Boondocking the Nation: 17 Days, 8300mi, 1 Motel
I have just over 500miles to get home. I pack up the hammock, have a bite of beef jerkey and set off into the darkness with four hours of sleep. The miles roll past but the sun doesn't show any traces of awakening the night sky. After 120miles, I stop for fuel and breakfast in Cincinatti.
Somewhere in Ohio, the sun begins to rise in the sky.
The landscape changes and I start to feel more at home.
In Kentucky, the fog sets in and I deal with it.
I lube my chain and fuel up in KY then cross the river to WV
:rayof
The Capitol Dome in Charleston, WV shimmers in the morning sunlight.
The wide Kanawha River
Leaves are starting to change as I climb higher into the WV hills.
I make my way back to VA, fill up for my final time and remove some heated layers and wool. It is not 85F, the warmest temperature I have seen since California!
I-81 is back to the same old congestion.
My father surprises me when I get home. The first thing I do after pulling in to my driveway is give my bike a big hug and "Thank You"
I was running a relateively fresh set of Bridgestone Battlewings when I left.
This is after 8500mi on the tires:
FRONT
REAR:
RatFink and I both MADE IT!!!
Now to find space for all these on my panniers (I eventually do but it takes me some time...they are now full)
I shower and shave. Ahhhh I feel like a new man!
Dad picked up a meal of Ribs as a surprise so we sit down and I tell him about my trip over a Dogfish Head IPA
I finish the meal, clean up the dishes and our buddy George (ONandOFF) happens to ride by. We chat with him for a few hours then Dad and I get Ice Cream in town. I go to bed around 9PM, savoring the fresh white bamboo sheets of my own queen size bed.
Monday is just another work day...though I am a changed man.
