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Sunday, June 2, 2019: Final Day 23, Ozona, TX to home!

My 773 mile, 10 hour 59 minute ride home began under a low overcast, despite what the breathless weather lady had to say about clear skies. Do I a) wear the H-D wrestling champ sauna (rain) suit, or b) my long sleeved t-shirt, jeans, and risk a fully-clothed shower? Decisions, decisions…

‘B’ won (and silver SPF sun sleeves) and I was on my way for my marathon 12+ hour ride through west Texas and New Mexican blast furnace winds.

In El Paso I finally decided a water-soaked helmet cap and neck gaiter would make riding through a hot oven more bearable, which it did…for about ½ an hour. Each fuel stop also became a drench break. Thank you, sublimation’s cooling effects!

The final 50 miles are the longest, especially after being 21 days on the road. Night fell under the deepening tangerine glow of a tequila sunset and I pulled into the car port to see

So, after 22 days of motorcycling the gray asphalt roads and byways of AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, TN, NC, VA, MD, GA, AL, LA, and MS I, too, concur with Dorothy that there is no place like home and loving family!

Here are the final mileages:

Raven is now at the H-D spa where she is getting her 5K super tune-up, full wash and detail, a new LED look, and a deeper, throatier sound for our next trip to OZ.

Watch for us putt-putting on our next weekend trip soon!

Saturday, June 1, 2019: Day 22, Sealy to Ozona, TX

If Wal*Mart were a convenience store gasoline station and bar-b-que fast food Cracker Barrel-style restaurant with a gi-normous selection of dried animal muscles (jerky), you would have Buc-ees

https://www.buc-ees.com/index.php

So I gave in to the billboard marketing and a tasty brisket sandwich served its purpose in its fast food life…

I fueled Raven, too, and people in cars were desperately swarming for any available AND operational fuel pump–dricing between cars, backing in, all in a chaotic frenzy. I will never take the patiently polite Costco gas queue for granted ever again.

The super smooth ribbons of pavement swiftly glides by when Raven’s GPS system tells me I have 57 miles worth of fuel…and 53 miles to the nearest gas station! I realize it’s going to be too close for comfort as I watch the indicators tick down to a 2 mile margin of error. West Texas is one YUGE state (as wide as CA is long) and it’s going to take me 2 days to cross the state.

I am then great relieved to see the glowing heart atop the Love’s signage and I have avoided having to make The Walk of Shame.

Time to rest to make my final 11 hour push to home from Ozona, TX–778 miles, nearly Iron Butt qualifications (1,000 miles in 24 hours). Next trip for Iron Butt status!

Friday, May 31, 2019: Day 21, Hammond, LA to Sealy, TX

The previous night’s swarming termites looking to mate are sleeping in, so it’s a good time to depart westward on a shiny clean Raven (silly me thinking she would remain shiny, or clean).

In search of dealership-unique shirts and poker chips I stop at both Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA locations to buy my chips:

Note: avoid going to a dealership on an empty stomach, and named after the type of food you’ve been craving since arriving in LA, AND is located next door to a highly recommended seafood restaurant:

So I gave in to my cravings for both food and THE belt buckle I’ve been seeking:

After a delicious lunch of grilled shrimp etouffee over rice I now head toward Lake Charles and Sulphur, LA where I see a dark wall of fat rain clouds close to the ground. I stop to suit up into my yet-to-be-used rainsuit, and none too soon. I ride into a massive thunderstorm which effectively reduces visibility to about 100 yards and highways speeds down to about 20 MPH in spots. People speed by adding horizontal rain bursts to the vertical downpour. 45 minutes later I emerge out of the butt end of a powerful storm system into an overcast but dry sky. After a comfort break and a fruit cup break I call Lori to brief her on my progress:

I finally pass through Houston, TX and finally settle in for the night in Sealy, TX for warm sleep.

Thursday, May 30, 2019: Day 20, Fort Payne, AL to Hammond, LA

I decided to visit the Birmingham AL H-D dealership for a comfort stop and to browse their poker chip collection to add to my own:

There I had the pleasure of making a new friend, Carlton Brown from (wait for it)…San Antonio, TX, which is also where our new friends Emilio and Leslie Marty-Soto also live…

Carlton is an electrical engineer who designs and builds electronic control systems for highly detailed and complex model train systems and displays which cost up to half a million dollars…

After sharing opinions about trailer vs riding to destinations I departed and made my next fuel stop in Fosters, AL. A young man walking from the convenience store to his mother’s car at the next fuel pump complemented Raven as I was fueling her. I thanked him and gave him my H-D key chain saying, “For your first motorcycle…be careful!” He was delighted, but perhaps his mother not so much…

I finished fueling Raven and decided to fuel myself with a ‘gourmet’ lunch…

The Bosco stuffed breadstick was just the right size when a personal-sized pizza would have been too much.

