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Holy road tar Batman I married Super Woman! It seems like just a few months ago I was teaching Diana how to ride a motorcycle in a school parking lot in Baltimore. Turns out that was 5 years ago. She has been a dedicated student of motorcycling ever since. She soaks up knowledge like a sponge… as long as it doesn’t come from her husband. Most say that she rides better than me. I say she rides better than most. On top of that she does an excellent job of navigating, mapping and creating great rides. When asked why we should ride through two hours of rain to get to a bike rally she responds with “because that’s what we do!”. So I guess it is only natural that she was patched tonight as an offical HOG Road Captain in First State Chapter. Congratulations Princess, I’ll follow you anywhere!

Tags: HOG, Mrs Road Captain, News & Announcements, Road Captain Stuff by Jay Green
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It was Million Mile Monday for HOG members around the world, and day #9 in a row of 90+ degree temperatures in Delaware.  The humidity was ridiculous, and the sun was blazing!  We had cut our route a bit short due to the forecast of afternoon thunderstorms, and had just finished up lunch.  A quick check of the radar on Skip’s phone indicated that the storms had already started to pop up, and all of us who were headed north were going to be heading directly into a pretty nasty one!

It was still stiflingly hot where we were in Smyrna, so we decided not to bother with the rain gear since getting wet would be a welcome relief, and the group psyched ourselves up for the trip up US-13.

Mile #1
We were approaching the ramp to get on Rt-1 and cross the Canal Bridge, and I still hadn’t felt a single drop of rain.  There had been a few visible lightning strikes, and the sky was looking quite ominous.  As if Mother Nature had drawn a line where the asphalt switched to concrete at the base of the bridge, all hell broke loose as soon as we crossed that line.  I kept looking at the dark stains on the concrete roadway and thinking that must be oil in there just coming to the surface as the rain began to fall.  It must be incredibly slick, and the winds were pretty strong as we crested the bridge.  Going down the other side I felt like I was being pelted with paint balls, and I couldn’t really see for nothin’!  I was however very glad that I had worn my ¾ helmet with a face shield that day rather than my shorty.

Mile #2
I knew several of the riders were headed much farther north than I, but still it was a bit of a surprise when no one got off the Rt-72 exit with me.  The rains were getting harder with every foot I traveled, and the winds were picking up too.  It made it quite difficult to concentrate on the little details of riding…like exactly which gear I was in.  I pulled up to the traffic light at the end of the ramp, and put my feet down a bit abruptly because of a wind gust.  I tried to balance the bike with one foot on the ground and kick the lever down into first gear, but it wouldn’t budge…so I hoped that I had gotten it all the way down.

As I sat waiting for the light on an inclined slight bank to the left with a huge truck right behind me, I watched as the raindrops on the pavement became white water washing across the roadway and the traffic signals swung sideways in the wind.  The first thought that overwhelmed me was “I am totally alone.”  All of my friends were headed up the highway, and Jay was safe & dry at work.  If anything did happen I would have to handle it completely by myself.  I was having difficulty even holding the bike upright with both feet on the ground because the winds were so strong.  If I could make it around the corner, there was a school a block down the street where I could pull in and be safe for awhile.  There’s no real cover there, but I am already drenched so I’m not sure why that would make a difference anyway.

The traffic light finally changed, I gave it throttle and started letting out the clutch.  The bike did not move.  It was then that I determined I was surely not in first gear.  I shuffled my feet a little as the bike creeped forward about a foot or two.  There was no way on this sideways banked incline with water gushing over my toes that I would be able to pick up a foot enough to get her down to first gear, at least not until the roadway leveled out a little…so I had no choice but to finesse the clutch and practically duck walk my bike around the corner.  I thought the guy in the big truck was going to run me over, but he actually patiently drifted thru the intersection behind me.  I still don’t know if I ever kicked her down into first or if I just fought my way through until second gear could pull her weight, but somehow I actually started moving.

Mile #3
I was in the wrong lane to pull into the school, so I kept on trucking.  Slowly and steadily I rode down Rt-72 toward Red Lion Rd.  There’s a gas station there.  I can pull in and call Jay; he can check the radar for me and let me know where the storm is located, which way it’s moving, and how long until it lets up.  The gas station was on the opposite corner of the intersection from where I caught a red light.  As I sat there I realized that the rain & wind were already dying down so I may as well just keep on moving.

