It’s the beginning of July 2019 and my nephew’s (Kylar) 8th birthday was coming up. I decided to make a trek to Northwestern PA to celebrate his birthday. His birthday was on a Friday this year, so I decided on making it an extended weekend trip. The trip is about 550 miles one way. I would do a single day up on Thursday and a single day back on Sunday. I scheduled PTO for that Thursday and Friday and now I just had to get my bike ready. The rear tire on my V-Strom was wearing thin, with a few spots where the tread was just about gone. I don’t think it could have gone another thousand miles, so I needed to change it. I ordered a new rear tire and it arrived the week before my trip. That weekend the weather was beautiful and some friends invited me up to Virginia to visit Monticello. Not wanting to pass up beautiful weather and an opportunity to learn about Thomas Jefferson, I decided to go for a ride instead of getting my tire changed. I took my Yamaha FZ6 (custom naked) instead of the V-Strom to avoid any issues with the tire. Since I spent my weekend riding around VA, this left me to do the tire change during the week. On Tuesday, after work, I started on this project. It was about 1900 by the time I got home and started. Taking the rear wheel off the bike takes no time at all. I don’t have a garage, so like any good biker without a garage, the kitchen became my shop where it’s much cooler and has no mosquitoes. I used some carpet and a piece of cardboard to avoid damaging my wheel (oh… and my floors).
This particular Bridgestone tire has some thick sidewalls on it which made it a bear to get off the rim. It put up a real good fight but I was victorious and got it off the rim. After fighting with getting the old tire off, I was expecting the new tire to be tough as well. To my surprise, the Michelin tire I got went on much easier than the old one came off. Once the new tire was beaded, I used my Marc Parnes Wheel Balancer to balance the wheel. After balancing the rear wheel, I put it back on the bike, adjusted my chain, torqued all the bolts, and checked the tire pressures. I was burning the midnight oil by the time this little project was complete but I got new skins on the rear and it was ready for a long ride.
Wednesday at work (the day before I leave), I received a support issue that needed troubleshooting. The customer is overseas and couldn’t meet until the following morning. To accommodate their time zone and to avoid me getting a late start on Thursday we decided on a meeting at 0500 my time. I wasn’t looking forward to doing another conference call on my day off and before another motorcycle trip but it needs done and thus it gets done. Once the work day is done, I head home and pack for the trip. I won’t be doing any camping this trip and am staying with family, so I can pack light. Once packed up I hit the sack to get a few hours of shut eye.
0430 my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed to get ready for the conference call. After two plus hours of troubleshooting, we narrowed down the cause of the issues that they were seeing. I took some notes and passed them off to members of the team to begin investigating until I get back to the office on Monday. Once off the call, I shut down my laptop and get ready to head out. I make a quick breakfast to fuel myself for the ride ahead and then load up the bike.
By the time I fire up the bike and hit the road, it’s nearing 0900. The weather is amazing, temperature feels great and the sun is shining. I meander my way out of the city, trying to avoid all the crazy cagers in a rush to get to work. Once out of the city limits, the roads start to clear and the scenery becomes more beautiful. Heading north, I cross into Virginia after about an hour of riding.
Blackberry Smoke is jamming in my earbuds as I continue north. With the wind in my face and the sun beating down on my neck, I’m enjoying every bit of carving up the less traveled roads of VA. At one point, I turn on a little road that winds its way up a hill. As I get to the top, the woods give way to open fields with great views off in the distance.
I continued making my way north towards the Shenandoah through the open back roads of VA wine country. There are vineyards and distilleries all throughout this part of Virginia. As I continued riding up and down the hillsides, I passed by a couple of pig smokers. My nostrils filled with the delicious scent of smoked meat and I had to turn around, it was about lunch time after all. I found a little road to turn around on and then pulled into Paulie’s Pig-Out. It’s a cool little joint with only a couple of picnic tables outside. I ordered a plate of BBQ with some fixins and tried to find a shady spot at a picnic table as it was quite hot out. I was the only one who stayed to eat, others who stopped by picked up their food for takeout.
