As Martyn said, PoPs and I are "not damn yankees, because [we] go home." Instead, I sit here and write up trip reports after-the-fact, and PoPs, well, is just PoPs. :-)
Our adventure started early Thursday morning. Since Paul Mossip and Emmie cancelled out earlier that week due to some sudden problem, the trip came down to just two of us coming from way up north of the Mason-Dixon Line. I met PoPs at the gas station just up the street from me where I was checking my tire pressure for the long haul. PoPs was supposed to show up at my apartment at 6:30, but when he didn't, I decided to begin doing the two things I needed to do... get cash from the money muncher and check my tire pressure. The directions I gave PoPs would force him to pass where I could see him while I was doing either of these things. So we finally depart at 7am, after I dropped back to my place to get the travel-sized can of chain wax.
There is nothing really remarkable about this portion of the trip, because we essentially super-slabbed it all the way to Front Royal, VA. (I-195 to I-295 to US 322 to I-95 to a few small roads in Delaware to avoid the toll to I-95 to I-495 to I-66.) Why did we do this? Well, without really working at it, there aren't all that many good roads on this route.
Pick up in Front Royal, VA, where we grab a quick bite to eat and then head down US 340. Nothing spectacular about this road either, but it isn't the super-slab (I-81) and it isn't Skyline Drive (35 MPH, heavily patrolled, loaded with tourists). Somewhere along the way, all traffic is stopped... driver's license check. We show them ours, and they let us continue on undisturbed, though they did write up one cager who didn't have hers, it seemed. We wind up in Waynesboro, where we change to US 250 for a short bit, then hop up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Early on, we pulled over so I could put my sweatshirt back on, as we could feel the temperature drop a little bit. At this point, PoPs says to me, "Barring a heavy fog, this road is beautiful in any weather." So we proceed south along the BRP for a while, and guess what we run into... fog. The fog didn't last too long, and really wasn't all that thick all over, and we managed to get through it quickly.
Time was coming close to the need for another fuel stop, so we get off the BRP onto VA 130. We head west toward Glasgow (away from Lynchburg), and proceed to find a REALLY GOOD piece of road which winds its way down and up a mountain. Unfortunately, the road was mildly damp, and because of it, the Duchess decided she was going to give PoPs a scare by starting a high-side. Fortunately for both of us, she didn't, and PoPs kept right on going. We arrive in Glasgow and get fuel, then decide to get back to the BRP by continuing out to I-81 (which was only a few miles down the road) then taking VA 43 back to the BRP, which would mean slabbing for about an exit or two. Everything went as planned... back on the BRP... and guess what we ran into going over Roanoke Mountain... yup... FOG. First thing PoPs tells me after we stop for our next break is, "Use the force, Luke." That's how we had to go over Roanoke Mountain.
Anyway, we get off the BRP onto US 221. PoPs was about to go the wrong way, so I took over point at this stage, figuring to give him a rest. We stop once more along US 221 for a short break, then continue on US 221 to Galax, VA, where we're supposed to meet up with Josh Fielek at the Youth Hostel along the BRP (mile post 214.5, northbound side). This time, the fog hung around with us, even after coming off the BRP, and remained mild, all the way down to Galax. We get there, then go onto VA 89 to head toward the BRP. We stop once more figuring to call the Hostel and find out if Josh arrived and if we should get dinner. Well, all we got was the answering machine there, so we proceeded on VA 89 toward the BRP... into more fog... and this time, daylight has left us. We manage to get onto the BRP and head toward the hostel. The guy inside the convenience store where we stopped to try calling Josh said that the hostel was about 3 miles north, so despite the fog, we pushed on. Silly me is used to mile markers being on both sides of a highway, so I was looking for the mileposts on the right. After not seeing one for a while, and noticing that we'd gone about 3 miles (trip odometer), I finally started looking to the left too... and saw one... 213. Oops... too far... turn around and head back. Again, go back one mile... 214? Isn't there SUPPOSED to be a 214 here? Uh oh... getting close to 1.5 miles... 1.5 miles... scan both sides of the road by mildly weaving back and forth. There it is!
We pull into the hostel access road, and upon arriving at the house, we are greeted by three small to medium dogs, all barking. After parking, and older gentleman opens the front door, and greets us. We tell him who we're looking for, and he brings us upstairs where we find Josh. The guy is the "proprietor." After settling in and paying for our one night stay ($13/person, including linen rentals), we ask if there's a phone we can use to call for a pizza delivery. The owner and his wife agree that they won't come out to the hostel in that fog, if at all, and provide us with some soup and crackers. When they offered us some stuff, that's what we figured would be best, since we could always get a big breakfast. People who run hostels are not responsible for providing meals, but these people were really nice, doing what they did. If you have a AYH membership and are looking to visit various things in the area, please patronize his one. We got a decent night's sleep and the owner was really cool, too.
