Days 9-12, June 7th-10th
Well, I've been lax about finishing this off. Bad me. I must be punished.
The rest of the trip is the boring part, at least as part of the riding is concerned.
Day 9 - June 7th
Woke up. Showered, packed up. Ate some breakfast, thanks to the cereal in andronyka and c00kymonster's kitchen. Drank coffee too.
Got on the the road. Headed up Interstate 77 to I-85 in Charlotte. North on I-85 to Greensboro, then I picked up Route 29 north. Mostly just knocking back the miles.
The original plan was to stop around Lynchburg, but I was feeling good, so I headed an hour or so farther north to Charlottesville. Rode into town, and found a Budget Inn to stay in, who happened to have free wireless (hooray!). It was kind of an odd hotel, in that the room I was in looked, felt, and even smelled, like an old dorm room, and specifically my old dorm room in the Quad at RPI. The previous weekend had been graduation weekend at UVA, so there were still folks kicking around in town from that, but it wasn't hugely crowded. I took a walk down the street to an ethnic grocery store, and got myself some dinner in the form of a sandwich, some yukon gold potato chips, and an Orangina. Watched TV, showered, and went to sleep.
Day 10 - June 8th
No huge hurry on this day. I woke up around 9, and headed across the street from the motel to a diner for breakfast. Mmmmmm, pancakes and bacon, and coffee. Mmmmmm... coffee. After breakfast, I loaded up, suited up, checked out, and headed up Route 29 once again. My destination was Arlington, and yusefa's place. On the way, I passed through Culpeper, and past the Bull Run and Manassas battlefield sites. I really should sit down and figure out how many civil-war battlefields I came close to in my trip.
I got to Yusef's around mid-afternoon, and he was nice enough to let me park the bike in his space in the parking garage of the high-rise apartment complex. We sat around shooting the shit for a bit, I took a shower, and we headed out to a happy hour thingy at a local bar in an old car repair garage (What was the name of the website for the folks who organize the events, yusef?). Met Helen over there, got hugs and scritches (*collapse*), and drank beer. Met a Korean guy who had only been in the country for a few months, and a guy who knew someone I knew in college, but who had lost touch with. After drinking lots of beer, we went to IHOP for a late dinner, and then back to Yusef's for sleep.
Day 11 - June 9th
Rest and Relaxation day. Woke up late, Yusef woke up late. We lounged for a while, I read a bit, and I headed over to gekko and skreidle's house in Woodbridge.
After battling DC traffic, I arrived safely and in one piece, and was greeted by Merissa, and her brandy-new black Ninja 500. Black suits you, babe. :-)
Got to see cute puppies (somewhere I have that picture of Luke, really I do!). And took a quick ride around through the traffic. skreidle got home a little later, and there was more conversation, and a plan was made for sushi dinner at a restaurant called Genji.
I bade them farewell, and rode back to Yusef's. Cleaned myself up, changed, Helen came over, and we headed out to Genji. Met up there with Scott/Merissa, and Dave/Shari. Much yummy raw fish was consumed, much good conversation was had, and many Yusef tall tales were told. :-) After almost collapsing in a food coma, we decided we should all probably head home and sleep. :-) So we did. And I slept.
Day 12 - June 10th
The long ride home.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, thanks to the revile at Fort Myers, which was spitting distance from Yusef's apartment. Snapped this picture before going back to sleep.
Slept a few more hours. Woke up. Stretched. Yusef took me to breakfast at the Silver Diner. Yummy french toast. I packed up the bike with all the luggage, bid farewell to Yusef, and headed east, after a wrong turn on a traffic circle that put me in the public parking for Arlington Cemetery.
I headed east through Annapolis, across the Chesapeake Bay, and north along the DelMarVa peninsula. Things got VERY windy on the peninsula, and the weather cooled down significantly. I picked up I-95 briefly in Delaware, crossed into New Jersey, and picked up I-295. The wind wasn't letting up, and the clouds were starting to build in the west. When I got up to Trenton, I picked up Route 206, and rode through Princeton. I passed the city park in Princeton that has the brass sculpture of the man reading the newspaper. One of my earliest memories is sitting on the bench next to him. I think there might even be a picture of that floating around somewhere.