After getting my fill of BBQ, I hopped back on the Strom and continued up the road. I passed by the north entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I passed by this way a couple of times but never have rode the north side of the Blue Ridge. By this time, some rain clouds had rolled in and started dropping some rain while I was riding through the southern hills of the Shenandoah. It didn’t rain too hard and it was actually quite refreshing. A little while later the rain gave way and it was back to blue skies and clear roads. I soon crossed the PA border and thoroughly enjoyed the rural landscapes that lay before me. Passing through Amish country, I wave to some kids who are out playing in the yard. A little bit farther up the road I pull over to the side of the road to get a quick picture of the corn fields with the windmills off in the distance.
Windmills can be seen in the distance all over this part of Pennsylvania. As I weaved my way through the back roads, I came upon some farms set in a beautiful backdrop of rolling hills (and of course windmills!).
Continuing up the road a ways, I crest a long hill and pass by a small dirt access road. I decide to check it out, so I get the bike turned around and turn onto the access road. The road was short but it did lead to the top of the ridge which provided great views of the countryside (which were obstructed when on the road).
I continue northbound for about another hour. By this point it was around 1830 and I needed some gas and a snack. I pull into a Sheetz where I get my gas tank filled, grab a protein bar and an ice cold drink. I sit outside on the sidewalk resting up against the building in the shade. I noticed after riding in the sun all day, that I’ve got the Curious George look going on with my glove tan!
After getting refreshed, I continue riding until the sun begins to set enough that I need to swap out my dark face shield for my clear one. I decided to pull into a nearby Arby’s so I could grab a quick sandwich and use the bathroom. I was still about 90 minutes out from mom’s house. As the sky grows darker, my headlights light up the roads that carve through state game lands and surrounding woods. Unfortunately the bugs like the light as well and they are out in full force. There are gobs of bugs that pelt the front of my bike and the panniers. I tuck my head behind my windscreen to avoid getting hit in the face with them. After just a few miles, my bike is just covered with splattered bugs. Once I get out of the heavy wooded areas, the bug population congregating in the roadway thins out. I am now nearing roads that I frequently traveled when I was a kid and a short while later I pull into my mom’s house around 2200. Kylar is still awake when I arrived. He was super surprised when he saw me come through the door and ran over to give me a hug. A great ending to good day’s ride.
The next day was spent hanging out with Kylar. The weather was beautiful so we spent some time outside playing games. We then decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood (well I would be walking, Kylar would be riding his bicycle). His bike needed a little bit of work, as the tires were low on air. So I spent some time teaching him how to identify the air pressure that each tire should have, how to use an air pressure gauge, and how to pump up the tires. Once the tires were full of air, we made our way through the neighborhood. During the uphill parts of the trip, I made sure that he didn’t quit but kept pedaling all the way to the top of the hill :). A little while later we decided to hop on the Strom and go for a little ride around town. I put my helmet on Kylar while I took advantage of Pennsylvania’s no helmet law. We had fun driving around town and Kylar thoroughly enjoyed the ride. About this time it was getting close to dinner time and we were meeting family at a restaurant. On our way, we stopped and picked up some of Kylar’s friends who would be joining him for his birthday dinner. My grandparents came to celebrate with us and it was good spending some time with them.
The next day we were going to Waldameer park to have some fun. Before we left for the park, I headed out on the bike to visit with my aunt, uncle and all their kids. They always have a full house (seven kids in the house will do that!), so there is never a dull moment. It was a short visit since I had to get back to the house but it was great seeing them and I’m glad that things worked out that I could stop by to see them. After riding back to my mom’s house, we hopped in the car and drove up to Waldameer. We spent the majority of the day at the water park riding water slides and swimming in the wave pool. Towards the end of the day we decided it was time to ride some rides. We had a blast riding all the rides and we made sure we made multiple trips on Thunder River (of course we encouraged Kylar to put his hands in the air on the drop and I did my best to ensure that he received the brunt of the splash!). We closed the park down and then headed for home. A long fun filled day it was but it was now time to get some rest as I had a long day’s ride ahead of me.
