_edited.png)
BRRRRRR! Coldest Morning Yet
Today we pack up to head home. I was not ready to exit my sleeping bag because this was the coldest morning we had thus far. The temps were in the high 40's and my sleeping bag was oh-so cozy. When you are on a trip this big, time to head home in no way means the trip is over. We still had 2 1/2 days of riding at the least ahead of us. We needed to put in some big mile each day to keep to our schedule. We wanted to be home early Sunday and to accomplish this goal we needed to make it to Roanoke, Virginia by the end of our ride on Saturday which would be our second day of riding. I finally crawled out of my bag and we loaded up and donned our cold riding gear and headed out on the trek home.
Change of Plans Again
originally we planned to ride to Woodstock Harley Davidson to get our New York chip. Mother Nature decided to rear her ugly head again. Tropical storm Ophelia was making landfall and was going to move into our path home on Saturday morning. We needed to get as far as we could while avoiding New York City. We ended up making it south of Albany New York. We truly had hopes of getting as far west as we could to possibly skirt the storm. Our Route started on 95 in Maine, then onto the Massachusetts Turnpike. Massachusetts Turnpike was beautiful, especially the closer you get to New York.
We made it to a little town called Coxsackie NY, it was after 5:30 pm when we checked into our hotel and headed into town to get food. We ate at The Cask and Rasher and enjoyed meeting awesome people.
The Rain is Coming
Saturday morning started dry and we headed out early to get our poker chip. We raced up into Albany wasting no time. We ran in and ran out of the dealership with our chip in hand and ready to begin the inevitable wet and chilly day. The temperatures were not expected to get much above 55 degrees all day and all we could do was pray our rain gear held. We were about 3 hours into our trip when we decided to stop for lunch. The Rain started as soon as we sat down to eat. The rain was steady and not all that bad if it hadn't been so cold. My husband's rain pants decided to breach on him and I can only imagine how cold he must have been. Around 3:30 pm we stopped for gas and I saw a Hampton Inn just behind the gas station. I looked at him and said "Honey let's be done for today!" he looked at me and said "You have no argument from me. Let's go rest" We got our room and spent probably 45 minutes warming up in the shower. Was quite the experience too say the least. I just knew there was no way we were making it home by Sunday night at this point. We still had over 550 miles to go, and another day of rain in the forecast.
Do We Go For It, or No?
Waking up to pouring rain outside we checked the forecast. In approximately four hours we could be out of the rain and into warmer climate. If we power through we might just make it home tonight. As the day progressed the rain became almost blinding. I remember thinking over and over is that water deep enough to hydroplane? I would watch my husband to see how his motorcycle was handling it and could tell it wasn't but man it was so nerve-racking. Luckily the temps were in the 60's and we were a bit more comfortable. His pants were not keeping him all that dry but at least he wasn't an ice cube today. And just like clockwork, after about 4 hours the rain was down to almost nothing. We had survived it!
Time to Get Home!!
It never ceases to amaze me how breathtaking the Appalachian mountains are. Our spirit of adventure takes us to many different places but we always find our home absolutely the most beautiful place. From the moment we began crossing the Virginia / Tennessee state line the ride was simply epic. The feeling of the perfect day of riding was setting in and we were so close to the end. As we crossed over from Tennessee into North Carolina and the Asheville area on I 26 it was like coming into the promised land. We had gone after our adventure. We had survived many obstacles. We had made more memories in 11 days than many make in a lifetime. And our reward was to come home to the most beautiful land on earth and our souls were full.
Yall and experience like this is hard to explain. I truly believe you have to make some memories like this to truly understand. Get out there and get "Engineered4Adventure"!!!
Christy
Comments