Mile #4
I was very careful to count each shift as I moved along so I’d know exactly what gear I was in.  I was traveling about 40 mph in a 50 mph zone, and thought that I must be a hazard.  But everyone else was going that slowly too, so I stopped worrying about it.  I thought maybe I should turn on my hazard lights, and wondered what on earth possessed me to opt out of the rain gear when I knew I was riding directly into a storm.  At least the hi-viz orange and reflective accents would be much more visible than my soaking wet dark purple mesh jacket.  I spent $175 on good quality gear, why in the world am I not using it?  I never did turn on the blinkers or stop to pull out my rain gear.

Mile #5
Still rolling down Rt-72.  Jay must be worried sick about me.  I bet he has tried to call me, and of course I am not answering.  He’s probably watching the radar at work and wondering what part of the Delmarva Peninsula I am in?  I could be anywhere from Rock Hall MD to Chincoteague VA to Dover DE…  I am actually only 5 miles from home, but I am in the worst possible location – by myself, in the middle of a huge storm!  At least it’s not windy anymore, the rain is steady but getting lighter, and I haven’t seen any lightning since we all went through Odessa.

I crossed paths with another rider caught out in the storm.  He waved, I nodded.  Somehow it seemed as though the message “I feel your pain, Ride Safe, Good luck to you” was passed between us.

Mile #6
Another traffic light.  This time at US-40.  There is one car in front of me who stopped for the yellow, so I’ll be here for awhile.  The left-turning vehicles are coming into the opposite lane now.  Oh no, they are riding through a stream across the roadway!  I am going to have to go through that…and it’s right where I’ll be shifting into 2nd gear!  Steady pace, no sudden moves, keep an even throttle, shift either before I reach it or after I clear it.  I can handle this – it’s just like that time Lem took us for an ice cream ride down Rt-9 and there was standing water all across the roadway.

I lifted my face shield so it didn’t fog up as I sat there, and made the executive decision to keep it up as a sort of visor so I had clear vision until I got through the intersection.  The light turned green, and my plan went off without a hitch.

Mile #7
I ride up and down Rt-72 to work every day.  I could do it with my eyes closed.  It’s one of my favorite roads to ride – not so much because of its excellent twisties or anything, but because its sweeping curves are so familiar.  I feel very at home on this road.  Oh crap, sweeping curves!  I’ve been going pretty much in a straight line so far, but the coefficient of friction is not as great in a curve.  I hope I don’t go sliding across the roadway.  Choose your line very carefully…

Ya know, that pickup truck behind me is staying way back even though I’m going significantly under the speed limit.  That’s pretty considerate of him.  He probably sees some psycho soaking wet chick on a bike and feels sorry for me.

The curves went OK, now for the railroad tracks.  Mikey slid out on railroad tracks in the rain when he was riding his brand new V-Rod home from the dealership the night he bought it.  Banged it up pretty bad.  Not a good thought.  Watch your line, angle it perpendicular, hold it steady.

Mile #8
Almost home – so far, so good.  It’s only drizzling now.  As I sit at the traffic light at Old Baltimore Pike, I can actually see the sky starting to clear off in the direction of my house.  I have intentionally chosen the left lane because the roadway under the I-95 overpass just a few blocks up always has standing water in the right lane every time it rains.

My bike is idling funny.  She doesn’t sound steady at all.  Please don’t stall out on me girl, please don’t stall…  I keep giving her just a little bit of throttle as I sit there, just to keep a strong rumble.

Mile #9
The pickup truck that has been behind me pulls into the right lane.  What a jerk, I think…he is going to barrel  past me through the standing water and splash it all up on me as I go under the bridge!  And I thought he was considerate before…ha!

Oh crap!  There is a whole bunch of traffic all jammed up on the other side of the overpass.  I see some flashy yellow lights up ahead, like the big lane closure arrows, but I can’t quite make them out.  Holy Noah’s Ark, Batman!  The entire road is completely flooded out – at least 4 inches deep, all 4 lanes across, and almost a block long!  that stream across US-40 had nothing on this flowing river! 

