Cloverdale, IN to Home

I left Cloverdale at 6 AM Central time since I was awake and wanted to try and beat the heat.  The continental breakfast started at 6:30 Eastern time so I had some breakfast before heading out.  I had enough fuel to get me down the road a 100  or so miles.  These are the kind of motels I look for on the cycle.  Seems like all have Wifi and continental breakfasts.

I like to be able to pull right up to the door so I can unload.  It wasn't quite as important on this trip since I didn't carry camping gear.  The two side boxes lock with a padlock so I can leave some items on the bike.

I spent $492.40 for 8 nights motel for an average of $61.55 which is cheap compared to Canada and Alaska.  I rode a total of 3,451 miles and spent $227.80 for gas and averaged 43.7 mpg burning premium fuel.

 I rode 444 miles on the Natchez Trace, 469 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway and 105 miles on Skyline drive in the Shenandoah National Park.  There is a lot of great scenery along the way and I did not see all the sights I could have visited along the way.

My ride home was not uneventful.  While I was still in Illinois I came across a semi truck accident that had the entire east bound I-70 shut down.  The drivers door was down and had both lanes and the shoulders blocked. I would imagine he went to sleep.  There were probably 50 trucks behind it and the next exit that got caught when the accident occurred.  I did not stop for a picture as it is to dangerous because someone looking at the accident could run into me.  In fact about a mile past the accident a semi was coming into my lane on a bridge and I quickly shot around him.  He was probably talking on the CB.  Traffic was backed up for about 3 miles and they were all exiting off the exit ramp for a detour.

Before I got into St Louis I took I-270 and I-370 to stay out of the downtown area.  This is much quicker and easier on the nerves.  As I crossed the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers they were both running bank full and maybe flooding a little.  West of Columbia, Mo where I-70 crosses the Missouri river there was lots of flooding there.  I ran into rain several miles east of Columbia and it was coming down hard going through Columbia.  I rode in the rain for about 50 miles then pulled off for a burger.  It quit raining soon after that and I pulled into a rest area and took off the rain gear as it was starting to warm up.  I pulled into Topeka at 2:30 after 506 miles of riding.

As usual I am glad to get home.  I filled the bird feeders, took some pictures of our hydrangea and got out the clippers to trim my beard.

Saturday it was time to pick cherries.  I got up early and drove out northeast to a friends house and the tree was loaded.  I thought I might be too late as my son-in-law and daughter had picked a bunch and the grand kids too.  I picked about three gallon then it started to rain so I went home and started pitting.  My daughter Jenea came down to help and brought another gallon and a half.  We got all these pitted by 2:30.  It was still cool out and wasn't raining so I went out and picked 5 more gallons.  There are still lots on the tree.  They are really nice, plump and red this year.  Lots of good pies, jam and cooked cherries. Yum!

I have the cherries all pitted.  I worked on them for 9 hours yesterday and today.  Mary helped about an hour but is baking us a pie.  I have 22 quarts, a gallon bag, 6 pounds for jelly, a pie and wrinkled hands.

Well I am glad you could ride along with me again on this journey.  I now have 24,000 miles on this BMW in less than two years.  Thanks for all the comments about my blog while on this ride.  I had much better weather than I thought I might.  I was expecting extreme hot, humid weather in the south but it was really quite comfortable.  I had some rain but that is to expected.  At least there we no long rain-out periods.

Moorefield, VA to Cloverdale, Indiana

I left Moorefield about 7:45 and arrived in Cloverdale at 5:15 so that is my 8 hour day.  I made 546 miles and went from West Virginia to Maryland, to West Virginia, to Pennsylvania to West Virginia to and through Ohio and into Indiana.  I have been through this area before but it is still pretty.

When I left this morning it was foggy but the visibility wasn't too bad.  The moisture built up on my windshield and visor.  It was cool and when I got to higher elevations even cold.  But that didn't last to long once I was out of the mountains it warmed up and I put on my warm weather riding clothes.  It was really quite comfortable to ride until I got to Indianapolis then it warmed to 91 degrees.  I came through there around 5 o'clock and expected traffic problems but made it through okay.  I stopped about 15 miles south of Indianapolis for the night.  It should be another 550 miles to home so I will sleep in my own bed tomorrow night.  I didn't take any pictures today as I had her in git-r-done gear.  I guess you will need to head out on your own and send me some pictures.  I talked with Jenea and the cherries are ready to pick so I have plans for Saturday morning to pick several gallon. .  Last year I was gone to Alaska and missed out on them.  The year before that I picked and pitted seven gallon. 

