The Long Way Around

I'm sitting in Dulles International, where I've been for almost 4 hours, waiting for my flight. I got out here courtesy of Tony, Bobo's friend, to whom I am indebted, along with Kieran's friend, Collins (like the drink), who let me stow about in his truck.

Slowly, I'm starting to feel the various aches and pains that, until recently, managed to only be dull reminders of the previous day's nonsense. Instead, my lack of movement and focus on a task has given me the chance to focus instead on my tortured neck and back, along with my aggrivated carpal tunnel syndrome. My wrists will never be the same.

My thoughts bounce between two themes - wanting to see my family and not knowing what to do with myself anymore. Truly this was a life altering experience in so many ways, as ridiculous as it sounds. I never want it to end but I also know that it is unsustainable, fiscally or physically.

I'm torn about potentially doing this again. I almost would do this anyday at this point, perhaps structured differently as more of a tour. There was much I did not get a chance to see. At the same time the competitive aspect was entertaining.

My boy Aaron and I have spoken about doing such a thing at one point, something I could see doing with our significant others backing us in support vehicles. But I don't know.

There's a lot to digest that I still haven't done but will I'm sure. There is a lot to consider. To this exact second I don't even know where I egin with my day to day routine. It exists so far from me right now even though it is only a few days away.

I can't fight this confusion so I plan not to. I don't want the rush of finishing this ride to be absorbed by a sense of need to return to life. If I've learned anything at all, it's that sometimes you just have to tale things in as they come, and let life take it's course.

Patience has a new meaning when staring out into endless miles of road with nothing but your thoughts.

You might not have been on this trip with me, but you were on the trip with me.

I thought about you constantly, in every moment I could (those where I was not distracted by tricky roads).

I missed you dearly every night, and every morning.

I brought these with me, and in a sense brought you too. So here you are, at Ocean City.

Sea life from California, meet the East Coast.

Here's the view from my room. Don't think I've ever seen the sun rise on a beach.

Wow.

I feel alive right now.

As I mentioned, America is frickin' huge. And going through it on scooter gives you an opportunity to dodge a lot of road kill. So! That in mind, here's a list of things I saw I could remember. I might not have actually identified the animal correctly btw.

Raccoons
Squirrels
Chipmunks
Skunks
Rabbits
Pigeons
A hawk
A raven
A badger
Possums
Snakes
Lizards
A large family dog
A small yippy dog
A jackalope
A baby cow
Cats
A sheep
A wood pecker
Deer
A chupacabra
A teddy bear

Rocket and Rolf.

This is how I feel right now. Only I'm drinking and they're actually sleeping.

We go to this crappy pizza joint here in Ocean City due to some resourcing SNAFU (it's NASCAR weekend), and they serve a frickin' cheese steak called a 'coast to coast'.

Funny.

Yeaup. Lots of bikes. Lots of people. Lots of friends. This'll be fun.

It's kinds sad. We're going to meet up with a group over in DC and have a party, and that'll take be place of the third leg. No way to make up time on this day really.

I'd pontificate more but I think I'll just let this be. It's sad and somber but there's been more adrenaline in my system the last 20 minutes than I've had all week.

Mere minutes.

I've gotten used to this time zone. Last night at some 10:30 pm I was ready to pass out. Cold asleep. At 7:30 pacific.

I caught up to Rich yesterday which made me stoked. Caught Bagel points-wise. Not bad for someone go had to switch gears last second and did about an eighth of he preparation.

I had a scary moment on 50 yesterday before Salem. Was on a long sweeper and a semi passed me coming the other direction pretty close, and suddenly I had tank slap. Bad. While in a sharp lean. Took about 3-4 seconds I calm it the hell down, whole in a lean. Not fun.

Also some road kill almost managed to get me in what I'm sure was some sort of sick post-grave revenge.

Bobo's here. Good times. He likes how his GTV feels with Joel's engine in it. Hah. Good to have him back with the crew.

Most everyone is hurting. Bad. Not unexpected. Tired and road weary. We're in between loving riding and never wanting to sit on our saddles again.

We're in Oakland. Not that Oakland, the one in Maryland.

So that's strike one.

Strike two is that there's a power sports shop here just down the street from the hotel. Only, it sells cheap Chinese piece of crap bikes that will invariably have problems after the first 300 miles or so. Sadness.

At least they look 'cute'. They're a typical style, often referred to as Honda Joker clones. The only real legit Joker clone out there is made by Aprilia, and it's called the Mojito. I love that bike.

Not these. These depress me. Thy never would have made it past day 2 on this run.

I'm in fourth. Randomly. Bagel is right behind me though by 17 minutes. Tight quarters. I hope not to lose it but I won't go home crying if I do.