Everybody is inching through in both directions at like 5 mph.  At least that means the splashing should be kept to a minimum.  It’s too late now to do anything about it – I’m going in!  OMG, OMG, OMG…  As I got to the other side of the overpass the water just kept getting deeper.  I swear it had to be 6 inches deep at one point.  One of the cars that was coming the other way apparently didn’t get the memo about going slow and his wake splashed up to my knees as he passed me.  Somehow I managed to keep it steady all the way through…now what?  Brake lights?!!  Oh no, I cannot stop now!  I am knee deep in standing water!  Oh thank god you came to your senses…

Mile #10
I turned into the neighborhood and cruised along through a light mist.  Fourteen speed humps, 3 stop signs, around the corner into my court, and…why do people always have to park blocking my ramp up to the shed?  Now I am going to have to go down the sidewalk and around the tree.  Ugh!  And of course, the patio blocks in front of the door are completely underwater.

Well, I made it home safely, poured the water out of my boots, and took a nice hot shower (after calling Jay to let him know I was OK).  This was a Million Mile Monday adventure I will not soon forget!

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Rider Skills by Diana Green
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Two summers ago I made the difficult decision to give up my first motorcycle.  It was a bittersweet decision though, because I was letting her go in exchange for a “big girl bike” - my 2008 Harley-Davidson Super Glide!  I chose this new bike because it was elegant yet simple, pure machine.  I liked the stripped down, bare bones look of the bike…as well as the stripped down price tag!

I knew I didn’t want to add saddlebags or even a pillion seat.  One day I would like to get some fancy “swoopy” pipes and replace the boring rubber footpegs with something a little prettier, but I definitely do not want to gear it all up.  Although I enjoy using Jay’s Low Rider as my pack mule when we go on trips, I really dislike “the look”.  I don’t even like when he rides around town with the sissy-bar T-Bag as he normally does.  His bike looks sexy when he strips her down and rides her naked!  THAT’s the look I want for my bike.

Herein lies the problem…  “stripped down” means no place to store or bring along ANYTHING.  No rain gear, no sunscreen, no extra layer for warmth after the sun goes down.  Heck, there’s not even a place to put my wallet & cell phone!  (I’ve already lost one phone flying out of a back pocket somewhere along the North East Extension; I’m not really looking forward to that happening again!)  As the chapter photographer, I MUST have a way to bring along my camera!

So I quickly decided that I would need to put a luggage rack on my rear fender and get a bag to strap onto it.  I searched high and low and found very few choices.  Oh, there are tons of luggage choices for motorcycles, but the vast majority have a vertical design and are made to slip over a sissy bar.  My bike has a solo seat and no back rest, so that was out of the question.  Besides, I didn’t want this stupid bag sticking up and ruining the artful flow and line of my beautiful bike!  My other options for tailbags were all designed for use on a sport bike (which, if ya hadn’t noticed, has an entirely different tail end design than my Harley).  Fitment would be a logistical nightmare, not to mention that the designs were just all wrong.  It would look about as out of place as Bobby Munson wearing a designer jogging suit!

My search was fruitless and downright frustrating, until my hero came to the rescue!  Jay found a sleek yet functional tailbag for my bike at Cycle Gear.  It is the CARGO Basics Tailbag and at $49.99 it won’t break the bank. Part# 61807. The bag comes with an assortment of attachment options including wrap-around flaps with a clip, bungee cords, a set of flat ribbed rubber straps, and lots of hooks and loops to weave straps or cords through.

After about an hour of working many different options, we cut off the flaps, removed the bungee cords, and wove the rubber straps through several loops and around the fender rack.  It made for a nice snug fit so the bag would not slip and slide from side to side or front to back.  Only problem is that it is not going anywhere, ever.  So the detachable shoulder strap for carrying the bag into your hotel room for instance is useless. 

The bag also sports a zipper around the base perimeter which allows it to expand to near double capacity.  It is supposed to be able to hold a full face helmet when fully expanded.

Another feature of the bag is the outside pockets.  There are flat pockets the length of each side.  I keep the included rain cover (aka “shower cap”) on one side, and my chapstick and sunscreen face-stick on the other.  There is also a small compartment on what I’ll call the “front” end of the bag which is a perfect size for my camera or a pair of sunglasses.

