We've gotten pretty good at packing for these trips, and it didn't take long at all for a 3-day adventure. But what to pack was tough. You see, we're going to see a 40 degree (or more) swing in the temperature! Charlotte in the afternoon is about 80 degrees; Maggie Valley on Monday morning is expected to be in the high 30's. Leather jackets and chaps, face coverings, thermal underwear and more for the cold; short-sleeve shirts and lighter jackets for the warmer. Heck we've each got three different pairs of gloves, from warm-weather riding to gauntlets with liners!
We had a terrific ride from Florence to Monroe, North Carolina. For much of it, we were the only ones on the road. North of Hartsville, the road is large -- four lanes, with a wide median -- and the dotted lines blinked by like morse code. The weather was absolutely perfect -- 75 degrees, sunny, no clouds at all. Just blue sky above, and the road below.
Of course, all that changes when you hit Independance Blvd, just into Monroe. And it was 22 miles of heavy traffic, with the typical metropolitan drivers weaving in and out. We took our time, and managed to keep our sanity.
We pulled in to the Microtel Inn at Tryon Road and W.T.Harris Blvd about 1:30, way too early to check in. We found a TGIFriday's nearby and had a good lunch.
When we got into our room, Linda wanted me to get some beer, so I went back out to the nearby WalMart (I think there's one nearby everywhere). It being race weekend, the parking lot was full, but I found a spot way out and walked in.
(Quick joke -- what do you get when you mix WalMart people with NASCAR people? More WalMart people!)
It's almost 6, and we're probably just gonna crash, and get plenty of sleep for tomorrow's ride. We're gonna try to get to ZMax by 7:30 or so.
No comments:
Post a Comment