We get up in the morning, and prepare to leave. After taking care of the three morning S's (you military-connected folx should know what I'm talking about here), we headed out. Back up VA 89 to US 221, then south on US 221. Stop for breakfast at a place Josh knows in Independence, VA, then continue on US 221. Except for one portion of it which hasn't been paved since around the Spanish-American War, this whole road was a great ride. South from Independence, VA, to North Carolina through Twin Oaks and Jefferson, then branch off onto NC 194 rather than follow US 221 into Boone, just because it's a less-travelled road. This, too, was another good road. Just before turning onto it, however, we had a mild NC State Trooper scare on US 221 (cop car coming the opposite way, but didn't turn around :-) ). Follow NC 194 into Boone, then switch to NC 105 to avoid Blowing Rock. Pick up US 221 again in Linville, NC, and stop for a quick break. With the mild to non-existent drizzle and slightly dark sky, we followed PoPs' words, when he said, "If we get wet, we get wet," and didn't bother with the rainsuits. Continue on US 221 over the mountain where we proceed to get rather wet. The rain eventually stops after we come down out of the mountain (being behind a couple of trucks along the way didn't help), and we find our way to US 70 where we take a turn to follow US 70 west, and stop for lunch. After lunch, the rain and drizzle have completely stopped, so we actually have a chance to kindasorta dry out en route. Continue with US 70 west to I-40 west, following I-40 through Asheville to the US 19/23/74 combo. Follow this for a bit, then branch off onto Business US 23 to avoid construction. Along the way, it gets nice, sunny, and warm, so at one of our stops, I take off my now not-so-damp sweatshirt and tie it to the back of my bike to allow my more-damp t-shirt to dry out a bit. Get back onto the 23/74 combo, and continue on a bit. The sky starts looking a bit more ominous, so we pull over and don the rainsuits. PoPs caught us once already, so we're not chancing it this time. We're partially dried out now, and would like to stay that way. :-) Finish with the rainsuits and continue. This time, we're glad we did put them on, because it did rain on us again. Follow the 23/74 combo, then stick with 74 as it combines with US 441, while 23 goes off in another direction. Eventually, US 441 splits off, so we stick with 74, and then US 19 works its way back in. Eventually, we turn off onto NC 28. Yet another great road when you're not stuck behind a doofus in a red pickup truck who's (seemingly) intentionally driving just close enough to the edge of the road to pull some of the wet leaves out into your path and refuses to let you pass. NC 28 ends at US 129, and we find ourselves pulling into Crossroads of Time. Ryan is in the office working out some kind of details with Pete. Josh ends up sharing the room with Ryan, since Ryan's scheduled room-sharer backed out, and Josh didn't really feel like riding back and forth between Knoxville.
Eventually, Wayne gets some of us together for the dinner ride to Knoxville, TN. Wayne and Vicky, Tom Hormuth, Ed Ruiz, Brad Whitehurst, and I all head through the Gap to go to The Butcher Shop in Knoxville. It's a steak joint where you cook it yourself however you like it, or have their chef cook it for an additional $2. Good food and a lot of laughs within the small group that went. On the way back, Wayne becomes the beer bike, and I stop for a little medicine from Brother Jack. (Hey, PoPs and Josh were the ones who said all they needed was a little of Brother Jack's medicine to make them feel good... or at least forget their problems :-) ). We head back to the Gap, where Wayne pulls over early to wait for the others. I decide to continue on my own. No, this was not a mistake, but it certainly helps build your confidence level. So after some chatting (most folx had gone to bed just before we got back), we all go to sleep and wake up whenever we feel like it.
Wake up the next morning, and the sky is rather grey. Some folks get in an early ride, and then it starts raining while some of us grab one of Pete's smoked trout sandwiches for breakfast. After eating, we get back and find Martyn suiting up and starting his bike. "I came here to ride," was all he said. And ride is what he did... seven times through the gap in the rain and not a single fall. After lunch, some of us decide to take a run through anyway. PoPs, however, says he's used up enough lives already and decides not to risk a ride through the Gap in the wet. So we get through, and are pleasantly surprised to find not too many wet leaves, etc. The road was relatively consistent, too. We get back without a fall. Later, some others take a trip through in the rain. I decide to take a second run through, despite the rain. I figure that I need some wet road practice, and go for it. This time, as I go through, somewhere in the middle of the run, it stopped raining, but I took no real notice of it. I got to the far end, and it wasn't raining any more. I run back through and it doesn't rain the whole way back! Great. I figure I can take a ride through without the rainsuit. Well, after talking for a few minutes, here comes the drizzly mist. Well, just before dinner, I do manage to get a run in without the rainsuit... Ed, Tom, and I did a pre-dinner ride after the mist stopped. We get to the far end, and I point up to the sky. "Look! A crack of blue sky!" We hurry back as best as we can, and get dinner. Everyone is starting to bow to the moon, stars, and whatever else starts to appear in the now clearing sky. Dinner is excellent, and we all figure to not get too drunk so we can get up early the next morning and get in as many rides as possible.
