July 4th, 2013
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| Shenandoah National Park |
Skyline Drive - one of the Top 100 Most Scenic Drives in America - check that one off the ‘Bikeit List.’ I've been able to check at four rides off that list this trip.
After a good nights rest (Frostburg, Maryland...) and no bad dreams of potholes or Pa., Bessie2 and Me hit the road early - I love the hour just as the sun is coming up - to venture onto more backroads asphalt. The goal today was to ride backroads to the North entrance of the Shenandoah National Park, the ride South - 150 miles of Smiles - and head over to Charlottesville, Va., to tour Monticello and a few of the Civil War sites.
We hopped on I-68 for a short ride to 51 south; the asphalt was wonderful! For a secondary road through the West Virginia mountains it was heaven. Shortly after turning off I-68 the elevation dipped, rolled, and curved. Hardly any traffic except locals.
I love these challenging roads - seems to be a euphemism for life in general. I seek out the challenging roads to ride because I have always loved the mental concentration required in riding a motorcycle under these conditions. No daydreaming allowed; every ounce of my mental faculty is poured into operating the machine and focusing on the road....roads so narrow that the slightest lapse in concentration could me disaster - or worse. Roads to curvy that the slightest distraction could mean toppling down the mountain or kissing a rock wall. It is a complete mental and physical coordination; squeeze clutch, downshift, brake (back brake on the downhill!), adjust speed, squeeze clutch, shift, not too much throttle, clutch, shift again (uphill!), more throttle and before you can even cruise, theres another curve, clutch, downshift, downshift again, back brake, whoosh, now its uphill.....all day on the backroads. I become mentally and physically exhausted....in a good way.
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| Coffee With a View |
When I say, ‘a motorcycle saved my life,’ thats what its about; I bought my bike at a time in my life when I felt like my life was imploding...getting raggedy around the edges and sorta caving in on me. Two wheels gave me freedom, a purpose...a machine to control when my life felt out of control. I guess that’s why I seek the challenging roads, the next adventure.
Route 51 meandered through Oldtown and Paw Paw West Virginia; gorgeous farm and pasture in the hills. Route 51 connects with 127 then 522 - its a challenge in itself to keep on course with the twists and turns.....Thank You God for my iPad! Front Royal Virginia is where the North entrance to the park is located; I was pleasantly surprised to find very few tourists today! I snapped on the helmet cam - I look like such a dork with this camera on my head, but hey, when will I ever see these people again?? And my students are absolutely going to love the videos!!
Here’s a link to the history of Skyline Drive:
I was anticipating it being crowded with tourists on July 4th...imagine my joy when I was able to ride the road from North to South with very little interference. There was the occasional slow-poke....the speed limit is 35mph for cars, 50 mph for motorcycles (not really, but thats how we think). Most of the other bikes I encountered were cruisers (like B2)....however, there were three BMW’s that passed me on a double yellow, in the drizzling rain......assholes on shopping carts.
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| Riding Through The Rain Clouds |
The wildlife on these roads is always a concern; nowhere to go if something runs out in front of you. Todays roadkill included a baby black bear, two snakes, two deer, and several unidentifiable creatures. I came around a corner and a GIANT buck was just off to my right in the weeds - not sure if its visible on the helmet cam - no more than two feet from the pavement on my side.....close. And I slowed, almost to a stop, for a young doe and her little spotted fawn.
Dark clouds started to gather - actually at 3300 feet elevation, you are IN the dark clouds - so I stopped to don rain gear (boo....) and none too soon. Although it didn’t pour, it was enough of a drizzle to make the road even more dangerous. By the time I reached the end of the ride, the rain had stopped. I was very tired; it takes a lot out of my to wrestle a fully loaded, 800+ pound bike all day, on the challenging roads, not so much on the interstate.
After a major SNAFU....its not worth going into, suffice it to say, it was taken care of and I didn’t not have to shorten my stay. Although it did produce a mental meltdown -with me sobbing in the nearest parking lot -to my daughter on the phone, “why do I do this? Maybe I should just be home making potato salad, and grilling hamburgers...why do I push myself like this??”
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| "...Its about learning to ride in the rain." |
And my beautiful daughter replies, ‘Mom, I hate potato salad. If you were home making potato salad I would really be concerned. You are a cool Mom; no one else’s Mom rides a Harley. Get some rest.” I love that kid.
It is appropriate that I find myself in Thomas Jefferson’s backyard on the 4th of July; I plan to tour Monticello tomorrow then visit Appomattox and a few other Civil War sites. I really haven’t stopped to ‘see’ too much; its been about the ride this trip. About challenging myself and gaining back some of the confidence the accident robbed me of. Its about finding control, gleaning satisfaction from the journey, and centering myself.
Its definitely NOT about potato salad.
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