GOE XVIII- Day Two: A Proper Adventure
Sunday, June 22nd, 2014
So after a disappointing night for Virginia, my
brother did try to console her by taking her to the nearby outlet mall, but
most of the shops were out of business. Kasey and I had not seen very many good
signs of business going well in the year we had been in Central America.
Breakfast was awesome, and with our bodies fueled, it was time to hit the road/
Our second and final day to getting Gathering of
Eagles, GOE, Cruiser Club, USA’s national gathering would start out with
filling the tanks, and then hitting the highway. We shot south on Interstate 75
for a few miles, and then picked up SR 22 again, and headed east.
This road continued being a ribbon of asphalt
through Bluergrass Country and the little town that are along the way. It ended
at SR 10, which continued us east, and also moving us north closer to the Ohio
River.
Eventually, the banks of the Ohio River would greet
us, and we would roll along the curves of the big river. We saw power plants,
locks, and a few boats along the waterway. SR 10 took back and forth along the
river, and eventually we would cross into the town of Portsmouth, Ohio. From
the map, it looked to be a good sized town. Like a lot of others that we have
seen, many of the businesses that used to flourish, were no longer. Lots of
closed and for rent signs. We looked for several local, mom and pop style,
eateries, but ended up at a Bob Evans. We were close to Del Rio, home to Bob
Evans, and it was a fine meal, we just would have like to drop a few bucks to
the locals.
We would continue along the Ohio River, making our
way to West Virginia. It had been a pretty normal trip, but then we found
Meathouse Road. After only a short time, the pavement broke away to gravel.
Just as I was having enough, we found a paved road. We jogged on this road to
continue of Meathouse Road. The name should have been warning enough, but if
that was not enough, the little girl on the dirt bike, who I know had a big
small on her face under that helmet, should have been the sign to turn back.
Well, we didn’t turn back, but the road sure did.
The gravel began to disappear, and it left a rutty, dirt and muddy mix. While
Kevin and I struggled to keep the big bikes upright, Kasey seemed to be having
a great time. Five miles later, and thirty minutes, we were back on pavement.
My muscle and brain could relax as much as it can when you are riding.
During my time in Costa Rica, I read a couple
of books penned by Sam Manicom, who took
eight years and rode around the world. Some of his descriptions of roads from
Africa and South America applied to this five mile stretch. I posted something
to him on Facebook, and he congratulated me on a “Proper Adventure”. I just
wish I had his Libby instead of The Black Pearl. About the only time I would
say I would not want to be on my VTX 1800c.
It wasn’t much longer that we found Interstate 77,
but my brother lead us in the wrong direction. We made a u-turn/bathroom stop
at a gas station, then turned and burned north on the Interstate toward the
hotel this time.
My brother and I have
had a habit of being the last to arrive for GOE’s. We didn’t plan it that way,
it just happened, thanks to weather, great scenery, or some other distraction.
This time we thought we would be first. Well, we got beat by two other bikes
and couple. If it had not been for the dirt road or the wrong turn, we just
might have beaten them!
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