Some Afterthoughts

I swear on a stack of bobbles that I speak the truth when I say that after 3980 molls the bike ran well and hit didn't use a drop of awl to boot. As we rode, it was rather unsettling to to see the turkey buzzards in flot overhead as though waiting to see if we had bald sufficiently for them to grab a quick lunch. Furthermore, it wouldn't take a skew teacher to see how relieved we were when we politted our trusty steeds to the cooler climes of Michigan and home.

Ok, ok ... so the paragraph is bad, but after taking the time to identify a few SWD's it only seemed right that I should put them all into a single paragraph. That's my story and I'll stick to it.

Everything that comes to mind regarding a few final comments about our trip seems as though it's been ground well covered in other places. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to repeat because they are still true.

The people that we meet along the way on these trips make me proud to be a part of this country. Oh, there are exceptions (can we all say Leesville), but even there, more people than not tried to be helpful . Looking back there was the waitress at the restaurant on Whitewomans road in Roscoe (part of Coshocton, OH) who was quick to smile and answer any questions 2 geezers had to ask. In Hundred, WV there was the gentleman who told us of his family and how the town was named. There were the bunch of ATV and dirt bike riders who were more than willing to share information about road conditions (they really didn't know the condition of the road ahead). Miss Gertie at the little store in Vesuvius, VA was pleasant as were her patrons ("Miss Gertie, I went to the doctor this morning and he said I had to take these pills for the rest of my life"... Miss Gertie says, "That's not so bad." The guy says, "I suppose not, but he only gave me 3.") The guy on the Blue Ridge Parkway who advised us that we "had to check out Mt. Mitchell, the highest point in the east. (It wasn't all that cool, but it would be difficult to fault the guy's enthusiasm). I won't bore you with any more "people", but the point is folks are pleasant and generally helpful to others.... at least if the others are a couple of ne'er-do-wells traveling on motorcycles. My sense is that while on a motorcycle you are exposed and open and people feel more at ease approaching you; if you are in a car, you're surrounded by steel (that's why they call cars cages and the drivers cagers) and rather untouchable.

The geography of the places we rode were varied and interesting. While our part of the country (that is the Midwest) doesn't have great motorcycle roads, each year I learn to appreciate what it does have (I have to work on remembering this about February). The fact is we saw very few motorcyclists in our travels this year and I believe the simple answer as to "why?" is that it's too darn hot to ride.

The mountains of the east certainly can't compare to the grandeur of the rocky s, but the Appalachians are inviting and have a comfortable feel to them; they also have some of the most amazing motorcycling roads I've ever run across.... hairpin reverses and well banked turns for miles and miles. The Deep South, being flat doesn't offer that kind of road (at least that we could find), but the Natchez Trace proved to be a well groomed highway with slow and lazy turns set off by practically no traffic.

In the sections of Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma where we rode it could have been one state. Once having crossed into western Arkansas and Missouri riding in the Ozarks was also good motorcycling.

Once again thanks for sticking with us for so long. Have a great riding season.

Check in from time to time.... Charlie and I might hop on the machines and find some roads and experiences worth talking about right here in Michigan.

Last Day of the Ride - June23

Nothing too earth shaking for the last entry of the ride... I guess that's a good thing.

As planned we left southern Illinois this morning and headed for South Haven. After checking most of the weather reports it became pretty obvious that we were going to encounter some nasty weather on this last leg of the trip. As we reached the middle part of IL (and route 24 East) the temperature dropped at least 15 degrees, the sky took on a really odd appearance and the winds kicked up significantly. I was convinced, at the very least, we were going to get drenched and at the worst, sucked off the pavement in a funnel cloud (as interesting as the Emerald City might have been, the thought of such a trip was not at all appealing). After being splattered by a few large rain drops we stopped to don our rain gear. This evidently did the trick because for the remainder of the ride there was no rain at all. We traveled over wet roads and didn't pass a creek or stream that wasn't out of it's banks flooding everything from soccer fields to corn fields, but no rain.

Of course the significance of this is that the curse which has plagued Charlie and me for low these many rides seems to have been lifted. The truth is that the only day out of the entire trip that it rained, was day 1 and even that was nothing to be concerned with. The bottom line is that our future as "rain makers" has been shaken to the core and it is most unlikely that anyone would call on us in the future to relieve drought stricken areas with our presence.

After an uneventful ride across I-94 and 196 we arrived in South Haven about 3:45.

I may still summarize our wanderings over the next few days so if you are interested check in from time to time.