I stopped for a quick bite to eat just south of the Somerville Circle, at a 7-11. Just some trail mix to fill the stomach. Plus a refill of the water bottles. I picked up I-287 north after passing through Somerville on 206, and started the run up to NY state.
Dinner was at the Wendy's in Parsippany, on Route 46, just off of 287. This was the place that had started out as a Gino's restaurant, became a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and then a Roy Rogers, during the time that I was growing up in Parsippany. I gassed up the bike Frank's Sunoco station, just down the road, where we used to bring our cars for repair. Looks like it's still owned by the same family, and they still have a repair business there.
After I filled the tank, I noticed the clouds building more and more, and the wind was still kicking up. So I put my raingear on over the leathers, pointed the bike north, tucked down and went. Route 287 joined into the NY State Thruway (I-87), and aside from a couple of stops at thruway rest areas, I kept going. The sun was setting in the west, lighting up the darkening clouds in various shades of red and purple, with ominous dark tinges. The wind was blowing harder than ever, which was making it VERY difficult to keep the bike in the lane.
I got up to Albany well after dusk, and got off the thruway onto 787. I was so close to home I could taste it, but I was also so tired that it took effort to keep the bike pointed where it needed to go. Once I got onto 787, I slowed down a bit and relaxed, and let the traffic pass me by. I was almost home.
The Route 7 exit off of 787 never looked so good. I tucked the bike down into a nice lean on the ramp, and headed across the bridge and up the hill. Right at the light, and finally home.
The rain started about 15 minutes after I pulled the bike into the garage, at 10:45 PM. Eight hours on the road, and 400 miles. I did longer days time-wise earlier in the trip, but that was the mileage winner.
Ten days on the road. Total mileage: 2575 miles. And that's how I spent my summer vacation.
The rest of the trip is the boring part, at least as part of the riding is concerned.
Day 9 - June 7th
Woke up. Showered, packed up. Ate some breakfast, thanks to the cereal in andronyka and c00kymonster's kitchen. Drank coffee too.
Got on the the road. Headed up Interstate 77 to I-85 in Charlotte. North on I-85 to Greensboro, then I picked up Route 29 north. Mostly just knocking back the miles.
The original plan was to stop around Lynchburg, but I was feeling good, so I headed an hour or so farther north to Charlottesville. Rode into town, and found a Budget Inn to stay in, who happened to have free wireless (hooray!). It was kind of an odd hotel, in that the room I was in looked, felt, and even smelled, like an old dorm room, and specifically my old dorm room in the Quad at RPI. The previous weekend had been graduation weekend at UVA, so there were still folks kicking around in town from that, but it wasn't hugely crowded. I took a walk down the street to an ethnic grocery store, and got myself some dinner in the form of a sandwich, some yukon gold potato chips, and an Orangina. Watched TV, showered, and went to sleep.
Day 10 - June 8th
No huge hurry on this day. I woke up around 9, and headed across the street from the motel to a diner for breakfast. Mmmmmm, pancakes and bacon, and coffee. Mmmmmm... coffee. After breakfast, I loaded up, suited up, checked out, and headed up Route 29 once again. My destination was Arlington, and yusefa's place. On the way, I passed through Culpeper, and past the Bull Run and Manassas battlefield sites. I really should sit down and figure out how many civil-war battlefields I came close to in my trip.
I got to Yusef's around mid-afternoon, and he was nice enough to let me park the bike in his space in the parking garage of the high-rise apartment complex. We sat around shooting the shit for a bit, I took a shower, and we headed out to a happy hour thingy at a local bar in an old car repair garage (What was the name of the website for the folks who organize the events, yusef?). Met Helen over there, got hugs and scritches (*collapse*), and drank beer. Met a Korean guy who had only been in the country for a few months, and a guy who knew someone I knew in college, but who had lost touch with. After drinking lots of beer, we went to IHOP for a late dinner, and then back to Yusef's for sleep.
