Rain, rain, and more rain...
Well, it seems I left the snow and ice behind since coming down the mountains, but they were replaced with a cold and steady drizzle.
I grabbed a quick bite of healthy breakfast...
And made my way to the parking lot. I was sorely disappointed to find that my bike cover does absolutely nothing to prevent the bike from getting wet.
Guess that's what I get for a $15 cover.
The temperature was 33 degrees, and the rain was steady, but I wasn't about to hang around this crazy nut house one minute longer. Sloppy-Z and his crazy pajama-laden fans can have it all to themselves.
The traffic was heavy and snarled all throughout North Carolina. I took some alternative routes but the roads had been rained on all night long and travel was getting too dangerous to mess around. I decided to keep to the highway instead.
Somewhere into South Carolina things started to calm down a bit. I think there was a time, somewhere between 10:17 and 10:21 that the rain stopped... it might have been less than that, come to think of it.
I did manage to find a few interesting things along the way, like this!
I'm not even in Georgia yet and I'm already finding peaches!
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to drive up to the US BMW headquarters in Spartanburg. It sure looked pretty. Wish I could have stopped and taken a tour, but I was miserable and cold and just wanted to make it to my stop for the day and get out of the rain.
I stopped for a break midday and checked the weather for Atlanta again, hoping for a nice surprise.
Guess again.
40 degrees with 15mph winds and light rain, feels like 26 degrees... and that's standing still.
I made it to the hotel without incident, just as my toes started to lose feeling.
This is what I saw all day long: a wet windscreen. Its a shame too because days like this make riding more of a chore than an enjoyable adventure.
So I made my dinner an adventure with some Spicy Octopus! Mmmm. I scored big time with this all-seafood buffet.
I didn't even notice their huge assortment of sushi until my second trip!. My favorite!
After several days on the road in fairly miserable conditions I am ready to be home again with my family. The bike has been excellent. I look forward to a time when I can ride it with a little more enjoyment and a little less aspercream.
Tomorrow is my last travel day. I am deciding between heading over to Stockton, AL for the Last Ride of the Year (
www.lastrideoftheyear.com), or just heading straight for Pensacola. Weather looks dry, but cold.
Here's to another day of riding in long underwear!