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Down The Road I Go...

Regardless of the weather (yeah, it's easy to say that while sitting at a desk in a dry office, er, cube)...I'm jealous. I wish I had the resources for a trip like this!

Like I mentioned before, I can't wait to hear the stories on a Monday night. Should be QUITE entertaining :thumb:
 
Me thinks the weather has driven Squeaky to ground for the day. Looks as if she decided to hit a motel early. Weather must be bad where she is but ahead to the west it looks a lot worse. Well maybe it will give her a chance at the computer to bring us up on her saga.
 
NOPE-- looks as if I called her off too soon as I just checked her track and it looks as if she is on the road again.
 
Just looked at the weather again. She's almost to Cincinnati, and the weather is clearing west of there. If she stops for the night soon, it should clear on out so she can head south. Or, she can go west now and get out of pretty quick. She's still making her miles! :thumb:
 
I just got finished relaying the local weather radar to her over the phone. I think she's going to wait out the brunt of the storm at a rest area and then press on to Louisville for the night. But you never know how fast or slow these storms decide to go.
 
After about an hour at the rest stop, the rain slowed to a drizzle and the sky lightened up. I threw a leg over and headed for Louisville, but took the VERY indirect route. Wireless here at the Super 8 works well, so after I've taken my well-deserved hot shower and gotten something to eat, I'll try to get caught up.

THANK YOU BILL AND JAYME for the weather reports when I needed them most!
 
I am glad you are having a safe and wonderful trip. :rider:

I went to the Catskill Game Farm many times when I was a kid. The night you were in Binghamton you were 45 miles South of my home town of Norwich.
 
I'm glad to hear you are in for the night and safe.....

Really enjoying the reports and pictures and wishing you a safe return home. Can't wait to hear all about it on Monday night too!

Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your adventure!
 
Day 12
May 7th
My Birthday

The whole reason this ride was planned for early Spring during such tumultuous weather was because of today. I wanted to be on the road on my birthday just like I was last year and how I hope to be in future years. I like traditions. I like looking forward to things. Regularity

Well, the trip itself has been anything but "regular". As Mollie said, if everything were going perfectly this would be a vacation, not an adventure. There have been moments that I wished this was a vacation though, sitting on a beach with an icy fruit drink in my hand. Most of the time that thought is the farthest from my mind. An adventure it shall be.

I woke up to a few phone calls and text messages reminding me that I'd grown a year older (seemingly) overnight. Why should we feel like we're a whole year older on this ONE day when its been creeping towards us all year?

The bike had been parked right outside my hotel patio door throughout the night and was easy to pack up.

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The bugs that had smashed themselves against my visor had also encrusted most of the front of my bike. I took soapy water and a rag to the lights and blinkers to aid visibility.

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Having typed up a day or two of ride reports but not uploading them due to lack of WiFi at the Motel 6, I decided to stop for a liquid breakfast to get that done.

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After two iced caramel macciatos (sp?) I was ready to roll.

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Westbound

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I found myself following water again. You can see it in this picture off to the right of the road.

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I've found peace with water. It doesn't like to run along mountain ridges, so it tends to allow for twisty roads at lower elevation. It's a safe bet.

Not sure what's up with this FEMA area.

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Miles and miles of construction slowing me down.

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The state line was tangled up in this mess, and with state police sporadically placed to watch the flow of traffic, I didn't risk weaving through to the other side of the barrier for a picture. I ventured off the highway to escape the smell of fresh laid asphalt.

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About an hour into the ride, my MP3 player decided to quit. It signaled low battery and turned itself off, but I was sure I'd charged it. I took it as a sign that I should be thinking more than singing today, so I left the earphones in to block the wind noise and motored on. I caught myself repeating some of my riding music over and over, but I got a good hour or two of thinking done as well.

No, you don't get THOSE details. As much as I share on this ride, there are things that nly I will know once it's over.

In the next town, I pulled over and swapped out to my "backup" MP3 player. It's shown it's age and has no LCD glass, but it plays music and I'm a creature of habit.

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Hills and valleys

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Expansive interstates

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With the late start, I'd almost forgotten to eat lunch. It was already well into the afternoon when I pulled off for gas and found Aungst's Family Restaurant.

