Little Rain on the way to ATL
<resurrected from old thread>
The trip to Atlanta was not concieved until Angela155 mentioned it to me.
I thought about it and then saw the $100 Suzuki Ticket Package for VIR and RA. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.
Well, VIR came and went. What a trip. Met Kahuna and Ridge. Spent some time with Evad and Pablo, and of course TLR Nate and Angela! A great time was had by all and I cannot believe RA will be near a "side splittingly fun."
Fast forward a week... I need to figure out how I am going to do the trip. Ridge grasciously offered his home to help me break up the trip on the bike. I looked at the Weather channel and decided to map out a northern and southern route to his house. I would make my decision in route as to which way to go. Monday and Tuesday, I work 11 hour days to help get me out fo work early Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon, I load the bike and get ready to go.
Wednesday, 4:30am: I open my garage and look at the falling rain. I contemplate taking the car. I walk back inside and fix a hot drink and decide it will be the bike. 4:45 walk back out and the rain has stopped. I hop on the Tiger and head for work. As I exit the side road to get on the interstate, I give myself a reminder to take it easy. As I am about to reach for throttle to get up to interstate speeds... the rear end of the Tiger starts to come around. It quickly and violently slid out to my left and snapped back to the right. With the weight on the back of the bike, I had to couter balance everything to keep from going down. The bike corrects itself and all is well.
I get to work and put in 7 hours.... well, seven hours of staring at the weather channel wondering what the hell I am thinking. 12:30, fire up the Tiger and head out for Burlington NC. From work, i take back roads to Emporia. This allows for 80+ mph riding. This is needed to beat the storm. Unfortunately, construction was taking place. The Tiger got to do about 2 miles on gravel. As I slowly got comfortable, speeds were up to a safe 40mph on the gravel. Once back on pavement.... 80+
I get to Route 35. I quickly get up to 70 and decide probably too fast for that road. I back it down. As I merge onto 58, I merge in right behind a state trooper. SO speed limit for me. An excruciating 45 minutes of 60mph.
He gets of the Highway and it is business as usual for me. I keep an eye on the sky and I see dark clouds to the south. Not one or two, but the entire sky is not a pleasant color. The north route becomes the route of choice.
I continue on 58 to Rt49. I need to stop for gas. After I fill up at a small mom and pop shop (still had analog numbers for gas prices), I enter the town of Virgilina. No point to telling you this, I just wanted to say Virgilina. Now I said it twice. I continue on toward RidgeRunners. I am surveying the sky and listening thunder. The portly old man back at the gas station to me Burlington was more than 60 miles away. I need to hurry.
If you believe the ole "see the lightning, count secounds out before thunder" and that is how far the storm is.... well I had to cover 60 miles before the storm covered 10. For some reason, I thought I could do it. I pushed and pushed down the road. I got stopped at a light in Roxboro, NC. Here I see a sign that says custom built homes, 2000+ sq ft on acre+ starting in the 120s.
Why do I live in the city?
So I push on. Sections of the road are wet, sections dry. I see a sporatic rain drop from time to time. But nothing even worthiy of calling a sprinkle. OK, well maybe one time I felt a sprinkle. But it was me!
I was really trying to beat this storm and I came up on a quick chicane style section in the road. I whip the bike right and lose the front going left. After a quick slide (here is the little sprinkle in my pants!), the front catches and I am back on my way. I pick up speed again and low and behold, there is a logging truck blocking the two lane highway. I quickly look for a path around him. Nothing. SO I WAIT! Finally, he is out of the way and I get up to speed. I see the storm is close, but I am determined. 10 miles to go!
I finally arrive at Ridge's, sooner than planned. I park the bike up tight against his garage. I take of my jacket, gloves, helmet... I pull out my cell and call James to tell hm I arrived. 2 minutes later, the heavens opened up.
240 miles.... maybe ten drops of rain. Mother Nature 0 :: Hondaf4iguy 1
Dinner at RidgeRunners.... Boy was I surprised. I was expecting to run into town and grab a bite to eat (I am a city boy). I got Shrimp and chicken cooked on the grill and a side of Pototoes and Spinach. And some tasty biscuits. Thanks again.
After Dinner and a black and tan, James allowed me a sample of his Scotch. Hit the spot. Movie time.
We sat around and watched a movie while chit chatting. Truly a great way to unwind!
Burlington to Atlanta... 400miles....
Woke up this morning and listened to the rain. Had a cup of coffee with James and went out into the garage. I learned lesson #1. When buying something from a vendor at the race track, be sure to open it there to ensure all the contents are present. My rainsuit quickly became a rain jacket. Damn! Lesson Learned.
