Day Zero

Originally, our vacation plan was to go check out West Tennessee.  We've been to Nashville a few times, but never to Memphis or beyond.  And we've never ridden the bikes out that way, so we started looking.  One night in Memphis turned into 5 nights not in Memphis!

David and I are so in tune, we both said instead of Memphis maybe ... Michigan!  But as the hubs began to investigate that idea further, the trip morphed into Niagra Falls.  And Lake Erie.  We've never seen ANY of the Great Lakes, so excitement quickly began to set in.  The toughest leg would be the first one; we both had to work, and we had to skedaddle about 8 hours north into West Virginia.

This morning dawned the coolest it's been since about April.  It felt GREAT!  David's bike was loaded down last night, and he was going to meet me at my work and we'd just hit I-40 from there.  One MAJOR difference with this vacation vs. others we've done is the fact that we're riding to a destination PLACE vs. riding to destination ROADS.  Last August, it was the Back of the Dragon and the Snake.  In April, it was the Diamondback, the Devil's Whip, and the Sidewinder.  This time it's places, and we kind of have to get there the most efficient way since we're covering the most miles we EVER have in a single trip.

So as soon as David pulled into the parking lot, I finished up and jumped on the {new and improved} Khaleesi.  She now has reduced reach handle bars and a new front tire.  WOW, what a difference!  That tire has made the handling so smooth and controlled; the bars are sooo much more comfortable; as I lie here blogging, my back isn't even tired.

We took I-40 out to I-81.  Tennessee turned into Virginia.  We got off the Interstate onto Hwy 119.  Virginia gave way to Kentucky and the landscape turned to massive rock encrusted mountains.  As our tires hit West Virginia, road construction became the norm, but amazingly enough we hit virtually no traffic.  We pulled into our fabulous hotel just after 8:00.  A lightening quick check in got us up to our room in no time.  I traded my boots for my sneakers, and we stepped outside to walk up the sidewalk and soak in the absolutely perfect weather.  This hotel is VERY similar to our one from last year; it's a beautifully preserved and restored historic hotel.  We walked down to a local Parkersburg brewery and enjoyed a KILLER burger.  411 miles today, a personal record for both of us!  Now to enjoy a nice rest and arise tomorrow for the day's adventures!