I will make one further installment after I arrive home to sum up this wonderful  trip.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Roanake, VA to Moorefield, West Virginia

I started out the day by getting lost.  I sure miss Lola.  Can't live with them and miss them when they are gone.  I wanted to get back to the Parkway without going all the way back and thought there was another entrance close by.  The gal at the service station told me how she would go and I don't know whether I didn't listen or she didn't give me good directions.  I expect the latter.  She said she didn't know how many miles it was, but about 10 minutes.  I rode for about 15 and asked for directions again.  He said keep going the way you are going for about 11 miles and you will come to a bridge.  Don't cross it but turn right on Hwy 43 and go 4 miles and there is the Parkway.  Sure enough there it was.  All was good again.  I have sure had to ask for directions a lot this trip.

When I was getting dressed this morning I decided I was wearing my rain clothes because I had looked at the weather and there was a good possibility I would encounter some rain.  I had been cold on Tuesday and decided if it was to warm I could change.  I ended up putting on another jacket under the rain coat as I was cold and left it on all day.  The temperature just made it to the mid 70's and much of the time was cooler than that.  I forget how far the end of the Parkway was yesterday but I think around 100 miles.  I took these pictures near the James river.

I made it to the end at 11 AM and I had my route planned out I would take after I got off..  For some reason it didn't seem right and I couldn't find the road I wanted so I pulled off I-81 and filled with gas then asked the attendant.  She didn't know but there was another guy there that took my map and showed me where I was and then it dawned on me that the Parkway quit but then it turned into the Shenandoah National Park and he said it goes on another 50 miles.  I thanked him and went to a Subway for a sandwich then headed back the way I had came from.  It was probably 20 miles back and I got back on headed north on the Shenandoah.  I showed my Golden Age Passport and saved the entrance fee again.  It was another 105 miles.

This is a beautiful park.  The speed limit is 35 mph but I mostly drove 40.  I hadn't gone too far when I saw this guy near the road.

Then it started a light rain and continued for about two hours.  It wasn't bad, just annoying as I had to keep the camera covered so I missed a few pictures I would have taken.   I see some of my pictures have water spots.  I did manage to get most of the shots later as the rain let up or I just decided I was going to take them.  Here are some of them.

All of a sudden there were two deer on the road and I stopped.  It took a while to get the camera out but this one stood in the middle of the road and scratched an itch.

There were lots of pretty flowers again.

I'm not sure if this was a weed or flower but it took me a long time to find the right one where I could pull off for a picture.

Then it was foggy in places.

At times it was difficult to see to ride.  I slowed way down and hoped others did too.  I made it without any problems.

So I guess it is time to put it in get-r-done gear and head for home.  May try to go on West in West Virginia before heading north to I-70.  Should be home Friday if all goes well.  If you want to see more pictures they are posted on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/home

Fletcher, NC to Roanoke, Virginia

Another great day to ride with temperatures mostly in the 70's and no rain.  Today was rather bland compared to yesterday.  It was not quite as pretty as further south but there was a few highlights.  The motel stay was excellent and the had a great breakfast this morning.  It was my most expensive room so far at $70 but not bad compared to last year.

Traffic was light and many were motorcycles.  I talked with several riders again today, some from Massachusetts and a group of BMW riders from San Antonio, TX.  There were several areas of road construction today and I took this picture while stopped at one.

There are a number of tunnels along the route but most are to hard to get a picture.  This was a short tunnel.
 There was a waterfalls I thought I should see so I walked up a trail to view it.  I had tennis shoes in the bike but didn't think to put them on until half way up the trail.  I also left my two jackets on so I had on my heavy boots and jackets. I ended up carrying the jackets.  It turned out to be nearly two mile round trip and some of it a pretty steep climb.
So in my opinion it was not worth the effort I put forth.  Have seen much prettier ones with less effort.  I did get some needed exercise though.  After expending all that energy climbing I was thirsty and hungry so I exited off the Parkway to a small diner.  I had chicken and dumplings and ice tea but not sweetened.  Later down the road I thought I should fuel up so I exited off and had to go about three miles for gas.  There was and old guy running the station (3 years older than Me) and we visited a bit.  It was cash only and one of the old pumps where I had to tell him how much it was.  He said he couldn't see that far and didn't get out of his chair.   He told me of a shortcut back to the Parkway so I took the paved, narrow, winding road. It was a good ride. A few more pictures of the mountains.
I liked this double arch bridge.
I found this to be interesting.  The poor old dear delivered 1,000 babies and all 24 of her own died.
I liked the way this tree sat on the hillside with the fence in the foreground.
Shortly after this picture I was coming around a fairly sharp, long curve, and had the bike leaned over pretty good as I was going about 45.  All of a sudden I heard this screeching noise and thought maybe I was getting a flat, then thought I might be a car about to hit me.  What it turned out to be was two fighter jets at tree top  level going right over me.  I about crapped my pants then thought I might have a heart attack.  Those darn whipper snappers just about scared me to death.  Later I heard them again but not as close.