Get suited up and follow James out to the interstate. The rain is coming down steadily, but nothing treacherous. I hop on the interstate and feel the tires out in the rain. All is feeling great. I bump up the speed a little... feels good, I bump it up more.... still feels good. So 80 in the rain is a decent cruising speed (with low traffic and high visibility). 2 hours straight in rain. Then it all turned to drizzle. not bad. 30 minutes of mist.
Out of nowhere.... the sun popped out. It was almost uncomfortable. Wet Jeans and hot sun. I got sticky fast. but mother nature must have known I was unhappy, so she ordered up another hour of rain for me.
Everything was uneventful through Charlotte.
I cross the state line into South Carolina. I look at the gas guage (yup, i have on of those) and see I have about 40 more miles in the tank. I march on in overcast (no rain). 40 miles later, i arrive at a friendly BP station. I fill up and ask the ladies working where a non chain restaurant might be. They point me down to a small Bar-B-Que joint. The food was great an the service was its equal. I must stop again (spartansburg, I think)
I hop back on the bike and head South. Everything is great. Full belly, legs were stretched... what could be better. Nothing.
I continue on into Georgia. Traffic picks up a bit, but nothing too exciting. I keep on cruising. I see I-285 W and head over. (going to a friends)
Once on I 285, Mother Nature saw I was having fun. I guess she though it wasn't fair, so she had her fun too. The skies opened up out of nowhere. I was in the hammer lane doing 70ish. Visibility went from clear to 20ft. I could not see the car behind me anymore. I was struggling to see past the truck in front of me. Then visibility got worse. I could not see the lane next to me to try and get off the road. I just aimed for between the tail lights in front of me. Next thing I know, i seee the pickup drop a couple of inches onto a bridge and water flew everywhere as the truck got squrrelly in its moment of hydroplaning... I hit the water and it immediately came up over my boots up to my knees... Just as my thighs were about to get jealous... the car next to me plunged into water and it felt like someone through a 5 gallon bucket of water into my chest and lap. At this moment, I realized I was having no fun at all. As a matter of fact, this just got scary.
Thankfully, mother nature must have smelled the fear and decided ti would be a good time to be nice to me. The rain stopped as suddenly as it started.
I rode the last 15 miles to my buddies house in pure relief.
By the way, those sidi boots rock. My feet were still dry when i got here.
Mother Nature 15 : Hondaf4iguy Quits!
The trip to Atlanta was not concieved until Angela155 mentioned it to me.
I thought about it and then saw the $100 Suzuki Ticket Package for VIR and RA. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.
Well, VIR came and went. What a trip. Met Kahuna and Ridge. Spent some time with Evad and Pablo, and of course TLR Nate and Angela! A great time was had by all and I cannot believe RA will be near a "side splittingly fun."
Fast forward a week... I need to figure out how I am going to do the trip. Ridge grasciously offered his home to help me break up the trip on the bike. I looked at the Weather channel and decided to map out a northern and southern route to his house. I would make my decision in route as to which way to go. Monday and Tuesday, I work 11 hour days to help get me out fo work early Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon, I load the bike and get ready to go.
Wednesday, 4:30am: I open my garage and look at the falling rain. I contemplate taking the car. I walk back inside and fix a hot drink and decide it will be the bike. 4:45 walk back out and the rain has stopped. I hop on the Tiger and head for work. As I exit the side road to get on the interstate, I give myself a reminder to take it easy. As I am about to reach for throttle to get up to interstate speeds... the rear end of the Tiger starts to come around. It quickly and violently slid out to my left and snapped back to the right. With the weight on the back of the bike, I had to couter balance everything to keep from going down. The bike corrects itself and all is well.
I get to work and put in 7 hours.... well, seven hours of staring at the weather channel wondering what the hell I am thinking. 12:30, fire up the Tiger and head out for Burlington NC. From work, i take back roads to Emporia. This allows for 80+ mph riding. This is needed to beat the storm. Unfortunately, construction was taking place. The Tiger got to do about 2 miles on gravel. As I slowly got comfortable, speeds were up to a safe 40mph on the gravel. Once back on pavement.... 80+
I get to Route 35. I quickly get up to 70 and decide probably too fast for that road. I back it down. As I merge onto 58, I merge in right behind a state trooper. SO speed limit for me. An excruciating 45 minutes of 60mph.
He gets of the Highway and it is business as usual for me. I keep an eye on the sky and I see dark clouds to the south. Not one or two, but the entire sky is not a pleasant color. The north route becomes the route of choice.
