphere. 

Red Stripe and peal and eat shrimp, perfect!  Great shirt and smile outta John!

More riding...

Holy cow, John took one hand off of the handlebars and I got lucky for that split second.  Looking all Fonzie like....

John purchased some artwork.  Said it reminded him of his youth and glory days.  RiTa is not happy with hauling it around.  

Based on a local persons recommedation, we stopped here and because I ran out of money, I washed dishes. Great place!

Nice sight of a pier.  

Later we met up with Deb and Mary again.  Note the sign...."the happiest people in the world pass through these doors ".  Neat place and I got a sticker for Red Velet here. 

Nice sky and ocean. 

Beauty end to the day.  Tomorrow we gear up for our return ride hoping to make it home by Friday.  

We are looking forward to our return trip and hope for good weather.  If all goes well we should be home by Friday.  

Safe travels everyone!