Made it home.  Got out of the motel around 9.  The ladies from last night?  They were still laughing.  Came out to say good bye.  Refueled right away to make sure we could get some miles on right away while we were still fresh.  Today was all about miles.  While I hate riding interstates, we did all the way home.  Traffic heavy in Cleveland.  Stopped several times in the afternoon.  Some for refuel, some for breaks. Heavy construction in Toledo and between Ann Arbor and Brighton in addition to Friday afternoon traffic.  Bottom line pulled into the drive around 5p.  Irena had dinner ready to put in the oven.  Absolutely pooped.

I didn’t even finish unpacking the bike.  Manana.  It’s 8p and seriously thinking about going to bed.  Bikes are a mess.  We just pushed them into the garage.  There are still 2 front end loaders in the back yard.  Tomorrow will be catch up.  Tonight, just unwind.

I just wanted to put a cap on this.  Thank you everyone for following and the kind words.  It puts a smile on our faces knowing you are enjoying us sharing our trip.

Life is good  🙂

Another nice day. Up early and out loading the bike. Lots of couples, out going going to breakfast, stopping by to chat. Got out fairly early, 9ish. We headed out. Cloudy this morning. Cool air. Light traffic. Headed for home. Like horses to the barn. We headed a bit south then west on county roads. Hoping to bypass traffic. After a couple of hours we started heading into some storm clouds. We pulled into a gas station and checked weather.

Weather bug app. Best WX app out there. We were at the very northern edge of a colorful storm cell. Cars coming into the station covered with rain. We felt that if we scooted West, we would miss it. Decided not to put on rain gear. Continue reading →

Neat day today.  Saw lots.  Started by going next door to a great small restaurant for breakfast.  Waitress with an attitude.  She was great.  During breakfast texting the landscaping contractor a sketch on a bar napkin (actually a breakfast napkin) of the wall they are building.  Finished that up with a call to him while the bike was warming up.

We scooted north.  It was about 10a.  Right through campus.  Must have been between classes.  Stopping every block for kids crossing streets.  Wound our way through Burlington.  Another construction area where they just remove a section of the pavement and have you drive over.  Its a real amateur job.  Not sure how they get away w that.  No issues.  Didn’t  have to wait too long.  1 thing I have noticed about New England over the years, if there are traffic guys needed, such as down to one lane, or oversize vehicles, you have to have police there.  I am sure these are guys moonlighting.  This morning, there were two.  Sitting in their cars with their lights on.  I’ve never seen them do anything, but they are there. Continue reading →

It was a perfect start to a day.  I was loading my bike in the hotel parking lot and my good friend Tom, who lives just south of Hartford pulled up.  While we speak on a semi-regular basis, I hadn’t seen him for over a year.   The boys came out and it wasn’t 2 minutes and Tom had started in with the stories about their dad.  :-).  That’s ok, nothing they haven’t heard before..   We migrated across the street to a nice little diner for breakfast.  We laughed, got caught up and the time went by fast.  Too fast.  Promises of staying in touch. Continue reading →

It was just a gorgeous, gorgeous day. Believe it or not we are on the road by 10 a.m. Foggy in the morning, but it burned off quick. Loaded up, crossed back over the Delaware River to Port Jarvis, New York. Headed north on Highway 97. We followed the river for about 75-100 miles north. Winding roads. Bluffs. Rocks. Heavy Forest. Just beautiful. Sun was out. Really no places to pull over.  Turns are tight, turnouts when they exist (and there are few) usually come up too quick and are gravel with a 4-5 inch drop from the pavement.  Not ideal for the bikes.. Speed limit was marked 55mph most of the way.  We averaged 40-45.  Blind curves and hills preclude (from this weeny) cruising any faster.

One thing I did notice, were all the closed down businesses. Boarded-up restaurants, motels, bowling alleys, and all sorts of other things that were part of family fun and vacation in a different era. Kind of sad. Beautiful country. Even if they were open, most everything we saw that was open, was outdated and hadn’t been kept up or upgraded in years. Continue reading →

I slept in again this morning. I can’t tell you how many Sundays in a row I missed Church. It’s been a lot.

