My Epic Motorcycle Trip (epic to me anyway)

I had been thinking of a longish motorcycle trip for quite some time, maybe out West or back East to see the grand kids.  Everything kind of fell into place to take in the ROMEO Fall Rendezvous in Dogpatch, AR in the middle of the week with the Royal Enfield Rally on the River in Steelville, MO on the weekend.  Add to those events the annual Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park a couple of weeks later and it would seem that the stars had aligned.  Buying the tickets for the Vintage Festival sealed the deal, now I'm committed, besides my son-in-law, Pam's husband, Eric would be going with me so backing out wasn't an option.  I'm just praying for good weather because two of those get-togethers involved camping in a tent and sleeping on the ground, good stuff for an old man with a bad back.

  What I hadn't counted on was my sweetie leaving for a grand child setting gig before I left and she wouldn't be back until after I was on the road.  It would be about a month without seeing each other.  We hadn't done that since the Navy days.

  Things started off without a hitch on September 20th and the area around Harrison, AR provided excellent riding as usual.  Traveling day on Thursday was when the rain moved in.  I held off starting out for the Royal Enfield Rally as long as I could but the rain was still coming down.  It was a long, wet and cold ride to Steelville, MO and the prospects of spending the night in a tent didn't help.  Fortunately the rain stopped and I met up with a couple of buddies at the camp ground who soon had a good fire going and CJ put the venison he had brought on the grill so things turned out OK.

  The Rally on the River was fun as usual, seeing old friends and old bikes always takes the sting out of sleeping on the ground for three days.  You'd think that someone my age with back problems would be miserable but it wasn't that bad.

  On to Virginia:  My buddy, Mike from Illinois, suggested that we put the Triumph on his trailer for the trip through St. Louis.  He probably thought I was too old to ride in all that traffic.  What ever the reason I was quick to agree, and as it turned out it was a lucky decision because we hit rain about an hour from Salem, IL my destination for the night.

  Had it not been for the rain I wouldn't have met Jason, a young guy riding a KLR back from Colorado.  Funny how motorcycles bridge the generation gap.  We had a nice visit over dinner at Applebee's talking all things motorcycle and decided to ride together the next day to Jason's home town of Cincinnati.  Having a guide through a big city was nice and he even took me on a scenic detour on the bluffs overlooking the Ohio river.  I journey on alone to Fayetteville, OH where I found nice clean little motel room for $35.  I really like the old Mom and Pop motels (or माँ and पॉप in this case as the owners were from India) where you can park by your door and the price is cheap. 

  The ride on US Hwy 50 to West Virginia was enjoyable as the views in WVA were spectacular.  I arrived in Harrisonburg, VA a little after 5pm and was just getting my helmet off when Sheila and Amelia pulled into the drive.  My 2 year old grand daughter has always been shy with me but this time she ran right to me and gave me a big hug.  Make the whole trip worth while.  I spent an enjoyable few days in Virginia, got to visit Alexander's school for lunch and just generally hung out.

  My grand plan was to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway south until I had to get off somewhere in North Carolina to get to my daughter's home in Athens, GA.  AS often happens on motorcycle trips plans change.  I left a day early to try and miss some wet weather coming into the area.  I may have missed the wet but it was a damp cold ride south and I stayed off the BRP until Roanoke where I reasoned I could bypass the city.  I got around the city OK but the cold at the higher elevation was starting to get to me so I came off looking for the best route to take.  It was about then that discovered I'd left my maps in Harrisonburg.  I finally came upon a highway number that I remembered and took it until I couldn't stand riding in the cold any longer and stopped for the night in Hillsville, VA, right on the North Carolina/Virginia border.

  Making a long story short the next day I went against my standing rule and jumped on the Interstate for the fastest way out of the mountains and down to some warmer temperatures.  The Interstate wasn't too busy on Sunday so I took advantage of the faster speeds and make some time into Georgia where I exited the big road for a more sedate pace into Athens.

  It's always nice visiting with Pam and Eric and our grand dogs, Shelby and Gabby.  I got good and rested for the final leg of my ride and it was on to Alabama where Eric and I took in the 7th annual Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, AL.  Another three day camping and motorcycle extravaganza.  If you love old bikes, racing and sleeping on the ground this is the place to be.

  Sunday rolled around too soon and we packed it up to head home.  Eric and I parted ways at the Interstate as I again choose speed over relaxed riding and took I-20 through Birmingham to Tuscaloosa where I struck out on the non-interstate ride through Mississippi and into Arkansas.  

  What I had thought would be a three day was shortened to two as I again choose speed over enjoyment and rode I-40 through Oklahoma to I-35 and I-135 into Salina.  That second day was a record for me, 681 miles in 12.5 hours.  As I settled into my recliner, beer in hand, at 8pm it dawned on me that I could ride another 319 miles in 11.4 hours to have a Saddle Sore 1000 through the Iron Butt Association.  Well maybe someday but not this time, it was sure good to be home.