I am glad to be back home but not glad to have to go back to work. I want
to start by saying that this was Sheree's first real road trip. She has
only been riding about 11 months and she has been riding her Virago 1100
only 5 weeks. The best part of the trip was seeing her adjust and overcome.
Anyway we left Huntsville at 5:30 pm Friday night and road to Chattanooga
TN.
Saturday there was a knock at motel room door about 5 am. I jumped up from
the bed and I was pissed. went to the door and said"WHO IS IT AND WHAT DO
YOU WANT"? The voice on the other side of the door said " I'm a rider and
my bike is down"! The anger vanished and I jumped in my clothes and ran
outside to help. The guy a few rooms down had dropped his BMW hooking it to
his trailer. He was from NY. I helped him with his bike and we talked a few
minute and then he went on his way.
We bikers are a close bunch.People in cars can't go up to strangers at
5:30 am and say I am a car driver and I need help. Well I might have
helped but I would have asked a lot more questions before I opened the
door. Any way we left for Roanoke VA and it rained all the way there.This
was Sheree's first rain ride. She did very well. When we got to Roanoke
she was pissed of at me. I always take these trips alone and I ride 150
miles at a time. She was not ready for that. She wanteed to stop more
often and take a break. I told her that her bike would do 120 MPH and all
she had to do was pull up and let me know. As for the rest of the trip I
adjusted my riding style and she was happy.
Sunday we headed for Hershey PA in the rain again.As soon as we crossed
over into PA the roads got real bad. Ruts,pot holes ect..
The views were great.
Monday we went to Hershey park. Did the simulated factory tour. It was
pretty kool. It take a lot to make a Hershey bar. Then we went to the
amusment park. They have 7 rollercoasters. We road 5 out of 7. The whole
town of Hershey smells like chocolate. I would imagine it would get old
after a while. Then it was time to eat supper. WHAT??? No sweet tea?? No
corn bread???? No turnip greens??
What kind of place was I in? And everyone talked funny. I couldn't
understand them and they couldn't understand me. All kidding aside everyone
was real nice. The bikers didn't wave like most places.
Tuesday we went across Pa through Amish\Minanite country. Didn't see
any horse and buggys. Did see a lot of horse apples on the road. Man them
thangs are slippery. Stpped at a Amish farm and ate a shufly pie and talked
to a farmer for a while. If I didn't have to give up motorcycles that way
of life might not be too bad.
We crossed the river into NJ and headed down the coast. I thought the
roads were bad in PA. NJ roads are the pitts. We stopped at a store for a
bottle of water and there was no sales tax. I told the lady at the counter
that would explain the roads. Anyway we headed down to Cape May and took
the Ferry over to Lewes DEL.. Sheree was a little sea sick when we got to
the other side. The bikes didn't turn over. Buy then it was getting dark
and we went straight to Salibury MD for the night.
Wednsday was to the outer banks to Avon NC.Crossed the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge. What a hoot. It goes under the water 2 times. I did the speed limit
the first ime but did 95 the 2nd time.It's like riding in a tube.What a
rush. Stopped at Kitty Hawk and looked at the Wright Brothers monument. As
we rode to our hotel we looked at the lighthouses along the way. All day
long we had been looking forward to an all you can eat seafood place. By
the time we got settled in Avon (9 pm) everything was closed and we ended
up eating a pizza. what a dissapointment.
Thursday and Friday we rode 2 more ferry's and road hard to Gatlinburg
TN.The interstate I-40 coming out of Asheville NC is very cool. 85 MPH 4
lane twisties. I rented a log cabin in Gatlinburg. The problem was the road
going into the cabin was gravel on very steep hills with sharp turns on the
hills. These were so steep you just stopped at the top eased off and lock
the back brake down and slide all the way to the bottom. It was dark when
we arrived. By the time we got to our cabin Sheree was shaking all over. It
scared the crap out of her. this was her first time on gravel. She did
very well. I almost dropped my scoot 2 or 3 times going in. The next
morning going out she was very afraid but she gave it a try. We were going
up a steep steep hill with a sharp left hand turn about half way up(200
yrds) I was in front. I heard that sound we all have heard. The motor
wounds up real tight and then a crashing sound. She had laid it down.I
dismounted and ran back. She was ok and the bike was ok. She was mad as a
wet sitting hen. Cussin like a sailor on leave. I looked at her and said
"Now you are a real biker" This didn't help her mood any but she soon got
over it.After that I rode the bikes up the hills and she walked. Went to
Pigion Forge. They were having a city wide car show . Old cars everywhere.
Motorcycles every where. We finally found an all you can eat seafood
place. Sat there for 2 hours eating shrimp and crab lags. Did a little
shopping and back to the cabin. Sheree went down the hills very well.
Sunday we headed home. East TN and Western NC have the best roads in the
world. We came out just north of Deal's gap off the Foohills Parkway. I
couldn't talk Sheree into riding the Dragon. Maybe next time. About 5
miles from home it came a frog strangler. We were soaked to the bone when
we arrived.
All in all it was a good trip. Sheree got a lot of experiance. Steal
bridges, grooved pavement,rain,potholes in NJ,and of corse gravel.
I told her next year we would do some real touring. She just laughed.
2,457 miles
Later
Torque