To get some more experience traveling long distances on my motorcycle, I planned a trip to Stafford, VA to visit my friend Dave. This will be the first leg of our cross country trip next spring. It was 470 miles and took all day.
Black Ice
It started on Monday, Oct. 19. I had planned to leave at 7:30 AM but black ice in Connecticut cancelled that plan. I waited till the temperature had reached 35 degrees. Finally got away at 10:30 AM but still had to be careful on the overpasses and bridges.
It started on Monday, Oct. 19. I had planned to leave at 7:30 AM but black ice in Connecticut cancelled that plan. I waited till the temperature had reached 35 degrees. Finally got away at 10:30 AM but still had to be careful on the overpasses and bridges.
Trip Challenges
The trip went smoothly with a few adventures. First traveling in heavy traffic at 70 mph on the twisty Garden State Parkway was invigorating. A little later in the trip, I managed to enter a trucks only entrance to a rest area. Then I wandered around looking for a way to get to the car section of the rest area. Finally a couple of friendly truckers let me cut in front of them and travel over a low divider into the car section. Finally, after dark, I drove over a country road toward I-95. Ground fog gave me an eerie feeling as my headlight pierced through various thicknesses of it gathering over the road.
At 11:30 PM, I rolled into Stafford ready for a good nights sleep. Judy was glad to hear I had arrived in one piece. The next day I helped Dave gather food from the local super markets for a food pantry.
The trip went smoothly with a few adventures. First traveling in heavy traffic at 70 mph on the twisty Garden State Parkway was invigorating. A little later in the trip, I managed to enter a trucks only entrance to a rest area. Then I wandered around looking for a way to get to the car section of the rest area. Finally a couple of friendly truckers let me cut in front of them and travel over a low divider into the car section. Finally, after dark, I drove over a country road toward I-95. Ground fog gave me an eerie feeling as my headlight pierced through various thicknesses of it gathering over the road.
At 11:30 PM, I rolled into Stafford ready for a good nights sleep. Judy was glad to hear I had arrived in one piece. The next day I helped Dave gather food from the local super markets for a food pantry.
Air and Space Museum trip
On Wednesday, Dave fired up his 1983 Yamaha Virago and I followed him up to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. On the way to the museum, I got a taste of the DC traffic. I had to ride close to Dave in an offset pattern. We enjoyed the museum with its' historic aircraft, great fighter IMAX movie, and its view of Dulles airport from the museum's observation tower. I was impressed by the size of the facility. I used the B-29 display to compare the space to the New England Air Museum's B-29 space. NEAM has it in one building. Udvar-Hazy has it in a gigantic space 10 times the size of NEAM's building filled with other airplanes.
On Wednesday, Dave fired up his 1983 Yamaha Virago and I followed him up to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. On the way to the museum, I got a taste of the DC traffic. I had to ride close to Dave in an offset pattern. We enjoyed the museum with its' historic aircraft, great fighter IMAX movie, and its view of Dulles airport from the museum's observation tower. I was impressed by the size of the facility. I used the B-29 display to compare the space to the New England Air Museum's B-29 space. NEAM has it in one building. Udvar-Hazy has it in a gigantic space 10 times the size of NEAM's building filled with other airplanes.
Homebound
On Thursday, the 22nd, I was on the road at 7:30 AM headed northeast to Connecticut. The weather was cool and sunny. The most memorable rides were driving on the two lane bridge over the Potomac river and crossing the Tappan Zee bridge in New York. I had a nice surprise in Hartford, CT as I entered a traffic jam. I realized motorcycles can travel in the HOV lane and entered one cruising at 70mph past the jam. I arrived home at 6:30 after a 12 hour run.
Cheers,
Free Spirit
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour" - Robert Louis Stevenson
On Thursday, the 22nd, I was on the road at 7:30 AM headed northeast to Connecticut. The weather was cool and sunny. The most memorable rides were driving on the two lane bridge over the Potomac river and crossing the Tappan Zee bridge in New York. I had a nice surprise in Hartford, CT as I entered a traffic jam. I realized motorcycles can travel in the HOV lane and entered one cruising at 70mph past the jam. I arrived home at 6:30 after a 12 hour run.
Cheers,
Free Spirit
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour" - Robert Louis Stevenson
