Ride

Well, I still have tons to upload. The iPhone has surprised me with the quality of the videos and pictures. The Cape has been really great.

I've hit Chatham, Provincetown, Martha's Vineyard (Edgartown, Martha's Haven and Oak Bluffs - where the Obama's are vacationing now), and many many other towns here.

The rides on the bike are amazing when traffic is not an issue. Winding roads through the most incredible tunnels of trees. There seem to be less rules out here. Driving seems to be much more about responsibility out here. Roads are sometimes barely wide enough for two cars to pass, so it's definitely up to the drivers to watch out.

So, I wanted to post real quick here. I rode to Hyannis - the "big town" on the Cape to find a coffee shop to work in today. I ended up at the Common Ground on Main Street. Wow. I walked in, and some booths were tossed into what I can best describe as little hobbit burrows. The whole place feels like some establishment in Hobbiton. There are two main levels here, but little stairs go up from the second one into little tiny balconies. I feel like the place exists inside a giant tree trunk and was carved from that.

The baristas seem to love what they do, and continue making little tea or smoothy concoctions to send my way. Conversation has been very interesting and it's definitely a different world out here. Now that I think about it - again - it's like Hobbiton!

I promise I'll get a day of uploading numerous pics and movies and catch up. I don't know my schedule for leaving anymore. I have a project to do for work that is running longer than I thought, and it may rain this coming week, so it's possible I'll be stuck for a bit. Worse places to be stuck though.

Ok, what an amazing few days.

Today I went whale watching, and my iPhone did a great job at capturing videos of the whales! We saw maybe 10-12 humpback whales in various groups of 3-5 each. They were incredible. I got video, and it looks good. I'll try and clip it to some more exciting parts and upload it tonight. The whole whale watching trip lasted almost four hours, and while tiring, was truly amazing.

Made it to the Cape and all is well. I'll get my pics and details up tomorrow!

Whew!

Today was long, no doubt about it. I'm exhausted but so glad I made it to Connecticut. I'm going to meet a buddy of mine tomorrow here in Danbury, and now I can rest a little more in the morning.

Virginia was beautiful. One thing I noticed was the old barns throughout it. The states definitely have their unique properties if you look closely. Arkansas was overgrown, while Tennessee was cleaned up more along the interstate. New York, however, was extremely manicured! It was stunning to see the extent of polish they do along their interstate. Seems like the trees are even sculpted.

I was worried during the earlier part of Pennsylvania. At first, I thought it was going to be fairly bland, and the drivers were slightly less than friendly. I even swung by a Harley shop called M&S or something. It was near Gettysburg. Anyway, I stopped into their service area and asked if they would mind checking my tires. This is something I've never had any issues with at any dealer. They always take care of travelers. The guy in service basically laughed and said "check it yourself." I told him straight up they were appalling and the worst dealership I'd ever encountered. Especially when you spend a day in the saddle, Harley dealers have always been very cool until today.

So I was getting a little bummed in Pennsylvania, but then I entered the rolling hills, and it definitely became absolutely beautiful. Entered some areas of pines and some incredible mountain peaks. That all washed away my earlier impressions. Entering the Scranton area was stunning. The whole I-81 up that way was amazing.

As I said earlier, New York was very cleaned up. It was easy to see the difference right away. Now, I'm not trying to say that cleaned up is better. It's just different. There are many times where natural overgrowth is more attractive in my opinion. It's all good is what I'm saying I supposed.

I also had my first toll booth today. Went very smoothly. The lady said "take your time," and was incredibly pleasant. I had the change in one of my windshield bags, and all went well. I remember last year's ride to Michigan, I found it a little stressful. I think today's going well made it seem 10x better just for that reason. Felt good.

So, I made it to Danbury, CT. I wanted to mention the Super 8 where I'm staying. The manager was very friendly. Came outside while I was unloading the bike, and suggested I leave it under the overhang, and said he put me on the first floor so I'd be more comfortable watching the bike. These are all things I'd normally have to request and usually annoy the hotel's manager/desk. This guy then carried a couple of my bags to my room. First time on this trip a hotel seemed to be about real service. It's a very cool thing to have that out of the blue, especially on a hard trip like this.

Speaking of a hard trip, I'm exhausted. The bike puts me out in the elements, wind, sun and all, throughout the entire day. I know I'm pretty severely dehydrated all the time, despite drinking several waters and gatorades now throughout the day. It's getting harder and harder to stay in the saddle during the day. I knew what I was getting into, but it's incredibly physical! I'm mentally and physically fatigued during and at the end of each day. I can't wait to reach my destination and get off the bike for a bit. I feel muscles that are sore that I don't realize I'm even using during the ride.

That being said, it's amazing and gorgeous and worth the pain. Every bend, every peak, every view is what compensates for the pain and can make it possible to keep on going. I do notice how different the ride feels when there's more to look at - to keep me occupied. When I pull in at the end of the night though, I can suddenly feel all the aches and pains. I know it's there before then, but I try to push it to the back of my mind throughout the ride to reach my destination - whatever it takes.

I'm going to take it easy tonight, watch a little TV, and just relax. I feel so good knowing it's only 200 miles or so to my destination. Course, there's the ride back!

Wow. Just wow. I thought yesterday in western Tennessee was beautiful, but hitting the Appalachians was stunning. The other day, when driving out of AZ, I talked about the subtle differences in air temperature and wind that hit the senses. Well, this day was like that times ten. No idea how to even describe it. Coming over a ridge and looking into a massive valley of winding highway with mountains in the distance was almost shocking.