Day 11 - june 22

We left Branson this morning and traveled east on route 160. I was great riding through the Ozarks and the foothills of Missouri. Because we are visiting Charlie's sister and brother in law we continued on around St. Louis and into southern Illinois, where we're spending the night.

Our travels took us past some of the most renown bass fishing water on the continent. Places like Bull Shoals and Table Rock... even past a town that bills itself as the Bass Record Capitol of the U.S.

Well I'm typing this on Char's computer and don't want to use any more time on it, so that's all for now.

Tomorrow we plan on riding the rest of the way home.... possibly arriving in South Haven sometime around 4:00.

Thanks for sticking with us on the blog and I may put in a follow up just to include a few more random thoughts about the ride.

Day 10 - June,21

No pix today and not too much on which to report.... however allow me to bid you all a happy Summer Solstice.

We left Mena, Arkansas this morning in cool but humid weather and headed in a northwest direction stopping to have breakfast in Ozark. The road we took out of Ozark was AR 23 aka "Pig Trail Scenic Byway". It was a great motorcycling road with hills and plenty of twists and turns and entered Missouri. We crossed an arm of the reservoir just to the west of Bull Shoals and Bronson. You will notice that I did not mention the name of the body of water; this is due to the fact that I'm an old geezer, and our map doesn't show the name. I did take a picture of the bridge, so maybe I'll include it to see if anyone recognizes it.... so disregard the "No pix" comment above.

We are now in Branson, MO staying at a Baymont Inn & Suites. It's a nice motel, located just outside of town on the main drag. We went to the mall along the river for dinner and ate at Romano's Macaroni Grill.... turned out to be good food and in a pleasant setting. The heat here is as overbearing as it was in Louisiana... you could fry an egg on our helmets.

Branson has the reputation of being a town were the geriatric crowd go to watch the shows that used to be on TV during the 50's and 60's. Just as a casual observation it appeared to me to be populated with young families here to enjoy the usual tourist trap kind of things associated with a resort town like this.

Tomorrow we strike out for Illinois and plan on spending the night in the town were Charlie's sister and brother-in-law live. It looks like we will be ending the ride a little earlier than planned, possibly arriving home on Wednesday.... likely no later than Thursday.

Day 9 - June 20, '10

This begins the second week of our ride and we are leaving the deep South. While this does not seem like a particularly significant milestone, it is in that it marks the last day of the SWD educational component of the entries. There are two words today, and they are related. The subtleties of there pronunciation are difficult to master so lets waste no more time and get on with it. Word one is.... "flot" and the second is.... "polit". To make this easier, remember that the "o"'s have the same sound as the "o" in "odd". Now that you have this mastered here is a sentence containing both words: "Due to the terrorist on board, the "polit" was forced to end the "flot" by landing in Atlanta."

After the horror of the evening before, Charlie and I set out for Texas. We had breakfast in Louisiana just short of crossing Toledo Bend Reservoir. Once in Texas the riding was fast and enjoyable. The day had not yet warmed up to the point of blistering the skin and the speed limit was 70 mph on the secondary two lanes. We only had one episode to get the old ticker pumped up when we entered a corner a little hot and threatened to launch ourselves into the pucker brush. All's well that ends well.

By the time we made Oklahoma the temperature had risen to about 98 degrees on the banks' signs and we were stopping frequently to replenish our electrolytes... at least that's what Charlie told me. I still don't know what an electrolyte is and why it's so important that I have them.

From Oklahoma we crossed into Arkansas and ended up at a motel in Mena, where we rest now.

Today we logged about 360 miles and took no pictures.... sorry.

Special Edition - June 19, '09 - P.M.

The last post ended with me bemoaning the fact the the scoot wasn't running well. As it turned out, Charlie's ride wasn't running well either. I went out to check the oil and the machine wouldn't start at all. Conclusion.... bad gas. The tank would have to be syphoned out, and the fuel replaced. In addition, there was the possibility that a jump would be needed because of failed attempts to get ignition.

I should have known better than to buy gas from that particular station. I figure it's never a good idea to buy gas from a station whose pump areas have pot holes of a size of a VW Beetle. It won't happen again.

