Normally I don't listen to music when I'm traveling on the bike...I prefer the rush of the wind and the opportunity to unravel the thoughts in my head. But today I agreed to run back through the dreaded Pennsylvania, I figured if I was going to beat and slam, I might as well rock and roll as well. So I hooked up my iPhone, stuck in the earbuds, chose Rolling Stones Radio on Pandora....and kept on truckin. Weirdest moment ? I'm listening to Zepplins 'Goin to California,' and decided I needed to go around this huge dump truck I was approaching. I signaled to Paul behind me to change lanes, and as I was moving out around....I read the trucks mud flaps ( yes, really), 'JOHN BONHAM Heavy Equipment!' No lie....and if you don't get the connection between the song I was listening to and the mud flaps....John Bonham was Zepplins drummer who died in 1980 ....which basically was the demise of the group. Now, what are the chances of that connection?? Spooky.
We actually made it out of PA without me using my finger or the F word....amazing.
July 14th
As we sip coffee in Harrisonburg VA' we watch the weather report...not good. We have been so fortunate with the weather on this trip, but today, storms are all across the South. We pack the bikes and don rain gear to head south...North Georgia is our destination...still looking for property in the Hiawassee area.
It starts to sprinkle just 20 miles down the road, spitting rain, just enough to blur the windshield and my glasses. I-81 runs parallel to the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park....it is a beautiful ride that I did a few years ago...in the rain. Pockets of mist, wispy clouds, hang in the valleys as we ride along. Rain stops and starts intermittently...nothing to slow is down, just a reminder that we are vulnerable to Mother Natures schedule of events. The Shenandoah Valley is the site of many Cicil War Battles...if you are a history buff, you can spend days tramping the hallowed ground.
We cross the Potomac and the exit for Antitam then Harpers Ferry...kinda wanted to stop and have a look see, but the rain would have made sightseeing a little soggy...next time. We take I-26 south down to Johnson City, the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains....as many times as I've made this drive both on two wheels and four, I never tire of the beauty of the Smokeys. We have to connect with I-40 for a short distance, and I'm grateful it is only a short distance! Trucks are flying on this road and the speed limit is only 60! We hit grooved pavement, with no warning, around Ashville.....nothing like wobbling and weaving with trucks flying all around you! Blissfully, we arrive at 19 & 23S that turns into gently twisting asphalt - minus all the traffic - that winds through the Pisghah National Forest with the Smokeys as a backdrop. Signs for Maggie Valley and the Cherohola Skyway beckon.....but we have 'been there, done that,' so we keep true to our planned route. At Clayton we make the turn West towards Hiaassee Ga., the sun is dwindling and this next stretch is REALLY twisty turny- actually part of The Gauntlet-through the Chatahoochee National Forest. My main concern is deer at this time of the eve...and the looming storm that has been chasing us since we left Virginia this morning.
The ride through here is incredible, but treacherous when the light is waning ....and I didn't remove my sunglasses at the last stop! I'm just saying a little prayer as I approach each curve...'Please God, don't let there be a deer in front of me!' We finally leave the forest and it's a clear stretch into Hiawassee. Stop quickly for gas....cast a weary eye towards the sky...and hightail it to the hotel. Pull under the awning where we normally park the bikes - have a heated discussion with the bimbo at the front desk about that ( no, I'm not going there), and the wind picks up, blowing rain sideways. We haven't eaten dinner yet and it's already 730- but the pounds I've packed on since the middle of June would be enough to sustain me for several days. Once the storm passes, we wander down the hill for dinner....trees have been blown over all along the road!
Thank you God for safe passage today; spending the day here looking at property then headed home at first light.
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