My bike awaits the next leg and somewhat of the real start of this adventure.
So why haven’t I made it past virginia yet, 10 days after arriving?
This is the final night and final hours before I go to bed, wake up early tomorrow morning and not see another recognizable and familiar face for a while. To say I am anxious would be a severe understatement.
I’ve been here at my dad’s house in Williamsburg since my arrival last Monday, almost 10 days ago.
Originally, the plan was for me to stay here for a couple of days and nights and then continue on. That was the plan. However, upon checking the weather last Tuesday or Wednesday severe and violent storms were forecasted across the entire path I was to take down into the southeastern United States. Those storms did, in fact, hit the southeast and they were violent enough to produce tornadoes and kill about 10 people. So, that decision to pause the trip was the safe move for sure.
I wasn’t averse to leaving a few days later. How often is it that I get to spend quality, unrushed time with my day over consecutive days. Plus, I got to see my sister, brother from another mother and my nieces twice. It was pretty much perfect since Thanksgiving and Christmas both came and went without me having the opportunity to spend time with them due to a work schedule.
Violent storms rolled in to the southeastern United States as a cold front from the west smashed into a warm front in the East.
So those storms came and went. Yet I stayed here longer.
So as last week rolled by I spent my days, as I did this week as well, basically buying more supplies for the trip that I thought I could need, checking the weather, planning on a rough route and attack plan for those days that I would ride through the U.S. and repacking.
We checked the weather almost daily last week as those storms came and went and then checked for the next available day for me to depart.
After doing a rough formulation of riding a somewhat reasonable (but still painful) 8 hours a day and estimating my speed with fuel stops and breaks to be 50 miles per hour, I reasoned that I can probably ride about 400 miles a day without too much suffering in the saddle. So, roughly, the trajectory taking I-85 southwest through Atlanta (hopefully able to bypass the city itself) and then connecting to I-20 across the deep south through Jackson, Mississippi and Shreveport, Louisiana into Texas. Then Texas south to Dilley to meet up with my mechanic then west to follow the Rio Grande to Big Bend for a couple of days before crossing the border into Mexico at Presidio, TX.
Forecasting out where I would approximately land each night, we continued to check the weather. Later last week, after those violent storms, we saw that there was more thunderstorms each day. The thought of riding all day in rain then to find a camping spot and set up a tent in the rain, then wake up in the rain to un-camp and ride off into the rain sounded like a terrible idea. We continued to check the forecast for those places where I should end up each night and came upon tomorrow as the first possibility of a window of opportunity. It’s the first day whereby I should be able to ride for most of the days dry.
what have these 10 days been like in virginia?
Wonderful, for the most part. I say “for the most part” because they have not been without anxiety. There have been a few days where I felt myself start to panic.
I remember the last trip where I felt some anxiety but I don’t remember it being this intense. I think the only negative to spending this much time in a holding pattern awaiting to fly again is that it allowed me too much time to think and to overthink. Pretty much everything has been examined and reexamined as far as what I packed, my budget, where I would stay or make it to on any given night and how much shit is on my bike. Just too much time waiting to leave for the next leg of this thing.
On some days I took everything out of my side cases and deliberated on what I was bringing. What are the chances I will need this or that? What are the chances that I will need this tool or a backup of this item? Then I looked at some of the bigger issues with how much I have brought along. Am I really going to camp that often to justify taking up the valuable real estate of one whole side case plus a tent strapped onto the case lid? Can I bring less clothes? Less shoes? Really dude, a foldable yoga mat? A larger APS-C camera with a separate 12mm lens for wide angle and astrophotography? How many Powerbars do I need to bring if I run out of food somewhere?
Crap I bring.
66% of this mess has been cut. The bright, overly-colorful sneakers and the weird brown sneaker things are left behind. The sandals I will keep as they are thin.
I started off with the following footwear: My pair of motorcycle riding boots (necessary), a pair of cheap O’Neill flipflops (necessary for the nasty type bathrooms and showers and maybe for a beach visit), a pair of brown Cole Haan sneakers to wear to walk around at night with trousers so I can look halfway respectable in a church or at a restaurant and a pair of Day-Glo Nike running sneakers to work out. The two separate pairs of shoes were killing my space in my overnight duffel. I went over to the Sketcher outlet store here in Williamsburg and found a pair of sneakers that I could use for some mild walking/running and that look decent enough to wear with trousers while walking around at night. The Nike’s and the brown sneakers will stay here like neglected orphans until I return.