I walked to another station to see if they had a hunk of tubing or hose..... No. The proprietor said to one of the patrons that I needed some assistance.... the guy said, "He looks like he's doing fine." and walked out. I returned to the motel and asked if there's a towing service I could call... the guy said he only tows wrecks from accidents and then gives me the number of his competitor. The competitor said he's really busy, but may get around to sending someone over in a couple of hours (by this time it's 9:00). Charlie in the meantime managed to get his bike going and headed off to WalMart to buy some tubing; all he could get was a 6 ft. washing machine hose. We are able to syphon about half the tank by running it into a plastic bag lined waste paper basket from the room. I tied up the bag and left it on the lawn (the gas ate through the bag in short order... so much for that grass); I was paranoid for the rest of the night for fear someone would toss a cigarette on the lawn. In the meantime I called: 1. Smitty to have Jon (his son in law who is my insurance agent) give me a call. 2. My insurance company. 3. The AMA (for road assistance) 4. Both State and Local police (Charlie's doing).

At about 11:00 the towing guys showed up with an electrical pump to syphon the tanks... an empty can.... and new gas.

Long story short it worked. Cost: Original bad gas.... $20.00 - Fee from towing service .... $85.00 -Tip for tow guys .... $10.00 - Washing machine hose.... $6.00. Total.......$121.00.
Hearing the damned things running again.... Priceless.

Lessons learned.... 1. never visit a town called Leesville, Louisiana.... 2. Never visit a gas station with pot holes bigger than your vehicle.

Sweet dreams.

Day 8 - June 19

Charlie and I crossed lake Pontchartrain on the causeway (over 20 miles long) this morning and rode into New Orleans. We hadn't talked to anyone nor had we watched the news, thereby limiting our SWD selection. So we will address a word that we have all been talking about these days, namely......"awl", or if you live in the area of New Orleans... "earl". While most of you are already familiar with these pronunciations I will use each in a sentence for clarification. If you live in most of the south you would say, "That awl is really having a terrible impact on the people living along the Gulf." If you lived in New Orleans you would say, "After I voted for that Son of a Gun, Obama isn't doing a darn thing to get rid of the earl that's destroyed Bubba's shrimping business."

Charlie and I wandered around the French Quarter for a few hours this morning. It was too early to savor all it had to offer; but even this early, street musicians were cranking up and all the restaurant and store owners were washing off the sidewalks in front of there businesses. Even though the French heritage is obviously strong in the city, it is still an impressive town and evident that if one were still sampling the fruit of the barley and the corn it would be a fun place to hang out.

We left the city about noon and headed northwest. We rode out on route 10 (a super slab) but at Baton Rouge we switched to secondary roads, which both of us find more enjoyable.

I really hate to complain about the weather, because we've seen no rain during riding hours after leaving Virginia. However (and isn't there always a however?), the heat is brutal. You can simulate these conditions by riding a motorcycle down I-94 and setting it on fire. Getting on down the road at 60 mph is like riding into a blow torch. We stopped frequently to rest and hydrate, but there really isn't any relief.

We ended the day at a motel near Fort Polk, Louisiana. This puts us within easy striking distance of Texas tomorrow morning.

One final aside; the bike (mine that is) gave me some fits today. It stalled once early in the day, then after gassing up in this town, it died again and sounded (and felt) as though it was hitting on just one cylinder. Also, the clutch feels as though the plates are slipping from time to time. I'm hoping it's only temporary (maybe due to the heat) and will have cleared up by tomorrow when things have cooled down a bit.

Day 7 - June 18

Back by popular demand.... SWD! While having breakfast this morning in Meridian, the news was on and it gave us the opportunity to pick up a few new words. For brevity's sake we'll just feature two this evening. The first is "skew" and the other "bobble". In order to clarify lets use both words in a single sentence.... "Now that summer is here, all the kids will be attending bobble skew at the Baptist church."

We left Meridian, AL this morning and headed west. While gassing up we met a guy who suggested we travel some secondary two lanes on our way to the Natchez Trace. The roads turned out to be really enjoyable; not difficult, just some nice roads through some local towns. We entered the Trace just past Jackson, MS.

The Natchez Trace is a beautiful road with a 50 mph speed limit. Our goal was to arrive at the Country Store Restaurant in Lorman, MS when it was open. When we arrived, we were the first patrons of the day and had to wait for the food to be set out, but the food was good and worth the wait. I have included a couple of pictures of Charlie at the place.

From the restaurant we rode to Natchez and got directions to New Orleans. We made it as far as Hammond before the rain started to threaten. We pulled into a Best Western and it rained for a short while but then cleared up. This gave us the opportunity to do our laundry.... Lord how I hate laundromats!... The noise.... the ankle biters.... the unhappy patrons.

