Bethel Maine to Winchester Virginia

Putting on some miles...........

It's Sunday morning and we have to be in Woodstock, Georgia on Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. The original route said 1,240 miles but that would take us through NY City, Washington DC and Baltimore, not places I want to travel in a hurry with an ill-handling bike. I rerouted across to I-81 and the distance increased to 1,384 miles, so we have a long way to go and a short time to get there.

We were up at 5:30 and loaded by 6:15. The rain had moved on and it was 37F under a clear sky. I had planned to have breakfast when the dining room opened at 7:00 so we could say our goodbyes, but we could make an extra hour if we left right away. A couple of people were up and Sandy gave my last cigarettes away to someone. We were rolling west on US 2 by 6:30.

We had a Mickey D breakfast in Goreham, talked to an ST1100 rider heading for an air show in Maine and fueled up. There were some foggy patches and the temperature went up to 43 before sliding back down to 37 as we crossed the river into Vermont. I got a jolt when a dog charged out of a driveway from concealment. I just caught him, possibly a golden retriever, out of the corner of my eye as he was right beside the front wheel. I accelerated in case I hit him, hoping that I would go right over him, but he stopped just short. As I was getting my heart back out of my mouth, I passed two wild turkeys on the left shoulder. That put me on my toes for the rest of the day.

We caught I-93 N and then I-91 S on the outskirts of St. Johnsbury. We were in heavy fog at the time. Once again, I am amazed at the people who drive in the fog with no lights on.

I-91 S through Vermont, Massachusetts and into Connecticut. Traffic volumes picked up as we swung west on I-84 through New York and into Pennsylvania. We caught I-81 near Scranton and headed south into Maryland and Virginia. There aren't a lot of details because we were in mind-numbing long haul mode, where the miles disappear under your tires and the gas stops all roll together. When we stopped in Winchester, Virginia, we had covered 745 miles and ten states in 12.5 hours.

Our overnight abode was a Super 8 and we ate at Hoss's Family Restaurant, and almost fast food place across the street. We had sandwiches because I wasn't very hungry despite 24 hours with no nicotine. Early to bed, but only 640 miles tomorrow.