Jacksonville to Fancy Gap is 488 miles and I was there for lunch. A reasonably fast ride on slab with a departure at 04:30.<\/p>\n
After lunch I jumped on the Blue Ridge heading north. I felt I had plenty of time and when I reached Meadows of Dan (home of Willville, a great MC only campground) I realized I was near the spot where an old friend bought some property and had built what appears to be a very nice home. Thanks to social media I knew chances were high he’d be out on his tractor so I decided a surprise visit was in order. I had to do a little digging to get the exact coordinates but after a few messages I was on my way, happy to be forced to ride some of the roads connected to the parkway.<\/p>\n
After 40 minutes of fantastic twisties I arrived at his gate only to find it closed. A check of my phone revealed my surprise was a bust; my buddy was in bed with the flu. I felt glad the gate was closed; rather than keep me out it was keeping his virus in which was fine with me.<\/p>\n
I went to leave and as I backed my bike I felt the back end going down. Being a GS rider I eased clutch and added gas. Being a GS rider on a street bike that failed miserably and I ended up stuck in a ditch.<\/p>\n
All that beautiful body work, what’s a guy to do? Fortunately GS riders have mad recovery skills so I was able to extract the bike without scratching it or dropping it on myself. I did burn a bunch of calories I was planning on using to ride.<\/p>\n After the extraction I made my way north, rejoining the BRP at Peaks of Otter. I’ll admit I was tired and I wanted a nap. This created a dilemma because the only way I would be able to nap would be to find a spot in direct sunlight, otherwise I’d freeze but I also needed daylight to make tracks north and get off the parkway before dark.<\/p>\n Take time to make time is one of those sayings used by endurance riders and I decided I really would benefit from a nap. I pulled off, found my spot and set my alarm for 20 minutes. I dozed quickly, woke in 10 minutes and felt great. A true power nap.<\/p>\n I continued north and was having a fantastic ride. I felt confident I could make it to the northern end of the parkway before dark which is where I would find a room and meal. I felt this was perfect as I would be right around 200 miles to Baltimore with is an ideal distance to do before brunch.<\/p>\n I found a overlook and pulled off to grab my phone and make a reservation when I received the text no rider wants to receive:<\/p>\n If you ride a lot and you have friends that ride a lot too chances are you’ve been hurt or been with someone else who has gotten injured as a result of riding motorcycles. Either way it sucks, it sucks to see a friend hurt almost as much as it sucks to be hurt. Thankfully the damage is to fingers, vs all the horrible scenarios that could have happened however we still have a rider hundreds of miles from home who cannot ride.<\/p>\n Every organization can mobilize help through social media and the Iron Butt Association has been doing it since the days of dixie cups and string. By the time I arrived at the hospital others volunteered to store the bike and get the rider to the plane. All I was left to handle was dinner, rooms and move two bikes a few miles which I did with pleasure.<\/p>\n Such a relatively minor injury for a motorcyclist but will keep him off two wheels for a while and it’s his writing hand.<\/p>\n After some ethnic take-out we both went to bed. I had one more day of riding, a brunch in Baltimore and a forecast of rain to look forward to. Two out of three is pretty good and I slept soundly.<\/p>\n Sunday morning I work up, confirmed it was raining lightly and geared up for a ride to Baltimore. Here’s a photo of oldest son and his girlfriend. If only I could get him to ditch the smokes…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/i>Granted the 14 miles is what the GPS said before I pushed GO, i.e. 14 miles as the proverbial crow flies. In road miles it almost doubled which is why I was in the area in the first place but it would have been nicer to be a little quicker to the hospital.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n