Northeast Ride – Day Seven

Rock you like a hurricane!

Day seven. Was pleasantly surprised to wake up without any rain. The cloud cover was there though. Nothing threatening but definitely a part of Dorian. Was actually up early, 7:00 am. And after a couple of small conversations with some neighbors was on the road before 8:30.

Took me just a few minutes to cross into Pennsylvania and then into Delaware, the last state of this trip. State sign was simple to get. I got just about fifty miles south when the rain started so I pulled off to top off the tank and suit up. Didn’t really hit anything too serious while in Delaware. Just mild wind and light rain. Traffic wasn’t too bad either.

I didn’t get quite as far south as I planned but still got my 100 miles. Riding towards a hurricane probably isn’t the wisest thing to do. Hell, you’d likely call me crazy for riding towards one once. And you’d probably say I was insane to do it twice. Didn’t catch much of the state but mostly trees with small crop fields here and there.

Headed towards Washington DC and Virginia. I had previously thought about going through DC but I hate traffic in general and I REALLY hate traffic on the bike. Going around DC was still pretty traffic heavy but it flowed at speed for most of the time. Going over the bridges was not fun at all. The worst was the bay bridge. Was likely only a mile or two long but felt like ten. Strong cross winds and still a little bit of rain. Trying to stay in the center of my lane was a chore. But we got through it and further into Virginia. The rain really picked up here. Not really bad but a real good downpour for several miles.

Once the rain stopped it was only another fifty miles or so before the skies began to clear. Time to get the suit off. Pulled off at a rest area and unsuited then sat down for a rest and to call last nights campground to settle up. The office was closed when I arrived and was still closed when I left so I never got a chance to pay for my “room”. Off to find some lunch. Stopped at the City Grille in Manassas. Pretty busy place for Friday lunch time. Had my self a simple club sandwich and carried on.

After checking my route, I’ve decided I am not going to get out of Virginia today so I set my destination for Wytheville. Another 280 miles down the road. I’ve been to Virginia before and love riding through the state. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a road to experience in a car or on a bike. I followed the northern part of the state through the mountains. Beautiful views of the tree covered hills and overlooks of the valleys, all peppered with farm houses and silos. The skies were clear all afternoon and the temps stayed in the mid eighties. A perfect day to ride.

After a hard 516 miles we’ve found a campground in here in Wytheville with a great view, minus the electric poles of course. This leaves us about 1100 miles to cover in the next three days. Tomorrow will be a short day for sure. I plan to run about 300 miles and stop, get a room and relax for a bit before the big game. 300 miles will still be a bit of a haul. I’ve reached the point to where I can only go about 50 miles before I’ve got to either stand up on the bike or get off of it for a few minutes. I’m sore to say the least, but we’ve completed 47 states as of today. Not sure yet where I’ll end up going tomorrow. Should hit Tennessee and maybe head south into Alabama. Or cut west through Arkansas again. I’ll figure that out in the morning. 3,422 miles logged so far and it’s been another great experience but I’m getting to the ready to be home point. I miss my boys. I miss my girls. Hell, I even kind of miss my dogs. But I’ll see them all soon.

Side note – I’ve notice a ton of Florida plates on this trip. In every state I’ve been in. I’m guessing they’re all fair weather folks. The ones who live up north in the summer and in Florida in the winter. Wish I could afford that. Maybe one day.

So sleep well my friends and enjoy your day.