Tonight I had the fortune of meeting up with the Making Slow Look Fast scooter club at the Pizza Peel. The sound of small displacement motors and smell of two stroke exhaust was thick on the air on this warm fall evening. It was great meeting the eclectic group of enthusiats. We shared stories of near misses and trips to the mountains on our slow steeds. The meat lover pizza was delicious and encouraged me to eat more pizza on the road. Mmmmm (and more veggies). All in all a good visit. Thanks for making this happen.

Crossing through familiar terrain, I passed through the mountains of SW VA toward the Blue Ridge and eventually up to the parkway. The weather was perfect with blue sky and temps in the 60s. Up on Big Walker Mtn lookout, a woman named Lydian asked for some gas as her Ford suv had nearly run out with 8mi until the station. I gave her a half gallon and told her to pass on the kindness.

I was welcomed in to Jay and Allie's new cabin in NC and got the grand tour. The wooded acreage is ready for management and the possibiliies and potential abound. Their new dog practiced a high dive from the barn loft, leaping 12 ft down from the open window without injury. Amazing.

​The cooking was delicious and the apple pie too notch. By 9pm, I was in a food coma. Comfy bedding and an open window to hear the crickets at night and roosters in the morning. Life in the country.

On this the first day of fall, I'm putting the finishing touches on my packing set up and baking a few lbs of granola for the road.  Since I last updated this blog, I have bicycled to Alabama where I worked on typing my journals over winter, then canoed the Mississippi River this summer.  My upcoming adventure of 4000+ miles across the US will take place aboard La Tortuga, my 49cc Honda Ruckus.  After 42k mi, I preformed a complete engine rebuild with new piston, rings, cam chain and seals, it is no longer leaking oil. Remarkably, the cylinder walls looked perfect and the crankcase was clean as a whistle inside. Many remaining components have been replaced over the years and I inspected the frame for cracks and damage.  So far it has 400 miles on the rebuild and is returning 105 - 110 mpg.

With the freshly rebuilt engine, I feel comfortable heading out again on the bike.  I have all the usual spare parts and tools for breakdowns yet have trimmed my load down in weight and heft.  Having less gear that is multi-purpose is key.  I'll have a small one man tent and hammock for sleeping in and hope to make it through the higher elevations before the end of October (thus the southern route).  I'll try to keep my blog up to date here with stories and pictures from the road-less-traveled.  Stay tuned!