Its still chilly at night!

I had an emergency come up with my son who is in Columbia SC at school. I figured Id get a couple hours sleep yesterday after work then ride down instead of driving. LOL i left around midnight and stopped north of Richmond for breakfast. Right now Im huddling in a waffle house in Wilson NC trying to get warm.....Im freezing out there on the hywy. What's really bad about it is that i have a long sleeved shirt, wool sweater covered by a windbreaker then my very heavy but perforaţed riding jacket....and thermal pants coverinG my jeans and my hands are ţhe only warm parts thanks to the electric Gloves....oh yeah, i also have a wool scarf around my neck....LOL.....guess Im getting old.

jeff

 

That's what sucks for me, I can't ride to work till its at least 10 degrees at 9pm for my hour drive home :/ Oh well, bike isn't together still anyways (This weekend is the start of putting her back in one piece).

 

I live just a few miles from Kenly, NC (you will pass the I-95 truckstop with the lighthouse as you continue south) and you are correct that it was very chilly this morning when I took the dog out about the time you posted from Wilson. It was also very wet around my place. When are you coming back through? The weather is supposed to be very bad on Saturday afternoon....strong storms coming from the west. Sunday is supposed to be nice!

 

Hey Jeff,
I am about 90 miles from Columbia. I live 3 miles off I26 at exit 28. We are supposed to be having some severe weather tonite 4/15/2011 and most of tomorrow. So if you need a place to stop over or a shop etc. let me know (PM I guess). Any way you are welcome if you need a layover spot......Paul

 

it was 25f on my way to work this morning. Wore all my snomobile gear, but gotta get a better pair of gloves. Mid- 50's for the way home, though.

dave

 

Thanks for the offer of hospitality but i should be okay. Right now it looks like Im going to head home either late Sat night or early Sun morn.
I've noticed that the big trucks seem to have issue with bikes on 95. Last nite i had lit cigs thrown at me, was cut off a couple time and even had one truck pull into my lane, staggered with another truck in an apparent blocking effort to keep me from passing! Who knows but i simple used an entry lane to scthoot around them at which point they abandoned the 65mph they were holding me to and sped up to 80 something. I really dont like "games" when the speedometer needle is hovering at 3 digets. Its all focus and awareness.

I was fighting lack of sleep by the time i pulled into the hotel this morning after 556 miles but after getting a solid 5 hours this afternoon, I kinda feel like going for a ride....
jeff

 

I'm assuming your child is at USC? I have a boy attending USC-B. B is for Beaufort, S.C. on the coast about an hour above Savannah, Ga. Good luck on your trip.

 

Hey Jeff, are you on the turbo? I can only imagine how crazy the trucks and cagers on 95 probably are. I still haven't attempted to get on the interstate, tbh I'm kind of afraid, mostly about what you're saying about those high speeds and how much you'd need to concentrate. Glad you made it there in one piece and wish you well!

 

Yes, my son goes to USC and actually does very, very well in school. His problems are when he's not in class...hence the rapid trip down here. Looks like we've got things as dealt with as they can be for now so I'll probably ride home either late tonight or early tomorrow.

No, I didn't ride the Turbo down. It's a bit cramped for me and I haven,t got it legally tagged yet so I loaded the Vstrom, checked pressures, fluids and lights and took off. The longest ride I've taken the turbo on so far is only 70 miles or so. My comfort level isn't where I'd like it for a 1000 mile+ trip yet. Since this wasn't a "fun trip", I didn't want to take any chances with the added drama of a possible breakdown on the way down or back. With the V, it's like dropping a rock, I just know it's gonna hit the ground. I had replaced my rear tire last fall and thought the front was fine but after the trip down, it's time for new skins on the front now.

I just sold the GSX-R1100 and I was planning on tagging the turbo and buying tires for my car...this came up instead and in the grand scheme, is much more important.