The main compartment is just the right size to carry rain gear or a hoodie along with throwing in my wallet, cell phone, house keys, and a bottle of sunscreen.  It closes via a top flap attached at the front with zippers running down each side that are connected by a short cord.  You pull the cord, and both zippers pull closed (or open, as the case may be) easy as pie!  When expanded, I can fit in a rolled up pair of jeans, t-shirt, tank top, nightie, underwear, socks, flip-flops, and a sandwich-sized ziploc bag filled with travel-size toiletry items…in other words, enough gear for a weekend trip!

I do really like this bag, and have gotten a LOT of use out of it.  Over the past two years I have had many people ask me about the bag and where I got it.  My only real complaint is that it has faded quite a bit.  It would be nice if I could find a way to mount it that was easy to get on and off, but I need it on the bike probably 95% of the time so I am willing to give up that luxury.

The bottom line is that this is a very useful, attractive bag.  It suits my needs and tastes.  Even after all of the use and abuse that it has gotten, it has held up well and the only sign of wear is the faded color.  I highly recommend this tail bag as an accessory for day & overnight trips.  If you are going to do more serious touring, you are going to need more serious luggage!  For your day-to-day riding needs, this little bag does the trick!

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Product Reviews by Diana Green
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In 1990 only 3% of motorcyclists were women.  Today that statistic is 23%, making women the largest growing demographic in the motorcycle industry for the past 20 years.  Let’s keep it up ladies…at this rate it won’t be long before we reach 50/50 status!

May is Women Riders Month, so get the girls together and get out there and ride as much as you can!  I personally put 2500 miles on my bike last month, and I plan to make that a trend.

Especially don’t forget about International Female Ride Day on Friday, May 7th.  Ride to work, ride to the sub shop, practice figure-8’s in an empty parking lot, or pack your saddlebags and head out for a weekend trip…just get out there and enjoy some 2-wheel therapy from the stresses of your every day life.

Women riders ROCK!  And we’re only gonna get better! 

Tags: Mrs Road Captain by Diana Green
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After a hot meal, a wonderful shower, and a great night’s sleep it was time to start heading back in the direction of home.  When I first started planning this trip I realized that we were going to only be about 15 miles outside of Tennessee.  I desperately wanted to find a motel just over the state line just so I could say that I rode in yet another new state, but alas there was nothing to be found unless we went much farther into Tennessee.  That would have pushed our already tight schedule over the edge of reason. 

My backup plan was to ride a few roads that would take us westward just far enough to cross the tip of the state.  Since Jay put all of the planning on me, he didn’t want to know the plans until it was time to do them.  So Sunday night was the first he learned of the route.  The over-eager freshman had planned for nearly 380 miles, but the more seasoned veteran decided I was biting off more than we would want to chew.  (It would have been do-able, but this was supposed to be a fun trip not an endurance test!)  So we altered the route just a bit before heading on our way.  I guess Tennessee will have to wait for next time…

It was 48 degrees when we took to the road…following in reverse the exact route on which we had arrived.  Somehow the pavement torn up for construction and the pavement that needed to be torn up for construction didn’t seem quite so daunting with fresh legs, and the steep twisties were totally fun going UP the side of Grandfather Mountain!

After crossing the Linn Cove Viaduct once again we stopped at an overlook on the other side for a photo shoot.  I am still amazed at that thing — it is totally awesome!!!

Not long after getting back on the road I noticed Jay was dropping back again…figured he was taking more pics while riding.  But he dropped back so far I could no longer see him, so I started to worry.  Into the next straightaway I’d spot him again for a second or two, but then I’d lose him again. 

I was wondering what on earth was holding him up when he came speeding up and passed me, taking the lead. He turned into the next overlook, which was actually in front of a beautiful mountain lake.  It was then that I found out his memory card was full and he had to switch out to a fresh one!  We took our time sightseeing at this lake, just enjoying the morning.  It was already getting quite warm and I wanted to strip down to my lightest gear.  I decided once I got moving again I’d probably be chilly & regret it, so opted to go the safe route and keep on at least one layer. Jay did the opposite and kept his full cold weather gear on which he found comforatble up in the mountains when we were moving. Not so comfortable during rest breaks.

