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The Ride Part Three

The Ride Part Three

Syracuse

“Those that Can, Do. Those that Can�t Criticize” Paul Hughes

It was good to visit and spend some time with my brother and I need some down time. The sore on the bottom of my foot was beginning to become more than just an annoyance, something that I could not keep ignoring. But I really did not know what to do about it.

On Saturday morning we went over to the park to watch Paul’s granddaughter, Natalie, play in a softball game. While there I met Natalie’s mom, Dawn and husband Josh. Dawn, being a nurse took a look at the, by now, quite inflamed sore and, quite concerned, she told me that I needed to get it looked at ASAP. We spent the rest of the day over at their house, had a fine visit and barbeque out on the back deck. Back to Pauls’ that evening and we were up early on Sunday morning for a trip to the Syracuse Urgent Care Clinic where I spent the next four hours, mostly waiting for someone to see me. Finally getting all the paperwork filled out, I got to see the doctor on call at the time. He did not seem to be too happy about having to spend his Sunday morning at the hospital. He asked if I had Diabetes, when I said no, he says “well we’re going to take some tests just to make sure and if you do we will be admitting you into the hospital.” HUH! I thought. This is not what I wanted to hear. So the nurse takes some blood and I get to sit in the examining room for another hour or so waiting form the results. Finally, the Doctor comes back in, says, “All your blood levels are OK, no diabetes. But you have a really bad infection that needs to be taken care of.” We talked for a bit and when he found out that I was on my bike trip he mellowed considerably as he was also a biker and had recently taken a trip from North Carolina back to NY after buying a bike there. So, after a penicillin shot and a prescription for some antibiotic drugs, a set of crutches and instructions to stay off of the foot for as long as possible before heading back to Florida, I called Paul and he picked me up. We went out and had a nice lunch and enjoyed what was left of the weekend. Talking with my Paul, reading some and just taking it easy, letting my little brother take care of me.

On Monday I found a Podiatrist who could see me on that afternoon so we drove over and the Podiatrist examined the sore in my foot, dug around a bit and found out what was creating the whole problem. He pulled out a small piece of glass that was lodged deep into the ball of me foot. It almost immediately began to feel better after he took the glass out. At least it did not hurt so much when I stepped on it. Back to Pauls’ house I said goodbye to him as he had to be to work in Utica on Tuesday morning so he left Syracuse Monday night. I packed up most all of my stuff, set it out by the front door so that I could get an early start and head on back south.

Some People Ride In the Rain….Others Just get Wet

I woke to a cloudy, cool, almost cold day and rain. I don’t much mind riding in the rain. It is part of Motorcycle touring….motorcycle riding. Ride a bike long enough and you will ride in the rain. But I really hate starting a ride in the rain. Not having much choice though, I put on all of my rain gear, loaded up the bike and rolled out onto the highway. I-81 runs almost from Pauls’ front door to all the way to South Carolina. So leaving Pauls’ I punched in “Home” on the GPS and soon I was cruising down the highway towards Birmingham….in the rain, which did not let up until I passed over the Pennsylvania state line where the weather cleared up, the sun came out and turned into a fine day for a bike ride. This was my longest day on the bike for the whole trip. Through Pennsylvania, Maryland, a small piece of West Virginia and into Virginia with the sun setting I stopped for the night at Woodstock, 427 miles from Syracuse. From Woodstock to Waynesboro, VA was a little over 75 miles and I was off of the interstate.

At Waynesboro, you can head north on the Skyline Drive which I had done about two weeks ago, if you turn south, you are on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge is about the same as the Skyline Drive, running along the top of the Smoky Mountains. There was hardly any traffic at all. It seemed that I had the road all to myself. I had no problem stopping in the middle of the road to take a picture. Unlike the Skyline Drive, there are quite a few roads that cross the Parkway so after about 30 miles on the BRP, I decided it was time for a change and got off of the Parkway onto RT60 and what a treat it was! Downhill, in the mountains for the next 20-30 miles it followed a stream so it was quite twisty, the turns were banked high and you could almost ride through them without touching the brakes, just lean the bike a little into the turn then lean the other way into the next turn. It was like that most all of the way out of the mountains to the small town with the unlikely name of Forks of Buffalo which really was hardly more than a few houses, a gas station and a convenience store where I stopped to top off the gas and get a bike to eat. Coming out of the convenience store there were a few guys standing around the bike.