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I've always found that restaurants with "family" in the name are worth stopping for, and this one was no exception.

I splurged on a loaded bacon cheeseburger and fries.

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When the waitress cleared my plate (yes, it was empty except for the pickles) and asked if I wanted dessert I instinctively said no. I did a double-take though and remembered that it was MY day, so I asked what my choices were.

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If this place were closer to Texas, I'd say we need to have a pie run here!

A slice of peanut butter pie and a hot up of coffee were the perfect cap to a great meal.

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Back on the road, the skies grew darker as I made my way across PA.

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As the drizzles began, I stowed the camera and started to make a plan for the night. If I could make it to Columbus, OH I had a friend I could stay with. The backup plan was a colleague of my mother's that lived outside Pittsburgh.

The rest areas along the interstates are much cleaner than I remember from my childhood. I stopped at this one to let some of that coffee out and to put the liner back in my jacket.

I was making good time on the highway when I realized I was nearing 200 miles on the current tank of gas. I'd been pretty good about refueling well before I needed to, so when the flashing beacon of stupidity blared at me for 15 miles I actually started to worry.

Thing is, I worried less about what I'd do if I ran out and more about how I'd never live it down with the Monday night crew... go figure...

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Turns out I still had a half gallon or so to spare.

I made the decision to head towards Darlington, PA where Salome (pronounced Sol-oh-may) would gladly accept me into her home for the evening. She rides a Harley with her husband and has been following my journey on my blog.

She warned me that they lived "in the boonies" and offered to come meet me in town and lead me back to the house, but the GPS said it knew how to get me there so I declined the offer and wound my way up the dark, wet hills and right into their driveway. As I rolled to a stop and put me feet down on the gravel, the garage door magically opened before my eyes and I nestled the soaking Strom in for the night.

Cheyenne said I could share her house as long as I pet her for a while.

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After her husband Dennis went to bed, Salome and I stayed up for a while drinking coffee and talking before finally calling it a night. She offered to let me sleep in and leave when I felt like it or even stay another day to stay warm and dry, but I regretfully had to decline so I could (again) try to make up the miles getting back home.

Oh, how I long for the day I can hit the road and not have to "be" anywhere.

New York, Pennsylvania
363 miles

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Follow me: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0niqJ8tjMVyEOT91cDaNW9QJxINAVSS9q
 
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What an excellent way to spend your birthday! And with friends to boot.....


Now, about those Kawasaki mirrors...... :lol2:
 
You're doing so well! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

I'm so excited for you. All the hardships and misery make for great stories...hehe. :trust: :rider:

Can't wait to hug your neck when you get back! :mrgreen:
 
Looks like you rode through (or right next to) Loveland, OH and Rising Sun, IN. I lived in Loveland for one excruciating year (1997-1998) and worked at the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort in Rising Sun.

Curious to hear about THAT part of your trip...
 
What better way to spend your Birthday than doing what you love.
Happy belated Birthday from Kathy & I.
Marty
 
Brian - last year I lost a mirror (it was loose, fell off, bounced off my leg and down the road) but I needed a quick replacement for a trip. David (Cagiva549) had a few spare KLR mirrors and was kind enough to give me one. I haven't bothered replacing it with a Strom mirror because, quite honestly, a mirror is a mirror. :lol2:
 
The lonely round mirror is still hanging out on a shelf looking for its lost mate , I keep hearing strange noises during quiet times while working in my shop . When they are reunited they will have a lot of catching up because one got to go to Maine and one didn't . The pair saw lots of happy trails all over Texas and Mexico and were resting on the shelf when I sold there old ride and didn't get to go with it . They need to be together again on a new ride . SEYA
 
Well as of 17min ago she was OK in Lone Star, TX.

Looks like her trip is coming to a close. She has less than 5 hours of road infront of her and could be home before dark.

Squeaky, thank you for taking me along your ride with you. The posts, the SPOT, and the pictures were great.
 
Looks to be near Lufkin a few minutes ago.

Appears to be zeroed in on the home stretch.
:pray: for the last bit, especially thru Houston...
 
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