Monday, June 30, 2014

6/30 - Welcome to Summer in the Midwest

158 miles. Thunderstorms, wind, more thunderstorms, and new ADV friends, Dave and Kasey, in Itasca, IL!

Sunday, June 29, 2014

6/29 - Midwest Providence Reunion

107 miles. My mind wasn't in the ride when I pulled away from the Motor Drome, but it was so good to see former Providence-ites, Steve and Amy, in their new home. We poked around Lafayette, Purdue, and West Lafayette for a bit, and just had a low key evening in with Roku. It's good to see good people.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

6/28 - Goodnight, Motor Drome

46 mile jaunt to Beanblossom, IN, to see the Wall of Death folks again. Great to be able to find them again in Indy, and meet new people at the event, too. Yep, camped out in the Drome itself. Yep, there's a scooter at a bike rally.

Friday, June 27, 2014

6/27 - A Familiar Face!

161 miles, and into a city again. It just so happened Nick was in town from Providence, RI, visiting family in Indiana. It was great to spend time with him, catch up, and get a local tour of his old stomping grounds.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

6/26 - Camping Isn't So Bad...

79 miles to Bardstown, the bourbon capital. Admittedly, the appeal of camping is mostly lost on me, unless it involves scooters, motorcycles, and/or booze.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

6/25 - Playing Catch Up

Overcast and a bit rainy today, so I toured around locally, ran errands, and caught up on work stuff. I stopped by Vespa Lexington for some supplies, and ended up chatting for a while! Mike and Jason are great guys, it was cool to hang out on a low key day. I forgot to take photos for reference though, d'oh. Also not sure why I drew that sign at such a surreal angle. Just have to deal with it now.

Florida Part 1, To The Keys! May 31-June 3



I forgot to screencap my map at Key West, it was so rainy.

After recouping in the safety and comfort of friends, new and old, in Atlanta, it was time to continue adventuring again. My sights were set on a big state, Florida, and admittedly I wasn't sure I was amped up enough. I seemed doomed to bad weather the closer I got to Key West, and I found myself wondering, "Why did I leave Atlanta? It wasn't that hot there, and I could spend the summer drawing in Korean coffee shops with Wai, getting to know the Terminal scooterists better, and taking day trips to NC and TN to ride around the mountains, or go to the coast..."

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

6/24 - Buffalo Trace Distillery Buddy

One of my favorite distillery tours here, and not just because it's free - I squeezed into the hard hat tour. Also, met another bourbon fan, Stefon, who has been on the road 9 months!

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

6/23 - Triple Nickel

272 miles. The Triple Nickel is no Tail of the Dragon, but it's a plenty fun road. Had a great time following Matt on his shiny sea-colored Vespa along this route, much thanks for his local insight. Lots of nice roads today that I wouldn't expect to find in Ohio. Also, entering Kentucky - another state for scoot!

 

Sunday, June 22, 2014

6/22 - The Great Conical Mound

134 miles, and getting thinky up here. I was happy to follow Matt and Ali to Parkersburg, WV for a night - it lessened the rally withdrawal, to get to hang out in his garage talking scoots.

 

Saturday, June 21, 2014

6/21 - Fail Ramp

Today's lesson: Everyone around me needs to wear a helmet, and I need my own rally bike. Also, the Law of Gravity: Obey it.

 

Friday, June 20, 2014

Thursday, June 19, 2014

6/19 - Slow Train

380 miles, this drawing is dated wrong. Also, today saw the completion of riding the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

6/18 - Old Rt 129

218 miles, lost a couple hours to rain. We found a cozy cabin in Robbinsville though, at Simple Life, and shared conversation and a campfire with motorcycling neighbors.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

6/17 - Screen time outside hostel

271 miles. Beautiful ride through Lookout Mountain, thanks to Win from Bamarides for the suggestion. Goodbye, southern swampiness, hello mountain air! When we rolled in they were shooting a commercial outside the hostel, Crashpad, and gave us $30 to park the bikes in the shot - yay, dinner!