We continued back along the Parkway about 100 miles, mostly enjoying the road and only making one more stop (where the rest of the gear definitely came off).  We crossed back into Virginia and finally arrived at the interchange for US-58, where we pulled off to a tiny little country store & gas stop.

We met some quite interesting people there before heading back out onto the road.  US-58 took us down the mountain via mostly sweeping curves and some gorgeous vistas.  By lunchtime our road stretched out into a divided highway entering a smallish town with several traffic lights.  As we passed a bank we noticed the temp had reached 88 degrees! Jay started to melt as he was pretty much wearing full winter gear. He immediately pulled into a Wendy’s, stripped off his chaps and jackets and then sprinted to the men’s room to take off his long johns. We stayed at Wendy’s for a bite to eat and to enjoy a few minutes in the air conditioning because this early in the spring we hadn’t yet built up a tolerance for heat waves!

WTF?  In less than 4 hours our temperatures had practically doubled!  And when exactly did the weatherman predict this???  Ummm…we’ve got several more hours of increasing sunshine today and its already pushing 90!  Tell me again why I opted not to buy that adorable purple mesh jacket I saw at the dealership just before we left?

The mountains were now in our rear view mirror and it was sad knowing that in a few minutes they would be a memory. There’s not a lot to say about the rest of that day…we rode for hours along US-58; a divided highway heading east across Virginia skirting the North Carolina border the whole way.  The only noteworthy event was when my Go Pro camera started that all-too-familiar wobble on my handlbars once again.  By the time I found a place to pull off and pack it away in my bag, the handlebar mount snapped again just as it did last summer.  (Luckily Jay’s shoestring “leash” kept it from bouncing down the highway this time.)  There would be no pictures crossing the bay Bridge-Tunnel, but at least the camera & memory card weren’t gone this time!  It was just before dusk when we arrived in Emporia, VA and gassed up the bikes before checking into the Days Inn Emporia.  Day 3 had taken us 352 miles, but it was not quite in the books yet.

As we pulled up under the canopy at the entrance to the hotel, Jay stopped his bike and then sat there pointing emphatically and smiling like a giddy schoolgirl.  For a moment I wondered what the hell was so exciting about the hotel vestibule, but then I realized he was pointing at the mexican restaurant and bar right off the lobby!  SCORE!  I could taste me some nachos & Dos Equis already!!!  We pulled around to our room, I changed into my flip-flops (a packing requirement of all motorcycle trips), and we walked back over for a well-deserved nightcap before heading off to bed. Beer is good!

Tuesday morning Jay headed out to wipe down the dew from the bikes which is a standard operating procedure for motorcycle trips. I turned on the Weather Channel to see if I could find some kind of info on this surprising early-April heatwave.  I had just discovered that we’d be heading into the possibility of a few scattered thunderstorms throughout the day when Jay came back into the room and announced that it was snowing!  “What are you talking about?  It can’t be snowing, it’s 64 degrees outside,” I harped.  “It’s snowing POLLEN,” was his reply!

And it truly was.  Literally everything was covered in yellowish green dust.  It took 3 wipe-downs just to be able to straddle my bike without looking like I just sat in a pile of chalkdust!  Every car that rode down the highway with us was green.  I have never seen anything quite like it.  (Someone told us that morning that the pollen count had gone from 7 to 3500 overnight!)

Being so close to Virginia Beach we decided that we must stop in and see Tami Walker at Diva Customs.  I had only met her back in February of ‘09, but nonetheless I feel like she’s a very good friend.  Tami is the female owner/proprietor of a motorcycle shop that specializes in customizing bikes to “fit” women.  Guess I just connected right away with her spirit of throwing traditional gender roles to the curb! 

I gave her a call, but got voicemail so we were on our own to figure out how to get to her shop.  We had been there once before, so I checked my HOG Touring Handbook for the Harley-Davidson dealerships in the area as well as a map.  It didn’t give me directions, and I didn’t have an address, but it gave me enough landmarks to go off of, so off we went.