Six am rolls around, and my alarm clock goes off. By 7, I am showered, shaven, and suited up (with my electrics on underneath) and starting my bike for a ride through the gap. Turns out I'm the camp's alarm clock as I go screaming up the hill. :-) I find that the road is mostly dry with a few damp spots, few leaves, and only one corner has some tree bark or pine cones all around in it. There is a little light fog in a couple of spots, but nothing really dense so that you can't see anything. I get back to camp, and find that just about everyone else is now suited up and warming up their bikes. I quickly grab my camera, because the view of the valley with the fog hanging over it is REALLY gorgeous, and I want to get a few pictures of it. So we run most of the way through and stop at one of the overlooks along the way. I get my photos and we enjoy the view. PoPs figures out what's wrong with Ryan's bike (a little shaky when slowing down), then we all head back, only PoPs and Josh switch bikes. We grab a decent breakfast, and after I finish, I head back down and run into Martyn, who's talking with some new arrivals who aren't fellow Denizens. I told him that with the way the day was, there's only two things he should be doing at that point... either getting breakfast or riding. His "audience" was rather amused to hear about his seven wet trips through the gap the previous day. I then go for another trip through the Gap. PoPs is standing outside our room when I get back, and before he can say a word to me, I say to him, "The chain needs to be warm if I'm going to lube it." That ended any straight face PoPs could hold for a while. Seems I'd given him yet another good excuse to ride the Gap. :-) I also later found out that Martyn, after having seven successful wet rides through, did a low speed lowside on his first dry trip through. No personal damage (except pride) and only a logo got scratched off the fairing. PoPs had told me at the beginning of the trip that every time he's done the AoDG, one person has gone down... seems his "jinx" is continuing. :-( Well, we pack up and as we're doing so, PoPs discovers a rather unfortunate item... his clutch cable is about ready to snap. It's hanging on by a few strands at this point. He was glad he didn't go ride the Gap in the rain. So he eventually finds a dealer in Knoxville who has a cable and will put it in for him. That just added some time and miles to the trip home, and forced us to miss out on the Foothills Parkway. Oh well. PoPs and I fuel up, pack up, and load up, and head out through the Gap to Knoxville. Follow US 129 into Knoxville, and after a slight mishap, work our way onto I-40 west and TN 162. Meet up with the dealer at a designated point, and he fixes the cable in about 20 mins or less. We follow him back to his shop, have a nice chat with him and his brother, and then head out after PoPs pays for the repair. We meander back toward I-40, stop for a bite to eat before the slab, then go east on I-40 to US 11W north. We follow 11W up to Kingsport, and change to US 23 north for a short bit, and work our way to VA 71 north.
VA 71 north is yet another one of those great pieces of road. Not frequently travelled, got some nice curves, and it goes through the middle of nowhere. It combines with US 19 for a short bit then splits off again. After splitting off and staying with VA 71, about a mile into it, if that much, we find traffic stopped. In front of us are about 4 or 5 cages, also stopped. On the left is a barn. On the right is a rather rotund sheriff's officer with his cop car lights flashing, two older gentlemen farmers, and one young bull (probably a yearling). We proceed to watch as the three of them try to scare the bull across the street back into the barn. The bull wants nothing of it. After a couple of attempts, they let traffic go, since the bull started walking down the right side of the road, refusing to go back. Everyone passes the bull slowly, then continues on.
Eventually, we pick up US 19 north and then hit the US 19/US 460 combo. As it gets darker, we plan to eventually hit I-77 and I-81, and to stop for dinner somewhere along there. US 19 and 460 split just before Bluefield, and we stick with US 460 east, since that's the way to I-77. We briefly cross into West Virginia, then get to I-77 south. Our dinner stop is near the junction of I-81, and then we figure to push on until we're tired. PoPs gives me a little friendly advice about the brites on a motorcycle when compared to the brites on a car during dinner, and we press on, after we don our electrics. We follow I-81 north all the way up to around Greenville (a couple of miles south of Staunton), and there I decide to go to the motel which is just off the highway (I was on point, and figured that we'd find a better rate if we stayed outside of the bigger cities, which turned out to be true). We stopped at the EconoLodge (Hessian House historical site, too!), and got a double for $35, including my AAA discount. :-) PoPs, not wanting to stink up his pillow, stepped outside for a puff or two. He finds the "Pink Cadillac Diner" across the street, closed for the night, and we figure to go there for breakfast, if only for the shits and giggles of it, since it seems to be a 50's-ish place.
We wake up about 7am, and head over for breakfast, and decide to get the special (two eggs, any style, biscuits & gravy, potatoes, and coffee). The place is decent. If you're down that way, drop in (I-81, exit 213, in VA... on US 11/US 340). We go back to the motel room, pack up, suit up, and head out. We continue on I-81 north for a little while, then pick up US 211 east. It's mostly an infrequently-used superslab type highway, except when it winds up and down the Shenandoah Mountains, where it's a lot of fun. :-) We follow US 211 east all the way to US 29 north then I-66 east, and we basically slabbed it all the way home, with only a slight detour into Baltimore so I could drop by my alma mater (Johns Hopkins U) and check in with the Department of Military Science.
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