Another quick stop in Hattiesburg, MS and I made my final run to a king-sized Holiday Inn Express bed in Hammond, LA. I wipe Raven down, shower the winged termites out of my hair, wash down a Marie Calendar’s chicken pot pie with an ice cold root beer, and I am good for the night!

Tomorrow I hope to be somewhere in TX…and I continue to live my motorcycle touring dream as I wonder whose else’s dream I am also living…

Wednesday, May 29, 2019: Day 19, South Hill, VA to Fort Payne, AL

After a brief stop at Smokin’ H-D in Winston-Salem, NC we rode to the Smokey Mountain Expressway (US Hwy 74) we paused at my former employer The Nantahala Outdoor Center, which also serves as competitive sport kayaking and canoeing center:

We rode through the beautiful Murphy valley into the Ocoee River gorge (TN):

We quickly transited through Chattanooga, TN, GA, and stopped for the night in Fort Payne, AL. Another 400+ mile into the books!

Tuesday, May 28, 2019: Day 18, US Marine Corp National Museum, Quantico, VA

Our final day in the Washington, DC area was spent marveling at USMC National Museum on Quantico, VA before Lori and Leslie would Uber to Reagan National for their flights to Phoenix, AZ (delayed in Chicago) and San Antonio, TX (missed her flight entirely due to slow Uber driver), respectively. The museum was immaculate and phenomenal in content, and one could easily spend several days learning the entire history of the USMC.

Monday, May 27, 2019: Day 16, Iwo Jima Memorial, National Harbor & Baltimore, MD

Following great friends into downtown Baltimore…a great way to honor America’s heros who gave all…

Sunday, May 26, 2019: Day 15, Washington, DC metro

Pictures worth thousands of words…

Headed to Baltimore, MD for real crabcakes and other adventures…

Friday, May 24, 2019: Day 13–Ft. Belvoir, VA to Arlington National Cemetery

Rest In Peace, Sgt…

Today Lori and I had the privilege and honor to participate with 40+ local Patriot Guard Riders chapter members to provide a motorcycle escort for US Army National Guard Sgt. James A. Slape to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery, at the request of his family.

Road Captain Bill Johnson provided instructions on ANC protocols prior to our departure…

We departed at 10:00 AM and arrived at ANC where full military honors (horse-drawn caisson, 21-gun salute) were rendered to honor him and his family (no photography permitted during the ceremony)…

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We completed our day on hallowed ground and returned to Ft. Belvoir ever more appreciative of those military members, and their familiesn who have made the ultimate sacrifices throughout our nation’s martial history to preserve our freedoms.

Enter God’s peace, Sgt. James A. Slape….

Thursday, May 23, 2019: Day 12, Ft. Belvoir, VA to Fairfax, VA’s Patriot H-D

Thunderstorms are forecasted for later in the afternoon, so we decide to sleep in (not a hard decision to make after yesterday’s walk-a-thon), and later embark on a quick ride to Patriot H-D to find an uber-patriotic souvenir shirt to wear for The Ride and to plug into the dealership’s 21st annual support for Rolling Thunder. We were not to be disappointed!

After obtaining a few more items (like Guard Dog photo chromatic goggles vs sunglasses) we met Gentleman Gene Eaton

who kindly invited us to participate in an Honor Guard ride for a fellow veteran scheduled to be buried at Arlington National Cemetary the next morning. What better way for Lori to experience the sacredness of hallowed ground! We readily accepted.

After a delicious late lunch at Chick-Fil-A we readied for our quick ride back to Ft. Belvoir. Dark clouds were quickly moving in from the southwest, but I miscalculated how quickly we could move ahead of the storm. As we transitioned from the I-495 onto the southbound I-95 during rush hour (sloooow) traffic, the promised thunderstorm cut loose on us with a microburst to rival any in Arizona: gusting winds, torrential rains, blowing dirt and grit…Mother Nature was going to teach us a juicy lesson! Within 3 minutes we were soaked into next week! We arrived at out hotel after being passed through by an equally-drenched Army gate guard who knowingly smiled at our predicament.

We immediately put the hair dryer into double duty, we drained our boots of about a cup of water–each shoe, and proceeded to dry parts that hadn’t been nor should be wet.

Oh, my new goggles? Perfect performance compared to Lori’s sunglasses which fogged up and ran rainwater on both sides of the lenses. Seeing the roadway is pretty important at times like a deluge, and running 4-way emergency flashers during limited visibility was a great feature that allowed our fellow drivers know we were intentionally driving cautiously. Everyone gave us a safe, wide berth and we were grateful! Now to get dry!