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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Just finished a great visit with the wife's family in S.C. In the past 33 hours I put about 580 miles on the Vision and all of it was perfect riding, well except at one point.
Thursday, Christmas Eve I left out of "work" around 2pm heading to my daughters to spend a few hours with her and the granders and then head on to S.C. to meet up with the wife who headed out at 10pm. It was rather nippy being in the 40's on the way to her place but I fully anticipated that. What wore on my mind as it was calling for rain all Christmas Day on the eastern seaboard and inland, basically the I-95 corridor. The rain would be heading north, and so would I around the same time. But, I put all that aside and enjoyed the time with the grandbabys, what a wonderful bunch. The other set of grandparents got a "jumpaline" as I call it and I help set it up, and man was it cold out, even in NC. I was pysched to finish my journey of 2 hours to get to florence and got suited up around 10:30pm and painfully left.
I arrived at around 1:00am Christmas morning, having come through Lumberton, NC at the stroke of Midnight. I looked around for the Jolly Ole elf, and realized he had given my my Vision two years early and have been enjoying the present ever since. After arriving at the hotel, by the way, enjoyed a 15% discount for being a VMC cardholder, I took a long hot shower to get any chill out. The wife arrived shortly after and we were ready for the hay for the long day ahead.
When we awoke, we shared a few minutes of our own Christmas together and then we were ready to join up with the rest of the family. The weather was all ready nasty and it just got worse as the day wore on. I mean at times it poured down and even was flooding the yard and was blowing on the porch. Everyone was concerned about my ride home knowing we would be leaving around 5 or 6 pm. Around 4pm is when the deluge came and that seemed to be headed straight up I-95.
After our time of fellowship and opening presents, it was time to leave. I told the wife I would prefer to ride alone as she has a tendency to go slower when I'm following her and it drives me nuts. I mean, it is like she does 60 in the 65 zone, but if I'm riding inside the car with her, she'll do 70. Also, she was already freaking knowing the weather and I had imagined she would be stopping all the time to get me to stop and check on me if it was raining hard. I told her I was on my own and I would check on her along the way just to make sure she was okay. I did it this way also, because she needed to get back more than I did and I didn't want her to be stopping so much.
After getting suited up, and ready for whatever I ran into, I was off, full steam ahead. I figured I would hit rain around the SC/NC border since it looked like it would be there around the time I would get there. Well, to shorten the story some, I ran into absolutely no rain, nada, nill, nothing. It seems the storm took a easterly direction instead of a northeasterly direction and though the roads were still wet and steaming the rain had ceased. Also, it stayed a constant 60 degrees or so and only dipped below 60 when I hit the VA border around 9:30. Man what ride, great the entire way, surreal in fact.
Oh, and the only hitch of the entire ride is as I was going through Lumberton the road curves some to the left as you head north. Traffic was moving at a clip but was light, so I was basically by myself in the right lane. Normally I ride in the left track almost always and normally close to the line. Occassionally I slip to the right track and stay away from the middle, but not often. However, as I was coming into Lumberton a car was coming up in the left lane, me being in the right decided to actually take the right track. As we were beginning to enter the left hand curve this guy is passing me and begins to drift into my lane. He is right beside me and I was actually going to put a boot in his door because he is taking the full left track of my lane. Instead I hit my horn and drift closer to my shoulder and he finally corrects and gets back in his lane. But now he's pushed my button as he gets a little ahead and I see the NY plates. I lay on the horn and stay on his tail, in my lane, him in his. He speeds up and I stay behind him for a bit and finally he just floors it and I never see him again. Even this little incident didn't shake me, and I would hope by my reaction it would make him pay attention a little more in the future, especially around motorcycles, but that is my wish and not likely the way he was driving.
Edited by varyder 2009-12-25 9:57 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 260
| Good read, Thanks Glad you are home safe!! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | I've got a one week trip from Baltimore to Charleston in early February and have to decide to chance the weather and ride, or get the company to order tickets to fly. Wife says not to take a chance on the weather - your story is making it really hard to listen to her.
Sounds like a great Christmas. Thanks for sharing. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Glad you enjoyed the ride, but the run in with the cage was rather silly. No matter what else happens in a cage verses MC scenario the bike will come out on the losing end. Hard to control ones temper at times but you just need to remember why you ride and let them move along. Glad it was a safe trip otherwise.... |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | lennyb - I've got to make a trip to Ga for two weeks the end of January and want to ride but the bosses are voicing their opinion on that. I'll probably take a rental car unless the weather looks ok for that period. I've already decided not to fly as it is only a 6 hour drive and I'll be open for that either way. Also, it will have a lot to do on the proximity of where I'll be staying in relation to where I'll be working. If it close I'll ride, if not, argh, cage.... |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| You should have stopped and dialed 911 and reported the driver of the cage as a possible DUI. Maybe he was tired from driving the Holiday but whatever the cops would have straighten it out and maybe he would think the next time. |
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Tourer
Posts: 388
Salisbury, NC | Chris, If you ride to Ga., and use I-85 to get there. Stop and hollar at me while you are still north of High Point, NC. May be able to ride a ways with you. Still have my number? I'm leaving for Atlanta on the 11th or 12th myself. Staying in Jonesboro. ET |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Sorry that I posted the tidbit about the jerk from NY. I should realized this would have detracted from the overall great ride read. I've spent time calling 911 over jerks on the highway and found that I can't get nowhere calling on them, as they are everywhere. I think personally he may have been looking at the nut on the motorcycle and drifted across the white line not realizing that he did it until he was right on me.
I was vigilent to what he was doing and was ready to do more evasive actions and had room. The roads were wet and I didn't want to be jerking around and held steady, but I could have booted his door.
So please, I appreciate the comments to ride safe, but I had a great trip, great ride, and this guy was just part of riding.
Edited by varyder 2009-12-27 10:36 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | etspastimes - 2009-12-27 11:32 AM
Chris, If you ride to Ga., and use I-85 to get there. Stop and hollar at me while you are still north of High Point, NC. May be able to ride a ways with you. Still have my number? I'm leaving for Atlanta on the 11th or 12th myself. Staying in Jonesboro. ET
Ed, I'll be going to Fort Gordon and that'll take me down I-95 to Florence and across that way. I might try to swing that way on the way back as I've also got kin folk in Stateville and I need an excuse to go see them. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Varyder, I actually think you made a good post and the bit about the NY driver a good reminder that no matter how good the ride, we'll always run into some butt hole. Sorry if my comments distracted from the overall cool ride story. Been out this morning in the 30 degree temps but was limited to riding main roads rather than my preferred country lanes, still too much ice from the snow last week. Can't beat the Vision for cold weather comfort from the elements. |
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Tourer
Posts: 447
Cleveland, GA | Chris - maybe we can link up this time when you are down here.
ET - I live close to Jonesboro, in McDonough. Maybe we can get together too.
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | All you guys who are planning trips down SC/GA way.
Is anyone going to the Greenville, SC bike show? i just heard about it on another thread and it LOOKS like it is going to be big. I'm planning on trying to talk my wife into letting me go tonight, which would mean me riding Saturday from East of Raleigh, right by High Point, to Greenville.
1) Is anyone else planning on going?
2) Is anyone going to save me 5 1/2 hours of riding on the cold by telling me the show sucks? |
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Perfect Ride
