Day #66
Monday October 15, 2007
Williamsburg, VA to Front Royal, VA
192 miles today (27,093 - 27,285)
12,718 miles total
34 states total (+ Wash DC & Canada)
I woke up at 3AM and couldn’t go back to sleep! Of course, as fall is here now, dark comes by 6:30 and the sunrise is later. In a tent, even with electricity, there is just not enough to do at this early hour. I spent this morning catching up on my debit card ledger. I’m STILL behind on the blog…just can’t get regular, consistent internet on the road.
Today was a beautiful day of riding! Right out of Williamsburg I rode on US 60 west toward Richmond. The trees lining the road often leaned in at the top, nearly touching one another, creating a tunnel like effect. I did take I-295 around Richmond, and then stayed on that until getting to US 522. US 522 went thur Cuckoo, VA and a little place called Mineral, VA. One sign in Mineral pointed to “Bumpass” which was 5 miles away. You can make your own guess at the proper pronunciation. In Mineral, a little one gas station town in the middle of VA, I passed a pack/ship store that was operated out of a home. I had been packing coffee mugs from the HD factory in York for over a week, as well as numerous magnets for Natalie, brochures, maps and other such things. Nice folks at this place.
The ride all along 522 was hilly, curvy and lined with trees in the midst of their fall color change. I rode around Culpeper looking for lunch. Not finding anything, I rode on thinking I would ride all the way to Front Royal, the top end of the Sky Line Drive and ultimately the Blue Ridge Parkway. Instead, when I got to the little burg of Sperryville, VA, I drove by a little café with a couple of “Motorcycle Parking Only” signs out front. I rode past it, turned around in the parking lot of a motorcycle leather shop at the end of the street. I would come back here after lunch.
The café, name Rae’s (I think!) could have been transported right out of Eugene, OR. It was NOT what I was expecting with the motorcycle signs out front. Of course, I was the only motorcyclist! The menu had the usual café fare, but also had VEGAN choices. The front entryway was covered with flyers announcing various yoga, healing and massage opportunities in the local area. I visited with 2 of the waitresses for a little bit then headed to the cycle shop.
The cycle shop was strictly leather. It was called Mark’s Motorcycle Leatherworks, Inc. Mark Esola, the owner and sole employee, is a retired (20+ years) Special Forces veteran. What a neat guy! We talked and shared about our views of the U.S., the world, and the deteriorating state of both. After visiting both Gettysburg and Wash DC last week, I am MUCH more keenly aware of what others have done and sacrificed so that I can ride freely across our entire nation. I tried to express my appreciation to him for his and his friend’s service, but I’m sure I didn’t do an adequate job. What kind of expression of thanks would be sufficient for that? Mark repaired a zipper pull on my chaps for me, and wouldn’t let me pay him for it. He was just glad to have someone who could relate to some of his view of life and the world we live in. It was a great place to stop. Thanks Mark! What a great place to have stopped!
I rode on into Front Royal and pulled in a motel. I’m tired, have camped 8 days, and will camp the next week until I reach the Atlanta, GA area where I’ll touch base with one of Natalie’s relatives. I hope I can take my time down the Blue Ridge and not get rushed to push on to Key
34 states total (+ Wash DC & Canada)
I woke up at 3AM and couldn’t go back to sleep! Of course, as fall is here now, dark comes by 6:30 and the sunrise is later. In a tent, even with electricity, there is just not enough to do at this early hour. I spent this morning catching up on my debit card ledger. I’m STILL behind on the blog…just can’t get regular, consistent internet on the road.
Today was a beautiful day of riding! Right out of Williamsburg I rode on US 60 west toward Richmond. The trees lining the road often leaned in at the top, nearly touching one another, creating a tunnel like effect. I did take I-295 around Richmond, and then stayed on that until getting to US 522. US 522 went thur Cuckoo, VA and a little place called Mineral, VA. One sign in Mineral pointed to “Bumpass” which was 5 miles away. You can make your own guess at the proper pronunciation. In Mineral, a little one gas station town in the middle of VA, I passed a pack/ship store that was operated out of a home. I had been packing coffee mugs from the HD factory in York for over a week, as well as numerous magnets for Natalie, brochures, maps and other such things. Nice folks at this place.
The ride all along 522 was hilly, curvy and lined with trees in the midst of their fall color change. I rode around Culpeper looking for lunch. Not finding anything, I rode on thinking I would ride all the way to Front Royal, the top end of the Sky Line Drive and ultimately the Blue Ridge Parkway. Instead, when I got to the little burg of Sperryville, VA, I drove by a little café with a couple of “Motorcycle Parking Only” signs out front. I rode past it, turned around in the parking lot of a motorcycle leather shop at the end of the street. I would come back here after lunch.
The café, name Rae’s (I think!) could have been transported right out of Eugene, OR. It was NOT what I was expecting with the motorcycle signs out front. Of course, I was the only motorcyclist! The menu had the usual café fare, but also had VEGAN choices. The front entryway was covered with flyers announcing various yoga, healing and massage opportunities in the local area. I visited with 2 of the waitresses for a little bit then headed to the cycle shop.
The cycle shop was strictly leather. It was called Mark’s Motorcycle Leatherworks, Inc. Mark Esola, the owner and sole employee, is a retired (20+ years) Special Forces veteran. What a neat guy! We talked and shared about our views of the U.S., the world, and the deteriorating state of both. After visiting both Gettysburg and Wash DC last week, I am MUCH more keenly aware of what others have done and sacrificed so that I can ride freely across our entire nation. I tried to express my appreciation to him for his and his friend’s service, but I’m sure I didn’t do an adequate job. What kind of expression of thanks would be sufficient for that? Mark repaired a zipper pull on my chaps for me, and wouldn’t let me pay him for it. He was just glad to have someone who could relate to some of his view of life and the world we live in. It was a great place to stop. Thanks Mark! What a great place to have stopped!
I rode on into Front Royal and pulled in a motel. I’m tired, have camped 8 days, and will camp the next week until I reach the Atlanta, GA area where I’ll touch base with one of Natalie’s relatives. I hope I can take my time down the Blue Ridge and not get rushed to push on to Key
West.
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