Lava flows down the East Coast MA to NC

It's time for a road trip with Lava. Got her all blinged out, pictures to follow, and we are ready to flow.

I'm leaving Springfield MA on Sunday and headed to NC for the NC State graduation. I have 1 week to get there and 1 week to get back and plan to do some wandering on the way down and back.

First night I'll be at Hickory Run State park in PA, 2nd night Front Royal , 3rd night somewhere BRP and then to Raleigh NC by Thursday. On the way back I'm going to wander through VA,WVA, no where specific, and get home by the 23rd.

Lots of pictures along the way.

Here is the general route



Here is Lava

Keeping track of Lava with SPOT

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0O3s3F4qJPkfkk10fZQSJTDZIrINk6Wp5

Nice, looking forward to the RR and pics. Have family in NC and don't get down there often enough. The riding sure outshines anything in Central MA.

I have the Trax cases all loaded, she is looking a little wide in the rear



But you know what they say "Fat bottom girls make the rocking world go 'round"

Everybody needs a Super Hero side kick. SPOON !!!!!


The navigation/entertainment/weather station is all set.


Got her a little extra BLING for the road trip.


I found a way to lock the non locking TT mount for the 478.


Have to have flames on Lava

love that color. one screw driver and that lock is toast

Yea the lock is the 2nd line of defense. My full face helmet fits over the gps and I have a cable lock that locks that to the handle bars. It is mostly if I have to stop to use the bathroom or a quick stop like that.

If I say in a B&B or motel it will come off the bike with me.

The adventure begins. I left Springfield this morning and it was around 48 degrees. Not too bad I like the cooler weather for riding. But the wind was unbelievable, yowzer! On the open roads I was getting hit with gusts that were from every direction. On the smaller roads it was much better. Until I started getting into Granville MA. Climbing up to Granville , Tolland IT STARTED SNOWING !!! HOLY CRAP. The thermometer on the bike was flashing 36 degrees.

So I plug in my vest and turned on the heated hand grips and was nice and comfy. Yep I'm really roughing it.

The roads in Northwest Conn are amazing.
Lots of riding like this.








Time to stop for a snack and warm up a bit.



Made it to NY


Stopped for lunch in Wurtsboro NY.



And the fun began.

Durning lunch in Wurtsboro I decided I was going to motel it for the night. After being out in the cold all day I really wanted to warm up.
So I go to the bike, get all zipped up , put my helmet on, get my gloves on, sit on the bike and hit the start button and nothing happens. I pull in the clutch, make sure I"m in neutral and try again. OH Crap, nothing just a little clicking. The lights won't come on the horn won't beep the onboard computer won't light up. The battery is dead.

I guess I can't have all the heated gear and the extra lights for better visibility on at the same time. Found all that out after the fact. So I called the BMW roadside assistance and they sent a guy out with one of those portable packs and Lava started right up.

So Now I was about 2-3 hours behind and there was no way I was going to make as far as I wanted that day. I rode for about 2 more hours with the heated gear off to let the battery charge up so by the time I was ready to stop, just south of the Delaware Water Gap I was really cold.

I found a cheap motel checked in and took a hot shower. Next to the motel was "The Taste Of Portugal BBQ"

I had ribs that were not too bad.



Today was a great day. Sunny about 60 degrees. Great for riding. My goal was to get to Gettysburg.

But first a little snack







Southwest omelet




Roads like this today





My sidekick approves





This yard was full of old VeeDubs








Hey Barb I found a house we can afford





Passed this a couple of times




Fort Indian Gap looks like a chopper base







I made it to Gettysburg around 5 pm today. Found a great B&B and had a yummy dinner. Crab Cakes and pecan pie.
I'm off at 8:30 to go on a ghost tour. Should be fun.

Tomorrow look like rain so I don't know how far I will get.

It looks like you may have hit parts of rt 125 in PA. Some nice twisty country roads. :)

Looks like a great run.

Not sure of how quickly you're returning north after the Wolfpack graduation, but I'm sure there are several of us in central NC who'll buy you a meal or

That sounds great. I'll have to see how the Graduation plans go.