More crap I bring.
Shite, shite and shite. Actually a lot of this stuff I need to bring and will still bring but I wanted to illustrate a picture of the endless crap I pack. Why do I need 47 different AAA batteries? Endless bungie cords and other fasteners? A little, red, blinky, magnetic safety light? Really dude? C’mon, I’m killing myself ova here. Kept the maps, kept the fuel canisters although that is a questionable keep, kept the tire pump (used it already for a front tire flat), kept the bag of miscellaneous repair stuff, kept the tire plug kit and first aid. But still. Really?
And even more crap.
Okay, so I couldn’t really find a way to cut most of the toiletries. This was one of the toughest areas to cut some bulk and weight. I feel like I can open up my own CVS on the side of the road somewhere in Guatemala.
And then there was the clothes. CRap. some of it anyway..
I’m starting to learn that I really don’t like “travel clothes”. I spent so much time looking for clothes that I could wear when I get to my motel room and get out of my riding gear. So much time spent. And what I realized is that anything that is specifically designed for travel I wouldn’t wear if I wasn’t traveling.
In this picture, which I mostly use for illustration, I kept all of it but I had a double of the bottom red shirt but in green. I cut the green one out but I kept the red one reluctantly. You can never reach an ideal when it comes to travel clothing. I needed something that was wrinkle-resistant and quick drying but that also looked half way respectable walking into a church or restaurant.
The problem with a travel shirt is they work too much into its features. Like the red one. It’s got some strange loop thing that hangs near a hidden top, chest pocket. I think it’s for keys but who is going to walk around with keys in their top pocket like some jiggly, single boob? And don’t start me on the weird ventilation, gill-type things in the back of the shirt. Wearing this I instantly feel 20 years older. Now where’s my Indiana Jones type hat to match and my faux-leather fanny pack.
Despite the anxiety of waiting, it’s been worth it.
This past almost 10 days has been worth it overall. Seeing my sis and her family twice and spending those nights talking with my father about that which is important in life as been priceless. If this adventure ended tomorrow it would have still been worth all the work, expense, quitting the job and anxiety. It’s been wonderful and I’m thankful the weather forced me to stay here these extra days.
Went to visit my mom
Kind of a chilly and foggy day to visit my mom in Williamsburg before I leave on this next adventure. I wonder what she would say about doing something like this again. I know she would probably suggest I ride Canada instead but wait until summer.
The plan for tomorrow.
So, I’m about to go to bed and watch some movies I bought discounted at the Restore store here down Jamestown Road in Williamsburg. I’ll wake up tomorrow about 0600, take a shower, stretch, make my bed and bring my duffel bag and backpack downstairs. I’ll pack the duffel bag first and then the backpack in front of it on my passenger part of the seat. If I learned one thing on the way down here to Williamsburg is that I don’t want to ride all the time with a backpack on. This whole trip can be minimized down to a guy that wants to ride his motorcycle to interesting places. The other stuff, the stuff I packed, is just fluff. It’s extra and will hopefully make my trip more comfortable, safer and better equipped but those things don’t make this trip. What it comes down to is: a guy wishing to take a ride to interesting places.
Once I leave I’m going to ride just a few short miles down the road to a FREE ferry from Jamestown over to Surry, Virginia. This is the same ferry I used to take to visit my mom when she was alive and when I worked out of the Chester, Virginia yard for this trucking company. Once I get off that free ferry, I’ll ride until I connect with the interstate. I’m still anxious but I know once I’m riding and doing what I love the most, it will feel like the way it should feel.
The bike patiently awaits another ride.
**UPDATE**
Uggghhh…I never did make it out on the road this morning. At least not the way I had planned. This is for the next blog but it had to do with realizing my spare tire took up too much room, more items had to be cut from my baggage and a flat front tire.
I did get to ride locally around Jamestown and Williamsburg to make sure everything fit right. Minus the tire and some other crap that I removed, it all fits but it is too late in the day to begin a ride. How frustrating!
Looks like either tomorrow Friday the 17th or possibly this Sunday the 19th. Again, it’s back to the weather game.