I tore up 50 today. Good times.

Holy crap dude. I'm almost done. I'm in Oakland, Maryland. One day left. Finish line is in sight.

Well, not literally.

There's a bit more than 300 miles left to sort. Through DC and through to Ocean City.

We cleared 3000 miles on Highway 50 near Salem. It's been a blast.

Though I honestly might never sit again. Must arrange for a standing desk at work.

It's getting earlier and earlier. Each time zone messes me up that much more. Seriously, I have problems dealing with the change every few days.

My internal clock is utterly hosed.

We have somewhat of a short day. A bit over 320 miles or so. That's 2 fill ups. Not so bad.

Hopefully my back and neck will hold up. And hopefully I don't magically fall asleep somewhere on the way to West Virginia.

Side note - rear tire is showing a lot of wear, and is square as a Flintstone wheel. My transitions are crap.

Turns out Mark and Wayne's lock failed on their hotel room. The hotel couldn't open it at all, so by 11:30 pm, Mark had management break the window so they could get their stuff out. Lame.

Holy crap man. There was no room on the side of the road to take this picture, so I basically just took whatever I could.

Go buckeyes!

So, today I went in to a ton of states. Was in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Well, to be fair, I was only in Kentucky for 5 minutes.

Most of the states didn't have a good sign. When I came in to Illinois, there was no good sign. Jess took a picture for me.

Indiana had no sign from the route we took, so I took the picture below. Close enough. That one's for Fricke.

Ohio in a minute.

Three days left.

I neglected to write again last night on account of the hospitality shown to us by the St. Louis Scooter Club. They took us to a place in the town just outside of St. Louis that we were staying at, and fed us well after we spent the majority of the afternoon wrenching on bikes.

I kept my changes minimal. My bike was idling oddly, so Rolf helped my adjust my richness and then we fiddled with my idle. After that, I ran an oil change and cleaned my airbox filter, which was black as soot. I wonder how the bike could even breathe.

Missouri had dome of my favorite roads, if not actually my favorite ever: 42 till 28. It was like a roller coaster. This was a 2 lane road that has a 55 mph speed limit. Nice twisties, fast rises and dips, etc. I don't know why there isn't a car racing videogame depicting this road. All the games that Ive played that had actual roads represented showed lame roads compared to this.

While day 1 was technical, it was a different sort. It was ridiculously sharp switch backs at 40, not the all out run of 42 at full throttle. Lots of good times. I'll be dreaming about that road for years to come.

I got pictures of Casey last night and I nearly lost it. I miss my little girl and she's strikingly beautiful and sweet. I hope she misses her daddy.

Meanwhile I haven't shaved since I've been on this trip. This means that I'm scruffy and probably closer resemble the man she may remember at birth who had a full beard.

Roy's bike has been hodged together, and he'll be trying to run it today as far as he can. Mean time Joel bought a back up GTS that Roy might use if his bike explodes again. Rob's bike needs a new carb. Sigh.

Today is over 400 miles an we cross 4 states including Illinois and Indiana. W0ot?

How many states is it so far? I've kind of lost count. Not because I've gone through so many but because the world is one giant blur right now of trees, slow rolling hills, and bugs crusted to my wind screen.

Normally I would have written more at night about my thoughts and 'feelings' with respects to the days ride and what it showed me of America, bit truthbe told I got a little drunk and passed out.

The people of Fort Scott really helped us unwind a bit. We watches a bluegrass band, we hung out in a local bar, and we monkeyed around on our bikes.

Belts, variators, and tire changes were the order of the day. Everyone has squared off tires, and people are noticing that their bikes are performing worse due to flat rollers and worn belts. Many of these these things were replaced and now we should be in better shape.

Word on the street is that St. Louis Vespa is going to help us out tonight after we roll in. Our hotel tonight is apparently 3 or so blocks from the shop, though last time I was told a distance here I ended up walking a mile to a Walmart. Either way, we could use some fresh parts at this point.

I noticed somewhere in my ride that I had completely ignored or did not think about work for a few days. This rarely happens. Not just because I tend not to take vacations, but also because I have problems distancing myself when I do. While I have thought about my friends at work, I've not once considered what I should be doing, etc. I've been sufficiently obscured from reality on this trip and it's helping a bit.

It makes me sad though, as here on day 7 it makes me realize that I've but 4 more days of this, an them I go back to my otherwise very pedestrian life. I miss many aspects of it - my significant other, my child - but it would be great I somehow become some scooter traveling bon vivant ;)

The realist in me doubts we could all fit ok my Granturismo.

Found this in Fort Scott looking for the hotel where the bluegrass group was playing.

Fun!