Day 2: Lexington to Maggie Valley

Today was absolutely a perfect fall day to ride. We left Lexington at 11:00 and arrived in Maggie Valley around 5:00 pm. We stopped in London, KY for lunch. The day was sunny low of seventy. No clouds. We took I-75 south. Very little traffic. Therefor we could set our cruise and just go. The very best part of the ride was after we got through Knoxville on 640 and split off on 40 east. The stretch became more winding with mountains as we got closer to North Carolina. When we crossed into North Carolina we were surrounded by beautiful green mountains dotted with some yellowing trees. the road became more curved as we progressed. The series of curves were scuttle and made the ride absolutely amazing. As we exited 40 toward Maggie Valley the road flatted, but we were surrounded by mountains, clearly in a valley. We arrived at the Holiday Hotel, where we met a number of other riders to share the stories of our days.

Day 1: Toledo to Lexington

Today we set out on a trip to Maggie Valley, NC to meet several friends we have met on a Harley forum. September is a rare opportunity for us to get away. We are hoping to eke out every last once of riding weather we can. While I had to work until noon, we still had plenty of day light left to log 320 miles down I-75 from Toledo to Lexington, KY. Our first dilemma was the route to Maggie Valley. Because we wanted to avoid Cincinnati because of our accident in 2011, we picked a route through Columbus to Marietta. The night before it became clear that Tuesday was going to be rainy and we needed a back up plan. That plan included using a more westward route rather than crossing Ohio to the east. By this morning it was clear that the best way around the tai. Line was to head down I-75. So we either had to confront our Cincinnati memories or cut toward Indianapolis on I-70. We decided to face Cincinnati, but by going around the accident site by taking I275. The route was perfect. We made great time. We road the first 220 miles without stopping. We stopped for gas south of Dayton to ensure we had enough gas to take 175 around Cincinnati. It was clear to us that 275 had recently been rebuilt. The road was smooth and far fewer cars than heading straight through Cincinnati on 75. The day was mostly cloudy, but more sun appeared as we road on. After 5.5 hours on the road we found a great hotel south of Lexington. We completed 320 miles and we believe we have another 330 miles to Maggie Valley tomorrow. Day one in the books. Beautiful day, great ride. More to come.

Day 1: Back in the Saddle on to Branson

Our first trip a little over a year after our accident. Nervous anticipation. Not sure how relaxed I will be. Worried that my nerves will get the best of me. I have ridden the motorcycle to work a few times and found that i have flashbacks when stopped in traffic. I keep thinking that if I ride enough those flashbacks and nerves will go away. I guess this trip is the true test. Leaving for Branson, Mo today by way of Louisville, Ky after following the east side of Indiana south as a means of avoiding Cincinnati. The weather has been unusually hot, and today is no exception. We left early in the morning and took our time along US 24 into Fort Wayne where we headed south along 69. We found that our travel decisions were based upon avoiding big city traffic. Consequently our first day took so much longer than it should have. We made it safely to Louisville were we spent the night, hoping to get an early start to put the miles behind us before the heat reached the anticipated 100 degrees. Off to Paducah, KY where we will meet up with our friend who will join us on our visit to Branson.

Brown Pelican: Key West Florida

This group of brown pelican followed a fishing boat into port in Key West, Florida.  They were waiting for the fisherman to throw them fish parts after the operators cleaned the fish they had just caught on the fishing trip.