12 - The ride back: The Coast of Maine to the Coast of North Carolina

I broke camp and was on the road before five. The ride to Bangor was one of the best ways to start a day. There were few people on the roads, and good fortune smiled on me as I slowed to 25 just in time as I rolled by the local sheriff. There wasn't a "reduce speed ahead" sign and the 25mph caught me off guard. Gotta love providence.

During my first stop on I-95, I talked to a guy on a bimmer adventure bike. He's a Brit in his 50's who was on his way to Panama. He had family in Savanna and Asheville and his wife and kids were flying in to meet him. They were flying together to Vegas and Napa for a few weeks and then he was flying back to resume riding. Canada, the four corners in the US, and ultimately, Panama; what a ride. In front of his trunk was a leather bag strapped to the seat. It was a brown alligator bag that looked as if it had traveled the world a time or two, and had generations of world travel left in it. The bag was clearly more valuable than my Goldwing. The guy (Eric) was such a badass, I wouldn't be surprised if he killed the gator himself and stitched the bag on the spot. What a cool guy!

During a pitstop in Marlborough Mass, my GPS notified me of a nearby bar. My water bottles were empty and I really wanted to catch the Weather Channel to modify my route to best avoid thunderstorms.

The bartender, Joe, had played football for Maris College and told me to take the Taconic State Parkway. That worked well because I wanted to get as far West as possible, even though it was out of the way. I took the Mass Turnpike to the Taconic and then rode through The Delaware Water Gap National park and got to Pocono, PA as the thunderstorms finally caught me.

It was nearly dark, so I began looking for a place to camp. After getting several bad directions, I found myself at 8:30 in pouring rain, with a headlight that didn't work. I pulled into a KOA, but no one was around. I could barely see and went riding around the campground looking for a place to put a tent. I turned left and suddenly found myself not on a gravel road, but on a muddy trail used by earth-moving equipment. The front end was plowing through 6+ inches of wet clay.

Keeping the bike up became a nightmare. The speedometer read 30 mph and I wasn't moving an inch. Twice, I was spinning the rear wheel and got on the pegs to jump a foot and land on the seat to give more traction to the spinning rear wheel. After what seemed like eternity and after several points of being stuck, I made it a very long 80 yards back to gravel.

The bike and I were quite muddy and I was sufficiently freaked out. It was now dark. I got back on the road and put on a turn signal so that others could see me. I rode in the rain to the nearest hotel. So much for an all-camping adventure.

I was so glad to have my bike on its kickstand on asphalt.

I left Pocono before 6:00 and made great time heading South on 81. As I reached my old stomping-grounds near Front Royal, VA it became clear that I could take a huge detour and still make NC before dark. The ride on 340 to 211 was fantastic. All the twisty curves and mountain roads of Skyline Drive, without the low speedlimit and drastic penalties for non-compliance. I got on Skyline Drive and rode 100 miles to Afton Mountain where Skyline Drive meets the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

 

 

I sang the old Hank Williams tune for the next five miles. "I saw the light, I saw the light, no more darkness, no more night."

Is Skyline drive so much better than the BRP that it's worth $10 to drive? Of course not, but the park has so much more to offer than just driving. It was worth it to me because it was such a great way to end the trip. Afton Mountain is 30 miles from where I grew up.

 

The nostalgic ride on 151 past Wintergreen really capped off a great 10-day trip. Now to spend a week with my Family on the Carolina coast.

 

Next:  Leaving Town Again Headed West