free website stats program Colorado Bound now with Pics | Harley Davidson Forums

Colorado Bound now with Pics

bikemikewcr

Active Member
As promised here is the first days installment of my 11 day trip. I am sorry I could not be as diligent as Pru and his fantastic daily updates while on the road but here it goes.

Day 1 - The day of rain

Day one started out with me waking up at 5:00am so I could get on the road at a decent hour. I had packed the bike the night before and the only thing I had to do was check the tire pressure as I had already gone over the whole bike during the prior few days. I pulled the two wheel wonder out of the garage and took some pictures of her all nice and clean and looking like it could go into a show somewhere in all of her splendor. I got on the road a little after 7:00am instead of 6:30 when I wanted to leave and started heading West on 78 in New Jersey and was making a dash to get to 81 South near Harrisburg, PA. Well I was about an hour and a half into the ride and it started to sprinkle out and I figured I could pull over and top off the tank and eat some breakfast. While doing that I met a guy who was on his way to West Virginia for a family reunion and he was on an Ultra Classic as well. We got to chatting and decided to ride together until he would take a route west on 64. My original plan was to get to Front Royal, VA and take Skyline Drive down to Wayensboro and jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while. This plan was aborted and I went with plan B since as I mentioned it had started to rain and by time I was done eating breakfast it was in full force so out came the rain gear and full face helmet to get me through what I had hoped would be just a short storm. Well it ended up raining for six and a half hours. I travelled with Jim until we reached 64 and he headed west and I continued south and since it had stopped raining around 3pm I decided to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkeway for a while and get off of the slab. I rode the BRP from Lexington, VA down to Salem, VA and booked myself a room at the Holiday Inn Express for the night in order to dry out and be somewhere that I can just eat breakfast for free in the morning. So far the trip has covered 483 miles and brought me through the 5 states of NJ, PA, MD, WV, and VA. Not many pics from the day but here are just a few in order show some forward momentum.

The first two pictures are in my driveway getting ready to head out. Pictures 3, 4, and 5 are on the Blue Ridge Parkway
 

Attachments

  • DSC07011.JPG
    DSC07011.JPG
    118.5 KB · Views: 125
  • DSC07009.JPG
    DSC07009.JPG
    83.1 KB · Views: 112
  • DSC07021.JPG
    DSC07021.JPG
    133.1 KB · Views: 118
  • DSC07025.JPG
    DSC07025.JPG
    149.4 KB · Views: 122
  • DSC07033.JPG
    DSC07033.JPG
    97.4 KB · Views: 118
It always seems to rain on a trip, but sounds like you still made the best of it! Oh and that scoot sure is or should I say was nice and clean.

We went to Sturgis in 07 though 2 days of rain there and 1 day of rain on the way back. Hopefully it will be nothing but clear skies for the rest of your trip
 
Day 2 - Finally got some sun

Well day two of my trip started off waking up early to some nice bright sunshine and that had me ready to go. I decided to head down 81 South for a bit until I reached Route 8 near Christiansburg, VA and head east to get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and take that to Fancy Gap where I would intersect with 77 South and head towards Atlanta. All I can say is that this was a beatuiful ride and I am glad I chose to ride a bit more of the BRP instead of slabbing it all the way to Marietta, GA. After a nice breakfast I packed the bike back up and hit the road. I made several stops for pictures along the way and to keep hydrated. I stopped at Mabry Mill and Groundhog hill for my breaks and photo opps. Most of the day was very pleasant but it got real hot in the afternoon in the Georgia sun. When I left in the morning it was 72 and when I hit the Georgia state line it was 94 and I was hoping for a quick sprinkle from the gods above to cool things off a bit and they obliged several times that afternoon. When I needed to stop for fuel and water I realized that I was in Braselton the home of Road Atlanta so I figured I would swing by for some pictures since it was only 10 minutes off of the exit. Well I pulled up and spoke to the security guard and asked if I could go take some photos and she said sure, just stay on this side of the fence. Well the fence was only 10 yards from where I was so the only pictures that I managed to get were of the sign and turn 12. As I was leaving a Mercedes Benz AMG Gullwing had pulled up from the Skip Barber driving school so I also took a picture of that as you do not see these cars often. I also went across the street to look at their short track and there was a sign there stating that there was going to be a Dukes of Hazzard night so pulled the bike in front of the sign so it could be a part of memories from my childhood. After I left there I was lucky enough to sit in about 2 hours of traffic. It was so hot I thought that the bike was going to shut down for a while but luckily it did not and I managed to meet a friend at his house for dinner. Total for the trip is now 977 miles with 494 of the miles ridden today and 11 states. I added NC, SC, and GA to the list today.
 

Attachments

  • Day Two 5.JPG
    Day Two 5.JPG
    79.7 KB · Views: 87
  • Day Two 4.JPG
    Day Two 4.JPG
    117 KB · Views: 87
  • Day Two 3.JPG
    Day Two 3.JPG
    113.3 KB · Views: 88
  • Day Two 2.JPG
    Day Two 2.JPG
    130.3 KB · Views: 103
  • Day Two 1.JPG
    Day Two 1.JPG
    110.8 KB · Views: 86
More pics from day two
 

Attachments

  • Day Two 6.JPG
    Day Two 6.JPG
    105 KB · Views: 60
  • Day Two 7.jpg
    Day Two 7.jpg
    112.8 KB · Views: 63
  • Day Two 8.jpg
    Day Two 8.jpg
    35 KB · Views: 55
Great picture of the mill. Maybe I'll see it up close some day; but for now I'll just use it as the desktop backgroud. Maybe I'll send it to my artist brother in-law and see if he'll paint it for me.
 
Thanks guys, I have lots of pics and some of them will have a very close resembelance to the ones Pru took out in Colorado. I have to call it quits for tonight but I will try to get days three and four up tomorrow night.
 
bikemikewcr, I gotta tell you, this is great watching your trip from the first day. You are doing a magnificent job documenting it thus far. Don’t be concerned with how I documented mine; you are riding a lot harder miles than I did and doing every bit as well. I hope the weather cooperates for you. After 12 days I gave up trying to keep anything clean but the windshield. You can clean her up when you get home. Best wishes on a safe and enjoyable ride. I think I like being on this side of the fence partaking of frosty malt while I watch you ride for a while.
 
Back
Top