Day 11 - June 9th
Rest and Relaxation day. Woke up late, Yusef woke up late. We lounged for a while, I read a bit, and I headed over to gekko and skreidle's house in Woodbridge.
After battling DC traffic, I arrived safely and in one piece, and was greeted by Merissa, and her brandy-new black Ninja 500. Black suits you, babe. :-)
Got to see cute puppies (somewhere I have that picture of Luke, really I do!). And took a quick ride around through the traffic. skreidle got home a little later, and there was more conversation, and a plan was made for sushi dinner at a restaurant called Genji.
I bade them farewell, and rode back to Yusef's. Cleaned myself up, changed, Helen came over, and we headed out to Genji. Met up there with Scott/Merissa, and Dave/Shari. Much yummy raw fish was consumed, much good conversation was had, and many Yusef tall tales were told. :-) After almost collapsing in a food coma, we decided we should all probably head home and sleep. :-) So we did. And I slept.
Day 12 - June 10th
The long ride home.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, thanks to the revile at Fort Myers, which was spitting distance from Yusef's apartment. Snapped this picture before going back to sleep.
Slept a few more hours. Woke up. Stretched. Yusef took me to breakfast at the Silver Diner. Yummy french toast. I packed up the bike with all the luggage, bid farewell to Yusef, and headed east, after a wrong turn on a traffic circle that put me in the public parking for Arlington Cemetery.
I headed east through Annapolis, across the Chesapeake Bay, and north along the DelMarVa peninsula. Things got VERY windy on the peninsula, and the weather cooled down significantly. I picked up I-95 briefly in Delaware, crossed into New Jersey, and picked up I-295. The wind wasn't letting up, and the clouds were starting to build in the west. When I got up to Trenton, I picked up Route 206, and rode through Princeton. I passed the city park in Princeton that has the brass sculpture of the man reading the newspaper. One of my earliest memories is sitting on the bench next to him. I think there might even be a picture of that floating around somewhere.
I stopped for a quick bite to eat just south of the Somerville Circle, at a 7-11. Just some trail mix to fill the stomach. Plus a refill of the water bottles. I picked up I-287 north after passing through Somerville on 206, and started the run up to NY state.
Dinner was at the Wendy's in Parsippany, on Route 46, just off of 287. This was the place that had started out as a Gino's restaurant, became a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and then a Roy Rogers, during the time that I was growing up in Parsippany. I gassed up the bike Frank's Sunoco station, just down the road, where we used to bring our cars for repair. Looks like it's still owned by the same family, and they still have a repair business there.
After I filled the tank, I noticed the clouds building more and more, and the wind was still kicking up. So I put my raingear on over the leathers, pointed the bike north, tucked down and went. Route 287 joined into the NY State Thruway (I-87), and aside from a couple of stops at thruway rest areas, I kept going. The sun was setting in the west, lighting up the darkening clouds in various shades of red and purple, with ominous dark tinges. The wind was blowing harder than ever, which was making it VERY difficult to keep the bike in the lane.
I got up to Albany well after dusk, and got off the thruway onto 787. I was so close to home I could taste it, but I was also so tired that it took effort to keep the bike pointed where it needed to go. Once I got onto 787, I slowed down a bit and relaxed, and let the traffic pass me by. I was almost home.
The Route 7 exit off of 787 never looked so good. I tucked the bike down into a nice lean on the ramp, and headed across the bridge and up the hill. Right at the light, and finally home.
The rain started about 15 minutes after I pulled the bike into the garage, at 10:45 PM. Eight hours on the road, and 400 miles. I did longer days time-wise earlier in the trip, but that was the mileage winner.
Ten days on the road. Total mileage: 2575 miles. And that's how I spent my summer vacation.