Thursday, Aug. 4

Always tough to end a visit.  Spent the early morning with coffee, getting packed, wiping down the bike from the rain overnight and getting it loaded, waiting for the conversation – ‘well, I guess I should get going.’

Light rain in Henderson.  I forego-ed the rain gear.  According to the ole weatherbug app, we were on the tail end of the system.  Full tank from the night before, mounted up and Laddie got on his bike and navigated me to the interstate.  A thumbs up between us and I got on the ramp and headed north into the morning rush hour traffic in a light rain.

I kept the speed down.  Congestion.  Spray.  A little angst with the upcoming beltways and ramps in Asheville.  Finding the right one.  What side is the one I want.  Right or left?   Visibility with the faceshield is obviously reduced.  By the time I did hit Asheville a half hour later, the rain was constant.  All went well.  Found what I needed. I was heading north to eastern Tennessee.  Another 20-30 minutes later, the sun came out and I began to dry out.

Nice riding.  At speed.  Putting miles down.  The Suzuki handles interstate and speed well.  Heat and humidity built quick.  Passed into Tennessee.  Passed into Virginia.  By then I needed fuel.  A quick bottle of water.  An hour or so later, I was ready for a break.  I found a Starbucks somewhere and spent a half hour or so taking in a venti iced coffee.  Took some aspirin.  Called home to let Irena know I was on the road.

By noon I hit Kentucky.  For the last four hours the scenery and ride blended into the same.  At times not sure exactly where I was, just that the signs kept telling me I was on US 23 North.  I knew if I kept following that I would end up in Brighton, MI.

A couple of hours into Kentucky, I came up on an exit for West Virginia.  That was another state I have not been on the bike.   With a last minute turn signal and an expert merge on to the ramp, the interstate brought me across the river to West Virginia, to the first exit, back across the freeway, to the on ramp and  then right back into Kentucky.  Officially making this an eight state trip (MI, OH, KY, VA, NC, SC, TN & WV).  Cheating?  Perhaps, but I think not. But I am at peace with that.  🙂  It’s all about the bragging rights…  Boys never grow up do they?  When you retire you can do these adventures too!

The trip through Kentucky seemed to take forever.  Hot.  Very hot.  US 23 is a officially a highway, not an interstate.  Labeled in KY the Country Music Highway.  I have no idea…  Most of the time it is a four lane dedicated road with few stops until you hit towns.  When you do stop and get to put your feet on the ground the heat from the engine with no where to go, goes up.  Not unbearable.  Just adds to the delight of the existing weather of the day.

I can’t remember when I crossed the Ohio River into Portsmouth.  It was past mid-afternoon.  300 miles to Michigan.  I decided to put another hour in and then start looking for a hotel.

Chilicothe, OH was the choice with an America’s Best Value hotel.  $60  The gentleman at the desk kept quizzing me about things.  Then he stopped, looked at me and said, ‘you know you will need a credit card for the room’.  I was so hot and tired, I just stared at him and handed him a credit card…..  And got my room.

Showered, grabbed something to eat.  Sat out front, had a few drinks while I pushed out the blog.  The air conditioner was lame, but kept the room cooler than out side.  All good.  Good day.  Great sleep.

Friday, Aug. 5

Up and on the road Friday morning by 730.  It was already humid. I probably could of taken another shower and changed shirts before I left..  I hit Columbus right at morning rush hour.  US 23 goes right through the center of town, past the capitol and then through Ohio State campus.  Nice to see but an hour of stop and go.

Another hot day.  Finally clearing the city the speed limits allowed me to push some air.  First 45, then 55, then 65…  Ohio’s relentless farm lands offered little in entertainment.  An hour south of Toledo a fuel stop allowed me to check the wx.   A storm cell was moving from the west through Toledo.  With my expert calculations, I loitered for about 45 minutes knowing these calculations would allow me to miss the rain which would double the annoyance of the beltways / interstates / traffic of the Toledo and MI/OH state lines.

US 23 runs concurrent with I-75 for about 30-40 miles.  All construction, all the way.  All trucks, all the way.  As soon as I hit Toledo, I ran smack into the thunderstorms.  So much for my expert calculations theory.  To help, the ramp to US 23 was closed so a detour was in order.  I exited and tucked into a Speedway and waited 30 minutes or so until it passed.

Back northbound.  Soon into MI and pushing 80.  Anxious to get home.  South of Ann Arbor all the way to Brighton, maybe 30 miles it was stop and go.  It was Friday and every citizen in OH with a camper was heading north into MI.  Can you tell I was hot, tired and cranky?  🙂

Pulled into town about 3p  I had pulled off the interstate and took local roads the last 5-10 miles.. Unloaded.  Showered.  A drink with Irena and caught up on all the doings the last week.  Good to be home.

It was a great trip.  I will do it again.  Great to spend time with my brother.  Great to be able to set an agenda with no time constraints.  Without the anxiety of time – it is definitely different.  A very good difference.  Experiencing the ‘zen’ of long distance solo riding.  That is if you want to consider 1,500 miles really that ‘long’.  Bottom line it was fun..

Life is good