I finished the blog early. Went down and got a cup of coffee. Loaded up the bike. And went back downstairs to see if the boys were up yet. They were not. I got into a conversation with a couple from Connecticut. We probably talked for about 30 to 45 minutes. They were also motorcycling in the area where we were at. He trailer-ed his bike from Connecticut and is doing day trips for the weekend. The good news is, after speaking with him we now have a plan! After 3 days we have a plan. Continue reading →

Slept in (730) and it felt good.  Son’s #1 and #2 were still obviously dreaming of their wonderful father and not ready to end that dream… I treated myself to the fabulous breakfast buffet.  When I was done, I realized it didn’t meet my expectations.  The sad part is, I knew that before hand. Continue reading →

I think when both Carolina’s declared a state of emergency, it solidified our decision to bail.  We wanted to do something different.  Considered going south to the Ohio river, following that to the Mississippi, then follow that north to Minnesota.  Irma is spreading farther west and projected to saturate that area.  So we decided (actually the boys did, I went to bed) to explore PA and the Northeast.

Up very early.  Contractors due in.  Landscaping and master bath.  Timing is everything.  Trip has been planned for months.  We are at the mercy of contractors schedule for the most part.  So with two loaders in the back yard, 12 tons of boulders dumped in the street, 14 tons of cobble stone, two dump trucks, four pallets of Unilock, a crew of 7 ripping out every outdoor plant and the tile guy laying floor and shower tile, I had to point out to one of the tractor guys that his turning point was right on top of out septic tank.  The foreman spayed orange over the area.  A couple more turns on that spot with the tractor and the paint was buried in the mud.  So there ya go! Continue reading →

Here in Michigan fall WX is already starting to set in.  The maples are starting to change and it’s in the 40’s in the morning and mid-60s in the afternoon.  South – Hurricane Irma is ready to hit Florida on Saturday night / Sunday morning.  By Monday morning, up to Georgia and Tuesday inland to South and North Carolina as a tropical storm.  The issue is how long will the area be socked with rain..  We will wait until tonight and see what the updated forecast is.  Right now its calling for heavy rain Monday and Tuesday in the mountains.  Riding in the rain itself is not a big deal.  Big rain for days, well I’m not so sure.  Option is to maybe head north.  Maybe circle Lake Huron through Canada, Lake Superior or into MI’s upper peninsula.  Both easy trips and good times. 

Anyway…  Its good to have options.  Updates later

Life is good

It’s been awhile, a year, since my last post.  2017 is my first full year of retirement.  Ha!  Volunteer commitments, work on the house (after 20 years of sloth) and the normal things that crop up have totally eaten up the summer.  So much for retirement.  That’s OK.  I have loved every minute.

Grandiose plans for a bike trip to first Newfoundland, then Glacier National Park have given way to a much more sedate sojourn to the south east.  Partners in the ride have unfortunately had to bail because of severe cutbacks at work.  Never the less, my two sons and I will be departing Michigan this Friday for approximately 8 days to the Carolina’s, Georgia, Tennessee and all points around there.

So this weekend we begin staging, prepping the bikes (Alex installing new rear brakes above) and aggressively getting ready to get ready.  This will be an easy trip.  My brother moved into a log house in the mountains of western North Carolina.  We will be using his place as ‘base camp’, wandering out on day trips to TN, SC, GA and where ever else we decide. We are bringing no camping gear.

Saluda, NC is about 700 miles straight south of where we are.  US 23 will be our preferred route down.  US 23 was established in 1926 as part of the original U.S. highway system.  We live just a mile and 1/2 or so off the main  highway in MI.  As a matter of fact, Old US 23 ( the original two lane highway) is the main road to our humble abode.   It runs from Sault Ste Marie, MI (Canadian border) to Jacksonville, FL.  Four lanes, small towns and plenty of character.  I am talking Waffle House for breakfasts, passing through towns called Fallsburg, Louisa and Coal Run Village.  Leisurely cruising with my sons through the backroads for over a week.  We could take I-75 (which is actually faster but longer), however that is a 75mph nuts to butts parking lot (sorry for the euphemism but you get the point).

At any rate, this will be a busy week.  I have contractors all over the house and full days booked with commitments.  We will scoot out sometime mid-day Friday, get as far as we can and on to NC on Saturday.  I will have a cocktail with my brother, his wife and my sons.  We will watch the sun set over the Smokey Mountains from his deck and sleep in Sunday.

Life is good.