I am still not entirely sure how I did it, but I led us directly to the shop without making a single wrong turn or even having to loop around the block!  (internal GPS, I suppose?)  Tami was a gracious hostess as always.  We talked a little bit about Karen, and I signed my page in her book “Why We Ride.”  One day we will get to ride together, but for today it was nice to at least get in a short visit.

It was already lunchtime and there were hundreds of miles left to travel, so we mounted up and headed back out…driving along the coast as it looped around from the ocean to the bay.  Then it was finally time to ride across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel.  I’ve been waiting for this for nearly a year & a half!  Talk about engineering marvels — this structure is 23 miles long and comprised of long bridge sections which dip down twice along the way into tunnels under the water.  It spans the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay connecting the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area with the Eastern Shore Peninsula area of Virgina.  WAY COOL!!!  It took a half hour just to cross this thing!

After a quick stop to see if our friends Alan & Katie were at the Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center Jay took over the lead, riding along Seaside Drive for quite aways.  After awhile in the extreme heat it hit me like a brick — I needed food!  Riding through back country roads in the middle of nowhere was not exactly conducive to stopping, and for that matter not even conducive to communication between bikes.  I thought that after a few minutes I’d be able to suppress the feeling and I’d be ok until we could stop, but I soon discovered that my stomach was in total disagreement with this concept!

About a half hour later, we finally came to a stop sign where I was able to pull up beside Jay and tell him of my needs.  It was 3:00 in the afternoon and I hadn’t eaten anything since the bluberry mini-muffins back at the hotel breakfast bar.  By that point I didn’t care if it was a nasty gas station hot dog or a couple of Combos out of my bag, I just needed something in my stomach immediately or I was going to pass out.  So Combos it was — sitting in the gravel on the side of the road — to tide me over til we got to a Wendy’s in the next town.

I was back to leading, and that stretch of US-13 was the last place I saw Karen.  We were riding past the gas station that was our last stop on that fateful day last April, and the place we stopped for lunch.  I still remember vividly seeing Karen & Ed holding hands walking into the restaurant for lunch and how adorable it was that they were still so in love with each other after so many years together.  It occured to me that this was the road where she lost her life, and I became very tense riding along it.

After eating it was obvious that we were not likely to make it home in time for the First State HOG officers’ meeting that Jay was supposed to be running that evening, so I texted Big Ed and told him he may have to get it started without us.  We might arrive by the actual meeting start time at 6:30, but there was no way we’d be there to order dinner at 6!

We rode completely through Maryland and well into Delaware before our last stop, sent one more text to Ed to update him on our progress, then rode the entire rest of the way in one last stretch.  It was 7:00 as we rode directly to the officers’ meeting — bikes still packed down with gear as we hadn’t even stopped at home first!

We were greeted with the typical hugs, cheers, and jeers…and then Ed said, “OK we’re done here.  Let’s go.”  LOL  A little chapter business & a lot of socializing later, it was time to ride that last stretch through the neighborhood to home.  It had been an amazing journey with ups & downs (both literally & figuratively), one that I will remember fondly for years to come.

So after 344 miles, Day 4 was in the books.

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Trips & Places To Go by Diana Green
4 Comments »

Day 2 of our 4 day journey was the meat of the trip. Our mission was to ride across the Linn Cove Viaduct at milepost 304 before we started losing daylight.  Having traveled Skyline Drive in the past (where speed limits are 30-35 mph and there’s lots of “touristy” stops along the way) we expected it to be somewhat slow going, so there was no time for sleeping in (buy our standards anyway). By my schedule we would reach the Viaduct at 7:00pm and pull into our Motel just before dark.

Jay and I are not morning people. The alarm clock went off at 7:00 AM (and this is vacation???) and both of us begrudgingly pulled back the covers & got up.  I opened the curtains and was greeted with the most glorious sight!  The sun had just risen above the peaks of the mountains and we had an amazing view from the top of the hill where our hotel sat.  The walkway to our room was a balcony overlooking the pool (not yet open for the season) which in turn overlooked the valley below.  The morning mist blanketed the valley and the sun was shining like a message from heaven — it was going to be a wonderful day!