In any case, we're back at the motel now and a thunder storm is in progress.... the TV has lost it's satellite and Charlie is moping because we can't watch "Dog the Bounty Hunter".

We don't have today's mileage (because neither of us wants to go out in the rain to look at the odometer), but distance wise it's been a relatively short day.

We're probably an hour north of New Orleans right now, so part of tomorrow we'll spend checking out the city a little.

Day 6 - June 17

No new SWD today. I'm pretty sure we heard some today but I think we're getting so used to them we no longer recognize them as being particularly "odd". Either that or the heat has caused a breakdown of some the the synapse that still work, causing a complete loss of memory.... I don't remember.

We left Bremen, GA this morning at about 8:00. The only thing that we had planned for the day was to visit the Barber Motorcycle Museum and Track in Leeds Alabama, just out of Birmingham. On our way to the museum we passed the Taledaga Speedway and stopped by to have a look. Of course it was closed, but it was interesting to see and the place is huge. We arrived at the Barber Museum at 9:00 AM. Needless to say the place didn't open until 10:00 so we blew off an hour drinking coffee at the Bass Pro Shop which is just around the corner from the museum.

The museum, grounds and track are spectacular. We were there about 2 hours and didn't scratch the surface. The building is 5 stories high and every bit of it loaded with all manner and size of vintage motorcycle that anyone can imagine. From the inside you can look out over the grounds and watch the people running the track in the driving classes that are offered. I'll try to include a few pictures, but a photo won't be able to do the place justice.

From Birmingham we again headed west. The riding was uneventful except for the heat. Charlie's thermometer read 95 degrees, but it wouldn't supprise me if that was a bit low. It was hot! We're wearing a black helmet and in the heat and sun, I'm pretty sure we both did some serious damage to our brains. While I know this would be hard to prove to anyone who knows us, you just can't put ones brains in a black container in heat like that without breaking something. In any event, we ended the day in Meridian, Mississippi.

Well, that's all for now... we need to cool down a bit. For those interested, we traveled about 270 miles today.

Day 5 - June 16

There won't be any pictures today... we took a couple but we're staying at a Microtel motel and the connection is tenuous at best, so I'm not going to waste the time to load any photos today.

I will however make time for the new SWD. Today's word is "hit", as in; "Could you please tell me how far Maggie Valley is?" "Why yes, hit's about 10 mols down this here road."

I hope you are all paying attention and taking notes as there will be a test at the end of the ride.

After torrential rain and tornado like winds during the evening we awoke to news reports of downed power lines, mud slides and closed roads. However it was not raining and as the day progressed it became better and better, so that by the end of the day we were riding in 96 degree weather which gave a pretty good simulation of standing in front of the open door of a coal fired blast furnace. To prove this my arms have sustained what appear to be third degree burns.

The GPS consistently sent us on wild goose chases. This I am certain is due to my ineptitude, but the result is that we have pretty much relied on the old fashioned map to help us find our way.

Some of the roads we were on today were as easily as much fun as the Dragon's Tail; Switchbacks, beautifully banked turns and smooth macadam. The traffic on these roads was light to nonexistent. All in all a great day of riding.

We ended the day in Bremen, Georgia, about 10 mols from the Alabama boarder. In the morning it is our intention to ride into Leeds, AL (a suburb of Birmingham) and visit the Barber Museum and motor track. We are told it is quite impressive and I will attempt to take a few pix. By the way, we stopped by the "Wheels of (in?) Time Motorcycle Museum" in Maggie Valley, NC this morning, but they, of course, are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Day 4 - June 15

Before I tell you about our day, allow me to share with you the Southern Word for the Day (SWD). You will recall that yesterday's word was "bald", as in: Mmm, Mmm, Mmmm that bald egg sure was good. Today's word is "moll", as in: He always goes the extra moll in everything he does. So, for pactice, here are both words in a sentence... I would go 100 molls in order to get a mess of those bald snap beans with some bacon drippin's.

Well, enough of that, I'll give you a short account of our day before calling it quits.... it's been a long day.

Jack met us at the motel at 8:00 and we headed off on some of the roads surrounding Christiansburg. There is some great riding to be had in this area. In fact, I would say that at least one of these roads was comparable to the Tail of the Dragon. Along the way we stopped for breakfast at Tuggle's Restaurant just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a well known spot particularly among the motorcycling community. Following breakfast we continued to ride a loop to the next entrance to the Parkway; again on some really attractive roads. Here, Jack left us to return home while Charlie and I continued on our way. By the way, the second picture above shows Jack and I in front of Tuggle's Restaurant.

