Monthly Archives: October 2014

We have spent the last couple of days here at Larry and Jo’s resting up before heading back home to Texas. It’s been awhile since we have made it out to visit Larry and Jo. We always enjoy visiting them. It is like a sanctuary for Janet and me. Larry and Jo live on Sand Mountain (actually it’s a plateau) in Bryant, AL.  Their home could easily be found in the pages of Southern Living Magazine.  Larry and I have been friends since we were stationed together at Brooks AFB (1969 – 1971). Even though we don’t see each other regularly you would think we did. That’s only because we live 900 miles apart.  When we do get together, we sometimes revert back to some of the craziness of our younger days. Hopefully we will be back soon…

Ride Day 8

Day 8 ride route map

Today is the 8^th ride day of our Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride. The plan is to ride 584 miles to Shreveport, LA. Heavy rain was forecasted on our route. We hope we do not encounter rain like the rain when we rode out.

Our route today will take us 138 miles down I-59 to Birmingham, AL. At Birmingham, we pick up I-20 and ride 452 miles to Shreveport, LA.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana

Over the years we have traveled this route many times. It seems that most of the trips through Mississippi have been made in the rain. Today we managed to make it through Mississippi without rain… but as we crossed over into Louisiana we could see very dark rain clouds on the horizon. Yes, we were going to ride in heavy rain again. We just hoped it would be brief. When we rode into the weather front we hit a wall of strong wind and heavy rain. We did not expect the strong wind that came with the rain. It was so strong it almost blew us into the other traffic lane. We decided to get off the freeway and find some shelter. I saw an over-pass ahead that would fit the bill. A car had the same idea and pulled under before we got there.  So we started looking for an exit. By the time we reached an exit the wind had died down and the rain had let up. We rode on and eventually rode out of the rain. As we rode we saw a lot of wind damage. Trees were down with tree limbs and other debris littering the side of the freeway. We thought about stopping early but with the worst behind us we rode on and made our way to Shreveport for the night. We were tired and we are ready for a good night’s sleep.

Ride Day 9

Day 9 ride route map

It rained on and off through the night and the bike was soaked so I took my time wiping it down. We have only 304 miles to ride to get home. The morning was cool and the sun was shining and it looked to be a good riding day. 20 miles and we will be back in Texas. After yesterday’s ride Janet and I are ready to get home and relax and return to normal… The ride home was blue skies with a few puffy white clouds. The temperature climbed as the day progressed but not too warm. It was a good riding day… and good to be home. It was good to have finally got to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway after several years of planning.

Back in Texas heading home

Almost home… Back in Texas

We had a great time on our ride. You may want to check out the other days of our ride by clicking on the links below.

• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Day 1 & 2
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 3
• Ride Day 4 Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 5
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 6
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 7

Below is my first my first attempt at making a video of our ride. Have a look. It condenses the ride down to 9:13 minutes…

Ride Day 7 route map

Today is the seventh day of our Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride. We rode the last leg of the Parkway yesterday. Today’s ride is just 149 miles down  I-81  where we will pick up  US 11 to Athens, TN to visit the Mayfield Dairy… to get ice cream of course.

Rolling down I-81 to Athens, TN

It was another good riding day, a bright sunny cool day warming as the day progressed.  No clouds and no signs of the rain forecasted the day before.

Taiwan Tour Group

Picture Opt for Taiwan tour group

We made a pit stop at a rest stop on I-81. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by a group of tourist from Taiwan. They were fascinated by our bikes and their size. Bikes are much smaller and used mostly for commuting in Taiwan. Like most people we meet, they wanted to know where we were from, where we had been and where we were going. They wanted to sit on the bikes and have their pictures taken. It was good fun for all. I gave them my blog card and told them to look for a post about our encounter. I would love to hear from them.

Rolling down US 11 to Mayfield Dairy

Mayfield Dairy

Back on I-81… We picked up US 11 to the Mayfield Dairy visitor’s center. Our main purpose in visiting was the ice cream. Larry C. never passes up a chance to eat ice cream. Larry can spot every ice cream shop along our route… No one complains when Larry suggests an ice cream stop…  We didn’t do the tour of the processing plant today. We have all been on the tour before but it is worth your time and the kids will love it. Oh, did I mention the ice cream?

Countryside rolling down US 11

From the Mayfield Dairy, it was back on I-81 to Chattanooga. There we hit a wall of heavy traffic from rush hour and I think there may have been an accident too. By that time the temperature had risen and made the stop and go traffic less enjoyable. It took forever to make our way through the Chattanooga rush hour traffic.  Once through Chattanooga it was a short ride to Larry and Jo’s where we spent a couple of days before heading back to Texas.

We had a great time on our ride. You may want to check out the other days of our ride by clicking on the links below.

• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Day 1 & 2
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 3
• Ride Day 4 Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 5
• Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 Ride Day 6
• Heading Home – Blue Ridge Parkway Motorcycle Ride June 2014 

Below is my first my first attempt at making a video of our ride. Have a look. It condenses the ride down to 9:13 minutes…