Knowing that there was no food on the premesis at the hotel, we had picked up some cold danishes at our gas stop in La Plata to bring along for breakfast.  It wasn’t very tasty but it did the trick.  Not wanting to waste any valuable road time we got right to the business of packing up the bikes.  Go Pro had sent me a replacement camera and handlebar mount to replace the one I lost last summer when it broke off after only a week or two of use, but I hadn’t really had a chance to mount it properly before the trip.  It was connected but not lined up properly at all…so I brought the phillips head screwdriver I needed to make the adjustments, and this was definitely the time to get it done. Jay had tied a black shoestring leash around it in case it broke again. This time it wouldn’t go bouncing down the road. Jay worrys about every detail!

We checked the gas and decided we had a good 50-60 miles left on our tanks so we could gas up about an hour down the Parkway.  Then we hit the road about 20 minutes ahead of schedule — a definite sign that things were going our way.

It had been pitch black when we rode in the night before and we missed our turn into the place, so we were a bit surprised on the way out exactly how close we were to the beginning of the Parkway.  As we pulled out of the driveway and up to the stop sign at the street we could see a huge sign to our left that read “Skyline Drive” and another to our right that read “Blue Ridge Parkway“…we were there!  So, right turn it was, and off we began on our adventure at mile marker zero!

The brisk morning mountain air was refreshing to my lungs, and it wasn’t as chilly as I expected it to be.  Counterintuitively, it was actually a few degrees warmer in the mountains that morning than it had been at home the day before!

I was pleased to find that the speed limit was 45 mph, and there was not so much “touristy” stops along the way.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is filled with sweeping curves and twists through the middle of nothingness.  I was almost immediately overwhelmed by all of the reasons I chose to grab life by the handlebars in the first place — the freedom, the power, the confidence, the beauty of the open road….  Jay on the other hand was almost immediately overwhelmed by his low fuel light and the lack of anything even remotely resembling civilization.  Only a few miles down the road we stopped at Humpback Mountain for a quick photo.  At this point we checked the map & found that the first interchange was 20 miles down the road and decided we better take it.

So this “interchange” was like a little side road “ramp” that brought us to a tiny two-lane road with pavement in disrepair and a little blue sign that read “Services” with an arrow to the right.  OK, right it is I guess.  I was thinking that we probably ought to head toward the west anyway since I-81 runs along the Parkway just to the west, and even if we didn’t find any gas stations before we got that far there was sure to be one just off the Interstate.

We were then greeted with switchbacks, hairpin turns, steep downgrade, lots of gravel & debris in the roadway, no shoulders & pavement that just dropped off at the edges (sometimes down a cliff!), and a little bit of local traffic that wanted to fly in the other direction and had no intention of staying on their side of the yellow line.  The curves were more challenging than anything I’d ever ridden before.  Did I mention that downhill blind curves scare the crap out of me?!!!  We winded and twisted our way down the side of the mountain and eventually came to a railroad crossing and a small town (read: one general store).  Jay asked a guy in a beat up old pick-up where he might find gas, and the country gentleman in full hunting camo was kind enough to oblige.

Farther down the road, left on Rt-11, and then another turn a few blocks down.  Following along for another mile or two it was going on a 35 minute side trip and I knew that Jay had to be running on fumes.  Then just over the crest of the next hill we spied a gas station…right next to a sign to get on the Interstate!  Jay pumped his fist in the air to celebrate victory!  Deciding that we were not going to be likely to find a place for lunch anywhere near lunchtime (or any other kind of refreshments for that matter), we decided to stock up on road snacks — granola bars, Combos, Gatorade, and bottled water.

Now being well behind schedule Jay suggested that we follow Rt-11 for awhile.  He said one of our friends mentioned he liked Rt 11 just as much as the Parkway.  Well, I don’t see why since it was a straight line rural divided highway.  We were able to cruise at about 60 mph though, so we did make up some ground.  Another crazy twisty VA byway (this time uphill, thank goodness!) made a spectacular ascent back up the side of the mountain where we once again joined up with the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The morning was behind us and we had only made it to about milepost 60.  Despite the issues it had been a wonderful day already, so we just settled in to some long-distance cruising.  We rode for at least an hour at a time, often 5-10 mph over the speed limit.  Then we’d take a short break at a scenic overlook and have a snack before cruising along for another hour or so.  Somewhere along there was when I decided that this road must be heaven.