The next morning I load the bike up and I hit the road. I make contact with my aunt and uncle in Ligonier and arrange a meeting with them. It worked out well since it’s on my way and about a two hour ride which allows me to get a break to stretch my legs. We met at a nearby park and did a little hiking. They brought me a sub from Subway, which was great and allowed me to refuel for the trip ahead. It was great catching up with them and I got to meet their new dog, a giant Rhodesian Ridgeback. After hiking a bit and catching up with them, it was time to hop back on the bike and head south towards home.
Making my way through southern PA was a treat once again with great roads and scenery. The rolling hills in this area make for some great vistas. I must say I really enjoy riding the roads of Southern PA.
I cross the border into Maryland for a short ride before entering West Virginia. The mountain country of West Virginia doesn’t disappoint with it’s vistas either and seeing the old Mail Pouch Tobacco barns is always cool.
I churned through the miles in West Virginia and after awhile began to get a little tired. I needed to get some gas soon as I was running close to empty. At this point, I was nearing the Virginia line and there was nothing but woods, no sign of a gas station. I look on my GPS and find a town a little ways up the road, it’s a bit of a drive but I have enough gas to make it. Once I get out of the woods, I come to a clearing and off in the south I see some heavy rain clouds. I make it to a gas station to fill my tank and take the opportunity to look at the radar. There is a large storm coming up out of the southwest, heading northeast; right towards me. This quick rest along with the storm revived my energy levels and I begin to brainstorm how I’m going to avoid this storm. I decide to head directly west on 211 to try to outrun it as it is the only direction I can go. I pass by Cooter’s in Luray; I would have loved to stop there to check it out but I didn’t have time on this trip and a storm was on my tail. I can see the rain off in the distance with bolts of lightning lighting up the sky. I entered Luray and continued on 211 through the Shenandoah National Forest, crossing over Skyline drive. These are great roads but I didn’t enjoy them as much as I would have liked as I was focused on moving forward to get out of the way of the storm.
I entered the town of Sperryville and decided to take 522 to start heading a little south. I didn’t make it far before there was a butt puckering lightning strike right in front me followed immediately with a crash of thunder. After that I quickly turned around and went back to Sperryville. I pulled in to an empty post office parking lot and looked at the radar and a map. The radar showed that the storm was slowing down a bit and seemed like it may begin to break up as it moved toward the northeast. I know staying where I was the storm was going to hit and it wouldn’t let up for hours in that area once it did, so I know I wasn’t staying there to wait it out. I made the decision to continue on 211 heading northeast (the opposite direction I needed to go) to get out of the way of the storm. I continued on 211, all the while keeping my eye the sky to watch the storm. It looked like there was an opening towards the south, by this point I was near Amissville. I took some side roads over towards 229 and head south towards Culpeper. As I’m riding, I am watching the storm clouds drop heavy rain off in the distance knowing that it was heading in my direction. There were a couple of patches were it sprinkled a bit, but I made it to Culpeper without getting wet. I wasn’t quite out of the storms way yet, so I kept on moving south knowing that the storm was continuing to move to the northeast. I picked up route 15 and rode it all the way to Zion Crossroads. I didn’t hit rain the rest of the way and the storm was now completely to the north of me. I outran the storm!
I stopped to fill up in Zion Crossroads and grabbed a sandwich at a nearby Arby’s. I took this opportunity to take a breather after that exhilarating little adventure. I sat in Arby’s for a little while and rehydrated and then I was ready to hop back on the bike to make the final trek home. At this point, the sun had set and it was getting dark. However the temperature was great, hovering in the low 80s. I took it slow on the back roads of Virginia and stayed alert to spot any glowing eyeballs, as there were a lot of deer out. I passed by multiple groups of them eating along the side of the road but thankfully none of them ran out in front of me. After crossing the border into North Carolina, I made the final 50 mile push before pulling into my driveway just before 0100. What a full day of riding, logging a bit more miles than I had intended with outrunning that storm. I take a few minutes to relax and unwind before hopping in bed to get a few hours of sleep before work the next day.
It was a great and memorable trip and I’m glad I got to spend some time with my nephew and the rest of my family.