We traveled the Parkway south until the GPS told us to get off. This seemed reasonable because we needed to head a bit west at one time or another. Unfortunately it also returned us to the Blue Ridge Parkway after wasting an hour of our time riding through high population areas and countless traffic lights in the area of Grandpa Mountain. We again headed south on the parkway, but at a maximum of 45 mph, that time lost could not be made up.

Along the way we came across another rider who said that stopping to ride up Mt. Mitchel was a "must" and not to be missed. This is the highest point east of the Rocky Mounts with an elevation of 6584 ft. We did ride to the top, but the experience paled in comparison to riding up Mt. Washington in NH even though it is a couple hundred feet shorter. The first picture above shows Charlie sitting on his bike in the parking lot of the Mt. Mitchel State Park parking lot.

After waiting at a stop for road construction, we began the final part of our day riding into Ashville, SC. Sadly this part of the ride was in some pretty serious rain. We ended up at a Best Western, in Ashville, where I write this.

Day 3 - June 14, '10

Some of the more astute among you may have noticed that we have actually taken some pictures today. In a moment or two I'll share with you what each represent... if I can remember.

We left Fort Royal today at about 8:00. The sky was slightly overcast but otherwise the day was nice. The farther south we rode the more sunny it became; all in all it has been one of the most pleasant riding days we have had on one of our little outings.

The first 110 miles was spent on the Skyline Drive out of Fort Royal. The road was immaculate and the Feds provided well placed gas stations and sundry shops and many turnouts for stretching ones legs and looking at the scenery. The views were many and very appealing. An example of the view from a turnout is the photo above this paragraph. I thought the rays of sunlight through the clouds looked cool, and Charlie took the picture.

Also along this road we saw some of the local wildlife. On four occasions we rode past whitetails either crossing the road of standing along side the road trying to determine whether we were worth fearing... we were. Surprisingly, we also saw two bears. These were not large black bear, but bears they were. To prove this, Charlie actually turned around after we passed one of the beasts to take its picture. The picture of the bear is the one at the top right. Now if you're anything like me you can't see the bear. Do not allow yourself to be too disappointed as Charlie assures me that the bear is the black spot near the center of the photo. We're told that the photo is of the bear's ass and it can be safely assumed that most of us are not all that well versed in that part of the anatomy of a bear and for that reason should not be too upset by any failure to spot the critter.

After about 100 miles the Skyline turns into the Blue Ridge Parkway. This too is a beautiful road, but it lacks the occassional gas station, so one must leave the Parkway and go to a local community to purchase gas. We chose the town of Vesuvius for this purpose (the road there was every bit as entertaining a ride as is the Tail of the Dragon). Unfortunately Vesuvius didn't have a gas station either. It did however have a store and so we stopped to ask the proprietor (one Miss Gertie) The location of the nearest gas supply. While there, we noticed she offered food, so we had lunch and listened to some of the local patrons. This proved to be an educational experience. For example, did you know that if you live in the South and submerse a raw egg in water heated to 320 degrees for about 10 minutes you will have a bald egg which can then be made into egg salad, deviled eggs etc.

We ended the riding day in Christiansburg to visit my cousin Jack. This evening we had dinner with him and tomorrow he will ride with us for part of the day as we contunue south.

Today we rode 300 miles at relatively slow speeds.... it has been a long day so for now, adieu.

Day 2 - June 13, '10

First, there are no pictures today. This year, Charlie and I both have cameras but neither of us have the sense to use them. Ah well, maybe tomorrow.


We left Coshocton, OH at 8:00 in the morning. It had rained heavily during the evening but the morning was just damp and overcast. The road east out of town was perfect for motorcycling. Not an inch of it was straight and there was hardly any traffic (and no other bikers). Other than the rolling twisting road, the ride was uneventful except for a doe that ran in front of us. She was 20 yards off and alone but close enough to remind us of the wildlife that is evidently common in the area. In fact there were a lot of deer carcasses along the sides of all the roads we traveled... seems odd for this time of year.

I am losing confidence in the little guy in the Garmin box. One of the things I was looking forward to was crossing the Ohio river into West Virginia on a ferry to Sistersville. Well, the little guy took us over a bridge... very disapointing. Trying to salvage an obviously untenable situation we forged on to route 7 in WV and headed east. Once again the road was great. Switchbacks, bends, twists and banks.