I was going to ride back tonight but the temps are dropping again and a few showers are showing up on the radars so I'm thinking I may leave around 3 am or so. I would like to get home before dinnertime so I can file my taxes tomorrow evening instead of waiting to the very last day.

jeff

 

Glad you got down there safely, had a sneaky feeling the V-Strom would have been your ride of choice, lol, I mean, it's a V-Strom, wtf right? lmao! Anyways, a couple of us are trying to get together around lunch time tomorrow around Dunn/Smithfield NC, so if you are blowing through around then, holler or pm your number and maybe we can buy you a cup of coffee or something and let you vent, lol. Gotta love those young adults, mine is talking about dropping out of her 3rd year of school so she can go to Japan for a month. I'm like ahhh, that's not a very good idea, lol.

Mac

 

Sorry I didn't see this until this morning Mac, I might have taken you up on that cup of coffee....and yeah, to rant too. Kid is a 3 yr Deans list student...and is brilliant, can do anything he wants to....but sure makes some stupid decisions. Sounds like you know the drill though. For me, the most important thing was to let him know I love him and we'll work together to mitigate the damages.

It was 50 at 5am when I left Columbia and dropped into the 40's as I crossed into NC from SC. It made me wish I had left Saturday afternoon....until I got to NC

The storms really devastated some areas. There was a guy that sells the precast pools, where he has 3 or 4 of these big 15-20 foot fiberglass pools propped up in the field along RT 95 N. They have been there for years....I'm sure all you guys that live down there know where I mean...not anymore. The biggest piece that I was was about 2 foot square. Absolutely shredded, along with several trailer homes. That field is probably a good 50 or more acres and it looked like a war zone.

I saw a total of four places where it had looked like tornadoes had touched down or crossed 95. Down below Fayettsville about 20 miles or so it looked like it came from the West, hit 95 Northbound, run up the actual highway for 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile before continuing East. You can always tell tornadoed trees because instead of just being knocked down, they will be twisted in a circular pattern....as if a huge hand grabbed the tree and twisted it around and around before breaking it off......it gave me a sick feeling when I was what was left of a minivan in the 50 yd wide median between the N and S lane of 95.....who ever had been in might have lived, but it would have been an act of mercy by God himself if they did.

I got back home yesterday afternoon around 3pm and unpacked and thought about my trip. I had mentioned before that on the way down, I had lit cigs thrown at me, intentional cutoffs and intentional blocking maneuvers done to get me from making progress. Not particularly appreciated at speeds approaching triple digits. They were all done to me at night. On yesterdays daytime return trip, the big rigs couldn’t have been nicer….weird huh?


Oh, time to change the front tire….actually, it was time to change it a while ago but now it’s REALLY time to change it. I won’t be riding anymore until there is a new shoe on the front.


Kind of a boring ride report....1120 miles this weekend, no issues...none.....ain't it great<LOL>?? I admit that my vstrom1000 is by far the ugliest bike I've ever owned, it's also the only bike I've ever bought new. When I read all the reviews of the bikes that cost 15 grand and up sure makes me appreciate the 8K OTD I paid for it.

Maybe after owning my yammy a while, I'll be comfortable enough to take it on trips too.

Take care all,



jeff

 

So glad you made it home safe Jeff! Maybe sometime this summer we can try to get a bunch of the east-coast riders together and make it a point to get you that cup of coffee! Crazy days we have, I almost feel like we need to make the most of our time now-a-days and try to reach out to everyone on a personal level instead of this digital world, just my own strange little thoughts though.

Mac

 

Not that strange Mac....it seems that quite often, folks forget that there is another human being at the other end of their email, text or post....

I'm def up for a summer get together but my enemy as always, will be time. I'm hoping to ride the turbo up for the turbo rally in July and also to ride my Vstrom out to the Vintage days at mid Ohio again this year. On top of that I want to take my daughter on vacation....well, you know how it is, never enough time...

jeff

 

30 dregrees and snowing hard in centralNY at the moment. Nice spring break,huh?!?

dave