 

Monday, June 16, 2014

6/16 - Dog wants that feather boa

347 miles today. I've been out too late in New Orleans having fun.

Riding with Davide this week! He showed up with a feather boa around his handlebars, and I knew it would be ok.

It's nice to know I can cover this kind of mileage in a day, though I'd rather not. Pulling into a campsite after dark leaves me no time for drawing, editing posts, or working, not to mention if I'm traveling solo there isn't anyone to share campsite chores with. However, it was refreshing to ride with Davide to Montgomery, AL, today.

And yes, I've turned north for Ohio. Band Camp is the rally destination this weekend. Then, I'll be crossing to the west via northern states - sorry, Texas will have to wait!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

6/15 - Not feeling like scooter service

I might have been feeling a bit worn out from festivities. Autozone guy was patient with me at least.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

6/14 - Bourbon St was inevitable

Also had a grand time tearing around the city with John on his Chetak and Michael on his 469, following them to pick up artwork from the Frenchman Art Market. I loved scooting down those tree lined boulevards.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

6/11 - Powdered Sugarsplosion

I haven't figured it out, and I may die trying.

Thanks for lunch, company, and kindness at Coop's Place, Anthony!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

6/10 - Getting Work Done

Scooter's revenge, for abandoning her that Wednesday night in Atlanta to hang out with other scooters. No mileage today, except sad miles to the Apple store and a CVS for an ankle wrap. I'm on the mend, scooter is fine, had a phone freak-out but that's fine too.

I watered Teamr2's plants before I left, and since he wouldn't be home for another few weeks, he welcomed me to take any tomatoes that looked ready. I snacked on a couple of them today while reading a manuscript - fresh garden tomatoes from a friend's yard, a tomatoey silver lining.

6/9 - My Head is a Hurricane

228 miles, but some of it was ferry. Killed some time with a couple gentlement at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar, where the hurricane went to my head. Finished the evening with my Airbnb host, Amy, tagging along for live music at Cafe Instanbul by the Food Co-op. It's magical, and bedtime!

Monday, June 9, 2014

6/8 - Road Food Along the Gulf

262 miles. I fell asleep last night in a comfortable, air-conditioned room, to the Science Channel quietly busting myths. Thanks for the restful crash space, Teamr2!

Saturday, June 7, 2014

6/7 - Career Change

218 miles. Hello, folks from Poor Paul's! Note: the cheapest motel in Tallahassee is sort of what you would expect, but my room's AC unit works.

 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

6/5 - Sunshine Skyway Bridge

154 miles, epic, epic bridge, especially with the sunset behind it. Met up with ADV's zippy and fellow riders for great burgers, drinks, and music!

One month mark on the road, woooaa.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

6/4 - 8 1/2 Legged Starfish

Not looking too good, starfishy.

232 miles. Found while walking along the beach with my host, ADV's piratetreasure, steps away from their amazing seaside home.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

6/3 - Give It Up, Raccoons

201 miles, and raccoons aren't getting any of my hard-earned key lime pie. Also, my tent is way messier than drawn, it's amazing how so little clothing can make such a big mess in a 2-person tent.

Also, this:

I made it, end of Leg 2!

 

Monday, June 2, 2014

Atlanta, GA, May 24-30

Time for some down time, in my childhood hometown!

6/2 - Rain Gear Now

At least on the long straight roads you can see weather before it's on you, I suppose.

213 miles, Melbourne to Miami via Lake Okeechobee.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

6/1 - Meet the Artist

We went to lunch at Cafe Alcazar, in the former Alcazar Hotel, now Lightner Museum building. It used to house the world's largest indoor swimming pool, now there's a neat little cafe in the deep end.

134 miles or something today, but was caught in high winds and thunderstorms on A1A - I should really not plan to ride around 3-4pm in Florida.