Along the way we came to the town of Hundred and had lunch at a little joint called Miss Blue. Well, when you're sitting there in Hundered, the question had to be asked.... how did the town get its name. So we did the only reasonable thing and asked the waitress. She provided us with a mostly reliable explanation and went on her way. In short order an elderly gentleman approached us, having overheard our converstation with the waitress, and introduced himself as the grandson of the man for whom the town was named.

It turns out that in the 1860's an open rail car carried people back and forth between Wheeling and Martinsville. The car traveled by this unnamed place where a man lived who was 109 years old (his wife by the way was 106 and they were married for 82 years). As they passed, the "conductor" would annouce that, "This is where old Hundred lives".... and the name stuck. Also interesting was the fact that the manager of the Miss Blue restaurant worked at both the Cook and Palisades plant and was quite familiar with South Haven.

Soon after exiting route 7 the Garmin guy anounced that we should take a "right" on Little Indian Creek Road and soon after that a turn onto Glorious Barn Road. Should your GPS ever suggest turning onto roads with similar names, immediately throw the device away. These roads began as paved black top with dividing lines and everyting. Soon pot holes began to appear; there numbers and size growing with each revolution of the tires, until we were finally riding a dirt road to nowhere. One might reasonably ask, "Why didn't you just turn around?" A good question indeed. The answer is that the little Garmin guy lulled us into a sense of security by saying, "Only .5 more mile 'til the next turn"... salvation. Visions of mutant canibals lurking in the underbrush of these West Virginia mountains danced in our heads.

As an aside, we stopped to set our destination on a piece of road inhabited by folks living in abodes less than mansions. Charlie had the uncontrollable need to relieve himself at this point. He chose, for this activity, someones yard. I for one was greatly relieved to escape without notice... or gun play.

Ultimately we gave up, punched in Front Royal as our destination, and ended up riding the super slabs the rest of the way to our destination... Fort Royal, Virginia.... the gateway to the Shenandoah Sky Way.

Oh... 390 miles on the old odometer today.

First Day - June 12

It doesn't seem possible that we are on the road again. For the uninitiated among you, one can tell our journey south has begun because of the rain and sodden skies. Actually the weather could have been much worse than is was. We left South Haven with it threatening rain and made it all the way to Route 31 south of Benton Harbor before getting under our first underpass to put on the rain gear. For the rest of the day it spat rain on and off but nothing really serious. It was however warm and quite humid. Enough about the weather!

We did more "highway" travel today than I had hoped for. This, however, allowed us to make good time. For at least part of the day we had no idea of where we were or where we'd end up but we did know that wherever it was we were heading, we were making good time getting there. For a while the little guy in the "Garmin Box" seemed to forsake us, but we ultimately put ourselves in his hands and all worked out well.

Indiana and western Ohio are not the most thrilling locations on the planet, but once we got east of Mt. Vernon, Ohio the roads began to get twisty with a little variation in elevation as well. One of the roads I put on our itinery was a winding two lane ribbon off route 36 along the Walhonding River (strangely enough, near the little burg of Walhonding). When we came to the road there were signs across it saying, "closed due to high water". Well, the road went up hill and everyone knows that there can't be any flooding on a hill... that would be silly. Sooo, there seemed no reason at all not to follow our original plan and run this winding two lane, which we did. Along the way we came upon a group of 6 or 8 off roaders and asked them if they knew of any water across the road ahead. Why "no", they said. Those beggars are no doubt still snickering. In any case we forged ahead gaining more confidence with each bend in the road. This was the place of course that the mighty Walhonding wended its way lazily across the road to an unkown depth. I, being the first to encounter the water barrier, began applying the binders as vigorously as I dared. Through the headset I heard Charlie uttering a few words of encouragement; something like, "Aw shit!" Suffice it to say, both machines were brought to a safe stop without so much as a drop of water being displaced by our tires. With that diversion behind us we returned to route 36 and an uneventful ride into Coshocton, Oh where we are now settled in and spending the night.

It turns out that Coshocton and its neighboring community are steeped in history; most of it related to a canal system dating back to the 1800's. It also hosts a balloon festival on this weekend in June. We later found out that it "always rains during the balloon festival. Only through a stroke of good fortune were we able to get a room at the Village Inn & Suites. We both look forward to a good night's sleep.

Alas, no pictures today. Regretably we were so relieved to escape the flood waters were forgot to get the camera in gear. Oh, as an afterthought, in case anyone is keeping score, today we logged in 361 miles.