October 14
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I always have intentions of getting up and getting out with the sunrise when I start a tour. It never happens, and this trip was no exception. Instead of getting out early and wandering around on back roads as I moseyed north, I found myself leaving at 11AM, deciding that I had better take the direct route if I was going to be in Huntsville by dark. The shortest route would be Hwy 231, a 4 lane with 65 MPH limits, all the way to Montgomery, where I would pick up the Interstate. Boring but fast, and I would be in time for dinner (Linda’s cooking is not to be missed). The skies were sunny and the air was warm…but not 110 degrees, as my thermometer said! You see, the Goldwing had a digital thermometer on it that I really liked. The FJR did not, so I bought a little cheapo dial thermometer and stuck it in the cockpit. That $4 was not well spent. At first I thought it would level out as I got rolling and got some air moving over it. Well, it settled in at 95, which had to be at least 10 degrees too high. Oh, well. |
I rolled through countryside that I have seen thousands of times before, listening to tunes, and running on autopilot. But somewhere north of Dothan, AL, I realized that something was amiss. Everything looked familiar, but I was angling east instead of heading almost due north. Then it struck me. I had allowed force of habit to take over, and had turned on to Hwy 431, which is my normal route up through Atlanta when I go to the Smokies. CRAP! Here I was, trying to make time, and I was 30 miles down the wrong road. Well, maybe I would get to ride some back roads today, anyway! I consulted the GPS and saw that turning onto Hwy 82 west at Eufaula would take me back to Hwy 231, and still kept me moving in a northerly direction. Right after I figured that out, a yellow Corvette with a tag that read ZOM ZOM blasted past me running 90. Taking this as a sign from God, I tucked in behind him and let him be a radar target all the way to Eufaula. I turned onto 82 and began to think that this wasn’t so bad, after all...82 was a wonderful road through rolling country with very little traffic. It was also called the Jefferson Davis Highway…what better way to start a Civil War trip than on a road named for the President of the Confederacy. I wondered if the road was called that since Montgomery, just to the north, was the first capital of the Confederacy. I decided that I would have to do some research on that for my journal. If you are interested, see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/jdavis.htm.
I had no luck finding a radar rabbit on 82, but I did come up behind a couple of log trucks, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with the FJR’s passing power. Man, was I impressed. The Goldwing had plenty of passing power, but this new bike was just unbelievable! Just leave it in 5th and ease the throttle open (not all the way, like on the Wing, just a gentle twist was plenty), and the speedo would sweep up 30 MPH in the blink of an eye. The power delivery was so fast and smooth that I reminded myself to be careful…I was not used to having so much thrust at my command.
I gassed up in Union Springs, hit 231 about 25 miles later, and moved northward into Montgomery. Close to the I-65 interchange I saw several houses that had been damaged by Hurricane Ivan. It seemed strange to see hurricane damage this far inland. Once I got on 65, the rabbits came out again. To the black Mercedes coupe with the TASTY1 tag and the white Yukon with the cruise set on 90…thanks!
The skies had been clouding up and the temperature had been dropping ever since I left home. The thermometer read low 80’s, and I was cold. Maybe I needed to mount it somewhere where it had more airflow. Rain was threatening, and by 3PM it was getting so dark that it was hard to see through my tinted visor, even though sunset was still three and a half hours away. But I kept looking ahead and saying “It looks a little clearer up there, maybe I will get some more light in a few miles”. The clouds kept slowly thinning, so by the time I had to raise my visor to see, I was in Huntsville with only a few miles to go. I raised the electric windshield to it’s highest position and tucked in behind it for eye protection, and followed Eric’s excellent directions to his house, arriving just a few minutes after 6. It had been several years since I had seen Linda and the kids, so we had a little reunion followed by an excellent lasagna dinner. About 15 minutes after I entered the house, the rain that had threatened all day came on with a vengeance! My timing had been perfect! I pulled the bike into the garage and out of the rain, then Eric made up a batch of martinis, and we nursed those and chatted till about 10.
Stats for the day: 429 miles, moving average 66 MPH, moving time 6:30, top speed 96.5.