The morning started with a bright and warm sunrise with clear skys - who could ask for anything more? By the time we had the bikes packed and ready to go, it was 26C under a hot sun. T shirts only under the Klim suits and a bit of schwitz to keep us cool. The road out of Lexington had us on the parkway in no time. In this section, the mountains are more like hills so it was still 22C on top and the roads were a bit straighter, less curvy, but still fun non the less. Long story short, a full day of fun driving where Brian really got into the groove and started feeling good about coming into curves a bit faster, leaning over a bit more in the apex and powering out a bit harder into the next curve or straight. Several times I would look into the rear view to see how he was doing and he scared the crap out of me because he as right on my tail (which motivated me to push harder).
We ended up getting fuel at on the parkway, at the Rockfish Gap Ranger station, which eliminated the need to get off the ridge and into a town. While we were dressing down to grab lunch at the restaurant, we met Bill, a 68 year old retiree from Monroe Louisiana, who was riding his bike to Maine, then via Canada, to the Sault St Marie and back down through Minnesota to lord knows where. He was camping at the park and saw Hans and Franz (that's what the harley boys call Brian and I - Euro bike boys) ride in for gas. He went to his camp site, grabbed his 2012 Triumph 800 Tiger (just like Brian's only with wire wheels), and rode up to meet us. We talked bike while Brian called the office and then invited Bill to lunch. He was a scientist who did research that resulted in the stantin family of drugs - everyone with heart ailments benefits from his research.
This is one of the great aspects of bike touring - you meet people everywhere. I have a wounded warriors sticker on my pannier - after sponsoring an fund raising event for that organization. In many of the every gas station we pull into, someone will notice, make a remark, and that leads to a conversation. Last night, in Berkeley Springs, a vet approached us, advised us of the storm cells he saw on his iPad radar app, and then invited us to a Vets event that was starting in town.
In other cases, people notice the bikes and want to talk about their bikes and past adventures, their dream on own an adventure bike, it's incredible. The older guys talk about their adventures i.e. "you know you are wet when your boots overflow with water". We have heard stories about fixing Harley clutches at the side of the road, to where we'd find the best roads in America. I love bike touring.
We zipped through the Ridge and then jumped on the Skyline Parkway which took us to Front Royal. By the time we got off the mountain roads, both of us were tired from the curves. The concentration is intense and you get tired. We could see the storm systems off in the distance, but Front Royal as too far to make a mad dash home, so we pressed on regardless. I decided that Cumberland Maryland would put us west of the storms, and by luck, that guess was correct. We went through wet sections, with big lightning storms to the right (I mean big light show), and big rain to the left. It was so dark, Brian thought it was evening at 6pm.
The rain hit us when we got on Hwy 68. That is where Brian's iphone went flying after he accidentally tugged on the charging cable. The magnetic pouch, couldn't hold on and the phone sailed onto the highway. I didn't know this and was up front. When a mirror check say that Brian's dual headlights were no longer following, I went into slow mode which went on for too long, so I pulled over at a rest stop entrance and tried to call him. A futile effort, due to the crushed condition of the phone, which was getting run over by traffic, to add insult to injury. I was starting ramp up for a bad scenario (due to the length of the wait), when I heard a "beep beep" and Brian laughing as he recounted the story - whew relief that the issues was minor.
Cumberland is a sad town, that had great industry in the late 1800's. It just hasn't found it's mojo in this era, unlike so many other towns we have seen, that have vibrant historic downtowns. Ah well, we are just stopping by for a rest and then back on the road.
Today we make the mad dash home, trying to get back for mother's day. It will be a long day with a solid 8 hours of riding, which means up to 12 hours (including rest and gas breaks).
We ended up getting fuel at on the parkway, at the Rockfish Gap Ranger station, which eliminated the need to get off the ridge and into a town. While we were dressing down to grab lunch at the restaurant, we met Bill, a 68 year old retiree from Monroe Louisiana, who was riding his bike to Maine, then via Canada, to the Sault St Marie and back down through Minnesota to lord knows where. He was camping at the park and saw Hans and Franz (that's what the harley boys call Brian and I - Euro bike boys) ride in for gas. He went to his camp site, grabbed his 2012 Triumph 800 Tiger (just like Brian's only with wire wheels), and rode up to meet us. We talked bike while Brian called the office and then invited Bill to lunch. He was a scientist who did research that resulted in the stantin family of drugs - everyone with heart ailments benefits from his research.
This is one of the great aspects of bike touring - you meet people everywhere. I have a wounded warriors sticker on my pannier - after sponsoring an fund raising event for that organization. In many of the every gas station we pull into, someone will notice, make a remark, and that leads to a conversation. Last night, in Berkeley Springs, a vet approached us, advised us of the storm cells he saw on his iPad radar app, and then invited us to a Vets event that was starting in town.
In other cases, people notice the bikes and want to talk about their bikes and past adventures, their dream on own an adventure bike, it's incredible. The older guys talk about their adventures i.e. "you know you are wet when your boots overflow with water". We have heard stories about fixing Harley clutches at the side of the road, to where we'd find the best roads in America. I love bike touring.
We zipped through the Ridge and then jumped on the Skyline Parkway which took us to Front Royal. By the time we got off the mountain roads, both of us were tired from the curves. The concentration is intense and you get tired. We could see the storm systems off in the distance, but Front Royal as too far to make a mad dash home, so we pressed on regardless. I decided that Cumberland Maryland would put us west of the storms, and by luck, that guess was correct. We went through wet sections, with big lightning storms to the right (I mean big light show), and big rain to the left. It was so dark, Brian thought it was evening at 6pm.
The rain hit us when we got on Hwy 68. That is where Brian's iphone went flying after he accidentally tugged on the charging cable. The magnetic pouch, couldn't hold on and the phone sailed onto the highway. I didn't know this and was up front. When a mirror check say that Brian's dual headlights were no longer following, I went into slow mode which went on for too long, so I pulled over at a rest stop entrance and tried to call him. A futile effort, due to the crushed condition of the phone, which was getting run over by traffic, to add insult to injury. I was starting ramp up for a bad scenario (due to the length of the wait), when I heard a "beep beep" and Brian laughing as he recounted the story - whew relief that the issues was minor.
Cumberland is a sad town, that had great industry in the late 1800's. It just hasn't found it's mojo in this era, unlike so many other towns we have seen, that have vibrant historic downtowns. Ah well, we are just stopping by for a rest and then back on the road.
Today we make the mad dash home, trying to get back for mother's day. It will be a long day with a solid 8 hours of riding, which means up to 12 hours (including rest and gas breaks).
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