2020 Fall motorcycle trip
Day 1
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We had such a good time on our summer trip that we soon began talking about doing another long weekend motorcycle trip in the fall. After looking at Donna's weekends off and her camping schedule we decided on early October. The weather should be nice then.
The concept would be a little different than the summer trip. Instead of staying a different place each night we would base ourselves out of one place. Packing and unpacking every day gets old. Each day we would head in a different direction to scour the small towns for antique stores. We decided Lexington, KY, would be our base. I plotted the area antique stores and eventually I came up with the following route:
 October 1
 Vacation day is finally here! I've been working at home since March because of the coronavirus, so I got things ready to go as the day progressed. About the time Donna got home I was mounting the GPS on the bike. The GPS battery was almost dead and when I mounted it in the cradle the 'charging' icon on the GPS did not come on. Hmmmmmmmm. I put the GPS in the Sequoia and it worked fine. Hmmmmmmm again. After some investigation I found the fuse holder in the GPS harness was making a poor connection. Once fixed, the GPS was charging normally. Whew. I hate last-minute issues. I pulled the bike around front and we started loading it. The burgundy Explorer belongs to Donna's daughter, Kenya. She and her crew are already here to watch Buford and the house. Buford will turn six while we are gone and we will miss the little fart. We said our goodbyes and headed down the road. Bedford, IN. 17:17, initial mileage 105,417 - Our first stop on every trip is Revere's. I filled the tank with some 93 octane while Donna grabbed some drinks for the cupholders. We didn't even bring the cooler this trip. Pulling out of Revere's is the symbolic start of the trip.
 The weather report for this week had been sunny and clear. No rain at all. This afternoon I noticed a bunch of cloud patches. A review of the radar showed a bunch of small popup storms over the area. What?? It looked like our route to Lexington was clear for the most part. Donna the weather girl will keep track. The sky ahead doesn't look that promising as we head south on SR37.
 We don't have to worry about dying from heat on this trip. I have a jacket on and the weather is perfect for me. Donna is bundled up.
 Here we are north of Hardinsburg and rounding a curve on US150. Somewhere in the Louisville area appears to be a storm. I hope it isn't there when we are.
 My Sweetheart tucked in behind me for warmth. She found some heat coming from the lower engine vents. I get her for six days all to myself.
 I enjoy these old red barns on US150. Indiana Americana. Those storms are still lurking in the distance.
 At Galena Donna asked for a stop at the gas station we often stop at. She had some dental work done a couple days ago and her helmet is pushing on it. She got some Orajel to ease the pain. I checked the weather radar and it looks like we will skirt below the storm.
Crossing the Ohio River on I-64. The shadows are already getting long.
Louisville with the storm in the distance. We are casting some interesting shadows.
 It was dark by the time we turned onto US60 near Frankfort. That's the downside of October. We arrived at Extended Stay America at 20:18 and the temperature was 45*. Donna was chilled.
 We parked around back near the side entrance. We unpacked and put the bike to bed for the night. Our room was next to the door, which was convenient. The first impression of our room was mixed. I chose this place because it has a kitchen and stuff...you know...extended stay. I guess because of Covid there were no kitchen utensils...no coffee pot...nothing. Bare cabinets and drawers. Donna tried to watch TV but there were no channels. The problem was obvious. The cable had fallen out of the cheap twist-on connectors they used. I stuck the cable back in and it worked...as it was. The TV was small and about twenty feet from the bed so it was hard to see the twenty or so channels available. Donna took a shower and said the water pressure sucked. The bathroom sink is just a sink. There is no counter space for your toiletries. The bed was comfortable. For supper we decided to have something delivered. There was a Chick-fil-A nearby so we tried that. They were only accepting online orders so we went through the painful process of getting on the hotel's wifi. Once we got that accomplished we answered a thousand questions on the Chick-fil-A site only to be cryptically told it was too late for them to deliver. Hmmmmmmm. Next, we tried Jimmie Johns. True to their commercials they were there in no time. Ahhhhhhh...vacation.
152 miles. Click here for the next day's adventure. |
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