Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017
My intentions was to start out around 5:00 AM but got a late start 90 minutes beyond the plan. I got on the Florida Turnpike and after 10 miles and 45 minutes, I decided to turn around and return to the hotel. I ended up leaving around 11:00 AM.
As I walked out of the room it was pouring rain again. I got out to the bike and got the rain suit out and put on. I then had to quickly uncover the bike and stash the cover into the right saddlebag. After 50 miles, I stopped for gas and got out of the rain gear. The remainder of the day it was battling the heat, high humidity, and blazing sun. When I was leaving the Orlando area, I pulled off the road and put on the rain jacket since I was heading into a major thunderstorm, Even though my pant legs got wet, they dried out once the weather cleared.
This was a long day with a late start. I left Homestead (which is south of Miami) and headed to Stockbridge, Georgia.(just south of Atlanta). I got to the hotel at 11:30 PM but found out that I was at the wrong Quality Inn. I had to backtrack about 5 miles to get to the proper one. It was after midnight when I got to the room.
Thursday, August 24th, 2017
I got through Atlanta traffic using the bypass with only a few backups. I cleared the area by 6:30 AM. I had a longer than normal breakfast break so I would hit Chattanooga a little later in order to avoid their rush hour. Today was a day of fighting fatigue. I stopped for a break in Murfreesboro, TN and decided to have lunch. I failed to realize that I had crossed into the Central time zone. The manager saw me and let me in even though they were not going to open for another 45 minutes. I had a big lunch and left the restaurant just as they were opening. It didn't matter that it took longer to eat than normal. I was just glad to be out of the hot weather.
Much of the fatigue was from lack of sleep from the night before. I stopped at a couple of rest areas to stretch out and catch a few winks. I got the hotel in O'Fallon around 6:30 PM. I did two loads of laundry, restocked my pills for the week and caught up on two days of paperwork. I got to sleep around midnight after repacking everything so that I could be ready early in the morning.
Friday, August 25th, 2017
I was able to clear the traffic in St. Louis in record time. I also fought fatigue all day as well. I was able to stop and change to lighter gear in order to stay cooler. This is also a day where I have over 200 miles of two-lane roads to cover. One thing about Kansas is that they have great roads and 65 MPH speed limits, However, gas stations are few and far between. I hit one station in a tiny town of Tallmage. I am 2-3 miles past empty when I pull into gas station. The sign on the door says it is closed. It turns out that you have to put you credit card into separate machine to get the pump to work. I was down to one spare gallon of gas and 30 miles to the next station. I was glad that there was someone nearby to explain how the system worked. I got the gas and headed back onto the road.
I reached Lebanon for the third and final time. I got the required picture of the bike in front of the Post Office. There was a couple in a car that pulled up next to me and asked directions to the Monument for the "Center of the Continental US" and then to Sturgis. I gave them the directions to the park and mentioned that they might be able to get the directions at the gas station. Since I had to stop at the gas station to get the final piece of documentation for this checkpoint, I ran into them there. I have not run into anyone for a long time that didn't have a GPS, or maps to go such a long distance.
This gas station is quite interesting. It seems that there is always a couple of guys sitting in the station just shooting the breeze. I mentioned that I was on the 4-Corners TRUE-X Run. They mentioned that several other riders had been through in the past few days. I would guess that they are finishing up their trips to get to Abbottsford, British Columbia for the "Tree Flags Run" just like I am.
I stopped for dinner in Kearney, Nebraska at the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse. My wife and I have stopped here before and have always had a great meal. This time was no different. I headed back onto the highway for the last 100 miles to North Platte and a soft bed.
What's Next:
This next stretch will be all Interstate highway covering 650 miles. I will be passing through Wyoming and into Utah. I decided to get a later start so that I can catch up on the blog and paperwork to document the trip. So I will start around 11:00 AM and hopefully minimize the fatigue factor.
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