Heading South to the 4th and Final Corner

Days 12 and 13

Thursday, August 15th, 2019 - Caribou Maine to Hartford Connecticut

I started out at 7:00 AM today. I didn't want to ride in the dark this morning because this is moose country. It was 53 this morning, so it was winter gear. I noticed that I got chilled and stayed that way. I realized when I stopped to get something to eat that I had left the vents on the jacket open. Sometimes, I amaze myself.

I rode in the leather jacket until midday when I stopped for lunch. I rode the rest of the day in shirt sleeves. I bypassed Boston as I headed to Hartford Connecticut. Traffic was backed up in several locations. Most of the time it was moving at 15-20 mph. Slow and hot. I finally made it to the Hartford area around 4:00 PM and got checked into the motel. I went to the Denny's that was located next door. I was going to have a steak, but I saw someone else's order and decided to order the breakfast crepes instead. It was a good call.

I completed 514 miles today. I finished up some paperwork and called it an early evening.

Friday, August 15th, 2019 - Hartford to Roanoke Virginia

I set the alarm for 3:00 AM because I wanted to get past New York City before 6. I got rolling at 4:00 wearing the winter gear because the temperature was in the low 50's. I enjoy riding in the predawn hours because the traffic is light, and the temperatures are cooler. However, this morning the Connecticut highways are rough, and, on several occasions, it felt like my hips were being pile-driven into my skull. I felt like I was going to be two inches shorter. The lane markers were intermittent, so it was a challenge to see where I was heading.

I crossed the new Tappan Zee bridge that crosses the Hudson River at 5:30 AM (ahead of schedule). I had not encountered any traffic and the sun was starting to rise so my visibility was improved. I cleared the Newark area and stopped for breakfast and gasoline. I pressed on a traveled through 7 states today (CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, WV and VA). I stopped in West Virginia. This was the only state that I never ridden in. On my first trip in 2014, I hit 40 of the states. In 2016 when I did the True-X, I picked up all the core states except WV. Today I have successfully ridden in all 48-states.

I hit traffic in Central Virginia on I-81. This is mostly 2-lane with heavy traffic. There were several locations where the traffic came to a complete stop. After fighting traffic in the Boston area yesterday, my hands were very sore from working the clutch, break and throttle. I took a couple of Aleve at one of my morning stops and that seemed to help.

I stopped for lunch but didn't realize that I was only 20-miles from my hotel. I should have tried to make it, but I was worn out, so the break gave me a chance to re-hydrate. When I resumed by journey, I noticed that there were some ominous storm clouds ahead. I should have stopped to put my jacket on, but I thought I might make it before hitting the storm. HUGE MISTAKE!!! 

It rained so hard and visibility was poor. My helmet visor was fogging up, so I had to ride with it opened. The same thing happened to my sun visor later, so I had to raise that as well. Traffic came to a stop several times, but I ended up riding the shoulder because it didn't make sense to just sit in the rain. I was cold and needed to keep rolling. There was a small river running across the street in front of the hotel. I was dripping water everywhere when I walked into the hotel lobby. I got checked into my room and took my clothes off. There was one patch (6" x 6") in the middle of my back that was dry. My boots squished when I walked because there was standing water it them. I hung up the clothes to try and dry them out, but I will need to pack them damp in the morning.

Today, I covered 562 miles. I had a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant that was next door to the hotel. I walked back up the hill and getting ready for the next two days.