9/9/10,,day 3 Patriots point

We take our time this morning, we want to avoid rush hour traffic in the Charleston area. Today we are going to Patriots point to see the USS Yorktown. OK, time to admit my mistake this trip, I had written down the directions to Patriots point before we left Ohio,,then forgot to bring them with me. To make matters worse, my atlas does not have a city map of Charleston, so we decide to "wing it". How hard can it be to find an Aircraft carrier??? Patriots point is in Mt. Pleasant, across the harbor from Charleston SC. I remember we are going to Mt. Pleasant,,and recall something about route 17. Nearing Charleston on route 52 I see a sign for Mt. Pleasant, OK we will go that way. The outer belt, I526, as we ride along we come to a bridge that takes us up,,up and up!!! Over a river, to my right I see a suspension I remember seeing in pictures of the Yorktown,,OK that way. We come to route 17, turn right,,and in minutes we are there.

We spend several hours touring the Yorktown, and we also go through the USS Clamagore, A baleo class diesel powered WW2 era sub. I really enjoyed this stop, and to see how small and cramped the Clamagore was,,I cannot imagine what life was like for the men who fought ww2 in these vessels. It's almost 2pm , and we decide to take the ferry out to Fort Sumter, just to find out the last ferry left at 1:30,,,guess I will have to come back in the future. I was already planning on doing that anyway, Patriots point is also home to a destroyer, the USS Laffey, and it is out for repairs so we do not get to see her this trip.

It is getting late in the day and we have 1 more stop, Curt wants to stop at the local Harley shop. After leaving the Harley dealership we run into afternoon rush hour,,,that's not good. We are stopped in traffic in I26 and Curt's Harley keeps overheating, glad I have a liquid cooled ride. We decide to take the next exit, no matter where it goes. We take the exit and end up back on route 52, OK change of plans,,north on 52 it is. 52 north to Paxville to route 521 north to Sumter SC. We pull into Sumter around 8pm,,find a room and head out for dinner. Tomorrow we will be on the Interstate to make up some time.

fall ride days 1 and 2 -9/7-8 of 2010

Tuesday Morning, 9/7/10 I arrive at Bob Evans at 7:20 to find Curt waiting for me in the parking lot. It is a typical September morning in Ohio,,a cool 56 degrees,, the air damp and cool. Over breakfast we discuss our plan, route 23 south to route 52 all the way to Charleston SC. We are riding down to see the USS Yorktown. With breakfast over we are on the road by 8:00am. An hour and a half, and 90 miles or so later we are riding through Ceredo WV. We are in coal country, and the smell of coal hangs thick in the air . We round a corner and see a coal mine and a yard full of rail cars fully loaded with coal. Riding south on 52 we are following a couple of coal trucks, the dust coming from the trucks is so bad we have to stop and take a quick break. Curt forgot to put his windshield on his bike, and it is showing. His face is covered in black soot, looks like he has been working in the coal mine. With our break over, and Curt cleaned up we are back underway. This is a great ride, two lane road through the hills of WV. In Welch WV we have a quick lunch at a fast food joint, top off and are back on the road. Going through the mountains of WV and into Virginia. We stop on Big Walker Mountain in Virginia. to take a break and get some pictures. Two hours later we arrive in Fancy Gap, get dinner and a room,,this has been a great day.

DAY TWO 9/8/10

I wake at 5:30, turn the television on to check the weather. No cable, well I wonder outside and get a cup of coffee from the gas station across the street. Looking at the sky I see some stars and patches of no stars,,hmm partly cloudy. . The Lakeside restaurant opens at 7am, after breakfast we head south on 52 towards Mt. Airy NC. From Mt. Airy route 52 goes east to Winston Salem, then back to the west. We opt to go south on route 601 to Salisbury NC where we pick up route 52 again. Just south of Salisbury I tap my rear break and notice something does not feel right, I glance down at my right foot and see my sock covered toes. OK,,I knew my boots were worn and needed replaced,,but I thought they had one more trip in them. Pulling into Rockwell NC I see a Wal mart,,time to go shopping. As I walk through the store my boot is floppimg open with every step exposing my sock,,LOL,,people were looking at me like I was some poor homeless man.

With my boot crisis solved we are underway, today is a short ride. Riding south on 52 through Florence SC we stop at a red light, when we hear from behind us,,,HEY CHILLICOTHE!!! We look around to see a guy hanging out of a delivery truck waving at us,,we wave back and try yo figure out ,,who is this guy?. At the next light he pulls along side us and tells us he is from Chillicothe too,,he just moved to SC a few months ago,,he saw the county sticker on our license plates... We stop about 50 miles short of Charleston in the town of Monks corner, find a room and walk across the parking lot to Little Pappy's for dinner. Steak and shrimp,,, my favorite, and yes it was good.

Ohio Tail of the Dragon. Rt.536, 8/7/10

The Morning began at 7:45, I roll the VTX out of the drive and head to Bob Evans for Breakfast. I meet Roger and Sissy there at 8am, after eggs and toast we head out. Today we will ride 340 miles, all without leaving Ohio. I feel awful this morning, a bad summer cold has left me with a sore throat and sinus headache,,,but it is time to ride..A quick stop to top of the tank and we head east on rt.50 . The temp is a cool 58 degrees and the air feels damp. Route 50 is a two lane that is shaded in many parts this early in the day,,and that is where you feel the coldest air,,brrr. We follow rt50 to route 32, this will be the boring part of the trip,,4 lane from here to Marietta. (about a 50 mile stretch) With a quick butt break and fuel stop in Belpre Oh,,90 miles into the trip. Once in Marietta we pick up route 7 north and follow it along the river. This is a nice scenic two lane ride, we even stop in the town of Matamoras Oh. to take pictures of a Barge making its way down the River. About 20 miles up the road and we reach Hannibal Ohio and Route 536,,,just to see the road is closed 6 miles ahead. We did not come this far to turn back, so we decide to ride route 536 as far as we can and turn around. It was well worth it, the road is said to have 150 curves in a 12 mile stretch,,so we rode half of it.

The problem is we need to get to the north end to pick up Route 78 (the way we are planning on making the return trip) Back on route 7 we ride to Clarington Oh where we stop for lunch at a small diner/bakery.,,,Mellots,,a handful of tables and about 10 or 12 chairs,,but good food.

After lunch we head west on route 78, for me this is the start of the best part of the ride. This is a nice ride, 70 some odd miles of two lane to McConnelsville Ohio where we pick up route 37 west and ride to New Lexington Oh. There we pick up route 93 south to Logan and down 180 towards home. All of these roads are two lane's with good curves and great scenery .I am in the lead and cannot resist the chance to play in the curves,,opening the throttle and leaning the bike way over,,I go into a posted 30mph curve doing 45 mph and open the throttle exiting the curve doing almost 60mph,,I have the bike leaned over to the point my left heel is dragging the pavement,,WOO HOO!!!! 340 miles of fun, now I am sunburned and tired,but what a great ride.

my other hobby

I know this blog is suppose to be about motorcycle trip's, but the past few weeks I have been enjoying my other hobby. A good friend took these pictures so I thought I would post them here.