I continue on 58 to Rt49. I need to stop for gas. After I fill up at a small mom and pop shop (still had analog numbers for gas prices), I enter the town of Virgilina. No point to telling you this, I just wanted to say Virgilina. Now I said it twice. I continue on toward RidgeRunners. I am surveying the sky and listening thunder. The portly old man back at the gas station to me Burlington was more than 60 miles away. I need to hurry.
If you believe the ole "see the lightning, count secounds out before thunder" and that is how far the storm is.... well I had to cover 60 miles before the storm covered 10. For some reason, I thought I could do it. I pushed and pushed down the road. I got stopped at a light in Roxboro, NC. Here I see a sign that says custom built homes, 2000+ sq ft on acre+ starting in the 120s.
Why do I live in the city?
So I push on. Sections of the road are wet, sections dry. I see a sporatic rain drop from time to time. But nothing even worthiy of calling a sprinkle. OK, well maybe one time I felt a sprinkle. But it was me!
I was really trying to beat this storm and I came up on a quick chicane style section in the road. I whip the bike right and lose the front going left. After a quick slide (here is the little sprinkle in my pants!), the front catches and I am back on my way. I pick up speed again and low and behold, there is a logging truck blocking the two lane highway. I quickly look for a path around him. Nothing. SO I WAIT! Finally, he is out of the way and I get up to speed. I see the storm is close, but I am determined. 10 miles to go! I finally arrive at Ridge's, sooner than planned. I park the bike up tight against his garage. I take of my jacket, gloves, helmet... I pull out my cell and call James to tell hm I arrived. 2 minutes later, the heavens opened up.
240 miles.... maybe ten drops of rain. Mother Nature 0 :: Hondaf4iguy 1
Dinner at RidgeRunners.... Boy was I surprised. I was expecting to run into town and grab a bite to eat (I am a city boy). I got Shrimp and chicken cooked on the grill and a side of Pototoes and Spinach. And some tasty biscuits. Thanks again.
After Dinner and a black and tan, James allowed me a sample of his Scotch. Hit the spot. Movie time.
We sat around and watched a movie while chit chatting. Truly a great way to unwind!
Burlington to Atlanta... 400miles....
Woke up this morning and listened to the rain. Had a cup of coffee with James and went out into the garage. I learned lesson #1. When buying something from a vendor at the race track, be sure to open it there to ensure all the contents are present. My rainsuit quickly became a rain jacket. Damn! Lesson Learned.
Get suited up and follow James out to the interstate. The rain is coming down steadily, but nothing treacherous. I hop on the interstate and feel the tires out in the rain. All is feeling great. I bump up the speed a little... feels good, I bump it up more.... still feels good. So 80 in the rain is a decent cruising speed (with low traffic and high visibility). 2 hours straight in rain. Then it all turned to drizzle. not bad. 30 minutes of mist.
Out of nowhere.... the sun popped out. It was almost uncomfortable. Wet Jeans and hot sun. I got sticky fast. but mother nature must have known I was unhappy, so she ordered up another hour of rain for me.
Everything was uneventful through Charlotte.
I cross the state line into South Carolina. I look at the gas guage (yup, i have on of those) and see I have about 40 more miles in the tank. I march on in overcast (no rain). 40 miles later, i arrive at a friendly BP station. I fill up and ask the ladies working where a non chain restaurant might be. They point me down to a small Bar-B-Que joint. The food was great an the service was its equal. I must stop again (spartansburg, I think)
I hop back on the bike and head South. Everything is great. Full belly, legs were stretched... what could be better. Nothing.
I continue on into Georgia. Traffic picks up a bit, but nothing too exciting. I keep on cruising. I see I-285 W and head over. (going to a friends)
Once on I 285, Mother Nature saw I was having fun. I guess she though it wasn't fair, so she had her fun too. The skies opened up out of nowhere. I was in the hammer lane doing 70ish. Visibility went from clear to 20ft. I could not see the car behind me anymore. I was struggling to see past the truck in front of me. Then visibility got worse. I could not see the lane next to me to try and get off the road. I just aimed for between the tail lights in front of me. Next thing I know, i seee the pickup drop a couple of inches onto a bridge and water flew everywhere as the truck got squrrelly in its moment of hydroplaning... I hit the water and it immediately came up over my boots up to my knees... Just as my thighs were about to get jealous... the car next to me plunged into water and it felt like someone through a 5 gallon bucket of water into my chest and lap. At this moment, I realized I was having no fun at all. As a matter of fact, this just got scary.
Thankfully, mother nature must have smelled the fear and decided ti would be a good time to be nice to me. The rain stopped as suddenly as it started.
I rode the last 15 miles to my buddies house in pure relief.
By the way, those sidi boots rock. My feet were still dry when i got here.
Mother Nature 15 : Hondaf4iguy Quits!
Total Comments 0