One of my favorite parts of the ride was when we came around this incredible horseshoe shaped rim in the mountain. Bright yellow signs cautioned us to slow to 25 mph.  The road formed a long sweeping slightly downhill curve with a wall of rocks to our left and a cliff that dropped off to the right.  It was then that I saw “the sign”…  I am not entirely sure why it struck me as so funny, perhaps I was just in such a state of zen that I wasn’t thinking clearly.

All I could think of was “Caution — watch out for motorcycles flying over the cliff!” and I started picturing crazy stunt guys on dirt bikes jumping off the cliffs above us and landing on top of us… where did they think they were going to land anyway?  It was a long-ass way down!!! I was laughing my ass off!  There was a scenic overlook just around the bend, and as we pulled in Jay was laughing his off too.  Then he started laughing at me because I insisted on walking near 1/4 mile back up the road so I could get photos of the sign!  I also caught a picture of two motorcycles coming around the bluff. I hope they pay attention to the sign!

By this point I had shed several layers, switched out my gloves, and opened all the vents in my jacket.  It was finally getting toasty — like it was supposed to have done the day before.

A few more hours along that magestic ribbon of asphalt, and my knees really began to cramp up.  It reminded me of some arthritis commercial I had seen on TV the night before.  I had been utilizing my highway pegs quite often, but there were times when I just needed the bike to feel a little more stable in tighter turns — so mid-controls it was.  And hours of riding without a backrest was starting to take its toll as well.  So to alleviate the backache I tend to lean forward putting my spine in a straighter position.  Problem is that this causes me to put more weight on my legs and makes the knees cramp up even worse.

Our breaks became more frequent so I could stretch out my cramping legs and back.  We had planned to average 30 miles each hour for 10 hours in order to cover the distance we needed.  But having spent hours cruising at 45, 50, and sometimes even 55 mph, we were making up rapidly for lost time.  The sun was getting low in the sky when I pulled over at milepost 300 to turn on my Go Pro handlebar camera.  That was when it got good…

The highlight of the day & our mission for the trip — Linn Cove Viaduct.  The 7-mile section containing this engineering marvel was the very last section of the Parkway to be built.  It took them all that time to figure out how to build on this extremely complicated section of mountain.  Grandfather Mountain is very unstable, so they didn’t really want to build into it.  Instead they built this S-shaped bridge that is suspended on stilts and doesn’t really even touch the Grandfather Mountain.

I always wanted to be an architect when I grew up, and bridges have always fascinated me.  I actually got a little choked up as we made the final approach.  The Linn Cove Viaduct was like nothing I had ever seen!  Not only that, but it was fun to ride too!

Just on the other side of the viaduct was a parking area where we stopped to congratulate ourselves on a mission accomplished and to put a layer or two back on.  The sun was starting to set so we knew the temperatures were going to be rapidly dropping.  We had intended to take the Parkway another 25 miles down to Rt-226 and our motel in Spruce Pine NC, but the parkway was barricaded.  So we went to Plan B which was actually an oversight when I printed my first map.  It was the original route MapQuest wanted to send us before I told it we wanted to stay on the Parkway…but I still had those directions in my packet.  (Thank goodness for small favors.)

So we trodded off down Rt-221 and Rt-194 which were filled with tight steep downhill curves & twists, switchbacks & hairpin turns…just like the last time we came down the side of the mountain this morning.  Somewhere along the way we passed “Foamhenge” which was a life-size model of Stonehenge (apparently made of foam) sitting up on a hill.  By that time I thought just about everything was amusing!

So we pulled in to the Pine Valley Motel at about 7:45 with just enough daylight to get unpacked before total darkness.  The staff was quite friendly and the room was much nicer than the night before.  The best part was a gas station across the street and a Pizza Hut next door.  Yay — hot food!!!  Unfortunately they did not serve beer at this particular restaurant (one would have gone down pretty smooth at that point), but the waitress was excellent and it felt so good just to eat a hot meal.

And so Day 2 was in the books at 344 miles. Stay posted for more on this adventure.

Tags: Mrs Road Captain, Trips & Places To Go by Diana Green
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