Saturday, August 8, 2015

20150806 - Spring Hill Fl - Cordele GA (then on to Washington D.C.)

First, my apologies for not having blogged in a long time.  Whoever you are that reads my blog, I appreciate it and I'm sorry if I let you down.  Statistics show that you, a single individual (or maybe two) consistently read my blog entries as I post them.  Someday, I hope to have a readership of 3 and I know I won't get there if I continue to treat my readership this way.  I humbly apologize.

I rarely have an uneventful trip and this first part of my journey is no exception.  Since I never plan and always procrastinate when possible, I found myself at the end of the work day wanting to leave, without anything packed.  The usual follies ensued - where's my umptyfratz charger, for that matter, where's my umptyfrats.  The funny thing is that I could care less about clothes as long as I have the right electronic gear, chargers and credit cards.  My closets are evidence of me having had to buy articles of clothing on many trips.  I digress.  Fortunately, I've done the motorcycle travel thing many times, so I know just what to pack and how to pack it.  This trip was going to be particularly exciting because there is no need to take heated gear with me.  I tend to pack light on the motorcycle and I like to make sure the bag I strap to the seat is full, as it serves as a back rest.  On this trip, there is almost nothing in the hard side cases - not the best for center of gravity; but, with this bike, the CG is plenty high to begin with.  I'm packed.  I leave.  It's 5:30 and I'm impressed because I stopped work at 5 sharp and managed to also clean the kitchen.

Starting this journey wasn't as fun as many.  There are so many things to worry about now.  I'm a supposedly responsible fish owner, I have a house now and I have grass that grows.  There's also a pool that needs chlorine and on and on.  It didn't take long and I was into my ride.  It's funny how I navigate very long trips without ever picking up a map or using the GPS.  The route was to be I 75 all the way to Atlanta.  I really had my hopes set  on making Atlanta, even though it would be midnight.  Friday morning traffic is horrendous and I'd like to avoid that.

Atlanta was a destination too far.  Mother nature is always in control and she thought it would be best for me to stop on Cordele GA; but, not before explaining to me in a gentle way (heavy rain with lightning) that going on was going be comfortable.  I tried to get into this little inn where I pulled off; but, the entrance was dug up and they were clearly under construction.  I needed to turn around and drive another 7 miles to a hotel.  The interesting feature about this hotel was the air conditioner.  Almost everywhere in the world, there are numbers between 57 and 71; in fact, there are an infinite number of numbers between 57 and 71. This is not the case in Cordele GA. In Cordele, there are no numbers between 57 and 71. The air HVAC in my room went straight from 57 to 71. Clearly, whoever did this was brought up on Common Core and using safe numbers or something.

Of interest on this trip was getting hit in the helmet by a fruit bat at 75 mph.   In the Universe of things, a tasty mosquito and 1,000 pounds of motorcycle and rider are not much different until you zoom in a bit. So it's quite understandable that a bat can fly into my helmet. If his radar wasn't jacked up before he hit me, it certainly is now...or maybe it's be knocked into alignment now.  At this point, the carnage I've left behind in my years of motorcycle riding is 2 birds, a groundhog and a bat.




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