Day One is in the books. I am currently typing this from the Econolodge in Richmond, Kentucky. We put in 474 miles and are right on schedule. Matt and I left home at 6 without issue heading out under blue skies with a slight chill. With the sun raising it quickly warmed up.
Staying with the chronological order, this would be the drama part of the report. We were just south of O’Hare on 294. We were in the left lane with Matt on lead. I see something up head which at first I thought was garbage moving across the highway. As we are quickly approaching the garage, I notice it’s a beaver trying to make it across the highway.
I get off the gas and give Matt some room. Matt saw it as well but he was right next to a minivan. I am thinking the furry creature is going to get hit and spin in front of Matt. Well, he got hit but was barley nicked. The beaver did spin around and ended up in Matt’s path but Matt quickly dodged him with the beaver still moving in the original direction. Talk about your determination.
At this point, I can’t switch lanes because there is another vehicle there. I think I might have got fixated on the animal and not looking to move to the right of my own lane. As I am quickly downshifted and on both brakes heavy, I just clear the little guy. As I give a sign of relief, I hear someone jamming on the breaks behind me. As I look behind me and I see the front quarter panel of an SUV in my mirror. I am assuming the driver was not paying attention and did not see me break at all. I thought for sure I was going to literally get ran over. He was that close. I remember three things running through my head.
1- -FUCK!
2- -My father in law saying, “that will make your butt pucker”.
3- -Ewan McGregor , on Long Way Around, where he got hit on his motorcycle almost in the same fashion, rear ended.
Of course I am OK. No blood, no foul. And now, back to the report. Oh, the SUV did recover and no one was hurt except maybe the beaver.
Triple X ! I give it two forks up!
As usual, we try to avoid the chain of restaurants and go to the ma and pop type places. I added some restaurants from the Food Network Channel. These were from “Feasting On Asphalt” and “Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives”e. Our first and only destination was the Triple X Family restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana, home of the Purdue Boilermakers.
It was little after 10am but we still had a burger each. The burgers were grounded up out of steak. Besides the lettuce, tomato and onion, I add mayo on it as well. It was really good. Triple X is the name of the root beer. I have to say that it is one my favorite root beers for creamy and delicious. The Triple X is the first drive inn in Indiana. When in the area, stop in and look for menu that we signed for the owners. If you mention that you saw them on the Food Network, you get name on the wall.
Five minutes later, we stopped at Purdue University to check out the football stadium. I put on my Wisconsin hat for my sister and her husband Shane. I didn’t want them to think that I was changing teams. Overall, Purdue has a very lovely scenic campus with historic buildings and mature trees.
From that point, we hit the road to make some more miles up. We made good time and caught about 10 minutes of rain near our destination. All in all, it was a good day on the bike. I can’t wait till tomorrow. Deals Gap or bust!
Day 2...complete . We slayed the Dragon!
We woke up to another great morning under blue skies and warm weather. The day started off a little later then we wanted due to me sleeping in. It was 9:00 before I heard Matt say “Good Morning Sunshine” jokingly. I guess I took advantage of no kids to wake up to. I am sure the mileage from Day One had something to do with it as well. After some chain maintenance we were off like a dress at Prom.
Looking back at the trip so far, I would not have changed a thing. I get a lot criticism from the seasoned riders on taking so much slab. (slab = interstate riding). Highway 75 south of Lexington into Knoxville was amazing. The scenery was incredibly beautiful with large mountains covered in green think tree tops. It was fun to race up the highway overlooking the rivers below. We made some great time. The roads are so smooth and clean here. I give a big round of applause to the highway departments for Tennessee and Kentucky.
Hardly a Palace but good food.
We stopped for lunch in Knoxville at the Pizza Palace. Another restaurant featured on the food network. It was a drive inn but had some bar style seating at the front of the place. Matt and I split a pizza burger and a small pizza. I was not going to have a pizza but once the waitress knew we were from Chicago she insisted we try the pizza.
“We have been told that we could open shop in Chicago and do real well there” she said.
I am thinking slow down lady. You see my girth? I will be the judge of that.
Well, they are on to something. They ground up their own sausage. It was tasty but a bit salty. I even asked Matt if threw salt on the pizza when I was not looking and he denied. So my comment would be “cut back on the salt and you will go places”. One fork up.
Now for the meat and potatoes of this trip. The Tail of the Dragon, The Gap… the holy crap what did I get sign up for here? To refresh my friends and family, the Dragon is 318 curves in 11 miles. Mind you that this is a road through heavy think woods with drastic change in elevation.
It’s hard to find words to explain the experience. Imagine a roller coaster with blind turn after blind turn but you have to control the coaster. Numerous switchback curves, one after another. This is not your Sunday joy riding. It is very technical. I found myself in second gear most of the time either for engine braking or to use the power of my bike to get me through the corners. There were even a few spots where I was not dragging my foot pegs but my boots were scraping the roads. The corners are that tight with banked turns.
Since there are no real shoulders to pull off on to take pictures. I will post up a video later of the roads I traveled from another rider. Overall, I have to say that I loved it. I can see why riders are coming here in droves. It is very addicting. The experience was incredible. In fact, I called my wife at the end of the day to thank her for letting me buy a motorcycle. Then I told her thanks for letting me going on the trip. The only thing more beautiful than my current surroundings is my wife and little girl at home.
Stay tuned for Day 3.
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