20160815 - Florida to NJ and back

Now is a great time to do a trip.  I'm at a point in my job interviews where nothing is scheduled; for the week of the 15th and there are a couple of opportunities that may become real jobs.  If they do, I will need to get right on it and start.  If they don't, I will need to double time my efforts to find my next job.  So, now is the time to go see family and friends.

Day 1 - 800 miles:  Spring Hill to Blacksburg VA or thereabouts.  The original plan was to leave at 5am and perhaps make it a 950-1000 mile trip.  That didn't happen.  When the alarm went off, I just wasn't able to pull myself out of bed.  I knew the penalty for that was going to be in miles.  No matter what, I was going to be  riding in hot temperatures...90+ all day.

I finally got on the road at 8:30 in the morning and things were fine right up until I was 3 miles from I-16 in Savannah Georgia.  Things were very gray and the lightning in the distance became lightning up close with heavy rain...the heavy rain that is not just high frequency drops; but, big drops.  Right at that point, I saw the I-16 sign 2 miles sign.  I-16 runs east to west and there were blue skies to the west, so I-16 it was.  It was probably about 25 miles before I was out of the rain and could pull over to consult a map.  I would need a new plan because the storm was large and fierce.  There was no way I was going to make it back to I-95 and up to I-26, even if I waited half the day.

I was in Pembroke GA and it looked like I could take 67 north to 25 to 77 and resume my path.  I would go through Augusta GA, Columbia SC and Charlotte NC.  I ended up losing about 4 hours of time with this routing; but, it had to be.  I could not ride the original plan.  The night before, the route forecast showed some minor showers.  Again, the weather guessers guessed wrong.

The ride to rejoin my route was nice; but, I had to stop in Columbia SC to let some thunderstorms pass.  Fortunately, that was only about 30 minutes of stopping time.

It was nice riding in the evening.  The temperature dropped into the upper 70's.  I wish I could stay awake longer and make it further north since it would be hot again in the morning.  Safety first.  I decided to put the kickstand down at around 11 pm.  I was just north of Roanoke.

On Friday, it was an easy 400 miles to my first stop.  I arrived by 12:30 and spent the whole afternoon with Dave and Crystal.  That evening, I rode up to Hazleton and grabbed a room.  Pickens were pretty slim.  I ended up paying $180 for a room at the Hampton and I was lucky to get it.  It was the last room.

On Saturday, I needed to get to NJ in the morning to see my nephew play football.  I thought it was ridiculous that they were playing in the 90+ degree heat; but, they were.

That's my nephew - #18.  His job is to contain the play to the inside and he's done that.  He's 8 and this is his first year of contact football.  He's learning very fast.

After the game, we went back to my sister's house for a pool party - a very needed cool down from a hot football game.
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The ride back:

1160 miles, 18:45 with 2 30 minute stops for meals, 4 or 5 gas stops and Rt 301 was shut down while
the fire department put out a car fire on the side of the road.  All in all, that's not bad time at all.  I have to say that I thought I was done at the 800 mile mark.  The heat was getting to me and I didn't drink enough.  I stopped for dinner at a Cracker Barrel and drank lots of fluid.  When I got back on the bike, I felt refreshed and since it was still daylight, I kept going.  When darkness fell, I had 2 or 3 hours to go.  How do you stop for a hotel room when you're that close to home?  I couldn't do it.  That being said, I had to deal with a thunderstorm around Jacksonville Fl. and if the skies were more violent, I would have taken the hotel option.  Here's a picture of the route.

Here's a picture of all routes over 250 miles to date: