SPYDER TRIP DAY 5

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                        SPYDER TRIP DAY 5

After a trip like this I often reflect on the beauty and the solitude.

    The last day of the trip. Sad. But by this time I’m missing home, the family, my pets. The issue here is that I was probably going to run into rain…and I did. The objective today was just to get home, but to make the ride as pleasant as possible. I decided to get right on I 81 from Roanoke and shoot up to Stevens City where I could cut over to US 340, take that to Fredrick. Then up US 15 for a little bit to MD 26 to Eldersburg and then on the route I’ve memorized to get around Baltimore. 

    I slept in today, causing me to not get on the road until 7:45 ( instead of 7:30! ). It was a beautiful morning in Roanoke. From the hotel I got on I 581 and took it to I 81 north. Very different ride than I had experienced over the last 4 days. On the way down I did not ride an interstate highway at all. Today I rode around 165 miles from Roanoke up to Stephen’s City. Constant 70 mph plus, sometimes with sprints higher to get away from or in front of traffic. For the most part I 81 is a 4 lane highway, although there are some stretches of 6 lane highway. In the state of Virginia on a 6 lane highway they designate the right lane as the slow vehicle lane, the center lane as the travel lane, and the left lane as the passing lane. No commercial vehicles, except busses are allowed in the left lane. On a 4 land highway all bets are off. As a result when trucks need to pass slower trucks they can be in the left lane for 1, 2, or even 3 miles, usually only going a few mph faster than the trucks they are passing. The result of this is a back up of traffic until the passing truck pulls back into the right lane. I try to anticipate this situation and get in front of the truck before it pulls out. Sometimes I am not successful!

    Initially things went well. I rode with traffic from Roanoke to Harrisonburg with no problems. I often try to find a “gap” in the traffic where I am between groups of cars, riding with the cruise control on, with no vehicles near me to the front or behind me. This is the safest place to ride. As I approached Harrisonburg the sky ahead was darkening. It was apparent that I was riding into rain, and did so just after I passed Harrisonburg. Rain began appearing on the windshield, and I looked for an overpass to pull over to put on my rain pants. Some years ago I realized the riding jackets and coats should be waterproof. How waterproof are jackets, boots, gloves etc I don’t know. I have often been disappointed, but if the gear works well it take little or no time to get ready for rain. In this case by jacket and boots were supposed to be waterproof so I only had to put on rain pants. As I was putting them on a guy on a Harley pulled up behind me to put on his rain gear. He had not wind shield or other protection on his bike. The Spyder did a great job of giving me protection, with my boots getting little or no rain on them. The fellow on the Harley had a more difficult ride through the rain than I did!

    The rain was with me from just above Harrisonburg almost to Frederick MD. I was totally out of it as  rode through Frederick on US 15. Then I got on MD 26 just north of Frederick, rode that through Libertytown MD to Eldersburg where I had lunch at a Chili’s. Then I began the circuitous journey through the Maryland countryside, through Finksburg, Fowblesburg, Hempstead, Hereford, Jarrettsville, Forest Hill until I met US 1. US 1 north across the Conowingo dam to Nottingham PA. Then back roads home. In all it was a great trip. The bike performed flawlessly, was great in the rain, as well  as LOTS of fun on the curvy BRP. A 5 day trip, not a whole lot of miles on any day, and, generally, very good weather. At this time the next trip I am planning is to Montana, and Wyoming, probably in September on the Gold Wing. In the meantime lots of local riding on different bikes every day. Tomorrow, on Father’s Day, we are going to my daughter’s house where her husband’s family is up visiting from Florida. There are going to be about 7 children there, so I am planning on taking my sidecar rig so I can give kids rides around the neighborhood. Should be a fun day!

My older daughter on a trip at age 7.

This is on the BRP at the Virginia/ North Carolina border. 

Note her tedddy bear, Sonny, that she still has to this day!