Fredericksburg
VA
Rode
out of Yemassee for the last time in my life, I hope, I hope, I hope.
Still
on the I-95 heading north. Long sleeve
T-shirt with short sheet t on top of it.
Weather is nice and warm…great for riding.
Somewhere
around the NC border I spotted ominous black clouds ahead. Looked like the storm is going to cut across
my path….unless I can beat it. So I
upped the speed to 85 and ran around the very edges of the storm catching only
a few sprinkles. A few miles later I
could see the downpour in my mirrors!
But
that was just one fun part of the trip.
Nearing Fayetteville I took a
break at a McD’s, had just finished my sandwich and was working on my blog when
I spied this big hulk of a man coming towards me. He asked if that was my bike outside…he
didn’t look 'pissed off' so I acknowledged it was and we got to chatting. He introduced himself as Buck Simmons from
Chapel Hill and told me he and his wife Patti ride a Goldwing. We were swapping stories when I said I had
stopped in MS to visit an old flying buddy of mine. He asked what did I fly, “46’s” I responded,
“I flew Cobra’s” he said extending his hand for a shake and a “Semper Fi”.
What
a small world. He and Patti
were on their way to a “PoppaSmoke” reunion. We swapped stories some more and I
found out that he was shot down twice in Vietnam. And here I always thought that Cobra’s could
duck ground fire better than 46’s J.
This
is the fun part of this trip….meeting such fine Americans throughout the
states. We exchanged email addresses and Buck and Patti gave me a standing
invitation to visit in Chapel Hill for a bite to eat, a shower and a night’s
rest in their guest room.
Later,
outa Fayetteville, I hit some strong rain and pulled in under a bridge. There was another biker there, Marshall
Hardin from Columbia on his way to Wilson to visit family. We chatted while waiting for the rain to
subside and then made another run for it.
We didn’t get far.
About
5 miles later we were back in the bad rain.
I noticed Marshall pulling into a bridge that I passed under but I kept
going….only to the next bridge. The rain
was too dense and was affecting my visibility.
So I dismounted and took a seat on the ramp under the bridge when I saw
a biker coming up the shoulder….it was Marshall….coming to keep me
company. While sitting there I commented
that it seems we’re behind the rain storm as it flows up the highway. With that, I remembered that a fellow at a
truck stop in Lake Charles helped me put a weather app onto my smartphone. So I fired the Droid up and went to TWC app
to see the radar map. Sure enough, we
were following a squall line. So I
suggested we just mount up and run through it….he was game so off we went.
The
rain got heavy on us as we hit the line…but within 3 minutes or so we popped
out on the other side of the line and were in clear daylight. Wow, what a feeling to be able to warm up and
dry out!
But
then we hit stop and go traffic in interstate for about 10 miles. Construction narrowed the road down to one
lane! What felt like hours later we
finally got through it and rode formation up to the Wilson exit where I tanked
up and he continued on his way. I really
enjoyed the brief ride we did there….hope all goes well for him.
At
the station there was another bike there….a young lady named Charlotte riding a
Bouley (Suzuki Boulevard) heading up to Petersburg VA for a dental
appointment. She whirlwinded outa the
store, wolfed down a sandwich, chugged a drink down, and took off in a
blurrrrrr.
Finally
arrived Fredricksburg…only 2 hours away from my brother’s house, but in the
opposite direction that I will be heading tomorrow. After unloading everything into my motel room
I walked over to Denny’s and treated myself to a chicken and steak pan skillet
dinner. Ahhh, life is good when the
tummy is full.
Hope
Buck and Patti made it to PoppaSmoke, Marshall made it to Wilson, and Charlotte
got to her dental appointment on time.
C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter:
@GonzoCrossUSA
Email:
GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell:
949-433-0761
No comments:
Post a Comment