Before today I had only seen one deer but since arriving in Virginia I saw 4 more, one  of which went across the road in front of me.  I have seen several turkey's and a few dead armadillo's in southern Mississippi.  There are quite a few bicyclists along the Parkway so you have to be aware of them.

I have now traveled just over 2,000 miles.  That is a disgrace for me.  That should be a three day ride instead of the 6 days I have been gone.  I have really enjoyed the leisurely pace and shorter days.  This has been one trip where I wasn't in any big hurry or have a place where I needed to be.  I have about 120 miles to finish the Parkway then I will start home.  According to Google Maps it is about 1,100 miles home and it is bringing me back south to I-64 through West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.

Athens,TN to Fletcher, NC

The room in Athens left a little to be desired but I guess for $43 what can you expect?  First thing the ice maker didn't work so I went to the office to inquire if there was another and he said no.  He said he would give me some money if I wanted to go next door to the service station and buy a bag of ice so I did.  I filled my ice bucket and gave him the change and the rest of the ice so that worked out okay.  I turned on the air and it worked but I noticed a musty smell and the carpet was wet by the unit.  It drained on the floor instead of outside.  Then I went to take a shower and the shower curtain was about 8 inches too long and the bottom of it was all moldy.  The shower worked though.  The bed was short and firm, kinda like the floor.  By morning it was warm in there and I was a little stiff.  I went over for the Continental breakfast to find orange juice, coffee and a cookie.  I had the coffee and juice and checked out.  I rode next door and filled with gas.  I stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast then Wal-mart for Ibuprofen for my neck.  Another stop at a parts store to repair a vacuum leak on the bike and I was off and running.

It was a perfect day for riding. It started off about 73 degrees and the day ended that way with clear skies and no rain.  It did get down in the upper 50's in the mountains though.  I left Athens on a narrow, winding two lane that is called the Cherohla Skyway and it ends at Robbinsville, NC.  This picture does not show how dark it was but the road was covered with trees and the flash went off.

I wanted to stop and get a picture of the Smoky Mountains and the first placed I stopped I climbed up on a rock wall and this Indigo Bunting flew up and landed near me.  I had tried getting a picture of one at Perry Lake in Kansas but without success.  So this was a real treat for me.

Both in Tennessee and in North Carolina there are many motorcyclists because of all the curvy, winding roads to ride and they were out in force today.  I stopped and visited with several of them along the road, at service stations and at a Ma & Pa barbecue roadside diner.
I entered the Blue Ridge Parkway at is beginning near Cherokee, NC.    The highest point was Great Balsum mountain at 6,410 feet.  The flowers, bushes, butterflies, and shrubs are amazing and it is difficult to catch the full beauty with pictures so I guess  you will just have to make the trip yourself.

You get the idea.  Yes the roadside is very beautiful.  Most of it is not mowed unlike the Trace.  The rocks and trees come up close to the road.  The speed limit is 45mph and there are lots of motorcycles, small cars, convertibles and regular cars and pickups enjoying the views.  Since it was such a nice day many were just enjoying a lazy day on a rock, a blanket or taking pictures.  The total length is about 450 miles.  I made it about 80 miles maybe, but then the road was closed and they detoured us off on a narrow 2 lane road.  The detour was well marked and was probably 60 miles.  This was one of the sights along the detour.

Can't you just hear it?
I was getting low on Jack Daniels so started looking for a liquor store without much luck.  I stopped at a package store along the road and asked for a bottle and he said we don't sell liquor and told me where  I could find an ABC store several miles back.  I decided to go on and while on the detour the first town I came to I inquired at a convenience store.  They gave me some complicated directions about 3 miles in the opposite direction I was going to go but I headed that way.  After asking three more times I finally found this store and purchased some JD.

They don't make it easy in North Carolina to buy liquor so if you come here bring a bigger bottle if you partake. The ironic thing is I pulled in to get this room at a Comfort Inn and a half block away is an ABC store.  Go figure!
This is a real nice motel and I am on the third floor but the air conditioner was crawling with ants so I told the manager and they will take care of it after I leave.  Tomorrow I will head back up the Parkway and I hope have more good weather.  It was actually cool out going to dinner and I walked the short distance.