Gettysburg was very cool. I would like to go back and spend a couple of days. Lots to do there.




I stayed here right in town.



I guess it will have to do !!
Look, 7 pillows on the bed.



Kind of what you would expect.




Dinner at the Dubbin house. VERY GOOD
Maryland crab cakes, sweet tater, basket of home made breads, yes breads 4 different type.
And home made pecan pie. Oh yea a local red wine



After dinner I went looking for GHOSTESSES



DO YOU SEE ANY? Supposed to be in the top window.




So after a good nights sleep, no spooks in the B&B It was time to head South again.
I had 2 routes in the GPS one would get me to Front Royal, beginning of the Skyline Drive in about 2 hours. The other would get me there in about 4-5 hours but be more scenic.
Since it was going to rain all day I had to chose 2 hours or 5 hours in the 44 degree rainy weather.


I was ready in my BIG BIRD suit


Of course I chose the longer route. That's what I'm her for is the scenic routes and the adventure of riding in all different conditions.
I'm not going to run for cover just cause of a little stinking rain !!!



On the way out of Gettysburg I did a little tour of some of the battle grounds.
It is hard to fathom the number of people killed in the one battle, this area.
In 1863 the population of Gettysburg was 2500. There were 51,000 soldiers from both sides that were injured. 20000 were killed during the battle. 40,000 horses were killed.














No too many photos today. Pretty much rained the whole way to Front Royal.





I'm not setting any land speed records on the trip. But I am enjoying the ride which is what it is all about.

I got done early today about 4 PM. Made it to Front Royal VA.

Hey Mike

How are you enjoying the new bike?

Jim

Hi Jim

The bike is GREAT !! I love it. I just had a problem with the battery but it was user error. I just can't have all the lights, heated stuff on at the same time. I got it figured out now. Lots of help from this site.

It has great power, I was on an interstate for a few minuets and was able to accelerate and keep up. Also very stable at 80MPH.

It is also amazing on the back twisty roads. I'm not that aggressive but I'm getting better.

I'm getting about 55mpgs too.

Looks cool too Sure gets lots of looks and questions from people.

How is the 650? Any picts of your travels ?

Thanks GB I'm getting the volt meter when I get home. No where to get one or place to install it on this trip.

I figured out how to see the volt meter on the 478. Pretty cool. With the PIAAs on just sitting there the voltage drops to 12.5. Once I get going it goes up to 13.8. Is it accurate since it it going through the canbus connector?

Does anyone know if Ranix will ruin the plastic face shield. I need something.

Tuesday night I stayed in The Scottish Inn in Front Royal VA. Funny the owners weren't Scottish unless curried haggis is !

Anyway it was clean , cheap and right across the street was this.












That was a HUGE burger




Today started out sunny, and warm. A great day for riding. I stopped several times to take off layers since the temp in the Shenandoha Valley was almost 80. 40 degrees warmer than yesterday.



Beautiful ride today.










This is the kind of roads I like. Very few cars. I think theses were the only ons I saw for about 1 hour.





Cool place. At one time someones dream home.




I was up and on the road by 8:30 am today. I had to make up some lost time.
After a couple of hours I stopped at this place.
Ray's Diner. How could you go wrong?



















Yep that's a home made biscuit








Several Vineyards along the way.





Nice little shack




Sidekick likes the Vineyard





I was really looking forward to this part.




The Mountain Laurel or Rhododendron were in bloom











Once I got on the Blue Ridge the weather was all over the place. The temperature kept changing from about 60 to 76 and I was chasing or being chased by clouds, thunder, lightning and rain.
The weather radar on my GPS showed this. I'm the little black triangle.





This is what it looked like for real.





Again no camping tonight. Weather forecast showed thunder storms all night.
My GPS was flashing "Severe Thunder Storm Warning as I'm riding. This was about 4:30 pm so I had a good day of riding. Time to motel it .
So tonight I'm in Bradford VA .
Next to the motel is a Mexican restaurant. This was dinner.
That was a LARGE beer. Dos XX




Chicken Fajitas




Tomorrow it's on to Raleigh to meet up with my Sweetie .