Leaving for the Mountains

Today our great adventure begins. Judy and I are taking our first, long, cross-country motorcycle trip. After months of contemplation and planning, the day to leave has finally arrived. We began packing the night before so that we could be ready to leave by 7:30 a.m. this morning. By 1:00 a.m. this morning the final leather garment was "stuffed" into saddle bags and we declared "victory" over packing. You can't image how much you can fit into such a little space. Nor can you image how little you can take on your motorcycle. This was going to be a "test" in living with less. For six days we both managed taking three pairs of jean (wear one pack two); five t-shirts (wear one pack four, plan on buying one souvenir); 6 days worth of underwear and socks; a pair of shorts; sandals, pj's, minimum toiletries and every possible leather wear for every type of weather you can plan for. After a brief "nap" we awoke and began to "saddle up" on the bikes when....the rain hit. For the next two hours we waited out a passing rain shower and hoped that this was not a foreshadowing of things to come. Had we known we could have slept in. While Judy napping I kept an eye on the weather channel and waiting for what was an obvious break in the front. By 9:00 a.m. the rain had subsided and we decided to start down the road toward picking up Ray and his wife, Cathy after meeting Wayne at his house. It was to be the five of us on four motorcycles at the start. One of Wayne's friends, John (Doc) would join us on Monday.  After meeting up we starting on down Highway 20 in Ohio toward Fremont, Ohio. Our first stop was to be Billy's Restaurant in Fremont, where Wayne promised us we would have an awesome breakfast with the best hash browns in Northwest, Ohio. He was not wrong! After fueling up, we enjoyed a bright sunny mornings ride along highway 20 until it merged into US 250. As the morning progressed the heat increased. I can't say I was "surprised" at how hot my oil tank, located just under my seat on my Softail, gets, but I was surprised that the heat of the day felt worse than the heat of my oil tank!  An ice cream stop was just the fresher needed to liven up our group. Our goal for the day was Wheeling, WV. A reasonable goal of about 320 miles. For Judy and I that would be a new personal "best" for mileage in a day. My best ride prior to this day was a 227 mile trek from Toledo to Mt. Pleasant the first fall I had my bike.  As we snaked south along US 250 through Ohio we began enjoying a more hilly ride. It was evident we were entering the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range. A destination we were all looking forward to. Along the journey we began to encounter more and more hills with twists and turns. I have not yet come to appreciate riding the curves like Judy. She was so looking forward to the winding, twisting, climbing and descending. I'm still a novice and find curves challenging. At this point I was just worried about keeping up and keeping safe. Passing a billboard along the way I was reminded of the verse in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". For this ride, I needed mental strength: concentration and confidence. The billboard afforded me a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon that verse and its applications to this trip and my personal and professional station in life. Amazing how "little nuggets" of grace find their way into ones life. As the sun slowly fell in the sky we crossed the Ohio River into Wheeling, WV. Clearly my first impressions of Wheeling were sad. It was clear this was once a vibrant town in a wonderful location that provided transportation and economic opportunity. Now the town was clearly struggling for a future. The area was depressed and run down. We scoured down for a hotel. None available as all rooms were occupied by concert goers. Reba was in the area and people were flocking to the concert that evening. We fueled up the bikes and moved on down the road optimistic of finding a hotel in the near future. The near future was two hours later in Morganstown, WV. Home of the West Virginia Mountaineers. We found a Best Western and eased off our bikes. Motorcycle seats are more comfortable than bicycle seats, but not by much. Some unpacking and "freshening up" was a delight. We then made our way to the local Texas Roadhouse restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Somehow getting back on the motorcycle didn't seem desirable. A wonderful meal, great stories and many laughs later we returned to our hotel for a good nights sleep. Day one in the books. Looking forward to the wonderful adventure (and curves) ahead.