One of them said “Did you ride that all the way from Florida?” “Well, actually, I said, I rode it to New York and I’m on the way back to Florida now.” “Damn, that’s one long ride” he said. As if somehow there was something unusual about it. I just cannot imagine any other way in which I would rather ride. I picked up RT29 at Amherst and rode it down through the pretty country in central Virginia, lots of Farmland, Horse and Cattle country. Just south of Danville RT29 crosses into North Carolina where I stopped for gas and a late lunch at Mayville before pushing on through to the good sized town with the traffic to go along with it at Greensboro. South of Greensboro is US220 a four lane road with a wide median that should be an interstate highway but isn’t, maybe because it is not long enough. Whatever, it was a delightful ride through the North Carolina countryside all the way to Rockingham where I picked up US1 heading into South Carolina. Again, another long day on the bike. When I started out on the trip a 200 mile day seemed about all that I could do. It’s not that I wanted to get anywhere in a hurry but it was nice to know that I could do the miles if I needed or wanted to. Riding past the towns of Society Hill and Darlington, I finally arrived at the familiar I-95. Shortly after getting on the Interstate I saw a sign for the Ramada Inn at the next exit. As it was to be my last night on the road, I figured why not spend it at a nice place. I pulled into the Ramada Inn at Florence and was pleasantly surprised at the nice clean room and decent rate. There was also a restaurant attached serving a buffet, so I had a nice meal before going back to the room, Before going in I checked the odometer on the bike…..another long ride, 394 miles.

After a cup of coffee, I was on the bike, back on I-95 and heading on home. According to my GPS it is another 291 miles with an arrival time of 12:36pm. Of course that assumes no stops so figuring a couple of gas stops, a stop or 2 for a bite to eat, maybe a stop by a McD’s for an iced coffee…somewhere between 2-3 pm. I’m in no real rush.

Some thoughts on THE RIDE.

It has been Outstanding, Superlative, Spectacular, Magnificent, Exceptional, and Momentous. More than I expected but then also still somewhat less. I did not complete the whole trip as originally planned, mostly due to the infection in my foot but also due to a lack of time. The original plan to ride back through Kentucky Tennessee, and ride the Natchez Trace was just a bit too ambitious. But that is OK as well. These places will still be there and rides to look forward to.

The bike has run great. I cannot say enough good things about it. There was never a moment’s hesitation during the ride. The cruise control made life on the highway so much easier. The only problem was the flat tire but that had nothing to do with the bike and turned into a bit of an adventure itself. I averaged a little less than 40 miles to the gallon of gas for the trip, not bad especially considering that more than half of the miles were on the Interstate at highway speeds.

It sure is nice to have family to take care of you when you need it. Thanks Paul!

Camping: I did not do enough of it. On future rides I need to do more, motels are just way out of line. 12 dollars at nice campsite vs 80-100 dollars at a motel is really a no brainer. I need to get a better sleeping pad or air mattress though. The Thermarest pad that I used may have been fine during my backpacking days, but as I get older I need a bit more comfort.

We live in such a beautiful country: From the Atlantic Ocean in Florida, the Bayous of Georgia to the Mountains of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, The Farm country of Vermont and the roads that connect them all. I have driven a car across the country several times. However, after this trip, I am convinced that the best way to see the USA, experience its sights, sounds, smells, delights and its people is on a motorcycle.

“The World is a book and those that do not travel read only a page” Helen Keller

Riding South on I-95, cruising along a 70 mph, finally getting on the good highway surface after the poor ones in South Carolina. There is not a whole lot of traffic on a Thursday morning. The usual trucking but the tourists heading into Florida seem to be off of the road this morning. Maybe they are just getting a late start or maybe it is the crappy economy. Anyway, it’s nice to have the open highway for the last leg of the ride home. I stopped at the Florida visitor’s center just across the border. I had a complimentary cup of Florida Orange Juice and the girl at the counter asked me where I was coming from.

“Not coming from, I said, Just going home.” It’s funny how the smells change and the feel in the air changes as soon as you get into Florida the air feels heavier and there is almost a smell of the ocean in the air. Soon I was crossing the St Johns River and a few turns later I backed the bike into the Driveway. 3150 miles. It always feels good to get home but I’m already thinking about the next ride.

If you have missed the other parts then catch up here: Part 1

This article is placed on site by kind permission of, Phil Hughes, Jacksonville, FL June 2011

Catch up with Phil on his site: http://motorcyclejourney.weebly.com/