Doing a 2,000 mile bounce trip isn't much fun and really, I would rather ride all the way to Key west, the furthest southern point in the continental US. It also works out that my friend Jeff Kurtz was in Florida and there was a chance I would see him, as well as some friends in Florida. A couple of phone calls later and I had a mini-vacation going. It's a good thing too; because any time now, my next gig will happen and I don't know when I'll be able to fit in a long ride.
The first leg of the journey put me in Waycross GA. I had never been there before; but, Jeff was visiting his girlfriend Robin and they invited me to stay with them for the evening. Waycross was the destination. Robin has a very nice house there, with a ton of trinkets, or collectables. I felt very welcome. I arrived at nearly 10pm, and they were waiting for me. They had been following the whole trip on my EPRB since I left PA. Robin had a chicken dinner waiting for me and she gets makes the best potato salad I've ever had. She rocks. They also had a queen size air mattress for me. This thing must have been 8" thick. They fixed me up with a comforter, sheets and a pillow. Food, bathroom, shower, sleeping accomidations - what more does a weary endurance rider need? Entertainment! They had that too. Jeff and I could have talked for hours and I got there just in time for the last 9 laps of the Nascar race.
I skipped the part about the 890 mile ride to get there; mostly because it was uneventful. I planned to stay away from the northern section of I-95; mostly because it's highly congested; but, also because you pay a small fortune in tolls going through Delaware. My friend Mike Adams was dying for his first distance run of the season and rode up to Carlisle PA from Frederick MD to meet me. Together, we rode down to Harrisonburg, VA, where he jumped off and took Skyline drive back to Front Royal to Rt. 340 and home - a route I've ridden several times. It was about 400 miles total for Mike and he had a great time. With that route, you can't go wrong. It's gorgeous. I continued down I-81 to Roanoke VA. About a mile before the I-581 junction, traffic came to a standstill. It was either wait it out, or jump off. I jumped off. A quick peek at the road atlas (you carry one, right) showed that I had a good alternative to get back on course; but, would incur about a 30 minute time penalty. That was a much better option than sitting on I-81 for an indeterminate amount of time. The route took me up onto the Blue Ridge parkway and off onto Rt. 221, where I picked up I-77 about 40 or 50 miles later. It was a little slower going; but, the twisties on the Blue Ridge were enough to wake up the sphincter muscle after all that long boring interstate. The only other delay I had was 45 miles north of Savanna GA, when the setting sun caused drivers to ride the brakes, slowing things down to almost a standstill. A total of 60 minutes delay over 890 miles of travel isn't bad at all!
After great company and conversation in Georgia, I was off to Tampa Bay to meet my friend Charity, who I hadn't seen in 3 years. The plan was to hang with her for the day and then leave in the morning for Key West. Her car just arrived from England, so before I leave for the Keys, I'm going to take her for her car first and then hit the road. Charity and her husband own a very nice house in a gated community. By the time I got to her house, it was already 86 degrees and I was riding in full gear. It felt great to get a shower and put on some clean clothes. We decided to go sit by the beach and have lunch, followed by a walk with the dogs and some relaxing in front of the TV.
Here's the actual route I traveled on this trip and a couple videos!
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